Football Season

The Bi-Polar Nation

Football season is upon us once again. It’s a fun time for some and a frustrating time for others. I fall into the later camp – I’m a Raider fan. I’ve been a fan of the silver and black since the early 1970’s – back when Kenny “The Snake” Stabler was the quarterback and Dave “The Ghost” Caspar played tight end. I used to have a pint-sized Raider uniform - #12 – and I still have a pennant from the Super Bowl Oakland won back in early 1977.

I watched in despair when enigmatic (some might say insane) owner Al Davis moved the team from Oakland to Los Angeles and then cheered when the team moved back. Now I have mixed feeling as to whether that was a good or a bad thing for Oakland or any other city involved in Davis’ shenanigans. Aside from a run at the Super Bowl a few years back when the team had their asses handed to them by former coach John Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the team’s been pretty dismal for the last several seasons and an opening season loss to Detroit at home is not making me feel overly optimistic for this season’s prospects either.

Who knows – being an Oakland fan is like having self-inflicted manic depression for sixteen weeks out of the year. It’s just baffling but I’ve said before that it is a good metaphor for life. Basically you have this crazy guy in a white jumpsuit sitting up in the skybox making decisions you can’t even begin to understand and all you can do is just watch and keep your fingers crossed that somehow, eventually, things will work out.

Gordo Gets a Face-Lift

The outdoor fireplace I built last year has undergone some serious repairs and renovation over the course of the summer. I finally have the structural work done and I am now in the process of applying a mosaic tile finish to the beast. My fingers are riddled with tiny little slices from handling the jagged shards of broken tile but I am feeling good about it. I think Gordo will look really nice when it’s all done. Then it will be interesting to see how well the tile holds up once we start burning everything we can fit into the fireplace.

The September Report on Iraq

General Patreaus finally gave his much anticipated remarks regarding the on-going war in Iraq. I have to say I am severely disappointed in MoveOn.org and a number of ranking democrats for questioning Patreaus’ character. MoveOn.org is running a snide campaign calling the General “General Betray-us.” I think there are better tactics to take than questioning the character of a 4-star general who has devoted his entire career to serving his country in uniform. Until this report came out General Patreaus was respected and confirmed by politicians from both sides of the aisle. Now that his report doesn’t say what some would like it to say they question the General on his autonomy, judgment, and integrity. I think it is an unfortunate attack that will only serve to more clearly polarize and stifle any meaningful debate.

Don’t get me wrong, I think our foreign policy over the last seven years has been disastrous and I don’t think it has strengthened our position in the world. But extremists on both sides have to understand that lapsing into name-calling and grand-standing only detracts from whatever arguments they are trying to make. If one is preaching to the choir and that’s all they’re concerned with then by all means – name call and use the ultra-partisan rhetoric. But if one wants to win people over to their cause then they need to be respectful of their opposition’s ideas.

Migration

I caught my first glimpse of some migratory birds making their ways north as autumn looms and winter is just around the corner. I don’t know if they were geese or swans and I’ve only seen one formation of these birds thus far. That and some of our Japanese maples are just starting to turn from green to red and orange. The days are growing shorter and it’s getting harder to get out of bed in the morning regardless of how much sleep I’m getting. So I’m thinking fall is here and winter is just around the corner. I’ll let you know how the fireplace holds up after the first decent rain-storm.