Nobody 845

Sunday, December 12, 2010
Nobody # 845

Nobody Asked Me But:

Why is it that when somebody starts or ends a quote with “no disrespect to anybody,” he is always disrespecting somebody?<<<

I didn’t know that. Boy, I could write that sentence 10,000,000,000 times and not be wrong. But just once is enough here. No sense in damaging my ego any more than necessary. I didn’t know, or if I did, I forgot, that Cleopatra was Greek rather than Egyptian.<<<

Ptolemy incest – Cleopatra’s grandmother was married to her (her being grandmother’s) uncle, which meant that her father was also her brother-in-law.<<<

I am not surprised that Google top’s Careerbliss.com’s list of the 50 best employers in the U.S. But I am shocked, shocked I say, that LAUSD didn’t even make the list.<<<

Republicans, after blocking $250 payments to those on Social Security – “It is ridiculous to think our country can afford billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy and $250 payments to replace cost-of-living adjustments for those on social security. The Social Security payments must go.”<<<

Republicans, after blocking legislation on Thursday that sought to provide medical care to rescue workers and residents of New York City who became ill as a result of breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke from ground zero – “It is ridiculous to think our country can afford billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy and also pay medical bills for 9/11 victims. The 9/11 victims must fend for themselves.”<<<

PROFITS OVER PEOPLE

It’s a common tale and an ugly one. One of the reasons the United States was drawn into the wholly unnecessary WW I was our refusal to stop supplying arms to the British, because arm sales equaled more profits for American business. How many young Americans died for this? Capitalism may be the best of the necessary evils called economic systems, but it is an evil.<<<

Last week I finished reading “Mockingjay,” the final book in Suzanne Collins “Hunger Games Trilogy” and was quite disappointed. I am as peace-loving as almost anybody, but Collins’ pacifist belief is, for me, over the top. In her story, the rebels are being tyrannized, their children murdered for entertainment, and yet her two heroes, Katniss and Peeta, repeatedly question whether the means (war) justify the end (freedom).

It does when the alternative is slavery.

And while it is true that the leader of their rebellion may turn out to be no better than the deposed tyrant, that’s a leader problem, not a condemnation of a struggle for freedom<<<

I read this in a 1925 edition of what was then the Valley Green Sheet: “Gas prices took a 2 ½ cent jump to 18 ½ cents a gallon.” Yes that is cheap. But do you know what’s amazing? 45 years later I was still paying 29.9 cents a gallon at a Simi Valley station.<<<

Those, mostly of a neo-conservative persuasion, make a convincing case of the right of the United States to forcefully intervene in countries where human suffering is the norm and human rights are held in contempt by the powerful. I wonder, however, if they would have granted the same right for others to intervene in American affairs during the slavery years?<<<

Once a barbarian, always a barbarian - according to a recent survey, majorities in Pakistan, Egypt, Jordon and Nigeria favor changing current laws to:

Allow stoning as punishment for adultery.
Allow amputation as punishment for theft.
Allow death as punishment for those who convert to another religion.

And 85% in Pakistan want a law segregating men and women in the workplace.<<<

SPORTING NEWS

I said it and then read it – Mike Lupica had an excellent column this past week in the New York Daily News criticizing Yankee management for low-balling all-time great Derek Jeter.<<<

Is Jason Worth $126M? Nope.<<<

I’m sorry but I just can’t buy the story that Cam Newton didn’t know that his dad was trying to sell him to the highest bidder. To me, his Heisman Trophy is just as tainted as was the one given to Reggie Bush.<<<

“We’ve got a group of guys that knows what to do,” Odom said after their loss to the Bulls Friday. Then why don’t you guys do it, Lamar?<<<

I have changed in a direction that Coach Wooden would have approved. In the past the horrible Bruin performance against Montana, following their excellent one against fourth-ranked Kansas, in the week would have enraged me. Now it merely disappointments me. I no longer get too high with the wins nor too low with the losses. (Well, at least, not too low with the losses.)

And what happened to the young Bruin’s vow to win for Wooden this season?<<<

T. J. Simers (LA Times) asks this funny question: If the McCourts are forced to sell the Dodgers, does Boston seek a restraining order forbidding the fighting couple from returning to the home of the bean and the cod?<<<

Jacksonville Jaguars running back (and ex-Bruin) Maurice Jones-Drew proves that in the NFL a nice guy can be a big success.<<<

Good for ‘Nova – rather than leaving the decision up to the coach, Villanova suspended freshman basketball flash, Jay Vaughn, a McDonald’s all-American from school for a semester after his arrest for assault.

And not that you care, but here are my favorite NFL teams among those still in the Super Bowl hunt: (1) New England. (2) Green Bay. (3) Jacksonville.<<<

Now that the NBA has finished ¼ of their season, it has become fashionable to award quarter-best awards. I’m no fashioniesta, but I will take my shot:

MVPFTFQ (Most Valuable Player For The First Quarter) Manu Ginobli. Runner-up – Dirk Nowitzki

ROTFQ (Rookie) – Blake Griffin. Runner-up – John Wall<<<

Quote of the Week - “When you win, say little. When you lose, say less” Bill Belichick, New England Patriots.

Why I detest the CIA: Because the spy group has no moral center. They do not believe in wrong.<<<

And yes, I enjoy making a kerfuffle over Christmas.<<

Action: U.S. ends push to renew Israeli freeze on settlements.

Reaction: Another day, another disappointment.<<<

"The emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union is not an objective of American foreign policy. And if they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern.” Henry Kissinger (To Richard Nixon).

Tell me again why this man was ever entitled to the honors and respect given to him?<<<

I have to admire Glen Beck – wanting to be accurate he took an actual head count before he claimed that 10% of all Muslims are terrorists (not 9.8%, not 11%).<<<

God, I wish I had said this – The best line about Sarah Palin’s visit to Haiti is – “Haven’t Haitians already suffered enough?”<<<

According to Portfolio Magazine, the top five smartest cities are:

1. Bolder, Colorado
2. Ann Arbor, Michigan
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Durham, North Carolina
5. (Tie) Fort Collins, Colorado
5. (Tie) Granada Hills, California (Kidding)

And finally, I love this picture Barbara's brother, Tom, took on his recent trip to British Columbia.