College Football Update

6 hrs., 25 min. and 14 sec. to go until the first college football game of the season and I've just learned that Mike Williams is not eligible to play college ball. It seems he tried to enter the NFL draft, received some money (making him ineligible to play NCAA ball), then the courts said he couldn't enter the draft. Now both the NFL and NCAA have left him out in the cold. No football for Mike this season.

In one sense I feel bad about this. Not because I feel sorry for poor Mike. He went for the cash and got burnt. You live by the dollar, you die by the dollar. No, I feel sorry that I won't get to see this guy play college ball anymore. Just because I don't like the way USC and the sports writers made up this baloney about being co-national champions, doesn't mean I don't like to watch USC play. The Matt Leinart / Mike Williams combo was as entertaining as any. Too bad Mike sold out.

Since I brought it up, let me get on my co-national champion soapbox for a moment. We had a national championship game. USC was not in it. I'd almost compare USC's self proclaimed title to Al Gore whining about his loss in Florida but that would be unfair to Al Gore. At least he made it to the election. It would be more like calling Ted Kennedy "Mr. President" for four years just because he and some of his supporters think he should be President. He wasn't even in the election. If that's how we're going to operate, I demand that I hereby be referred to as "Supreme judge of all college football disputes" since I think I'm better at it than anyone else. Yeah, I'm number one!! Memo to USC: Shoulda, woulda, coulda. YOU'RE SECOND! And without Mike Williams you won't be there long. Bunch of whiners.

Let me make another observation. When LSU bumped USC from the championship game, a lot of sports writers had egg on their face. When LSU won the national title, the vast majority of them got a side order of crow. This season the BCS calculations have been re-arranged. The polls now have a greater impact on standings than strength of schedule. This year the "human" factor is being emphasized over statistical analysis because sports writers don't want their precious opinions trampled on by those stubborn statistical facts. Once again, I must agree with Lee Corso's analysis this morning. That analysis being that now a team with a weaker schedule (like USC) will go undefeated while the teams with the toughest schedules (the SEC, look at the rankings) will drop a game or two and pay dearly for it. Championships are subjective in gymnastics. This is football. This is not a popularity contest. If we're going to name a team champion based solely on wins and losses and not consider who their competition is, then De La Salle High School should be the reigning NCAA national champions (as an aside, please note that Evangel Christian, a Louisiana school, came closest to defeating De La Salle last season).

So add college football championships to the growing list of things that are moving away from reality and into subjectivity. It's sad that even in college football, there can be an "elite" class of individuals who can influence the national championship via their opinions without ever setting foot on the field.

Why people hate unions

This story is empirical evidence of why "union" is now a dirty word. What was intended to be a noble institution designed to keep the wealthy from exploiting the poor has officially degenerated into a weapon used to gouge the consumer, government, employer or whoever has the cash.

Dead Babies Fetch Top Dollar in Europe

A news story in London's Daily Telegraph (8/1/04 edition) reports that there is a small but very serious British market for fetuses and stillborn babies. It seems that there are some research laboratories and/or medical schools in Europe that must have overestimated the demand for dead babies and are trying to reduce inventory. Don't think you can get your dead baby on the cheap however. Collectors are reportedly paying over $9,100.00 (US) for their very own decorative, dead baby in a jar of formaldehyde.

Memo to any sick Euro puppies with a formaldehyde/fetus fettish: If you had any decency, let alone respect for human life, you would neither buy nor sell dead children. The fact that the British government would even allow this speaks volumes about their collective attitude towards the unborn.

Question for the reader: Who is sicker, the dead baby sellers or the dead baby buyers.

I'm at a loss.

T. Bubba Bechtol

T. Bubba Bechtol, part time City Councilman from Pensacola, Florida, was asked on a local live radio talk show the other day just what he thought of the allegations of torture of the Iraqi prisoners. His reply prompted his ejection from the studio, but to thunderous applause from the audience.

"If hooking up an Iraqi prisoner's scrotum to a car's battery cables will save one American GI's life, then I have just two things to say: Red is positive, black is negative"

I received this story via e-mail but you can see it on his blog site as well.

College Football

WOW! Is it that time already? I just checked out ESPN.com and it seems the first games of the season begin next weekend! Can it be true? Is my eager anticipation causing me to hallucinate? Let the trash talk and baseless early season predictions begin!

As a fan of ESPN College Gameday and LSU, I've got to hand it to Lee Corso. As everyone was picking their favorites at the start of last season, Lee piped up and warned his fellow commentators not to count out LSU (the reigning national champions, thank you very much). Just so you know where I'm coming from on this, I'd prefer to watch almost any college football game over the superbowl!

I know I'm asking a lot, but it would be a great start to the season if USC would just lose their first game to Virginia Tech so that I won't have to hear about how the "University of Second place Cry-babies" should have been national champions last year. I've just got one thing to say to all you die hard USC fans, SCOREBOARD BABY! Your name wasn't even on it in the big game last year, so how are you going to claim victory. Just mix up a bowl of organically grown dried fruits and nuts and pour yourself a nice tall glass of SHUT UP AND GET OVER IT LOSERS!

I do have to admit that USC has a good team, but I'm so sick of the hype! The SEC has five teams (LSU, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee & Auburn) in the top 25 this year. Note to USC: beating the crap out of BYU does not make you a championship team.

Man, I can't wait!

Therese Movie

In case you have not heard, Leonardo Defilippis has made a movie about the life of St. Therese of Lisieux, appropriately named "Therese". Unlike "The Passion of the Christ" which appealed to a broader Christian audience which included Catholics, this movie's subject is specifically Catholic. I've seen Defilippis' one man Passion play as well as the trailer for this movie and both were great. I can't wait to see this film. I am also curious to see how much and what kind of press the movie gets.

Independent Catholics

I ran across the term "Independent Catholic" on the web today. It seems to be a generic term used to describe lay and former religious people who believe almost entirely in Catholicism. In the early Church, these people would have been called heretics. Years later (historically speaking) they were called protestants. Now the nomenclature seems to have evolved yet again. Personally, I'd place these folks in the "Cafeteria Catholic" category.

Think about this: What exactly is an "Independent Catholic" is seeking to be independent from?

The Catholic church receives it's authority from Jesus (Matt. 16:18-19). To buck the authority of the Pope is to reject the instruction of Christ. Ergo, a church that seeks to be independent of Papal authority is one that seeks to be independent of Christ's authority.

I understand that some Catholic teachings are not in line with some of today's PC social standards. The disagreement I have with the independent Catholics is that they have allowed their culture to influence their faith when it should be faith that dictates their culture.

Black Bears are More Important than Children

According to a Fox News story that aired last night, a Kentucky man will stand trial for killing a black bear. To summarize the story: bear wanders into yard, bears can kill small children, therefore gun owning dad shoots and kills bear and is subsequently charged with killing an endangered species. Dad now faces up to a year in jail and a $1000 fine.

Well I guess the proper thing to do was let the friggin' bear kill you and your family! What the hell do people use their brains for these days! I have little patience for utter stupidity and it's STUPID CRAP like this that drives me nuts.

The state has the audacity to claim that the bear wasn't a threat, saying "the black bear seldom attacks people and is a shy creature by nature." I'm sure that would have looked nice on the family's tombstones. "Here lies the Smith family. Bear lovers 'till the end." I also couldn't help but notice that the bear keeper in the video explained how shy and docile black bears are from the OUTSIDE of the bear cage! What's the matter zoo boy? Scared of a shy, docile black bear? Worried the timid little bear might rip your friggin' face off!? Moron.

And think about this, the state of Kentucky will have to try to prove their case by making two points. First, they have to prove that dad never really felt threatened by a black bear in his yard (good luck). Second, they'll have to come up with some other plausible motive for dad to shoot the bear. How much do you want to bet they claim this guy is just a poor hillbilly who thought a stuffed bear would look cool between the velvet Elvis painting and the autographed Dale Earnhardt poster in his living room. Let's not mince words, this guy does look like a hillbilly and may have wanted to redecorate his trailer, but that doesn't negate the fact that a bear in your yard is dangerous.

Let me tell you something, if the choice is between my family's safety (common sense alone should tell you a bear in your yard is inherently unsafe) and a bear, I'll shoot the bear every time. In fact, I'd kill all of the damn bears on earth if I thought they were all a threat to my family. I'd eat bear steaks, make bear claw necklaces, all the pimps in Vegas would have bear skin coats! Screw the bears!!! Do you hear me!?

What also bothers me about this is that the left in this country is typically the champion of the poor as well as animal rights. Fine, but shouldn't the poor come before animal rights? Poor folks take note, you are lower on the democrats' totem pole than the snail darter! Killing people (especially the unborn), that's fine. Killing animals, no, no, no. Just ask Ted Kennedy. He'll be the first to tell you he regrets the incident at Chappaquiddick, but he was trying to dodge a cute little bunny in the road and after a dozen whiskey sours your reflexes get a bit dull. Ted's two month jail sentence was suspended, thank you very much.

All of this brings me to what I feel is the core of this issue. Some people in this country have so little regard for human life that animals rate higher than children. Think about that and tell me the left hasn't completely lost it's moral compass.

Still not sure?

If you don't believe me when I talk about pro-choice Catholics being an oxymoron, maybe you'll listen to Fr. Frank Pavone.

Do I speak what?

What's not to love about a Klingon blog?

Catholics for Kerry???

I let out a pretty good laugh when I first heard Sam Kinnison say that "Rock against Drugs" was like "Christians against Christ". Then I ran across this website. Catholics for Kerry??? What the... OK. "I'll bite" said I, as I perused the Catholic Q&A section. I thought this excerpt was particularly interesting:

"Q: What difference is there, if any, between pro-choice and pro-abortion?
A: Pro-choice is not pro-abortion. Pro-choice means that one believes that freedom is necessary for full human dignity and that human beings are generally competent and responsible and should be trusted to make intensely personal choices on issues that impact their lives. This choice includes the right of a woman to make the very personal, private and often gut-wrenching decision about her pregnancy. A pro-abortion position would refer to a position that sees abortion per se as a positive and good thing and advocates it as such. Very few, if any, pro-choice advocates are pro-abortion. Most pro-choice advocates are simply advocating the right for women to have that freedom to choose, which is not the same thing as promoting abortions. The emphasis is on restoring the dignity of women and empowering women to have a say in issues that affect them."

Pardon me while I light the fuse on my first electronic pipe bomb! Pro-choice is not pro-abortion? Call it what you want but this rose by any other name still looks like a dead baby to me. To help put this into perspective, let's rewrite this song and dance routine and sing it to the tune of, "I'm Scott Peterson and I've got rights too". Ready? OK.

Pro-choice is not pro-murder. Pro-choice means that one believes that freedom is necessary for full human dignity and that human beings are generally competent and responsible and should be trusted to make intensely personal choices on issues that impact their lives. This choice includes the right of a man to make the very personal, private and often gut-wrenching decision about his marital status. A pro-murder position would refer to a position that sees murder per se as a positive and good thing and advocates it as such. Very few, if any, pro-choice advocates are pro-murder. Most pro-choice advocates are simply advocating the right for men to have that freedom to choose, which is not the same thing as promoting murder. The emphasis is on restoring the dignity of men and empowering men to have a say in issues that affect them.

See pro-choice folks? Assuming Scott is guilty, he is still no more a killer than your average woman who's had an abortion. He's simply made a gut wrenching decision about his personal life.
I for one find all of this semantic BS appalling. To be a pro-choice Catholic is to be a "Christian against Christ". There is no such thing. You are Catholic, OR you are pro-choice. There is no "and". The fact that John Kerry calls himself a Catholic has no relevance to whether he is or is not a Catholic. I could say, "I'm as rich as John Kerry", but it wouldn't put half a billion dollars in my bank account. Catholics live their faith and repent for their transgressions. John Kerry is no Catholic.

Welcome!

As a reader of several blogs, I've decided to take a stab at the other end of blogging. Writing. This decision is one of only a handful that I've made in my adult life that is somewhat impulsive. After viewing some of the garbage that passes for news these days, as well as reading blogs written by PhD's who seem to live in their own surreal world, I have surmised that there is no reason why I should not hurl my own thoughts into this melee of e-pinions. Since I am not a writer by trade, I've decided to call my blog "Unskilled Labor" (like I said, it was an impulsive decision and I needed a name). All of this having been said, I'm off to the internet to gather ingredients for my first Molotov cocktail to be hurled from my blog into the electronic fray.

I'll be back!