AKC

We will persevere because luckily many of us do recognize that this monster that is Wahabi radicalism is NOT what the pacifists believe it is- some type of rational reaction to our "intruding" on their land. In fact, anyone with even a limited set of live brain cells should be able to recognize why the Wahabis have been insistent on getting American Troops out of the Middle East- they are right now backed up after losing Afghanistan as their little Sharia experiment and they are desperate to take over Saudi Arabi, the place which except for oil revenues and royal palaces they rule over already. The terrorists knows the stakes in Iraq- it's the Super Bowl for them; they lose Iraq and a Democracy evolves in one of the most strategic and wealthy countries in the Middle East and their game is over. It's only American pacifists, the same group (Dem Pols like Kennedys and the Liberal Media like Hearst and celebs like Lindburgh) who told us Hitler wasn't such a bad guy if we would all just leave him alone. They're all out here again telling us "Iraq has nothing to do with blah blah blah". And once again we'll suffer them as our fellow citizens, as wrong as they are- once again. And how about poor Abe Linccoln- can you imagine today's crybabies during the Civil War- YOU LIED ABOUT WHY WE WENT TO WAR WE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE OVER SLAVES WE WANT OUR MOMMIES!!!!!!!!!!!

Like the fence-sitting Muslim who is partly responsible for the rise of radical Islam, so is the Westerner who either ignores it or worse yet insists it's no real threat to us. Refusing to recognize that the battle our enemy had hoped to wage on our shores has been moved to his area of the world is hardly different than the Muslim who sits in his Mosque listening to the radicals and does nothing to discourage his own children's participation.

Ignoring perspective is a leading cause of ignorance. 35 Americans wil be murdered today. 2000 Americans will die of a heart attack today, another 1800 from cancer and 2500 more from other health issues. Even on a terrible day in our battle against a global enemy, less than 2 tenths of one percent of American deaths that day were caused by that action. I'd invite you to name a more critical measure by which to assess the cost in American lives of our defending ourselves- the premise of my post was "perspective" and to ignore total American deaths seems to me to offer zero chance at achieving any level of perspective on the issue raised by the original poster. Raising the naked number without perspective would be like 12 Tongans killed in a war without considering that only 15 Tongans die any the average day. Of course it's awful to lose lives in the action- as it was in many past actions. But America has survived hugely debilitating actions like the Civil War and we are a better and stranger country as a result. Sacrifice is Patriotic and essential to the protection of our society.

Perspective is necessary in analyzing the true impact of our necessary battle to answer the actions of radical Islam. Yesterday in the United States nearly 100 people were killed in automobile accidents. The same number will be killed today and that will happen every single day of this year. Do we find time for a cumulative mourning for these dead citizens who have died for no good purpose, in the name of nothing? Or do we accept this risk of turning that key for the convenience of the mobility offered- knowing that the danger can be mortal? At the same time do we risk allowing a movement which has proven itself to want one thing above all else- the imposition of Sharia Law upon first its own region and then the world- to spare some of the bravest and best among us who have chosen to fight this battle for us? Do we accept that our enemy has determined that we will tire so easily by their persistence that we will stand aside and allow their threat to spread throughout the world? Or do we stand for the freedom of women and that of our own safety, do we support our brave soldiers and their families as best we can? Do we force ourselves to show the same faith and hope that our soldiers must rely on every day to face their mission? Do we stand as proud, courageous Americans or do we become some historical joke like the cowardly French who without our American courage would today speak another language? The answer should be easy- unfortunately for the most gutless and cowardly among us it is not. Those who obstruct the mission of our soldiers by harming the recruitment of the best we can attract are the worst of all Americans. They stand behind the lie that "we support the troops but...". There is no "but"- the simple fact is that the only way you can support our troops is to allow the most effective recruitment of our youth to give those who choose to fight the best possible members fighting at their sides. Anything that obstructs recruitment leaves our bravest at a disadvantage, and theree's no patriotism in hurting those most of us honor.

Get a chance to see Goldsberry at all? I'm especially interested in his foot speed in run blocking-

If you’re into a desert hike this is one of the best in the area: http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/Other_Area...ard/Lombard.htm Scott’s suggestion of Hoover is a good one for the family- book tickets for the tour, it’s pretty amazing: http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/ One of the absolute best dive bars in America, you can gauge the “accuracy” of this site once you’ve been to the hallowed grounds: http://www.vegas.com/nightlife/bars/pogos.html Another dive bar I like, but hardly the same caliber as above: http://www.dinoslv.com/ One other recommendation- this is a real old-fashioned gambling town, really the last I know of in Nevada. It’s an easy two hour drive, plus it’s located right down the road from maybe our best Western Ghost town named Rhyolite. I’ll link that here also- you’ll recognize Rhyolite since it’s one of Hollywood’s favorite location shoots for desert background. If you head to Beatty for a day/overnight you can also drop down another 40 minutes into out most awesome National Park in its full summer glory- Death Valley is just past Beatty. In fact I just got back from there yesterday after a 4 night campout ;-) http://www.beattynevada.org/ http://www.rhyolitesite.com/

Perhaps because over the course of a couple of seasons he both mentally and physically collapsed while playing on the Super Bowl Front-Runner?

Boulevard? El Centro?

St. Croix has the most dangerous golf courses in the world ;-) My cure for "shrinkage" was always a quick hop to St. Martin or St. Barts, according to how much human contact I wanted. That charged the batteries pretty well.

I may have overlooked the grandiosity of your eminence, Sir!

Kids use premix, there's only one real Margarita- Adult Margaritas

You're not only centrally located but you can reach out your window and grab a cane of sugar! Aren't there a bunch of those poison trees in that part of Croix? I miss the honor bars and night time swimming all year long- I also spent a lot of time on St. Johns, my girlfiend's family (DeLugo) are all over the USVIs. Are you watching the games at a local bar? If I remember the Buccaneer had a football set up back in the C and Ku band days?

I'm not sure how far apart our opinions on Travis really are, but I'd argue against your suggestion that Travis "played for his teamates"- Accepting "I don't wanna be a backup! I won't play if I'm a backup!" to be the model for "team" players would insult way to many real team players we've had on the Buffalo Bills and for that matter throughout the league. Unlike much speculation on a Message Board there is actually good chance to see our assumptions regarding Travis tested in this case- As I mentioned Travis seems to be entering a highly desirable situation for himself- a team with a long-ingrained Head Coach who likes to run the ball to set up his passing game. A starting RB who is not overwhelming in his skill set and may be prone to getting dinged up. An offense that doesn’t look for their backs to pull down a lot of passes. For my money Travis is a tough guy physically but mentally he’s a cream puff. This flaw should also be hidden during his first year in TN since he’ll be focused enough to get everything he can out of every carry and ignore his overall role. So the cards for Travis AFAIC this coming season are a pretty desirable hand- yet even with all that good news for him unless Brown is hurt I don’t see Travis taking the top spot. That leaves him with limited carries and a chance to average maybe 40 or 50 yards a game. If he does supplant a healthy Chris Brown then I’ll have to concede he’s got a better grip on his faults (pun intended) than I’ve recognized- but if he doesn’t move up their chart I’d think it would go far in supporting Travis as more of a “little engine that could” player who might very well be best suited for a more limited role than that of feature back in the NFL.

With an improvised desert cooler under a large fig tree in the old gold miming camp we 4 Wheel up to the factor on a 115 degree day in Death Valley will feel more like about a 75 degree day in Western New York. So that's the best place to "hydrate"; things turn a little toastier up at the horseshoe pit or out on the Frisbee Golf course.

Are you in Christiansted? I used to live in Red Hook and made the boat pretty regularly to visit Croix- back in the old days of 99 cent Cruzan 750s ;-) And why wouldn't you choose the Stripe over Corona since it's a far better beer!

It's been mostly in the mid 80s but that's due for a pretty intense bump Thursday when I get to Death Valley for a camping trip ( the little lady is less enthused than I!). Summer camping in Death Valley is awesome because you don't figure on running into anybody else, the secret to it is hydrate, hydrate, hydrate........ ;-)

You might also sharpen the list by allowing Stephen Davis as the real Panther starter or better yet removing your qualification of "starting" running back. That would allow the Larry Johnsons, Steven Jacksons, Quentin Griffins, Chester Davises, DeShaun Fosters, etc. to bump Travis down the ladder even more under the assumptions of what they will all contribute to their teams this coming season barring an injury to the players in front of them. The one thing I'll say in Mr. Henry's favor here though is that I've never figured out Chris Brown; his style suggests he'd be easy to get your hands on yet he pops some healthy runs complemented by his exceptional burst. On first glance he looks like a very replaceable back, we'll get a chance to see if Travis has what it takes to bump another back with serious flaws in his game.

The SoCal Grail of Bills Beer drinking is called the Dee Cup- it's the Pine Mountain "Jug" awarded to the winner of the Bills Raiders game that I intend to reacquire this season. You're welcome to slug anything you want out of it ;-)

Just opening with a glass of Sancerre, a 2004 Le Manoir, but I'll be moving to a 2003 Biale "Black Chicken" Zin with fettucine, Victoria Vodka Sauce and grilled hot Italian sausage. You'll have to forgive me, it's still early out here in SoCal. There'll no doubt be 8 or 9 Rolling Rocks knocked down at the pub later on to boost the carb count.

"Hey Dude! I grew up in Venice and and it's cool West Hollywood throws you that big parade every year! Tell Bruschi the food at Paco's Tacos will get him back on the field in no time! And one question- when you see Belichick ask him if he'd stop eating them so fast that if a statue of him is put up in Gillette it can be made out of his boogers ?"

The interview was strong evidence that the cumulative intelligence in a tank of Sea Monkeys surpasses that of Eisen, Woodson and Henry. One unbelievably stupid Woodson question was "Do you think you're the kind of running back who fits better in a backfield with a veteran quarterback or a rookie?"

IMO pre-injury Campbell had become a VERY efficient blocker taking excellent angles in space and excercising decent leverage inside. The "ideal TE" you presuppose doesn't appear to me to be what this offense is asking for at all. In fact, Campbell had become a near model of the type of TE our offense seems to want: a player who can get out on the edge and seal the second level of the D, be counted on to effectively chip the big guys, and occasionally expose a defense who takes him for granted by pulling down spot throws with some level of reliability. Sure a NFL Primetime TE making Tony Gonzalez catches downfield is a tempting concept, but if you look around the league you'll be hard pressed to name 4 of them you'd pay huge money for. Campbell may be extremely vanilla, but in the strategy of the power running offense we've been building he might just be a perfect value proposition considering what he had been contributing before his injury and what he costs us come payday. If he returns at less than 100% of what he was though he could very quickly become a liability.

I remember waking up to sheets of pavement the size of autos flying down my street- afterwards one of the cleanup jobs was removing picnic benches that floated away and got stuck in power lines.

Used to live on Big Pine Key- (I'll be in Islamorada next month when bug season opens)- our prep for any big wind was to retreat to the safest abode among our friends who were riding it out and bring our best beverages, assuming a 3 or 4 day stay. Love the RN Riviera- best beaches in the contiguous 48 in PC for sure. Keep your sand down tonight and enjoy nature's roller coaster.

I've raced up and down the aisles of the LA Coliseum after we kicked the Raider's butts there screaming "RAIDERS SUCK", and at the same time I've been afforded "poor" treatment by their fans in the same venue on other occasions. It's a matter of judgement in most arenas, if you're truly concerned about a crowd simply attend the game with an opposing fan or two and you'll have no problems. If you don't know anyone in a town you're going to, buy seats from local ticket holders- the fans around them will keep an eye on you as a favor to the regular ticket holders.