My bro comes to the Chi tomorrow, so I can't wait. Double Champ action for the Chi, I hope it is ready.

USA...USA....USA....USA...USA....

I'll be up and watching.

Another piece from the Financial Times that deals specifically with an issue that may destroy internet radio. No longer can radiostations broadcast on the internet for free, a royalty fee of 7 cents per song must now be paid to the artist. This should effectively kill all internet radio with exception of the big boys. Good music will once again suffer the wrath of the music industry.

A nice piece from the Financial Times about politicains (Tony Blair in this case) and the current view of them held by the media.

"What should worry Mr Blair - and, assuming they ever expect to hold office again, his Conservative opponents - is the corrosive cynicism that has spread into the rest of the media. Political journalism more often than not now starts and ends with the premise that all politicians are born dishonest, with no ambition or purpose beyond personal advancement.

This new fashion for what might be called anti-politics is far more dangerous for democracy than partisan- ship. It seeks to denigrate not one side or the other of the political argument but the entire process itself. It excludes from its definition of politics the substance that should lie at its heart. Public policy, which is what gives politics meaning, is elbowed aside in favour of the fevered obsessions of the Westminster village."

Paul Cella has a blog up that I highly recommend checking out. He will tackle many tough political issues and will write in a style similar to his responses on this blog. Good luck Paul, we will be reading.

Respond, React, Talk Back

Jeff K writes...

"Re: Southwest's policy regarding "large" passengers: doesn't it bother you that the airline's decision about whether to charge a person twice is subject to an agent's judgement call? This seems arbitrary to me. What's to stop a stressed out agent from double-charging some guy who's slightly overweight because he was impatient with her, while letting some 450-lb gorilla buy a single seat because he's that agent's uncle or something? At least if there were some written rules about who gets charged twice (much like there are preset height restrictions on roller coasters), the subjectivity would be taken out of the process. People would know beforehand how many tickets they would have to buy, and could choose their airline accordingly. If I was overweight, I wouldn't fly Southwest as long as this policy is in place. I think the policy is a dubious business decision; fat people will probably avoid Southwest, thereby decreasing ticket sales, and thin people won't change their ticket-buying habits--your average Joe doesn't put much thought into who he'll be sitting next to when he makes his flight reservations. He's thinking about price, and which airport he'll be flying into. Your thoughts?"

I view this as a decision similar to letting people into your club. Granted a bouncer has total power to let someone in or deny them. Does the bouncer discriminate, perhaps, yet his judgment is the final word on if you get in or not. (Actually to go off on a mini tangent, why can clubs discriminate so openly, can you imagine if someone at the door of 7-11 would decide if you can enter the store or not just by looking at you? I wonder if this will ever lead to a lawsuit?) If southwest has had numerous complaints about obese passengers, which I may naively assume played a factor in this decision, then it is in fact a prudent business decision. I am sure if an agent allows someone who obviously is too fat to sit in just one seat because it’s a relative, complaints will be filed and the issue is resolved. Sometimes allowing people to make decisions based on their "expertise" and this beats regulations any day. Time will tell how this will play out, but it should be interesting.

Quote of the Week

"Rufus is a pimp for three girls. If the price is $65 per trick, how many tricks per day must each girl turn to support Rufus' $800 per day crack habit?" - - Question on a math test given to students at Juniper Middle School in Thompson, Manitoba. The teacher responsible for the test was suspended.

More Stiller (pgh readers know that spelling) news via Hatch...

The Steelers also signed, Will Bouton. Look for him to tear it up next year.

The word is out, so we will be watching.

Via Starner...He didn't email a link so here is the story.

ROME -- Italian soccer club Perugia has cut ties with
South Korea's Ahn Jung-hwan after he scored the
overtime goal that knocked Italy out of the World Cup, Perugia's chairman
said in media reports Wednesday.

"That gentleman will never set foot in Perugia again,"
Luciano Gaucci told sports' daily La Gazzetta dello
Sport. "I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who
has ruined Italian soccer."

Italy has been furious about Tuesday's 2-1 loss to
South Korea, accusing the referee and soccer's ruling
body FIFA of fixing the match.

Back home, the Italian media were livid.

"Thieves -- the killer referee hounds the Azzurri out
of the World Cup," the Rome-daily Corriere dello Sport
said on its front-page."

In the double take category, this article describes how Southwest Airlines will begin charging "large" (my qoute) people for two seats.

"For an airline to charge people double based on the person's size is pure discrimination," Miss Berg said. "Do they discriminate the same way against basketball players who are 6 foot 5 inches and don't fit in their seats?" First off Miss Berg, you get the gasface (see 3rd Bass circa 1990- Pete Nice and MC Search), do you want some fat person sitting on top of you on your flight? I propose that Miss Berg sits next to an obese person on all of her future flights. If I send a package Miss Berg, does UPS weigh it or are all packages the same? This move is a solid business decision that is FAIR to all customers. If you weigh, you pay.

As many of you have so adroitly written me, there is numerous examples of man egregiously and grossly harming one another over the course of history. It also didn’t help my cause that I blogged an article talking about how people would rather hurt someone that has more wealth than they do even if it cost them to attain this outcome. As one of my friends explained to me today, people in his office were complaining about how some people have an office and other people have cubes. The proposed solution, by the cubers, was to take away the offices from the other group. This solution of course offers no advantage to the people proposing this, yet at the same time it obviously harms the people with offices. Look for further commentary from me on this subject matter in the future, but for now I am going to think of a quality retort without further dampening my point. Irregardless of man’s true nature, I find Farah’s attack on libertarianism to be baseless and ill-conceived. More to follow on this topic in the coming days from me.

Here are what other people are saying

From Paul aka 2Pac

"Re: human nature.

I am not familar with Joseph Farah, but I do not see how the doctrine of Man's innate goodness can survive even a cursory reflection on, say, the Middle East; or on Rwanda, circa 1994 (see the atlantic monthly); or on the bloody history of the entire twentieth century, during which various utopian ideas about deploying the force of human will to establish heaven on earth produced instead a legacy of torture, cruelty and pitiless slaughter unparalleled in all of history.

Even leaving aside the religious aspects of this question (toward which you are mysteriously disdainful), purely as a matter of evidence it seems to me that an empirical man cannot honestly countenance an idea so overwhelming opposed by the bulk of mankind's history.

I do not say this to unfairly disparage the ideas and principles of classical liberalism (now referred to, strangely, as libertarianism), which ideas and principles, as I have stated before, constitute among the most noble and successful intellectual traditions ever devised. But it is to succumb to the syndrome of ideology to face the mountains of evidence of mankind's inclination toward savagery and deny what that evidence tells us, simply because we do not like the inferences likely to be drawn from it. Nor should we give in to despair, and call Man a monster, irredeemable and uneducable. Instead we must face the duality, the paradox, and face it with humility."

My brother quickly called me out on this issue and offered this observation.

"I would have to agree with Joseph Farah reagarding his comments about men not being inherently good and needing a higher authority. Take for instance many countries where there is little or no government such as countries in Africa, areas in Southern Asia, and societies throughout histroy that failed to establish a sound body of government or law to regulate its people. Most early societies without law experienced savage lifestyles and were buried by time only to be remembered through history books. Most present lawless areas are wartorn or infested with prostitution, murder, and theft. Here is a short article about some of Chris Shugart's journeys in Thailand describing the lifestyles of citizens of Thailand. There are many people in this world like Nik Kozy, inherently good people that will further elevate society, but unfortunatley the average guy isn't Nik Kozy and only hangs on by trying to avoid run-ins with the law, a law written in the first place to control the average man who is in fact inherently bad."

I will give me philosphy on the actions of man sometime soon, so keep reading. Also further discussion would be appreciated. Look for a comments box to be posted in the very near future for every article that is posted. As for Nik Kozy, he is not the average man, in fact who knows what he is other than an alum at my brother's college.

The Onion continues to amuse with this piece...

Name Of Gay Bar Should Have Been Clearer

CHICAGO—After accidentally walking into a gay bar Monday, Jeff Pierce, 23, said the name of the establishment failed to clearly telegraph its orientation. "I can see how Rods sounds gay," Pierce said, "but it's just not as crystal-clear as it could be." Pierce urged the bar's owner to consider changing the name, suggesting The Manhole or Big Throbbing Homo Cocks.

Blogging in Iran is taking off, especially for women.

Joseph Farah, someone who I most of the time agree with, writes an egregious article where he attempts to condemn libertarians. This comment below eked me more than the rest of the misconceptions he waxs, especially the part about man not being inherently good and needing a higher authority. Please come correct next time Joe.

“Libertarians make a fundamental mistake about the nature of man. Man is not inherently good. Man can only learn to govern himself when he understands there is a higher accountability – a higher authority. Ideally, that higher authority is not the government, but God. Government can only demand good behavior through force. But when individuals understand they are accountable to God, and that He requires certain kinds of behavior as defined in the Ten Commandments and the totality of scripture, there is a chance for man to maximize his freedom here on earth. “

Another must read piece by Ronald Bailey on why people want to "burn the rich".

An old Russian joke tells the story of a peasant with one cow who hates his neighbor because he has two. A sorcerer offers to grant the envious farmer a single wish. "Kill one of my neighbor's cows!" he demands.

Research by two British economists, Daniel Zizzo of Oxford University and Andrew Oswald of Warwick University, suggests there is a good bit of truth behind that joke. In a recent study, Zizzo and Oswald ask, "Are People Willing to Pay to Reduce Others’ Incomes?" "The short answer to this question is: yes," they report. "Our subjects gave up large amounts of their cash to hurt others in the laboratory."

Satire offers a somewhat hilarious story on terrorists marrying forest rangers.

The Italians fell to South Korea today on a Golden Goal. I watched the first half, but went to work and got an im play-by-play by my boy Kev. Phenomenal summed up the game in one email that I received today. It is now USA all the way. Check this World Cup Blog for some great info.

"Giovanni Trapattoni (who had few kind words for the referees after Italy's first round loss to Croatia and draw with Mexico) again was livid when Totti was given a second yellow card in the 103rd minute - and sent off. The replays weren't entirely convincing, but then Totti's several earlier dives and bad play-acting weren't either. I just don't understand why a player of such exquisite skills risks such foolishness when he knows he already has one yellow."

Merril ranks the Steelers as top of the class in the AFC North. We also signed Mr. Charlie Batch to a contract today and Terrance Mathis yesterday. The rich get richer.

One more article I skipped posting from espn page ii by by Ralph Wiley on El Tigre.

Why was Shaq resented, and Tiger wasn't?

"Hmmm. Well, see, most people, most dudes, I'll say, they never had a prayer about playing hoop anyway. Never could really play. But see, the white boys, for one, they know how hard golf is. They know it, they play it, it's theirs, and Tiger made it legit and universal for them. In a strange-ass way, he legitimized it for them. He made it a spectator sport. He made everybody care about it. So he made everybody care about what they care about it. So he's, like, a deity to 'em."

Italy tomorrow...Here we go. Friday eveybody better be watching USA in the AM.

"Thinking you have pull when you only pull you got is the wool over your eyes"

Some quick hits today cause I want to go to bed soon…


Take the handwriting test

Andrew Sullivan chimes in with a nice little op-ed on why the 90’s worked.

The Bush White House likes to pump iron, just one more reason to support them.

Also anyone who has requested workouts, I have been exceptionally busy and was out of town last weekend. Hopefully I will have you all something out soon and you can begin your road to dieselness.

A Battle Eminem Doesn’t Want

No, this is not a joke. Seriously, sources close to Eminem have reported that the superstar has received death threats from a group of Bin Laden’s followers, called “al Qaida.” This of course comes in response to Eminem dressing up as Bin Laden in his video for “Without Me.” Does this mean that Bin Laden and the al Qaida watch MTV?

A blurb on hip-hopper J-Live, who released one of the best albums of the year

TC writes a great piece on using “the power of audacity” to your advantage.

Bootlegging music is not making a difference in CD sales according to Liebowitz, a professor of managerial economics at the University of Texas at Dallas.

“The reason I gave in the paper is that maybe people aren't shifting their music [from MP3s to CDs]. But I've also seen some recent numbers on households that have CD writers, and it's something approaching 30 percent. We should see an impact. There's a 5 percent decline in CD sales this year, but that's what you might expect in a recession. So we're still not seeing much. And what I'm beginning to suggest now is that perhaps people aren't going to replace the purchase of CDs with these MP3s.”

USA, USA, USA....

2-0 over Mexico....

Back from a wedding in Baltimore this weekend. A lovely ordeal that scared me, as I watch a high school friend get attached.

Enjoy the links.


News

Bring on the Iraqis and I am not talking about in World Cup action. It seems as if the US is prepping for the showdown with Saddam and Bush is letting the CIA do some damage. There numerous theories flying around that believe that once the bomb hits Saddam, the terrorist network will begin to collapse as they lose their largest ally. We can only hope that this will be the case.


Dick Morris writes that Hill will run for president sometime in the very near future. This is very scary stuff but after winning a seat in the Senate, the idea of her winning the national election, as horrific as it sounds, is not out of the question. Prayers to the country if that would happen.

From the Heart

Nice father’s day article written by John Gotti’s daughter about her lovely father. After reading this you might want to shed a tear or perhaps throw up.

Business

The massive police report on the investigation of the death of Cliff Baxter, the former Enron vice chairman, would have us believe that he killed himself the day before the suicide exemption on his insurance policy expired, costing his estate a cool $5,000,000.

Politics

France made a strong turn to the right thanks in part to Jospin’s election performance. This man, Raffarin, will now play an integral part in helping Chirac implement his alleged economically and business friendly initiatives. Hopefully, these developments will pay huge divedends for France and only increase the lower taxes, pro-business agenda that much of Europe desperately needs.


Sports

El Tiger has struck once again with another masterful performance at the US Open.


The Red Wings dominated Lord Stanley’s finals as they won the cup from the Hurricanes of Carolina. Bill, an ardent supporter of the Wings, requested this information be passed, though I would have preferred if Ron Francis and the Canes walked away with the Cup. Scotty Bowman did upstage the squad by retiring as one of the sports most successful coaches. Scotty gets props for helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win a cup with Super Mario.


HAHA

Shirt tales
After he ripped off his shirt to celebrate his goal against Italy, Croatian Ivica Olic could not re-enter the game for about two minutes because he actually ripped his shirt. Team officials had to find another shirt in a hurry.

Senegal moves on with a win yesterday, and hopefully the US along with the Italians do likewise.

done and done for today...