October 31, 2005

Hey Happy Halloween:

    Saturday night after work, I made my way back to Shelley's for the first time since I popped the
question to Tara. It was also the first time I returned to my former hometown haunt since I was nearly
lynched by the angry mob that was there that night, getting their asses kicked in 80's music trivia by
Steve, Katie and myself. Ironically, the DJ's, Danny and Tommy were there this past Saturday, playing
mostly 80's music, but there was no trivia and it was a much more mellow crowd. The fat slob who was
lucky to walk out of there that night, was nowhere to be found.
    Instead, we had my sister and Steve, newly engaged Michelle, her cousin Trish, and Pete and Cindy. It
was good to be back. Unfortunately, while most smart people took advantage of the extra hour of sleep,
I used it for another hour of drinking.



The Trouble with Harri(et):

Harriet Miers did the entire world a favor Thursday morning by withdrawing her nomination for associate
of the Supreme Court. Although I liked the idea of having a justice that everyone could agree on (in this
case, someone they could all love to hate) I was starting to feel the same way about Miers as I did about
Clarence Thomas all those years ago: Both seemed like more trouble than they were worth. Yes, kids,
back in the day, Mr. Conservative here didn't want Clarence Thomas to be appointed to the court. Here's
why.
   There were a whole bunch of questions about Thomas when he was first selected by President Bush
the first. When they started to die down, who came along but Anita Hill, and her pubic hair infested soda.
Indeed Ms. Hill accused Thomas of sexually harassing her with such famous lines as "There's a pubic
hair on your Coke." (You can look that up.) and talking about such classic flicks as Long Dong Silver.
(This all happened during my first semester of college, my brain was so filled with this drivel, that there
was no room for what they were teaching in my classes.)
     After a while, I thought to myself, "You know, no matter what side of the aisle you're on, there HAS to
be someone out there better than this dude. " There are thousands of judges out there, surely someone
has alot less baggage."
     Instead Thomas said he was the victim of "A high tech lynching of uppity blacks (one of my favorite
lines of all time) and despite Anita Hill and a Senate full of Democrats, Thomas was voted in as an
Associate Justice.
Harriet Miers was not so lucky.
      She had everyone up in arms. For Democrats, she was the ultimate Bush insider, someone in the
mold of Michael "Brownie" Brown, the FEMA honcho who led the government's disastrous Hurricane
Katrina relief effort (i use the term effort loosely). To the left, she was the ultimate Bush
sycophant, supposedly once calling Dubya "the smartest man I've ever met." This about a guy who can't
spell cat if you spot him the C and the T. Hey you guys know there are things I admire about George W.
Bush. I get in a lot of trouble for saying that, but yes, I feel he has some good qualities. His intellect is
not one of them.
     For Bush's fellow Republicans, there was a question of how Conservative she was. Some were
comparing her to Justice David Souter, a Bush I appointee, who sailed through his confirmation hearing,
partially because he didn't sexually harass anyone.  But then proceeded to lean left, to the point that he
voted in favor of Al Gore in the disputed 2000 Presidential election. With a razor thin record, and a
beleaguered Bush begging his brethren to trust him despite his awful second term thus far, Miers
inspired little confidence in most of the Senate. The confirmation hearings would have made for
compelling TV, but most likely, a failure to appoint a justice.
       So Miers did the smart thing and bailed out. She said it was because she would have to disclose
privileged information that she had discussed with the President as his attorney, but more likely because
she knew her goose was cooked.
        So where does the President turn from here? Well, far be it for me to give advice, but I would highly
recommend that he start by nominating a judge for crying out loud. I know you don't have to be a judge
to get appointed to the court, but in Gallagher's world, that would be a requirement.
         I would also take heed of Laura Bush's advice to her hubby and nominate a woman. I'm not a huge
believer in selecting someone because of their sex or race, mostly because I believe that we are in the
day and age where if the only thing holding you back from accepting someone is that they are female
and or a minority, than you don't deserve to have a say.
         After this fiasco with Miers, Bush isn't going to dare choose someone without strong Conservative
views, so forget the idea of a moderate. That will probably mean a dogfight in the Senate, but what did
you expect?
        My choice, admittedly without having done a hell of alot of research (hey, I'm planning a wedding
here!) would have been Edith Brown Clement, who was on the short list that produced John Roberts.
Instead, this morning, he chose  Samuel Alito, regarded by many as a poor man's Antonin Scalia. And
since a few of you were ready to kill me for merely suggesting that based on his seniority that
Scalia might be a good choice for Chief Justice, I'm sure this choice has you sick.
    According to the Drudge Report, CBS White House Reporter John Roberts (no relation to the Chief
Justice) asked White House Spokesman Scott McClellan if Alito is "sloppy seconds" -- a term used to
describe a guy or a girl who hooks up with someone else quickly after scoring once before. Now, I could
use a term like that in writing this e-mail, or maybe even doing a story for the Post, but for a network
news correspondent,-- one with his eye on the network's national news anchor chair nonetheless--, to use
a term like that regarding a Supreme Court nominee is insane.
But that's CBS News for you. http://www.drudgereport.com/flash9i.htm

Chicago--South Side Celebration

        The White Sox, led by pitching coach Don Cooper of Maspeth, made short work of the Houston
Astros last week, sweeping the 2005 World Series, and giving Chicago its first World Series title since
1917.
        I consider myself a pretty big baseball nut, but before the World Series started, I would have had a
tough time naming their line-up. (In fact, I can't really even do it now.) This was a team that got off to a
flying start, then looked like they were falling apart, then rebounded to hold off the surging Cleveland
Indians. The Indians were 15 games back at one point, but went on an unbelievable surge the likes they
hadn't seen in Cleveland since "Major League." Still the Sox managed to hang on, and make the
playoffs.
         I, like many others felt that a Yankees-Red Sox ALCS was predestined. But it was not to be.
Instead we got White Sox-Angels and then a White Sox-Astros World Series. In each Series, I picked the
other team, basically because besides Cooper and manager Ozzie Guillen, I really didn't know anyone on
the team.
        The White Sox went 11-1 in the playoffs, one of the more dominant performances in post-season
history. And no household names. They threw 4 complete games in the ALCS, unheard of in this day and
age. And they got game winning home runs from Scott Podsenik and Geoff Blum, neither known for their
power.
       Now this is the second year in a row that a long time loser ended their World Series drought. Last
year, it was the Red Sox, who not only ended 86 years of futility,they did so in part by beating the
Yankees after being down 3 games to 0.
        And speaking of the Yankees, they just re-signed GM Brian Cashman to a new contract. Mike
Lupica wrote a column sort of implying that Cashman was crazy to come back to work for George
Steinbrenner. Thing is, I'm not quite sure Cashman would be any good anywhere else.
        I've always argued the Joe Torre's best attribute is his ability to keep Steinbrenner off his players
backs. Cashman's best attribute is that he takes some of the heat off Torre. It certainly not his ability to
build a team.
        What have been his big moves? He signed Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina and Gary Sheffield, all
because he was either the first or second highest bidder.  He traded for Alex Rodriguez mainly because
only the Yankees could afford him. He bid against himself for Randy Johnson. The Yankees at this point
have no real farm system to speak of. And while they have made the playoffs every year since
Cashman's been the GM, they haven't won the Series since 2000. (And they only won that World Series
because the Mets handed it to them...)
but I digress.
    My point is that Cashman, at least in my eyes, isn't the genius he's being made out to be. At least not
based on anything he's done lately.  

    Weekly Mail normally does not endorse political candidates, rather, it takes the person who they aren't
voting for, and trashes them. But today I saw something that may change my approach.
    There is actually a man running for Mayor of New York City named Jimmy McMillian who is running on
the "Rent is Too Damn High" ticket. According to the Party's website, McMillian was nearly lynched on
the side of the Belt Parkway back in 1993 when he first tried to run for mayor. Now 12 years later, he
apparently has gotten his party on the ballot, and the 56 year old Vietnam Vet is primed and ready to
take City Hall.
    Amongst other things, Mr. McMillian promises to roll back rents to pre 911 levels (I'm assuming he
means September 11, 2001) and has a message to landlords: Stop evicting people, or I'm going to put
your f...in ass in JAIL.
    Actually I can't do the website justice here... see it for yourself and if you have speakers on your
computer all the better. http://rentistoodamnhigh.org/.

Happy Birthday to Frankie LeBourhis (Sunday)

Everyone Else Trick or Treat.  (Here's a treat from Gary Haley: Halloween in Scotland --
http://www.flamjam.com/halloween/)
And Have a Great Week
Wild Bill