reyonthehill

- The immigration reform debate is a clear signal of the persistent racialism within our borders and within the conservative party.

- The guarantee of multi-lingual ballots and the presence of election-day "interpreters in precincts with high populations of non-white voters" is in flux as provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act are set to expire.

- And John Dean, who served time (in prison) for crimes committed by the Nixon administration during the Watergate scandal, tells the Senate that they "should censure or officially scold Bush" over the administration's illegal wiretaps.

Growing up outside of Buffalo, New York, I never really had a hometown team to root for. Yes, a lot of people around Buffalo rooted for the Yankees (but that is no fun) and the Toronto Blue Jays were only a few hours away (but were in Canada) and the Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates were only a few more hours away (and both were also the parent teams, at one time or another, for the AAA Buffalo Bisons), but let's be realistic. There was a crop of teams to root for (my father was a longtime Dodger fan), but I pretty much considered myself a baseball free agent when it came to rooting for a certain team.

My second year in little league (and the first that I can truly remember) I was on the "Athletics." And I was pretty good - a long, youthful career in baseball was in my future. That was 1987 when I was seven years of age. The following year (and twice more again) the Oakland A's made the World Series. The 1988 LA Dodgers - Oakland A's World Series is the first Series I remember watching. (I remember hearing something about the Mets two years earlier, but I was busy playing around the house or something.) But from 1988 through 1990, it was my team, the Oakland Athletics, that played exciting baseball (McGwire and Canseco; my father lectured me on batting like McGwire with his "pigeon leg stance") and made three consecutive World Series. The A's became my de facto hometown team.

Okay, so move forward a decade and half, when I move to Berkeley, a few minutes north of Oakland. I had come home to my team... I will be attending only a few games this year - next Wednesday vs. the Yankees, a weekend game against the Giants, and a few more scattered across the season. It may be all for naught, however, as I will be out of the bay area and out of the country for half of September and a good chunk of October, so if the A's do well, I won't see it happen. (Or, if the A's struggle late...)

Where am I going with this? Well, opening day is now only a few days away, and like all other things that come annually (or so it seems), I make my dutiful predictions...

AL East - Boston Red Sox (not the Yanks)
AL Central - Cleveland Indians (not the Sox)
AL West - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL Wildcard - Oakland Athletics

NL East - Atlanta Braves (not the Mets)
NL Central - St. Louis Cardinals
NL West - Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wildcard - San Francisco Giants

World Series - Oakland A's over the SF Giants in seven games in "greatest World Series ever." (Yea, I have a bay area bias. What are you going to do about it?)

I guess I can kiss my presidential run goodbye...

This is the "authoritative" nine-eleven conspiracy theory documentary out there (and this ain't no Michael Moore film either).

Bless you...

On March 27, Bush participated in a roundtable interview and commented on the immigration reform issue: "There's a much more rational way and much more humane way to deal with people who are doing jobs that Americans won't do." We have heard this argument again and again, from the president, republicans and democrats who support some sort of guest worker program. I, too, support plans for a guest worker program (and possibly, outright amnesty), but not because undocumented workers do the "jobs that Americans won't do." I feel that this description of undocumented workers is an insult beyond any scent of decency. The fact is that these workers are doing the jobs that Americans would love to do, and they do such a great job, we need them (and want them) to stay here and keep doing it. Amen...

The best thing about the Wall Street Journal (and what makes it such a "classy" paper) are the seemingly hand-drawn images that accompany the article. For example, an article on the religious right's earnest efforts to only educate the principles of "abstinence" (as compared to a more accurate and thorough sex education class) in schools offers this rendering...

The artists are even able to class-up an article on the Sopranos...

Images: Wall Street Journal

- Sometime next season on NBC, a Law and Order: SVU episode will mirror the Duke lacrosse team story.

- Is Ms. Spears' sculpture, titled "Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston," a sign that she had pondered an abortion?

- One small step for man, one large reduction in profits for oil companies, as SUVs will be forced to meet "22.2 mpg for 2007 vehicles," up from 21.6.

- And will Bush really fire Rumsfeld, replace him with Gary Hart, and raise taxes? No. Well, maybe; we never know.

Not too long ago, Bill Gates was scheming to steal the secrets of Apple's Macintosh, and he certainly succeeded (but surprise, surprise, no talent always means little ingenuity), but along the way, he had to hide his true motives and talk nice about Apple...

I am not sure what year this is... my apologies. I found it online over the past year or so.

With all of the chatter about the news that former deputy chief-of-staff and long-time Bush ally Josh Bolten is the new White House Chief-of-Staff, replacing Andrew Card, has anyone out there quoted the Who line, "Meet the new boss; same as the old boss..?" Just wondering... (Because I have been thinking about it all day.)

- The City of San Francisco is pondering charging drivers in downtown during business hours, a wonderful idea that has succeeded in London to cut down on traffic congestion. One ignorant motorist chides the idea, "It's bad enough that I gotta drive, and pay to park, and now I have to pay to drive?"

- Some republicans are finally thinking logically and questioning their support of the right wing's belief that "God's Law should be used to set public policy."

- Anyone who would rather watch Desperate Housewives than the Sopranos is not a true Sopranos fan (and good riddance). I have thought that the emotion and events within the first three episodes of this season is equal to a full season of any other television series. Am I wrong?

- Instead of (and in spite of) balancing the budget to pay for the Iraq war and the wealthy-man tax cuts Bush has enacted, the White House is looking to sell more than 300,000 acres of national forests and other public land.

- And Google is looking more and more like Microsoft as they hire lobbyists in Washington.

I guess there is no news today. None whatsoever.