Back for Good...

Well, now that I have a laptop and internet access again, it's time to start writing. Let's start with a few quick topics in the news about which I've been stewing:

The Republican Party

Sigh. What happened? Why are they insistent on following a philosophy to continue running their party into the ground? I have several republican friends who would make for much better leaders (and who are only about 25 years old). Here's a few quick thoughts:

1. Christianity is not the answer when the majority of American's aren't Christian! Whatever happened to separation of Church and State?

2. Axe Michael Steele! I remember seeing him make a fool of himself on Bill Maher last year and thinking, how was this guy a Lt. Governor. What do the repubs do? Elect him as their leader! Amazing. Did that watch that show? Put me on a stage against him and I'll run him into the ground.

3. Tax cuts (for the rich). It's pretty clear that America wants the Government in their lives. While nobody likes to pay taxes, I'm pretty sure that the rich shouldn't pay less than the poor percentage-wise. If you have it, why not help. $20 to me means a lot more than $20 to Bill Gates.

4. Social Issues. Why do Repubs preach less government in your personal life when they're trying to legislate issues like gay marriage and abortion? Again, the majority of American's favor gay marriage and are pro-abortion. Why do they insist on saying that the country in center-right when in actuality, it's center-left? It's like refusing to believe the Earth revolves around the Sun or not believing in evolution...oh wait...

Steroids in Baseball:

Way back when Slammin' Sammy and Marky Mark were hitting dingers into the next state, I can safely say I knew that they were on "special" vitamins. While I was a lot younger than I am now, I knew that their body types could not simply come from hard work and dedication. I remember specifically one summer in high school...I worked out religiously with my Dad in Atlanta almost every day. For three months we absolutely KILLED ourselves. We took protein powder, creatine, altered our diets, pretty much every trick in the book to get bigger and faster (except 'roids). In the beginning of that summer, my Dad could bench about 225 pounds and I could throw up around 150. After three months, I was able to get up to 185, while he increased his bench to 260. I couldn't believe how much I had improved!

Let's put that in perspective. Does anyone remember David Ortiz when he played for the Minnesota Twins? I sure don't. But if you do look back at his first few years in the big leagues, he was SKINNY! He didn't hit for power, whatsoever. From 1997 to 2002 his highest home run total was 20. He arrives in Boston in 2003 and promptly hits 31, 41, 48, 54 and 35 dingers. I know what you're thinking - yes, he had Manny hitting with him and maybe his work ethic substantially increased. I love David Ortiz - he can hit the heck of a baseball and is by all accounts, a great person. However, please explain to me why, at only 33, he suddenly can't seem to get the ball out of the infield? I'm pretty sure steroids can't help someone like me hit the ball out of the park, but I'm also sure that they could potentially lift a ball from the warning track to the stands...either way, I doubt we'll know for sure. Going back to my Father/Son anecdote - we worked our butts off and saw improvement, but nothing hardly earth-shattering. So now I'm supposed to believe that A-Rod's bench increased from 110 to 310 in one summer? Really? At this point, everyone is guilty until proven innocent (except my boy, Ken Griffey Jr!).