Weird Robbery Or Wacky Sitcom Plot?

3:26 pm EST December 31st, 2008 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments

I swear I remember Cousin Larry from Perfect Strangers doing this.

A 19-year-old Hutchinson man was arrested after allegedly breaking into his own home and stealing a car, jewelry, some money, and other items. Police said he allegedly lured his other family members away Friday afternoon by making a dinner reservation for them in Chanhassen. Then, while they were away, he broke into the garage and house, grabbed the booty, and took off in the car.

Topic: Weird

RICO For Catholic Abuse

3:03 pm EST December 31st, 2008 | Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Way back when I was writing about Cardinal Law and the coverup by the archdiocese in Boston, I was in favor of using RICO to go after the church for their systematic hiding of pedophiles.

Connecticut’s Catholic Church is charged with racketeering in a suit that claims church officials covered up alleged sex abuse by priests, documents say.

The suit, brought by a New London, Conn., attorney, cites the leadership of the Norwich, Conn., Diocese with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — more commonly known as RICO — for allegedly conspiring to keep reported child sex abuse by priests quiet, The Hartford Courant reported Wednesday.

The suit names former Bishop Daniel Reilly and its current vicar general, the Rev. Thomas McBride, as culpable under RICO for alleged child sex abuse committed by the late the Rev. Thomas Shea, who was accused of sexually abusing at least 16 girls in the 11 parishes within the Norwich Diocese.

Topic: Crime

Mystique Is Pregnant

2:08 pm EST December 31st, 2008 | Comic Books | Comments Off

Mostly stupid but I like that Jerry O’Connell indulges in the same kind of stupidity I would if I were married to Rebecca Romijn. I understand that Teri Hatcher and Erica Durance are still open to playing Lois… (Kate Bosworth? Eh…)

Topic: Humor

Video: World Record Trampoline Dunk

2:54 am EST December 31st, 2008 | Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Japanese TV, FTW.

Topic: Weird

Really Annoyed

2:44 am EST December 31st, 2008 | Uncategorized | 17 Comments

I’m really annoyed by the people on the right who simply accept everything Israel has said and done without a hint of skepticism. I’m equally annoyed by people on the left side who excuse away Hamas’ actions and pile on Israel.

But then, I’m on the disengage with the Middle east faction, so maybe I see things differently.

Topic: Middle East

Cynthia McKinney Delivers

8:19 pm EST December 30th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Still crazy, 9-11 truther and hairdo activist Cynthia McKinney makes waves in the Middle East. Sigh.

Topic: Useful "Liberals"

Dead Celebs Sell Junk

8:05 pm EST December 30th, 2008 | Media | 2 Comments

Apparently this ad with John Lennon selling the One Laptop Per Child is upsetting some people. Folks, from the minute Fred Astaire sold a Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner and Gene Kelly sold a VW, that was the sign that the jig was up.

Do Not Mess With The Gods Of Football

7:51 pm EST December 30th, 2008 | Sports | 6 Comments

The Patriots were warned.

As if having a perfect season spoiled with a loss in the last Super Bowl and losing MVP quarterback Tom Brady to a season-ending knee injury less than eight minutes into this season were not enough to punish the Patriots for their videotaping scandal of last year, missing the playoffs after posting an 11-5 record should square everything. New England is the first 11-win team to miss the playoffs since the current 12-team format was instituted in 1990.

Cheaters.

ALSO: The Cowboys apparently celebrated their 44-6 loss. I hope Wade Phillips sticks around – combined with T.O. it’s like the male version of Desperate Housewives.

Topic: NFL

Tom Brokaw Gets To The Heart Of What Was Wrong With Tim Russert’s “Meet The Press”

11:15 pm EST December 29th, 2008 | Media | 8 Comments

john madden The sad thing is, Brokaw has written a profile of Russert and thinks this is a positive aspect of his work to note:

“Tim Russert was in the next generation of broadcast journalists, and his role model was none of the above,” writes Brokaw. “As he often told me, Tim was a John Madden man. Madden, the large, rumpled former coach of the Oakland Raiders who became the N.F.L.’s premier television analyst, is the guy at the end of the bar whom the patrons turn to when they need some working-class wisdom.”

But you see, Madden is a doofus. A lovable doofus who football fans like myself enjoy for his catchphrases and doodles on the telestrator, but a doofus (who has become increasingly goofy in the last 5 years or so). And we’re okay with that because Madden does play by play on NFL football – a pursuit that while fun does not mean anything in the great scheme of things. While for a few hours a fan might tear his hair out over a play, in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter if Jim Zorn went for it on fourth down or not.

But Meet The Press and the people who come on it do matter. It’s the most influential public affairs program on the air and its a damn shame it increasingly shares the same tone as Fox NFL Sunday. The last two weeks of shows with David Gregory show that the problem is getting worse, as Gregory tries to emulate Russert and just elevates more minutiae to prominence – lobbing softballs at Condoleeza Rice and discussing Blagojevich to the point of absurdity with David Axelrod.

John Madden is a television institution, but there’s a reason his name is slapped on (fun) video games and he’s infamous for talking about turducken: He’s not serious.

44-6

3:51 am EST December 29th, 2008 | Sports | 10 Comments

Up front: The Redskins season was a mess. I had low expectations going in, then high expectations when they were 6-2, only to see them lose game after game for no good reason culminating in the embarrassing loss to the Bengals to effectively get knocked out of the playoffs. And Sunday’s loss to the 49ers was a cherry topping on a lost season sundae.

But still.

The Dallas Cowboys got beaten 44-6.

FORTY-FOUR TO SIX (to a team the disappointing Redskins beat just last week 10-3). I would not be doing my duty as a life-long Washington Redskins fan if I didn’t point to the Cowboys and say two words:

HA! HA!

nelsonmuntz