Diary of a Mighty Bastard

Gov. Sarah Palin announced she will be stepping down as Governor of Alaska in a few weeks.

That's unfortunate. People are speculating why, and I certainly hope it's not because of family illness. On the other hand, she was elected to serve a full term, and stepping down without a good reason is poor form, and not fair to the people of Alaska.

She's an extremely charismatic politician- one of the best I've seen, and (In my humble opinion) the best Republican Speaker since Reagan. And she was a very capable governor- her approval rating was over 80%, and she her track record showed her as a Governor who fought corruption (including against her own party) and with a Libertarian streak that belied her religious beliefs.

Did I think she should have been the Republican VP nominee? No. One half of a term as Governor is not enough experience to be in a position to run the country. I would have liked for her to remain governor for about 3 terms and then step onto the National Stage. And she wasn't prepared for dealing with the foreign policy issues of the day.

That being said, I found the treatment of her by the media to be absolutely vulgar. It was fine to question her opinions or competency. But there were more below the belt attacks at her, her husband, and her children than any non-President I had ever seen. Andrew Sullivan went from being an interesting writer who's opinion I respect to turning into a vile cheap shot artist.

And it continued, long past the election. No one attacks John McCain anymore. But Dave Letterman had no problem making a crack about her 14 year old daughter.

I'll be honest- I was really hoping she'd win just to see the people who attacked her choke on their bile. The attacks on her family was one of most disgusting things I've seen in politics, and I'm of the belief that most politics attacks are fair game.

It didn't happen, and maybe she's out of politics for good. It's going to be hard for her to restart after stepping down in mid-term (as it should be- barring illness, there's no good reason to step down as Governor)

Then again, maybe not. If she waited until she was as old as Hilary was in 2008, Sarah Palin would be running in... 2024. That's a long time, and a lot could happen.

I haven't said anything about the situation in Iran, because I'm not really sure what to say. Iran is run by a tyrannical regime that suppressed freedom and deprives rights to women, they financially support many terrorist organizations, they have vowed to obliterate a free country in Israel, they hate the United States (when you called "The Great Satan" by the leaders of the country, there's not much room for nuance)... and they have been trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Now, on top of that, they have rigged an election to the point that the citizens in Iran are protesting on the street, being shot at by soldiers. It reminds me of Tienanmen Square, and I worry that it will have the same ending.

I don't blame Obama for being cautious- when it comes to foreign affairs, I understand that it's a minefield, and that caution is a good thing. On the other hand, I seriously doubt there's anything the US could do that would actually win the friendship of the Iranian leaders (again, when you're called "The Great Satan", it's a hard place for dinner diplomacy to work) and be able to influence them enough to actually take steps we would approve of (like getting rid of the nuclear technology, or letting Israel live without speaking about wiping them off the face of the Earth).

Protests continue, every day. The leaders have been arrested and harassed. I'm not sure what happens in Iran, now- and I don't know if anyone really does.

But I'm very worried that we're going to get caught up in other events- from the economy to Michael Jackson- that we forget about Iran. "Oh, another day, another protest, another five arrests." That type of attitude will kill any hope of serious change in Iran for a generation.

I'm not sure what we (as the Great Satan) can do to help out the Protestors. If there's some suggestions, I'm all ears. But the least we can do is not put them off to the side.

Keep being aware of the situation.

The House passed a climate bill yesterday.

According to the CBO, this bill will cost the average American family about $175 a year. To stop "climate change", which I think means that the weather should never change again.

Note- the temperature has gone up around the world an average of 1 degree Centigrade over the past 100 years. No one can say with conviction if (a) that 1 degree is man made, as opposed to a natural change on the earth (b) the consequences, if any, of that one degree or (c) what the temperature of the earth will be in the next Century.

I'll add (d)- no one is really sure what this bill will do, if anything, to change (a) through (c).

So, during a recession, Congress has passed a bill that will hurt the lower income families much more than the wealthier people for what can be best called 'a feel-good measure'.

But even that isn't why I think this is a joke. If Congress wants to pass this bill, fine. The voters will remember and act accordingly during next year's election.

What I'm furious about is that, not only has no one in Congress actually read the bill that was passed, The bill did not officially exist yet!

There is no other way to put this- any Congress person who voted on this bill, without reading and knowing what they wanted to voted on, is guilty of Dereliction of Duty and should be fired from their job.

Governor Sanford of South Carolina admits an affair.

Moron. Idiot. I'm really, really pissed off.

At first, I was trying to figure out why- until a couple of months ago, I had never heard of Sanford. Then he was the Governor who was refusing Stimulus funds. Then he became the Governor who went on a Walkabout. Which I thought was a good thing- people make so much out of politics that I thought it was awesome there was someone out there who said, "You know what? It's not the end of the world for me to take a couple days off. The state's fine without me."

That was just an excuse to meet up with his Mistress. So it was much more of a Rompabout.

But thinking about it some more, I realize the source of frustration. It's just one more way the GOP has shot itself in the foot and made itself a laughingstock.

Now, I can live with that as a partisan- parties go up and down (the Democrats looked hopeless not seven years ago). But we're dealing with a lot of serious issues here.

President Obama wants to make significant changes in our society- in health care, in ouur environmental responsiblities, in our business dealings. I'm very skeptical about the directions he wants to take us, and what the consequences could be. But I'm also willing to believe (a) I could be wrong and (b) he won the election and will try to push his agenda.

But we're a system of checks and balances. And right now, every check and balance that could look at his ideas and test them out before they are implemented is seriously crippled:

* Congress is full of corrupt, incompetent partisans who are far more concerned with winning elections than actually debating the issues.

* The loyal opposition party (The GOP) is irrelevant, without a coherent message or philosophy, and find new ways to shoot themselves in the foot (The 50 most powerful politicans at the moment are Democrats, but the next week will be full of stories about Sanford. Watch)

* The media- how do I say this tactfully?- has voluntarily given up trying to be objective critics and willingly play groupies to our Rock Star President

* And we seem to have a culture that has gone from assuming the worst about the President to one that thinks he can do know wrong, and never wishes to criticize him.

That last point scares the hell out of me, more than the others. We're a country that always mocks our leaders- we're built around the idea that our leaders are human, make bad calls, and screw up as badly as anyone else. Every former President I can recall was mocked for something- Ford's clumsiness, Reagan's forgetfulness, Clinton's randiness. It was a way to remind people that while we can respect the office, we do not deify our leaders.

Mentally, I keep telling myself that this can't last forever. Eventually, Congress will get some leaders that actually want to do more than get elected. The GOP can't screw up this badly forever (though it sure seems that way). And I suspect there will reach a tipping point, that the media and culture will start to actually test and question the President (in fact, I think it may even cause a backlash, in which case the President would get an unfair reaction. But we shall see).

But until that happens, I will wonder when the checks and balances will be fixed.

I think I made the right call, but I wouldn't mind hearing opinions from others who play:

I'm on the button with K8 of diamonds. One person calls, I call, big blind stays. $70 in pot

Flop- 8c 5d 6d, giving me second nut flush and top pair

Big Blind bets $20, first caller raises $100, I call $100, raise to ~$300 by big blind, RE-RAISE to $750 by first caller (we all have about $1400, it's early in the tournament).

Should I fold, call or raise here?

What I did was push all in, and got called by both. Big Blind had 47o for a straight, First caller had 66 for trip sixes. Turn and River didn't improve, so I'm out of the tournament.

I think I made the right decision, but I'm not positive. Wouldn't mind hearing other thoughts.

Taking a very early guess as to the card for Wrestlemania XXVI (because I look at the Indians in the standings and don't want to talk about baseball):

WWE Title: CM Punk (c) vs. John Cena
Note: Officially, Cena's the face and Punk's the heel. But the crowd will be split down the middle for this one

RAW Title: Edge (c) vs. HHH (Royal Rumble Winner) vs. Randy Orton
Note: I know HHH-Orton has been done to death, but I don't really have any place to put Orton. HHH has feuded with every current main eventer in the WWE, and I don't know if they want to build up another one big enough for him to challenge at WM.

IC Title vs. US Title: Miz (IC) vs. John Morrisson (US)
Note: Not sure if I would unify the titles (probably not). For a long time I thought Morrisson was the star and Miz the understudy, but Miz has been outstanding recently, single-handedly making fans care about his feud with Cena (and it'll be a shame if Cena squashes him on Sunday)

Tag Titles: Legacy(c) vs. World's Greatest Tag Team
Note: The WWE doesn't really care about tag titles at the moment (in face, part of me suspect DiBiase and Rhodes will turn on Orton, leading to DiBiase-Orton and Batista-Rhodes at WM. Call that my backup plan). But until they pull the trigger on pushing DiBiase and Rhodes up the card as singles, they'll hold onto the tag belts. Haas and Benjamin are a great team that can have great matches with anyone

ECW Title: Christian (c) vs. Matt Hardy
Note: May be a ladder or TLC match, as we can push a feud between former and current ECW champions, as well as bring back a bunch of Hardys/Edge and Christian references

Jeff Hardy vs. Rey Mysterio
Note: This won't be for a title, but could easily be billed as a face vs. face 'dream match'

Undertaker vs. Chris Jericho
Note: Some heel needs to challenge Undertaker for his streak. Jericho is a big enough name to make it interesting.

Shawn Michaels vs. Bryan Danielson
Note: My big (and only) acquisition for this card (Danielson is a free agent at the moment). Bring Danielson in (truthfully) as Shawn Michael's "prize pupil", have him turn on Michaels around the Royal Rumble, you have a recipe for a fantastic match. I know the "American Dragon" isn't in the WWE's mold of a wrestler, but with Michaels there he could get over very very quickly.

Money in the Bank: Evan Bourne vs. Fit Finlay vs. Carlito Colon vs. Brian Kendrick vs. MVP vs. R Truth vs. Primo Colon vs. William Regal
Note: For once, it won't be Punk or Edge taking home the title shot. I say give it to Bourne or Kendrick. Bourne, probably- he was incredibly over last year, before his injury.

Jack Swagger vs. Batista
Note: Technically, it's a demontion for Batista. But Swagger is going to get a huge push because he fits the WWE's formula so well. And Batista is so injury prone that at this point I'd use him to elevate others.

His Mana Pool Is Expanding Faster Than The Dark Portal:





He sees the unconquerable- and conquers it:





Every reputation is exhalted with him:




He is… the most interesting toon in Azeroth

I found a good tool showing both the percent of government spending compared to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and the percentage of the fedreal deficit compared to the GDP.

A couple of observations:

* We're above the 40% mark- in other words, the government is spending about 40% of what the entire United States produces. Now, we have had that at one other time in the 20th century- during World War II, for a two year period. But after the war ended, we quickly dropped back below that mark. What, if anything, will cause the US to drop below the 40% mark this time?

* As you can probably guess, I'm not happy with this trend- either the % of government spending or (much worse) the percentage of the deficit. The first one the people can pare down at any time, but the deficit... at some point, someone will have to pay these bills. And I'm not sure who the people spending the money are expecting to pay for it.

* I'm trying to keep this above politics. I think Bush was reckless in his spending. I think Obama is just as bad. And I don't really see any political force WANTING to reduce these numbers. Would you trust any of these fools with balancing a checkbook?

Needless to say, I'm in a foul mood. (Admittedly, not just because of the spending. Yesterday was not a good day for me as a sports fan.

But I look at these numbers, and I worry.

President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice Souter on the Supreme Court. A few random thoughts:

* She's qualified- 10 years on the Court of Appeals, former District Attorney, Former partner in a law firm

* She's not the first person of Latin descent on the Supreme Court. Benjamin Cardozo was Portugeuse, and served on the Supremem Court for six years.
===> UPDATE: Portugeuse is not considered Hispanic. My apologies for the error.

* I'm certain she has a lot of positions that I won't agree with. But so will anyone that Obama nominates. The question for me is "Is the person qualified?" By that standard, I'd say yes.

* The GOP will go through her record to see if there's any smoking guns in her past. That's fine- it's the Supreme Court, her record should be tested- but unless something develops, I don't see any reason not to approve her.

* Her specialty seems to be intellectual property law. Given a lot of issues that come up in that category (RIAA), she may become the key figure on any rulings in this category.

1. Reply to this post and I'll assign you a letter.
2. List 5 songs (with links to them, if you can find them) that start with that letter.
3. Post them to your journal with these instructions

I was hit with 'G'. My choices:

1) Gambler- Kenny Rogers
2) Get a Gun- The Connells
3) God Shuffled His Feet- Crash Test Dummies
4) Gods of War- Def Leppard
5) Gimme Three Steps- Lynyrd Skynyrd

Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games for violating baseball's steroid policy.

I don't have a problem with this. Baseball believes that using steroids gives players an unfair advantage, they state this in the rules, Manny used some substances that were banned by baseball, he got caught, he's punished. I'm fine with this.

What I get upset is retroactively punishing players who may have used steroids in the past. Several players have been effectively blackballed from the Hall of Fame because they either used steroids or were rumored to use steroids.

That bothers me. I'm willing to believe that steroids cause so much long-term damage that using them amounts to an unfair advantage over those who don't use them (unlike other types of performance-enhancers like weight training, new equipment, or dietary changes). But sports players have always pushed the limits to try and find ways of improving themselves.

And it's not just sports players. How many people do you know who use caffeine to wake themselves up, or other forms of medicinal help? I'm not sure why steroids is where the line is drawn.

But if baseball wants to draw the line there, fine. But sports reporters seem to love getting on their soap box decrying the loss of the sanctity of the record books because players used steroids.

Well, Babe Ruth used a corked bat. Mickey Mantle used amphetamines. Gaylord Perry used a spitball. We not only enshrined these players in the Hall of Fame- we celebrate their cheating.

But Mark McGwire looks bad testifying before Congress and he's essentially banned. It's a bad double standard.

Manny broke the rules, Manny got caught, Manny's doing his time. Cool. But punishing those after the fact is a joke.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich warns that Conservatives may leave the GOP in 2012.

I think it's very unlikely- but I also think it's possible.

Right now, there's a pretty serious debate as to what it means to be a Republican. Or maybe I should say there should be. Quick- name any issue that Rudolph Guiliani and Mick Huckabee would agree on. They have very different philosophies and different opinions on the issues. And yet both are considered top leaders of the minority party.

What I suspect- what I'm afraid of- is that the Republicans will settle for nothing more than "What Obama wants, we're opposed to." It's what drove the Democrats in the 80's, the Republicans in the 90's, and the Democrats in the 2000's. They were defined, not by their own principles, but by whatever made the President unpopular.

Third parties have started up before- remember H. Ross Perot?- and fizzled before- remember anything that he stood for, besides being a pox on both parties?

I can tell you the policial philosophy and ideas that I'd like to support. They would have a platform something like this:

* A government that doesn't do many things- but does the things it should well.
* Deficit spending is a long-term financial nightmare. We would reduce, not just the deficit, but the debt, through significant spending cuts and taxes as needed
* No bailouts (with the possible exception of victims of fraud and force). Not for individuals, not for companies, not for anyone
* Moving towards autonomy with energy is in our interests. I'm against government spending in general but on this issue I can argue that a program, similar to the Space program of the 60's, could be in the best interests of the country
* Free trade is good for both the United States economy and for the world as a whole- no economic protectionism
* Removal of United States army bases from foreign lands except when they are required directly for the interests of the United States. Europe doesn't need the US to have bases in Germany, and Korea and Japan can handle their own security. This reduces our financial burden, and allows the other nations to become more self-reliant on their own security matters
* Social Issues- ideally, I'm a pro-life libertarian. But I think the best solution here might be to encourage federalism. If North Dakota wants to be a teetoaler state that bans pot, cigarettes, and alcohol- while South Dakota allows and even encourages such activities- that might be the best answer

Right now, neither party is serious about any of these issues.

Do I think a third party like this would start up? Possibly but doubtful.

Most likely, there will be a lot of sound and fury from the Republicans that signify nothing, and a platform in 2012 that amounts to nothing more than "Obama is a fool/moron/empty suit/hippie, and we promise to make everything better." And while I really haven't liked 95% of what Obama has done or wants to do, I'd like a better alternative than that.

Idle thought for the day...

Movies- specifcally, Fight Club

( spoilers behind cut )

It's time for Crimsonjoe's wild guesses- aka baseball predictions for 2009!

American League:

AL East: Boston Red Sox.
AL Central: Cleveland Indians. Yeah- I'm a homer. But they had such bad luck last year that I suspect there will be a rebound, and they are a very good team.
AL West: Texas Rangers- the best hitting team in baseball, the worst pitching. I think 1-2 pitchers might step up, getting them to the playoffs in a weak division
Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays

Yes- the Yankees get shut out. Teams that have massive rollovers generally don't do that well (Florida Marlins are the exception). Tampa and Boston are still very good.

AL Champions:Cleveland over the Red Sox


National League:

NL East: The New York Mets- the most talented team in the National League.
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals. Not the most talented team in the division, but the most experienced and with the best player in baseball.
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks. The weakest division in baseball, by far. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks are slightly better than the other teams, and the Dodgers have more holes.
Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies. They're the second best team in the NL

NL Champions:Mets over the Phillies

World Series: Cleveland over New York, 4 games to 2

The series finale of Battlestar Galactica was last night. The show lost me emotionally two years ago- the show changed gears from about a war of survival to... something. Sometimes it was about a war with the Cylons; other times it was about the struggle for the last 40,000 humans in space. And still other times it was about the love lives of four characters (Admiral Adama, President Roslin, Lee Adama, and Kara Thrace) that I cared little about and liked even less.

But I did watch the finale, because by this point I had watched so much of the show that I wanted to see how they wrapped it up. Not as a fan, but as a witness to a car crash.

Was it a good show? I can't honestly say. My gut feeling is that they answered a lot, but explained very little.

( Random Observations of the finale below the cut )

I hope the people who were fans of the show enjoyed it. I wish it had lived up to the promise that it showed the first year and a half, but that's still better than nothing.

I'm trying an experiment. For the month of March, I'm going to follow by the following rules:

* No soda (regular or diet)
* No beef or pork
* Write down what I eat
* Write down my exercise

Partly it's to lose weight (I weighed in almost 235, and would like to get down under 200), partly it's to see if I feel better.

The first rule is going to hurt the most. I generally eat more chicken than pork or beef, but I drink a LOT of soda (diet coke usually). I'm not going without caffeine (they'll take my caffeine when they pry it from my cold dead, still-shaking hands), but I'm curious to see how I'll feel without any sode for a month.

We shall see.

Battlestar Galactica Rant to follow:

I've ranted about BSG before. In fact, I've given up on the show, and am only following it because I want to see how they wrap up the series. They've put in so many contradictions and mysteries that I can't see how they can possibly explain things, but I want to see them try.

But the past two episodes ("The Oath" and "Blood on the Scales") have annoyed me, because I feel manipulated. Now, every show manipualtes you- but this was done with such a heavy hand that it stood out to me.

(Spoilers for those who haven't seen it- you've been warned)

OK, the episodes is about a coup, led by officer Felix Gaeta, against the policies of Adama and Roslyn. Now, I understand why Adama thought an alliance with the rebel Cylons was important- the Cylons led by Cavil were still out there, and the rebel Cylons had technology they needed.

That being said, Adama basically was a dictator- Roslyn gave up the responsibilities of the Presidency but not the title, Adama overstepped his bounds with the Quorum, and he was not listening to any dissent. His XO is a Cylon, Earth turned out to be a dead planet, and now he was forcing an alliance with the very beings that slaughtered everyone's family. I can understand exactly why people wouldn't approve.

Basically, I think Gaeta had a real good point. And if they had followed that, it would have made for great television. But the writers didn't want to follow that logic. So instead, they made Gaeta a fool, his followers criminals, and Tom Zarek (the Vice President) into a butcher who slaughtered the Quorum.

Basically, everyone who chose Adama was presented as a Saint who could do no wrong, while those who defied him were idiots and criminals who deserved to be airlocked.

BSG has always been presented as a 'gritty' show. But in this case, it was ridiculously idealistic. The writers have their favorites, and those favorite characters will always be presented as in the right, even when it contradicts what they wrote before.

And that's the mark of a very poor show.

Rant over.

Given the current storylines, here's how I'd book Sunday's WWE Royal Rumble:

Women's Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Melina: Beth Phoenix retains the title. Honestly, unless they bring Trish Stratus back, the best idea I can think of for Phoenix is to have her and Santino Morella split up in the next couple of months, then have Santino challenge Beth for the title.

ECW Champion Jack Swagger vs. Matt Hardy: I'm a big Matt Hardy fan. But Jack Swagger fits the WWE's formula perfectly, and they are going to keep pushing him as long as the fans will let him. Swagger retains.

WWE Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Edge: There are two big named possibilities for the attacker who's been stalking Jeff Hardy.
( click here to see the guesses )

I expect that stalker to cost Hardy the belt this show, but NOT be revealed (ie, he attacks in a mask or something). This gives Edge the title

World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs. JBL: There are two paths to go here. The first one is for John Cena to retain, then defend against the winner of the Royal Rumble. The second is for JBL to win the title, then defend against Shawn Michaels at WM.

I think Michaels costs JBL the title here- or at least doesn't help JBL when JBL demands it, and a distracted JBL loses to Cena. JBL will fight Shawn Michaels, but not for the title.

30-Man Royal Rumble Match: OK, starting out is John Morrison and Brian Kendrick (Morrison will last 40+ minutes). A returning Umaga will get the "throws out a ton of dead weight" push.

The lat four will be Chris Jericho, HHH, Undertaker, and Randy Orton (who enters at #30, and is the freshest man in the ring). Orton shocks everyone by throwing out Undertaker almost has thrown out Chris Jericho. Both HHH and Jericho are worn out while Orton is fresh, and Orton starts pushing HHH over the top rope when Stephanie McMahon comes out, grabs Orton by the hair, and allows HHH to hoist Orton over the top rope.

Orton snaps, grabbing Stephanie McMahon by the hair and slaps her across the face in the aisle. Inside the ring, HHH hits Chris Jericho with a Pedigree, and looks ready to throw Jericho out. Meanwhile Orton lines up for a Concussion kick on Stephanie, causing HHH to pause, look concerned- and charge out, tackling Orton and eliminating himself in the process. Your winner: Chris Jericho.

Chris Jericho, in a fit of pique over the way the McMahons treated him on RAW, announces that he'll be going after the Smackdown title instead, leaving RAW hanging in the win. The February PPV then becomes based around finding a challenger for the RAW title, which ends up being the Undertaker (because, honestly, Undertaker vs. a face Cena is a 'dream match' that hasn't happened yet)

So here's my Wrestlemania lineup:

RAW Title: John Cena (c) vs. Undertaker (the February PPV give
Smackdown Title: Edge (c) vs. Chris Jericho
ECW Title: Jack Swagger (c) takes on Dave Finlay
JBL vs. Shawn Michaels
Randy Orton vs. HHH
Jeff Hardy vs. his Stalker
Women's title: Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Santino Morella
Tag Title Unification: John Morrison and the Miz (RAW Champions) vs. Carlito and Primo Colon (Smackdown Champions)
Money in the Bank: Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP vs. Ken Kennedy vs. THE Brian Kendrick vs. Rey Mysterio Jr vs. Matt Hardy

OK, I fully admit I'm not an economist, but it seems to me that we're going in the exact wrong way with the stimulus package being discussed

I understand the thought process- the US is in a bad recession, and the numbers indicate that things will get worse before they get better. Inflation is rising, Unemployment is rising, we've had disasters in the housing and banking industries.

But... (and I admit, this is from someone who doesn't understand government economies), it seems to me the fundamental problem that has caused most of this is that the united States is in debt up to our eyeballs.

We wanted house that were out of price range, and the banks gave us mortgages that would have been considered foolish 20 years ago. The average amount of credit card debt per person is over $5,700. The government has a debt of trillions of dollars.

I think we need to address this debt- both personally and as a country- before we can really break out of this recession.

I'm against tax increases, because I believe tax increases hurt the economy. But I also think heavy debt hurts the economy (and it's showing now). Until we reign in this debt, I think the economy will remain slow.

Which is why I don't think the stimulus package will work. Or maybe it'll help in the short term, but it'll hurt in the long term. I'd much rather see a list of governement programs that are cut or removed (if you need ideas, I recommend the chapter on the budget from this book)

Just my $0.11

Congratulations to Rickey Handerson and Jim Rice for being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

My official stance on the Hall of Fame is that, until someone can tell me approximately how many players should be considered for that honor, I can't say if someone is a Hall of Famer or not. I know some people that think there should be 100 Hall of Famers in Baseball's History. I know others that think there should be over 1,000. Until we can agree on that, I can't really say who should or shouldn't be in there.

That being said, a few comments on the ballot:

* I'm a fan of secret ballots on most things. But I think the writers owe their readers an explanation on who they are voting for and why. Since they get to be the gatekeepers, they owe the fans their reasons.

* 28 people did not vote for Rickey Henderson. Considering that Rickey is probably one of the best 50 players in the history of the game, I really can't understand their reasoning

* I understand- I don't agree with, but I understand- why more people would vote for Andre Dawson over Tim Raines. But can someone explain why Dave Parker got more votes than Dale Murphy? I don't get that thought process at all.

* I don't get the Mark McGwire hate. I understood last year, thinking several writers voted against him as a protest. But he went down in % of votes this year.

I'm fine with suspending or banning players who get with steroids now. But McGwire was never caught with them- and when he used them, baseball didn't have a steroids policy. He was always a class act- and one of the greatest first baseman of all time.

By any reasonable standard, Mark McGwire is a Hall of Famer. I'm not sure why the baseball writers have such a desire to deny him the Hall of Fame, but the words "self-righteous" and "smug" come to mind.