Saturday, February 09, 2008

Miscellaneous Musings:
(Part Deux)

It is rare that two posts of this type are made in the same day but the earlier posting was six days in the making (requiring some last minute revisions and additions prior to being posted) whereas this one is being written completely from scratch in one take. Nonetheless...

With Mike Huckabee winning Kansas by a large margin and not a few well-meaning persons who have problems with John McCain considering that as a viable option, I feel the need to remind readers of this weblog of what I wrote one month ago today on the importance of geopolitical sanity -particularly for those who claim to be prolife and want to actually be relevant in the near future in advancing their ideals:

On the Candidacy of Mike Huckabee and the Political Stupidity of Pro-Lifers (circa January 9, 2008)

What we noted in that critique goes triple for those who are on the Ron Paul bandwagon both for reasons already enunciated by us{1} and for other reasons{2} soon to be forthcoming on this very weblog.

Also, as this is the anniversary of when we finally published (after no small degree of thought and reflection) our position on the war in Iraq{3}, it seems appropriate to remind readers since we have not in any substantive way whatsoever{4} moved from that stance and never will the importance of taking a position on non-normative or objective criteria.

The intention of reminding readers of this is not to boast about our prognosticating capabilities but instead to remind people of the importance of making a point with all public statements to seek to ground them on principles which are timeless or solid rather than zeitgeistal or ephemeral in nature.

Notes:

{1} On the Constitutional Standing of Wars Undertaken Without a Formal "Declaration of War (circa December 26, 2007)

{2} [C]onsidering the fact that McCain is now the nominee for the Republicans, the long-worked on thread on the importance of a third way in politics will be forthcoming before the end of this blogging cycle. [Excerpt from Rerum Novarum (circa February 9, 2008)]

{3} My Definitive Position on the Eventual War in Iraq (circa February 9, 2003)

{4} There have been differences in application of post war approaches but we did not speak on the matter until after the policies we approved of were enacted and were bearing fruit for reasons we have noted numerous times before (including here) are integral to any position we enunciate publicly on issues.
Points to Ponder:

The message at the end of the day is vote, if you care enough to bitch and moan about my endorsement of Senator McCain you better not piss away your chance to vote and have your voice be heard. That’s the thing at the end of every day that will and always has separated us from so many countries in this world, for better and for worse. You can write, and I can write, and we can talk and argue about these topics with passion and care, and then we can go home. No one in our families will be jailed for us voicing political opinions, or arguing them, no one gets lynched, shot or raped, or murdered. [Curt Schilling (circa January 25, 2008)]
Miscellaneous Musings:

There is a lot to cover but at the moment I want to touch on these bits...

--It seems appropriate in light of the really good Superbowl from Sunday to comment a bit on it and do so before the Pro Bowl is played. Here are your host's initial impressions on the game from Sunday (as written in an email to some friends from the following Monday) when it was all said and done:

That last drive was one of the greatest in Superbowl history. The touchdown pass was of course interesting as the pre-game "we are gonna win" predictor finally came through on after a pretty quiet game when it counted. But the play of the game was that third and long where more than one Patriot had their hands on Manning's jersey and Manning somehow broke free, stumbled to the side, and like a gunslinger threw that pass which the receiver caught and then did a bridge over the player who tackled him holding onto the ball for first down. That was when I was confident the Giants would find a way to win...admittedly I wanted them to win and with 2:39 to go in the game (and after the second Pats touchdown), I hoped they would do it but admittedly was not optimistic about it.

The reason I wanted the Giants to win was to vindicate the NFC as a conference since so many have acted in recent years as if it was somehow not as good as the AFC. Plus, to vindicate the Seahawks performance as a team that lost to a team that lost to the Superbowl champions. More could be noted on that point but at the moment that is all I intend to say about it.

--I will save until after the Pro Bowl my Seahawk analysis thread for what they need to do to get to and win the Superbowl next year. Suffice to say, some of the factors demonstrated by the Giants in that game will factor into our analysis so know that tidbit upfront as a clue on how we may proceed on that subject.

--We decreed in the final week of January the importance of the Mariners making a trade for an ace pitcher -even mentioning Bedard by name{1}- and were pleasantly surprised three days later to find out that it was in the works.{2} As of this writing, it is official so we are pleased to say our outlook for baseball in Seattle for the coming season is pretty rosy now.

--There have been a number of friends who have expressed a degree of shock and even anger at the idea of John McCain as the nominee in November for the Republican Party. Not being a Republican myself{3}, perhaps that is the reason this does not infuriate us as much which is not to say that this was pleasing to us either. In the coming weeks, we may through notes already written to others or in the process of being thought out{4} explain our views on this beyond the sketchy probabilities we have noted up to this point on the weblog.

--The intended post concerning what projects we intend to carry over after the officially announced weblog revision of direction last month will soon be arriving.{5} Also, considering the fact that McCain is now the nominee for the Republicans, the long-worked on thread on the importance of a third way in politics{6} will be forthcoming before the end of this blogging cycle.

--Our concern about Roger Clemens possibly having his legacy tarnished along the lines of what happened to Barry Bonds{7} appears to be not founded. The reason for this is that the person who claimed to have "the goods on Rog" made some pretty absurd statements about also injecting Debbie Clemens (Roger's wife) with human growth hormone (HGH) back in 2003 supposedly at Roger Clemens' request!!! Pardon your host for considering this guy's previous testimony to be a bunch of bovine secretions after this latest claim.

That is all we have time to go into for now.

Notes:

{1} For the Mariners to get a similar vote of optimism from me (in light of their history of messing these things up) they would need to sign a top rank ace for the staff to go along with Felix Hernandez. In a word, they would need to sign Eric Bedard but I am not too optimistic about that happening. [Excerpt from Rerum Novarum (circa January 25, 2008)]

{2} I heard about this yesterday afternoon and was in shock folks. Literally. This sort of gutsy move is so unlike the Mariners that I almost was more bold in my phrasing than the text that I went with in claiming it would not happen. Lucky for me, the usual sense of proportion kicked in on even what I thought was a "slam dunk"; otherwise, should this happen[...] I would have another thread to tag with the "mea culpa" tagline and that is a (thankfully) rare categorization indeed on this humble weblog apart from sports predictions. [Excerpt from Rerum Novarum (circa January 28, 2008)]

{3} [L]est all of this sound as if I am a party loyalist I reiterate: I identified myself as a Republican in the mid/late 1980's and the early 1990's. Since the 1996 elections, my eyes were opened and I stopped affiliating with the Republicans seeing in far too many of them a profound betrayal of classical conservative principles. [Excerpt from Rerum Novarum (circa November 6, 2002)]

{4} As of this writing anyway.

{5} No additional projects will be taken on which have any potential of unduly detracting from our focus in the areas outlined earlier in this posting -though a few posts which are near completion (or are completed and not blogged yet) will be finished and posted in due course. [Excerpt from Rerum Novarum (circa January 11, 2008)]

{6} Though mentioned again in the paradigm shifting post of January 11, 2008, this is a post that has been mentioned in blog posts numerous times since last April as being in the works to be completed. It needs a final review and edit before it can be posted though and considering McCain's early presumptive nominee status, the timeliness of this post could not be more appropriate.

{7} Two threads we wrote on this subject or pertaining to it from late last year can be viewed here for those who are interested:

Musings on Barry Bonds' Indictment (circa November 16, 2007)

On Baseball, Recent Milestones, Etc. (circa October 6, 2007)

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Points to Ponder:
(In Remembrance)

"We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us in the little hall of Philadelphia. In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, ‘The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America, God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.' We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth." [Governor Ronald Reagan (circa 1974)]