The flaw of the land

Should we bow down to the 2010 decision by Congress in 2013?
Most of what the law’s supporters call “sabotage” is perfectly legitimate political action. Obamacare’s architects envisioned a lot more cooperation from state governments than they’ve gotten so far. But the law allowed states to refrain from setting up insurance exchanges and from expanding Medicaid. States that exercise those options aren’t disobeying the law or even sabotaging it; they’re just making choices that the law’s supporters wish they would not.

Seeing red

Time for ice hockey - in October.
No lockout this year.
The Red Rockers are ready for Thursday's home opener.

Blame Harry Reid

Legal Insurrection knows who to blame.
The man who has shut down debate for years.

Stop this crazy thing

Via Instapundit, a look at what jobs might be automated in the future.
But our robots aren't like Rosie yet.
According to The Jetsons, we should expect robots to clean our houses and do other working-class occupations that educated elites have historically looked down upon as “unskilled.” But anyone who has done such a job, or has watched an episode of Undercover Boss and seen highly-paid CEOs fumble while trying to carry out the demanding minimum wage jobs usually performed by their underlings, knows that there is no such thing as unskilled labor anymore (if there ever was), especially if you are comparing humans and machines in the same breath. The gap between humans and current AI is vastly greater than the differences between humans.

George Lucas made one good decision

Troglopundit highlights a site imploring J.J. Abrams to return Star Wars to what we loved in 1977.
The fact we love Episode IV shows Lucas did something right.
If he had started with Episode I in 1977, you never would have met the characters you know so well.
One scene of the Imperial Senate then would have killed the franchise right there.

People didn't vote for this

The Democratic response to Obamacare - people voted for it in 2012 - seems weak.
Look at what's been revealed since then.
A delay for companies, but not for individuals.
Exchanges supposed to be ready on October 1 - but not tested fully on September 29.
Except for the parts they already know won't work and have been delayed.
If people voted for a Obamacare program that had fairness and competence, we don't have that now.
Democrats can call us when the servers crash and personal information goes to the wrong people.

Next move

The House sent another idea to the Senate.
What's next?
Hope you enjoy legislative ping pong.
The strategy might crash.
Or the exchanges may crash first.

Why Detroit's doomed

Megan McArdle looks at the pension report from Detroit - and comes away in shock.
Between 1985 and 2008, they handed out roughly $1 billion this way. Had they been invested, one estimate says those funds would be worth almost $2 billion today -- or more than half the current shortfall in the funds.
These “bonuses” were used to lower the contribution the city was required to make, to give retirees a little something extra around Christmas time, and to fund individual savings accounts that workers are offered along with their pensions. In 2009, when the financial markets were completely frozen and the automakers were shotgunning through the bankruptcy courts, the pension trust paid 7.5 percent interest into those accounts -- which is about 7.5 percent more than they would have gotten at a bank. This while the pension funds were busy losing about a quarter of their value.
Are you ready to contribute to save this group?

Saturday song

Listening to the Bill Bennett show Friday, I learned it's been 40 years since this song was number one in the country.
Pretty good job by an American band.

Facebook quote of the week

TODAY I am grateful for a roof over my head and food on the table... (especially the ice cream in the freezer)...

Your stimulus dollars at work

When Obama supporters tell you the great things the stimulus brought, remind them of the Denver tree giveaway.
“This fella said, ‘How would you like to have a tree in your yard?’ And I said, ‘Really?,’ “ said John Backlund, who lives in Denver’s Cherry Creek North neighborhood in a home worth more than $700,000.
Backlund said he could afford to buy his own trees but a government worker was going door-to-door trying to give away trees, so Backlund agreed to take a tree.
“Too good of a deal to say no to. I was happy to get the free tree,” he said.

Prime assets for your assets

Notre Dame has a home game Saturday.
YankeePhil had the pleasure of attending last week's game.
The seat cost $80.
Imagine how much it would cost to give enough room for the modern American male.

True climate deniers

Powerline continues to follow the folly of the latest report on global warming.
The bottom line of today's summary release - trust our theory, evidence to follow.
Unless the evidence shows a pause in warming.
There wasn't room in a 2,000-page report to include that.

Weekend watchdog

The ACC has grown by two schools this season, meaning new rivalries and new places to play.
Virginia starts its conference slate at Heinz Field against Pittsburgh Saturday. Kickoff is 12:30 p.m. on Comcast.
The Cavaliers won two of three non-conference games to open the campaign, while the Panthers have split their first two ACC games.
The college football weekend continues Friday at 9 p.m. as San Jose State takes on Utah State on ESPN.
Saturday, NBC shows Notre Dame hosting Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m. while CBS offers LSU-Georgia. ABC has a contest at noon - South Carolina against Central Florida - followed by the ACC battle between Boston College and Florida State or Iowa-Minnesota. ESPN2 has the game not shown over-the-air in your area.
In primetime, Arizona meets Washington on Fox at 7 p.m. and Wisconsin takes on Ohio State on ABC at 8 p.m.
North Carolina takes on East Carolina at 12:30 p.m. on the ACC network.
ESPN begins the day in the Big 12, with Oklahoma State meeting West Virginia at noon. Top-ranked Alabama battles Mississippi at 6:30 p.m. before Stanford plays Washington State at 10 p.m.
SMU takes on TCU on FoxSports1 at noon, followed by Army-Louisiana Tech at 4 p.m.
Purdue goes against Northern Illinois on ESPN2 at noon. In primetime, Arkansas takes on Texas A&M at 7 p.m. and USC plays Arizona State at 10:30 p.m.
Comcast has a CAA doubleheader, with Maine at Richmond at 4 p.m. before James Madison faces Delaware at 7 p.m.
MASN offers Houston against Texas-San Antonio at 4 p.m.
In the Ivy League, Brown meets Harvard at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
Sunday, CBS in Harrisonburg has Ravens-Bills at 1 p.m. Fox starts its day at 1 p.m. with the winless Giants facing the unbeaten Chiefs, then the Redskins try to get their first win in Oakland at 4:25 p.m.
The Patriots take on Atlanta Sunday night on NBC, while ESPN shows Saints-Dolphins Monday night.
Up north, British Columbia travels to Winnipeg Friday at 10:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
FoxSports1 offers high school football from California Friday at 10 p.m., with Edison against Mater Dei.
The Orioles close the season against the Red Sox on MASN. The Nationals visit Arizona on MASN2.
The Pirates and Reds preview the NL Wild-Card game with contests on Fox Saturday afternoon and TBS Sunday. Fox also shows the Indians at Twins and Rays taking on the Blue Jays.
Will Matt Kenseth win three straight? The Chase for the Cup continues at the Monster Mile Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN. The Nationwide racers go Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN.
FoxSports1 brings the Truck Series from Las Vegas Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
NBC offers MLS action between Los Angeles and Portland Sunday at 3:30 p.m., while it's Kansas City-Philadelphia on NBC Sports network Friday at 8 p.m. and Seattle battles the Red Bulls on ESPN Sunday at 9 p.m.
In the Premier League, NBC shows Swansea battling Arsenal Saturday at 12:30 p.m. There's a pair of games on NBC Sports network Saturday - Tottenham Hotspur against Chelsea at 7:45 a.m. before Aston Villa facing Manchester City - and two more games Sunday. Stoke City takes on Norwich City at 8:30 a.m., then it's Sunderland-Liverpool.
ESPN2 has Mexican League play between Querétaro and Tigres Friday at 8:25 p.m.
NHL preseason action continues on Comcast, with the Capitals meeting the Flyers Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The WNBA postseason continues Sunday on ESPN2 with Game 2 of the conference finals at 3 and 5 p.m.

Sister Act

Kaley Cuoco wasn't the only member of her family appearing on networks this week.
Her sister was on the Voice.

Change of seasons

It's five weeks until Halloween.
One of our neighbors lit up their Halloween decorations tonight.
It looks cool, but still a little early.

Waiting for the crash

The Obamacare exchanges depend on good communication between computer networks.
They have to be able to handle millions of requests for information.
Instapundit has the word on the street.
Good luck on October 1.

Republicans breathe; blamed for shutdown

Will Republicans be blamed for any government shutdown?
Does the sun rise in the east?
Is water wet?
Republican leaders need to know they can't escape being the scapegoat. That's the only way the media sees it.
It's not shutting down your government, but trying to save the government for you in the future.
If you don't like the shutdown, you definitely won't like when the government seizes up and dies from lack of funding.

He kept talking

After being on the Senate floor for over 21 hours, Ted Cruz talked for three segments with Rush Limbaugh.
Rush was impressed.
I have to tell you, I've had so many people... I've been off the past couple of days, but, while this has been going on, I've had so many people e-mail me so uplifted by what you did in the last 21 hours and what you did leading up to it. So many people are so happy that there finally is some leadership. They're so happy that, finally, somebody is doing in Washington what they were elected to do, what they said they were going to do. And I just wanted to say, before we started: I'm sure you're hearing much the same thing, but I wanted you to know that, while you're getting all these arrows as pioneers do, there's a lot of appreciation and a lot of love for what you're doing out there.

Beating a dead horse

Have you heard of the Horse Act of 1884? The IRS has made sure H.R. Block, Jackson Hewitt and other taxpayers have.

Finished, but not done

Senator Ted Cruz has yielded the floor after over 21 hours of speaking.
If you have a problem with Obamacare, you have a friend in Cruz.
And you know which party caused the problems.

Won't work? Don't care

Just heard Bill Bennett on the radio, answering a Tea Party person with "It won't work" about the Cruz strategy.
Why?
Because of the focus on "it won't work" instead of letting the people hear the case by Cruz.
People need to hear the looming problems of Obamacare.
They can't hear if they are distracted by inside politics talk.

Still going

Congratulations to Senator Ted Cruz and friends for talking all night.
Don't think his plan will work?
We know Obamacare won't work.

Fighting link rot

We're coming up on the fifth blogaversary of Fishersville Mike.
I try to fight link rot.
Instapundit offers his tips.

Today's Tied with me

In Technorati's sports rankings, this blog is tied with Howtohockey.
Would you like your own backyard rink?
They have the kit.
If you have the cold weather.

Sign, sign everywhere a sign

NBC29 has an amusing story on troubles at the Charlottesville Pavillion.
Seems like people are causing trouble after hours.
The solution?
New signs.
Hutto says that this summer has had more issues than years past, and that the video surveillance shows a range of concerning activities including drinking and even people relieving themselves.
The pavilion is currently closed at night, but the problem is that when people have been arrested for illegal activity a lot of the cases were being dismissed with the argument that signs didn't give sufficient notice.
New signs. That will change behavior.

Undefeated teams watch

Eight teams entered week 3 unbeaten.
Only the Texans lost. Seven survive another week.
Week 4 ends with a battle of 3-0 teams - Dolphins at Saints Monday night on ESPN.
I bet the 1972 Dolphins will be watching.

Red line on red ink

Instapundit expects a government shutdown - but doubts it will go as Democrats expect.
Another risk is that a shutdown will contribute to an already growing sense of chaos and incompetence at the top. Obama can blame Republicans all he wants, but his party controls the White House and one house of Congress -- two-thirds of the elected levers of power in Washington. If he can't run the country with the White House and the Senate ... well, maybe he just can't run the country. After Syria, he's lost a lot of credibility abroad; if he can't keep the government from shutting down at home, he's likely to lose credibility here as well, no matter how much finger-pointing he does. Ultimately, if the country seems to be in chaos, it's the president who gets blamed.

Defund Obamacare with Cruz

The establishment may hate him.
But Ted Cruz is the center of attention.
I doubt he'll be shutdown.

Bullies for the class clown

The Northern Virginia Technology Council offers its endorsement to Ken Cuccinelli for governor.
Friends of class clown Terry McAuliffe weren't happy.
They won't invite NVTC to their parties now.
Democratic state Sen. Janet D. Howell of Fairfax County wrote in an email to Young and others that she found the endorsement “incomprehensible” and that the response by Senate Democrats to the NVTC — which has never endorsed a Democrat for governor — “will be frigid and doors will be closed.”
Is this the crew you want running the state?

Cold hard fantasy

I joined a fantasy football league this year.
Nothing cutthroat. They populated the rosters and you make your weekly selections from there.
I have the quarterbacks in today's game between the Panthers and Giants.
I went with Eli Manning over Cam Newton.
Anybody want him now? He's not staying on my roster.

At least they are hot and bothered

Powerline is counting down the days to the latest climate report.
There is some data to support the hypothesis of ocean warming, but nowhere near enough. And there are the several anomalies about why the ocean–but not the air–would be absorbing all the heat. And why the deep ocean, rather than surface waters? One of the leading “mainstream/consensus” climate scientists told me in June that he was “certain” that ocean warming explained the pause. I didn’t think to ask him just when or where the climate models had previously predicted that this might happen; that the temperature slowdown and ocean warming were surprises ought to tell us something.
How to make the data fit their theories - that's making them hot.

Get in the game

Time to get ready for church.
Time to spend more than just an hour of week with God.
Time to be more than a fan.
Be a follower.

Fight for our red line

The Republicans have voted to defund Obamacare. they hold on?
October 1 is supposed to be opening day for the exchanges.
Failure is not an option for Republicans.
Failure is the likely outcome for the exchanges, and everything gearing up for Obamacare.

Get a job

Ever heard of Bob Funk?
He runs Express Employment Services.
He specializes in finding temporary workers for employers.
Thanks to Obamacare, his company's growth looks to be permanent.
"Firms are just very reluctant to hire full-time workers," Mr. Funk says. "So they are taking on more temporary help, which is what we do." ObamaCare imposes new mandates and penalties on companies with more than 50 full-time employees—and even those working 30 hours a week are considered full-time.
He quickly adds: "The problem isn't just ObamaCare, though. It's the entire regulatory assault on employers coming out of Washington—everything from the EEOC"—the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hits companies hard when employees claim age, race or sex discrimination—"to the Dodd-Frank monstrosity. Employers are living in a state of fear."
He has good advice on getting a job in this economy.
"First you need integrity; second, a strong work ethic; and, third, you have to be able to pass a drug test." If an applicant can meet those minimal qualifications, he says, "I guarantee I can find employers tomorrow who will hire you."

Dropping, for now

Gas prices in Waynesboro dropped below $3.00 this morning.
For how long?

Saturday song

The oldies station reminded me of this Mac Davis song.
Didn't remember him on the Muppets.

The Pope is still Catholic

Over at DaTech Guy, Roxanne examines the Pope's comments - and the media twisting of the intent.
In his interview, the Holy Father explains that the first order is salvation, and other moral teachings will flow from that. Pope Francis also explained that confessors must guide their sheep to salvation by neither being too permissive nor too removed from the sins plaguing their flock. In doing so, the Holy Father implicitly reiterates that these are sins, not merely equally acceptable lifestyle choices.
My only issue is that Pope Francis’ remarks are so easily misconstrued by the media. I don’t expect the Vatican to run itself around the neuroses of American media, but that is hardly an excuse for conducting itself in a way that plays into its hands.

Facebook quote of the week

iOS 7 is here. Downloaded it on the company's 4s today. Lots of new features. Big jump on the 4s. Gonna hold off on my personal i5 until... Lets see how my customers react first.

Sarah Palin reads more

Remember all the fuss when Katie Couric asked Sarah Palin what she read?
At least she read more than one newspaper.
Forget the fact that the idea of a sitting president being so myopic, bubbled, and unwilling to consider alternate opinion is a little scary; what all of this might help to explain is why some are wondering if the New York Times is running the White House's frantic and widely criticized Syria policy.
As my colleague Larry O'Connor wrote earlier today, during the most schizophrenic days of Obama's decision-making process with respect to Syria, the president was in contact with a New York Times that was, at the time and with regular editorials, using its opinion pages to slow down Obama's unilateral march towards war.

Happy Defund Day

The House did its part.
Time for the Senate to act.
Does Ted Cruz know what he's doing?
Probably more than most in Washington.

Weekend watchdog

Thirty golfers gather in Atlanta this weekend. Who will finish as the top one?
The official 2013 PGA tour season concludes this weekend with the Tour Championship.
Tiger Woods leads the contenders for the FedEx Cup, but stands nine shots off the lead after Thursday's first round.. NBC has coverage Saturday at noon and Sunday at 1 p.m.
The NASCAR season continues its postseason Sunday in New Hampshire. Coverage begins at 2 p.m. on ESPN. The Nationwide racers will be in Kentucky Saturday, and ESPNews has the action at 7:30 p.m.
Formula One racing heads to Singapore Sunday at 8 a.m. on NBC Sports network. Practice will be Friday at 9:30 a.m.
The Orioles battle Tampa Bay this weekend, on MASN2 Friday and Sunday and Saturday afternoon on Fox.
Fox also offers Giants-Yankees Saturday, and TBS brings the series finale Sunday at 1:05 p.m. ESPN shows Cardinals-Brewers Sunday night.
The Nationals host Miami Thursday on MASN for the weekend.
Sunday, the Redskins face the Lions at 1 p.m. on Fox. CBS has the doubleheader, with Ravens-Texans at 1 p.m. followed by the Colts' trip to San Francisco. The Steelers try to get on the winning track against the Bears on NBC Sunday night, while Peyton Manning and the Broncos tackle the Raiders Monday on ESPN.
The college football weekend continues Friday at 9 p.m. when Boise State travels to Fresno State. CBS heads to the Swamp Saturday at 3:30 p.m., as Tennessee faces Florida. Notre Dame takes on Michigan State on NBC, while Fox has the Pac-12 battle between Stanford and Arizona State at 7 p.m.
ABC offers Purdue against Wisconsin and Utah State-USC at 3:30 p.m., with ESPN2 showing the game not seen over-the-air in your area. Michigan faces Connecticut and Kansas State battles Texas in primetime.
ACC network offers Pittsburgh at Duke Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
ESPN starts its day at noon with North Carolina taking on Georgia Tech. Arkansas faces Rutgers at 3:30 p.m. before Auburn battles LSU at 7:45 p.m.
San Jose State heads to Minnesota at noon on ESPN2. Top-ranked Alabama takes on Colorado State at 7 p.m., then it's Utah against BYU at 10:15 p.m.
FoxSports1 offers Louisiana Tech against Kansas at noon, then at 4 p.m. Louisiana-Monroe meets Baylor.
MASN offers Houston against Rice Saturday at 3 p.m., followed by Texas Tech-Texas State at 7:30 p.m.
Lehigh meets Princeton at 6 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
North of the border, Edmonton takes on Winnipeg Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
Weather permitting, America's Cup continues Frida at 3:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network. If Team Oracle holds off New Zealand, more races will continue into the weekend. Colorado travels to Portland for MLS action Friday at 10 p.m. on NBC Sports network, and Seattle faces the Galaxy Saturday at 10:30 p.m.
Premier League action continues on NBC Sports network with three games Saturday. Norwich City faces Aston Villa at 7:45 a.m., followed by Liverpool-Southampton and Chelsea against Fulham.
Manchester City meets Manchester United Sunday at 11 a.m.
The WNBA playoffs continue Sunday with a pair of Game 2s - Chicago and Indiana at 3 p.m., and Minnesota-Seattle at 5 p.m.

Big bang, big bucks

It's almost time for a new season of Big Bang Theory.
Reportedly, stars like Kaley Cuoco want more money.
We know she brings more hits to the blog.
UPDATE: Part of Rule 5 Monday.

Future over-taxed citizens

University of Virginia students want a continuation of Access UVa scholarships.
Maybe these students will learn math one day.
If the money's not there, you can't keep giving it away.

Taxes from you mean power for me

DaTech Guy checks the real reason for Obamacare - jobs for Democratic constituents.
Whole departments, whole offices subsidized by taxes and appropriations to non government groups who “aid” the mission of these has become the new spoils system and with the right party in charge can force the private sector by law to subsidize the public sector at their own expense as simply the cost of doing business.

Looking for a shiny object

Ed Driscoll continues to be amazed at the media's love affair with President Obama.
Remember, the Politico was founded in 2007 by two former Washington Post staffers who wanted a harder-hitting vehicle whose reporting would delve into much more in depth coverage than the broadly-focused Post could ever hope to accomplish.
No really, stop laughing; that was the plan. But back on planet earth, while the Politico remains in teenage groupie mode over what they describe as Mr. Obama’s dazzling smile, others in the hermetically sealed world of the elite MSM are least gradually becoming somewhat aware of the president’s myriad flaws. But as Neo-Neocon asks, “They may be seeing Obama’s feet of clay—but then what?”

Speechless

Investor's Business Daily wasn't impressed by President Obama's little-seen speech Monday.
Aides maintain it never crossed Obama's mind to cancel the political speech as a gesture to the violent deaths of a dozen federal employees across town and their about-to-be-grieving families and co-workers. It's not like coming weeks of budget and debt limit arguments will lack for Obama opportunities to utter the same repetitive talking points with his fading rhetorical skills.

Global warming on ice

Don Surber likes his top-down days.
If we had Global Warming, there might be more top-down days in the future.
But the models predicting increased temperatures are running into cold reality.
Don doesn't seem to mind.

Bring on the malaise

Powerline remembers the greatest hits of the Carter presidency - whacking on the malaise speech.

Stand strong

The House leadership has decided to stand for defunding Obamacare.
Good.
Keep the pressure on Obama and the Senate as the inevitable problems arise.
Problems we predicted in 2009, when the president offered his rosy scenarios.

Grand theft of Grand Theft Auto

Did you stay up until midnight to get the first crack at Grand Theft Auto V?
A London man did.
The game didn't make it home with him.

Today's Tied with me

Technorati has this blog tied with Randy's Roundtable in politics today.
Cowboy cheerleaders count as politics, right?

Shooting their mouths off

Why do people who want a waiting period about purchasing a gun not abide by a waiting period to talk about it?

Bill Nye, the old guy

It's time for a new season of Dancing with the Stars.
Some seem destined for a lengthy stay.
Some, like Bill Nye, are competing for the first elimination.
You'd think he'd have some chemistry with his partner.

I'm your puppet

Political Clown Parade has a photo that sums up the last week in the Obama-Putin relationship.

What the hail happened?

RGIII, part 2, isn't going well.
At least during the first half.
No, we can't start keeping score of Redskins games after halftime.

Get me a Wally penny

Dilbert had its take on the Edward Snowden affair the last few strips.
His mom killed the federal investigators and Wally's face will be on the penny.
If only life were that simple.

Undefeated teams watch

After two weeks, there are eight undefeated NFL teams.
The AFC East and West both have two teams at 2-0, so we have the chance of a battle of unbeatens later in the season.
But not next week - so we can have between eight and zero teams at 3-0 then.
The 1972 Dolphins are watching - although I bet the 2013 Dolphins get more of their interest.

Hungry like the wolf

Milton Wolf is a second cousin to President Obama.
He'd like to go to Washington also.
And stay to reverse many of his cousin's mistakes.

Let the ball come to you

My folks have tickets behind the Orioles' dugout at Camden Yards, and thus we have ample opportunity to snag a ball at the game.
My cousin's son has picked up five balls over the years, and my son's friend got one at a game three years ago.
Thursday, a few innings after my brother just missed a lofted pop foul, our neighbor - seated next to him - got his baseball. The Oriole threw the ball into the stands after finishing an inning, and it bounced off the railing and some seats before landing in his lap.
No fuss, no muss, just a baseball to take home.

Still Peyton's Place

Peyton won the battle of Mannings again.
At least we'll always have this battle to savor.

Not happy with the V

Harrisonburg added a CBS affiliate last year.
I thought that meant the end of days where I couldn't watch the Ravens due to a Redskins game causing a blackout in D.C.
Not this week.
The V picked up Chargers-Eagles.
Maybe that's a good thing with how the Ravens played in the first half.

Levin large

Blue Virginia seems very unimpressed with Mark Levin joining Ken Cuccinelli for a campaign event.
He provides a list of Levin's best.
Read and you'll be impressed.

Aaargh

It's five days until International "Talk like a Pirate" Day.
But the announcer for the East Carolina Pirates can't talk like a pirate after big plays.
Aaargh.

Facebook quote of the week

Anybody need a home for a big pet cage? We have one--but the bunny is in it. The 17-year-old cat needs a place to be. Not putting her down, just tired of finding cat pee b/c she doesn't remember how to find the box, or what that sensation means. Grrr...

Saturday song

Hall and Oates lament "She's Gone."

Love that ACC expansion

The Atlantic Coast Conference now has 14 teams.
Why is this week's Game of the week New Mexico vs. Pittsburgh?
I can't see a lot of excitement in ACC country over that matchup.

Weekend watchdog

Texas A&M gave Alabama the lone blemish on its 2012 season.
Time for the rematch.
CBS starts its season of SEC football coverage Saturday at 3:30 p.m. as the Crimson Tide make their first conference trip to College Station. Alabama had last week off after stomping Virginia Tech in Atlanta. Johnny Manziel has the Aggies at 2-0 after he missed the first half of the opener.
Will his autographs remain worth big money? He'll need another big game this weekend.
The college weekend continues Friday at 8 p.m. when Boise State takes on Air Force on ESPN.
ABC has three contests on Saturday, starting at noon with UCLA-Nebraska. Oregon, fresh off a big win over Virginia, faces Tennessee at 3:30 p.m. and Notre Dame plays Purdue at 8 p.m.
Ohio State heads to California on Fox at 7 p.m.
Virginia Tech battles East Carolina on FoxSports1 at noon. It's off to the Hawkeye State at 6 p.m. when Iowa plays Iowa State, then Oregon State heads to Utah at 10 p.m.
ESPN starts its day in the Bluegrass State, with Louisville facing Kentucky at noon. Florida State hosts Nevada at 3:30 p.m., then Vanderbilt battles South Carolina at 7 p.m. The night closes with Wisconsin against Arizona State at 10:30 p.m.
Oklahoma State meets Tulsa at noon on ESPN2, and the SEC gets primetime coverage with Mississippi State at Auburn at 7 p.m. Wake Forest hosts Louisiana-Monroe Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on Comcast. Rhode Island battles Albany at 7 p.m.
Oklahoma State faces Lamar Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on MASN2.
The Redskins travel to Green Bay Sunday at 1 p.m. on Fox. CBS has the doubleheader, with Harrisonburg showing Eagles-Chargers at 1 p.m. before the Manning Bowl between the Giants and Broncos at 4:25 p.m.
NBC shows the NFC West battle between the 49ers and Seahawks Sunday at 8:15 p.m., and the Bengals take on the Steelers Monday on ESPN.
In high school football, ESPN2 goes to Minnesota Friday at 8 p.m. for Stillwater against Cretin-Derham Hall MASN2 shows St. Thomas Aquinas against John Curtis Friday at 10:30 p.m.
After a week of controversy, the NASCAR Chase for the Cup begins in Chicago. ESPN has coverage Sunday at 1 p.m. while the Nationwide racers go Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. FoxSports1 has the Truck race Friday at 8:30 p.m.
It's another Red Sox-Yankees weekend, this time from Boston. Fox has Saturday's game at 1 p.m. along with Oakland at Texas, and the teams play Sunday night on ESPN. TBS brings Royals-Tigers Sunday at 1:08 p.m.
The Orioles visit Toronto for the weekend on MASN2, while the Nationals host the Phillies on MASN for the weekend.
D.C. United takes on the Galaxy Saturday at 4 p.m. on Comcast while Salt Lake plays Seattle at 10 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
NBC's coverage of the Premier League continues with Everton against Chelsea Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Earlier in the day, Manchester United takes on Crystal Palace on NBC Sports network at 7:45 a.m., followed by Sunderland-Arsenal. Sunday brings Southampton against West Ham United at 11 a.m.
The PGA tour visits Illinois for the BMW championships on NBC. Coverage starts Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The final round of the LPGA's Evian Championship will be on NBC Sunday at noon.
America's Cup continues in San Francisco, with races on NBC Sports network Saturday and Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

What's the Ph.D good for?

Turns out the "expert" supporting the Syria war effort doesn't have a Ph.D at all.
Just a candidate, along with other inflation to the resume.
Not that a Ph.D matters much.

Learning from Colorado

Did the Colorado recall have an impact on the gun control debate?
Sean Trende sees some lessons.
I do think that there’s one area where these recalls really are important. After the failure of the Senate gun-control bill, it was fashionable to argue, a la the Daily Beast’s Michael Tomasky: “You cannot oppose the will of 90 percent of the public and expect no consequences.”
It appears that you can. For one thing, that 90 percent number represents something of a best case result drawn from a best-case question wording; actual public support for, say, universal background checks is somewhat lower (though clearly still a majority). Perhaps, as I explained in April, the energy is all on the side of the voters who oppose gun control. For example, while Americans might support universal background checks in the abstract, in practice they just don’t care that much about it. Those who oppose them, however, care a lot.
Gun-control proponents had argued that Newtown changed everything. The Colorado recalls are a fresh reminder of how weak an argument that truly is.

Also ready for Hillary

The Jaguars have a game in London in October.
It's good to have a Hillary on their squad.

Remember "We will bury you?"

The New York Times has given Vladimir Putin space to warn the United States about arrogance.
Isn't that special?
Especially the ending.
And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation.
Guess he forgot about "We will bury you."
Maybe those Russians weren't exceptional.

PPP- Pretty Pathetic Performance

Was it a surprise that two Democratic Senators were recalled in Colorado?
Public Policy Polling found they were going down - and didn't believe their own polling.
We all know now.

Just read Ace

The Other McCain tips his cap to Ace.
Today is 9/11 and the first anniversary of the Benghazi attack, and I know I should be blogging about that stuff, but it’s demoralizing even to try, because Ace is always so much better at it.

Remembering the "Falling Man"

Many of the worst moments of Sept. 11, 2001 have been hidden from view over the years.
But the internet never forgets.
Esquire remembered the search for the unknown "Falling Man."

Shot through the heart

It was a bad day for the gun control side Tuesday.
Two legislators in Colorado were recalled after pushing a gun control measure this year.
Thanks for the money, Mayor Bloomberg.
It didn't work.

Good job, New Yorkers

It's time to praise New York Democratic primary voters.
Eliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner lost.
They thought you could be fooled again.
Time for them to be forgotten.

How Kerry learned to fight

Want to get ready for John Kerry's big meeting in Switzerland? Big Bang Theory offers a sneak peak.

We'll drink to that

A speech like President Obama's deserves a commenter like Stephen Green.
And so I’m not just drunkblogging some useless primetime television presidential address, of which Professor Ditherton Wiggleroom has given approximately 1,000,006 just on health care alone. It’s the culmination of the worst and most stupid American diplomacy since Eisenhower sided with Egypt over the Brits, French, and Israelis in 1956.
Get a drink and enjoy.

Today's Tied with me

In Politics, Technorati has this blog tied with Pat Buchanan's site.
Wonder what he thinks about the Syria situation?

Ready for some football

Tax Prof blog tells the sad news - Congress may take the NFL's tax-free exemption.
At least he included Hank Williams Jr.

Looking back

Trouble in the Middle East continues to spark interest in the prophecies of the Bible.
It's always a good idea to keep God's words in our mind.

Monday's news from D.C.

Monday, President Obama will give interviews to six networks about Syria.
And RGIII will open the season for the Redskins.
Which gets your attention?

Nyet to Dowd

Maureen Dowd compares Republicans to Russians in the debate of Syria.
We're not trying to weaken the president.
We're just exposing the weakness that has always been there.

Get schooled on homeschooling

A homeschooling veteran answers the worries parents may have before starting to home school.
One thing that homeschoolers discover early on is that they learn along with their children. Most parents realize fairly quickly that there were gaps in their own education and they remedy the situation by plunging right into the learning process with their kids. With math, for example, parents not only review what they already know, but they fill in gaps as they work through the curriculum, progressively adding to their own skills as they teach their children. Many homeschooling books are designed to walk parents through every step of teaching various subjects, some even including video lectures.
They will learn.
You can too.

Let's build a bridge

Fishersville's interstate exchange will be getting a makeover - over the next two years.
In two years, we'll have a new bridge and more lanes between I-64 and Augusta Health.
Until then, we'll be dodging construction crews - or finding alternate routes.

Facebook quote of the week

Grilling in the rain.
Because I'm a die hard like that.

Saturday song

Wake up your morning with Hall and Oates, and their Rich Girl.

Red line this column

Jonah Goldberg offers the smack of "I didn't draw the Red Line" President Obama.
The buck stopped with Truman. For Obama, the buck is kryptonite.
In Stockholm on Wednesday, the president said that the credibility of the world, America, Congress, and the international community is on the line. Everybody is on the hook for his red line, except for the one person who actually drew it.

MSNBC - Must Start New Battle Cry

The Other McCain watches MSNBC so you don't have to.
I think now is the best time to watch them self-destruct.
How do they square this - blaming Republicans and promoting Obama while he pushes war?
Especially since Democrats poisoned their own waterhole?
Talking about "Bush lies" makes it hard to use the same sources to deal with problems in other countries.
After being aggressively war on Iraq, how do you turn to support missile attacks?
"Trust us" is about all you're got.

Weekend watchdog

Peyton Manning enjoyed his season opener.
The Ravens much less so.
Time for the rest of the league to get going.
The NFL East opens play in primetime. NBC opens the Sunday night slate with Giants at Dallas at 8:30 p.m., and ESPN's first Monday night game of the year features the Eagles at RGIII and the Redskins at 6:55 p.m. Week 1 closes with the Texans in San Diego Monday at 10:15 p.m.
Fox has the Sunday doubleheader - Falcons-Saints at 1 p.m. followed by Packers against the 49ers. CBS will show the Titans against the Steelers at 1 p.m.
The Orioles continue their series Chicago (Friday and Sunday on MASN2, and Saturday afternoon on Fox). Yankees-Red Sox will be on Fox Saturday and TBS Sunday afternoon, and the Dodgers at Reds will be on Fox Saturday and ESPN's Sunday night game.
The Nationals head to Miami for the weekend on MASN.
The final tennis grand slam finishes this weekend from Flushing Meadow. CBS brings the mixed doubles championship Friday at 12:30 p.m., along with the women's semifinals.
The men's semifinals take place Saturday starting at noon, with the women's final Sunday at 4:30 p.m. The men's final will be Monday at 5 p.m., weather permitting.
ESPN2 has the men's doubles final Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
ESPN features the ACC Friday when Wake Forest plays Boston College Friday at 8 p.m.
Virginia tries to slow down the Oregon offense Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. San Diego State against Ohio State will be featured in other areas, with ESPN2 showing the game not on the air in your area.
West Virginia opens its second season in the Big 12, facing Oklahoma at 7 p.m. on Fox.
ESPN starts Saturday with Miami hosting Florida at noon. South Carolina travels to Georgia at 4:30 p.m., followed by Notre Dame-Michigan at 8 p.m.
Cincinnati battles Illinois on ESPN2 at noon, and Texas takes on BYU at 7 p.m.
FoxSports1 begins its day at noon with Oklahoma State at Texas-San Antonio, followed by Louisiana-Lafayette against Kansas State. The night closes out west with Washington State facing Southern Cal at 10:30 p.m.
North Carolina plays Middle Tennessee State on the ACC network at 12:30 p.m.
Comcast offers three contests Saturday. Clemson hosts South Carolina State at 12:30 p.m., followed by Alcorn State-Mississippi State and Austin Peay battles Vanderbilt at 7:30 p.m.
MASN has Temple hosting Houston Saturday at noon, while MASN2 brings three contests from the Big 12 - Southeastern Louisiana against TCU at noon, Buffalo-Butler at 3:30 p.m. and Stephen F. Austin playing Texas Tech at 7 p.m.
NBC Sports network has the battle of the First State between Delaware State at Delaware Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Up north, NBC Sports network shows Calgary at Edmonton Friday at 9 p.m.
Who's going to make the NASCAR Chase for the Cup? Six spots have been locked in and the rest will be decided at Richmond Saturday at 7 p.m. on ABC. The Nationwide racers hit the track Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Formula One racers will be in Italy this weekend. NBC Sports network has the race Sunday at 8 a.m., after showing practice Friday at 8 a.m. and qualifying Saturday at 8 a.m.
The final races for the America's Cup begin Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. on NBC.

Let's get Syria-ous

The red line over chemical weapons provides a new slogan for the Obama team.
American Glob approves.

Which party has Syria trouble?

Democrats think they have Republicans in a bind - they must support President Obama since they supporting military interventions in the past.
Except Democrats are also in a bind.
Even as the administration’s arguments become more strained, the political imperative that Democrats must support their president or risk having him “crippled” for the next 40 months is being drilled into them.

Blast from the past

It's the opening weekend for the NFL season.
We can look back - to 1967 in Buffalo - before looking ahead.

Preparing for the Ravens' game

The NFL season starts Thursday as the Ravens play in Denver.
To gear up for the game, learn some Maryland words - hon.

Last Weiner post ever?

Will we be done with Anthony Weiner after he loses the primary election?
Wishful thinking.
He might get a show on MSNBC.
How about Al Jazeera America?
He would be great to never have to hear about Weiner again. But knowing him, he'll keep thrusting himself into the media.
Please stop thrusting, Carlos Danger.

Enforcing international norms by ourselves

The simple contradiction of the Obama policy on Syria - we invoke international norms against chemical weapons while other nations sit on the sideline or back the Syrian leadership.
In theory, everyone should be against use of chemical weapons.
Reality can be tougher.
As Obama is learning, the hard way.

O-bomb-acare

We need a name for the Syria Operation.
How about "O-bomb-acare?"
He says there will be no boots on the ground.
If you like your dictator, you can keep your dictator.
We'll have to bomb the Syrian military to find out what's inside.

MadDow disease

Want your fresh, hot liberal talking points?
Maddowblog is the place.
David Axelrod has a tweet about Congress being "the dog who caught the car."
Maddow's blog has a post pushing the idea.
Do Republicans vote on principal, or just hate Obama? Maddow's blog thinks it knows.
In recent years, there have been a great number of issues on which Republicans took a side, only to abandon their position the moment President Obama agreed with them. By now, I imagine most of us can think of the list off the top of our head: an individual mandate in health care, cap-and-trade, the DREAM Act, a bipartisan deficit-reduction commission, at least some form of Keynesian economics, trying terrorist suspects in civilian U.S. courts and then imprisoning them on American soil, etc. I'm probably forgetting a few.
But each of the items on the list has to do with domestic policy -- Syria would break new ground. Obama believes military intervention is wise, so the normally hawkish party is quickly rediscovering its inner dove.
Have they considered that Obama's made a bad choice?
No. It must be the Republicans are wrong.

Anybody following Obama?

Politico reports on the misgivings Democrats have about the Syria resolution.
Why did Obama go this route?
But Obama had grown frustrated with both international and domestic leaders who gave him tacit approval but declined to jump to his aid. He was taking all the risk and responsibility for a Syria strike, and he didn’t like it. Members of Congress were playing political games by asking him to consult with them but not taking on the accountability of voting with him or against him.
On Friday night, Obama announced to his staff that he was going to shine a spotlight on them. Rather than calling out orders for a strike, he called for a vote. Some of his allies patted him on the back for what they described as a bold stroke of political brilliance. Republicans said the president was being nakedly political.

Today's Tied with me

Technorati has this blog tied with I believe in Adv, which looks at new ads from Jeep.

How Assad would attack Obama

President Obama feels strikes against Syria can wait for a Congressional vote - the targets are not time sensitive.
If the tables were turned, Syria's Assad could take his time also.
Hitting Obama hard would mean striking golf courses around Washington.
You can take your time hitting stationary targets.

Support the office, not the occupant

Is supporting a resolution for force in Syria supporting President Obama?
Professor Jacobson lays out the ways President Obama has messed up the situation.
But you can support the office of President when the occupant bungles the run-up to the operation. For better or worse, at least since World War II many burdens have fallen on us more so than on other nations.
It is our destiny as the world’s only shining city upon a hill.

Most boring holiday

Of the eight holidays provided by my employer, Labor Day is the most boring.
It's the end of summer holiday.
It's not a family gathering time like Thanksgiving or Christmas, or patriotic like Fourth of July.
It doesn't even have Jerry Lewis anymore.
NRO adds reasons to be unimpressed with the day.

Four choices, none good

Victor Davis Hanson tries to figure out what President Obama is thinking.
He gives four opinions, none very good.
The most charitable comes in third.
C. Obama is a well-meaning and sincere naïf, but a naïf nonetheless. He really believed the world prior to 2009 worked on the premises of the Harvard Law School lounge, Chicago organizing, and Rev. Wright’s Church — or least should have worked on such assumptions. Then when Obama took office, saw intelligence reports, and assumed the responsibilities of our highest office, he was shocked at the dangerous nature of the world! There was no more opportunity for demagoguery or buck-passing, and he had to become serious. In short, it is easy to criticize without power, hard with it to make tough decisions and bad/worse choices. He is slowly learning.

I can stop anytime I want

Legal Insurrection finds a program starting for Internet addiction.
Don't worry. This blog is safe.
We only feature healthy internet activities.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

If you watched President Obama's speech Saturday, you might have been surprised he'll go to Congress first.
His staff was more surprised.
Who's going to talk in favor of this plan?
Probably another surprise.