So a poll shows that 62% of white evangelicals and 51% of white Roman Catholics believe that torture (or whatever the euphemism of the day happens to be) can often or sometimes be justified, with only 16% and 20% respectively saying it could never be justified.
I wonder what the head of the Catholic Church thinks about that.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Unleashing the power of amber!
I've often criticized Assemblyman and former Congressional candidate Jim Tedisco for populist grandstanding. Truth is, there's no one in New York better at that than US Sen. Charles Schumer.
(Oft heard joke: "Where's the most dangerous place in Washington? Between Chuck Schumer and a camera.")
His latest crusade: pressuring IHOP to use New York maple syrup.
An excerpt from his press release:
SCHUMER URGES IHOP CEO TO OFFER NEW YORK MAPLE SYRUP AT STATE'S IHOP RESTAURANTS, MOVE WOULD BOOST BOTH NY MAPLE SYRUP INDUSTRY AND TASTE OF IHOP'S PANCAKES
In Letter, Schumer Asks International House Of Pancakes to Replicate Vermont Arrangement, Provide New York State Maple Syrup In Each New York Restaurant Location
New York Stands Ready to Unleash Economic Potential of Maple Tapping Industry, Move Would Create New Market for Tappers
Schumer: This Would Be A Sweet Deal for IHOP Customers and Maple Syrup Tappers Across the State
Then again, I suppose it's a welcome, if brief, respite from the swine flu hysteria (more on that soon).
(Oft heard joke: "Where's the most dangerous place in Washington? Between Chuck Schumer and a camera.")
His latest crusade: pressuring IHOP to use New York maple syrup.
An excerpt from his press release:
SCHUMER URGES IHOP CEO TO OFFER NEW YORK MAPLE SYRUP AT STATE'S IHOP RESTAURANTS, MOVE WOULD BOOST BOTH NY MAPLE SYRUP INDUSTRY AND TASTE OF IHOP'S PANCAKES
In Letter, Schumer Asks International House Of Pancakes to Replicate Vermont Arrangement, Provide New York State Maple Syrup In Each New York Restaurant Location
New York Stands Ready to Unleash Economic Potential of Maple Tapping Industry, Move Would Create New Market for Tappers
Schumer: This Would Be A Sweet Deal for IHOP Customers and Maple Syrup Tappers Across the State
Then again, I suppose it's a welcome, if brief, respite from the swine flu hysteria (more on that soon).
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Top 10 signs of the coming apocalypse
#4-That there aren't just random hot dog inhaling contests and other competitions devoted to the glorification of gluttony (euphemism: "competitive eating") but that there's an actual "international federation" of gluttony and something called "Major League Eating."
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Now on Twitter
You can now be notified of this blog's updates via Twitter.
Just go to and follow:
http://twitter.com/mofycbsj
Just go to and follow:
http://twitter.com/mofycbsj
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sigh...
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Homophobia in action...
Homophobia in action...
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Barbarians inside the gate
Next time Dick Cheney or barbarians like him claim that torture (or whatever euphemism they prefer) is 'necessary,' remind him of this...
Friday, April 24, 2009
Bent over fans finally stand up
The new baseball stadia in Queens and the Bronx were built thanks to nearly a combined $2 BILLION ($2,000,000,000) in tax-free bonds, which will end up costing the New York City alone about $500 million in forfeited tax revenues on top of the $150 million in state and city tax money that directly subsidized the projects.
Much like war profiteers and Wall St., the business of sports represents the socialization of risk and the privatization of profits. How much reverse Robin Hood plundering can we take?
What do the denizens of New York City get out of all the hundreds of millions in public money that's been poured into these entertainment venues?
A ticket in the front nine rows at the new Yankee Stadium can cost as much as $2625 a game. The highest priced Mets' ticket is a mere $495... though at least their lowest ticket price is $11.
By contrast, the highest price ticket to next year's soccer World Cup final is $2500. So attending the world's most prestigious single sports contest costs less than an May game between the Yankees and the mighty Kansas City Royals.
The good thing is that the fans voted with their feet. Not many of them seem willing to take out a second mortgage on their home to buy a ticket to a baseball game... to say nothing of exorbitant parking and concessions prices.
Major League Baseball's talking head Bud Selig is meeting with the Mets and the Yankees. Apparently Selig is among the many who's noticed the rash of empty premier seats in Gotham's newest coliseums.
Still, an ostrich speaking on behalf of the Yankees removed her head from the sand long enough to refuse to comment. "We’re still not talking about ticket prices," she quacked.
American sports are awash with socialistic ideas like salary caps, luxury taxes, college drafts (the worse you are, the greater your potential reward), massive public subsidies for private venues scam to say nothing of the anti-meritocratic concept of playoffs and the closed, cartel structure of the entire franchise system. Some of these restraints are designed, proponents claim, to keep expenses down. If they're so effective, how come ticket prices continue to skyrocket?
This is in stark contrast to soccer in Europe and most of the rest of the world which has none of this (except public financing of stadia in some places and playoffs in a few) and is much more meritocratic in its overall operations. Incidentally, soccer tickets in most parts of the world are still fairly reasonably priced. The notable exception is England, which has seen ridiculous ticket prices in recent years and, not coincidentally, decreased attendances for many clubs.
That said, it's nice to know that a tiny bit of capitalism still applies in American sports... even if the fans are the only ones applying it.
Much like war profiteers and Wall St., the business of sports represents the socialization of risk and the privatization of profits. How much reverse Robin Hood plundering can we take?
What do the denizens of New York City get out of all the hundreds of millions in public money that's been poured into these entertainment venues?
A ticket in the front nine rows at the new Yankee Stadium can cost as much as $2625 a game. The highest priced Mets' ticket is a mere $495... though at least their lowest ticket price is $11.
By contrast, the highest price ticket to next year's soccer World Cup final is $2500. So attending the world's most prestigious single sports contest costs less than an May game between the Yankees and the mighty Kansas City Royals.
The good thing is that the fans voted with their feet. Not many of them seem willing to take out a second mortgage on their home to buy a ticket to a baseball game... to say nothing of exorbitant parking and concessions prices.
Major League Baseball's talking head Bud Selig is meeting with the Mets and the Yankees. Apparently Selig is among the many who's noticed the rash of empty premier seats in Gotham's newest coliseums.
Still, an ostrich speaking on behalf of the Yankees removed her head from the sand long enough to refuse to comment. "We’re still not talking about ticket prices," she quacked.
American sports are awash with socialistic ideas like salary caps, luxury taxes, college drafts (the worse you are, the greater your potential reward), massive public subsidies for private venues scam to say nothing of the anti-meritocratic concept of playoffs and the closed, cartel structure of the entire franchise system. Some of these restraints are designed, proponents claim, to keep expenses down. If they're so effective, how come ticket prices continue to skyrocket?
This is in stark contrast to soccer in Europe and most of the rest of the world which has none of this (except public financing of stadia in some places and playoffs in a few) and is much more meritocratic in its overall operations. Incidentally, soccer tickets in most parts of the world are still fairly reasonably priced. The notable exception is England, which has seen ridiculous ticket prices in recent years and, not coincidentally, decreased attendances for many clubs.
That said, it's nice to know that a tiny bit of capitalism still applies in American sports... even if the fans are the only ones applying it.
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