Friday, November 30, 2012

Colbert on the Fiscal Cliff

Funny stuff!  More here.


The Colbert Report

Thursday, November 29, 2012

POTpourri

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Rachel Maddow on John McCain

It's sad watching what has become of John McCain.


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

TPSG Heisman Trophy Pick

Here's how I rank the candidates for the Heisman Trophy:
  1. Johnny Manziel - QB - Texas A&M
  2. Marqise Lee - WR - USC
  3. Ka'Deem Carey - RB - Arizona
  4. Mante Te'o - LB - Notre Dame
  5. Collin Klein - QB - Kansas State
True freshman or not, it's kind of hard to go against Manziel, he's putting up some crazy numbers at Texas A&M this year.  The win against Alabama didn't hurt is cause either.  Marqise Lee has been pretty impressive too, 112 catches, 1680 yards, 14 TD's.  Ka'Deem Carey is clearly the best RB in college football this year, I'm not quite sure his numbers are impressive enough to knock off Manziel or Lee though.  Te'o is the most dominant defensive player this year and it being a bit of a down year for top talent he could sneak in there.  Klein was the early front runner but if the award is going to a QB I'd think it has to go to Manziel. 

Edit 12/08/12
****Johnny Manziel did win the Heisman Trophy****

Monday, November 26, 2012

2012 World Pole Dancing Champion . . . .

 . . . . is Natalia Tatarintseva.   You can find the other winners here.


Sunday, November 25, 2012

Cardinals 14, Rams 7

The Ryan Lindley era started off with a 31-17 Cardinals loss to the Rams today in Glendale.  The Cardinals have now lost 7 games in a row and are 4-7 on the season.  What a train wreck they've become.  The decision to start Lindley today is looking more and more like a move of desperation.  It's also looking more and more like Kurt Warner can be credited for the Cardinals Super Bowl run in 2009 more so than Ken Whisenhunt, who's really coaching himself onto the hot seat.  It's not too far fetched to envision Whisenhunt gone, with Ray Horton taking over as head coach along with a whole new offensive coaching staff and offensive philosophy. 

Observations:

Vikings 10, Bears 28

The Vikings fall to the Bears 28-10 in Chicago today.  The Vikings fall to 6-5 on the season.  There's lots of blame to spread around on this one, 2 fumbles by AP, lots of missed tackles, lack of a pass rush, mental errors, lots of dropped passes, but once again the Vikings biggest problem was the play of their QB.  QB is the most important position on any team, everything stems from the play of the QB, poor QB play will not only kill you on offense but it will also adversely impact the defense, time of possession and poor field position cannot be underestimated.  Christian Ponder is just not cutting it at this point, I'm not seeing the progression out of him that is needed.  One of the main selling points on Ponder coming out of Florida St was that he's a incredible intelligent guy, that his smarts would compensate for some of his shortcomings in size and arm strength, we were told that he'd pick up the playbook in short order and that his ability to read defenses would be top notch.  That assessment couldn't be more wrong to this point, he looks lost out there, he holds onto the ball too long, he doesn't scan the field enough, he'll often have open receivers he doesn't even see, he's too quick to dump it off to his checkdown receiver or tuck it in and run with it.  At this point, I'd rather see Joe Webb out there.  

Observations:
  • Can we stop with all the Christian Ponder is better without Percy Harvin talk now? 
  • Time of possession:  Bears 37:30, Vikings 22:30.  
  • Hold onto the ball Adrian Peterson2 fumbles is not acceptable.  
  • The Vikings are 1-4 on the road this year.
  • I'm still not sold on Leslie Frazier as a head coach.  
  • Jared Allen is nowhere near the player he was last year. 
  • Jerome Simpson has been a big disappointment this year.  
  • Why hasn't the Vikings front office gotten Ponder help at the WR position?  
  • I am so sick of the Cover-2 defense, there's a reason so few teams still use it. 
  • Up next? @ Green Bay to take on the Packers.

Doutzen Kroes

It doesn't get much better than Doutzen Kroes.


Saturday, November 24, 2012

Minnesota 10, Michigan St 26

The Gophers fall 26-10 to Michigan St in their regular season finale today in Minneapolis. The Gophers finish their regular season with a 6-6 record, despite the loss today, they are still going to a bowl game, they've doubled last years win total, they are moving in the right direction, they've got a lot of work to do though.  It was a pretty anemic offensive performance by the Gophers, they had only 96 yards in total offense.  It was just a bad matchup for the Gophers, they really struggle with power running teams

Observations:
  • Total Yards:  Michigan St  421, Minnesota 96.  Yikes.
  • Another seizure for Jerry Kill, I hope he can get that under control
  • You don't see many pick-6's by the Gophers.  Nice job Aaron Hill
  • Philip Nelson really needs to work on timing with his receivers this coming off season.  
  • Le'Veon Bell is a load at RB for Michigan State and a bad matchup for the Gophers defense.  
  • Minnesota is sorely lacking in impact offensive playmakers.  
  • I kind of like the look of the all gold uniforms, they need the players names on them though.
  • The Gophers really need to get bigger and stronger in the trenches.   
  • Gopher CB Michael Carter had a very nice senior year.  
  • Michigan State is now bowl eligible.  They are better than their record indicates. 
  • Ryan Grant wore Gary Tinsley's rotating number 51 today.  
  • Up next?  Bowl bound!  Not sure of their whereabouts though. 

Arizona St 41, Arizona 34

The Sun Devils knocked off the Wildcats 41-34 last night in Tucson to take back the Territorial Cup.  This game closes the regular season for both teams, both finished 7-5 on the season, both will be headed to a bowl game.  I think that you can consider this season to be successes for both programs in the first years for each of their coaches (Todd Graham & Rich Rodriguez),  I think they have both laid the foundation of successful programs, I'm optimistic about the future for both. 

Observations:

Friday, November 23, 2012

POTpourri

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Kid Rock - Let's Ride

It's been quite the transformation for Kid Rock.  I'm still a fan.  Have you caught his latest?


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

One Penny Per Transaction Tax?

Just spit balling here, trying to think outside the box a bit on ways to tackle our national debt.

What about a $.01 sales tax on all transactions?   I'm speaking any transaction no matter how big or how small.  Whether you buy a $20K car or a $1 candy bar and you just add $.01 to your total.  There are millions of transactions that take place on a daily basis, collecting $.01 on each of them would add up over time and it wouldn't put a crimp in anyone's pocketbook (think about it for a second, for every 100 transactions you make you'd only be paying $1, who can't afford that?).  It would effect everyone so everyone would have some skin in the game and everyone would be doing their part.

I know, it's probably not feasible, but we need to start thinking outside the box here. 

Advice to Hamas

Just a couple quick words of advice for Hamas:
  1. If you want Israel to stop bombing you and targeting your military heads perhaps you should stop lobbing bombs into Israel. 
  2. If you don't want Palestinian women and children to be killed when Israel retaliates against you,  perhaps you should stop hiding your bombs and militants amongst women and children. 
It's really not as complicated as you're making it out to be.  

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Micros?

You've gotta love them!!  Just saying.


Monday, November 19, 2012

AZ Tidbits

Lily Aldridge

Works for me!


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Cardinals 19, Falcons 23

The Cardinals fall again, this time 23-19 to the Falcons in Atlanta.  The Cardinals have now lost 6 games in a row, they are really reeling.  Their offense is just not cutting it at this point, the injuries to Levi Brown, Beanie Wells & Kevin Kolb really decimated their offense.  Today they only gained 178 total yards today, that doesn't win may games.  I was a bit puzzled by the benching of John Skelton, while I agree that he wasn't lighting the world on fire, they were up 13-0 at the time, it just seemed like an odd time to bring in a 6th round rookie QB with no NFL experience, on the road, against one of the better teams in the NFL.  At some point Ken Whisenhunt may just lose this team. 

Observations:

Rachel Maddow on Arizona Elections

There are lots of questionsI'm in favor of a full review


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Arizona St 46, Washington St 7

The Sun Devils crushed the Cougars 46-7 today at Sun Devil Stadium.  This win moves the Sun Devils to 6-5 on the season and makes them bowl eligible, it also snaps their 4 game losing streak. It was an impressive win for ASU, much needed also as it gives them some momentum as they head to Tucson for Friday's match up with arch rival Arizona. 

Observations:

Minnesota 14, Nebraska 38

No surprise, the Gophers fall to the Cornhuskers 38-14 today in Lincoln.  The Gophers fall to 6-5 on the season.  My takeaways from this game?  The Gophers are not a good road team.  They are really young, you don't beat quality opponents like Nebraska on the road with teams this young.  Phil Nelson is going through some growing pains, he was very erratic with his passes today.  Jerry Kill has the program moving in the right direction, it's going to take some time though.  

Observations:
  • It was good to see the Olson brothers back on the field. 
  • Nebraska finished the season 7-0 at home, they've got quite the home field advantage
  • Total Yards:  Nebraska 444, Minnesota 177
  • Minnesota on third down:  1 for 13.  
  • Philip Nelson, 8-23, 59 yards, 0 TD's, 2 INT.  Not good.
  • Gopher WR's really struggled to get separation and struggled to hold onto the ball.  
  • Max Shortell seems at his best in short spurts, he's a nice back up QB. 
  • Too bad MarQueis Gray had to get injured earlier in the season. 
  • Spencer Reeves wore the Gary Tinsley's rotating number 51 today.
  • Up next?  Michigan State @ home to close out the regular season.

Must See TV

2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, December 4, 2012, on CBS.


Friday, November 16, 2012

POTpourri

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Cantor Gaming

This girl could sell ice to an Eskimo.


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Fixing America

20 Political Reforms to Reshape & Fix America:
  1. Filibuster Reform - filibuster abuse by the GOP has gotten out of hand, I think I'm fairly safe in saying that the current use of the filibuster was not what the founding fathers had in mind, let's fix it
  2. Electoral College - any system that allows someone to win the Presidency without a majority of the popular vote is flawed and in need of reform.  Let's move to a national popular vote
  3. Senate Composition - why does a state the size of Delaware have the same number of Senators as a state the size of California or Texas?  How about we give one of Delaware's Senate seats to a larger state, such as New York (thus giving Delaware 1 Senator & New York 3 Senators)?  Or we could just increase the number of Senators, say from 100 to 120 or so with the larger states gaining more Senate seats. 
  4. Redistricting - the gerrymandering of congressional districts is taking away any real competition in many districts. In the 2012 elections Democratic House candidates won more votes than Republican House candidates yet the Republicans maintained their control of the House of Representatives, how is that a representative government?   The states obviously cannot be trusted to end this practice so let's pass federal legislation to prohibit partisan politicians from having a say in the composition of congressional districts.   
  5. Lobbying reform - right now, we are a country that has been bought by corporate interests, we desperately need to get money out of politics.  One way to do that would be to put restrictions of former government officials from moving straight to K-Street after leaving office. More transparency and disclosure would also be helpful.
  6. Election Day - Federal standards are needed, the Voter Empowerment Act is a good place to start.  I'd also make election day a national holiday in an attempt to get more people to participate.  We should be making it easier for people to vote not doing everything in our power to discourage it.
  7. Trade Pacts - I'd renegotiate all existing 'free trade' pacts to include 'fair trade' provisions and enforce the 'fair trade' provisions that already exist but are not enforced.  Many of these free trade pacts have had a negative impact on middle class Americans, shouldn't we all be playing on an even playing field?  
  8. Dream Act - we live in a country made up of immigrants, I don't see an issue with keeping the best and brightest immigrants here.  There are lots of economic benefits too. It's also not too realistic that we can round up all of the illegal immigrants and ship them out of the country anyways.  Pass the Dream Act.
  9. Single Payer Healthcare -  we pay more for healthcare than any other country in the world yet our healthcare system ranks #37 in the world, that's not acceptable.  It also appalls me that millions of Americans are going without healthcare.  Obamacare was a step in the right direction, but we can still do better.  
  10. Assault Weapon Ban - nobody needs to own an assault weapon, they were designed for warfare, that's what they should be used for.  I'm tired of all the mass killings, it's time for action.  
  11. Tax Reform - it's not right that the wealthy are paying less in taxes than those in the middle class, implementing the Buffet Rule would be a good starting point.  There's also absolutely no reason that dividends and capital gains shouldn't be taxed as income, let's fix that.  Putting an end to offshore tax havens should also be a priority as should stiffer penalties for tax evasion.  I'd also institute the Financial Transaction Tax
  12. Legalize Marijuana - our war on drugs is not going anywhere, a different approach is needed.  Is marijuana really any worse than alcohol?  There's economic benefits to legalization too.  It's time to legalize it, regulate it and tax it.    
  13. Campaign Finance Reform - the Citizens United ruling was an atrocity and needs to be repealed.  Being that it's doubtful that the U.S. Supreme Court will reverse it's decision the only answer is a constitution amendment forbidding corporate personhood, let's get it done. We need to get money out of politics and this would be a good start.  
  14. Supreme Court Term Limits - why do Supreme Court Justices have lifetime terms?  That's ridiculously long, how about 1 ten year term, then out with the old and in with the new. 
  15. Ban the Death Penalty - it's barbaric, it's racially biased, it's costly, it's entirely possible we are sending innocent people to their death, most of the civilized world has already outlawed it, it's time we follow suit.  
  16. Legalize Prostitution - why are we prohibiting the actions of consenting adultsLegalize it, regulate it, tax it and I wouldn't have an issue with it.  Regulating it would of course be the key.  
  17. Reform Social Security - why would anybody want to end this program?  It's been wildly successful.  There's an easy fix too, just remove (or raise) the cap on income subject to social security taxes.  Most people pay this tax on 100% of their income, why doesn't this apply to everybody? 
  18. Save the Post Office - another easy fix, the Republicans manufactured the crisis within the post office (I assume to privatize it and to rid themselves of a powerful union) by forcing the USPS to pre-fund their pension plans 75 years in advance and gave them 10 years to do it.  What business do you know of that could survive that type of stipulation?  Remove that arbitrarily selected 75 year funding limit (or lower to say 10-15 years) and problem solved.  I don't want to privatize this service, I doubt they could do it as cheaply or as effectively.  I also don't want to see the end of Saturday mail. 
  19. End Affirmative Action - it had it's purpose, it was needed at one time, it did what it was suppose to do, but it's jumped the shark, all it leads to now is a form of reverse discrimination, academic mismatches and negative psychological tolls, it's time to end it.  Let's judge people on their merits, not on their race, sex, age or sexual preference.  
  20. Legalize Gay Marriage - if two people love each other and want to share their lives together, who are we to tell them no?   Let's keep government out of the bedrooms, what happens between 2 consenting adults should only be of concern of those consenting adults. 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Monday, November 12, 2012

AZ Tidbits

POTpourri

Sunday, November 11, 2012

GOP Message?


Vikings 34, Lions 24

The Vikings knocked off the Lions 34-24 today in Minneapolis. The Vikings improved to 6-4 heading into their bye week.  This really was a must win game for them with the brutal schedule they have down the stretch (Bears, Packers, Bears, Rams, Texans, Packers).  Christian Ponder played much better than he had the past couple of games, he was 24-32 for 221 yards and 2 TD's, he did a much better job of moving around within the pocket.  Yet, most of his completions were dump offs and check offs, he often didn't even seem to be looking downfield, he needs to get better at that or teams are going to keep stacking the line of scrimmage and that's a recipe for disaster.  It'll be an interesting stretch run.  

Observations:

Cintia Dicker

I saw her in person once, just as hot, no air brushing needed. HOT!


Saturday, November 10, 2012

Arizona St 17, USC 38

The Sun Devils fall again, this time 38-17 to USC in Los Angeles.  The Devils fall to 5-5 on the season.  This loss officially eliminates the Devils from PAC-12 South contention.  I know 5-5 seems very similar to last year but I do see some progress, I like their offensive approach, they are playing much more disciplined, they are doing a nice job of recruiting, I'm confident that they'll get there eventually. 

Observations:

Minnesota 17, Illinois 3

The Gophers knocked off the Illini 17-3 today in Champaign, IL to move to 6-4 on the season.  It wasn't pretty but a road win in the Big Ten isn't easy to come by so you'll hear no complaints from me.  This wins makes Minnesota bowl eligible!  They've now doubled their win total from Jerry Kill's first year.  They're still a work in progress but they are on the right trajectory, I like what I'm seeing.  

Observations:
  • Heckuva game for the Gopher defense.  
  • It was a windy day, it seemed to have a big impact on offensive strategy.  
  • Not surprisingly, Illinois was doing a lot of blitzing against true freshman Philip Nelson. 
  • The Gopher WR's were having a hard time getting separation. 
  • Nice game for Donnell Kirkwood.  152 yards rushing & 2 TD's. 
  • D.L. Wilhite has had a heckuva senior season.  
  • The Gophers were only 2 of 10 on third down, they need to do better. 
  • Roland Johnson may have had his best game as a Gopher today.  
  • No Gopher turnovers and only 5 penalties.  They are playing disciplined football.  
  • The Gopher play calling today was very conservative.  
  • Only 78 yards passing today for Philip Nelson, there will be growing pains.
  • True freshman DE Alex Keith was making his presence felt today. 
  • Mike Rallis wore Gary Tinsley's rotating number 51 today. 
  • Up next?  @ Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

POTpourri

TPSG Election Winners & Losers

Here are my winners and losers of the 2012 elections.  

Winners:
-Barack Obama - another 4 years, need I say more? 
-Nate Silver - his statistical analysis was on the money, he proved his haters wrong.
-PPP - their polling nailed it, most accurate national pollster in 2012.
-LGBT Community - the tide is turning, Baldwin, Sinema, ME, MD, WA & MN all with big wins.
-Marijuana Legalization - for recreational use no less in CO & WA.  
-Women - there was a war on women and Republicans lost it.  
-Bill Clinton - he was everywhere for Obama, he was the power player of this election.
-Moderation - loses by Akin, Mourdock, West, Walsh, people want results not partisanship. 
-Marco Rubio - Republicans need a token to make it appear they are reaching out to Hispanics.
-Hispanics - their growing numbers are making them election day players.

Losers:
-Dick Morris - his Romney landslide prediction was a bit off, is he ever right on anything? 
-Karl Rove - his high rollers lost millions, his meltdown was classic, his credibility took a big hit.
-Rassmussen Polling - they seem to have a right wing biasCredibility has to be damaged.
-Tea Party - their influence is waning, are they hurting the GOP more than helping?  
-Donald Trump - he continues to embarrass himself and hurt his brand
-Republican Party - too old, too white, too male, they aren't keeping up with America's demographics.
-George Will - another Romney in a landslide prognosticators, how can his credibility not take a hit?
-FOX News - their election night meltdown will go down in the anals of wacky election night coverage.
-High Roller Donors - poured in millions, got the status quo in return, not a great return on investment
-Reince Priebus - he didn't deliver the Presidency, or the Senate & the GOP house majority lost ground