Once again, life has thrown me another curve. I've been feeling sick for the last couple weeks and finally dedcided to go to the hospital and unfortunetly they had to admit me. Hopefully it isn't anything serious and I should be home in a couple of days. Regardless, I won't be blogging until I get home. If you would like to call me, I can be reached at 773-753-1867.

In order to keep my sports writing seperate from my other rantings, I created a new blog called ShayneBlog Sports.

This blog will be about all things Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers and Dallas Mavericks (even though I live in Chicago).

Take a look if your interested and let me know what you think.

Dallas Cowoys...................20
Detroit Lions......................7

Well, a win is a win no matter what. Me? I'm a little concerned that for the second game in a row, the team did not play very well. Given that the Lions were penalized 17 times (the most since 1970!), the 'Boys should have scored a lot more than they did.

However, Dallas is 7-3 and atop the NFC East. From this vantage point, I believe that anyone of a half-dozen teams can make it to the Super Bowl (and lose to the Colts). Carolina proved mortal, Tampa Bay and Atlanta are no better that the Cowboys and the Giants lost to the 'Boys already this season.

That leaves da Bears. They remind me of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. They also had a great defense and a weak quarterback. But as romantic a notion it is (especially here in Chicago), I just don't think they're close. Yes, they have a great defense. But aside from a schizophrenic Panthers team, who have they really beaten? Minnesota, Detroit (twice), New Orleans, San Francisco and Baltimore. These teams have a combined record of 19-39.

I think they should wait before making plane reservations for Detroit.

Cowboys Report Card

Passing Offense : C-
I put this entirely on the shoulders of Drew Bledsoe. He was off on quite a few throws and seemed to hold on to the ball too long on others. To the teams credit, he was only sacked once. However, he was pressured a lot.

Rushing Offense: B
I would have loved to give this unit an "A". But not being able to score on 3 straight plays from the 1-yard-line causes that. Overall, the tandem of Julius Jones (who ran better than he has all season) and Marion Barber worked very well and kept the defense off the field.

Passing Defense: B
Aside from the Lions lone scoring drive, they played well. Greg Ellis had the teams only sack, but they pressured Harrington well. It was nice to see Anthony Henry back in the mix, although Aaron Glenn has done an outstanding job in his place.

Rushing Defense: A
They held the Lions to just 57 yards rushing which was a huge improvement over the last game. It gets tougher Thursday when the face Denver.

Special Teams: A-
Billy Cundiff returned to the team and set a franchise record with a 56-yard kick in the 2nd quarter. It seemed to take the steam out of Detroit. A penalty by Tyson Thompson negated a "Deion-like" punt return by Terrance Newman. But it's possible that the long return only happened because of the penalty.

Coaching: B
They played conservatively and won by running the ball well and keeping a formidable Lions pass rush from killing the quarterback. I liked the fact that Parcells put Newman in the game to return the punt. Also, he put tremendous trust in Billy Cundiff that paid off as well.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

A 14-year-old schoolboy in Wiltshire, England,was sent out of class to put a new cover on his notebook because the words he had written on the old cover, "God Save the Queen," might be offensive to Muslims.

G-d save us all!

My blogging pal, Greta (aka Hoohah Wife) and I, along with Aaron's cc, have started a new webring called RepubliJews. As the name suggests, it's a ring for Jewish Republicans.If you blog, join us. If you've never blogged before and would like to, let me know and we can help you get started.

Dallas Cowboy...............................21
Philadelphia Eagles.........................20

What a strange weekend it was in the NFL. The Redskins loss to the Bucs was a thing of beauty, and thinking about the overrated Giants loss to the Vikings put me to bed with a smile on my face.

As for the Cowboys...

I suppose winning a game like they did was payback for the losses to Washington and Seattle. They were outplayed, outcoached and over matched throughout. Until McNabb's boneheaded interception to Roy Williams with under 3 minutes left, I had really developed a greater respect for the embattled Eagle. He, along with the rest of the Iggles, played with a tremendous ammount of emotion and desire.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, looked like they were shocked at the strength of their opponent - surprising since they were the defending conference champs. Basically, this game looked like the polar opposite of the teams earlier meeting a few weeks ago.

Cowboys Report Card

Passing Offense: C+
Bledsoe was harassed much of the game, but when he did have time, hooked up beautifully with Peerless Price and Terry Glenn. On a few occasions, he clearly held the ball too long and his interception just butt-ugly.

Rushing Offense: D
The Cowboys could adjust to the Eagle run blitzes until the 4th quarter. Julius Jones never found room to run. Marion Barber continues to impress.

Passing Defense: C+
The defense never expected McNabb to scramble like he did and that trough the whole line off. On the positive side, they only let up 183 yards passing. Aaron Glenn did a nice job covering for the injured Anthony Henry.

Rushing Defense: D-
A shameful display. The Eagles came in ranked last in the league in rushing and they ran for 133 yards. Brian Westbrook averaged over 6 yards a carry. The Cowboys were beaten badly at the line of attack.

Special Teams: B
Aside from giving up a partially blocked punt (which still traveled 31 yards), the unit played well. McBriar had a 62 yard punt and the return game was adequate. Keith Davis had two really nice hits in coverage.

Coaching: D+
Parcells seemed completely surprised by the Eagles game plan. They were unable to stop the run and were taken out of their game plan by an aggressive Philly attack. Furthermore, when tied in the 2nd quarter, they went conservative instead of attacking like they did in the first game.

The Gospel according to Jimmah

Former President Jimmy Carter says President Bush's policies conflict with American values.

Wow. That's sad.

Not the comment, per se, but the fact that Jimmah still feels anyone cares what he thinks.

Carter, known better for his laughable incompetence than for anything else - unless you count his brother Billy and peanut farming - is an uncompromising hypocrite. He wrote a new book in which he says that "peace is an American value, not pre-emptive war".

I guess Mr. Personality forgot about Germany, Korea, Cuba and Vietnam (and that's only in the last hundred years).

Further, he states that we are in violation of the Geneva Convention and that "our senators are voting to keep torture. It's inconceivable this would happen in the United States of America."

Now, it's understandable to think we're in violation, most people are completely unaware of what the rules are. But a former American president should know better. Under "Combatant Status", the Convention states:

"Convention I offers protections to wounded combatants, who are defined as members of the armed forces of a party to an international conflict, members of militias or volunteer corps including members of organized resistance movements as long as they have a well-defined chain of command, are clearly distinguishable from the civilian population, carry their arms openly, and obey the laws of war."

If Mr. Carter had his way, we would be waiting until after another attack before he would do anything. By "anything", I mean he would either send a doomed helicopter to crash in the desert or he would complain loudly that the Islamofacists aren't playing fair.

In Jimmah's world, it matters not who wins, but how you play the game. Unfortunately, the real world is not a game. In the nuclear age, it's vital that we erase totalitarianism before it erases us. Jimmah - who once complained that it wasn't proper for a former president to criticize the current one (Richard Nixon commented on Carter's futility in the Iranian hostage crisis), now turns around and not only criticizes President Bush, but does so with lies.

It's not the first time the former President has tried to rewrite history. In 2003, he stated that "Bush's inordinate support for Israel allows the Palestinians to suffer." Absolutely, Jimmah. The Palestinians were such a peace-loving people before President Bush came around. Now, it's Bush and Israel's fault for their suffering. Not Yasser Arafat and his gang of murderers. Not Hamas, Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah. No! It's Bush and Israel!

Carter's moral blindness to the horrors of the Islamofacism was his downfall in 1980. Running for President in 1976, he was considered a "man of the people" who had tired of the scandals of Watergate. He left office 4 years later in one of the biggest landslides in American history.

Carter, like many Democrats today, do not understand why they're not in power anymore. As one Upper East Side Manhattanite said, following the 2004 election, "I can't believe Bush won. I don't know anyone who voted for him." Americans liked Jimmah because they believed he was populist. Like the Manhattanite and the rest of the leftists, he's not. He's an elitist.

Like all elitists, he believes that he is morally and intellectually superior. But that foolishness was not shared in 1980, or in any election in 10 years. According to Jimmah, it's amazing that 59 million people can be so dumb and yet, with every word he speaks, he proves that he's the foolish one.

The 10 Worst Things Ever Said To Me (in no particular order)

(Sorry folks, just been that kind of week)

1. I'm sorry, but we've done all we could do. (when I found out that my father was dying)

2. It's not you. It's me. (more than once. ugh.)

3. There'll be other jobs. (and other layoffs)

4. It's just G-d's way of saying you're not ready to have a baby. (very nice - that makes me sooo much better)

5. Thanks, Alan. I had a nice time. (hellooo, my name's not Alan)

6. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. (except for the heart attack and stroke you'll have in a couple of days)

7. But we can still be friends, right? (sure, and we can still ...., right?)

8. What did you do deserve THAT? (when we told someone our child might be autistic)

9. Isn't that sooo romantic? (when a very-soon-to-be ex showed me a letter sent to her from her ex written entirely in his blood - really)

10. You know, they're never coming back. (when, as a 4-year-old, I asked my sadistic brother when my parents were returning from their trip to Israel - they returned the next week)

Next week -- the top 10 best things ever said to me.

Who are we kidding?

In almost every article I've read about the riots is France, the one thing that seems to be missing is the "M" word. Muslim. Sugar coated coverage of who these "disenfranchised youths" are is not only foolish, but dangerous.

The media's obsession with political correctness has further muddied the waters of truth. Just as Airport screeners were told not to discriminate against men of Middle Eastern appearance, it seems that we are now refusing to acknowlege the reasons for the rioting.

French President Jaques Chirac tried to take a stand by not allowing head scarves to be worn by Muslim schoolgirls, but that action was about as effective as trying to drain New Orleans with a paper cup.

The AP reports that "France's biggest Muslim fundamentalist organization, the Union for Islamic Organizations of France, issued a fatwa, or religious decree. It forbade all those 'who seek divine grace from taking part in any action that blindly strikes private or public property or can harm others.'"

Blogger Lost Budgie asks:

"Blindly" ?

That doesn't sound like a wholesale prohibition against violence to me. The use of the word "blindly" offers an exception; a condition under which a Muslim in France could strike against private or public property or harm others and not be in violation of this fatwa. If a Muslim is striking with thoughtful consideration of the verses in the Koran, would he be striking "blindly"?

It's an interesting question, similar to Yasir Arafat's claim that it was only okay to kill Israelis in the disputed territories, knowing full well that he considers the entire country (not just the West Bank and the Golan) disputed.

Mark Steyn comments that he predicted this as far back as 2001.

The Eurabian civil war appears to have started some years ahead of my optimistic schedule. The notion that Texas neocon arrogance was responsible for frosting up trans-Atlantic relations was always preposterous, even for someone as complacent and blinkered as John Kerry. If you had millions of seething unassimilated Muslim youths in lawless suburbs ringing every major city, would you be so eager to send your troops into an Arab country fighting alongside the Americans?

For half a decade, French Arabs have been carrying on a low-level intifada against synagogues, kosher butchers, Jewish schools, etc. The concern of the political class has been to prevent the spread of these attacks to targets of more, ah, general interest. They seem to have lost that battle. Unlike America's Europhiles, France's Arab street correctly identified Chirac's opposition to the Iraq war for what it was: a sign of weakness.

Perhaps these "youths" (calling them that of the reminds me of the Iranian "students" who took over Iran in 1979 - they were also Muslims and the press fell for that lie also) are disenfranchised.

But what caused these feelings? (geez, I sound like a Democrat)

Could it be that France, like many socialist countries, no longer impress nationalism - and instead encourage seperatism? Just like in the liberal elite circles in America, patriotism is a nasty word. An American flag should be burned, not flown. ABC News reporters are forbidden from wearing USA flag pins while on the air. John Kerry ran on a platform of sharing power with the UN.

America used to be called the "great melting pot." If you wanted to be a part of the "American dream", you had to adapt to society - not the other way around. Today, we bend over backwards to accomodate anyone who wishes to be seperate. Some towns ban Halloween because it might upset Wiccans. Many schools do not allow the Pledge of Allegiance because it may upset athiests. We even ban sports teams from using Native American names and symbols even though many of these groups approve and understand the honor of these names.

Even the former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, has encouraged the idea of globalization over nationalism.

We have gone so far as to frisking little ladies in the airports so as not to give the impression that anyone could be a terrorist. While I suppose that anyone could, the fact that the great majority are Muslim males, wasting time on little old ladies seems to me to be a waste of time.

In theory, the goal is an almost utopian society. However, as learned from as early as Cain and Abel, the Human race is incapable of living in Utopia. There are too many people in this world who wish only to exploit and conquer other people. No matter what we say or do, these people will always twist these words and deeds to destroy the very society that enabled them.

We see it in Israel. We saw it in Germany. We're now seeing it in France.

We will see it in America too, if we don't stop kidding ourselves and recognize who - and what - the real enemy is.

credit to Michelle Malkin

More (ugh) Moore

Michael, Michael, Michael, whoda thunk you were such a hypocrite? Geez, dude, I thought you were the real deal, man. I mean, when you be talkin' such smack 'bout Halliburton and all, I thought you was fresh, man. Thought you waz keepin' it real.

Sorry, that's just how I perceive the way uneducated people (the type to believe the crap Moore peddles) talk.

Now comes a new book which doesn't just claim Moore's hypocrisy, but absolutely proves it.

According to WorldNetDaily, Moore owns stock (quite a bit, actually) in the very company he has claimed to be behind the war in Iraq.

Other lies exposed in Peter Schweizer's new book are:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who proclaims her support for unions, yet the luxury resort, the vineyard and the restaurants she partly owns are strictly non-union. While she advocates tough new laws enforcing environmental regulations on the private sector, the exclusive country club she partly owns failed to comply with existing environmental regulations for the past eight years – including a failure to protect endangered species.

Noam Chomsky has made a reputation for calling America a police state and branding the Pentagon "the most hideous institution on earth," yet his entire academic career, writes Schweizer, has been subsidized by the U.S. military.

Barbra Streisand is another proponent of environmentalism, yet she drives an SUV, lives in a mansion and has a $22,000 annual water bill. In the past, she has driven to appointments in Beverly Hills in a motor home because of her aversion to using public bathrooms.

Ralph Nader plays the role of the citizen avenger – the populist uninterested in wealth and materialism, pretending to live in a modest apartment. In fact, he lives in fanchomes registereded in the names of his siblings.

Seems to me that someone's got some 'splainin' to do.

Question for the masses...

Why is it illegal (considered a hate crime) if you burn a "Rainbow" flag, but just dandy if you burn an American flag?