Artest will get to finish his album after all

I've been out of commission for a while but I'm back.

Ron Artest was just suspended for the rest of the season. Fellow Pacers Stephen Jackson, Jermaine O'Neal, and Anthony Johnson got 30, 25, and 5 games, respectively. Detroit's Ben Wallace received a 6 game suspension. In total, 9 players got 143 games of suspensions. The NBA cannot dictate how to prosecute or reprimand the Detroit fans. They'll leave that to the local authorities. I'll discuss fan behavior and the inability to handle your alcohol at sporting events another time. (By the way, I'm no too happy with the state of Michigan anyway since they're going to the Rose Bowl. I realize that it's the fault of my beloved Badgers but I'm still not happy for them).

Now, I think that we've all seen what happened Friday night at the Palace at Auburn Hills. From what I've seen, I didn't see Artest throw too many punches while he was in the stands. In fact, he didn't throw a punch until the Detroit fans started swinging at him, as they responded to Jackson and O'Neal. Those two were the guys causing the trouble in the stands. And they cannot hold anyone accountable for altercations with fans running onto the court in that hostile situation. Until he had the beer thrown on him, Artest was the coolest guy on the court. Artest had to weather a ridiculous jab to the face from Wallace and having Ben later throw a towel at him to try to aggravate him a little more.

Now, he did rush up into the stands after someone who threw a beer (Or some other beverage) at him. I would be pretty pissed off too if I were him. Now, he was the first one to rush into the stands. However, he didn't throw most of the punches. And we won't even start talking about the Detroit fans. While I normally do not make a habit out of defending Artest, I think the NBA's action is way out of line. Artest's suspension totals 73 games, half of the total for all 9 players.

Is this guy trouble? Sure. Does he have a reputation that increased his suspension? Absolutely. Will this guy have done something before the end of the year if he would have been allowed to return? Hell yes. Should he have charged the guy in the stands? No. But does that constitute 73 games considering everyone else and all the crap that went on that night? No one has ever accused David Stern of having a grasp of his league or how it relates to the outside world. Most of the NBA's success during Stern's tenure can be attributed to three players: Magic, Bird, and Jordan. The rest of the time, the NBA has been worse than baseball.

It sounds to me like they've been looking for a reason to get rid of this guy for a while and the NBA seized the opportunity when they had it presented to them. Artest should have had the most games of any suspended player but nearly three times as many games as the next guy, who did most of the fighting, is way too much. They should have analyzed the events as they pertain to Friday night and Friday night alone.

In the end, I could really care less since, generally speaking, I don't watch professional sports. And I certainly will not start now.

What the fuck?

Another example of the freaky Religious Right and how justified they feel with this election. Daily Kos found this enlightened opinion:


I hope the election of George W. Bush is seen as a wake-up call to all the liberal Democrats who oppose God's will.

It is His doing that George W. Bush is still our president. Millions of born-again Christians helped win this election through our prayers and votes. Jesus speaks through the Republicans.

The Democrats will not be able to win elections until they renounce their sinful ways and stop encouraging abortions, gayness, and trying to take away our guns.



I'm not really sure which Bible this guy's reading but I don't recall Adam and Eve espousing the right to bear arms. Like DKos said, this guy is one very, very confused idiot.

Ratherisms

This is really funny. I found this website that chronicles Dan Rather's attempt at humor and frivolity during the the campaign and election. The site even has links to previous elections. Every English teacher or professor I had in all of my years in school told me to stay away from such colloquialisms and I find their usage, particularly for a national journalist of his stature and reputation, to be quite unprofessional.

These quotes are a major reason why I simply cannot watch the CBS Evening News. Stop it Dan, for the sake of all humanity and the english language.

KU Number 1 in AP

My Jayhawks are Number 1 in the preseason AP college basketball poll. Surprisingly, this is the first time we've had this honor since Wilt Chamberlain played at KU.

I think we'll need to win it all just to save face.

Are the red Sox still cursed?

In spite of the fact that the Red Sox have finally won a Series (Cubs and White Sox both had longer dry spells by the way), the dreaded Bambino curse may have turned in a different direction:

This, and more, from the Hill:

Kerry had been sporting a sharp Boston Red Sox cap on the campaign trail ever since the Sox won the World Series last Wednesday, perhaps hoping that some of the team’s curse-breaking karma would rub off on him.

Maybe the Babe Ruth was a Republican?

Mrs. Edwards has cancer

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Elizabeth Edwards, wife of John Edwards, who was rushed to the hospital immediately after her husband and Kerry conceded the election:

Spokesman David Ginsberg said Mrs. Edwards, 55, discovered a lump in her right breast while on a campaign trip last week. Her family doctor told her Friday that it appeared to be cancerous and advised her to see a specialist when she
could.

She put off the appointment until Wednesday so as to not miss
campaign time. Mrs. Edwards had a needle biopsy performed at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where Dr. Barbara Smith confirmed the cancer, Ginsberg said.

He said the cancer was diagnosed as invasive ductal
cancer. That is the most common type of breast cancer, and can spread from the milk ducts to other parts of the breast or beyond.

Want to see what our lovely Republican friends have to say about it? Oliver Willis found these at the Free Republic:

Could explain her dimentia in talking about the Cheney's daughter. Prayers.. (The Big Event: I find this particularly funny since they're the ones trying to ban gay marraige)

Elizabutt has breast cancer

If I were a doctor, I'd be frightened to treat the wife of a guy who sues doctors for a living.

a pity for sure, but good luck finding a doctor to treat the
wife of the most vicious medical malpractice attorney in the nation...what goes around comes around I guess.

she could always go to canada or cuber to get the very best treatment possible.

I want her well, but NOT treated here.

any doctor here who treats her should have his head examined.

It's also a shame because, if it wasn't for her bottom-feeding trial lawyer husband, doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies probably would have found a cure for breast cancer by now...

would you bet YOUR house, your kids college on Edwards wife?

Send her to cuber. Libs say their system is better than ours.

....revenge is mine sayeth the LORD!!!!!!!!!

God is not mocked, you reap what you sow. I'm sorry folks but we all have to learn that you cannot go around spewing hatred and leave the door wide open to satan.

sometimes boobs have problems....

"God dont like ugly" (behavior)

And these people are the ones who elected Bush on morality? I didn't realize that inhumane behavior was part of the right wing morality.

Mean people suck.

Many Americans unhappy with the election results

Fifty-one percent were pleased, however, nearly 40 percent, including myself, were upset by the results.

I guess my previous vitrolic post wasn't as out of line as I originally suspected.

Where we are going and what others think of us

From the Guardian in Britain: This is no passing phase. This is now an era

And And Pepe Escobar at Asia Times: Damn politics, let's dance

Hungary now withdrawing troops

Who's left? Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Spain have left already and Poland is leaving early next year. Do I smell a draft?

Yahoo News

I need a break from politics and maybe this country

Our country is in serious trouble with the Republican juggernaut in Washington. I'm so angry I could write a book on the thousand ways that Kerry would make a better president. Do you realize that we're the only country in the world that still believes WMD ever existed in Iraq? I've had it.

This eloquent piece from Talk Left sums things up:

Many in the blogosphere are urging acceptance of the election results and, now that Kerry has conceded, an endorsement of support for George Bush because he is our President.

TalkLeft will not support George Bush. We recognize that
he is our President, but as our mission statement states, we will continue to expose the injustices in his Administration.

TalkLeft believes George Bush has been a terrible President, perhaps the worst ever, and objects to virtually every policy he has implemented.

The thought that he will pick the next Supreme Court Justices is terrifying. How many more will die in Iraq and elsewhere because of his unilateral decision to invade Iraq while terror threats from al Qaeda abound?

Our criminal justice system is not fair. Innocent people are languishing in jails and on death row. Mandatory minimum sentences and the wrong-headed drug war are locking up thousands needlessly at great expense to the taxpayer. Our civil liberties are under siege as never before, largely due to Bush's appointment of John Ashcroft as our Attorney General.

Bush's faith-based programs and continual expression of his
personal religious beliefs are offensive to those who do not share those beliefs and those who value the separation of church and state mandated by our Constitution.

TalkLeft will continue to bash Bush, fight Bush and mock
Bush--he may be our President but he does not have our support.

A comment on this article from ProudLiberal sums up my experience personally:

Alhough I agree with everything you write, I feel that things are bleaker than you think. This is not a country to be very proud of today, at least if you believe in democracy. I shudder to think of what this country will become. Sparta, perhaps.

For me, last night destroyed whatever faith I had in
America. I will certainly never trust my government again, nor will I trust the electoral system. Last night I cast my last ballot ever in an election. I choose not to participate in whatver monstrosity this country will become.

I certainly do not feel anything I can do will change the country, so I simply will quit trying.

The Republicans now control both houses, governorships, the White House, and soon, the Supreme Court; the system of checks and balances installed to prevent a faction from taking over our country has failed us. Given the overwhelming control the Republicans now possess, a political party with to which I have no connection ideologically, a vocal majority has seized power and therefore, the United States can no longer be considered a democracy. Taken together, it will be some time before my vote counts for anything in this country; I am a lost voice. And, I will not and can not look myself in the mirror if I were to vote for any candidate from the current Republican Party. After the sleazy campaign he ran against Kerry, there is no way he will reach across the aisle with a peace pipe like he's proclaiming; when he was elected in 2000, he shoved his policies down our throat and he'll do it again this time around. Not to mention the personal vendetta displayed as they spent over $20 million to knock out Daschle. These people are ruthless, gay-bashing bigots who want to keep every cent for themselves and screw the rest of the country. Fucking assholes.

The saving grace is that Iraq belongs exclusively to Bush and the blood will be on his hands. Karl Rove cannot spin failure in Iraq onto Kerry when, not if, we see another terrorist attack on the United States. However, since Bush cannot be re-elected and he has both houses, I'm frightened to see what legislation he will try to pass during these next four years. And we thought the last four were bad.

I'm tired and I have no fight left in me right now. The Bastard beat me. I quit.

2004 Election Drinking Game

Kudos to Get More Ass (Brian McQuirk) for the rules to follow while watching election returns this evening:

Ok, here we go. And remember, um, drink responsibly and shit...

Take one full shot every time...

• Ann Coulter comes out of the crypt and onto your screen
• Tim Russert eyes his marker board lustfully
• A swing state goes for Kerry (two for Bush, the logic being that you should forget it as soon as possible)
• The current President of the United States concedes the election (two if he takes it back)

Finish your drink and the next one as fast as
possible if:

• Kerry wins Texas
• Bush wins Massachusetts
• Nader wins... anything, actually
• I win my bet.

Take one sip every time...

• Someone says 'landslide'
• Karl Rove's name is mentioned
• Someone says 'turnout'
• There's a Taco Bell commercial
• Someone says 'bloodletting'
• There's an update on racist vote-challenging in Ohio
• TerAIZa comes on screen
• Bill Clinton comes on screen (um, pardon the pun)
• Chris Matthews screams (optional - we don't want any alcohol poisoning)
• Someone says 'Vietnam'
• Judy Woodruff looks like she's hitting on America from across the room at an over-50 single's night at a country club (again, optional due to potential abuse)
• Wolf Blitzer says something that's supposed to be dramatic but just sounds asonine (should be optional, but no, no you're gonna need that extra liquid courage to get through
  it)

More after my Hindi class. And yes I'm gonna be playing by these rules.

I hope that everyone's bar is well-stocked.