Not all who wander are lost...

 
PREAKNESS PICK...

I don't care if you are a horse racing fan or not, Triple Crown time is exciting. Of course I find myself hoping Funny Cide can pull off the triple, but in the past few days I found a new pick... Cherokee's Boy. If you haven't followed the race build-up, Cherokee's Boy is a local horse with a local owner, trainer, and jockey combo. By far, the lure of this team is the jockey, Ryan Fogelsonger. This kid was the Eclipse Apprentice of the Year in 2002 and as his story continues to grow and he grants interview after interview. The best part is the self-amazment he clearly exudes. This kid dreamed of riding the big ponies at a race like this sometime in the distant future, definitely not now! My favorite tidbit... Fogelsonger spent last year's Preakness in the infield partying with friends. He just wrapped an interview on ESPN and when the interviewer asked if this was true, Fogelsonger bashfully confessed. This instantly endears this guy to me because that's exactly where I spent last year's Preakness. To conclude the interview, the ESPN talking head asked if he had any advice to offer his friends who were already celebrating somewhere in the debauchary of today's infield. Fogelsonger's response... a shy laugh and, "Yeah, don't get too drunk!" Priceless.
posted by Sean McMahon at 1:50 PM

 
TERROR IN SAUDI ARABIA...

But Mr. President.... I thought we had seen the "turning of the tide?"
posted by Sean McMahon at 10:28 PM

 
AHHH... DEMOCRACY!

I guess this is one way to deny the majority. I bet these same lawmakers probably trashed the Dixie Chicks, but weren't afraid to run for the hills when doing their sworn duty meant handing the opposition party more power. How brave!
posted by Sean McMahon at 11:04 AM

 
FRESH ANGLE TO AN OLD STORY...

A couple of months ago, I read an interesting article evaluating the accomplishments and failures of the Bush 43 administration. It was months before the police action in Iraq, and amidst all the malicious assaults on Bush, the writer chose a more satirical approach. I've looked high and low for the article, but since I've had no luck, I'll have to paraphrase.

The writer essentially argued that the most admirable achievement of Bush's presidency was his ability to stay "on the wagon" in the hours, days and weeks following the September 11th terrorist attacks. The brilliant humor of the article was that it gave common Americans a small, even if comical, way to relate to W. Who lived through that time that didn't want to just turn off the around-the-clock coverage, fire open a half-rack and drink their thoughts, fears, and sorrows away? Compliments of Bush don't come easy from me, but in this instance, even I have to admire the guy. I know my butt would have found its way to the Lincoln Bedroom for an appointment with Uncle Jack or Nino Jose! The bottom line is that Bush has a conviction about staying sober. In a previously unimaginable test of that conviction, he passed. Kudos.

Why does the memory of this article come to me now? Months later? Convictions are only really worht anything when you stick to them under fire as Bush did. Remember this when considering the stir Bush's buddy William Bennett has gotten himself into with his gambling. Of course I'm a week or so late on this one, but I see an angle no one else does. Bennett is absolutely lying when he defends his actions.

The numbers have been stated, and Bennett hasn't really denied any of the figures. Losses of approximately $8 million over the last 10 years or so. Did he break any laws? No. Is the "Morality Czar" a hypocrite? Probably. Is he lying when he gives the details of his gambling habits? Absolutely!

Stating an aversion to crowds, Bennett claims he sticks to slots and video poker. “When I go to the tables, people talk—and they want to talk about politics. I don’t want that. I do this for three hours to relax.” That statement tells me one of two things... Bennett is either lying about the gambling games he plays, or he's lying about not being a drunken fool when he gambles.

Let's take a closer, more scientific, look at some of those loss figures. On July 12 of last year, the article states that Bennett lost $340,000 at Caesars in Atlantic City. I've never even seen a $500 slot or video poker machine like the ones Bennett claims to be enamored with, but let's say Caesars has just such the machine to accommodate him. I've never clocked it, but let's say the average hand of video poker takes 30 seconds to complete. Do you realize how long Bennett would have to stay at said machine in order to lose $340,000? Five hours and 40 minutes. Five hours and 40 minutes! And that is assuming he lost every hand the entire time! That doesn't happen. Those machines are designed to give you a little back every once in a while in order to keep you in your seat. No way people. Bennett never sat anywhere for more than five hours losing the entire time. My guess is that it was probably more like 10 or 15 hours. That's way more than "three hours" of relaxing gambling.

And then there is the booze question. I'll leave that for you to decide, but remeber to ask yourself one question. Who gambles for that long, loses that much, and isn't completely hammered while doing so? Heck, I don't blame him... it's free for crying out loud!


posted by Sean McMahon at 9:49 PM

 
CRAZY STORY, BUT ONE QUESTION...

So a climber hacks off his arm with a pocketknife in order to save his own life. A harrowing experience for sure, but the story leaves me wondering one thing. If this guy is such "an avid outdoorsman in exceptional physical condition", how could he not move a 200-pound boulder to save his own ass? I'm no Lou Ferrigno, but 200 pounds is not an extreme amount of weight. Especially if my life depends on moving it!
posted by Sean McMahon at 11:29 AM

 
MY SENTIMENTS...

Exactly.
posted by Sean McMahon at 11:05 AM

 
BACK IN ACTION...

Sorry for the long break between posts. Work gets crazy during the financial eanrings period, but now the end is near, so I'll be hitting the blog harder.


posted by Sean McMahon at 11:04 AM