MattyG's Blog

I'm glad to see Cindy McCain has divested herself from over $1,000,000 worth of mutual funds tied to the Sudan. Hopefully others will follow her lead and pressure the Sudan to end the genocide in Darfur.
 
Mrs. McCain files a separate tax return from John McCain, which keeps her income private. She says she will never release her personal return. This is perfectly legal.
 
It's interesting that she makes a public spectacle of dropping an investment that would reflect poorly on her husband, an act that is properly PC, and keeps the rest of what is alleged to be a large portfolio under wraps.

Anytime a liberal or a Democrat mentions how the Bush admin. got us trapped in Iraq, a conservative or a Republican will probably say that we're there, can't change it and shouldn't argue about it five years later. In a sense, that is a valid point.   However, even though it's being talked about by liberals or Democrats, this election isn't necessarily about Iraq. Iraq is gone. The postwar Iraq we were told about doesn't exist. The idea of ''finishing'' the job as some conservatives or Republicans mean it is a fairy tale.   As far as I'm concerned, voting on the next mission and the Commander In Chief for that war. But, with Iran or Syria or, God forbid, Pakistan or North Korea all looming we can't afford another malleable cowboy at the helm.   I can't help thinking about Iraq with those possible adversaries in the future.

The kid is a good singer. The teenyboppers love him, too. Those two facts mean David Archuleta is probably the next American Idol.
 
That doesn't change my fact that Archuleta is the most aggravating Idol personality since Brian Dunkleman.
 
To me, he's not authentic. He sang "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins in the Final 16 round. After the song, he made some comment about the homeless that was clearly fed to him.
 
Then tonight, he said it would be "fun" to sing "Love Me Tender" by Elvis. Fun isn't the word I'd use. If you aren't familiar enough with Elvis to say something informed about him just call him a legend and call it a night.
 
On the other, Syesha Mercado understands who she's singing and showed it again with two superb performances.
 
Save us, Syesha!

Hillary Clinton got muscular on us by saying she'd hit Iran hard if they ever attacked Israel. Obama said Hillary's ''saber-rattling'' comment was too much like Bush, which suggests a policy disagreement.
 
Pedestrian pundits are quick to tell us Hillary is being tough with her rhetorical bravado. These same talkers tell us Obama's weakness leads him to avoid blunt machismo.
 
The truth is Obama's statement isn't weak. He's doing what people applaud Dick Cheney for when he doesn't reveal in public what he's thinking in private.

 As if we didn't have enough reasons to believe in evolution, Jenna Bush gave us another one last night. Jenna was on Larry King Live selling the book, Read All About it!, she ''wrote'' with her mother.
 
Not surprisingly, the nightly CNN gabapalooza turned to discussing the current never ending election. Of course, Mrs. Bush expressed support for John McCain.
 
Jenna said she had been too busy to follow the election and didn't know if she favored McCain. She admitted to being open to all the candidates.
 
She could easily have given a no comment or a generic comment like 'McCain is a great American'' and dodged the question.
 
She appeared genuine in her answer. But, I think saying you are open to all the candidates is a chickenbleep answer. If you know your values and keep informed, then your decision is pretty simple this year.

There's been a great debate on race in this country as of late. It's a general byproduct of Obama's historic candidacy for president and was specifically sparked by the never-ending saga of Reverend Wright.   All of the usual suspects in the media and civil rights realm have chimed in and, we all know, it will become a campaign issue in October so it will be with us for a while.   One person commented on the scandal that surprised me. Condoleezza Rice. It's her right to opine on anything she wants. I just never expected her to discuss the subject that seems to be more of a concern for Democrats.   The real surprise is that, to me, she seemed to give Wright a bit of a pass. In an interview with the Washington Times on March 28, 2008, Rice said America has trouble dealing with race because of a ''national 'birth defect''' of racial inequality.   She also said the effects of America's acceptance of slavery and racism are still felt to this day. She personalized her comments by saying members of her family have been ''humiliated'' by racism.   She didn't address any of Wright's extreme comments specifically but she basically suggested the general sense of anger he expressed at America is justified.
Rice explained her opinion on the legacy of black Americans: "What I would like understood as a black American is that black Americans loved and had faith in this country even when this country didn't love and have faith in them — and that's our legacy."   Rice certainly expressed herself better than Wright. She is quoted on other topics, too. Read the article for yourselves at http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article
?AID=/20080328/FOREIGN/746301768/1001

Sometimes Manny is beyond description. He can climb inside the scoreboard in left, get released and not be picked up, and he can even snub the president and he is still just being Manny.   I'm not sure how to describe his newest antics.   He reads. I know. Who knew? And not comic books or tabloid gossip. He's reading actual books...by himself. He is even meditating. All to improve on a sub par season.   According to an AP story on the Internets, Manny is reading and highlighting ''The Secret,'' and it appears he is becoming philosophical. He reportedly said: "You've got to be a boat knowing where you're going. We've got money. We're famous. But you've got to know what you want."

The S.S. Manny has set sail with a purpose. It looks the purpose is to destroy MLB pitching because he's hitting well so far in Florida. He also wants to stay in Boston for the rest of his career and thinks he'll show it with a stellar season.

I've seen it all now with Manny being Zen.

In addition to being Speaker of the House and the number three person in the federal government, Nancy Pelosi is also known as a now ubiquitous superdelegate. It's the third designation that makes her comments about the potential Dream Team ticket of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama so revealing.
 
Pelosi reportedly said ''I think that ticket either way is impossible.” Well, that's all folks. She also referred to the ''Clinton administration'' as praising McCain as being a more worthy CIC than Obama. Yikes!
 
First of all, it's a clear rebuke of anyone, especially if your name is Clinton, who's been pushing the idea of combining the two top Democratic contenders. Pelosi is, arguably, the top Democrat (Dean is a glorified clerk) and her comments indicate how rank and file Congressional Dems feel about these two joining forces.
 
I think there's more to this, though. We know when Team Hillary brings this up, she is at the top of the ticket with Obama as VP. Of course, this ignores the fact that Obama has a pretty secure hold on the nomination. Apparently, they think this is a good consolation prize to Obama if the superdelegates take the nomination from Obama.
 
Pelosi's real message is that it's over for Clinton. She's saying the superdelegates don't support Hillary's plan and that she should get on board with Obama.

Luke Menard - Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Wham! You destroyed one of the greatest Pop songs ever.
 
David Archuleta - Phil Collins, Another Day in Paradise. The kid can really sing. But, I don't watch AI to hear a 17-year old lecture me about the homeless. It seemed like an adult fed him that line so he'd appear serious.
 
Danny Noriega - Tainted Love, Soft Cell. Was that RuPaul?
 
David Hernandez - It’s All Coming Back to Me Now, Meat Loaf  - Awesome
 
Michael Johns - Don’t You (Forget About Me), Simple Minds - Good, not great. But, Randy, are you crazy, dawg? You were talking about an Aussie going home and you mentioned Michael Hutchence. I get the Michael Hutchence comparison, but, dawg Simple Minds is Scottish.
 
David Cook - Hello, Lionel Richie. I liked the Lionel Richie turned rocker joint. But, dude, comb your hair!
 
Jason Castro - Hallelujah, by (I forget). Good song, better singing. Hair disaster.
 
Chikezie - Don't sing Whitney.
 
Bottom three - Luke Menard, Chikezie Eze, Danny Noriega. Danny survives...barely.

It's not new that a GOP candidate will use something about an opponent to suggest they're un-American or immoral. The Bush political Mafia has a track record of going after opponents in that way, and they will even go after decorated war heroes who happen to stand in their way.
 
McCain looks like he's taking up their banner in 2008 and now Barack Obama is the looking back at him. What's problematic is McCain was once on the business end of these tactics, in 2000, and is now embracing the politics of his former arch-rival. He's certainly not going to do the real dirty work himself, of course. Why should he when people like Bill Cunningham are lurking under a nearby rock to do it for him?
 
And, don't tell me someone from McCain's campaign didn't know what Cunningham was going to say. That flake plants the idea that Obama is one of ''them'' and McCain comes along and says he's shocked - Shocked! - that someone would say such a thing and he certainly would never have condoned such a thing.
 
Obama is forced to fight back because Kerry let himself be challenged without a sufficient response and we saw how that worked out for him. Obama will have a surrogate to do his dirty work, too.
 
Barack Hussein Obama should be able to embrace his middle name with pride in public. I guess that he can't do it is proof that dirty politics does work. A name like Hussein is now profane after Bush's administration. I'm more apt to think of the late King Hussein of Jordan than Saddam Hussein. That Hussein was not a perfect man but he turned into a positive force in the world.

The thing to remember about the Bush era GOP is that they are great at winning campaigns that are not about substance of any kind. And, be sure to realize, John McCain circa 2008 is running as part of the Bush brand.
 
In the past few days, McCain was handed two pieces of campaign red meat for his party. If Michelle Obama's comment about pride in the name of America, which was a verbal version of WMD, wasn't enough, the New York Times essentially painted a target on itself with this vague story about McCain having an affair with a lobbyist who looks like his wife.
 
McCain can forget about Iraq and taxes and bridges and torture and the budget and judges and steroids (haha) and focus on Lee Greenwood and the LIBERAL MEDIA CONSPIRACY! YIKES! Oh, and illegal  immigrants! Oh My!
 
In 2004, they turned a war hero into Benedict Arnold. In 2000, there was a lockbox, Al Gore sighed and GWB said something about Jesus, honor and integrity, and no nation building. Don't forget GHWB in 1988 running against an ACLU card.
 
Why would 2008 be different?
 
All I know is 2008 is gift wrapped for Democrats and it looks they're going to end up returning the gift without opening it.

Manny being Manny. Here we go again? Maybe not.
 
Manny was talking about leaving, being a free agent and moving on, well, soon. Ryan Asselta is upset.
 
This isn't a big deal. In fact, it's good. Theo wants to see Manny play 2008 before worrying about the options. If Manny plays like he did in 2007 (.296, 20, 88), then he's gone after 2008. If he's back to being the Manny of 2004-05 when he averaged 44 and 137, he's going nowhere.
 
Manny's working hard this season and thinking about another free agent payday. A big FA payday requires a big season in a contract year.
 
Maybe he has a plan or maybe he's talking gibberish and is oblivious to his words. Maybe he wants an extension with Boston. If he has an MVP-type season I don't think it matters. If he does want out and it turns out he's a hired gun like everyone else, we still have two titles to show for it.

Does anyone know why there was no Super Bowl this year? Hey, it's how I'm coping, okay?
 
Anyway, the trucks roll to FLA Saturday, which means baseball is on.
 
I'm pretty optimistic about the Sox this year. It starts with pitching. Beckett has got to be focused on getting the Cy Young he didn't get in 2007 and Matsuzaka should add to his rookie win total of 15, which should have been higher, in his second season. Wakefield's health is a question but he will be there for us. Schilling's value is in October so losing him until July shouldn't be a huge setback.
 
I'm thinking Lester has a good year. He was great in the playoffs and has strong MLB #'s to date. He knows now he won't be dealt and is basically guaranteed a spot in the rotation, which has got to be a confidence builder. Buchholz should contribute, too, especially with Schill down.
 
The 'pen has that Okajima dude, and some guy named Paplebon.
 
The offense is back, and intact. Manny is supposedly working hard this winter after an average season for Manny. He is joined by Papi in rebounding from a down year - compare 2007 to 2005-06. Drew looked better in the playoffs and we hope year two of Drew is better much like happened with Beckett. And Ellsbury, well, we all saw him in October. Coco is still around, too, and has value as insurance or a trade chip.