The lowdown on 2007

Today will be the discussion of players who will be appearing on their first HOF ballot since their retirement. Gwynn and Ripken are sure to be elected on the first time. As much as I like the guy, the congressional testimony sure did seem to hurt Big Mac's chances.

Harold Baines - Baines came very close to 3,000 hits, finishing up with 2,866 hits in his career and 384 home runs. Baines went to 6 all-star games. It's going to be close. If he's not elected next year, he will be eventually.

Derek Bell - Very doubtful. He's likely to get a few votes but he'll get less than 5% needed to move on to 2008.

Dante Bichette - Despite four all-star selections, I don't like his chances of being elected.

Bobby Bonilla - He finished his career with over 2,000 hits and 287 home runs. Bonilla was selected for six all-star games but it's doubtful he'll enter baseball immortality.

Jeff Brantley - Nope, the current ESPN analyst does not get selected.

Jay Buhner - He just doesn't have the numbers. If he gets any votes, it will be for writers of teams that he played for and Kentucky writers as he was born in Louisville.

Ken Caminiti - It was announced post-humously that he used drugs during his career. Three all-star games and an MVP career won't get him elected.

Jose Canseco - Canseco is an unlikely candidate to get elected. He was less than forty home runs shy of 500 but he's admitted that he used steroids. The HOF has no steroid policy but a lot of writers are starting to put that in play. Nevertheless, he was the 1986 ROY and 1988 MVP, and went to several all-star games.

Eric Davis - Two all-star selections and 3 gold gloves just won't be enough.

Tony Fernandez - Finished with 2,276 hits, 4 gold gloves, and five all-star games. It's unlikely that he'll get elected.

Tony Gwynn - Gwynn is definitely going to be elected. He finished his San Diego Padres career with 3,141 hits and .338 batting average despite an abbreviated final two seasons. In 1994, before the strike, he was batting .394 through 110 games. Gwynn was selected to play in 15 all-star games.

Darryl Hamilton - Will get less than 5% of the votes.

Pete Harnisch - One all-star selection will not be enough.

Charlie Hayes - Won't get 5% of votes.

Glenallen Hill - Less than 5% of votes.

Ken Hill - Less than 5% of votes.

Stan Javier - Less than 5% of votes.

Wally Joyner - He'll get some votes due to his 2,000 hits but it's not going to be enough.

Ramon Martinez - Less than 5% of the votes.

Mark McGwire - McGwire and Sosa revitalized baseball in 1998 when they were both chasing Roger Maris for the single season record of 61 home runs. I like McGwire and I think he should be elected. He finished his two-team career with 583 home runs, including two seasons where he led the league. He finished his career with 12 selections to the all-star game, and was the recipient of the 1987 ROY in the AL. He has the numbers but his being associated with the steroid era hurts him. If he doesn't get in next year, he'll get inducted eventually.

Paul O’Neill - 2,105 hits and 281 home runs are unlikely to be enough. However, he was on five world series teams and went to five all-star games also.

Gregg Olson - He'll get less than 5% of the votes.

Cal Ripken Jr. - Like Gwynn, he'll be a lock. The Iron Man finished his career playing for the same team his whole life: The Baltimore Orioles. In 21 seasons, he hit 3,184 hits while batting .276. Ripken went to 19 consecutive all-star games. He played in over 2,600 consecutive games.

Bret Saberhagen - Three all-star games and two AL Cy Young's might get him in but it won't be on his first ballot.

Jeff Shaw - His 203 saves won't be enough.

Kevin Tapani - Less than 5% of the votes

Devon White - Three all-star selections and seven gold gloves might help him but I don't know. He'll get over five percent of the votes due to his defensive career.

Bobby Witt - Less than 5% of the votes.

Blogroll additions

Remind me in case I forget but two new blogs to be added are Political Prognostications and Politics with a Pulse. Both blogs are on different sides of the aisle.

Peace out, time to get back to Sunday Night Baseball

Bruce Sutter enters the Baseball Hall of Fame

"The atmosphere of St. Louis is something I'll always remember."
--Bruce Sutter, July 30, 2006

Bruce, we'll always remember your pitching the final six outs as the Cardinals won the World Series in 1982.

2014: Sir Charles Barkley for Governor of Alabama

Due to the laws of Alabama, Sir Charles Barkley announced on Pardon the Interruption that 2014 would be more likely than 2010.

Sir Charles Barkley for Governor of Alabama 2010

Charles Barkley for Governor of Alabama 2010!

Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has changed his political uniform from red to blue and is talking again about running for governor of Alabama, possibly in 2010.

"Alabama, that's my home. I'm thinking about running for governor; they need the help," Barkley said.

His decision was received warmly by Joe Turnham, Alabama's Democratic Party chairman, but with skepticism by a political observer.

"I say welcome Charles Barkley. Charles Barkley has been a Horatio Alger story for many people, not only in sports but in business and broadcasting," Turnham said Wednesday.

Turnham said he plans to contact Barkley and invite him to some events the party has coming up.[...]

Barkley, a Leeds native, has been talking about running for governor of his home state since he was playing with the NBA's Phoenix Suns. In 1995, he said he was considering running in 1998 as a Republican but that never materialized.

After that, Barkley continued to identify himself as a Republican until recently, when he switched to the Democratic team.

"I was a Republican until they lost their minds," he said earlier this month at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada.

Open Thread

Who do you think belongs in the National Baseball Hall of Fame that has yet to be inducted?

Start praying harder...

If you ask me, it's the start of WW3.

No one thought it would come to this but given what countries are around there, Israel has one of the toughest militaries in the world. I, like many others, am praying for peace and an end to this conflict.

The American reaction is here.

"Many of the things that he has done have led to the murder of Muslims around the world by his own jidahists," said spokesman Tony Snow, who underlined "a certain amount of hypocrisy" in Zawahiri's latest videotape.

Israel Update

Check out YNetNews for the latest.

Oh, and don't trust CNN either. That network is biased and don't count on it being fair and balanced either.

Bunning loses sanity, announces re-election bid

One has to wonder what the Republicans are thinking! Jim Bunning, a former pitcher elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee, has announced that he will be running again for the U.S. Senate in 2010 in which he will likely be crushed in the General Election by either Congressman Ben Chandler or current state treasurer Jonathan Miller.

"My gosh," Bunning said in conference call with Kentucky reporters, "I'm young, and I'm healthy."

Bunning said he is raising little money for himself. Instead, he is concentrating on raising money for his Political Hall of Fame Leadership Political Action Committee.

He said he is on mark to contribute $5,000 to 20 Republican candidates, including U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, who is running in Kentucky's 4th District against Democrat Ken Lucas, and U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who is challenged by Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown.

Bunning also said he is spending time returning fundraising favors that senators did for him during his 2004 campaign, including Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who is locked in a tough political fight.

Bunning said Santorum held four fundraisers for him during the Kentuckian's campaign, including three in Philadelphia.

The only reason why he got elected in the first place is probably because he played baseball. Pitching wise, he came close to 3,000 strikeouts but was nowhere close to 300 wins. He was 145 strikeouts away from 3,000. Then, there were those no-hitters including the perfect game. It took 25 years from his 1971 retirement to get inducted in 1996.

More on Reynolds...

Deadspin is reporting that there were claims of sexual harrassment that led to Harold Reynolds' downfall at ESPN. I'm having a very hard time believing that but we'll never know since there is no law, at least from my knowledge, to reveal why someone got fired. Unless there is a lawsuit, we'll never know.

Stay tuned...

That in-depth post...

This month has been designated as Israel Solidarity Month. Here's some signs that could be hung up anywhere.

Well, look who walked out of a John Mellencamp concert. Dan Quayle. Perhaps, someone should have told him that Mellencamp is a Democrat?

He then made a statement of his own by walking out during Mellencamp's rendition of "Walk Tall." Before launching into the song, Mellencamp told the Harveys casino crowd, in effect, that it was dedicated to everyone hurt by policies of the current Bush administration.

Quayle, who served as vice president for President Bush's father in 1989-93 walked out of the venue before Mellencamp finished the song.

Quayle said through a publicist: "Well, I think Mellencamp's performance was not very good to begin with, and the comment put it over the top."

FYI, there is another Orthodox Jewish mayor.

The wealthy Orthodox neighborhood of Lawrence, N.Y., has one; the fervently Orthodox enclave of Lakewood, N.J., has one; and now the modern Orthodox community in Teaneck, N.J., has one as well.

Elie Katz, owner of the local restaurant Chopstix, was elected Teaneck mayor by his fellow township council members last week, after receiving 60 percent of constituents’ votes in his race for the council seat.

Katz, 31, who is not only Teaneck’s first Orthodox mayor but also its youngest mayor ever, told JTA that he has “been active in the town for the last 15 years," and was also the town’s youngest-ever council member when he was first elected nine years ago.

Getting to the conflict overseas, the major bloggers have been silent for the most part. Other than praying for peace, there's nothing much one can do in this situation. True, I do support Israel and would prefer that there be no civilians that die but in wars, civilians are often casualties. It's a fact of life.

Bloggers — as the feisty class of Internet pundits are known — love to paint themselves as free-speech warriors who bravely tackle the hard truths that mainstream media outlets either ignore or distort. But as the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah raged on and conventional media outlets covered the news from the ground, major players in the liberal blogosphere were keeping, by their own admission, decidedly quiet.

The most prominent liberal blogger, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, briefly addressed the topic Monday on his eponymous Web site DailyKos.com, in a post titled "Why I won't write about the Israel/ Lebanon/ Palestine fighting."

This is "a morass of a mess of a disaster of a quagmire of a sinkhole," Kos wrote. "It doesn't matter what the President of the United States says. Or the United Nations. Or the usual bloviating gasbag pundits."

In progressive circles, Kos is known as both a commentator and an organizer — readers of his donated roughly $500,000 to Democrats in 2004 and his Yearly Kos convention in Las Vegas last month drew senators and celebrities, along with young activists.

Other leading liberal bloggers — including Josh Marshall of TalkingPointsMemo.com, Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthly and Matt Stollar of MyDD.com — acknowledged that they also were reticent to weigh in, for reasons that included both the vehemence of rhetoric from readers on both sides, and the difficulty of commenting on the rare issue that truly divides liberals.

The "venom... is just, from my personal experience, just a whole order of magnitude greater than with garden variety political topics," Marshall told the Forward. His Web site, Marshall said, typically receives 100,000 visitors a day, and as many as 300 to 500 emails from readers. In the past week, most of the vitriolic responses have come from critics of Israel.

I "touched off the fireworks" in saying that "Israel has a right to respond strongly when they have a border incursion over the Lebanese border," Marshall said. "Some readers think that because I'm critical of our policy in Iraq... I'm going to be reflexively critical of what's going on now, which I'm not."

Marshall — who was raised in a secular Jewish home and considers himself "in some ways a critic of Israel, but still a Zionist and a supporter of Israel" — said he is uncomfortable with the strange bedfellows he sometimes wins by raising concerns about Israel's conduct.

"I understand the Palestinians' rage," Marshall wrote in a July 15 post on his blog. But for "Americans who seem only to see Jewish evil in the midst of this protracted conflict I can't have anything but contempt. And it puts me on my guard."[...]

"Most conservatives simply take the uncomplicated stance that Palestinians are terrorists and that Israel should always respond to provocation in the maximal possible way," Drum wrote. "Liberals don't really have a similarly undemanding position for the quick-hit nature of blogging."

Matt Stollar echoed the thought on MyDD.

"I've noticed some clucking in the right-wing wrongosphere about silence from the major left-wing blogs on the situation in the Middle East," Stollar wrote on Saturday. "There hasn't been silence, but there has been humility in the face of a fast-moving situation that is difficult to understand."

Nine days after it all started, Congress finally moves to support Israel. For more on that, click here.

Check out BangItOut.com's latest top ten. It's hilarious!

Stephen Stills talks about this summer's tour and Democratic candidates. Also, he considers himself a centrist.

Stephen Stills wasn't being evasive. He just didn't think he was qualified to explain why Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young is calling its summer tour Freedom of Speech '06.

"I wasn't at the meeting," said Stills, who instead was on a solo trek that brought him to the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis.

He's since been to CSNY rehearsals and knows that the legendary quartet will perform nearly all the material on Neil Young's new "Living With War" and "every protest song that we ever wrote."

"We're approaching it as the 'Everything You Hate About Liberals Tour,' " Stills said with a chuckle before a recent rehearsal. That probably means "Ohio," "For What It's Worth" and "Rockin' in the Free World," among others.

Stills, 61, is not concerned about the kind of fan backlash the Dixie Chicks experienced because of their outspoken anti-Bush views. "You know what you're getting when you show up at our show," Stills said.

The point of Young's album - and the focal point of the CSNY tour - is not subtle.

"Basically, it's, 'We've had enough of Republicans and this administration and this war and the lack of leadership in this country,' " said Stills. "I certainly concur. But I'm the guy saying, 'We're becoming everything we hate about liberals. Be careful.' Still, we're in our 60s - if anybody can speak up, it's us."

Stills considers himself the political centrist of CSNY, which of course includes David Crosby and Graham Nash.

"Graham's always been outspoken to the point of anarchy. Dave is Dave. Neil is pretty ferocious when he gets his teeth on a whole thing," said Stills, a member of the Democratic National Committee since the 1980s. After the concerts, he will campaign for Democratic candidates, although he knows some of them "may run from me because of this tour."

Yarmuth has a new campaign manager.

Yarmuth said last month he hoped two developments would raise the national profile of the race and help him raise money -- his newly hired manager, Jason Burke, 34, a Connecticut native and veteran of seven congressional races, and a poll commissioned by his campaign in June showing the race was a dead heat.

Burke, who began work for Yarmuth July 10, managed a successful write-in campaign in the May primary for Democratic congressional candidate Charlie Wilson in Ohio's 6th District.

He replaces Dan Borsch, 30, a lawyer who said in an interview last month that he and Yarmuth had a "mutual coming together of the minds" over his role.

James Carville is in town this week.

A new Blues Brothers film?!? Check it out here!

When SNL returns in the fall, it will be without Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch. Word has it that, due to budget cuts, the cast will be smaller than usual so who knows if there will be any new cast members.

Hastert will show where he truly stands on Israel given the latest.

Maliki sharply criticized Israel last week for its response to Hezbollah attacks on Israeli territory.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives said in a statement that those remarks "have undermined U.S. objectives in the Middle East."

The members want House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to secure an apology from Maliki or cancel his speech.

Bayh will help the middle class if he's elected President in 2008.

"If this president will not speak for our middle class, I will. And if Democrats want to lead our nation again, we must," Bayh said.

In speeches both in Washington and Iowa, Bayh recently proposed a $6,000 tax credit to help with college costs for families making as much as $100,000 a year, new government health coverage for catastrophic illness to help bring insurance rates down and a 30-percent government match for individual savings accounts to help people save for retirement.

Bayh's new middle-class pitch seems aimed at Iowa specifically, where he only drew two percent support in a recent newspaper poll and where the Democrat who polled the highest, John Edwards, has been emphasizing help for those in poverty.

Finally finished with political news for the day, let's move on to sports. In Red Sox news:
July 14: L 15-3 against Oakland. Beckett (11-5) picks up the loss.
July 15: W 7-0. Schilling (11-3) shut's A's out. Ortiz hits #32.
July 16: L 8-1. Snyder (1-1) picks up the loss. Gonzales hits #2.
July 17: W 5-4 against KC. Timlin (5-0) gets the win. Papelbon his 27th save. Mirabelli hits #3.
July 18: W 1-0. Lester (5-0) combines with Papelbon (28) for the win.
July 19: W 1-0. Beckett (12-5) combines with Papelbon (29) for the win. Manny hits #25.
July 20: W 6-4 against Texas. Schilling (12-3) combines with Timlin (2) for the win.
July 21: W 9-4 against Mariners. Snyder (2-1) picks up the win. HR: Alex Gonzalez (7), David Ortiz (33), Manny Ramirez (26), Jason Varitek (10), and Kevin Youkilis (11).
July 22: L 5-2. Gabbard (0-1) gets the loss. Lowell hits #13.
July 23: L 9-8. Timlin (5-1) gets the loss. Varitek hits #11.
July 24: W 7-3 against Oakland. Beckett (13-5) gets the win. HR: Alex Gonzalez (8), David Ortiz (34), Manny Ramirez (27).

Ortiz is less than 30 home runs away from tying the single season record for home runs in the American League. It's still at 61.

Harold Reynolds fired from ESPN?

I hope this is false. Baseball Tonight is not complete without Harold Reynolds.

Quick post...

I'll get an in-depth post up recapping news in the past week up tomorrow sometime in the morning. While I was in Canada, I saw a lot of American flags hanging up next to the Canadian flags. Plus, food was frickin' expensive! I don't know if it had to do with the food being imported or not, but even with the exchange rate, jumbo pretzel there cost $5 in Canada.

In the mean time, State Rep. Kathy Stein has called on Jerry Lundergan to be replaced as the state chairman of the KDP.

Currently, all GOP candidates in the state are leading their opponents in the congressional races when the financial reports were last filed.

Joe Lieberman is still my candidate of choice. You should see what they wrote in the Connecticut Jewish Ledger about him.

"Remember Hubert Humphrey?" he asks a crowd old enough to remember Hubert Humphrey from before Lieberman was born.

"He was my kind of Democrat. He said we should judge a society by how it takes care of people in the first chapter of life and in the final chapter of life. That final chapter is getting longer and..."

And from there he reminds of the need to protect "the best program we ever created - Social Security"...and of the president's attempt to "limit and squeeze" the two second-best programs ever created, Medicare and Medicaid, while providing tax cuts for billionaires...intermingled with a sweet story about his own Jewish mother, the late Marcia Lieberman.

As Lieberman wraps up, the hands go up.

What is Lieberman's stand on immigration? (He's one of the original sponsors of the Kennedy/McCain bill.) What is his take on the crisis in Israel? (The Arab world wants to see Hezbollah gone and Iran marginalized.) Is he or is he not for the privatization of Social Security? (No, he does not support privatization. Yes, something needs to be done to protect Social Security.)

"What about Iraq?" one elderly gentleman asks.

Lieberman is unfazed as he patiently reiterates his position.

"My opponent would have you believe that I want our troops to stay in Iraq forever. That's not true," he says, and then proceeds to outline his stand.

Joe Lieberman might as well be sitting around a kitchen table, sipping tea with old friends for all the ease and intimacy with which he answers each question. Clearly, the three-time senator is in his element. And it isn't because here at the Hebrew Home he is among his people. It is because here at the Hebrew Home he is among people. Looking them in the eye. Talking face to face...one on one. Placing his hand on a shoulder, here. Pumping a hand, there.

I'll say it right now. Criticize me if you dare but remember, the Democratic party is the party of the big tent. Joe Lieberman is the type of Democrat we need in the U.S. Senate. People may hate him for what he said about President Clinton with the scandal but it was the right thing to do. However, there is a thing called forgiiveness. That brings me to point #2: former President Bill Clinton has decided to campaign for Sen. Joe Lieberman's re-election to the U.S. Senate.

Democrats "don't agree on everything. We don't agree on Iraq," Clinton said, calling the conflict the "pink elephant in the living room."

But "the real issue is, whether you were for it or against it, what are we going to do now. And let me tell you something, no Democrat is responsible for the mistakes that have been made since the fall of Saddam Hussein that have brought us to this point."[...]

"He seems like a perfectly nice man. He's got every right to run and he's waged a vigorous campaign," the former president said.[...]

Clinton said Lieberman has long been a loyal Democratic vote on issues as diverse as organized labor and the environment.

Clinton was greeted with cheers louder than Lieberman received from the audience, and the words "Four More Years" were clearly audible in the crowd.

And he proudly recalled that Clinton first volunteered to help him in 1970, when he was running for the state legislature in his first campaign.

"I'm in a big fight here," he said more than once during the day, and the polls, the recent addition of campaign staff and the decision to seek help from Clinton were all evidence of that.

The former president wasn't the only nationally known Democrat campaigning for Lieberman as the lawmaker sought to rebuild support among Democrats who long supported him.

Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, an ardent critic of the war, praised Lieberman for his stand on other issues. "If you want to meet a leader on the environment, a leader on all the difficult choice issues, you got one here," she said at a campaign stop at a candy store.

Even then, Lieberman was looking forward to Clinton's visit.

"You know, I'm in a big fight here, and I understand that ... and as our mutual friend who's coming in later today, President Clinton, always reminds us, every campaign is about the future," he said.

"I know George Bush. I've worked against George Bush. I've even run against George Bush. But Ned, I'm not George Bush," Lieberman said recently during the only debate of their campaign.

"So why don't you stop running against him and have the courage and honesty to run against me and the facts of my record," Lieberman told Lamont.

Kentucky State Treasurer Jonathan Miller was spotted recently at the DLC convention.

Kentucky state treasurer Jonathan Miller said he had used religious terms to talk about global warming in his Bible Belt state.

"This Earth is G-d's creation," said Miller. "Global warming is the great moral debate of our time."

Miller recently spoke about the fundraising plans of the party.

Democratic State Treasurer Jonathan Miller said he hasn't been told how the party plans to make up the fundraising gap.

"You always want to enter a campaign season at least on a level playing field or have more money than your political opponents," he said. "I haven't heard from anyone in the part as to whether there's a strategy to level the playing field and enter November with more in the bank."

That's all for now. Big update tomorrow.

Ben Chandler on Israel

I just got back from vacation to find this email in my inbox.

Transcript of Remarks by Congressman Ben Chandler on
the Israel Support Resolution in July, 2006 (House of Representatives)

Mr. Chandler:
"Mr. Speaker--I am deeply troubled by the recent violent events in the Middle East.

The United States must stand with Israel and recognize their right to defend their people and country from these unprovoked acts of terrorism.

Innocent civilians are losing their lives right now as a result of extremist religious terrorism.

Take the heartbreaking story of Monica Seidman as an example.
42 year old Monica, a mother of two, moved to the Israeli town of Naharia from Argentina three years ago.

Last Wednesday as she was sitting on her porch having coffee, a Hezbollah fired rocket made a direct hit on her building, instantly killing her.

Monica was the first civilian killed in this conflict. How can this be explained to her children? How will they ever understand the meaning of this attack?

I believe the United States must call on Syria and Iran to stop all support of Hezbollah. The Israeli people do not want violence. They want peace.

They want to be able to go about life without causing harm to anyone else and without fearing for their own safety. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon six years ago is proof of their desire for peace and stability in the region.

It is my hope that Israel will be able to secure its border quickly and facilitate a safe return for its soldiers captured by Hezbollah and Hamas and that is why I fully support this resolution."

Congressman Ben Chandler
Member of Congress

A Prayer for Israel

Our Father in Heaven, Rock and Redeemer of the people Israel: Bless the State of Israel, the dawn of our redemption. Shield it with Your love; spread over it the shelter of Your peace. Guide its leaders and advisors with Your light and Your truth: Help them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our Holy Land. deliver them; crown their efforts with triumph. bless the land with peace, and its inhabitants with lasting joy. And let us say: Amen.

A Prayer for Peace
May we see the day when war and bloodshed cease, when a great peace will embrace the whole world.

Then nation will not threaten nation, and mankind will not again know war.

For all who live on earth shall realize we have not come into being to hate or to destroy.

We have come into being to praise, to labor and to love.

Compassionate God, bless the leaders of all nations with the power of compassion.

Fulfill the promise conveyed in Scripture;

I will bring peace to the land, and you shall lie down and no one shall terrify you.

I will rid the land of vicious beasts and it shall not be ravaged by war.

Let love and justice flow like a mighty stream.

Let peace fill the earth as the waters fill the sea.

And let us say: Amen.

Most of these generic prayers can be found in USCJ Siddurs.

On hiatus

I'm on hiatus this week but please say a prayer for Eretz v'Medinat Yisrael as the Promised Land struggles with yet another conflict.

And read Honest Reporting because CNN is a bunch of lying a-holes.

The past few days in news and politics...

If things keep going the way that they are going, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest will break $300 million this year, and maybe even touch $400 million. Currently, it's now the highest grossing movie of 2006, breaking the numbers set by X-Men: The Last Stand this year.

The Jewish Sports Review named their All-America baseball team which included senior infielder Jason Newberger.

In baseball today, Chipper Jones tied a major league record for consecutive games with an extra-base hit set in 1927 by Paul Waner. It also extended his hitting streak to 16 games. In my mind, Chipper Jones is a Hall of Famer.

Bayh and Lugar both comment on the situation in North Korea.

"You try diplomacy, but it has to be backed up by tangible consequences if he doesn't do the right thing," said Sen. Evan Bayh. "Because, whether it's North Korea or Iran, with these radical regimes, you have to be tough in order to convince them it's in the world's best interest and their best interest, too."

Freedom Hall wasn't being very nice and for the first time since the 1980's or 70's, UK will play host to Indiana University at Rupp Arena. Chatanooga will play the Cats in Freedom Hall as a result.

ABC Family is starting to air more original programming rather than shows aired in syndication. The 8-10 slot, usually reserved for movies, is starting to get filled in with original shows. Mondays include Kyle XY and the Canadian series Falcon Beach. Fallen starting on July 23rd is a three-movie miniseries. They will air the first this year, and the next two in 2007. If they were smart, they would air them in consecutive weeks. Another series that might catch on is Three Moons Over Milford which debuts on August 6th for eight weeks at 8 PM.

My condolences to the family of Alan Senitt, a rising star in British politics whose life was tragicly robbed.

Apparently, Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska thinks the internet is a bunch of tubes.

"I just the other day got, an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why? Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the internet commercially.[...]

"They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It’s not a truck. It’s a series of tubes."

Mike Weaver held a rally in response to the visit by VP Cheney in Owensboro.

In CT, Jewish leaders speak out in support of Joe Lieberman. Speaking of which, it appears that many are treating this race as a one-issue vote. It should never be about one issue. Single-issue parties have historically never survived. Frankly, I think it's a waste of money being spent by Moveon.org and others. Joe will survive the primary and cruise to an easy re-election in November.

Many Jewish groups are calling on the international community to condemn the attacks by Hezbollah.

"The American Jewish community is being mobilized to support Israel’s right to self-defense, including measures taken to end the more than 1,000 rockets fired from Gaza, the repeated missile and other attacks across the Lebanese border, and all other acts of terror," the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said in a statement Wednesday.

The call came after Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist group, killed eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapped two others in a cross-border attack.

Other groups issuing statements included Hadassah; the Reform movement; the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the umbrella body for Jewish Community Relations Councils; and the Anti-Defamation League.

I stand with Israel and I will continue to stand with Israel.

BangItOut.com sent this to those on it's mailing list.

Top Ten Improvements to the Beirut Airport:
10. Sheik Hassan Nasrallah's 3rd attempt to make "Mile High club" with donkey put on permanent hold
9. Finally a night when Suha Arafat isn't the only one "gettin' bombed" in the first class lounge
8. Annoying metal detectors no longer detecting small things like nail clippers, belt buckles, missile launchers
7. Iran Air now offering upgrades to all Al Quaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas members
6. Runways named "holiest" site in all of the Middle East
5. The "Mesha'al puts the Dumb-Ass in Damascus" tshirt - Top giftshop seller!
4. As usual, all Shoe-Bomber shoe shines are free!
3. Lots more bomb/leg room for all first class terrorists
2. Thanks to Israel, Hezbollah Frequent Flyer Mileage will be valid for a very very limited time
1. With the airport in ruins, flying the Friendly Skies has really become a whole lot friendlier

Go here for the DVD extras.

That's all for this week. See you next week.

Blogroll changes

New Hampshire State Representative Peter Sullivan has found a new home online at his new blog.

In other news, I'll be OFFLINE from MONDAY to next SATURDAY.

Lieberman

Our friend, the Scoop Jackson Democrat, makes some comments on Lieberman over at Raising Kaine here and here. It's a good read so make sure to check it out.

Israel

I stand with Israel.

An NJDC has the following statements.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) and House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD)(7/12/06):

"The House Democratic leadership strongly condemns the seizure of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah terrorists operating from Lebanon... Countries with influence over Hezbollah, particularly Syria and Iran, must move quickly to bring about the return of the soldiers and the end of rocket attacks on Israeli civilians from Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. The Palestinian Authority, and countries with influence over Hamas, must take similar action in Gaza.

"Those who finance, direct, or otherwise support acts like these need to understand that they have produced an extremely dangerous situation and that they are responsible for the consequences. Israel has an inherent right to defend itself, and the United States supports our ally."

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (NV) (7/12/06):

"Today's attacks by Hezbollah in Israeli territory were disgraceful and unwarranted acts of violence by a terrorist organization. Hezbollah must release the captured Israeli soldiers immediately. Hezbollah must be dismantled, and all nations have an obligation to cease any and all assistance to this terrorist organization. Israel has a right to live in peace and security, and the United States will stand by our ally in this difficult time."

U.S. Representative Gary Ackerman (NY), Ranking Democrat of the House of Representatives International Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia (7/12/06):

"If the world is serious about peace in the Middle East, then Tehran and Damascus need to be held accountable for feeding, fostering, and occasionally unleashing, these rabid, blood-spattered killers. The money, weapons and political support Hezbollah and Hamas receive from Iran and Syria are not uncontrollable or natural phenomena and the international community must demand that they stop. Cross-border attacks on Israel should result in tough international sanctions on Syria and Iran, and the UN Security Council should immediately pursue this option...

"Israel has an absolute right to defend itself from this aggression and the Israeli Defense Forces has shown it knows how to do this."

U.S. Representative Alcee Hastings (FL), Co-Chair, House of Representatives Democratic Working Group on Israel (7/12/06):

"Hezbollah's actions against Israel are unconsciousable. Instead of working towards peace, Hezbollah has chosen to perpetuate the violence. Terrorist attacks such as these are cowardly and resolve nothing... Let us not be misled into believing these attacks arise from a single source. The terrorist organizations, Hezbollah and Hamas, are unquestionably sponsored and guided by the Iranian and Syrian governments... The Syrian and Iranian governments should be condemned along with the terrorist groups they harbor.

"Israel must have the right to defend herself. Like the United States and other sovereign nations, Israel is justified in reestablishing its deterrent posture."

U.S. Representative Gene Green (TX), Co-Chair, House of Representatives Democratic Working Group on Israel (7/13/06):

"Attempts by Hezbollah to open a second front after the kidnapping from Gaza are an attack on Israel's sovereignty. Hezbollah's actions require Israel to defend itself, and Israel's actions to take out terrorist camps along its borders to prevent this from happening again are warranted and justified.

"Israel has had to defend itself from terrorist organizations that have felt it shouldn't exist throughout its history, and must continue to do so following these killings and kidnappings to protect its people and free the soldiers taken by the terrorist group Hezbollah."

U.S. Representative Robert Wexler (FL), Ranking Democrat of the House of Representatives International Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats (7/12/06):

"I strongly condemn the horrific attack on Israel's northern border carried-out by Hezbollah terrorists based in Southern Lebanon. The murder and abduction of Israeli soldiers - in conjunction with the infiltration of Israeli military bases and rocket attacks on Northern Israel - are inexcusable acts of aggression that further destabilize the Middle East.

"These provocations stand in stark violation of international law, and I strongly support Israel's unequivocal right to self-defense."

Also, in local news, Kathy Stein is stepping up against the administration with legislation to unblock the sites that Fletcher et al blocked.

Stein, at a news conference in the Capitol Annex, said her bill still would allow government to ban workers' access to pornographic or gambling Web sites, but would make sure news and commentary sites would be handled in a "viewpoint-neutral way."

"This common-sense bill respects workers and taxpayers and it prevents politically motivated censorship," said Stein, D-Lexington.

Joining Stein to support the legislation were Treasurer Jonathan Miller and David Sirota, co-chair of the non-partisan, non-profit Progressive States Network based in New York City.

Earlier this week, Public Citizen -- a national, non-profit consumer advocacy organization -- filed a federal lawsuit against the Fletcher administration, saying it cannot block state workers' access to political blogs while permitting the use of traditional news sites.

Public Citizen, based in Washington, D.C., filed the suit on behalf of Mark Nickolas, who writes the BluegrassReport.org political blog.

Louisville attorney Jennifer Moore, who is working with Public Citizen on the lawsuit, said the state unconstitutionally singled out Nickolas' political news site one day after Nickolas criticized the governor in a New York Times article.

The Fletcher administration contends that it did not target Nickolas' blog, but had formulated a policy to add to a list of sites banned on state employees' computers, including gambling and pornographic sites.

Blogs on mainstream media Web sites, as well as prominent conservative blogs, remain accessible.

Sirota said Fletcher's action is troubling.

"What's next on a slippery slope like this? Books he doesn't like?"

Nickolas, who attended today's news conference but did not participate in it, said he supports the intent of Stein's legislation.

"State workers should do their work but shouldn't be beholden to the political views of their employer," he said.

Stein said she hopes to have her legislation finalized in a few weeks. It would be considered in the 2007 General Assembly, which begins in January.

Fletcher's office referred questions about Stein's legislation to the Finance and Administration Cabinet, which oversees state computers.

Jill Midkiff, a cabinet spokeswoman, said, "We cannot comment on a concept."

SIGN THIS PETITION

Starbucks kicks out Democrats

Rumor has it that a Starbucks franchise in Northern Kentucky kicked out some college Democrats who were just minding their own business and not disrupting others.

The story is still developing -- more to come later...

Received an email from a Northern Kentucky Democrat with a statement from Starbucks:

I'd like to thank you both again for taking the time out today to speak with me.

I appreciated your candor and must agree that we had the opportunity to handle this situation in a much different way. Again for that, please accept my sincere apologies.

As regular Starbucks customers, I am sure that you both know that two important cornerstones support the Starbucks Experience; the highest quality coffee and an environment that's welcoming and inviting. To be sure, we work hard to create an environment geared toward the sharing of conversations, ideas and experiences.

Let me again assure you that though Starbucks itself is an apolitical company, Starbucks does not have a policy prohibiting groups discussing political topics from meeting in our stores. Instead, our guidelines are geared toward creating an environment where people of diverse opinions feel welcome. In protection of that ideal, we may sometimes overreact to situations that seem to conflict with that notion.

We don't take this issue lightly. Our district manager for the area spent most of the day clarifying our procedures involving large gatherings in our stores to ensure that this won't happen in the future. Further, we are planning to communicate about these guidelines to our stores across the U.S. and Canada.

I certainly hope this unfortunate experience doesn't affect your decision to meet at this or any other Starbucks location in the future. Please don't hesitate to contact me directly to set up a time to do that, if it's convenient for you.

Will Superman return again

Only with $200 million gross for Superman Returns.

All-Star Recap

Well, let's just say that I would have rather had Izzy in there in the 9th inning pitching for us. It doesn't matter how many get on base because he still gets us out of a jam.

The NL got a break with the ground-rule double but the two-run triple definitely did help matters. The NL doesn't get home field advantage yet again and it makes me angry because they get creamed in IL play. I'm starting to think whether or not the NL teams elected by the fans are truly the All-Stars they deserve to be. You can't have an NL team without Ken Griffey, Jr. Scott Rolen should have played some yesterday. Some of the pitchers selected did not even pitch a minute. It's an all-star game--play everyone. If Adam Dunn starts batting for average as well as power, his bat would have been helpful last night. The NL has had two leads since they last won in 1996--us fans need to start electing players who want to play to win because it counts for the post-season HFA.

At the all-star break, here are my midseason post-season awards
National League
ROY: Ryan Zimmerman
MVP: Albert Pujols
CY: Brandon Webb

Pitching TC Leaders:
Wins: Tom Glavine
ERA: Carlos Zambrano
Strikeouts: Brandon Webb

American League
ROY: Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Liriano
MVP: David Ortiz
CY: Roy Halladay

Pitching TC Leaders
Wins: Roy Halladay
ERA: Francisco Liriano
Strikeouts: Johan Santana

I'm hoping St. Louis plays a better second half of the season. Even though his playing has been less than impressive this season, Jason Isringhausen leads the NL in saves with 26. He's tied with the MLB lead with Jenks and Papelbon. Batting-wise, the Cards have quite a few in the top fifty with Rolen, Pujols, Eckstein, and yes, he's actually up there--Juan Encarnacion. Edmonds is in the top 100.

At the rate it is looking, David Ortiz will probably break the AL record for home runs in a single season which is still at 61 in case you forgot.

With regards to the 500 home run club, Jim Thome (460) and Manny Ramirez (459) are edging closer to joining it which pretty much guarantees them a spot in the HOF. Alex Rodriguez (448) will likely be joining next season if he gets out of the slump he's in. Frank Thomas (467) should get there but he's been fading out the past few years since the end of the 2003 season. Mike Piazza (409) should but he just hasn't been putting up the numbers like he used to. He needs to go AL and start DH'ing. But for a catcher, he's Hall-bound in my opinion. Carlos Delgada (391) needs two or three seasons to get there--he's having an Edmonds year with the way his AVG is this season. Gary Sheffield is at 453 and will likely join the club next season or in two seasons due to the injury this year.

And let's look at the 300 hit club, Craig Biggio is the closest to 3,000 among active players with 2,883. Bonds is next with 2,789. Steve Finley has 2,491. Sheffield has 2,383.

In pitching, Tom Glavine will join the 300-win club next year most likely. He's pitched 19 games this season, winning 11 of those. The Mets have been superhot this year and he's having his best year since 2002. Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez should join the 3,000 K club this year.

I'm leaving off closers since they really haven't been elected to the HOF.

Politics meets baseball...

Sen. John Loudon, a Republican running for Missouri State Auditor, got into some trouble with the St. Louis Cardinals as of late. Putting politics aside for a second, I'm glad he's a Cardinals fan but it's these sort of things that hurt you in a campaign no matter what party you are involved with.

The St. Louis Cardinals have told Sen. John Loudon, a candidate for state auditor, not to copy their tickets on a fundraising invitation.[...]

The Chesterfield Republican violated the team's trademark protections by duplicating Cardinals tickets, including the team logo and player images, the team said.

The invitation also improperly "morphed" the image of pitcher Chris Carpenter into that of Loudon, said Ron Watermon, the Cardinals' director of governmental affairs and special projects.

"It literally looks like one of our tickets," Watermon told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for an article Wednesday. "We were surprised, and we took steps to correct it."

The team told Loudon to replace the invitation with another one.

"As a lifelong Cardinals fan, my only intention was to rally my supporters in a way I hope the Cardinals will rally in the second half of the season," Loudon said in a written statement. "I appreciate the gracious response from the Cardinals, and I will immediately abide by the Cardinals' request."[...]

Watermon said team executives weren't overly upset but that Loudon should have sought permission. He also said team owners aren't endorsing anyone in the race. Loudon faces four other Republicans in the Aug. 8 primary.

Bayh on CNN

All America has video from the other day from CNN.

Recapping the last few weeks

So sorry for my absence for the most part over the past few weeks...lack of blogging means increased email when I have the chance to blog--which reminds me that I'll have to change my google alerts when I do go on vacation. Plus, I've seen an increased amount of movies in the first few weeks of July, and some days have been devoted to watching trilogies in one day--I'm waiting til after vacation to watch all six Star Wars films in one day. Blogger has an outage at 4 pacific so I'm blogging as much as I can--which means little or no commentary.

Keeping Red Sox news short, the Sox go into the break with a short lead in the American League's East division. Mark Loretta, David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, Jonathan Papelbon, and Manny Ramirez were selected to the American League roster but Ramirez will not attend due to a "sore knee." This is a problem because no matter how many times the fans vote him in, Ramirez never plays in the mid-season classic. I can't believe I wasted my 24 votes on Manny.

Bradley Braves sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant was selected in the NBA Draft as the ninth pick to the Golden State Warriors. O'Bryant's teammate, Marcellus Sommerville, is playing for the Dallas Mavericks as a member of the 37th Southern California Summer Pro League. UK sophomore guard Rajon Rondo was drafted by the Phoenix Suns and traded to the Boston Celtics.

SNL alumni Will Ferrell and Adam McKay have signed a two-year deal to produce low-budget comedies.

In some sad news to report, NH State Representative Peter Sullivan has pulled out of his congressional campaign.

Last week was Independence Week for Barry Welsh's congressional campaign.

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin is critical of the plan dealing with the primary calendar.

Harkin has a message for the Democratic National Committee, or DNC, which still must approve the 2008 calendar later this year:

“If something isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” Harkin said. He made the comments at a taping of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” which airs this weekend.

This article is only the first as Evan Bayh builds up name recognition. Apparently, the presidential bug is contagious in the U.S. Senate.

Rob Corddry is the latest cast member of The Daily Show to become a father this year. Who knows, if the show is still around in 20 something years, we may see a cast with similar names...

Hmmm, Feingold may want to take a look at this poll for what it's worth.

Wow, this is an interesting piece of news. Hard Rock Cafe is up for sale. Anyone have a billion dollars?!?

Give me til August til decide what I do with regards to Sen. Lieberman but in the meantime, he still has my endorsement for the primary campaign. Speaking of Sen. Lieberman, who is indeed in the race of his life, here's what Sen. Bayh is saying.

- Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh was back in Iowa on Thursday, raising funds for legislative candidates and testing waters for a potential presidential run in 2008.

The Democrat has now visited Iowa five times in the last 12 months, exceeding most other potential candidates also seeking a foothold in the state that launches the presidential nominating season.

Bayh touts his two terms as governor and two terms as senator in overwhelmingly Republican Indiana - a signal he could attract independents and moderate Republicans in a general election.

In his latest swing through Iowa, Bayh told The Associated Press that Democrats have yet to capitalize on voters' waning support of President Bush's handling of the Iraq war. Bayh said the Democratic Party has "a diversity of views ... about what to do in Iraq," which may have muddled the party's stance.

Bayh said he has occasionally been critical of the war, though he opposes setting a timetable to withdraw from Iraq.[...]

Bayh also expressed support for Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who faces a tough Democratic primary fight against Ned Lamont.

Lieberman is facing his first primary challenge in his 18-year Senate career - largely sparked by his support for the war in Iraq.

"I've raised money for him and I've supported him," Bayh said. "If Joe asks, I absolutely would go up there" to campaign for Lieberman.

Democrats who have supported Lieberman will face a tough choice if he loses in the primary. Lieberman has taken steps to run as an independent if he loses, which would put him against another Democrat in the election.

Bayh would not say what he would do in that case.

"That's a hypothetical question that I think isn't going to happen," Bayh said. "I think that Joe is going to win. He has a good record and a progressive record on many issues."

Oy vey. These Hollywood types need to stop exploiting religion.

Hank Greenberg will soon be on a postage stamp.

Getting back to Lieberman, here's an article from JTA.

“It does present a dilemma,” said Steve Grossman, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

“If you consider yourself first and foremost part of the pro-Israel community, you will stick with Joe Lieberman,” said Grossman, who also is a past president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “If you’re so overwhelmingly convinced that ending the war as soon as possible is of paramount importance, I could understand why you would find Joe Lieberman a candidate you could no longer support.”[...]

She said Lamont had met with a number of Jewish leaders. Jewish officials, however, say they haven’t sensed any outreach.

“I don’t think he’s spoken out effectively to things the mainstream Jewish voters feel,” said Richard Greenfield, publisher of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger.

On Lamont’s Web site, the single foreign issue addressed is Iraq. Israel merits a passing mention in that context: “Israel is no safer” since the Iraq war, the site says.

If Lieberman does end up losing the primary and running as an independent, it would split Jewish voters, said Steve Rabinowitz, a strategist who advises Democrats and Jewish groups.

“A lot of Jewish Democrats will support the Democratic nominee because they’re Democrats, but there will be support for the icon Joe Lieberman,” he said.

Grossman said he’s supporting Lieberman.

“I don’t criticize those who can’t support Joe Lieberman because he no longer represents the views of progressive Democrats. But there has not been a greater champion of Israel and the well-being of the Jewish people,” Grossman said.

It’s unclear how many Jewish Democrats share that view. Jewish fund-raisers canvassed by JTA said they favored Lieberman — even those who profoundly disagree with him on Iraq.

But an internal Democratic poll of Connecticut Jews sees Lamont leading by 50 percent to 41 percent, JTA has learned. The sample was small, but the results were a dramatic departure from the 90-plus approval rating Lieberman scored among Jews after Al Gore named him as his running mate in 2000.

Barbara Boxer is supporting Lieberman in the primary campaign. So does Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado.

What's happening in Camp Bayh? Click to find out.

Bayh's odds are 13-1 for the nomination in 2008.

Paul Hackett has finally endorsed Sherrod Brown for Senator.

Ernie Fletcher has lost his mind and gone crazy. He now thinks that he should appoint the state attorney general as well as treasurer. Fletcher has lost his mind so much since becoming elected that I don't think he even should earn the title "former governor" in December 2007 when he gets evicted. Locally, Democrats remain patient when it comes to 2007.

Bayh in the C-J.

Natalie Portman to play Indiana Jones' daughter?!?

If Karen Allen is telling the truth, then Natalie Portman--yes, THE Natalie Portman--will be playing the daughter of Indiana Jones in the fourth movie of the series. Hollywood.com has more.

Natalie Portman is being lined up to play Indiana Jones' daughter in the fourth and final movie adventure to star Harrison Ford as the daredevil archaeologist.

The Perfect Storm star Karen Allen, who is expected to reprise her Marion Ravenwood role in the upcoming Indiana Jones movie, let the news slip about Star Wars heroine Portman at a question-and-answer session in New York on Friday.

Allen spoke to Indiana Jones fans after a screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and, although she was coy about her own part in the fourth film, she revealed Portman's name is being mentioned.

She told fans, "I just heard Natalie Portman was cast as Indy's daughter."

One fan in attendance says, "She (Allen) immediately changed the subject as if she knew she shouldn't have said anything."

Natalie Portman Rap Response

Ryan Reyes has posted a response to the Natalie Portman gangsta rap on YouTube. There may be some foul language involved so watch with caution.

Mark sues Ernie

I can't say that I'm not surprised when I read this headline.

The second issue, however, has significant national implications as it involves the unconstitutional efforts by government to discriminate against non-traditional media, like the blogs. In this case, the mainstream newspapers’ websites were not blocked, but non-traditional media like mine were. They did so with no standards or policy guidelines in place and implemented in a non-sensical and arbitrary manner.

This is fertile constitutional ground since the blogosphere is such a recent phenomenon, but the courts have already begun according blogs with media protections (as has the FEC) and historically are quite sensitive to targeting of non-traditional media, often comparing them to the early American pamphleteers.

Go get 'em, Mark.

In other news, it's time again for the midseason classic. I'm pulling for Ryan Howard of the Phillies.

Pirates 2: Dead Man's Chest

The movie opened up on Friday to over $55 million, and I've read an estimated $43 million on Saturday. It's already shattered the single-day record and is likely to crush the $114 million opening weeekend record set by one of the films in the Spider-Man franchise.

The next film is set to open on May 25, 2007 during Memorial Day weekend. If this film is any indication, it will shatter the record set by X3 this year.

Hopefully, Disney's stock will increase as a result.

There is a scene at the end of the credits (I missed it the first time).

Wow...

Didn't realize when I posted excerpts from Jerry Tipton's column on in a post titled "More Basketball News" that it would lead to so many hits dealing with Trey Frazer (possible UK walk-on) and Renardo Sidney, Jr. (6'9", 230, 9th grader). If the Cats do end up signing Sidney, I expect he would do a tremendous job.

Batman vs. Superman?

It's been rumored for sometime now but will Batman vs. Superman finally become a reality? With the Batman franchise beginning from scratch and Superman returning after a long absence, it looks like it will be taking off soon. Take a look at this MTV report.

Now that Superman has returned, what menace will he battle next? That's the big question in Hollywood this week, and since Brandon Routh was discovered in casting sessions for a once-planned Batman vs. Superman flick, rumors of the blockbuster smackdown have been resurrected. "I was at a party recently; Hugh Jackman had a benefit at his house," Superman Returns director Bryan Singer said. "I went there, and Christian Bale was there, and I suddenly felt like Brandon should be there too. I had all these superheroes around me." Routh added that while he enjoyed sparring verbally with Batman star Bale recently at the MTV Movie Awards, he'd prefer to see the two heroes work together. "I don't think we should go toe-to-toe, unless one of us is deranged somehow by some mind-altering drug," he laughed. "We shouldn't be fighting each other; we should be combining forces." Singer said he'd consider directing a Batman vs. Superman flick, but only after the Man of Steel establishes his identity a bit more thoroughly. "I've thought about it for a long time — even a longer time ago, actually," the director revealed. "But I don't know who would be the villain. I guess Batman would be the villain, but then he can't be too bad, because he is Batman. So not quite yet. ... I think Superman needs to have his own movies for a little while before that happens." Either way, Singer insisted that "everybody's excited to do more ... and I'm sure we'll do another one." And Routh had this word of warning for Bale: "I don't think Batman really, really wants to go and mess with Superman." ...

It's definitely a film that I would pay to see.

2006 Emmy Nominations

List of primetime Emmy nominations
Posted 7/6/2006 9:34 AM ET E-mail | Save | Print | Subscribe to stories like this



By The Associated Press
Nominees in major categories for the 58th annual Primetime Emmy Awards announced Thursday by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:
Drama Series: Grey's Anatomy, ABC; House, Fox; The Sopranos, HBO; 24, Fox; The West Wing, NBC.

Comedy Series: Arrested Development, Fox; Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO; The Office, NBC; Scrubs, NBC; Two and a Half Men, CBS.

Miniseries: Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; Elizabeth I, HBO; Into the West, TNT; Sleeper Cell, Showtime.

Made-for-TV Movie: Flight 93, A&E; The Flight That Fought Back, Discovery Channel; The Girl in the Cafe, HBO; Mrs. Harris, HBO; Yesterday, HBO.

Variety, Music or Comedy Series: The Colbert Report, Comedy Central; The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Comedy Central; Late Night With Conan O'Brien, NBC; Late Show With David Letterman, CBS; Real Time With Bill Maher, HBO.

Variety, Music or Comedy Special: 78th Annual Academy Awards, ABC; Bill Maher: I'm Swiss, HBO; George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing, HBO; McCartney in St. Petersburg, A&E; The XX Olympic Winter Games — Opening Ceremony, NBC.

Actor, Drama Series: Denis Leary, Rescue Me, FX Network; Peter Krause, Six Feet Under, HBO; Kiefer Sutherland, 24, Fox; Martin Sheen, The West Wing, NBC.

Actress, Drama Series: Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer, TNT; Geena Davis, Commander in Chief, ABC; Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC; Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under, HBO; Allison Janney, The West Wing, NBC.

Supporting Actor, Drama Series: William Shatner, Boston Legal, ABC; Oliver Platt, Huff, Showtime; Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos, HBO; Gregory Itzin, 24, Fox; Alan Alda, The West Wing, NBC.

Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Candice Bergen, Boston Legal, ABC; Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Blythe Danner, Huff, Showtime; Jean Smart, 24, Fox.

Actor, Comedy Series: Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO; Kevin James, The King of Queens, CBS; Tony Shalhoub, Monk, USA; Steve Carell, The Office, NBC; Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men, CBS.

Actress, Comedy Series: Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback, HBO; Jane Kaczmarek, Malcolm in the Middle, Fox; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS; Stockard Channing, Out of Practice, CBS; Debra Messing, Will & Grace, NBC.

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Will Arnett, Arrested Development, Fox; Jeremy Piven, Entourage, HBO; Bryan Cranston, Malcolm in the Middle, Fox; Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men, CBS; Sean Hayes, Will & Grace, NBC.

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Cheryl Hines, Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO; Alfre Woodard, Desperate Housewives, ABC; Jaime Pressly, My Name Is Earl, ABC; Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds, Showtime; Megan Mullally, Will & Grace, NBC.

Actor, Miniseries or a Movie: Charles Dance, Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; Donald Sutherland, Human Trafficking, Lifetime; Ben Kingsley, Mrs. Harris, HBO; Jon Voight, Pope John Paul II, CBS; Andre Braugher, Thief, FX Network.

Actress, Miniseries or a Movie: Kathy Bates, Ambulance Girl, Lifetime; Gillian Anderson, Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; Helen Mirren, Elizabeth I, HBO; Judy Davis, A Little Thing Called Murder, Lifetime; Annette Bening, Mrs. Harris, HBO.

Supporting Actor, Miniseries or a Movie: Denis Lawson, Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; Hugh Dancy, Elizabeth I, HBO; Jeremy Irons, Elizabeth I, HBO; Robert Carlyle, Human Trafficking, Lifetime; Clifton Collins Jr., Thief, FX Network.

Supporting Actress, Miniseries or a Movie: Kelly Macdonald, The Girl in the Cafe, HBO; Shirley Jones, Hidden Places, Hallmark; Ellen Burstyn, Mrs. Harris, HBO; Cloris Leachman, Mrs. Harris, HBO; Alfre Woodard, The Water Is Wide (Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation), CBS.

Superhero Movies

David S. Goyer was interviewed by TV Guide. Here's some excerpts:

TVGuide.com: Your film fans and comic fans would love to know what's happening with The Flash.
Goyer: I just turned in the script. I'm revising it. Soon it will go into the studio proper.

TVGuide.com: How about the Batman Begins sequel?
Goyer: [That] is in the works as well. [Director] Chris Nolan is editing The Prestige right now, and as soon as that is finished, we're all talking about that going into much higher gear.

TVGuide.com: Is the cast returning?
Goyer: I believe that's the intent.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful 4th of July.

Overall Box Office Gross:
X-Men: The Last Stand aka X3: $229,805,892
Superman Returns: $108,091,711

I'll have an in-depth update tomorrow. Still relaxing today.

Quote of the Day

"I believe that (the adoption of the Declaration of Independence) will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other."
-- John Adams

Happy Independence Day

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows:
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

G-d Bless the U.S.A.

G-d Bless the U.S.A
by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone
I'd worked for all my life,
And I had to start again
with just my children and my wife,
I'd thank my lucky stars
to be living here today,
'Cause the flag still stands for freedom
and they can't take that away.

I'm proud to be an American
where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died
who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you
and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
G-d Bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota
to the hills of Tennessee,
Across the plains of Texas
from sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston
and New York to L.A.,
There's pride in every American heart
and it's time we stand and say:

I'm proud to be an American
where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died
who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you
and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
G-d Bless the U.S.A.

Movie News

Hollywood North Report has the scoop on Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer.

The sequel to last year's $160 million box office hit will reportedly be an adaptation of the 1966 comic book story arc the "Coming of Galactus" created by writer Stan "The Man" Lee and artist/co-writer Jack "King" Kirby for Marvel Comics' "Fantastic Four" issues #48-#50.

According to the stories, the Surfer was astronomer 'Norrin Radd' from the planet 'Zenn-La'.

Radd reluctantly agreed to serve as a 'herald' to the world-destroying entity 'Galactus' in order to spare Zenn-La from the god-like creature's insatiable, energy needs.

Based on Radd's childhood fantasies, Galactus granted cosmic powers to his new sentinel, complete with indestructible silvery skin and space 'surfboard', enabling Radd to roam star systems as the 'Silver Surfer', searching for new planets for Galactus to consume.

But while setting up the Earth for Galactus, Radd is challenged by the "Fantastic Four" and unexpectedly falls in love with 'Alicia Masters', blind daughter of the 'Puppet Master' and girlfriend of hot-tempered 'Ben Grimm', aka 'The Thing'.

Cinescape has the scoop on Incredible Hulk, the sequel to 2003's Hulk. It looks like Universal isn't going to be participating and that Eric Bana will not be returning in the lead role.

He said, "Well, here's what I found out : Universal isn't really doing it. It's going to be done through Marvel (independently, or close too) and it's called "Incredible Hulk". Bana is definitely not doing it - his contract was with Universal, and so on - so they're going to get a new Hulk. They're not going to be auditioning, but merely 'going out' to names. Should've guessed. Apparently the following guys could be either in consideration or in talks for the role : Dominic Purcell, Brendan Fraser, Adam Garcia. Typical bunch of names, if you ask me."

All-Star Rosters

American League
Starters
American League Starters
1B David Ortiz, BOS
2B Mark Loretta, BOS
3B Alex Rodriguez, NYY
SS Derek Jeter, NYY
C Ivan Rodriguez, DET
OF Vladimir Guerrero, LAA
OF Manny Ramirez, BOS
OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA

Pitchers
SP Mark Buerhle, CWS
SP Jose Contreras, CWS
SP Roy Halladay, TOR
SP Scott Kazmir, TB
SP Mark Redman, KC
SP Kenny Rogers, DET
SP Johan Santana, MIN
SP Barry Zito, OAK
RP Bobby Jenks, CWS
RP Jon Papelbon, BOS
RP Mariano Rivera, NYY
RP B.J. Ryan, TOR

Reserves
1B Paul Konerko, CWS
1B Jim Thome, CWS
2B Robinson Cano, NYY º
2B Jose Lopez, SEA ª
3B Troy Glaus, TOR
SS Miguel Tejada, BAL
SS Michael Young, TEX
C Joe Mauer, MIN - should have started without a doubt!
OF Jermaine Dye, CWS
OF Alex Rios, TOR º
OF Gary Matthews, Jr., TEX ª
OF Grady Sizemore, CLE
OF Vernon Wells, TOR

National League
Starters
1B Albert Pujols, STL
2B Chase Utley, PHI
3B David Wright, NYM
SS Jose Reyes, NYM
C Paul Lo Duca, NYM
OF Jason Bay, PIT
OF Carlos Beltran, NYM
OF Alfonso Soriano, WSH

Pitchers
SP Carlos Zambrano, CHC
SP Bronson Arroyo, CIN
SP Brad Penny, LAD
SP Tom Glavine, NYM
SP Pedro Martinez, NYM
SP Chris Carpenter, STL
SP Jason Schmidt, SF
SP Brandon Webb, ARI
RP Brian Fuentes, COL
RP Derrick Turnbow, MIL
RP Tom Gordon, PHI
RP Trevor Hoffman, SD

Reserves
1B Lance Berkman, HOU
1B Ryan Howard, PHI
2B Dan Uggla, FLA
3B Miguel Cabrera, FLA
3B Freddy Sanchez, PIT
3B Scott Rolen, STL
SS Edgar Renteria, ATL
C Brian McCann, ATL
OF Andruw Jones, ATL
OF Matt Holliday, COL
OF Carlos Lee, MIL

Final Man Candidates
AL
C A.J. Pierzynski, CWS
c Ramon Hernandez, BAL
1B Travis Hafner, CLE
SP Justin Verlander, DET
SP Francisco Liriano, MIN

NL
1B Nomar Garciaparra, LAD
P Chris Capuano, MIL
P Billy Wagner, PHI
P Bobby Abreu, PHI
P Chris Young, SD

How Curt Schilling or Josh Beckett were not elected is beyond me.