Meatstick Opinion: Worst Job In America

There are lots of bad jobs in America. Over the last 10 years we have tried our best to ship many bad jobs off to India and China, but despite our best efforts many shit jobs still remain. Even if we contiuned to outsource all the terrible jobs that we have here in America, the number one awful job isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The worst job in America belongs to any person who holds the title "Public Affairs Officer" in the US Army.

There are many public affairs officers throughout the Army, from the brigade level all the way up to the Pentagon. Recently, Fort Lewis (an Army base in Washington state) has announced that it will no longer hold post wide memorial services for individual soldiers killed in action. Instead they will do what most Army posts have done and have one memorial service each month and use that to honor all of the soldiers that have been killed in that particular month. This policy is the decision of the acting commander of Fort Lewis, Brig. Gen. William Troy. Fort Lewis has more soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan now than it has had at any other time throughout these campaigns. As such, they are losing more soldiers each month. The fort lost 16 soldiers this month, the previous high was 9. As Fort Lewis extends tours and sends more troops into Iraq, Brig. Gen. Troy probably realized he needed to change their memorial service to a monthly ritual in order to conserve money and time (mostly time). What happened after the general made this decision? He wrote a memorandum that left the chaplain and the post Public Affairs Officer to put out the bad news.

Going back to January, the Fort Lewis Public Affairs Officer has had to announce:

• That 6 soldiers were killed in a single roadside bomb (worst attack on a Stryker to date)
• A plume of smoke coming from the ground at Fort Lewis was not toxic to the people living on base
• That the 3/2 stryker brigade combat team will have their tour extended to 15 months
• That the 5/2 stryker brigade combat team will deploy 2 months earlier than expected

Since the Iraq war started public affairs officers are continually given a nice big "shit sandwich," then they are told to bite into it and tell everyone how good it tastes. But, like my mom always told me, "you can't shine shit!"

Meatstick Holiday: Memorial Day Thought

Here is an article written in the Washington Post by a former West Point grad, Vietnam Veteran who just lost his son in Iraq:

I Lost My Son to a War I Oppose. We Were Both Doing Our Duty.
By Andrew J. Bacevich
The Washington Post

Sunday 27 May 2007

Parents who lose children, whether through accident or illness,
inevitably wonder what they could have done to prevent their loss.
When my son was killed in Iraq earlier this month at age 27, I found
myself pondering my responsibility for his death.

Among the hundreds of messages that my wife and I have received,
two bore directly on this question. Both held me personally culpable,
insisting that my public opposition to the war had provided aid and
comfort to the enemy. Each said that my son's death came as a direct
result of my antiwar writings.

This may seem a vile accusation to lay against a grieving father.
But in fact, it has become a staple of American political discourse,
repeated endlessly by those keen to allow President Bush a free hand
in waging his war. By encouraging "the terrorists," opponents of the
Iraq conflict increase the risk to U.S. troops. Although the First
Amendment protects antiwar critics from being tried for treason, it
provides no protection for the hardly less serious charge of failing
to support the troops - today's civic equivalent of dereliction of
duty.

What exactly is a father's duty when his son is sent into harm's way?

Among the many ways to answer that question, mine was this one: As
my son was doing his utmost to be a good soldier, I strove to be a
good citizen.

As a citizen, I have tried since Sept. 11, 2001, to promote a
critical understanding of U.S. foreign policy. I know that even now,
people of good will find much to admire in Bush's response to that
awful day. They applaud his doctrine of preventive war. They endorse
his crusade to spread democracy across the Muslim world and to
eliminate tyranny from the face of the Earth. They insist not only
that his decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was correct but that the war
there can still be won. Some - the members of the
"the-surge-is-already-working" school of thought - even profess to see
victory just over the horizon.

I believe that such notions are dead wrong and doomed to fail. In
books, articles and op-ed pieces, in talks to audiences large and
small, I have said as much. "The long war is an unwinnable one," I
wrote in this section of The Washington Post in August 2005. "The
United States needs to liquidate its presence in Iraq, placing the
onus on Iraqis to decide their fate and creating the space for other
regional powers to assist in brokering a political settlement. We've
done all that we can do."

Not for a second did I expect my own efforts to make a difference.
But I did nurse the hope that my voice might combine with those of
others - teachers, writers, activists and ordinary folks - to educate
the public about the folly of the course on which the nation has
embarked. I hoped that those efforts might produce a political climate
conducive to change. I genuinely believed that if the people spoke,
our leaders in Washington would listen and respond.

This, I can now see, was an illusion.

The people have spoken, and nothing of substance has changed. The
November 2006 midterm elections signified an unambiguous repudiation
of the policies that landed us in our present predicament. But half a
year later, the war continues, with no end in sight. Indeed, by
sending more troops to Iraq (and by extending the tours of those, like
my son, who were already there), Bush has signaled his complete
disregard for what was once quaintly referred to as "the will of the
people."

To be fair, responsibility for the war's continuation now rests no
less with the Democrats who control Congress than with the president
and his party. After my son's death, my state's senators, Edward M.
Kennedy and John F. Kerry, telephoned to express their condolences.
Stephen F. Lynch, our congressman, attended my son's wake. Kerry was
present for the funeral Mass. My family and I greatly appreciated such
gestures. But when I suggested to each of them the necessity of ending
the war, I got the brushoff. More accurately, after ever so briefly
pretending to listen, each treated me to a convoluted explanation that
said in essence: Don't blame me.

To whom do Kennedy, Kerry and Lynch listen? We know the answer: to
the same people who have the ear of George W. Bush and Karl Rove -
namely, wealthy individuals and institutions.

Money buys access and influence. Money greases the process that
will yield us a new president in 2008. When it comes to Iraq, money
ensures that the concerns of big business, big oil, bellicose
evangelicals and Middle East allies gain a hearing. By comparison, the
lives of U.S. soldiers figure as an afterthought.

Memorial Day orators will say that a G.I.'s life is priceless.
Don't believe it. I know what value the U.S. government assigns to a
soldier's life: I've been handed the check. It's roughly what the
Yankees will pay Roger Clemens per inning once he starts pitching next
month.

Money maintains the Republican/Democratic duopoly of trivialized
politics. It confines the debate over U.S. policy to well-hewn
channels. It preserves intact the cliches of 1933-45 about
isolationism, appeasement and the nation's call to "global
leadership." It inhibits any serious accounting of exactly how much
our misadventure in Iraq is costing. It ignores completely the
question of who actually pays. It negates democracy, rendering free
speech little more than a means of recording dissent.

This is not some great conspiracy. It's the way our system works.

In joining the Army, my son was following in his father's
footsteps: Before he was born, I had served in Vietnam. As military
officers, we shared an ironic kinship of sorts, each of us
demonstrating a peculiar knack for picking the wrong war at the wrong
time. Yet he was the better soldier - brave and steadfast and
irrepressible.

I know that my son did his best to serve our country. Through my
own opposition to a profoundly misguided war, I thought I was doing
the same. In fact, while he was giving his all, I was doing nothing.
In this way, I failed him.

Andrew J. Bacevich teaches history and international relations at
Boston University. His son died May 13 after a suicide bomb explosion
in Salah al-Din province.

Meatstick Question: What Has Two Thumbs...

What has two thumbs and no life?
Answer: This Guy!

Meatstick Question: Green or Libertarian?

The democrats finally backed down on the Iraq war funding bill. For me, the next election will no longer be a choice between Hillary or Obama (I know they both voted "nay," but they aren't fooling me). It will be a choice between the Green Party or the Libertarian Party.

I guess there is an outside chance I'd still vote for Bill Richardson.

Meatstick News: Bush and Cheney Graduation Speeches

The list of 2007 college graduation speech locations for the President and Vice President is very interesting:

Cheney:

• BYU - A mormon, conservative University located in what has been called the most conservative city in the United States, Provo, Utah. It turns out that even the most conservative city in the United States can't shelter the Vice President from protest. A large number of students and faculty protested his appearance.

• West Point - This place is a slam dunk for any speaker. The students graduating from West Point are probably the happiest graduates on the face of the Earth. It also helps that a large majority of the military is conservative and vote Republican. Fear not though, the protestors outside the gate will be in full force. A group of activists actually applied to protest inside the gate and were refused access. They decided to take the issue to court and are still waiting on the appeal.

Bush:

• US Coast Guard Academy - Just like West Point, the students are thrilled to be finally graduating and are inherently conservative. His appearance drew a crowd of protestors

• St. Vincent College - A small Catholic college in Latrobe, PA. Bush was invited to speak there by the President of the college, who formerly worked as director of Bush's "Office of Faith Based Initiatives." This school is so conservative that they actually tried to remove the phrase "liberal arts" from their description because they must have thought that it was giving people the wrong idea about what the school stands for. Suprisingly, many students were not happy with the school's choice of graduation speaker and decided to hold a public debate. The debate grew so much attention that it was actually aired on CSPAN. There were also protestors present on the day of the graduation speech.

What can we learn from this? Well, it is apparent that Bush and Cheney are trying to hide behind their conservative base while still pretending to be relevant graduation day speakers. It is refreshing to know that, although they may be able to avoid the public protest while they swoop in under the radar and stand at a podium for two hours, the protestors are still there even in the most conservative environments.

Meatstick Information: How To Use The Polar RS800 (S/D) With An Apple Computer

I'll start by saying that this post is useless to 99% of the world's population; however, for the other 1% of the world it has the potential to be very helpful.

Background:
I bought my Polar RS800 SD before I realized that they aren't directly compatible with Apple Computers. At first I thought that I was screwed, but upon doing some research at different places on the internet I found that it might be possible to get a connection between the RS800 and the new Intel based Macs (I have an intel Macbook Pro). Although there were sources on the internet that claimed it was possible to get the watch to sync with a Mac, none of the sources I found were really good at explaining how to go about doing it (especially for somebody who isn't a mac genius). After about a month of trial and error and spending more money I was finally able to get the watch to sync with my Macbook Pro. I will explain here how I did it.

The Process:
The first thing you will need to do is figure out how to get Microsoft Windows on your computer. I didn't have a copy of Windows, so I purchased Windows XP Home Edition from this website. You might be able to use a different version of Windows (XP office, Vista, etc.) but I can only tell you what I physically tried, which was XP Home.
Next, you will need to utilize one of the programs that Apple has that allow you to run Windows on your Mac. I decided to use Bootcamp because it can be downloaded for free from the Apple website. I'm assuming Parallels would also work, but again I can't say for sure because I didn't try that.
Once you have Windows on your Mac the next thing you have to do is download the Infared (IR) USB bridge (IR wave 721) from the Polar website. This is the website with the download and directions.
Finally, you have to purchase the Polar IR Wave USB: I found the USB device at a local bike shop, but they are hard to find and it might be easier to buy online.

Conclusion:
It sucks that you have to shell out another $130 (for Windows and USB) just to get the watch to work. Polar claims that they are working on making products that are compatible with Mac, but that won't do me any good right now. I will say that the product is pretty awesome when you finally get it all working.

I hope this will be helpful to somebody out there that is frustrated as I was. If you have any questions about the process just leave a comment and I will try my best to answer it.

Meatstick News: Missing Cougar Mountain Runner Found

The Good News:
The missing runner showed up at the doorstep of his house early Tuesday morning. He claims he fell into a ravine and was knocked unconscious for three days (he doesn't have any bumps or bruises). I'm not exactly sure what to make of this, but I think the detective said it best, "We're going to take his story at face value."

The Bad News:
I went to Cougar Mountain yesterday to try and do my part to help find a missing runner. I ran a 5.5 mile loop around a few of the trails at Cougar Mountain and tried to be aware of anything that looked out of place. Unfortunately, I didn't find the missing runner or any clues as to where he might have gone. This is not surprising considering how large the area is that makes up the trails weaving throughout Cougar and Squak Mountains. I consider this story bad news because it made me realize that running alone in the wilderness could actually be a dangerous thing.

Meatstick News: Running In Seattle

I typically run between 30-50 miles a week at about 10 different places here in the Seattle area. In the last month 2 people have been killed and 1 person is currently missing at 3 of those 10 places:

• Girl hit by car on corner of 24th AVE and Boyer
• Runner finds murdered body in Ravenna Park
• Runner currently missing on Cougar Mountain
  

These events are unrelated and I'm not sure what I can learn from each one. However, it is a good time to remind people to please pay attention to bikers and runners when you are driving:

Meatstick News: They Got Me

I have been living here in the Pacific Northwest for almost five years now and the bastards finally found me. I think they were on to me about a year after I moved here, but then I threw them off when I deployed to Iraq for a year. I believe that when I was in Iraq they gave up on me and that gave me some breathing room when I got back. Well, the time has finally come...they tracked me down. It was nice while it lasted.




Q: Who are "they?"
A: Allergies

That's OK though...I got some Allegra-D, Benadryl, and Zyrtec for the bastards.

Meatstick Fact: A Letter You Don't Want

I got a letter from the financial aid office of my intended graduate school yesterday. The letter contained the following statement, which you never want to see from the financial aid office:

Evaluation of your financial aid application has indicated that your calculated family contribution will meet your cost of attendance.

Basically they are telling me to beat it and to just write them a check for the full amount.

Meatstick Opinion: The Romney's are Hurtin'...

I saw somewhere that the average age of people who watch the TV show '60 Minutes' is somewhere in the 50's. I guess I'm an outlier because I'm 26 and have '60 Minutes' set up on DVR and seldom miss an episode.

Last week's episode had a really great piece with Mike Wallace. Mike was doing a pretty unbiased profile of the life of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Although I would never vote for the dude, I was intrested in the segment because I really don't know much about him. The best part of the segment was when Mike Wallace asked Mitt and his 5 sons why they never opted to serve in the military. On the surface this seems like a cheap shot and poor journalism by Wallace. However, I would argue that this question was completely justified based on the fact that Mitt Romney is a staunch supporter of President Bush's war in Iraq. The fact that he supports the war so much and has 5 fully capable sons that have never worn a uniform stuck out like a sore thumb and the question was begging to be asked. Below is the transcript from the interview:

MIKE WALLACE: While all of them have served their church doing missionary work around the world... has any one of you ever decided that you're going to put on a uniform and go to war?
JOSH ROMNEY: I feel guilty having not done it.
BEN ROMNEY: I've seen a lot and read a lot that has made me say, "my goodness, I hope I never have to do that."
WALLACE: Not one agreed or thought about serving in the military?
MATT ROMNEY: There are other sacrifices to make as well, and I hope to be able to make a sacrifice of that, you know, of that caliber at some point in my life.

Let me break this down. Of those three responses, the only one that doesn't stick out as being full of shit is Ben Romney. At least he admits that he wants nothing to do with the war in Iraq. However, I'm not so sure how he could then blindly support his father and his support for the war in Iraq, which is the largest issue in the upcoming election. Josh Romney's answer is by far the most interesting. Again, he states:

JOSH ROMNEY: I feel guilty having not done it.

That's interesting considering the fact that he's only 31 years old. The last time I checked the enlistment age to serve in the Army is 42. In fact, I bet he could enlist and immediately be sent to Officer Candidate School to become an officer based on the fact that he has a bachelor's degree.

Now, let's look at the father's response when Mike Wallace asks him why he never served in the military:

WALLACE: Did you ever serve in the armed forces?
FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: I did not.
WALLACE: Why not?
ROMNEY: I was at college. Then I went off and served my church for two and a half years.
WALLACE: In a mission.
ROMNEY: In a mission.
WALLACE: And because of his high lottery number, he was never drafted to serve in Vietnam, something he says he regrets to this day.

So, Mitt regrets never serving. Fortunately for him he's past the enlistment age so I'll just have to take his word for it.

Like father, like son(s).

To make something clear. I have no problem with people who choose not to serve in the military. The military is not for everyone. Hell, the military wasn't even for me which is why I got out.

But, I am critical of people who blindly support the war in Iraq but never thought about actually volunteering to serve there.

Meatstick Congrats: Brother Jimmy and the cast and crew of Columbia's 'The Office'

I would like to congratulate my brother for his graduation from Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs.

I would also like to congratulate him on his acting debut. Jimmy and a few of his fellow Columbian's put together a skit that closely resembles the hit TV show The Office. The great thing about the skit is that you don't have to be an insider at the school to find it funny. A working knowledge of the TV show is a plus but definitely not necessary. The cast and crew did a great job...it's not just some bullshit, knockoff skit that was thrown together on a whim.

The ironic thing about my brother appearing in a skit based on The Office is that upon graduation he will be moving back to the greater Scranton area (for a short time).

Anyway, here is the skit (2 parts):

Meatstick Fact: Wives Make Tough Softball Coaches

I have to give my wife a lot of credit. She decided a few months ago to organize a softball team from scratch in time for a Spring league here in Seattle. At first I didn't think I really wanted to play, but it has been a blast and I'm glad she forced me to play.
Having said all that, I must also say that having your wife be your softball coach can be very tough. For example, after six games this year I am batting a cool .750 with only 2 errors in the field. My wife...I mean coach, is still not happy with my pregame preperation. She claims I need to get to the field to warmup a little earlier than I had planned on.

Also, I thought she was videotaping my at bat b/c she thought it would be fun to put on youtube and show family and friends, but she was actually taping me so that she could sit me down later that night and critque some flaws in my swing.

At least she lets me drink after wins!

Meatstick Fact: Snipers Are Real

Snipers are not just a buzzword you see in the paper. Snipers are not just found in video games. Snipers are not just pretending to shoot at stuff for a CNN video clip. Snipers are real.

I found out yesterday that a good friend of mine was shot by a Sniper in Iraq. In an instant, a single bullet to the neck paralyzed him from the neck down (hopefully not permanent).

This was his second tour in Iraq and he planned on getting out of the Army when he got home in a few months.

Please say a prayer for him and all soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meatstick Opinion: Catching a Foul Ball

In a recent post I talked about how one of the greatest moments in a sports fan life is the day they catch a foul ball. Apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way. Major League Baseball's all time stolen base leader, the retired Rickey Henderson, recently caught a foul ball in the stands at a San Francisco Giants game. The story doesn't end there. Rickey was then badgered by people sitting nearby for him to give the ball to a little kid. Rickey kept the ball and didn't relent. He proved my point about the significance of catching a foul ball by saying:

"Everybody was asking me for the ball," Henderson said Tuesday, according to the Star-Ledger of Newark. "I said, 'You're not getting this ball. I always wanted to get a foul ball. This one's going on a shelf at home."

Here is a man that has almost 300 career homeruns, more stolen bases than anyone who has ever played the game, and was the American League MVP in 1990. If Rickey Henderson thinks that catching a foul ball is a big deal, then you can imagine what it must be like for a schmuck like me to catch one.

I know people who aren't familiar with baseball might think it's ridiculous for him not to give the ball to the little kid. There is a strange cult of parents out there that bring their kids to a baseball game and insist that anyone who gets a foul ball must give it to their "Bobby" or "Jane." I'm not sure when it became common for parents to think like this (maybe it was sometime after the 1994 strike when I boycotted baseball for a few years). I suspect these are parents who didn't grow up going to baseball games and have no idea what it's like to spend a lifetime hoping to catch a ball. I would like these parents to please understand, it is solely up to the person who catches the ball as to what they are going to do with it.

For those of you that like happy endings, Rickey did give the kid a different autographed baseball.

Meatstick Opinion: The main difference between World War 2 and Iraq

Next time you hear a politician try to justify the continuation of the war in Iraq by comparing it to World War 2, please use this blog post to shut them up.

Today the USA Today released a story that summarized the fielding of the military's upgrade to the HMMWV (Hummer). The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) is the latest innovation in troop transport and its invention is a direct response to the ineffectiveness of the HMMWV in protecting soldiers from mines and IEDs. The new Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, was quoted as saying:

Armored Humvees were "the best we had," Gates said. "Now we have something better, and we're going to get that to the field as best we can."

The article then goes on to state that the Army has 18,000 HMMWVs in Iraq and only 1,100 MRAPs. This small number of MRAPs doesn't really make sense when you read the memo sent out by Gates last week that stated:

Getting the MRAPs is "the highest priority Department of Defense acquisition program," Gates said in a memo last week to the secretaries of the Army and Navy.

If that is really the highest priority, then how come the Army has only 1,100 MRAPs in Iraq right now?

What does this have to do with World War 2? Well, during WW2 President Franklin Roosevelt banned the production of civilian automobiles so that the car manufacturing plants could dedicate 100% of their effort to churning out as many tanks as possible to support the soldiers overseas (another reason was to save on rubber). Take a look at the picture below:

This is a picture of women building tanks at the Richmond Ford Motor Plant. I'm not saying we need to ban the production of all civilian cars; but, please ask yourself if our government is doing everything they possibly can to protect our soldiers by getting them the best possible equipment as soon as possible. Then, when you realize that they aren't, please hold them accountable.

Meatstick News: Terrorists in Gouldsboro??

For the last four years we have been hearing from the Administration that the main reason we are fighting in Iraq is so that we don't have to "fight terrorists over here." I think most people are able to see right through this and realize that the war in Iraq will not stop a disgruntled American muslim from blowing up a car bomb somwhere in the US. After all, it didn't stop a disgruntled Korean-American from shooting over 30 people at Virginia Tech.

Well, it appears that not only have the terrorists "followed us back to America," but they have decided to setup shop in my hometown. Two of the "masterminds" behind the Fort Dix terror plot were living in a house at Big Bass Lake in the small, country town of Gouldsboro, PA. Of course The Scranton Times didn't fail to provide us with some comic relief during the situation. They interviewed some of the local residents and gave us these amazing quotes. Keep in mind, I'm not making these up:

“They walked up and said, ‘You’re a big S.O.B.,’ ” Mr. Perih, a Scranton native, said. “I tapped them on the shoulder and said, ‘Watch how you talk about my mother.’ ”
Noticing the men spoke a foreign language to each other, Mr. Perih said, “This is America, bro. We speak one language here.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” shooter Ollie Hilburn, 64, of Wilkes-Barre, said. “I’m a man and if a guy comes out with a semi-automatic gun, I’m going to rap him.”

It's funny how many toughguys come out of the woodwork once the terrorists have already been arrested.

On a completely different subject, Vice President Cheney has been seen in Iraq. It is obvious that the Administration is shitting their pants at this moment with the prospect of the Iraqi parliament about to take a 2 month summer break. They realize that this would be a public relations disaster for the Iraqi government to go home for 2 months in the middle of our historic "surge." A senior administration official was quoted as saying that Cheney's message will be:

"We've all got challenges together. We've got to pull together. We've got to get this work done. It's game time."

IT'S GAME TIME???? If it's game time now, then what the frig was it when I was there for a year? Was I there during bull shit time? Was it ever game time over the last 4 years when over 3,300 soldiers have been killed?

I guess it is only game time when Cheney is on the ground. Which means it isn't "game time" very often since this is only the second time he has ever been there.

Meatstick Book Review: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (and David Relin)

I drink, on average, two cups of tea a day and I would be lying if I didn't tell you this book initially caught my attention because of its catchy title. I'm glad the book did catch my attention because it is one of the best books I've read in a long time.

This book is the story of Greg Mortenson. Greg attempted to climb the second highest peak in the world, K2, in 1993. Upon failing to reach the summit, he got seperated from his local guide on the way back down and he stumbled into a small Pakistani town looking for help. This chain of events ended up changing his life and the lives of many impoverished people throughout rurual Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg was amazed at the lack of education and opportunities offered to the small children of the mountain villages in northern Pakistan. He decided that he would dedicate his life to building schools (mostly for girls) for the villagers in the poorest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg's only problem is that he barely had enough money to get back to the United States. He had no idea how to go about raising money for his new mission in life. The book talks about how Greg was able to start the Central Asia Institute with the help of some very wealthy donors that he befriended along the way.
There are some very interesting stories about Greg's encounters with the Taliban and other Muslim groups who were vehemently opposed to Greg trying to educate women. The events of Sept 11, 2001 dramatically changed Greg's mission. Although it offered him the opportunity to bring schools to parts of Afghanistan that were always too dangerous to access, he also became aware of the destruction and refugee problems associated with America's war on terror. It became apparent to Greg that one way to defeat terrorism in the Middle East is through education, not necessarily just 2,000 lb. bombs.
To me, the main point of the book can be summarized in a statement Greg gave to Parade Magazine:

"If we try to resolve terrorism with military might and nothing else, then we will be no safer than we were before 9/11. If we truly want a legacy of peace for our children, we need to understand that this is a war that will ultimately be won with books, not with bombs."

If you would like to learn more about the book check out the official website at:
www.threecupsoftea.com

I urge you to buy the book at Amazon.com because 7% of the proceeds are donated to Greg's non-profit organization, CAI.

Meatstick Video: Arab American Woman

Who says you can't learn anything from listening to Howard Stern? The other day Howard mentioned an Arab woman who he saw speaking on youtube about the root of the problems between Middle Eastern Muslims and "the West." I searched for the video, found it, and thought it was too good not to share:

Meatstick Opinion: Baseball is the Best

Today I spent my afternoon at the Mariners/White Sox game. As I sat there I began to think of all the reasons why going to baseball game is my favorite pastime. I will concentrate on the events surrouding a baseball game, and not the actual sport itself:

1. People bring beer to you. No waiting in lines (like at a bar) and throwing elbows just to get overcharged 78% on a bottle of Bud. Instead dudes walk around and sell you beer right at your seat. So you don't even have to do any work to get overcharged 78% on a bottle of Bud.
2. Social interaction. With all the down time during a baseball game it is almost impossible to go to a game and not strike up a conversation with the people around you. Normally I hate social interaction with people, but in this case it is different b/c I share a common bond with everyone at the stadium. To some degree, we all like baseball. For those 9 innings you really don't care and you would probably never know if the guy sitting next to you is a wack job neocon...instead, he is just a nice guy who likes baseball.
3. Unlike other sports, a fan is actually part of the action. So much so that if you aren't paying attention you could potentially get knocked out by a foul ball. It doesn't matter if you are 5 year old attending your first game or a 78 year old taking your grandson to his first game, everyone who goes to a game has the chance to catch a ball. I've never caught a foul ball or a homerun but it seems like one of the greatest enjoyments in the life of a sports fan. For at least 10 seconds the guy who catches a ball is the coolest guy in the stadium. Everyone around you cheers and occasionally you can get even get rewarded for your efforts by getting on TV or the "big screen."
   
4. The smell of the park. I'm not someone who enjoys food all that much, but even I admit that a ballpark smells like good food.
5. Fairly reasonable prices. I could buy a ticket to today's game for $7. There is certainly no other major sport where you could be offered admission for a measly $7. Hell, you can't even go see a shitty movie at a theatre for $7.
   

There are obviously many more reasons why I think baseball games are the best, but these are the top 5.