February 3, 2006

Waasup?


            Last Saturday was the 15th annual Super Bowl dance at St Sebastian's. I look
forward to this every year, but particularly this year, being that it was the first one I
attended as a visitor to Woodside.
      It was also a chance to see some of the crew that I haven't seen since the wedding.
Michelle and Bernard, Eddie and Bernadette, Anne-Marie (sans Gary) and special
appearances by Matt and Theresa and Karen and Chris.
       The Tommy Miney Spirit Award, given out every year at the dance, went to Jimmy and
Gary Jakes mom, Kathy Jacobson, for her work with the Girl's Brigade. (There were actually
four winners, but she's the only one I knew).
      As usual it was a rockin good time. Its about the fastest few hours you will ever spend.
And at 30 bucks, its a bargain to boot.
       Tara and I had 4 stops to make post-dance. The first was to Shelley's which was
packed to the gills. The second, where we stuck out like sore thumbs, was with Katie and her
friends at Sean Og's. Then it was over to Donovan's for a beer or two with Pete McGuinness
and his crew. Then finally off to the Rainbow Restaurant for breakfast.
          You know how Tara likes to refer to me as "the mayor", because she says I know so
many people and I have strangers coming up to me and talking to me all the time? Well,
she's like the mayor too. The waitresses at the Rainbow Restaurant used to see me once or
twice a month, and besides hello and goodbye, there wasn't much conversation. Tara
managed to get from the waitress that she was a nurse with four kids. You would think she
was the one who lived in Woodside all her life and not me.
         They decided to move the Dance to the week before the game because people were
complaining that they were too hungover to enjoy the game. The only time being hungover
for a sporting event is inconvenient is when you are at the event. Otherwise, home on the
couch with aspirin and nearby toilet is a great way to enjoy a game.



NEWS ITEM:

I saw this link on the Drudge Report last Tuesday:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-
stein24jan24,0,4137172.column?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

I'll give you the long and the short of it. Seems this columnist Michael Stein of the Los
Angeles Times says that you either support the war and the troops or you don't support
either. Guess what side this clown supports?

The article itself makes some valid points, and he does go through some pains to say that we
shouldn't spit on returning veterans like they did after the Vietnam War." But he also says

"But blaming the president is a little too easy. The truth is that people who pull triggers are
ultimately responsible, whether they're following orders or not. An army of people making
individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is
horrifying."

and

"But when you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know you're not going to be
fending off invasions from Mexico and Canada. So you're willingly signing up to be a fighting
tool of American imperialism, for better or worse. Sometimes you get lucky and get to fight
ethnic genocide in Kosovo, but other times it's Vietnam. "

He finishes off by saying: "we shouldn't be celebrating people for doing something we don't
think was a good idea."

He says that of course we should make sure that the soldiers get the medical care and
pensions they deserve, just not any parades.

I went to the parade they had for the Vietnam Vets back in 1985, 10 years after the war
was over. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. And I remember the pride
that those guys had as they got their day in the sun. But you know, that's not even the
point.
        The point is that these men and women who put their lives on the line while we reap
the benefits. The writer says that the soldiers may not get to choose the war, but they
choose whether or not to pull the trigger. Its not a choice when someone is shooting an RPG
at you, or when a smiling farmer is actually strapped with a bomb, willing to blow himself
and everyone around him to kingdom come. That's not a choice, then its self defense.
         Sure, Stein says not to spit on these returning soldiers, but that's only till the next left
wing nutcase disguised as a reputable reporter comes out and says that's ok too. They'll
write an article condemning the soldiers, screaming about all the innocent people that were
killed by big bad America. "So if you see a soldier back from Iraq, throw an egg at him or
her, after all, what they did over there was probably a lot worse."
Think I'm kidding?
        Years ago, an article like Stein's wouldn't have made it into the Village Voice, never
mind the LA Times. Even people that were considered hard line anti-war protesters back in
the early 90's, were quick to salute the men and women who fought in Gulf War I. Hell you
don't even have to go that far back, go back to the beginning of THIS war. Sure there were
lots of people who were against going into Iraq, but at least they had the decency to pray
and support our troops.
        But now, we have Cindy Sheehan, who using her son's death in Iraq as a license to say
whatever she wants, no matter how false or hurtful it may be. And when someone tries to
take her to task, they are derided as insensitive and heartless.
        But lets see how many people call Michael Stein heartless for basically giving our troops
returning from Iraq the proverbial middle finger. Think David Letterman will have Michael
Stein on and break his balls like he broke Bill O'Reilly's?
Yeah, me neither.

OK enough of that, lets lighten it up again.

                                                       SUPER BOWL XL

        This game pits Joann & Woodsy's Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Seattle Seahawks at Ford
Field in Detroit. I got out of the business earlier this year of posting my football picks on-lone
because I wasn't having a very good year picking games. But I'm going to give it a try here.
         Obviously I'm rooting for Pittsburgh. I like to root for the AFC, but I usually can't
because the Patriots are usually in the Super Bowl that's pretty much self explanatory. Also
with Joann actually heading to Detroit to root her Steelers in, I'd be a fool not to root for
them.  And most of the so called experts are picking them to win.
And that's what worries me.
          The Steelers were the 6th ranked team in the AFC, the Seahawks the number 1 team
in the NFC. But because the AFC is considered so much more dominant, the Steelers are 4
point favorites.
           Seattle had a great year. They have the best running back in the NFL, and they have
a solid defense.
          The Steelers pulled off the biggest upset of the season when they knocked the
Indianapolis Colts out of the playoffs, in Indy nonetheless. That's probably the number 1
reason that Pittsburgh is considered so favorably.
          But from where I'm sitting, Seattle is being underestimated. And I worry that the
Steelers may be back on their heels. I look for a very competitive game, but at some point,
the Steelers better be ready to deliver the knockout punch, because if the Seahawks are still
hanging around, I believe they will win.
I'm going to be a real wuss here.

Pittsburgh 24-Seattle 21.

Happy Birthday this week to Timmy Tubbs, who hits the the big 3-oh on Monday.

Every one else, Have a Great Week
Wild Bill