I'll Do the Driving

FSM Bless Alabama

If it didn't exist, we would have to make it up:

"What's the matter with the beer we got? I mean, the beer we got drink pretty good, don't it? I ain't never heard nobody complain about the, uh, beer we have. It drink pretty good, don't it? Budweiser. What's the names of some of them other beers?..."

(This in the context of a debate about whether or not to raise the maximum allowable alcohol content in beer.)  Yes, this guy managed to get elected to the state legislature, and, sadly, he's a Democrat.  Howard, revoke this guy's party membership now!

Another Day, Another Inane Comment from a HRC Supporter

Joel Ferguson, step up to the mic:

"Superdelegates are not second-class delegates," says Joel Ferguson, who will be a superdelegate if Michigan is seated. "The real second-class delegates are the delegates that are picked in red-state caucuses that are never going to vote Democratic."

Now, normally I'd be tempted to give the Clinton camp a bit of a break here because Ferguson is a first-rate a**clown (I'm a fairly partisan Democrat, but I've long had no intention of voting for him next time his seat on the Michigan State University Board of Trustees is up for reelection), and every candidate has his/her overzealous supporters, but this is now turning into a disturbing trend among her most vocal loyalists. 

May I remind y'all, that if we go by the 50-50 2000 presidential election, there are only 20 blue states to 30 red ones.  Completely disregard the red states, and you automatically hand the Republicans a fillibuster-proof Senate majority, among a whole a**load of other undesirable side effects.  Not to mention if D's want to get back to parity on winning presidential elections, some blue states must go purple.

Annual Pointless Grammy B****

Herbie Hancock?  Sure, the guy's unquestionably a legend, but this was a dubious pick even considering that Album of the Year has tended to be more like a career achievement award for a while now.  I mean, it's an old jazz guy doing Joni Mitchell covers; that's more questionable than either Two Against Nature or Genius Loves Company were, though probably not as bad as Tony Bennett Unplugged.  (For the record, Dylan's Time Out of Mind totally deserved its win back in '98.  Even if the fact Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde both lost to Sinatra albums back in the day probably was in the back of voters' minds.)

49 Other States Make It Work

Personally, I thought the lawsuit that forced the MHSAA to bring volleyball and girls basketball seasons into line with the rest of the country was of dubious merit.  Nevertheless, pretty much every federal court judge who heard it thought otherwise.  Fair enough.

Well, the MHSAA is now crying again about how the realigned system is stretching facilities, never mind that the rest of the country seems to make it work, including a handful of other states that have had similar season realignments in recent years (Virginia, West Virginia, and both Dakotas, if I recall correctly).  One "solution" they are tossing around: a five season schedule.  Yes, you read that right, instead of the typical three season alignment used pretty much everywhere else, a five season one.

This idea is beyond bad.  First of all, you once again have girls and boys basketball in different seasons (girls finals would be in late February, boys the start of May.  March Madness(TM) my ass.), which likely would open up the MHSAA to another expensive lawsuit they will lose.

Secondly, this is going to absolutely kill baseball and softball.  Michigan's diamond sports season (due to a Mother Nature-enforced late start) already stretches in to what really should be Summer ball time.  If you push back the end of the season two weeks, I can't help but think that the best kids are going to have to choose either high school ball or their travel team, and as is already the case with hockey and to a lesser extend soccer, they are going to choose the latter.

The MHSAA needs to realize that AAU-type events, despite their negatives, and there are plenty, are now the primary way for a student athlete aiming for a scholarship to garner attention from college coaches.  In addition to the aforementioned issues with baseball and softball, the proposed schedule conflicts with national wrestling competitions, and likely conflicts with track, girls tennis, and boys golf events as well.  Trying to maximize participation is a good thing, yes, but doing it in a way that only weakens the overall product serves nobody's best interest.

Make the current schedule work.