Month: June 2003

Everybody else is doing it, so why not me?

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

For what it’s worth:

1. Libertarian Candidate (100%)
2. Phillips, Howard – Constitution (49%)
3. Bush, George W. – US President (48%)
4. Dean, Gov. Howard, VT – Democrat (47%)
5. Sharpton, Reverend Al – Democrat (44%)
6. Kucinich, Cong. Dennis, OH – Democrat (41%)
7. Gephardt, Cong. Dick, MO – Democrat (37%)
8. Edwards, Senator John, NC – Democrat (31%)
9. Kerry, Senator John, MA – Democrat (23%)
10. Graham, Senator Bob, FL – Democrat (21%)
11. Lieberman Senator Joe CT – Democrat (18%)
12. Moseley-Braun, Former Senator Carol IL – Democrat (16%)
13. LaRouche, Lyndon H. Jr. – Democrat (-6%)

I love how I agree with LaRouche negative 6 percent of the time. Ha! Hey, Vince, according to this I agree with Howard Dean almost half the time.

Better pull out the checkbook!

At the barbershop

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

I like my trips to the barbershop to be quiet and meditative. I find all the buzzing and clipping and spraying and combing very soporific. Anyhow, since I’ve to take off my glasses and can’t see anything clearly, about the only option is to close my eyes and try to doze off a bit.

Not everyone takes this attitude, as evidenced by my visit to the barbershop today. Sometimes the barber thinks he’s got lots of interesting things to say, but one reason I go to Father & Son Barber Shop (1122 W. Thorndale Ave.) is because the barbers there stick to barbering. Occasionally they’ve tried to strike up a conversation, but a few monosyllabic responses from yours truly gives them the idea.

The customers, on the other hand, can be a different story. One guy in there today (a salesman, of course) subjects everyone in the entire place to his know-it-all personality. He came off like some combination political pundit, media critic, sportswriter and stand-up comedian. What does he think blogs are for?

I should get a discount for not making my barber have to pretend I’m funny or interesting. That’s not his job.

A lobbyist’s understanding of the free market

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

I was reading this story about insurance reform (hey, it’s a living) in Texas and was struck by a remarkable quote.

The insurance industry essentially struck a deal with Texas politicians. In exchange for a temporary freeze on homeowners rates, the state will move to what’s called a file-and-use system at the end of next year. Under that system, insurers would be free to set rates with only minimal regulation.

So here’s how Beam Floyd, an industry lobbyist, sums up the deal: “The first phase of this is to grab hold of the marketplace. Once we have a hold of the marketplace, we will move toward a system that allows for more market competition.”

Beautifully ironic.

I’ve animatriculated

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

Karen and I saw “The Animatrix” last night, and I thought it was really great.

There are many very interesting animation styles employed in these nine shorts inspired by “The Matrix.” Some work better than others, depending on your taste, essentially — but even those episodes I didn’t find mind-blowing had something to recommend them.

What “The Animatrix” shows very convincingly is how compelling the world of “The Matrix” is because it can be taken in so many directions, from MTVish teen angst to Chandleresque private eye to trippy ruminations on robot slavery.

It’s not crucial to appreciating “The Matrix” theatrical releases, but it’s an excellent supplement.

A perfect combination

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

Not only did the Cubs squeak out an 8-7 win to take the two out of three from the Yankees (which I guess I’ll have to settle for!), but by doing so they put the Red Sox into first place in the AL East by half a game.

Ha! Borowski made it too close for comfort in the 9th, but a win is a win. Lest the Cubs get swelled heads, they should realize this Yankees team is obviously slumping and Williams’ absence from the lineup has been a huge problem.

Hi, my name is Mohammed … Sanchez

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

Well, I certainly would think about changing my name if I were an Arab or Muslim. You see, if the INS doesn’t get around to extending your visa or processing your application for permanent residency fast enough, and you happen to be an Arab and/or Muslim man, and you’re foolish enough to think that by registering with the INS you’ll remove any suspicions that you’re somehow a terrorist, think again.

Thirteen thousand Arabs and Muslims made that mistake. Trust me, it won’t happen again.

I just don’t get it. Unless there’s evidence that somone has ties to a terrorist group, why deport him? If the only reason for deportation is because the paperwork isn’t there, then this is clearly racial profiling. After all, millions of Mexicans not only are undocumented, but have powerful political supporters pushing for them to get amnesty.

This is precisely why immigration needs to be more open to everyone and regularized, so that immigration authorities can focus on screening immigrant applicants from terrorist-designated countries to make sure they don’t have any ties to terrorist groups.

And it’s just a counterintuitive policy. Terrorists won’t register to begin with. And now innocent Arabs and Muslims will refuse to register and be force to live even further underground than they already are. Nothing else sends the message that the United States isn’t out to harm Muslims than summarily deporting a few thousand of them.

This is making me ill

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

I used to think Dubya & Co. were just extremely misguided about the Iraq war. Now I think they’re a bunch of liars. They hid intelligence reports contradicting their claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

And now they’re spinning supposed evidence to justify their bogus claims.

The attitude in Dubya’s administration about Iraq’s WMD seems to parallel George Costanza’s view on lying: If you really, really believe it, it’s not a lie.

A great win

/ Kevin B. O'Reilly

The Cubs finally beat the Yankees.

I’d love to have written that sentence after, say, a seventh game of a World Series. Unfortunately, Saturday’s game will have to do.

So among all the other lopsided Yanks-Cubs comparisons is this one: the all-time head-to-head matchup is now led by the Yankees 9-1. But we’ve got the one, thanks to a wonderful performance by Kerry Wood and a boneheaded move by Joe Torre.

Some might call it second-guessing, but I first-guessed it. Why remove Roger Clemens after only 84 pitches in the 7th inning of a shutout performance with a one-run lead? If it were the 8th and Rivera were coming in, I could understand the move.

But in what universe is Juan Acevedo a better bet to get the job done than Roger Clemens? I don’t care how bad Clemens’ cold was, it just didn’t make any sense. Torre ought to be ashamed for taking the game out of Clemens’ hands when it wasn’t absolutely necessary.

It paid off for the Cubs, though, didn’t it? And, thankfully, Clemens will have to get No. 300 somewhere else. Tonight will be Mark Prior against Andy Pettitte — should be lots of fun.

Only … they’ll have that damn advertising screen behind home plate again for the game, broadcast on ESPN. What a travesty.

One downer to come out of the game is the Choi injury. Of course it’s great that his scary tumble did not result in something worse, but he will be placed on the disabled list. With Sosa soon to serve his suspension, the Cubs will be struggling even more for offense. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Cubs in third place a half dozen back by the time Choi and Sosa are back.