Opinari.net
Opinari - Latin term for Opinion. Opinari.net is just what it seems: a cornucopia of rants, raves and poignant soliloquy. |
Thursday, March 30, 2006
If anyone doubts the need for tighter security on the American-Mexican border, read this.
As an aside, anyone that knows me knows how much I hate taxes, but if there was ever a cause that would lead me to volunteer a tax increase, it is border security. Assuming it was administered by someone other than the Federal Government, of course.Labels: Archives_2006
.: posted by
Dave
5:36 PM
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Youth and the Winter of their Discontent:
Two things have particularly drawn my attention today. Both things happen to involve the younger generation, the generation to which I belonged not that long ago.
Exhibit A: In France, groups of young people have erupted violently in protest of a change in the labor laws. The French government has realized painfully that they can no longer sustain their welfare state at its current levels. In an attempt to curtail such support, a new law has been passed that relaxes job protections for younger workers. Or to say it another way, there is an expectation now codified into law that younger workers should do their jobs with some accountability, and be prepared for the consequences of not doing so. But years of coddling are hard to undo, and as a result of the policy change, thousands have taken to the streets in violent protest.
Exhibit B: Not too far down the road from me in Dallas, students apparently have decided that today would be a good day to walk out of class to protest the galling prospect of the nation and the state actually enforcing their immigration laws. So, in a fit of disobedience much more civil than that of our friends in France, hundreds of all nationalities and creeds have been walking through the streets of downtown, insisting that immigration laws are wrong, and should be ignored.
So we have one group of kids complaining because they are expected to work for a living, and another group of kids complaining because they do not believe in the rule of law.
Have we lowered the expectations we have of our children so much that hard work and adherence to the rules are no longer reasonable? And does anyone expect repercussions for either group here? I suspect that we'll see appeasement before consequences, and that is the very thing that got us here in the first place.
Labels: Archives_2006
.: posted by
Dave
1:25 PM
Saturday, March 18, 2006
The Vols’ Dream Season Comes to an End:
80-73 says the scoreboard. The Big Orange was close, but not close enough to a Sweet 16 berth. Now the Talking Heads™ will get to tell us how we didn’t deserve to be where we were, blah, blah, blah…
Who cares?
Did anyone… ANYONE… expect this team after LOSING its top two scorers from a 14-17 campaign to win 22 games, get into the top ten, grab a #2 seed in the Round of 64, and come away with victories over Florida TWICE, Texas on the road, Kentucky at Rupp? Oh, and we won the SEC East. Did you really think that was going to happen?
Yeah. Me neither.
But it did. And this season is the first season I’ve cared about UT basketball since DeVoe was coaching, and we had players named Nix, Roth, and Henry. It’s not that I didn’t SUPPORT the Vols. Between 1987 and 1996, while I still lived in Knoxville, I went to most every home game, but it was tough to watch. VERY tough.
This season brought us hope in the optimism and energy of a new face, Coach Bruce Pearl. Midwesterners said we’d be happy we “brung ‘im here”. I guess they were right.
The 2005-2006 Vols had some fundamental flaws in their game, and lacked depth. But they excelled in other areas, and they had it where it mattered most. Chemistry, and effort. Yes, you have to be able to make a few shots, and the lack of scoring touch became evident down the stretch when it really looked like their legs were gone.
But… so what?
I loved watching this team. I loved listening to the coach. I loved the publicity we got all season. I loved being proud to wear my orange and white during the winter months and not just because of the Lady Vols.
Next season we will be in the preseason NIT, showcasing a wiser group of kids, and integrating perhaps the Vols’ best freshman class since Ernie and Bernie. Will we win 22 again? Will we go deeper in the tournament? I believe so. I believe this basketball team will go as far as chemistry and effort will take them. And with a few more shots falling, and a little luck, maybe we’ll show up in Atlanta for the Final Four, and not just because we happen to have tickets.
It’s good to dream in March, and know you’re not just hallucinating. Heh.
Go Vols, and thanks for a terrific run.Labels: Archives_2006
.: posted by
Dave
5:28 PM
Sunday, March 12, 2006
A Number Two Seed... Really?
I just got through watching the NCAA selection show, and there were lots of surprises. Packer and Nantz whined about the "love" being given to the Missouri Valley Conference... Well, the whining from those guys really wasn't much of a surprise. What WAS a surprise was this - Texas A&M and Air Force got in. Cincinnati was left out. And the Vols got a #2 seed in Greensboro.
Let's talk about the Vols for a minute. I don't think there is anyone outside of the Volunteer faithful that believes that we deserved a #2 seed after losing 4 of our last 6 games. Clearly, our RPI weighed heavily in the decision that the committee made. It didn't hurt that we defeated conference champions Murray State and S Alabama and big 12 reg season champ Texas. Going 2-0 against Florida helped too.
However, other tournament teams had equally compelling resumes, and I'm just not comfortable backing into a top 8 seed. (Does anyone in the other 49 states think the Vols at this stage of the season are better than North Carolina or Gonzaga?)
So I wonder what other factors involved seeding. The national "wow" factor of Coach Pearl and his miracle Vols? The fact that we'll probably bring 7500 fans to Greensboro?
I mean, let's face it. This team didn't win the regular season OR the conference tournament. This team is good, and has surpassed expectations, but given all circumstances, a 3 or 4 seed at best was warranted for the Vols.
Now, having said all of that, I'm awfully excited about the upcoming tournament. I'd love to see a Sweet 16 matchup with those Tarheels. If the Vols play as they are capable, they'll make it that far. If they continue to lack that intensity, and if they have indeed "lost their legs", it's going to be a long weekend in Carolina.Labels: Archives_2006
.: posted by
Dave
6:24 PM
Monday, March 06, 2006
Political correctness. The very sight of the term makes me uneasy. The thought police has manifest itself in myriad ways all over the world. Everyone by now is nauseatingly familiar with the Mohammedan caricatures.
Today comes this article in the Wall Street Journal about Muslim offense taken to a Voltaire play that “mischaracterizes Islam”. From the story:
"Fanaticism," the play that stirred the ruckus in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, portrays Muhammad as a ruthless tyrant bent on conquest. Its main theme is the use of religion to promote and mask political ambition.
I fail to see the “mischaracterization” there.
Closer to home, it seems that the Houston, Texas pro soccer team has relented on its intention of naming their team the “1836” after the year of the founding of their fine city. Why is that offensive? Apparently, that is the same year that Texas won its independence, and a cadre of upstanding Mexicans are offended about that.
In all three cases, vocal (and in the case of the cartoons, violent) minorities have sought to limit one of the fundamental rights of a free society – free speech. I fear a society where “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Piss Christ” are banned, even though the premise of both offends my religious sensibilities. I fear a society that denies the basic facts of history. Such acts of censorship lead to a slippery slope where the very act of thought is criminalized. That’s a social dynamic that I simply want to avoid at all costs.Labels: Archives_2006
.: posted by
Dave
2:30 PM
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Just a thought...
Muslims across the globe are unreasonably angry about the Danish cartoon depictions of their prophet, Mohammed. Given the outcry on the subject by the militant wing of the "religion of peace", wouldn't this be an appropriate time for the Mad Muslim himself, Mr. Osama bin Laden, to make a curtain call? Wouldn't it make sense for him to join the ranting of the lunatic fringe about how such caricatures are forbidden and insulting to Islam and should lead to bloody retribution?
I don't know if ol' OBL is alive, dead, or somewhere in between. But it doesn't make sense that he's been... er, deathly silent about the matter.Labels: Archives_2006
.: posted by
Dave
10:04 PM
Thursday, March 02, 2006
The first presidential vote I ever cast was for Libertarian Harry Browne. My friends chided me for "throwing away" my vote. "He's unelectable." "There are only two serious choices." This is the mentality that has put us in the two-party mess we are in, I thought. I still think that, although I no longer think the Libertarians as a political party warrant serious consideration.
Harry Browne died today. I believe the Libertarian Party died a long time ago. I'm hoping someday that someone with political acumen, charisma, and solid libertarian ideas comes along to carry the torch that Browne carried so well.
While I remain skeptical, I believe that limited government, lower taxes, and a strong national defense are achievable priorities. It is simply a matter of the people exerting their will in that direction, and voicing that desire at the polls. Maybe someday, the American electorate will expunge the big government bureaucrats from Washington in favor of small government officials. I like to dream that dream. It is a dream that Harry Browne and I shared. And that's why he was the first person for whom I ever cast a presidential vote.
Rest in peace, Harry Browne.Labels: Archives_2006
.: posted by
Dave
4:50 PM
If you are a fan of the Fox TV show 24, you will probably love this: a site that has various ringtone formats of the telephone ring in the CTU offices.Labels: Archives_2006
.: posted by
Dave
3:19 PM
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