A Good Year for the Outlaw

Anyone who reads this knows what kind of drivers tick me off. But I just wonder aloud here…what possesses people to act like they do?
Case in point: I’m heading to Peoria Saturday afternoon, leaving Kewanee about 4:55pm. I get behind a large pickup with a topper and about a 1/2 ton of rusted metal at [...]

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At the ”Young Stars” event preceding the NHL All-Star game this weekend, there were 16 players. Four of them were native Minnesotans. Rookies from all over the world who are now in the NHL were all eligible and considered for the game, and 25% of the final roster came from one midwestern state. That’s why they [...]

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The winner of the 2008 “Captain Obvious” award has already been determined…three weeks into the year. Congrats to the champion, this report:
False Statements Preceded War 
The first two paragraphs of the AP story: 
WASHINGTON – A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national [...]

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As a lifelong fan of any and all of the athletic programs at the University of Minnesota, you can imagine how frustrating and embarrassing the football season was this season: 1-11, quite possibly the worst team fielded in the Big 10 in many years, and that includes some ugly Illinois, Indiana, and Northwestern teams.
Prior to [...]

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A couple of years ago, the St. Louis Blues signed Patrick Lalime, a former all-star goaltender who had been the starting goalie for the Ottawa Senators for five years prior to the infamous “lockout” season. Several NHL goalkeepers had trouble adapting to the new rules when hockey returned, and based on his statistics, Patty Lalime [...]

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Seems some South Carolina Republicans received Christmas cards from Mitt Romney (for those who have been in a cave this past year, Mr. Romney is the Mormon candidate for President), saying they came from “The Boston Massachusetts Temple” and quoting some controversial passages from the Book of Mormon.     
Why would someone do this? To get the evangelical [...]

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This week we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first black player in the NHL, Willie O’Ree, who was called up this month in 1958 by the Boston Bruins. O’Ree, who had lost the vision in his right eye in a junior league game long before his call up, kept that fact secret from the [...]

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First of all, I’m quite in favor of the smoking ban in Illinois. I have enjoyed two weeks of smoke-free bowling, we’ve visited at least two bar/restaurant type businesses in the last two weeks (one for the first time ever) and enjoyed a smoke-free meal, and overall, are happy with the ban.
Not everyone likes the ban (to [...]

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I am still a tad miffed about the whole “booming economy” discussion a couple of weeks back on Billy’s Blog, on a post originally written by Anon E. Mouse.
While visiting Iowa and my kid this weekend, I grabbed a couple of local papers (Waterloo Courier/Dubuque Telegraph-Herald) while traveling. Saturday’s Courier reported that Iowa’s poverty level is [...]

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In the wake of the Worst President Ever’s latest flaunting of U.S. Law (Mexican trucks continue to roll unimpeded over the border, despite a law passed to the contrary), it’s time average Joe’s like you and me got to issue “Signing Statements” on laws we’re simply going to ignore.
So, as of tonight, I’m not even [...]

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Friday morning, for no apparent reason, we were no longer able to get online to browse. We could get email, mind you, and log on to gaming websites through our previously installed software, just not able to browse the web.
We were too busy to worry about it until Saturday night, but since then I have [...]

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Gov. Bill Richardson dropped out of the race for President today. His candidacy was a longshot at best, although I never quite understood why. How can a former cabinet member, a current governor, a popular, smart, thoughtful, moderate man be a “longshot”? It certainly was not because he wasn’t among the most qualified for the position. [...]

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A friend asked me today if this year’s edition of the Peoria Rivermen were a good hockey team? I said they were. He asked if they were over .500, I said “yes and no”. He was confused. Moreso than normal.  
So, are the Rivermen over .500 or not? Depends on how you look at it. Peoria’s record [...]

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This moron is part of a website about rat hunting. I kid you not. Rat hunting. Now someone is going to try and tell me that it’s necessary to have this kind of gun. What-the-frick-ever.

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…baseball!
What a joke this thing has become. It’s mostly about two things: longevity (and thus gaudy numbers) and where a player played.
Rich Gossage is the only inductee this year. Rich Gossage is deserving, and should be elected. But look at who is still waiting: Jim Rice, Bert Blyleven (best pitcher not in the Hall), Andre [...]

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Just got home, turned on CNN to see how New Hampster’s primary is going, and the first thing I see in “The Situation Room” (that name is hokey and hilarious, btw) is the results of a poll about our “BOOMING Economy” (David Jordan’s words, not mine).
87% of Dems think the economy is weak. No surprise [...]

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True hockey fans know and accept that fighting – not the gratuitious, do-it-because-you-do-it-every-game style, but the “time to stick up for myself and my teammates” style – is a major part of adult hockey. Many newbies to the sport feel it has no place in the game, all the while enjoying the mugging that is [...]

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Tom Brady was named the NFL MVP yesterday after his record-setting season. It became clear about midway through the season that he was going to win. QB’s and running backs usually do.
But Brady has always been good. Three Super Bowl rings in seven years, he’s already come to be known as a great player. The [...]

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Hilarious headlines abound on Fixed/Faux News.com this morning. Among my favorites:

“Women, Gay Men Are Worst Drivers”
“Image of Jesus Appears In Potato”
“Lesbian Lock Up”
“Taser Parties Are The New Craze”

and, of course, under the banner “Breaking News“: “Britney Spears Released From Hospital”
When your political agenda sucks, I guess these are the headlines that best distract the public [...]

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I spent a bunch of time cleaning my keyboard this morning after spitting up while reading the Letter To the Editor in the PJStar from a Sharon Robinson. 
Oh…my…supreme being.
Was that woman serious? Actually, considering it was written by a Peorian, she probably was. Sadly, Peoria has more than it’s share of these kinds of close-minded, [...]

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Dick Cheney (or, in actuality, a guy doing a fairly bad impression of The Dickster) called the Scott and Gin radio show Friday morning and delivered the “Optimistic Weather Forecast” for Peoria and Central Illinois. It went something like this:
“We’re in the final throes, if you will, of winter. I predict no more snow will [...]

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As of 8:35 pm this evening, (January 3rd), NBC says Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee will win the Iowa caucases of their respective parties.
What does it mean? This year, I don’t think it means much. Most of the country is doing what it can to fight the excessive importance that is placed on the always-first [...]

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As I stuck my coat sleeve in Diane’s face, those were the first words I said to her as I arrived home last night from the bowling alley.
Why did I smell so nice? Because for the first time in my life, I spent three hours in a bowling alley…that was smoke free!
What a difference it [...]

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Another of my favorites:
The guy who travels 44-46 MPH on a two lane road with a little bit of leftover ice and snow along the shoulder and center line….UNTIL you pull out to pass, then you look in your mirror and there’s a car not only now traveling 55 MPH with you, but he’s attached [...]

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“We’ve had five years of the No Child Left Behind regime, and I think it’s safe to call it a failure now. We’re giving it an F and trying to take back our schools.”
So says Minnesota Republican Senator Geoff Michel of Edina. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports on efforts to pull out of this ridiculous program. [...]

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