Monday, September 1, 2008

Cheers & Jeers -- August, 2008


Winners




Carl Edwards
Carl Edwards won three races in August but few could have stirred up more passion and excitement than his performance at Bristol where in classic Rusty Wallace or Dale Earnhardt style, he did what he needed to do bring home the trophy. Coming out of the last pit stop in lap 470, he clearly had the fastest car. The only problem: the #18 car of Kyle Busch was in front of him, then came the opportune moment, a gentle little nudge, and away he went. This traditional style of Bristol racing did not set well with his rival who whacked him twice and then tried to block him out during the cool down lap after the race was over. Having none of Baby Busch’s shenanigans, he simply plowed him out of the way to get on to victory lane and do his customary back-flip. When questioned about his move that won him the race, he offered his thinking, if the roles were reversed, would Busch have done the same? Of course he would as Edwards had experienced in an earlier Nationwide race. Carl Edwards is one of the winners for August not simply for his superb accomplishments on the track but his straight forward unapologetic behavior in response.

Michael Phelps
What’s not to love about Baltimore County’s own Michael Phelps, our home town kid who dominated the Beijing Olympics with eight gold medals beating Mark Spitz’s mark of seven from 1972? It’s not just the dominating, confident way Phelps approached each race, but also the genuine all American boy spirit he brought with him to exhibit on the world stage. Let the American haters say what they will about our culture. Michael Phelps is the real America. Let the rest of the world show us someone better.

Keela Carr
This is the story about any every day person just wanting to do a humble good deed, thank our troops for their sacrifices for our nation. To accomplish this, she embarked her Journey of a Thousand Thanks from Fort Irvin, California walking across the entire country to Arlington National Cemetery. Her goal was to shake hands with and personally thank at least 1,000 soldiers while raising money for the wounded. Embarking in May, she arrived in Virginia on August 8th. Ms. Carr is another one of those regular Americans, a 35 year old fitness and athletic trainer. This was no effort for personal recognition or grandstanding, it was just the beautiful act of a great citizen following her calling appreciating the blessings of being American.

Jericho Scott
What can you say about a nine year old boy who can toss a forty mile an hour fastball with pin point accuracy? “Way to go lad!” “May I be your agent?” That’s not the way it played out in New Haven, Connecticut. His youth league, “New Haven Liga Juvenil de Baseball” banned him from competing in the league. He pitched his team to an 8-0 record. Apparently, the little fellows on the other teams were scared to death to square in against him. What kind of story does this tell? Do your best. Excel at pursuing your passion and be suspended? When America no longer awards excellence where will be be?

Bobby Jindal
The Republican Party desperately needs new energy from more youthful dynamic leaders. The 37 year old son of Punjabi Indian immigrants has become a forceful communicator and dynamic leader who took on the troubled state’s many difficult issues from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to decades long corruption.

Jindal showed his no-nonsense take charge approach as he addressed the onslaught of hurricane Gustav demanding an immediate evacuation and total cooperation while marshalling all the support services to stand at the ready as the storm hit. He appears to be providing all the leadership that was absolutely lacking in his predecessor Kathleen Blanco’s incompetence.




Losers
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John Edwards
That John Edwards ever gained prominence is a mystery as his blatant self-serving narcissistic behavior exceeded anything we could even dream of in Tinsel Town. Though his scandal broke in July, the true treachery and absolute lack of character were fully brought to light as we heard the man’s words, his refusal to come clean, and the manipulation of others who clung to him as their meal ticket for access to power were used as pawns in his selfish game. When looking at his giant plantation just outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, considering his extreme vanity even $400 plus haircuts, we see a man with no principles, no morals, and a total lack of character. Here’s a man with zero moral authority to lead at any level. America cannot tolerate this most extreme kind of “do as I say not as I do” leadership.

Putin & Puppet (Vladmir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev)
The World saw the Russian Bear is alive and well in the naked imperialism witnessed as the Russian military tore the small freedom loving former Soviet republic on the north east shore of the Black sea to pieces allegedly over the status of two pro-Russian provinces. In striking resemblance to Hitler using the Sudeten territories of Czechoslovakia as his pretext for bigger things to come, Putin’s bold defiance of the rest of the world leaves the Freedom loving world contemplating what’s next – the Ukraine, the Balkans, Poland?

Barack Obama
Never has there been a grander display of one’s total vanity than the staging of the Democratic convention in Denver culminating with the INVESCO field spectacle with huge larger than life video boards of the candidate, fireworks, performances by Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, and Jennifer Hudson, and hoops of hoopla. The overall effect seemed to be a wedding between the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics coupled with the grand Communist spectacles such as North Korea’s Kim Jong-il’s big events with giant posters and murals of the great dictator surrounding the standing area filled with the carefully orchestrated faithful chanting the party mantra in perfect precision. While speaking on the historic anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech supposedly invoking John F. Kennedy’s appearance at the Los Angeles Coliseum for his acceptance speech, he did nothing to emulate the historical figures he cited for his inspiration as being so blinded by his own hubris unmasked his own megalomania creating the appearance of the great champions of world communism his friends like William Ayers and Frank Marshall Davis.


Joe Francis
This guy is low class scum. Joe Francis is the brain child of “The Girls Gone Wild” video series where Francis and his scum merchants visit hot party spots where young ladies are likely to be consuming lots of alcohol to sign a release allowing themselves to be videoed flashing their private parts. Naturally, the camera crew is more than happy to run up quite a bar tab to make the likely willing more willing through the consumption of various libations. Many of these young ladies are below drinking age. Worse, some are younger than adult (18) age who provided fake ID’s to be able to participate.

It would come as no surprise that Francis has seen his share of legal challenges to which he consistently responds he’s being persecuted for just being a good entrepreneur practicing his first amendment rights. Joe Francis is now hitting the talk-show circuit pleading his case as he attempts to have legal action against him tossed out. His whiney just your average good boy done wrong act really wears thin.

It sure would be nice to see a few husbands, fathers, and boyfriends have a chance to share their true feelings up close and personal with Mr. Francis for the fine opportunities he has provided their ladies. In this “anything goes” society, here’s one guy we’d hope would just go away.

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