Tigers Talk

I know its been a while.

So, I was reading this article on Dane SarSomething, possibly the Tigers backup catcher on opening day. I was thinking (ok, it is Sardinha), since his problem seems to be hitting, and we got the best hitting pitcher from the national league (D-Train), does the DH rule say that DH has to be for the pitcher? Why don't we make Dane D-Train's personal catcher and have him bat when he pitches? He could continue to work with the coaches on his offensive needs, and then get comfortable at the major league level, but not hurt the offensive rhythm.

And I am tired of Brandon whining. And I used to really like the guy.

The AP can see the future!

Hey all, just thought I found something interesting. I was reading about the State of the Union, right now at 7:23 PM on MOnday night read this article in the News:

State of the Union AP story

What is interseting is that the entire article is in past tense like the speech already occurred. I know I have had trouble with tenses in all of my writing, I remember notes in college from profs and TA's to watch my tenses, but this seems like all past tense to me. (Italics mine)

Terence Hunt / Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, focusing on gnawing recession fears in his final State of the Union address, said Monday that Americans are troubled about their economic future and prodded Congress to urgently approve a $150-billion rescue plan.

On Iraq, always a main topic of his annual addresses to Congress, Bush said his troop buildup is succeeding after five years of a long and costly war that has claimed the lives of 3,940 members of the U.S. military. "Al-Qaida is on the run in Iraq and this enemy will be defeated," Bush said.

With his approval rating near its all-time low and less than a year remaining in his presidency, Bush lacked the political clout to push bold ideas before a hostile, Democratic-led Congress. Offering modest new plans, Bush proposed a $300 million "grants for kids" program to help poor children in struggling public schools pay for the cost of attending a private school or a better public school outside their district.

The White House urged lawmakers, particularly in the Senate, to resist any temptation to enlarge the economic-stimulus plan that he and House leaders agreed on last week. "At kitchen tables across our country, there is concern about our economic future," the president said. "In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth."

Excerpts of his prepared text were released in advance by the White House.

I did not delete anything from these paragraphs. Finally at the end of my quote, the author indicates he was reading from a prepared text, but that is still irresponsible, since the president, well, dumb as he is, might not read it right. The whole thing seems like a mis-representation that the author in some way watchs the SotU.

Further on:

Bush, calling for bipartisan cooperation in Congress, said, "Let us show them that Republicans and Democrats can compete for votes and cooperate for results at the same time."

In Iraq, he said, U.S. adversaries have been hit hard, though "they are not yet defeated and we can still expect tough fighting ahead."

The address came one year after Bush...

Bush did not announce any troop withdrawals Monday night...

This seems like a lack of due professional care. I guess I don't need to watch it tonight.

Full Text:

Monday, January 28, 2008

Bush seeks support on economy, Iraq in State of the Union address

Terence Hunt / Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, focusing on gnawing recession fears in his final State of the Union address, said Monday that Americans are troubled about their economic future and prodded Congress to urgently approve a $150-billion rescue plan.

On Iraq, always a main topic of his annual addresses to Congress, Bush said his troop buildup is succeeding after five years of a long and costly war that has claimed the lives of 3,940 members of the U.S. military. "Al-Qaida is on the run in Iraq and this enemy will be defeated," Bush said.

With his approval rating near its all-time low and less than a year remaining in his presidency, Bush lacked the political clout to push bold ideas before a hostile, Democratic-led Congress. Offering modest new plans, Bush proposed a $300 million "grants for kids" program to help poor children in struggling public schools pay for the cost of attending a private school or a better public school outside their district.

The White House urged lawmakers, particularly in the Senate, to resist any temptation to enlarge the economic-stimulus plan that he and House leaders agreed on last week. "At kitchen tables across our country, there is concern about our economic future," the president said. "In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth."

Excerpts of his prepared text were released in advance by the White House.

On two issues that were centerpieces of State of the Union addresses past -- Social Security and immigration -- Bush passed the buck back to Congress, which had ignored the president's earlier proposals. Contending that entitlement spending is "growing faster than we can afford," he said, "I ask members of Congress to offer your proposals and come up with a bipartisan solution to save these vital programs for our children and grandchildren."

A major challenge for Bush in his address to Congress was simply being heard when many Americans already are looking beyond him to the next president.

His speech came hours before Florida's presidential primary election and just eight days before Super Tuesday when voters in more than 20 states go to the polls on the biggest day of the primary campaign. Republicans running for president rarely mention Bush, preferring to focus on conservative hero Ronald Reagan instead.

As for the Democrats, presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said, "Tonight is a red-letter night in American history. It is the last time George Bush will give the State of the Union. Next year it will be a Democratic president giving it."

Bush, calling for bipartisan cooperation in Congress, said, "Let us show them that Republicans and Democrats can compete for votes and cooperate for results at the same time."

In Iraq, he said, U.S. adversaries have been hit hard, though "they are not yet defeated and we can still expect tough fighting ahead."

The address came one year after Bush, defying the wishes of Congress and rising anti-war sentiment in the country, ordered a major troop buildup in Iraq. The increase has helped quell violence, but there is no end in sight to the U.S. troop commitment, which Bush says will extend beyond his presidency. There are 158,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, a number that is expected to drop to 135,000 by July. There are 28,000 in Afghanistan, the highest number of the war, which began there in October 2001. The Iraq war began in March 2003.

Bush did not announce any troop withdrawals Monday night. The White House said that would depend on the advice of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad. Congress, despite repeated attempts, has been unable to force troop withdrawals or deadlines for pullbacks, and Iraq has receded as an issue in Washington.

Reviving a theme from his trip to the Mideast this month, Bush called on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment that the White House says could easily be transferred to a nuclear weapons program. A recent U.S. intelligence report concluded Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, but Bush says it could be restarted easily.

"Come clean about your nuclear intentions and past actions, stop your oppression at home and cease your support for terror abroad," Bush said. "But above all, know this: America will confront those who threaten our troops; we will stand by our allies and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf."

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago Bush boasted that unemployment was low and the economy was on the move. Now the jobless rate has climbed to a two-year high and the nation is sagging toward recession amid turmoil in housing and financial markets. The economy is No. 1 on the U.S. worry list.

Bush's top priority was for Congress to swiftly approve an anti-recession package to provide tax rebate checks to 117 million families and give businesses $50 billion in incentives to invest in new plants and equipment. The program has been endorsed by Democratic and Republican leaders of the House, but the Senate is preparing a package of add-ons. Senate Democrats want more money for senior citizens living off Social Security; they also want an extension of unemployment benefits.

White House officials previewed some of Bush's speech proposals. He was to announce a White House summit on inner-city children and religious schools. The goal is to address the role of religious and other private schools in meeting the needs of poor students in urban areas.

Bush also was to urge elimination of 150 federal programs he considers wasteful.

Often criticized for the government's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina's devastation, Bush was to announce that his annual meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada will be held this year in New Orleans to show off recovery efforts.

In one new wrinkle, Bush was calling for an effort to crack down on the pork barrel practices of Congress, saying he will veto any spending bill that does not cut in half the number and cost of congressional pet projects, known as earmarks.

The president planned to issue an executive order Tuesday ordering federal agencies to ignore earmarks that aren't explicitly enacted into law, erasing a common practice in which lawmakers' projects are outlined in nonbinding documents that accompany legislation. The move is aimed at making doubly sure that lawmakers have the opportunity to strike earmarks during floor debates.

However, Bush's plan leaves untouched the more than 11,700 earmarks totaling $16.9 billion that Congress approved last year.

The president was expected to press Congress to make permanent the tax cuts that are set to expire in 2010; Democrats are cool to the idea. He will prod Congress to extend a law allowing surveillance on suspected terrorists, renew his education law and approve free-trade pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

He also was recycling ideas on alternative energy, affordable health care, housing reform and veterans' care. Bush also was renewing his ideas on climate change and stem cell research

Bush will promote the U.S.-backed Middle East peace effort and his administration's efforts to fight disease and hunger, and suggest that the United States fight hunger abroad by buying and distributing crops from developing countries rather than relying on U.S. farmers.

Today of all days

Awoke at 7 am to alarms, at 704 am to mother's phone call, then at 740 I actually got out of bed.
Had breakfast on the road from McDonalds - Sausage mcmuffin with cheese and medium diet coke.
Arrived to work at 9:15 am. Think I missed a call from my boss.
Getting to work.

Busy Saturday night

At 10 pm on Saturday night, the night before my 37th birthday, I was trying to atone for 36 years of sins against my body by working out. I was in the pool (where I completed one lap swimming freestyle and one lap walking - after 40 minutes on treadmill) thinking about what I was doing. I was thinking about this since there was a very attractive woman in the spa, then in the pool and then the spa again, and the idea of asking her why she didn't have anything better to do on a Saturday night flashed across my mind. I smiled at the impossibility of the thought of the action more than the cleverness. So I applied the same question to myself, what was I doing here, didn't I have anything better to do on a Saturday night, especially when I was going to be turning 37 in a few hours. I stood at the end of the pools and rested my head on my arms and thought about it. Turns out I didn't.
I was showering a few minutes later, and I thought about this entry - and I thought about my weight loss goals. I decided that there was 50 lbs between me and the person I want to be. I don't mean the weight loss is the end - but since I am going to have to do so many things like the person I do want to be to get there, I should be very close by the time I drop the 50. I want to be the kind of person that makes good decisions in what I do, what I eat, where I spend my money, how I spend my time with my friends and family, and many of the other things I don't do well. Pistons lost.
On the way home, I decide Taco Bell would be better than McDonalds, since I was not going to take the time to cook some chicken and rice. Just the nature of the beast.
I ate, played a game for a while, did some reading and wrote this. I am now 37. Wheee.

Happy Holiday message, I guess

Hello all, I am supposed to be working, but this place is very quiet. As a day of work, it is not great, since I am not getting a lot done, although some organization is occuring. Almost by accident. However, as a day at work, it is pretty good, since no one is here, very little needs to be done and it doesn't count against vacation.

This is probably the first time you have come here, since I am going to finally send the mass mailing to everyone I know to get them to start visiting (except maybe my bosses!). I wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season (although it is partially over - sorry to remind you of that) and a fantastic new year. I hope everything goes better than you could have hoped in the new year.

For those I have not been in contact with for a while, I apologize. You would think with all these new fangled ways to communicate, I would actually do some communicating. Funny how that works. Anyway, I will try to better job of this in 2008.

Also, I will be publishing some pictures of the little monster at my parent's house, Rocky (see earlier post). As I predicted (maybe not in this cyber-corner), for all the talk of being more strict with Rocky then they were with Bandit, not much has come of it. He doesn't have the whole house to himself yet, but they aren't doing a great job with having him sleep in the cage or controlling his eating times. Well, I don't have to deal with it, so I can only make the occasional snide comment, although I do compliment them when something is done right. They are starting to watch a lot of the Dog Whisperer.

Happy Holidays Everyone.

Oh, and I started using Twitter. sspitsbergen is my user name.

A new Spitsbergen

As some of you might know, the parents have purchased a new puppy. He was born on October 21st (Jason's birthday) and his name is Rocky (as in Raccoon):

Here he is with me.

Another picture, with his birthday brother (my brother, Jason):

He is damn adorable, a little clumsy and very soft. Should grow to about 150 lbs.

He is a pure bred Alaskan Malamute - the eyes are brown, but you can't see that well here. I think it is the camera flash.

I am sure we will post more soon.

Sean

Diary of Monday Night Football

Actually, this is only about the battle for first place in the CMA FFL League. The Dwight Shrute Bears and the PPG Warriors are both undefeated at 7-0-0. The two heavyweights of the league play this week, and Tom Brady handed the Bears a 43 point performance, but none of the other players showed up this week. For the Warriors, Antionio Gates scored 21 and TJ Whos your daddy scored 14. After Sunday - Bears were up by six points, and they have no further players. The Warriors have DeShawn Wynn going tonight, so as soon as Wynn scores that 11 yard touchdown, the Warriors, against all expectations, will take the week and continue undefeated. Unfortunately, Green Bay has the worst running game in the league, but the Broncos have the worst running defense in the league. Winn is being handed the reins, and most importantly the bulk of the carries, so hopefully I have a chance.

I will watch the game and write about what's going on.

8:40 PM - Packers kick off, so who cares? I only care about the Packers on offense see you then.

First play - one of the ugliest shovel passes ever.

8:42 PM - I am not sure I like the trade by the Tigers today - seems like a lot of the future to give up, and why can't we trade for anyone else but the Braves. Renterria will probably be good for the Tigers though.

8:44 PM - Broncos moving ball pretty well. Couldn't the Lions have drafted Cutler a few years ago? Instead of Williams I think.

8:46 PM - KGB with pressure, Packers about to get the ball. Here we go. Woodson to receive, but over his head into end zone.

8:49 PM - first play , let's see. I don't even know Wynn's number. I just picked him up this week. Stupid pass. I want to go to bed early knowing I won. Get the ball to Wynn. Now a dropped pass on 2nd down, see what happens. That's why you need to run the ball. 3rd down. Hits the running back out of the backfield, but some guy I don't know. Some other guy I don't know I should say. Punt. Jerks.

9:03 PM - Finally, Denver scored on a nifty play by Cutler. I really like the running back or tight end coming back to make that block for Cutler to have another second or two. Get the Pack back on the attack!

9:08 PM - First down. Changed channels, watching about 8 women wrestling on USA. Football in a while. And I keep changing back to ABC, stupid ESPN. I come back and
Farve throws a big touchdown. I assume there was no run play. Jerks. Hell of a play though. What is that graphic where they track the entire path of the receiver? That looks pretty cool. I assume it is from Madden or something.

9:10 PM - going back to wrestling. Now some muscle bound screaming thug. Women are gone. Stupid USA.

9:17 PM - this looks the makings of a great game, or neither team plays defense, but very watchable. End of first quarter, Wynn stats - NOTHING. Hasn't even been looked at yet. Must have not sung his school fight song well enough during camp and Farve hates him.

9:21 PM - Cutler fumbles, will Wynn get the back to give Favre a little breathing room? Probably not. Wynn got a carry, he got a carry! No yards, but they are trying to establish the run all right.

9:26 PM - Favre play action, I think he did that just to tease me.

9:27 PM - Yards - 7 yards. on the Ground - Who the hell is that? Why is Wynn on the sideline? Why do the Packers hate me. Who is Grant?

9:29 PM - I am going to cry.

9:36 PM - Really, my last hope for victory is standing on the sideline. Did I mention my quarterback, on the biggest matchup of the season, got me 2 points. VY - who killed M in the Rose Bowl, 6/14 for 42 yards. 2 stupid points.

9:45 PM - More runs to super man Grant - oooh isn't he awesome? He is sooo cool. I hate football. Sorry, can't watch Deanna.

9:47 PM - I thought the man crush on Favre was limited to Madden. Apparently it is part of the Monday Night Football contract with the NFL.

9:57 PM - Ok, closing this, since I don't think Wynn is playing anymore, so I am going to bed.