NFL Week 8 Picks

Favorite vs Underdog bold=Home team
My pick

Cowboys vs Buccaneers 2.5
BUCCANEERS
Redskins vs Lions 7.5
REDSKINS
Bills vs Dolphins 1.5
BILLS
Patriots vs Rams 7.0
RAMS
Chargers vs Saints 3.0
CHARGERS
Jets vs Chiefs 13.0
JETS
Eagles vs Falcons 9.0
FALCONS
Panthers vs Cardinals 4.0
PANTHERS
Ravens vs Raiders 7.0
RAVENS
Jaguars vs Browns 7.0
BROWNS
Texans vs Bengals 9.5
TEXANS
Steelers vs Giants 3.0
GIANTS
49ers vs Seahawks 5.0
49ERS
Titans vs Colts 4.0
TITANS

6/14

CORRECT WRONG PUSH


Past Results
Week 1: 8/16
Week 2: 7/14
Week 3: 5/16
Week 4: 4/13
Week 5: 8/14
Week 6: 9/14
Week 7: 6/14

Democracy Successfully Attacked in New York

Yesterday the New York City Council approved Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to extend term limits without a voter referendum even though a voter referendum to keep term limits at 2 terms was passed in 1993 and 1996. The final vote was 29-22.

I hope the result of the vote is not forgotten by New York City voters, and voters around the country. This vote has set a terrible precedent for states around the country. All 29 of the people that voted for this undemocratic measure should be voted out of office in 2009 to send a clear message that turning your backs on democracy is unforgivable. The 29 snakes against democracy are:

Maria del Carmen Arroyo (Bronx)
Maria Baez (Bronx)
Leroy Comrie (Queens)
Erik Dilan (Brooklyn)
Inez Dickens (Manhattan)
Lewis A. Fidler (Brooklyn)
Simcha Felder (Brooklyn)
Helen Foster (Bronx)
Alan Gerson (Manhattan)
Sara Gonzalez (Brooklyn)
Robert Jackson (Manhattan)
Melinda Katz (Queens)
G. Oliver Koppell (Bronx)
Miguel Martinez (Manhattan)
Darlene Mealy (Brooklyn)
Michael Nelson (Brooklyn)
Christine Quinn (Manhattan)
Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. (Brooklyn)
Diana Reyna (Brooklyn)
Joel Rivera (Bronx)
James Sanders (Queens)
Larry Seabrook (Bronx)
Helen Sears (Queens)
Kendall Stewart (Brooklyn)
Peter Vallone Jr. (Queens)
James Vacca (Bronx)
Albert Vann (Brooklyn)
Thomas White (Queens)
David Yassky (Brooklyn)

Once I find out primary opponents for each district I will put it on my blog. I encourage everyone to help fund primary opponents to the above council members for overturning the will of the people. This attack on democracy should not be tolerated and every single one of them should be held accountable.

I will be covering this issue extensively in the future on my blog.

Dre

Democracy in Serious Danger in New York

Democracy is in serious danger in New York because Mayor Bloomberg is trying to overturn the will of the people by extending term limits without a vote by the people. Referendums were passed to keep term limits at 2 terms in 1993 and 1996.

The Mayor contends that a majority of New Yorkers support the extension of term limits through the City Council, but this Quinnipiac poll says otherwise:

By an 89 - 7 percent margin, New York City voters say the issue of term limits should be decided by voters in a referendum, not by an act of the City Council. Even Republican voters prefer a referendum 85 - 11 percent.

Today it was made clear Mayor Bloomberg's true intentions from the start. According this NY1 article:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that if the council votes down the legislation, he will not push to have it overruled by a voter referendum, despite a new poll out today showing the New Yorkers overwhelmingly want to have a say in the matter.

This is clear evidence that Mayor Bloomberg intended from the start to go around a voter referendum by having the City Council overturn the will of the people. If Mayor Bloomberg is that serious about extending term limits and really truly believes he is the only New Yorker capable of fixing the financial crisis wouldn't it make sense that the Mayor support a voter referendum?

A vote for the Mayor's proposal is set for Thursday. The current count FOR the proposal is 18 and the count AGAINST is currently 23. [UPDATED Oct. 23 9:05pm]

The 10 City Council members that remain undecided are:

Maria del Carmen Arroyo (D) Bronx
Gale Brewer (D) Manhattan
Inez Dickens (D) Manhattan
Simcha Felder (D) Brooklyn
Helen Foster (D) Bronx
Alan Gerson (D) Manhattan
Melinda Katz (D) Queens
James Sanders (D) Queens
Tom White (D) Queens
David Yassky (D) Brooklyn

Please call or email these council members stating your opposition to the Mayor's proposal on grounds of democracy. This is not about whether you like Bloomberg or not. It's about democracy.

Even if you live outside of New York passage of this proposal will set a terrible precedent.

NFL Week 7 Picks

Last week I had a great week let's hope I can keep it up. Luck seems to be on my side right now...

Favorite vs Underdog bold=Home team
My pick

Bills vs Chargers 1.0
CHARGERS
Bears vs Vikings 3.0
BEARS
Steelers vs Bengals 9.5
STEELERS
Titans vs Chiefs 8.0
TITANS
Cowboys vs Rams Off(0)
COWBOYS
Dolphins vs Ravens 3.0
DOLPHINS
Giants vs 49ers 10.5
49ers
Panthers vs Saints 3.0
PANTHERS
Texans vs Lions 9.5
LIONS
Colts vs Packers 1.0
COLTS
Jets vs Raiders 3.0
JETS
Redskins vs Browns 7.5
BROWNS
Buccaneers vs Seahawks 10.5
BUCCANEERS
Patriots vs Broncos 3.0
BRONCOS

CORRECT WRONG

6/14


Past Results
Week 1: 8/16
Week 2: 7/14
Week 3: 5/16
Week 4: 4/13
Week 5: 8/14
Week 6: 9/14

Text of My Testimony in Front of the New York City Council Governmental Operations Committee

Last night at around 11:30pm I testified in front of the New York City Council Governmental Operations Committee to oppose Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to extend term limits for himself and the City Council without going through the people(a referendum).

Here is the text of my testimony:

I come here today as a very concerned citizen, American, and New Yorker. I’m here today to urge you, The City Council to vote against this bill. This is not an issue about whether Mayor Bloomberg was a good mayor or a bad mayor. This is an issue about democracy and about whether you, The City Council, will overturn the will of the people. This is a vote for or against democracy.

The Mayor has been given most of the attention about this bill, but I want to focus on the City Council. It is my understanding that this bill not only extends term limits for the Mayor, but it also extends term limits for the City Council. I find it very outrageous that some City Council members are naïve enough to believe that should this bill pass they will get re-elected after overturning the will of the people. If this bill passes, we, the people will not forget those who voted against democracy. The passing of this bill will not only set a terrible precedent for the rest of the country, but it will increase voter cynicism.

This bill is an insult to New Yorkers and a direct attack on democracy. Please vote no.

For those people that may not know what it is at stake here New Yorkers voted two times to support term limits through referendums in 1993 and 1996. This is not an issue about whether you like Mayor Bloomberg, or not. This is a process issue, and a democracy issue. If this bill passes the City Council which would extend term limits for both the Mayor and City Council it would be overturning the will of the people.

Every American should be outraged. (Especially the people of California where referendums are put on the ballot routinely) If this bill passes in New York imagine the precedent it would set for the rest of the country.

Dre

Presidential Debate Part III Preview

Here is my preview of tonights final debate between Barack Obama and John McCain moderated by CBS anchor Bob Schieffer at 9pm:

Will we learn anything "new" in this debate that we didn't already know in the first two debates?
My answer is No.

End of preview.

(I'll have to write another piece later about how all these debates are just plain awful and bad for democracy. )

Dre

NFL 2008 Week 6 Picks

Week 6

Last week I had a great week let's hope I can keep it up. Luck seems to be on my side right now...

Favorite vs Underdog bold=Home team
My pick

Vikings vs Lions 13.0
LIONS
Redskins vs Rams 13.5
RAMS
Saints vs Raiders 7.0
RAIDERS
Texans vs Dolphins 3.0
DOLPHINS
Jets vs Bengals 5.5
JETS
Bears vs Falcons 3.0
FALCONS
Colts vs Ravens 4.0
COLTS
Buccaneers vs Panthers 1.5
PANTHERS
Broncos vs Jaguars 3.5
BRONCOS
Cowboys vs Cardinals 5.0
COWBOYS
Eagles vs 49ers 5.0
EAGLES
Seahawks vs Packers 2.0
PACKERS
Chargers vs Patriots 5.0
CHARGERS
Giants vs Browns 7.5
GIANTS

CORRECT WRONG

9/14

Past Results
Week 1: 8/16
Week 2: 7/14
Week 3: 5/16
Week 4: 4/13
Week 5: 8/14

Review of "Religulous"

This is a review of a new documentary by Bill Maher called "Religulous". I know there's a segment of people that can't stand him, but this film took a ton of guts to make and Bill Maher should be credited for that alone. The central theme of "Religulous" is not to take down Christianity (for those keeping score at home the Christian Science Monitor gave this a B-), but to ask questions about all religions. The beginning of the film seems like it will be a life story of Bill Maher, but then it shifts gears fast so if you plan on walking out at that point please don't.

Bill Maher interviews many different people of different religions at many different locations throughout the film. The interviews are very "Borat"esqe with jokes sprinkled in, but the film has a Michael Moore style to it. During interviews throughout the film many film clips are played to add humor, but some people may find it annoying. Personally, I thought the film clips were a great part of the film. The beginning of the film could have been edited better and the end monologue could have been shortened, but from an overall picture it was well produced and edited.

Bill Maher has a lot of critics that call him a Religious bigot, but "Religulous" doesn't do anything to support that argument. Maher also touches on the world effects of religious extremism, and to me that is another interesting subject that another film could be about. Just how much violence throughout the world has been the cause of religion? The answer is a lot. Maher's harshest critics will probably steer clear of this film, but I think even his harshest critics would tolerate the message of this film. There's nothing wrong questioning religion.

Tens of Thousands of Voters Purged/Taken off Voting Rolls; Obama May Be in Trouble

According to an investigation by the New York Times tens of thousands of voters in battle ground states have been purged from election rolls or have been illegally blocked from registering to vote. Here is part of what Raw Story reported yesterday:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Tens of thousands of voters in at least six battleground states have been removed from election rolls or have been illegally blocked from registering to vote, according to an investigation by the New York Times published Thursday.

The anomalies, which are violations of US federal law, are largely bureaucratic mistakes in record keeping, and "do not seem to be coordinated by one party or the other, nor do they appear to be the result of election officials intentionally breaking rules," said the newspaper.

The states affected -- Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina -- are among the most crucial states that could swing either way in the November 4 presidential election between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

The article also cites the fact that this will also likely hurt the Democrats more than the Republicans because the Democrats registered more voters than the Republicans. The article says they are"largely bureaucratic mistakes" with no intent of breaking rules. Largely? What about the rest of that percentage? Isn't it just a BIG "coincidence" that this problem happened in all states that Barack Obama is either leading, or in a dead heat? Why don't we see this problem in states that McCain is leading in like Texas, Oklahoma, or Kansas? Just a question....

This story should send chills down not only every Obama supporter' spine, but every American spine regardless of political affiliation. There were problems like this in 2000 and 2004, and the same types of problems are happening again. Americans need to start paying serious attention to election integrity because our democracy is at serious risk and both the Democratic party and Republican party are not enough to defend our right to vote. There is absolutely no excuse as to why we should have this type of problem.

I highly recommend anyone in those affected states, and especially those that are new registered voters to confirm your right to vote.

Dre

Presidential Debate Part II Review: A Waste of Our Time

I watched the first Presidential debate and apparently I watched the first Presidential debate again on Tuesday night. The second Presidential debate was a complete waste of our time.

What new thing did we learn in the second debate that we didn't already know from the first? Basically nothing except John McCain referring to Barack Obama as "that one." I couldn't believe that the CNN reporters said before the debate how the candidates wont be able to use their talking points because of the town hall format. Turns out the candidates were still able to use their same scripted answers from the first debate in this "town hall" format. Shocker? Welcome to American politics.

Another factor about this debate was moderator Tom Brokaw. His moderation was just plain horrible. He literally had no control over Obama or McCain. As much as I despise time limits for answers because time limitation hinders the ability of candidates to give full substantive answers, it's the moderators job to cut off the candidates when they go over time. Instead of doing his job Brokaw decided to just let the candidate know of time limitations rather than enforce them. If the debate gods had a choice Tom Brokaw would never host another debate again.

Let's also not forget that 1/3 of the questions came from Tom Brokaw himself. I thought this was supposed to be a town hall debate...All the questions were hand picked by Brokaw himself. What's supposed to make a town hall debate successful is the element of surprise. There was basically none of that at the debate. The questions were filtered, the answers were the same as the first debate, the moderator sucked again, third party candidates were excluded again, and in the end it was just another political charade. Nothing new.

I don't like to declare winners in a debate because that's all subjective bullshit, but John McCain didn't himself any favors last night. I will also say that if Barack Obama was up against a more competent Republican like Ron Paul he would been in deep trouble right now. John McCain is shooting himself in the foot more than Barack Obama himself beating John McCain(if you get what I mean...)

Dre

VP Debate Review: Grandfather vs Granddaughter

I know this may be a couple days late, but I have to give my take on the Joe Biden/Sarah Palin Vice-Presidential debate. I've been thinking of the best way I could frame the debate, and I think I've found a perfect way...

This Vice-Presidential debate was like a grandfather playing a game against his young granddaughter. The grandfather knows all the tricks in the book, has all the experience, can deliver the knockout blow whenever he wants, but because he's playing against his granddaughter he goes easy on her. Because it's his granddaughter she can never be considered a loser, and no matter the outcome it's spun into an accomplishment.

That is basically what went on at the VP debate. The bar was set so low for Sarah Palin that if she completed a sentence it would have been considered a victory. The media and this country has gone so far down the drain that the benchmark for criticizing Sarah Palin was her interview with Katie Couric. This should speak volumes about the state of journalism in America today.

As far as substance goes both of them ran circles around a lot of the questions, but Sarah Palin was more of a culprit than Joe Biden was. Gwen Ifill was a decent moderator, but not great either. The problem with these moderators is that they don't press each candidate on the issues as hard as they should. During the primaries the moderators from each news network had a clear agenda, and pushed certain candidates over others. The way these debates need to be moderated is to have the candidates positions in front of them, ask the question, and if they lie then hold their feet to the fire. The "Fact checks" should not come AFTER the debate when not everyone is watching. It should happen DURING the debate. Obviously it's hard to know what statistics will be thrown out there, but you would have to be out of touch to not know that a vote on taxes would be used during the debate.

As far as myself I'm not impressed with either of them. I find it very disturbing that the benchmark for criticism of Sarah Palin are the lower expectations of her rather than the office of the Vice-President itself.

Dre

NFL 2008 Week 5 Picks

Week 5
Wow I am just doing just HORRIBLE...maybe I should just quit now? Just goes to show that picking games in the NFL is a crap shoot.

Favorite vs Underdog bold=Home team
My pick

Eagles vs Redskins 6.0
EAGLES
Panthers vs Chiefs 9.5
PANTHERS
Bears vs Lions 3.5
BEARS
Packers vs Falcons Off(0)
FALCONS
Titans vs Ravens 3.0
TITANS
Chargers vs Dolphins 6.5
CHARGERS
Colts vs Texans 3.0
COLTS
Giants vs Seahawks 7.0
GIANTS
Broncos vs Buccaneers 3.0
BRONCOS
Cardinals vs Bills 1.0
BILLS
Cowboys vs Bengals 17.0
BENGALS
Patriots vs 49ers 3.0
PATRIOTS
Jaguars vs Steelers 4.0
STEELERS
Saints vs Vikings 3.0
SAINTS

CORRECT WRONG PUSH

8/14

Past Results
Week 1: 8/16
Week 2: 7/14
Week 3: 5/16
Week 4: 4/13