Where's the Outrage?

Nothing like posting your predictions as the 1 o’clock games are being started.

San Francisco 49ers versus Denver Broncos – Neither of these teams thought they would be comfortable in the cellar at the beginning of the season. They both had high expectations. The Denver Broncos started off like gangbusters last year, then petered out. The San Francisco 49ers did the exact opposite. Mike Singletary stabilized the team in the middle of the season. Neither team has found its stride. Although we love watching the skill positions, football is about those guys like Alex Smith, who’s had an up-and-down season, and is out for the 49ers. They are going to go to start rookie Troy Smith at quarterback, in the trenches. In this game, I’m leaning towards the Denver Broncos.

Dallas Cowboys versus Jacksonville Jaguars – There a lot of things ailing the Dallas Cowboys and the Jacksonville Jaguars. They can’t seem to execute. They don’t seem to be very good in the trenches. There’s been a lot of discussion about the Cowboys’ ineptitude this week. I’ve been talking about the Dallas Cowboys and the need to change some things since last year. With Tony Romo out, John Kitna will start. In order for the Cowboys to win, they need to dominate the line of scrimmage and they need to run the ball. If John Kitna throws the ball more than 20-25 times, the Cowboys will lose. If the Cowboys cannot control the line of scrimmage, look for Maurice Jones-Drew to be doing that little dance of his in the end zone several times today. I’m giving a slight edge to the Cowboys… because.

Miami Dolphins versus Cincinnati Bengals – in my opinion, the Miami Dolphins are better than they appear. If they could just improve production from their quarterback, the Dolphins could slide into one of those upper-tier football teams. Their defense is solid but can give big plays. The Dolphins need the offense to be more productive. While Cincinnati’s offense continues to struggle (why can’t they run the ball better?), their defense is heading south. I’m picking the Miami Dolphins.

Matt Cassell

Buffalo Bills versus Kansas City Chiefs – Are the Kansas City Chiefs for real? This week will not answer that question. Although the Buffalo Bills are playing better, the Kansas City Chiefs have too much talent on both sides of the ball to lose this game. The Chiefs are playing with confidence and enthusiasm. Look for the Chiefs to win big.

Washington Redskins versus the Detroit Lions – week after week, Donovan McNabb is finding a way to win. His play has been inconsistent yet somehow the Redskins have been in every game. Look for Donovan the find a way to push and pull the Redskins to victory.

Carolina Panthers versus St. Louis Rams – this game is simply a toss-up. All of the early praise for the St. Louis Rams has died down to dull murmur. The Carolina Panthers are suffering from a lack of quarterback production. It is sad to have Steve Smith, one of the best receivers in the league, and not have a quarterback. (Larry Fitzgerald suffers the same fate.) I lean slightly towards the Rams.

Green Bay Packers versus New York Jets – This is one of those games in which I wish everybody were healthy. This is one of the best match-ups this week has to offer. If everyone were healthy, this game would be fabulous to watch. Now, the Green Bay Packers come limping in without their complete supply receivers. The New York Jets are one of the best teams in the league and they have a chance to show off their talent to the nation once again. I look for the Jets to be physical and run the ball effectively against the Green Bay Packers. I’m picking the Jets. [Read more →]

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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We are now staring down at the half-way point of the season. I’d like to talk about a couple of teams that are going in the right direction and a couple that seem to be going in the opposite direction.

As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I’m genetically predisposed to hating the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is ingrained in me. It doesn’t take long for me to close my eyes and see Terry Bradshaw throwing a rainbow to Lynn Swann. I’m getting nauseated thinking about it. Yet, the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing fabulous football. Yes, Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t quite hit his stride. He seems to have problems with fumbles right now but I think that’s going to work out. He’s getting better. It is the defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers that is really showing up and playing well. Both their offensive and defensive lines are dominating. To me, they are the best team in the NFL right now. The New England Patriots and the New York Jets are probably in second and third place. (Maybe the Jets are playing a little the better on both sides of the ball than the Patriots.) Mark Sanchez has played very well. He’s taking care the football. The offensive line is opening holes and the surprise of the season is LaDainian Tomlinson. He is 92 carries for just under 500 yards, averaging 5.3 yards a carry. He looks like he did five years ago. He’s been a huge difference maker. The secondary for the New York Jets is somewhat suspect. They are the weak spot. Teams need to take advantage of it now because I believe they’ll improve as the season goes on. The New England Patriots somehow got better after trading Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings (ironically, the Minnesota Vikings did not get any better and may have gotten worse after getting Randy Moss). The Patriots’ defense just makes enough plays. Tom Brady has made enough plays on offense to keep things moving. In my opinion, these are the three best teams in the league. Honorable mention goes to the New York Giants and the Kansas City Chiefs. I just can’t give an honorable mention to the Baltimore Ravens after they gave up 1,000,000 yards last week.

At the bottom of the pile are the San Francisco 49ers, the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Carolina Panthers at least have a decent defense. They are stopping people. It is their offense that is abysmal. The San Francisco 49ers have to figure out what they’re doing. They seem to play almost well enough. They seemed almost to have great talent. I think the Buffalo Bills are getting better week by week. They made the right decision to put Fitzpatrick in the game. Hopefully, he’ll stay healthy and start the rest of the season. I have no idea what’s going on with Jacksonville. They’ve had problems, with and without David Garrard. Their offensive line cannot protect, which makes throwing the ball somewhat difficult. Three years ago, Jacksonville had a great defense. In the interim, they lost several veterans, both from their defensive line and their linebacker corps. Unfortunately, they have not replaced those veterans with quality players. The Jacksonville defense is giving up over 125 yards per game on the ground. You simply can’t win like that. Honorable mention for the league’s worst must go to: the St. Louis Rams, the Detroit Lions and possibly the Oakland Raiders.

So, who are your winners and losers?

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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Artist: Milton Suggs
Tune: Georgia on my mind

I heard Milton Suggs on the Real Jazz station on Sirius radio. I really liked his sound.

Artist: Milton Suggs
Tune: Lush Life

Tags: Music by ecthompson md
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• There has been an attempt by Al Qaeda to ship explosives in cargo jets. The exact details of the plot have not been revealed. The exact variety of explosives has not been revealed. Exactly how the explosives were to be detonated has also not been revealed. Update: From LAT – “One of the packages was found aboard a cargo plane in Dubai, the other in England. Preliminary tests indicated the packages contained the powerful industrial explosive PETN, the same chemical used in the Christmas attack, U.S. officials said. The tests had not been confirmed.“

• The GDP did rise in the third quarter although the economy is still sluggish.
• The Democratic candidate for Senate in Florida, Kendrick Meek, has made headlines because he staying in the race. Polling clearly shows that he’s about to get trounced in Tuesday’s election. Rumors began to fly that former president Bill Clinton asked him to drop out of the race. Both he and Clinton denied this. All I know is Kendrick Meek has not run a very good campaign. If he could solidify the Democratic base, he should be able to easily win as the moderate Republican, Charlie Crist and the ultraconservative, Marco Rubio, would split the conservative vote.
• The owner of a McDonald’s franchise in Canton, Ohio, told his employees that unless the Republicans win, the employees can’t get raises.
• Verizon has been ordered to pay an additional $25 million on top of a $52 million refund to its customers for overcharging. This is the largest fine in FCC’s history. Ripping off Americans seems to have become a sport to American big business.
• It looks as if we’ve spent $18 billion to reconstruct Afghanistan. That’s the good news. The bad news is we really don’t have a good way to track reconstruction dollars and have no way of knowing whether the money went to pay off Afghan warlords or to build bridges and schools, according to a new report. (More on this here and full report here.)

Tags: Al Qaeda by ecthompson md
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I saw this on tweeter last night as my wife and I were driving back from Texas. I didn’t have the patience or skill to post it on my iPad so I’m posting it now.

From Zero Party Politics:

In an increasingly imperfect two-party system, I will be choosing between the lesser of two evils come November 2nd and avoiding anyone with an “R” beside their name on the ballot. I’m not a Democrat, but I’m also not an idiot, and I have a memory that goes back farther than 22 months. For the sake of giving a very sick America a chance to heal, I hope your memory goes back farther too.

The big question to consider before going to the polling booth next week and contemplating voting “R” again is “why?”

Why on earth would you ever consider voting for a Republican in 2010?

I realize government spending is the hot button issue utilized by those endorsing the GOP and their mentally challenged little brother, the “Tea Party.” However, before you decide to make the colossal mistake of linking “fiscal responsibility” with the GOP and its psychotic sibling, there may be a few hard issues you need to contemplate before you pull that trigger.

Let’s start with the big, bloated elephant (pardon the pun) in the room and address the issue of military spending which I freely admit is equally ignored by both parties. It’s bad enough when Democrats ignore the issue, but when the party which routinely preaches “fiscal responsibility,” ignores the most fiscally irresponsible exercise our government engages in, it becomes nearly impossible to take them seriously.

Before you cast your votes next Tuesday and fall victim to the same “neo-con” con again, please take the time to digest the gravity of this military spending problem while juxtaposing it with the other spending these Republicans and Tea Baggers routinely complain about.  If you can reconcile GOP indifference to defense spending with GOP complaints about TARP spending, Stimulus spending, and Healthcare spending, then please also consider purchasing this bridge I have for sale in Brooklyn–I can certainly use the money.

Let’s consider our military budget so that we can fully realize the GOP hypocrisy here. When adding the Department of Defense budget for 2010 (over $719 billion) with other defense related costs in the federal budget, such as International Security Assistance, Veterans Benefits and Services, Interest on National Debt Attributable to Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and other non-DOD “defense” related expenditures, we are due to spend over a trillion dollars this year on our military.

Let me repeat that. We are spending a TRILLION DOLLARS A YEAR ON OUR MILITARY.

Recall what Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican President, a five-star general, and the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in World War II declared in his farewell address to the American people when leaving office in 1961:

“…we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.”

Back when the Republicans were a serious political party, they actually used to worry about an out-of-control military which demanded out of control spending.

But the Republicans aren’t a serious party anymore, so they commonly say very silly things to justify a ridiculous defense budget while claiming there is no money left over for anything else. They’ll routinely cite to the Preamble of the Constitution claiming “providing for the national defense” is right there in black and white. They’re able to get away with this because they are leading an army of drones, and drones rarely scrutinize any information given to them.

Here’s how the Preamble to the Constitution reads by the way:

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Aha! See? Not one mention of “healthcare” and there was “common defense” as PLAIN AS DAY! (Of course there was no mention of ICBM’s either, but this is not a time for logic.)

Do we really need to explain to the party of “duh” why “provid[ing] for the common defense” does not justify the expenditure of a trillion dollars a year?

Of course we do—they are, after all, the party of “duh.” (more…)

Tags: Military, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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I loved this comment -

Corporations that are members of the Chamber of Commerce have had foreign partnerships for years.

Why , after all these years, are Democrats suddenly making these unsubstantiated accusations about campaign contributions of foreign money?

Because Democrats are desperate, that’s why. They’ve thumbed their nose at the American public and they know their jobs are on the line.

There is a lot to love in this comment. Unsubstantiated. Maybe I don’t know the definition of unsubstantiated. Maybe that’s the problem. According to Merriam-Webster – Etymology: ¹un- + substantiated, past participle of substantiate: not substantiated; especially : not supported or borne out by fact. Nope, that’s exactly what I thought the word meant. So maybe an exact quote from their website is unsubstantiated.

From TP:

Below is a chart detailing the annual dues foreign corporations have indicated that they give directly to the Chamber (using information that is publicly available from the Business Council applications and the Chamber’s own websites):

Company	Location	Money/Level
4G Identity Solutions	Hyderabad, India	$7,500
A2Z Maintenance & Eng.	Gurgaon, India	$7,500
Amarchand Mangaldas	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Apollo Hospitals	Chennai, India	$7,500
Arshiya International	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Astonfield Management	Mumbai, India	$7,500
AXA Group	Paris, France	$7,500
Avantha Group	India	$7,500
Avasarala Technologies	Bangalore, India	$7,500
AZB & Partners	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Azure Power	New Delhi, India	$7,500
Bharat Forge	Pune, India	$15,000
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP	Toronto, Canada	$7,500
Brookfield Asset Management	Toronto, Canada	$7,500
Cameco Corporation	Saskatoon, Canada	$7,500
Credit Suisse	Zürich, Switzerland	$15,000
Devas Multimedia	Bangalore, India	$15,000
DSK Legal	Bombay, India	$7,500
Dua Associates	Hyderabad, India	$15,000
Educomp Solutions Ltd	Delhi, India	$7,500
Essar Group	Mumbai, India	$7,500
Fox Mandal Little	India	$7,500
GMR	Bangalore, India	$15,000
Hindalco Group, The	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Hinduja Group, The	London, UK	$15,000
Hindustan Construction Company	Mumbai, India	$15,000
HSBC	London, UK	$15,000
ICICI Bank	Mumbia, India	$7,500
Infosys	Bangalore, India	$15,000
Infotech Enterprises	Hyderabad, India	$7,500
International SOS Assistance	Singapore	$7,500
Ireo Management	Gurgoan, India	$15,000
ITC Group	Kolkata, India	$15,000
J. Sagar Associates	Mumbai, India	$15,000
J.B.Boda Insurance	Mumbai, India	$7,500
J.M. Baxi & Co.	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Jagran Prakashan	Kanpur, India	$7,500
Jindal Power	New Delhi, India	$15,000
Jubilant Organosys	Noida, India	$7,500
Kimaya Energy	New Delhi, India	$15,000
Kotak Mahindra	Mumbai, India	$7,500
KPIT Cummins	Pune, India	$7,500
KPMG	Amstelveen, Netherlands	$15,000
Lahmeyer International	Frankfurt, Germany	$7,500
Larsen & Toubro	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Leela Hotels	Bengaluru, India	$7,500
Linklaters LLP	London, UK	$7,500
Luthra & Luthra	New Delhi, India	$15,000
Macquarie Capital	Sydney, Australia	$15,000
Majmudar & Company	Mumbai, India	$7,500
NIIT Technologies	Delhi, India	$15,000
Nishith Desai Associates	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Novartis	Basel, Switzerland	$15,000
Oberoi Group	Dehli,India	$7,500
Patni Americas	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Punj Lloyd	Gurgaon, India	$15,000
QuEST Global	Singapore	$7,500
Ranbaxy, Inc.	Gurgaon, India	$7,500
Reliance Industries	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Reliance Communications	Navi Mumbai, India	$7,500
Rolta	Mumbai, India	$7,500
Sanofi-Aventis	Paris, France	$7,500
SKP Crossborder Consulting	Mumbai, India	$7,500
SNC Lavalin	Montreal, Canada	$7,500
State Bank of India	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Sun Life Financial	Toronto, Canada	$7,500
Tata Group	Mumbai, India	$15,000
Tatva Legal	India	$15,000
Urenco Investments	Slough, UK	$7,500
Trilegal	India	$7,500
Walchandnagar Industries	Mumbai, India	$7,500
Welspun	Mumbai, India	$7,500
Wipro	Bangalore, India	$15,000
TAIB Bank*	Dubai	$20,000
Aluminum Bahrain B.S.C	Kingdom of Bahrain	$10,000
Bahrain Financial Harbour Holding Company	Kingdom of Bahrain	$10,000
Gulf Air	Kingdom of Bahrain	$10,000
Midal Cables	Kingdom of Bahrain	$10,000
The Nass Group	Kingdom of Bahrain	$10,000
Bahrain Maritime & Mercantile International	Kingdom of Bahrain	$5,000
The Bahrain Petroleum Company	Kingdom of Bahrain	$5,000
First Leasing Bank	Kingdom of Bahrain	$5,000
Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company	Kingdom of Bahrain	$5,000
TOTAL	$885,000

So, unless the United States Chamber of Commerce is intentionally lying on their website, this appears to be substantiated. Maybe, just maybe, Americans are worried about the amount of money that is flooding into this election. This is more money than is flooded into any previous midterm election. This is crazy kind of money. The fact that over $140 million has been spent in the California gubernatorial election alone, by one candidate, is insane. I have talked about the crazy amounts of money being spent this election season before.

Are Dems worried about their jobs, of course, they are and they should be. That doesn’t mean that Citizens United which is at the core of these corporate donations doesn’t need to be discussed.

I found a very interesting graph off of the Gallup website looking at healthcare.

So, this graph really makes it clear that Americans over a ten-year period wanted the federal government to make sure that all Americans had health-care coverage. Only after lies and repeated distortions by Republicans did we see the graph change. So, is it correct to say that Democrats thumb their nose at the will of the American people? This graph is really pretty remarkable. By more than a two to one margin, before the media blitz by pharmaceutical companies, Americans wanted the government to make sure that all Americans have health care coverage. I think it is clear that deceptive advertising can help but, as we look towards the future, I think we’ll find that Americans still want exactly what they wanted before, health-care coverage for all. Back to the question, did the Democrats thumb their nose at the will of the American people? It really doesn’t look like it. If they started healthcare legislation in 2008 the people wanted government intervention. Should the Dems have thrown up their hands once the polls changed? If they did conservatives would have stated that they didn’t know what they were doing? The Dems are wishy-washy. The Democrats are flip-flopping. You can hear the litany of derogatory comments that the conservatives would be hurling at the Democrats. The Democrats did exactly what they should’ve done. Complete the legislation. Unfortunately, they needed to do a better job at selling the legislation.

Tags: Business, Elections, Healthcare, Party Politics by ecthompson md
20 Comments »

Jon Stewart does a very good job interviewing the president. He asks progressive questions. The President never backed down. He didn’t run and hide. He did explain that the Healthcare Bill and several other pieces of legislation were not “timid”. As I mentioned on this blog, these pieces of legislation were the best that we could squeeze out of this Congress. The president mentions that we needed to get 60 votes to get anything passed. This is a great interview. If you have the time I recommend watching all of it.

Are we the people that we have been waiting for?

President Obama acknowledges that people in the US are still hurting. He correctly points out that an economy that was collapsing has been stabilized and is now growing. We have had 9 straight months of private sector job growth.

The President discusses what was in the Healthcare legislation. He correctly points out that the legislation is helping Americans right now.

Jon Stewart asks about Larry Summers and changing the culture in Washington. President Obama mentions that we can’t change everything overnight. We have made progress and we have more to do.

Tags: Healthcare, Obama administration, Party Politics, The Daily Show by ecthompson md
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If most of your network’s television personalities have endorsed a candidate can you still be “fair and balanced?” BTW, this isn’t the same as MSNBC. As far as I know none of the MSNBC personalities have actively campaigned for or endorsed any candidate. If you know of someone please send me the link.

Update: It is hard to do links on an iPad.

From Media Matters:

During the 2009-2010 election cycle, more than 30 Fox News personalities have endorsed, raised money, or campaigned for Republican candidates or organizations in more than 600 instances. The Republican support has been given to more than 300 different races or party organizations in at least 47 states. Fox News personalities and hosts have also helped start pro-Republican organizations, which have raised tens of millions of dollars.

The following Fox Newsers have offered support for Republican candidates or organizations during the 2010 election cycle:

• Fred Barnes, Fox News contributor
• Glenn Beck, host of Fox News’ Glenn Beck
• Eric Bolling, host of Fox Business’ Follow the Money
• John Bolton, Fox News contributor
• Tammy Bruce, Fox News contributor
• Elaine Chao, Fox News contributor
• Monica Crowley, Fox News contributor
• Mike Gallagher, Fox News contributor
• Newt Gingrich, Fox News contributor
• Sean Hannity, host of Fox News’ Hannity
• Mike Huckabee, host of Fox News’ Huckabee and Twentieth Television’s The Huckabee Show
• David Hunt, Fox News contributor
• Laura Ingraham, Fox News contributor
• John Kasich, former host and contributor
• Brian Kilmeade, co-host of Fox News’ Fox & Friends and host of Fox News Radio’s Kilmeade & Friends
• William Kristol, Fox News contributor
• Michelle Malkin, Fox News contributor
• KT McFarland, Fox News national security analyst and host of FoxNews.com’s DEFCON 3
• Angela McGlowan, Fox News contributor
• Dennis Miller, Fox News contributor
• Dick Morris, Fox News contributor
• Rupert Murdoch, CEO and chairman of News Corp., parent company of Fox News
• Andrew Napolitano, Fox News senior judicial analyst and host of Fox Business’ Freedom Watch
• Sarah Palin, Fox News contributor and host of Fox News’ Real American Stories
• Dana Perino, Fox News contributor
• Dave Ramsey, listed Fox Business personality and former host of Fox Business’ The Dave Ramsey Show (through June)
• Sandy Rios, Fox News contributor
• Karl Rove, Fox News contributor
• Rick Santorum, Fox News contributor
• Doug Schoen, Fox News contributor
• Andrea Tantaros, Fox News contributor
• Stuart Varney, Fox News contributor and host of Fox Business’ Varney & Co.

(more…)

Tags: Media, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas. That was a story over 19 years ago. The story was over and done. (Strange Justice was the one that I read about the ordeal. It was very enlightening.) Professor Anita Hill had moved on with her life. She has written several books and is now a full Professor at Brandeis University. Now, out of nowhere Virginia Thomas, Justice Clarence’s wife, a card carrying member of the tea party, decided that she needed to call Anita Hill.

Clarence Thomas, Virginia Thomas, Anita Hill from NYT

From WaPo:

“Good morning Anita Hill, it’s Ginni Thomas,” said the message left this month, according to a transcript provided by ABC News. “I just want to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometimes and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband.”

According to the poorly thought out article, “it remains unclear who was lying” Clarence Thomas or Anita Hill (I think it is very clear who had the most to gain by lying). Let’s think about this just for a second. Anita Hill had a promising career. She was an assistant professor at Oklahoma University if I’m not mistaken. She was a graduate of Yale law school. She had worked at the EEOC under Clarence Thomas. What would have been the motivation for her to lie. First of all she could have been put up to it by some left wing group wanting to derail Thomas and Bush’s right wing agenda. This isn’t my wild speculation. Clarence Thomas said this to Biden during questioning. There is no evidence of this. None. Secondly, she could have simply hated Clarence Thomas for some reason that we don’t understand. In my opinion someone with that much hatred should have a pattern of getting on people’s bad side. Professor Hill should have tried to professionally ruin the careers of others but again we haven’t seen that pattern. So what could have been her motive for lying in front of the whole country?

Let’s look at the other side of the coin. Clarence Thomas was accused of sexually harassing Anita Hill. People who sexually harass females rarely do this once. There is a pattern of behavior. So, what do we see when we investigate Judge Thomas’ past? Well, there is Kaye Savage who was going to testify in the same hearing as Anita Hill about Clarence Thomas harassing her but then she backed out at the last minute. As it turns out that she was pressured by Republican supporters. Now, Judge Thomas’ old girlfriend has turned up. She states that Thomas was addicted to porn. What a minute? Old girlfriend? Yep. An old girlfriend. Lillian McEwan, the girlfriend who has written a memoir which I think will now be published soon, thinks that “Hill’s allegations that Thomas had pressed her for dates and made lurid sexual references rang familiar.” “He was obsessed with porn,” she said of Thomas, who is now 63. “He would talk about what he had seen in magazines and films, if there was something worth noting.”

So, Virginia Thomas decided to open up the can of funk that had been sitting in the corner for 19 years. It was sitting there. Her husband had become a Supreme Court Judge. Life really can’t have been better. Then she decided to open up that can. She decided to kick the sleeping dog. As more and more information is available, I think that it is clear who the liar is in this case. I also think that Virginia Thomas should have left well enough alone but I think I know what the problem was/is. During those hearings, 19 years ago, Virginia Thomas saw something that she never saw before. It was a picture of her husband that was completely foreign to her. How could she have been so wrong about her husband? That’s the question that had been nagging at her – day after day, year after year. The man that slept next to her every night was a stranger if she was wrong. In her mind, she couldn’t have been that wrong. Never. Never in a million years.

I guess the real question is why were we, as Americans, are willing to accept the word of Clarence Thomas over Anita Hill. I think that says something about us as a people and I’m not sure that it is a good thing.

Tags: Domestic Issues, Party Politics, Supreme court by ecthompson md
13 Comments »

Morpheus - Balance

I went to Jerry Jones’ living room (Cowboy Stadium) to see the Cowboys lay one of the biggest, fattest eggs that I have ever witnessed. I have watched the Cowboys play football for over 40 years. I’m a huge Cowboy fan. There is no excuse for losing tonight. None. The Cowboys simply got their butts beaten. That’s it.

The Cowboys offense was terrible. We couldn’t run. We couldn’t pass. We couldn’t do anything. Let’s look at the numbers. 13 rushing attempts for 41 yards. O for 10 on third down. Zero. You can’t win like that. Whitten fumbled. Two passes were dropped by Miles Austin, our all-world receiver. We can’t pass protect. A blitzing linebacker came in free and blasted Romo and broke his collarbone. No one saw the linebacker. No one. This is the way the Chicago Bears play offense. We should know better.

After taking a 20  - 7 lead, the Giants scored on five straight possessions. Five! What happened to this “great” Dallas defense? They are basically the same guys who played well down the stretch last year. Keith Brooking is one of the problems. Can anyone tell me if he has made a tackle for a loss this year? He simply isn’t filling the gaps. Alan Ball at safety isn’t getting to where he needs to be on time. Michael Jenkins was supposed to be “all that and a bag of chips.” Three or four penalties last week and another one this week. He just isn’t playing well. The Giants rushed for 200 yards. They passed for 306. I’m sorry. You can’t win like that. You simply can’t. The defense finally forced some turnovers, only to give the ball to a sick and wounded offense that can’t move the ball. Now, all of the defensive problems can’t be placed only on the defense. In pro football these days, you need balance (see the Morpheus photo) between your offense and your defense. They should feed off of each other. Your offense must make enough plays to allow your defense to rest. Dallas’ offense had four or five, three and outs tonight, exposing a tired and struggling defense.

Don’t be fooled by a couple plays late in the game. That didn’t show us squat. It proved that when the NY Giants had the game on cruise control the Cowboys could move the ball. Big deal. This isn’t anything to build on. It is a disaster. The only thing that is clear is that Dez Bryant is a player.

Romo leveled like the Cowboys

The Cowboys need to go back to the drawing board. Our offensive line was terrible. It needs to be evaluated and upgraded. Kyle Kosier and Marc Columbo are injured a lot. Should we look for replacements? Leonard Davis is big but hasn’t been getting the job done. Should he be cut or traded? Doug Free got abused tonight. At running back, Marion Barber isn’t the beast that he once was. Is it him or the offensive line? I’m sorry that Tony Romo got hurt but he hasn’t played that well either. In the league today, you have to have strong performances from your quarterback every week. Manning threw some terrible passes early in the game but he managed to get it together and torch the Cowboys. So once Romo heals, is he the man?

From a coaching standpoint, Jerry Jones has to make some decisions. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett doesn’t seem like he is the man on offense. His play calling appears to be predictable at times. If I saw one more draw to Felix Jones, I was going to vomit. Then again it is hard to be creative when your offensive line sucks. Wade Phillips seems to be a nice guy who understands football. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that players are motivated to play for him. What’s the problem with his defensive? He took over the defensive play calling about two years ago. We have never solidified the safety position. Alan Ball ain’t getting it done. We cut Ken Hamlin. We have Barry Church and Orlanado Scandrick behind Ball. Do any of those names instill confidence?

This season is over. There will be no playoffs. The Cowboys need to stop thinking about the playoffs and start figuring out how to play some real football. Football is about hitting, blocking, tackling, running and passing. Right now, the Cowboys do none of these things very well.

Finally, the Cowboy stadium is a very nice place. It is huge. It is also very, very loud. Like at all major sporting events, the noise is overwhelming. I’m not talking about the noise from the fans. I’m talking about the constant music and announcements from the PA system. Commercials fill every second when football is not being played. Commercials in HD on the Jerry-tron over head. If for some reason you look away from the distracting Jerry-tron, there are several smaller screens all around the stadium flashing some message for you to buy something. I’m sorry. I don’t like it. I wanted to go to watch the Cowboys and that’s it. I don’t need to buy a car or care that the instant replay is sponsored by some Eye Center. I don’t need to go Wild, Wild, Wild. I just want to watch a good game. I guess that’s too much to ask.

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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So far, for the House races all candidates have raised over $580 million. For the Senate races, all candidates have raked in over $400 million. This is the problem in our politics. Money. This is also why we haven’t seen and won’t see any serious debate on TV or radio. The majority of almost $1 billion is going to media advertising. Why would any of the major networks bite the golden goose by saying money is killing politics?

From Political Animal:

I don’t doubt that at some point next week, leading Dems are going to note that Republican gains were purchased by shadowy far-right groups, relying on secret donations from a handful of extremely rich conservatives, which progressives simply couldn’t keep up with. Republicans and news outlets will call this an “excuse” — a word Politico used in this context this morning.

But dismissing this as little more than an after-the-fact rationalization is a mistake. For one thing, the argument happens to be true. For another, the new system is simply unhealthy. Dionne added, “Secret money is dangerous. Secret money corrupts. Secret money is antithetical to the transparency that democracy requires. And concentrated money, which is what we’re talking about here, buys more influence and access than small contributions.”

And right on cue, the New York Times reports, “The anonymously financed conservative groups that have played such a crucial role this campaign year are starting a carefully coordinated final push to deliver control of Congress to Republicans, shifting money among some 80 House races they are monitoring day by day. Officials involved in the effort over the midterm elections’ final week say it is being spearheaded by a core subset of the largest outside conservative groups, which have millions of dollars left to spend on television advertisements, mailings and phone calls for five potentially decisive Senate races, as well as the scores of House races.”

One of the right-wing hatchet-men boosting Republican candidates, boasted, “We carpet-bombed for two months in 82 races, now it’s sniper time.”

Anyone who thinks this is good for the American political system isn’t paying attention.

Tags: Elections, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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No big NFL roundup today. Sorry. I can tell you that the Dallas Cowboys must win and will win tomorrow night in spite of themselves.

It seems that I have “almost” reached one of those milestones. In Dallas celebrating with friends and family.

Tags: Music by ecthompson md
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I don’t have anything brilliant to say. I’m surprised that the Rangers didn’t put their ace pitcher on the mound tonight. Very surprising.

Colby Lewis pitching for Rangers

Go Rangers.

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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I am currently deep in the heart of Texas. I’m in Dallas, my hometown. I just ran out of the store to get something and I saw a sign in the store window, asking us to donate $.70 to get a Christmas card for servicemember overseas. That sounds nice, doesn’t it? Send a Christmas card to someone who can’t be home for Christmas. Of course, there was the obligatory, “support your troops.” I then glanced across the street and noticed that on the lamppost there was a small flag in patriotic colors featuring a saluting soldier. Underneath the soldier was the slogan, “We Support the Troops.”

I have nothing against slogans or Christmas cards. As a matter of fact, I like Christmas Cards. I prefer real support, though, as opposed to this faux support. Real support means spending the money to get the troops the equipment they need. This means even supporting a tax increase if needed in order to buy the equipment needed to protect our troops. It means that we would buy war bonds if necessary to support our troops. In addition to making sure they have the necessary equipment, we need to increase the salaries of our troops. I’m not talking about the salaries of the generals and other top brass. I’m talking about the salaries of those who are being shot at and are doing the grunt work on a daily basis – the privates and the corporals and the sergeants. Finally, we must support our troops when they get home. They need adequate psychiatric care. They need adequate medical care. We need to upgrade our VA facilities. They need job training. The bottom line is we need to do more or we’re not truly supporting our troops.

From TP:

According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America Action Fund, Republicans in Congress have dramatically failed to support our troops after they come home. IAVA’s 2010 Veteran Report Card, based on the key veterans’ legislation that came to a vote during the 111th Congress, exposed a sharp partisan divide on the level of support for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow tabulated yesterday. Of the 94 elected officials that earned an A or A+ rating from IAVA, 91 were Democrats. Of the 154 officials who received a D or F, 142 were Republicans:

Click to enlarge

Maddow also noted that U.S. Senate candidates Sharron Angle (R-NV) and Ken Buck (R-CO) have called for the privatization of the Veterans Affairs hospital system, even though it provides the best quality of care in America, as our veterans deserve.

Tags: Military by ecthompson md
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Hey, I upgraded my blog yesterday. If there are any troubles please let me know. Thanks!!

Those of us who have sat back and looked at the media knew this was going to happen sooner or later. Juan Williams, longtime contributor to NPR, has been fired. He hasn’t been fired for anything he has said on NPR, but for his other job. He has been the “liberal” on Fox news for some time now. As the “liberal” it is his job to make Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and others on Fox news seem less crazy. It is his job to agree with some premise that they point out by stating that it is really not all that far-fetched.

From Glenn:

On Monday, I documented the glaring double standard in our political discourse generally and in the world of journalism specifically, whereby anti-Muslim bigotry is widely tolerated, while those perceived as expressing similar (or even more mild) animus toward other groups are harshly punished (see, for instance, Octavia Nasr, Helen Thomas, Rick Sanchez).  That double standard suffered a very welcome blow last night, when NPR announced it was firing its long-time correspondent, Juan Williams, due to blatantly bigoted anti-Muslim remarks Williams made on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News program.

O’Reilly had created controversy last week when he went on The View and blamed 9/11 on “Muslims,” and Fox’s morning host, Brian Kilmeade, then exacerbated that ugliness when he falsely claimed, as part of his defense of O’Reilly: ”not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.”  On Tuesday night, Williams went on O’Reilly’s program to perform his standard, long-time function on Fox — offering himself up as the supposed “liberal” defending Fox News commentators (and other right-wing extremists) from charges of bigotry and otherwise giving cover to incendiary right-wing attacks — and said this to O’Reilly:

Well, actually, I hate to say this to you because I don’t want to get your ego going.  But I think you’re right.  I think, look, political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don’t address reality.

I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot.  You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country.  But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.

Now, I remember also when the Times Square bomber was at court — this was just last week — he said: “the war with Muslims, America’s war is just beginning, first drop of blood.” I don’t think there’s any way to get away from these facts.

This isn’t the first time that Juan Williams has opened his mouth on Fox and inserted his foot. The problem is the situations that Fox puts Mr. Williams in and he willingness to answer leading or stupid questions.

Here’s an example of Juan on Da Factor talking about Michelle Obama and want she brings to the table:

WILLIAMS: Yeah. And let me just — let me just tell you this: If you think about liabilities for President Obama that are close to him — Joe Biden’s up there — but Michelle Obama’s right there. Michelle Obama, you know –

O’REILLY: But it’s not her fault in the sense that –

WILLIAMS: — she’s got this Stokely Carmichael-in-a-designer-dress thing going. If she starts talking, as Mary Katharine suggested, her instinct is to start with this “blame America,” you know, “I’m the victim.” If that stuff starts to come out –

Last year NPR asked Juan Williams not mention their name while on Fox. The writing was on the wall. It was only a matter of time before Mr. Williams would get fired. I think that Glenn’s point is a good one.

Tags: Media, Party Politics, Religion by ecthompson md
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• O”Donnell questions the separation of church and state, one of our founding principles.
• The Texas Rangers smacked the unbeatable NY Yankees 10 – 3 last night. For some reason, the Yankees couldn’t take advantage of mediocre pitching from the Rangers. The Rangers took a 3 -1 lead in the best of 7 series. Eliminating the Yankees for long=suffering Ranger fans would be a dream come true.  Game 5 tonight in New York.
• CIA cites failures which lead to deaths.
• In one of the strangest stories that I have read in a very long time, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife called Anita Hill and left a voice message on her answering machine.  She reportedly was reaching out with an olive branch. What? Ms. Thomas wants an apology. Yep. That’s going to happen.  19 years after the fact.
• US Senate candidate Joe Miller’s guards handcuff a private citizen. Is this legal?

More from Political Animal:

• China rattles global investors: “China’s central bank unexpectedly announced Tuesday that it would raise interest rates for the first time in nearly three years, apparently in the hopes of dampening inflation and cooling off this country’s hot property market.”
• Violence at the Chechen Parliament: “Heavily armed gunmen burst into the Parliament of Chechnya in southern Russia on Tuesday morning, killing at least three people and wounding more than a dozen others before they were killed by police or by their own explosives, officials said.”
• Someone shot at the Pentagon shortly before 5 a.m. this morning, possibly using a high-powered rifle. No one was injured, and for now, authorities are considering this “a random event.”
• As of this afternoon, U.S. military recruiters are required to accept the applications of gays and lesbians who wish to join the military. Those same recruiters will have to inform those joining, however, that DADT may be re-imposed fairly soon.
• A far-right group hoping to deliberately suppress the Hispanic vote in Nevada will not be able to purchase airtime on Univision.
• With undisclosed millions poised to deliver huge gains for Republicans, there’s a reason Karl Rove and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are laughing at their critics.
• Extremist Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R) thinks terrorists have entered the U.S. through Canada. That’s completely wrong, and Canadian officials aren’t happy about Angle’s ignorance.
• Repealing health care reform really isn’t as easy as the right might think.
• Students with cerebral disabilities are enrolling in colleges in greater numbers, and even if they don’t get a degree, the education will help these young people be more competitive in the job market.
• Juan Williams is afraid of Muslims on airplanes. He seemed unembarrassed about saying this on national television.

What’s on your mind this morning?

Tags: Domestic Issues, Supreme court by ecthompson md
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It was only a couple weeks ago when Bill O’Reilly was on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Bill was promoting his new book. He and Stewart sparred but there was no meaningful exchanges. It was only a week earlier when Jon Stewart was on the O’Reilly Factor. Stewart mentioned that O’Reilly had become “the reasonable one.” This was true. Over the last two or three years, Glenn Beck is become the wild and crazy face of right-wing politics. Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly have become reasonable. O’Reilly doesn’t want reasonable. Reasonable does not sell books. So, O’Reilly goes on The View.

Now this was vintage Bill O’Reilly. Edgy, combative, condescending, demeaning were all traits that Bill O’Reilly exhibited over his career and brought to the forefront for this interview. He did not want to Jon Stewart detente type of interview. He wanted more. He wanted something that America could talk about. He wanted something that would fire up those right wing extremists to run out and buy his book. That’s exactly what he got.

In some ways, I agree with Barbara Walters. We should be able to discuss issues without leaving the room. In other ways, this is a throwback to Leave It to Beaver type mentality. We should be able to discuss issues. We should not let conversations deteriorate into shouting matches. These women, on The View, had to know that Bill O’Reilly wanted to start something. They had to know that their show was the perfect venue for him to “misspeak” then apologize. If they didn’t know it, why didn’t they?

O'Reilly - Explains Himself [ 3:06 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bill O’Reilly, never to let an opportunity go to waste, spent all of his talking points commentary on defending himself. He’s right and they (liberals) are wrong. He basically stated that he said what he said because he was right. The problem, as he sees it, is that America’s fighting Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He doesn’t see that were fighting Muslim extremists. He then expands his argument by noting many in the Muslim world hate the United States. He states the polls clearly show this. Therefore, he concludes that we’re actually fighting all Muslims since they support the extremists. The most interesting thing of O’Reilly’s diatribe is that he doesn’t note that most Muslims do not support extremists. This is key. This is the flaw in the O’Reilly logic. (There are actually many flaws but this is the most glaring.)

Bill O’Reilly ends his rant with one of the most unsubstantiated statements in his whole commentary. But this is an O’Reilly classic. This is one of those statements that most Americans would agree with on the surface. At first glance it sounds great. “If most moderate Muslims would ally themselves with the United States, the jihad would not exist.” What? What kind of blather is that? If most moderate Muslims would align themselves with the United States… Most moderate Muslims do not support violence. There’s a reason that Osama bin Laden is not sipping tea in Kabul, Islamabad or Istanbul. It is because he is not accepted there. There’s a reason that he’s hiding in the mountains in Western Pakistan. There’s a reason that he will not show his face in any major city. Moderate Muslims will not protect him. There’s a reason that we were able to find Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. We got information from moderate Muslims.

Finally, and most glaringly, Bill O’Reilly is distorting the facts, as usual. He puts forth the facts that support his point of view but won’t paint the whole picture. Sure, in multiple polls, Muslims are not in love with the United States. But these polls go further. The majority of Muslims want better relations with the West. They also show that majority of Muslims, the same 70% that Bill O’Reilly quotes, do not support violence against civilians. Let me say that again, the vast majority of Muslims polled in countries like Morocco, Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia do not support violence against civilians. Bill O’Reilly remains a controversial figure that will not go away. For reasons that are unclear, thoughtful, intelligent conservative Americans continue to embrace this guy. He distorts the facts. He promotes himself relentlessly. He simply wants to sell more books which by the way, will also distort facts.

Tags: 9-11, Bin Laden, Media, Religion by ecthompson md
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Wow. In what I thought was a must win game for the Rangers and the Yankees turned out to be all about Cliff Lee. One game is not a series but this was impressive. The Rangers did exactly what they wanted. Get on top early – 2 runs in the first inning. Then let Cliff Lee do his magic. Get through Andy Pettitte then pull out those Ranger bats and shell the reliever. 8 – 0. 13 strikeouts. Wow.

Now, if the Rangers can win one out of the next 2, it is back to Texas.

From ESPN:

The Yankees might as well have been swinging a Wiffle Ball bat or an old maid’s broom. This was true when Lee pitched for the Phillies, and it was true again Monday night when he returned in the colors of the Texas Rangers, who are halfway home to the kind of upset the Florida Marlins slapped on the Yankees in the World Series seven years back.

Texas won by an 8-0 count, and maybe the home team was lucky the Rangers shredded David Robertson and scored six times in the ninth. At 122 pitches, Lee was all set to come out for the final three outs, if only to humiliate the Yanks one last time.

“How do you feel?” Texas manager Ron Washington asked his ace when he entered the dugout after the eighth.

“I feel good,” Lee responded. As it turned out, their five-second conversation was made moot by the six-run surge.

How absurdly good was Lee on this night? Andy Pettitte made one lousy mistake in the first inning, hanging a cutter that Josh Hamilton hit for a two-run homer, and the 2-0 deficit felt like a 10-0 mountain to climb.

All in all, Pettitte was his usual brilliant October self. “Cliff just bettered him tonight,” Washington said.

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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I’m running late, as usual. My Cowboys laid an egg as I thought they would. Bill O’Reilly is a jerk and I have to talk about that. One of my commenters doesn’t understand why excellence is great and I’ll have to talk about that, also. Oh, and I’m reading up on Lt. Col Allen, who is running in Florida. I will have something to say about him later.

Right now, I would like to post a joke. I don’t usually post jokes that float around the internet because we have all seen/heard them before. This one I thought was relatively clever.

Jack wakes up with a huge hangover after attending his company’s Christmas Party. Jack is not normally a drinker, but the drinks didn’t taste like alcohol at all. He doesn’t even remember how he got home from the party. As bad as he is feeling, he wonders if he did something wrong.

Jack has to force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table.

And, next to them, a single red rose!! Jack sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed. He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house.

He takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror.
Then he notices a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written in red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick: “Honey, breakfast is on the stove. I left early to get groceries to make you
your favorite dinner tonight. I love you, darling! Love, Jillian”

He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the morning newspaper.

His son is also at the table, eating.

Jack asks, “Son… what happened last night?”
“Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door.”

Confused, he asks his son, “So, why is everything in such perfect order and so clean? I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me??”

His son replies, “Oh THAT….Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your pants off, you screamed, “Leave me alone, I’m married!!”

Broken Coffee Table $239.99

Hot Breakfast $4.20

Two Aspirins $.38

Saying the right thing, at the right time…PRICELESS

Tags: Domestic Issues, General by ecthompson md
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There was a time when there was stability in the NFL. I’m wishing for that time again. That was a time when the Green Bay Packers ruled the ’60s and the Dallas Cowboys/Pittsburgh Steelers shared the ’70s. That’s when these teams provided excellence. The counter trey run by the Hogs. They were poetry in motion. Now we have chaos. There are no dominant teams. None.

Miami Dolphins versus Green Bay Packers – Who knows? Chad Henne has to have a good game in order for the Dolphins to win. It is really unclear who’s going show up and play for the Green Bay Packers. No other team in the league has lost as many starters as the Green Bay Packers. I think that Aaron Rodgers, in spite of his concussion, will play this week. I don’t know. I’m going to lean towards the Miami Dolphins.

Phillip Rivers

San Diego Chargers versus St. Louis Rams – the San Diego Chargers seem to have the same syndrome that the Dallas Cowboys have. They have the ability to march up and down the field but aren’t scoring any points. Last week, I jumped on the St. Louis Rams bandwagon, only to have them roll over and play dead. Letting Detroit spank you like an unwanted step-child is not excusable. If the Chargers are serious about playing football this year, they have to beat the St. Louis Rams. I’m picking the Chargers.

Baltimore Ravens versus New England Patriots – in spite of all the hype, I think that there New England Patriots have thrown in the towel for this season. I just don’t see how you trade Randy Moss and your team gets better. Randy Moss is not Terrell Owens. As far as I know, he was not the cancer in the locker room. So what were they thinking? I think they were thinking about next year. They now have a ton of draft choices in next year’s draft. The Baltimore Ravens are playing for this year, not next year. As long as Joe Flacco can avoid turning over the ball, the Ravens should roll over the Patriots. This is the marquee matchup of the early games.

Cleveland Browns versus Pittsburgh Steelers – this one is easy. The Steelers are playing great defense. The Steelers get back Ben Roethlisberger. Even with a little rust on Ben, the Steelers will roll. Oh, by the way, the Browns are starting rookie Colt McCoy at quarterback. I don’t think you want to make your first NFL start against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I wonder if he has reserved a spot in the hot tub? He’s going to need it.

Kansas City Chiefs versus Houston Texans – Houston laid an egg last week. Houston laid an egg the week before that. Houston’s defense has taken off the last couple weeks. Kansas City, on the other hand, is playing hard on both sides of the ball. I’m going with Kansas City in this game.

Detroit Lions versus New York Giants – I just don’t see how the New York Giants can lose to the Detroit Lions. I know that Detroit had 44 points last week. Can Detroit put together two good performances back-to-back? I don’t think so. I look for the defense of the New York Giants to step up and play well. If the offense of the New York Giants avoids turnovers, this could be a blowout.

Atlanta Falcons versus Philadelphia Eagles – this is another one of those games that are really on the fence. Andy Reid always has the Philadelphia Eagles ready to play. They almost never get blown out. The Atlanta Falcons have been playing well as of late. Matt Ryan is playing better. I think that Atlanta should be able to run the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles. This should open up the play action pass and expose the Eagles’ vulnerable secondary. If Matt Ryan takes care of the football, the Atlanta Falcons should win this game.

Seattle Seahawks versus Chicago Bears – the monsters of the Midway are back. The defense of the Chicago Bears seems to be finally playing up to their hype. I still have multiple questions about their offense. Jay Cutler should be back from his concussion. Seattle will try to take advantage of what is either a porous Bears’ offensive line or a terrible blocking scheme. On the other side of the ball, Seattle’s offensive line is just awful. I don’t see how they’re going to hold up against the Chicago Bears. I’m pulling for the Bears in this one.

New Orleans Saints versus Tampa Bay Buccaneers – lots of the smart football people have begun to take notice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are talking about Josh Freeman and how he is developing as a quarterback. They are talking about the young and aggressive Tampa defense. The offense of the New Orleans Saints continues to look like a Porsche on paper but plays like a Chevy Malibu on the field. Drew Brees looks fine, but there is something else missing. They aren’t getting the big plays down the field. Some say that they need to run the ball more. I don’t know. I know that they need something. I look for this game to be close. Last year, the Saints won by forcing turnovers and then capitalizing on those turnovers. The Saints defense has not been supplying the turnovers. Maybe they can start this week. I’m going with the Saints. [Read more →]

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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