History shows again and again how nature points up the folly of men.--Blue Oyster Cult, "Godzilla"

Ebon, er, Coach Cour made her long-awaited coaching debut at the Hazleton high gymnasium. In case you missed it, she was hired as the new G.A.R. girls volleyball coach. She's been drilling these girls for about a month now, and I've seen her emotions range from that of a suicide wannabe, to that of being overly excited. And I've been here for her, offering her what would have to be called management and motivational techniques, rather than how to turn a group of mostly average girls into fire-breathing hunter/killers on a volleyball court. That's her job. She's been there and done that as far as hunting and killing on a court goes. When it comes to her approach to playing sports, if she were a guy she'd be half Ty Cobb and half Cal Ripkin Jr.

So, anyway, the G.A.R. girls squared-off against the Hazleton Camel Toes and had their heads pretty much handed to them. The following is my opinion of what transpired last night and in no way should any of my opinions be attributed to my daughter. Here goes.

This team lacks size, but that's out of anyone's control. The biggest on-court problems were way too many unforced errors, very erratic setting, and a devastating absence of players calling for the ball. Whatever. They've got only one game under their belts, so I was thinking that they'd be eager to get to practice and work to improve upon what they could obviously improve. But...they tell me that one of the two lard-assed non-athletes on the team decided to keep on yapping away and a screaming match ensued. Said lard-ass headed for the exit with a promise that her mommy would be calling the coach.

Remember, I've seen Ebon do battle with the likes of Alexis Meredith from Bishop Hoban, and a hunter/killer this particular lard-ass will never be. I've seen many an epic battle waged by some very dedicated big chickies on volleyball courts at both the high school and collegiate levels, and I'm here to tell you that the mouthy lard-ass in question couldn't hang against my extremely drunken brothers-in-law at the yearly family pool party if she cheated. She happens to be to volleyball what I am to breast-feeding.

There was a time in high school sports when the obvious distractions on the team would be ridden hard until they upped and quit for the betterment of the overall program. But these days, we can't offend anyone, even when they deserve it. Basically, it's a microcosm of our society in general. You're all but forced to waste time on the folks with no potential when you could be developing the folks with some real raw talent and desire. And I do feel bad for Ebon. She so loves volleyball, and she had some really, really high hopes going in. She's a bit deflated tonight. But, I know the tough-as-nails persona buried within that less than threatening demeanor of hers will rise above once again. She's a big chick.

Make no mistake about it, this team has two underclassmen with some real potential if they work hard and follow the lead of someone who knows how to best wage these on-court battles. #20 in particular, a sophomore, has no frickin' idea how good she could be. She reminds me of a young Kerri Buckman, and if you've ever seen Lady Buck play baseball, softball or volleyball, you know that's really saying something. She's got that really quick first step, and that quick first step means a helluva lot in this rapid-fire sport. Here is a budding star that needs coaching, coaching and more coaching, while blocking out the distractions of the hapless malcontent. Only time will tell how that will play out.

They tell me the wins this outfit has stacked up in the past couple of seasons could be counted on one hand, and it's typical of the folks with the least talent to be barking the most. If it were my call to make, I'd lose the mouth and take my lumps with what I had left. There's always next year, so I'd cut out the distraction and work on those players with the drive and the untapped potential. And what would that get me? Dragged before a school board by know-it-all-moms that don't even attend their daughter's matches in the first place. By my estimation, there were six, maybe eight G.A.R. fans (parents) that bothered to make the trip to Hazleton to support their kid's efforts. I find that to be groutesque.

My child is perfect!!!

Whatever.

Get used to the losses, honey.

I hear that! How 'bout Tweedle Dem and Tweedle Demmer 980? Marxist Rants with Nancy & Kevinov?

I gotta tell ya, when their first knee-jerk response to the, then, developing nightmare in New Orleans was to bash Bush unmercifully, I removed the waterproof AM/FM radio from the handlebars of my bike just to make absolutely sure that I wouldn't get curious and tune them in while on my way to work. Yup. I can't take their bullsh*t no more. They are but bolsheviki myrmidons who actually believe they have original thoughts to share with all of us. I can't do it anymore.

It doesn't even matter what morning you happen to tune in. Every single day, it's just more of the same useless flatulence, the faux outrage and feigned indignation over something in which not nearly all of the facts have become known yet. If Vodd Tonderheid and Skrep got drunk and led some local police on a high-speed chase that spanned 77 states; Kev and Nancy's top subject the next morning would be how Bush somehow or other caused a tidal surge that overwhelmed some far away place we've never even heard of before. Why? Because some left-leaning blogger said so. That's why!

Together, they have become to factual analysis what Ted Kennedy has always been to sobriety. They have become hopelessly partisan and utterly and sadly totally predictable. And predictability not only breeds boredom and quite likely, contempt, it causes people to eventually lose interest.

A car crashes in Toledo? Bush caused it! A tree limb falls on a cute puppy in Galveston? Bush is from Texas. His oil buddies did it! A hurricane floods a sugar bowl of a city and people die? Bush's fault! Bush took us off to war after we were savagely attacked? Well, then why haven't both of his daughters been listed as being KIA yet? Know what? F**king spare me this exercise in useless and devisive rhetoric already. Rock 107 never sounded so good.

And now that I'm fighting my addiction to talk radio, I find myself looking at my watch at some point during my work day and realizing that I missed the first half of Sue's show, too.

I don't know. How 'bout, "The Marxist & The Myrmidon at 6?" No? Why not, "Ren and Stimpy at 6?" I no longer care.

Much like Blockbuster, Sprawl-Mart, and Mark II, the myrmidons have climbed their way onto my boycott list. Basically, they've been given my economic version of the death sentence. And what, pray tell, will I ultimately miss out on? Duke's "American History Project" updates? The f**king conspiracy theory-jaundiced total ying-yang that he is!!!

F**k 'em!

Suddenly, I'm getting into Pink Floyd in the morning.

I snagged the following from Boortz.com and I gotta tell ya, this doesn't sound unlike what Nancy & Kev have been spewing on occasion. There's a very fine line between bashing for political points and outright hatred. And trust me, those two have a couple of toes well over the line.

YOU DO KNOW THAT IT'S ALL BUSH'S FAULT, DON'T YOU? I've told you that if you really want to peer into the minds of those who call themselves Democrats, all you have to do is take a look at their Internet chat room, democraticunderground.com. Here's a post from some Democrat who calls herself "barbaraann." She says "Saddam had rape rooms, Bush has rape stadiums." Here are some of the other goodies you find from our Democrat brothers and sisters who have posted to Democratic Underground: "Don't forget bush* has mass graves now also, just like Saddam." (RetroLounge) "Saddam gassed his own people, Bush let his drown. Who has the higher body count? Shrub by far." (MidnightWind) "OMG ... how true it is!!!! I hate him. I hate this bastard." (cynatnite)

The results of a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted yesterday morning. People were asked who they blamed for the disaster in New Orleans. I'm sure that the angry left will be disappointed with the results:

So ... who's to blame?

Local officials, 25%
Federal officials 18%
Bush 13%
No one 38%

Only 13%? Bummer Kev! Bummer Nance!

Try harder.

Up da river? I hope you had a paddle.

I'm behind in the gossip. But I did get to see a copy of Mr. Vinsko's case against the I&R petition. The first thing I noticed was that the case is described as The City of Wilkes-Barre vs. The Dept. of Voter Services ( or what ever the hell they call it ), not The City of Wilkes-Barre vs. Denise Carey. As far as I could see she's not even listed as a witness, let alone a responsible party. Now I'm not a lawyer, but if Voter services is the defendant how could the judge penalize Denise Carey? Any info on that?

I'm certainly not a lawyer and I will never play one on the internet. But I get the feeling you're asking me to pinpoint the exact legalese involved that I am not usually privy too. Whatever the legal eagles would refer to her as escapes me, but if I had to lable her, I'd say she was the head petition circulator, or the executive petitioner, or the person most demanding their remonstrance. There's no point trying to split legal hairs after the fact. She was the person that pushed this into a county courtroom. I imagine the "The City of Wilkes-Barre vs. The Dept. of Voter Services" is but a mere technically whenever petitioneers force the voter services people to interupt their longish naps.

I mean, I just don't get it. In my twisted little world if Voter Services lost the case (which they did) shouldn't they be the ones to pursue Denise for costs in a separate argument? Is it possible that Mr. Conahan over stepped his authority again? Is the State gonna send him another nasty gram? Maybe that's why the ACLU jumped on this so quickly. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Meanwhile, the Carey's are being forced to cough up big bucks they don't have to hire a lawyer. And they have to go out of the county because the local boys are afraid they'll be involved in a case in front of Mr. Conahan in the future. So much for justice being blind, huh?

Again, this is, to me, a non-issue. The voter services folks did not all by their lonesome demand an audience before Judge Conahan, Denise Carey forced that into coming about. Believe me, I truly wish that the ACLU could somehow get her off of this weighty $11,000 hook. But after taking a closer look at her case, I'll think they'll back off. Face it, the ACLU isn't about defending American citizens as much as it is destroying the society that American citizens once held so near and dear to them. If what she sought was the right to marry two other women and a miniature poodle, the ACLU lawyers would be filling the Ramada right about now. Don't get me wrong. I hope they can help her, but I doubt that they will being that she's not trying to abolish any semblence of morality in Wilkes-Barre.

Be honest, dude. If you were a young lawyer in this county, would you be willing to get on the ranking judge's bad side in any way?

That's what I thought.

Anyway, I still think she's being unfairly "fined" by the court system. Especially since the City wouldn't provide an itemized statement (or any statement) as to the costs that are above and beyond the normal expenditures of the City Attorneys office. Nobody seems to know where the $11,000 figure came from. It's as if it were plucked out of thin air. And that makes me think that there's something rotten in Denmark again. So, I am personally going to give them $1,000 of my hard earned cash. Yeah, the wife wasn't so keen on that idea. She's so tight she squeaks when she walks. So I won't buy a new motorcycle this year. So what. I don't really have time for the toys I have now. Sometimes you have to do what your heart says is right.

I'm not alone on this. One of my union brothers gave them $250 just the other day. The kicker is that I know he can't really afford it but he did it anyway. Another one gave a hundred. And some of the other guys have given although I don't know how much. These were unsolicited donations. Kind of does my heart good to see a little Christian spirit pop up in a city so jaded by the political scene. I guess they all realize that had she won it would have been a big victory for my union. I just hope the Careys have enough by Friday. $3,000 just to file an appeal. Crazy isn't it? I hope some of those folks from the north end are as eager to help too.

First off, some glaring errors were made with this ill-fated petition drive that all but demanded a court challenge from the city. Let's not fall prey to the nonsense currently making the rounds that evil cancelled out good in this respect.

$3,000 just to file an appeal? Jeez! Sounds like quite the hefty sum to me. Now, consider how few hours would be required of an attorney to file an appeal. And then consider how many hours would be required of Vinsko's legal underlings to scour over the pages upon pages of hastily-prepared petitions, research the legality of everything, that's everything, involved, refer to the city charter, prepare a countermanning legal document, file it at the courthouse, then have to show up in pre-trial briefs, and then actually do the legal battle in court. The $11,000 figure was pulled out of thin air? I know that plenty of folks are wanting to buy into that conspiracy theory, but, then again, not a one of them have ever attended law school.

Trust me, I fully understand that $3,000, or $11,000 is a huge chunk of change for your average family to have to shell out, and I wish things never came to any of that. But if it costs $3,000 just to file an appeal, who are we to say that Vinsko's $11,000 figure was bloated on purpose just to punish the latest activist? I know that we're discussing the lives of personal friends of yours, but, the truth be told, that $11,000 figure just might be the truth of the matter. What am I left to think? When Denise needs a lawyer, they're really, really, really expensive. But when the city needs one, they're not really all that expensive all of a sudden? Sorry, but I would not trust that train of thought.

If you're refering to myself with that Nord End comment (I'm not sure what you meant), I would be much more than willing to cough up some cashola. While I disagreed with most of what was involved with this latest petition drive, I don't want to see someone who bothered to get involved in her city suffering a financial hit of that magnitude.

Yeah, by Friday. And what happens after that? The lawyer still has to appear in court and argue her case. That's gonna cost some more. And I have no idea where they're going to get it. I don't think they do either. This isn't just a case of the City making an example of someone. They're layin' a hurt on these people. Unnecessarily and unjustly I think. What's that line from "The Holy Grail"? "Help, help! I'm being repressed!".

So what (if anything) have you heard?

Idiot! Don't get me started on Python. I'm barely able to control myself.

Bloody peasant!!! Supreme, executive power is derived from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony...

Whew!!! I stopped. I didn't know if I could without assistance. Don't do that again! I mean it!!! I'm flushed.

Dude, trust me, I didn't hear much of anything. Actually, I usually take that sort of thing as an insult of sorts. I have no Batphone link to any city officials. All too often, people think that I'm repeating something that I was told, rather than things as I percieve them to be. No problemo. Someone once told me that I make it seem so easy that it's a no-brainer to think that Tom Leighton and I meet for daily briefings. Fact is, I haven't heard much of anything.

But, if you actually hand the Carey's $1,000, that story should end up in both of our local newspapers. That would be an unselfish act of the tallest order. My Braves cap is off to you. I mean, I'm thrilled to learn that your brothers in hoses are coming to their aid, but I honestly thought that there would be a very concerted and very public campaign waged to raise some big bucks for the Carey's. She stuck her neck out for the Heights folks and they loved her for it. So, where are they now? Where is the highly-publicized effort to come to her rescue that I fully expected to see? Where the hell is it? Maybe you and I should hook up and brainstorm in that respect.

Truth be told, I saw both Tom and Denise Carey at the big Camel Toe whoop-ass volleyball event last night. I wanted to approach them and offer them my support, but I wasn't sure how they'd react to just such a thing. I realize that my very presence is anathema to many, so I stood down. Rather than risk an unfortunate spat in a highly public place, I tried not to make eye contact with them. And while driving all the way back to Wilkes-Barre, I regretted my decision.

The thing is, while I may hate your politics with all of my being, that doesn't mean that I hate you, or in this case...your family. If I had a friggin' dime for every time I told someone on the internet that I'm much, much less acerbic in person, that $11,000 would have been raised already. Whatever, man.

Anyway, if need be, count me in. Much like you, I waste money faster than this state's legislature does. I won't miss it.

Well, that is, until I happen upon a Gallery of Sound. Then you can count your lucky stars that I'll miss it. But that's a whole other addiction story.

Gotta go.

Later