Familiar Result for Hard-Luck Brew Crew

Another late rally falls short as the intrepid Brewers fall to the Giants 12-7 this evening at Sitzer Park in Shoreview. The game started out tight but got away a little bit in the middle innings and then a furious five run rally in the final at-bat for the Brewers turned out to be too little, too late.

Ben was officially 0-1, scoring a run and stealing a base following a walk in the middle of the late rally. The Brew Crew are now 1-8 and will resume action on Tuesday against the Mets at Wilson Park in Shoreview. Game time is 6:30. Count on Mr. Dilettante to keep you posted.

Déjà vu

During the internet boom of the late 1990s, we saw amazing amounts of money being thrown at internet companies. AOL was going to take over the world back then; they had enough money and chutzpah to take over media giant Time Warner. Ten years on, AOL still exists, but it certainly hasn't taken over the world; in fact its business model has essentially disappeared.

Five years ago, the real estate market started to go nuts. People were flipping houses and making huge profits and the demand seemed insatiable. Mortgage lenders were making loans to anyone who could fog a mirror. I was working at Bank of America during this time and they had a small army of people that they were picking up off the street to scrub applications and process the paperwork. My cube was in a big room that had an unbelievable buzz of voices. Hardly anyone even knew that B of A was operating in the Twin Cities but at the peak probably 300 people were earning good money from the real estate manna that was falling from the sky. The touts on CNBC and Bloomberg were saying that the market had changed forever and that the trend would continue for years to come. Three years later, B of A closed their office and except for a handful of people who moved to Oregon or Virginia, everyone was gone, including me.

Today oil prices have doubled in a year's time. The demand seems insatiable and the speculators have descended on the market. You hear voices predicting oil will double again and that we'll have $12 a gallon gasoline in the very near future. The solons on Capitol Hill are dragging the oil company executives before them to browbeat them over their obscene profiteering. The news reports show hapless SUV drivers stuck with $25,000 car loans and dealerships reporting that they are offering $2,000 in trade for a fully loaded Yukon Denali. The touts on CNBC and Bloomberg are saying that the market has changed forever and the trend will continue for years to come.

I believe all of it, of course. Don't you?

Guilty Pleasures Part Nineteen - WHBY Edition

I agree completely with Joan Jett. I love rock and roll. But that doesn't mean that I got to hear that much of it when I was little. As difficult as it is for my kids to imagine in an era where the gas prices are approaching $4 a gallon, one of my enduring early childhood memories was piling into the big ol' AMC Ambassador station wagon with my brothers Pat and Paul and my sister Carol (my younger siblings Margie and Mike the Stinger weren't born yet) as Dad took us out for a Sunday drive. Our car looked something like the one in the picture, although I think Dad's was a 1972 model and this one is a 1974.

Anyway, as we would cruise the highways to exotic locations like New London or Wild Rose or Shawano, Dad would have the radio on. And the station of choice was Appleton's own WHBY, which was a small-town version of WCCO or WGN. It was the station you listened to if you wanted the latest commodity prices, or to hear the venerable Bob Lloyd broadcasting the local high school basketball clashes. Bob even tried to broadcast girls' games later on, but he'd get confused ("here comes Maureen Riopelle down court for the Hawks - two men are on her"). But most of the time WHBY played music. And it wasn't rock and roll. No sir. It was all standards, all the time. WHBY was the place to hear Jerry Vale and Hugo Winterhalter. When they wanted to get exotic, they might break out Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66. But most of all, it was the kind of station that made Burt Bachrach rich.

Ah, Burt Bachrach. The consummate songwriter of the 1960s. His songs were all highly melodic and usually featured a complicated lyric from his partner Hal David, generally discussing the vicissitudes of l'amour. Dad loved it. Me? Not so much.

Thirty to forty years on, some of the stuff sounds better to me. Bachrach usually had ace singers and producers performing his stuff and a lot of the songs are standards now. Here are four examples for your pleasure this evening:

First, from 1964, a very young Dionne Warwick in an indelible performance while traversing a stage weirdly filled with a bunch of office chairs, with:

Walk On By

A year later, Bachrach offered his largesse to a young singer/songwriter from Kentucky, who had written a big hit for the Searchers with "Needles and Pins." But she would gain lasting fame by singing a Bachrach song. It's Jackie DeShannon with something short of go-go dancing going on behind her with:

What The World Needs Now Is Love

Lord, we don't need another mountain. But three years later, Bachrach supplied trumpeter Herb Alpert with his biggest hit. This video is especially interesting because of the frankly alarming eye makeup the young lady accompanying ol' Herb is sporting. Despite the Tammy Faye on steroids look, Herb insists that:

This Guy's In Love With You

As the 60s came to a close, Bachrach and David found their best vehicle, a brother/sister combo responsible for some of the biggest hits of the era. Roundly reviled by the rock intelligentsia, their stuff has actually held up pretty well over the years, in large measure because the voice of Karen Carpenter is such a pure and powerful intstrument. So here they are, the Carpenters, with Karen sporting a frightening vintage look, informing us that, like all the girls in town, she longs to be:

Close to You

Just close your eyes, imagine an open two-lane road and rolling farmland, and you're there. Then cast your vote and, if you're lucky, maybe Dad will pull over at the Dog 'n Suds in Hortonville and get us a treat.

Say a prayer

For Sen. Kennedy. A brain tumor is an awful diagnosis, especially a malignant one. I fervently hope that they caught it in time to help him. The good news is that he has the services of some of the best doctors in the world. Trust me on this - it makes a big difference.

65-30 in Kentucky

Clinton wins again, huge. Still won't matter. But it would probably be a good idea for Obama to stop losing elections by more than 2-1 margins. Especially in his own party's primary, doncha think?

More Heartbreak for the Heartbreak Brewers

Another game, another excruciatingly close defeat as the Brewers fell to the first place Devil Rays 9-8 at Perry Park in Arden Hills. Our Brew Crew led most of the way but a furious Devil Ray rally in the bottom of the final inning proved too much.

Ben was officially 0-2 but stole a base and scored. The loss brings the Brewer record to 1-7. Next, it's the Giants on Friday evening. Game time is 6:30 at Sitzer Park in Shoreview.

Mindy Greiling, Please Pick Up the White Courtesy Phone

Speaking of high dudgeon, there's the matter of Representative Mindy Greiling, who represents my neighbors in St. Anthony and Roseville.

Representative Greiling recently called on the Star Tribune to dismiss metro columnist Katherine Kersten for a piece she wrote about about the Tarik ibn Zayad Academy TiZA), an Inver Grove Heights charter school. Kersten used her column to report on activities at the school that were explicitly religious in nature and included an eyewitness account from a substitute teacher. Rep. Greiling's response:

Kersten’s reckless journalistic standards have diminished this paper’s
credibility. Worse, they have threatened the safety of the children and staff at
the school, which has been forced to take extra security measures in the wake of
recent death threats. While I value a broad range of opinions from a variety of
perspectives, I value the facts even more. Kersten’s gross distortion of the
facts in this case should compel Star Tribune management to ask for her
resignation.

In other words, shut up, she explained.

So far, Kersten's job is safe. Meanwhile, the story continues and KSTP-TV kept digging on the story. And today it got really interesting.

First, the Department of Education ordered changes at TiZA because it was offering religious instruction, which is a no-no for charter schools. This is what Kersten's column said. So, apparently, Kersten didn't grossly distort the facts after all.

Then, something even more important happened. A KSTP crew went to the school looking for a response to the ruling from the Department of Education. And the cameraman was attacked.

I was planning to light Rep. Greiling up for abusing her authority. No need to do that any more. The dude who knocked the KSTP cameraman to the ground makes my case more eloquently than I could. Congratulations, Representative Greiling. You may slink away now.

You Don't Tug on Superman's Cape

You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don't criticize Obama's wife

Senator Obama laid down another Line That Must Not Be Crossed today on Good Morning America. As it turns out the Tennessee GOP posted a video mocking Michelle Obama's statements in a speech she made in Madison earlier this year.

Today Obama went into high dudgeon mode:

“If they think that they’re going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign, they should be careful, because that I find unacceptable — the notion
that you start attacking my wife or my family,” he said.

“For them to try to distort or to play snippets of her remarks in ways
that are unflattering to her I think is just low class and I think they — most
of the American people would think that as well,” he said. “I would never think
of going after somebody’s spouse in a campaign.”

I would agree with Obama if his wife had not been out on the hustings. But she has been. Certainly Obama's opponent was the subject of plenty of scrutiny while her husband ran for president and remained so throughout his presidency. And I'm certainly old enough to remember all manner of attacks from the portside concerning the deportment and demeanor of Nancy Reagan, culminating in the infamous book that Kitty Kelley wrote about about her a full four years after she'd left Washington. It's a little late now for the Sir Walter Raleigh stuff.

Sen. Obama needs to understand that he's not going to be able to proscribe the debate. I certainly understand the impulse - it's a hell of a lot easier if you don't have to face tough questions or suffer the strafing that comes from the media, blogosphere, etc. And I certainly understand the desire to protect one's family from attack. It gets rough and if you're not willing to subject your family to scrutiny, you shouldn't run. That's why Colin Powell is a private citizen today. And Sen. Obama needs to understand one other thing - the Tennessee GOP's attacks are nothing compared to what he'll face should he actually get the office he seeks. He won't be able to whine to Robin Roberts about Kim Jong Il or Hugo Chavez or Ahmedinejad.

75 years ago

May, 1933 was a pretty grim time in our nation's history. The Great Depression was in full swing. On the 10th of the month, a monstrous tornado tore through the town of Beatty Swamps, Tennessee, killing 35 people. The Saturday Evening Post cover I'm including here had a hint of glamour that was largely lacking for most people. It was in this milieu, on May 19, 1933, my father was born in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Dad was the 4th child of Joe and Julia Heuring. He was to grow up in Kimberly, Wisconsin, a small town on the banks of the Fox River just to the east of Appleton. The fame of Kimberly rests with the paper industry and the village's name lives on in the name of Kimberly-Clark, which is most famous for Kleenex. Dad's father was a millwright and worked for the Institute of Paper Chemistry, which served as the training ground for many of the people who made the Fox River Valley the paper capital of the world. Dad had a fairly normal childhood in Kimberly and graduated from Kimberly High in 1952. After a few years of harmless young adult shenanigans, Dad went into the service and served in Europe during the late 1950s. He then came back and got his degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1963. In between all that, he managed to meet and marry my Mom in January, 1963; I arrived at the end of 1963.

Unfortunately, Dad isn't here to celebrate this milestone birthday, as he died in 1990. Dad's generation came of age at an interesting time in our nation's history - he came of age a few years before rock and roll arrived in earnest and his generation wasn't considered part of the "greatest generation." Like most people his age, Dad simply went about his business and tried to provide a good life for his family. For the most part, he was successful.

You don't get to choose the circumstances of your birth and while Dad came around at a tough time, he was a tough person in part because of it. Happy birthday, Dad.

Brewers Lose Another Heartbreaker

Despite strong pitching and excellent overall play, the Brewers again came up a little short this evening, as the Braves rallied to beat them 7-4 at Wilson Park in Shoreview. Our kids continue to improve their overall play but just couldn't string together enough hits at the right time to pull it out.

The loss leaves the team's record at 1-6. Two games this week; the first is Tuesday evening against the Rays at Perry Park. Game time is 6:30 p.m. When you want the best coverage of Shoreview Area Youth Baseball American League, look no further than Mr. Dilettante.

Maybe this year

It's been 30 long years since we had a Triple Crown winner in horse racing. There have been a lot of very good horses in recent years (War Emblem, Funny Cide, Smarty Jones) that have gotten close, but not one has been able to pull it off. This might be the year.

If you watched Big Brown's dominant performance at the Preakness this afternoon, you saw something that we haven't seen in previous years. Not only is this horse a very good horse, there sure doesn't seem to be much competition. All of the horses that lost out in the Belmont have had tough competitors to face. I don't see one this time around.

And I'd sure like to see something good happen for thoroughbred racing. I'm not a bettor; I've only been to the track once in my life, but racing is a thrilling sport. The deaths of Barbaro in 2006 and the filly Eight Belles this year have really hurt the sport. I don't have any intellectual reasoning behind any of this; I just like watching the races and my kids do, too. I'll be pulling for Big Brown to win the Belmont in three weeks. I think a lot of other people who enjoy the sport will be, too.

Marty says it well - just read it

Martin Andrade Blogs#links#links

Nothing to add

Another smart takes on the "appeasement" issue from the best columnist in the world, Mark Steyn.

H/T: Powerline via True North

It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

I'm supposed to be despairing right now. That's what I keep reading all over the internet. Today it was the Wall Street Journal's turn. Peggy Noonan, a writer I have long admired, is convinced. As always, it's always worth reading her whole piece, but here's the money part:

The Democrats aren't the ones falling apart, the Republicans are. The Democrats can see daylight ahead. For all their fractious fighting, they're
finally resolving their central drama. Hillary Clinton will leave, and Barack Obama will deliver a stirring acceptance speech. Then hand-to-hand in the
general, where they see their guy triumphing. You see it when you talk to them: They're busy being born.

The Republicans? Busy dying. The brightest of them see no immediate light.
They're frozen, not like a deer in the headlights but a deer in the darkness,
his ears stiff at the sound. Crunch. Twig. Hunting party.

Meanwhile, Noonan's colleague Kim Strassel also is like the horse that walks into the bar:

This anger is the best way to describe today's political landscape. Ever
since Republicans were routed in 2006, and more recently with their loss of
three special elections, the party has been in a debate about what changed in
the country and what to do in response. In the primaries, as Mike Huckabee
pitched to evangelicals, Rudy Giuliani pitched to fiscal conservatives, and Mitt
Romney pitched to anything that moved, some went so far as to declare the
"death" of the Reagan coalition.

Encouraging this panicked discussion has been a new theory that the
nation is experiencing a seismic political shift. A few short years ago, we were
supposed to be on the verge of a lasting conservative majority. Scrap that.

Do you think this is a little bit over the top? I sure do. It's quite possible that 2008 will be a big year for the Democrats. I'm going to do what I can to prevent it from happening. But I'm not convinced yet that it has to be. In fact, I think there's reason for optimism. Why? Plenty of reasons. Here are just a few:

• The Democrats aren't really any smarter than before. While Republicans have a well-deserved reputation for not learning from their mistakes, especially at the national level, there's no evidence that Democrats have learned anything, either. Tactically, they have done some smart things in terms of framing debates, but a lot of the candidates who are winning elections are running as moderates or even conservatives. Once these candidates get to Washington, they won't be able to pretend to be something they aren't, especially when they start taking marching orders from the Pelosis, Reids and Murthas of the world. When these solons return to their districts and their constituents, they will, like Lucy, have a lot of 'splainin to do.


• The headlining Democratic candidates aren't going to look as impressive in the fall as they might now. Barack Obama may be able to bluff his way through November, but he's shown real trouble dealing with anything approaching actual scrutiny. Here in Minnesota, the likely Senate nominee is Al Franken, who will bring to his campaign a very unflattering paper trail and lots of video antics that will flood YouTube and anyplace else that Republican operatives can place them. One well-connected blogger, Michael Brodkorb, has staggered the Franken campaign several times already. Norm Coleman, for all his faults, will be smart enough to bring in the operatives he needs to finish what Brodkorb has started. And Jesse Ventura won't change the equation this time. (Side note: you may have heard about Jesse's appearance the other day at the Mall of America, where he was signing copies of his book. Ol' Jesse was barking about how he wanted to take on Norm again. The MOA and Jesse had elaborate crowd control procedures in place, including issuing wristbands in advance to control an expected throng. From what I heard, they didn't need wristbands to control this throng.)


• What happens at the local level will be just as important as what happens at the national level and there are good candidates to support. I've been writing a lot about the race here in 50B and we have an excellent chance to elect Lori Grivna this fall. Incumbent Kate Knuth is no longer the fresh young face; instead, she's part of the DFL team that has already jammed the largest tax increase in Minnesota history down the throats of her constituents. And she wants to do a lot more of the same. And Lori is quite prepared to explain precisely what more of the same would mean.


• Even if the worst-case scenario takes place, there will be opportunities in the ashes. Suppose the most dire predictions come true - Obama wins and wins easily and brings 5-6 new Democratic senators (including, egad, Franken) and 20-30 new Congresscritters. What would happen? Well, you can assume that the emboldened Democrats will try to ram through their entire agenda - taking over healthcare, global warming, whatever the hell the teachers' unions want this time, etc., etc., etc. They might even get some of it passed. People will notice that, though. And people will notice that a lot of unsavory people will be wielding a lot of power; they'll notice that by giving the keys to Barack Obama, they've also unleashed the Murthas and Pelosis of the world. We can try to explain that to people all we want in this cycle, but most likely the message won't get through. Sometimes you have to experience something to learn from it. A very large percentage of the electorate doesn't remember what life was like in the 1970s. An Obama administration with large Democratic majorities in both houses would set up a replay of that time. Who thinks it will turn out better this time?

Bottom line? We have work to do. The key for those who believe in conservative ideals is to campaign forthrightly and with vigor in this cycle. We have good candidates to support and many reasonable arguments to make. It may not go our way. But if we make honest arguments and still lose because people aren't accepting the message, we'll have laid down a marker. And we'll have established something for the next campaign. As the wise man said, the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. And if, like Peggy Noonan, you're worried about the hunting party, don't forget that some hunting parties are led by Elmer Fudd.

Please read

What the Lady Logician has to say about the latest controversy surrounding Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten. We need to talk about the actions of Komissar Mindy Greiling (DFL-Smolensk, I mean Roseville), but I haven't gotten to it yet. LL is on the case, as always.

At a minimum, Greiling should be ashamed. More anon.

Touchy

So George Bush said this today at the Knesset in Israel:

Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We
have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in
1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to
Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this
what it is –- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly
discredited by history.

We don't know specifically the identity of "some," of course. Based on what I can tell, the some could apply to hundreds of American politicians, thousands of European politicians and millions of people around the world.

For some reason , Barack Obama thought that George W. Bush meant him, and responded this way:

It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence to launch a false political attack. It is
time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and
failed to secure America or our ally Israel. Instead of tough talk and no
action, we need to do what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of
American power -- including tough, principled, and direct diplomacy - to
pressure countries like Iran and Syria. George Bush knows that I have never
supported engagement with terrorists, and the President's extraordinary
politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure
the American people or our stalwart ally Israel.

Just a couple of things:

Obama is wrong, of course. Reagan never negotiated directly with countries like Libya or North Korea. Neither Kennedy, Nixon nor Reagan ever directly negotiated with Cuba. Nor have any of their successors. If Obama believes that we should directly negotiate with all nations, regardless of how heinous the governments of those nations are, he can certainly pursue that should he get elected president. But he'll be the first president in a long time to do so. Maybe the only president.

Second, Obama has one definite credibility issue on the matter of talking with Hamas. One of his advisers, Robert Malley, was in regular contact with Hamas. Once word of that got out, Obama fired him. Apparently Obama was shocked, shocked that this sort of activity was going on in his establishment.

Finally, we know how George W. Bush feels about this issue. Nothing he said today is any different than anything else he's said previously. Lots of people have already discredited anything Bush says on this issue, or any other for that matter. So here's a question - why should Obama, or any of his supporters, care what George W. Bush thinks? If Bush is wrong and they are right, stuff like this should make them serene. Right?

Brewers Fall Just Short Against White Sox

Despite the team's best overall performance of the year, the Brewers lost another heartbreaker this evening, falling to the White Sox 5-4 at Perry Park. It was a tightly played contest and despite notable heroics by one of our kids (who had a triple and a home run), the lads fell short.

Ben was back in the lineup and was 1-2, scoring on the subsequent home run. Lots of good things happened, but it just wasn't meant to be.

The loss puts the Brewers at 1-5 heading into a Sunday contest against the Braves. Game time is 6:30 at Wilson Park in Shoreview. When you want the latest in Shoreview Area Youth Baseball American League action, look no further than Mr. Dilettante.

Guilty Pleasures Part Eighteen - Republican Despair Edition

UPDATE: Our friend Leo has also added a few other tunes in the comments section if the choices here don't float your boat. Thanks, good sir!


So the Republicans lost a special election down in Mississippi last night, which has led to a lot of sackcloth and ashes on the starboard side and glee on the port side. It would appear that there's no reason to even have an election and we should simply concede power to the mighty Democrats and our next president Barack Obama, who conclusively demonstrated his inevitability yesterday in West Virginia.





Well, Mr. Dilettante is always ready to be the on-deck deejay for the Titanic dance party. So in honor of our inevitable, impending doom, here's a selection of happy songs to brighten the mood of Republicans everywhere. Pick your favorite from among the following:








First, the pride of Rockford, Illinois gives Republicans some good advice. From Budokan, it's Cheap Trick, with:





Surrender





Next, it's native son Robert Zimmerman explaining it all to the despairing masses, with:





It's All Over Now, Baby Blue





Next, resplendent in a sequined red velvet dinner jacket designed to assuage despairing red state partisans, Marvin Gaye gently suggests a potential strategy for Republicans in the fall, with:





Got to Give It Up





Finally, daring young modern Beck provides the anthem that will lead the GOP to victory in '08, including extensive footage of the recommended Republican transportation option, with:





Loser








Vote early and vote often - it works for the Democrats!

Good Heavens, I've Been Memed Again!

Dan S. (a great guy with highly questionable taste in sports teams) has tagged me with a meme. To wit:

The "Message to the World" meme states: You have 150 characters to send a message to the world. Punctuation doesn't count. Well, all righty then. Ahem....

The golden rule works. Love your family. Tell the truth, especially to yourself. Learn something from mistakes. God is there for you. Laugh. Rock on.

Brought it in under 150.

And so we pass it on. That means you, Stinger and Heidi.