Occupy THIS

Some criticize the Occupy Wall Street et al movements for not articulating demands or a platform. The movement appears content to focus outrage and gain media attention. This is necessary. The public and the powerful need to understand the problems of the 99% vs. the hegemony of the 1%. It is understandable that the leaders of this leaderless resistance are hesitant to expound on specific issues. On the local level, media reports show that the protest has degenerated into playtime for the usual suspects. There are the professional protesters trying to recapture some of their youth of the 1960s, the anarchists looking for something to break, and those who want to rant about all the evil that white males have brought upon humanity. While it may be true that white males hold most positions of power, the converse is not. Most white males do not hold important positions and many are suffering. However, this rhetoric is divisive and since the civil rights era has driven many disaffected white males to the right, lately to the Tea Party. If the Occupy movement attempts to set an agenda along with the white male ranters there will be advocates for the rights of left handed lesbians as well as exploited space aliens. No wonder Occupy wants to avoid issues.

The Autumn Wind Blows

As the autumn wind fills the sails of Al Davis for the final run home, it is time to reflect on him and his legacy. Despite the move to Los Angeles, for which we will always accord him the rank of scumbag, he practices what he preaches, “Just win, baby!” He may not be successful every time but we know that he tries. Looking across the Coliseum to the offices of the Athletics we see Lew “Boob” Wolff, whose analogous quotation must be, “Just cash Yankee checks, baby!” If they do not love him, all NFL owners must be proud of Davis for his accomplishments with the Raiders as well as commissioner of the AFL. Wolff's fellow MLB owners are shameful that they allow this loser amongst them.

The Range of Corruption in Texas

As the conclusion of the 2011 baseball season approaches and the defending American League Champion Texas Rangers appear to be returning to the playoffs, it is time to reflect on the politics and corruption that aids them in this pursuit. In his 2009 tome, “Family of Secrets: the Bush dynasty, the powerful forces that put it in the White House, and what their influence means for America,” Russ Baker details President George W. Bush's involvement with the Rangers and his efforts to effect the construction of Rangers Ballpark.
Bush and his cronies think that the working people of America owe them a financial killing, so he leads the manipulations that build the stadium. The group floats a false story that team may move to Dallas and bullies the citizens of Arlington, Texas into adding a half cent to the local sales tax to raise construction funds. The ballpark and underlying land are turned over to the team, to the enormous benefit of George W. Bush and his co-owners.
The acquisition of the land is on the cheap as part of the liquidation of the Saving and Loan scandal which President George H. W. Bush oversees. They also obtain land via eminent domain with the help of some local movers and shakers, who receive Federal appointments and/or the turning of a blind eye towards criminal activity vis-a-vis the S&L scandal.
These sordid wheelings and dealings help set up Nolan Ryan and the Rangers to make their current run. As the Oakland Athletics maneuver to build a new stadium, the citizens of Oakland and San Jose must be vigilant to the machinations of A's owner, Lew “Boob” Wolff. He is cut from the same cloth as the past ownership of the Texas Rangers.

2011 Emmy Award Skin-O-Meter Readings

The Skin-O-Meter is cranked up and the results from the 2011 Emmy Awards are in. We have devised the Skin-O-Meter in order to rate the dresses worn. It is a scale from 0 to 100, with 100 being the top rating. It is just our overall opinion but a high rating will involve copious cleavage filled out appropriately as well other skin, such as leg, display. Selected luminaries are rated.

Katie Holmes 50: Her dress shows little and no hint as to the shape of her body.

Kate Winslet 93: Nice cleavage display and shows the curves of her hips nicely. Excellent jiggle when she receives her award.

Julianna Margulies 75: No cleavage, but decent curves.

Sofia Vergara 82: No cleavage, but she is pretty and her dress shows off her figure to good effect.

Gwyneth Paltrow 55: This time she gives us some midriff, but, try as she might, there is not much to work with here.

Heidi Klum 72: She gets some points for leg display. All the fluffy stuff is a distraction and her breasts are completely covered.

Jane Lynch 80: Finally a hint of cleavage.

Nina Pobrev 85: Decent cleavage, but that stiff upper part of the dress gets in the way of our enjoyment.

Jennifer Carpenter 94: Here is what we like. A good third of her bust is exposed as well as a nice long leg.

Claire Danes 75: Same old stuff this year.

Jane Krakowski 85: Passable cleavage without too many distractions.

Heather Morris 60: She gets some points for attempts to display. But like Paltrow, so?

Martha Plimptom 92: Nice cleavage and her dress puts the rest of her curves on display.

Christina Hendricks 95: Here we go! Busty girl gives us a nice show along with a sexy slit leg.

Amber Riley 88: She is a big girl and at least give us a hint of the girls.

Padma Lakshmi 78: Beautiful woman and the dress fits nicely. Cleavage?

Loretta Devine 89: Shows what she's got and we love it.

Emily Blunt 82: Nice plunge in neckline and does a little better than Paltrow.

Connie Britton 89: Cleavage and leg! Need we say more?

Archie Panjabi 84: She gets points for her attempts at cleavage. We have to hope she bends over, though.

Kerry Washington 82: Hint of cleavage, but not really. She scores for her form fitting dress.

Melissa McCarthy 80: Hint of cleavage, but a big girl needs to go bigger.

Jessica Pare 90: Yeah, baby!

Obama's Approval Drops and America Goes to Hell

President Obama's approval ratings are below 50 percent for the first time amongst Californians. His ratings dip around the country and now this phenomenon reaches the last bastion. This does not portend well for the country. Not that Obama is doing a bang up job, he is not. Of course he is the victim of circumstances beyond his control, but that goes with the territory and he lets the Tea Party wing of the Republican party define the debate. Most Americans do not like the direction in which our country is moving. One would be a fool to think otherwise. However, real danger lurks in the future for the vast majority in this land. Americans are accustomed to the two party system and when they righteously feel the need to, “Throw the bums out,” they only have the option of lurching towards the Democratic sort of left or the Republican extreme right. The populace is set up for a lurch towards the tea partying fascists who are making the rounds of the debates. The current group of Republicans are not of the Dewey or Eisenhower ilk, they are not even of the Nixon ilk. They are to the right of Hitler! And voting for their nominee will be like Germans voting for old Adolf in 1933. At least Hitler won at least one legitimate election which is more than the right can say for George W. Bush! The United States is in bad shape now, but voting for Republicans for executive or legislative positions will drive this nation to hell and there will be no return and an end to the United States of America.

Flights Mysteriously Diverted

On Sunday, the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, two airline flights were escorted by military jets to their destinations due to strange behavior by passengers. On one plane three passengers and on the other plane two passengers were making repeated trips to the restrooms and spending an inordinate amount of time there. Some passengers thought one group was communicating via hand signals. These people were removed in handcuffs but later released. There has been no follow up as to who they were and what they were doing. No photographs or names were released in the initial reports. Were they terrorists testing the response of authorities? Were they government agents? I would be very concerned if it is the former.

Lew "Boob" Wolff: Loser, Loser Loser!

The Oakland Athletics are wallowing well below five hundred right now with no realistic hope of winning their division or anything else. The A's are a low payroll team and as such do not have much of a chance. The Major League Baseball revenue sharing and the luxury tax exist in order to enable teams such as this to become competitive. The MLB collective bargaining agreement states that this money must be used, “in an effort to improve its performance on the field.” Some team owners do not honor this requirement and just apply these funds to their profits. The ownership of the A's, led by Lew “Boob” Wolff, is among them. They take the Yankee money and stuff their pockets, meanwhile a valuable local asset degrades and fans are cheated.


This is reminiscent of the 1991 movie OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY with Danny DeVito and Gregory Peck in which a corporate raider finds a small public company with a large cash balance and a low stock price. He figures he can pocket the cash, sell off equipment and other parts of the company and then fire most of the workers. This not only eliminates jobs but destroys an asset of the community. The corporate raider is investing, but not creating anything much the same way that Boob Wolff invests in the A's, but his only interest is in cashing MLB checks and maybe using the team as the center piece of a real estate deal. In other words, he invests without creating anything and he should be investing to create a World Series champion.

Many say the baseball is a business and to an extent this is true. However, in many ways the ownership of a sports franchise is a wealthy man's plaything. You spend your money and you get your ring. From this perspective, the best owners in the Bay Area are the Haas family and Eddie DeBartolo. Even Charlie O. Finley and Al Davis, both scumbags, can at least point to trophies. Boob Wolff is a complete loser and the rest of the MLB ownership should be ashamed for allowing him to own a major league club.