tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124164432009-02-20T19:10:48.313-08:00A reality-based look at the worldShamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-77066537493750370932007-10-29T07:45:00.000-07:002007-10-29T08:40:43.154-07:00

A second Sox championship in 4 years wipes away all the little disappointments of the 2007 season: The free agent signings that didn't quite work out, the injuries that seemed to undermine a swan-song season for Schilling, and the power outage in the middle of the lineup (manny and ortiz just didn't seem to have that home run swagger this year).Anyhow, my top ten list for the 2007 Sox:10. Julio

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1161748793487926422006-10-24T20:52:00.000-07:002006-10-24T20:53:59.365-07:00

These past few days, pundits and flacks and political appointees and even George W. Bush have been arguing endlessly about whether Bush has abandoned the rhetoric of "stay the course" in Iraq. Has he decided to stop saying it? How long has it been since he said it. How often did he say it before he stopped saying it?How sad. We've grown so accustomed to being fed empty rhetoric and inspid

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1157090166454732142006-08-31T22:34:00.000-07:002006-10-24T20:53:59.306-07:00

This interview is a prime example of what's wrong with American news media today, in particular cable news, and most particularly Fox "News."In this clip you will see Mayor Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City, Utah, being "interviewed" by the hosts of Fox & Friends, Fox News' morning news/talk show. Mayor Anderson was due to lead a large protest against President George W. Bush, who was coming to

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1151473973482274442006-06-27T22:27:00.000-07:002006-10-24T20:53:59.244-07:00

David Ortiz makes me feel like a kid again. Why? Because he fills me with hope every time he steps to the plate. And what does that make him? A hero? And hero is something I haven't known since I was a child. David Ortiz is an unstoppable force. When he steps to the plate with the game on the line, Boston Red Sox fans know that, more likely than not, he is going to win the game with a big hit. It

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1150695013938662762006-06-18T21:52:00.000-07:002006-10-24T20:53:59.182-07:00

Today is June 19. In a little more than a week the Major League Baseball season will be halfway over, and Jonathan Papelbon, rookie closer for the Boston Red Sox has only given up one run all season. One run. His ERA is 0.25. He is on his way to one of the greatest single season performances by a relief pitcher in history. Let's compare him to some of the greats.First, look at Dennis Eckersly's

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1148615908788164792006-05-25T18:56:00.000-07:002006-10-24T20:53:59.107-07:00

It took five years, but justice was finally served today. Kenneth "Kenny Boy" Lay was convicted for his part in the fraudulent destruction of Enron. It seems like a long time ago, but before 9-11 this was really big news. And everyone was wondering, just how much influence did Ken Lay and Enron have over the Dick Cheney energy task force that shaped this country's energy policy. Your remember the

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1146856425981987682006-05-05T11:50:00.000-07:002006-10-24T20:53:59.051-07:00

Porter Goss resigned as director of the CIA today. No reason for his resignation was given. In the press opp at the White house with Goss and Bush, the president offered no schedule for Goss' departure, or for the naming of his replacement. Any day now, the public will probably learn that Goss was quitting ahead of a major sex and bribery scandal.Obviously, the White House is doing some form of

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1146633448086153092006-05-02T21:17:00.000-07:002006-10-24T20:53:58.989-07:00

Dear reader, by now many of you have read a transcript or seen a video of Stephen Colbert's roasting of George W. Bush, his administration, and just about everyone else at the recent White House Correspondents' Association dinner. If not, here it is at Youtube.At the very least, it is a fascinating viewing experience. Colbert uses irony and satire to tear apart Bush, Republicans, and the cowed

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1145665296103589832006-04-21T16:45:00.000-07:002006-10-24T20:53:58.929-07:00

Ladies and gentleman,This is an example of what can be found on your local radio dial. Yes, Michael Savage (born Michael Alan Weiner), hate monger and right wing propagandist, is nationally syndicated. He is on 350 radio stations and has an audience of 8 million people. Locally, in Boston, he can be heard on WRKO, AM 680. Imagine, 8 million people are listening to him advocate genocide. There are

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1143240066953323722006-03-24T14:25:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:58.874-07:00

The U.S. Justice Department finally gave its written responses to some specific questions made about Bush's wiretapping program today, on a Friday of course. As we know, when the government wants to release bad or embarrassing news, it does so on a Friday since few people read the papers on Saturday.But here it is courtesy of Raw Story.Two key things in the DOJ responses. 1. The government

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1143179513320626752006-03-23T20:49:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:58.819-07:00

I never honestly believed George W. Bush had a chance at winning the 2000 election. Oh, wait, he didn't. My bad. Anyway, when he won the Republican nomination I sneered. I mean, here was a guy who had never done an honest day's work in all his life. He was a dumbass with a penchant for doing blow and bankrupting compnaies that had been capitalized by his daddy's friends.Now he's president.

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1142406198461901572006-03-14T21:46:00.001-08:002006-10-24T20:53:58.648-07:00

Bill Clinton continues to be the boogeyman for purveyors and consumers of right wing propaganda. There are still people out there who believe that Clinton murdered White House Deputy Counsel Vince Foster, thanks to the work of Christopher Ruddy, Robert Novak and Rush Limbaugh.Now Limbaugh, for whatever reason, is sinking to a new low, lower than his addiction to OxyContin. If you listen to the

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1141457720232611702006-03-03T23:11:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:58.513-07:00

I've always beliieved that if born 100 years ago, men like Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity would have been members of Hitler's inner circle. O'Reilly continues to prove me right. His bully tactics continue to escalate. Recently, a caller made a brief reference to Keith Olberman, on O'Reilly's radio show. As you know. Olberman is O'Reilly's nemesis. So O'Reilly had him bounced. Not only that, but

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1141099575805436272006-02-27T19:39:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:58.444-07:00

This video is hilarious.Bill O'Reilly has started an online petition to have Keith Olberman fired from his MSNBC show and replaced with Phil Donahue.Keith Olberman has become one of he lone voices of reason on cable network news. When a right winger says or does something crazy, he isn't afraid to point out their ridiculousness.Obviously this has rubbed O'Reilly the wrong way. Olberman has

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1140388178915374062006-02-19T14:27:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:58.375-07:00

My father, Robert, died on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2006. He was 61. What follows is the eulogy I delivered for his funeral on Saturday, Feb. 18. Much of what I said was improvised, but I've tried to recreate it as best I can for those who have requested a copy.--------------------------------- I am Shamus, son of Robert. At my father’s wake last night I shook many hands and saw many faces

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1139902706925083332006-02-13T23:16:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:58.307-07:00

Wearing five pounds of hairspray, Sean Hannity called the "Mainstream Media" (Freeper right wingnut speak for media that isn't 100 percent controlled by the Republican propaganda machine), out of touch.For once, I agree with Hannity, which is rare. After all, we're talking about a guy who, if he was born 100 years ago, would have been part of Adolph Hitler's inner circle, along with Rush Limbaugh

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1139555275519398262006-02-09T22:16:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:58.234-07:00

In 1957 Ayn Rand published Atlas Shrugged.In the appendix, she wrote: My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute. Atlas Shrugged is Rand's nightmare vision of the destruction of individualism, innovation, reason and moral

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1139551839132728782006-02-09T22:03:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:58.156-07:00

I hope this entry is the last I have to make about my iPod saga.Late last week Apple emailed me. Finally, they had concluded their investigation of the theft of my iPod from some lowlife DHL peon. They said they were ordering me a new iPod and would ship it to me asap. Great!So Tuesday rolls around and at 8:30 am my doorbell rings. Who could that be? It couldn't be DHL with my iPod. They don't

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1138943027463370932006-02-02T20:39:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:58.082-07:00

Today I quit the best job I ever had.It didn't pay so well. The hours were terrible. It was a high stress position. But I loved it.I've been writing for a daily newspaper for more than 3 1/2 years. It's the only job I've ever loved. That I've ever liked. I was a professional storyteller. Crime, politics, human misery and elation. The job was painful and joyful. I loved to write. I loved to tell

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1138690350360751922006-01-30T22:37:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:57.966-07:00

I received a call tody from an "investigator" with DHL. As you may recall, I sent my iPod to Apple for repairs weeks ago. Apple coulnd't fix the iPod, so they sent me a new one. It never arrived because a DHL employee apparently stole it en route to my house. I've been waiting for more than a week for Apple and DHL to sort this out and send me a new iPod. It's not looking good.Today the

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1138689429030483982006-01-30T22:19:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:57.900-07:00

Martin Crutsinger, an AP economics writer, gave us this report today:Americans are spending everything they're making and more, pushing the national savings rate to the lowest point since the Great Depression.That can't be good, right? Crutsinger speaks to several economic analysts to reinforce the fact that no savings equals a bad outlook for the nation's future, particularly baby boomers

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1137745785014037752006-01-19T23:43:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:57.836-07:00

All this talk about Jack Abramoff has drawn me back to one of my favorite online databases: The Federal Election Commission. Sure, there isn't a lot of detail here but it's still fun to check out.When I was in grad school I performed a thorough examination of every political contribution David Duke ever received for his various campaigns for senator, president, etc. Remember him? He was the

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1137741935087084552006-01-19T23:17:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:57.759-07:00

Good news, I received this email two days after my DHL/Apple customer service nightmare.Thank you for selecting AppleCare Repair Service to service your Apple product.Currently, Apple is investigating the status of the shipment of your product from Apple's iPod repair facility. Our records indicate that your iPod shipped via DHL on 1/11/2006 using tracking number [deleted]. We expect to complete

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12416443.post-1137568655182416642006-01-17T22:37:00.000-08:002006-10-24T20:53:57.685-07:00

I've been planning to start up a blog for a while now. Just haven't had the time.Today I had to do it. This story demanded to be told.Everyone has a horrible customer service story to tell. You've spent hours on the phone disputing a bill. You've gotten the runaround from a company on the warranty for an expensive product.A company can spend millions on overpriced consultants to build a slick

Shamus7474http://www.blogger.com/profile/12920942218669425394noreply@blogger.com0