Letter to Seattle Times

In light of the fact that the Times routinely puts out progressive columnists such as Jerry Large and Nicole Brodeur, I wrote this letter to the Seattle Times editors

Dear Mr. Blethen:

As a conservative, I think that the Times is missing a great opportunity by not having a conservative or Libertarian on its staff on a consistent basis.

off court behavior reason Heytvelt excluded

I have a theory as to why Josh Heytvelt wasn't drafted in the NBA draft on Thursday night. Although he is a good player and a big man with some decent offensive skills, in the back of the GM's minds, his arrest in February of 2007, gave them pause and wondered if he was worth the risk. If he had the image and persona of Tyler Hansborough, the All-American guy from North Carolina who was taken by the Pacers, then he would have got drafted in the second round.

DeLay on last year's election

Tom DeLay, former House Majority Leader, wrote about why the Republicans lost last November. Hopefully, the Republicans will heed his message and apply winning principles.

http://http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/05/the-democrats-shadow-party/

We also need some strength in handling this Iranian genocidal situation. I don't see how the US can't get involved in some way. That doesn't mean troops, but some tough sanctions would help.

From Mark Levin's website on Lech Walesa's eulogy of President Reagan 5 years ago. The World Needs a Cowboy. Very relevant to the Iranian situation.

http://marklevinfan.com/?p=5005

Places to be for jobs in next couple of years

Look at this map of where the jobs will be after we recover from this recession. Thanks to Rush Limbaugh and McClatchy Newspapers.

http://http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_061609/content/01125116.guest.html

Check out the Map, The Upper Midwest is in horrible shape, job-wise. The West looks pretty good.

TV and Movies

This is an excerpt of an email concerning TV and Movies and the recent switch to digital TV.


Regarding the TV issue and converting from an analog reception to a digital reception, I am "spoiled" or lucky in that my parents have Comcast, where it's a non-issue. If I was living on my own, I probably wouldn't have a television, because unless I were to get cable, it wouldn't be worth it to me to own a television, as most of the programs that I watch are on cable television, such as TBS, ESPN, FNC and Fox Sports Northwest (FSNW).

The world is much different today than it was a generation ago, where the access to "shmutz" or dirt was limited to adult newsstands and certain adult channels on cable on late night television.

Interleague play

I am not a fan of Interleague play in Baseball anymore. The reason is that it only benefits three or four cities, LA, Chicago, NY & DC/MD. Who else gets excited about Interleague play. Do Texans get excited when the Astros and Rangers play, or when the Royals and Cardinals play? I as a Seattle fan, am supposed to get jacked up for the Padres? I think not.

Also, I don't like the fact that the NL stubbornly and foolishly doesn't use the DH. They're a league of small-ball, old fashioned dead ball era tactics like bunting and running and team pitching.

open letter re: closing of LWB and construction on Rainier Ave

Here is my letter to Jan Drago of the Seattle City Council regarding the poor state of transportation for motorists from Seward Park into downtown Seattle. Incidentally, Miss Drago is running for Mayor this fall.

June 12, 2009

Hon. Jan Drago
Council Person
Transportation Committee
Seattle City Council
PO Box 34025Seattle, WA 98124-4025

Re: Transportation from Seward Park/Rainier Valley into center of city substandard

Dear Ms. Drago:

It is my understanding that you are on the Transportation Committee of the Seattle City Council. The reason that I am writing to you is because the transportation from Seward Park/Rainier Valley into the center of the city (i.e. Downtown, Capitol Hill, etc.) is substandard. First, for some unfathomable reason, Lake Washington Boulevard is closed every Sunday and Thursday during the summer, to accommodate the bicyclists. Secondly, on Rainier Avenue, between Martin Luther King Blvd. and McClellan, the city is doing a lot of construction and repaving of the road. I feel that the citizens of the Seward Park/Rainier Valley Neighborhood are being ill served.

In my humble opinion, Lake Washington Boulevard should be open to motorists on every other Sunday. There is no reason why the motorists should have to accommodate the bicyclists like this and deprive themselves of access to the center of the city.

Thank you kindly for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely yours,
Joshua Normand

good program

Today I attended Mitzvah Day, as part of MenschWorks, a division of the Jewish Federation of Seattle's YLD (Young Leadership Division). We met at the JCC at 10:30 am, and at 11 am headed down to Camp Solomon Schechter. We spent a couple of hours cleaning up the camp, whether weeding the lawn or cleaning the boating/water equipment, as camp is scheduled to start this week. This is a good program and good organization and I was glad to be a part of it.

Shooting at Holocaust Museum

Obviously, I was horrified to hear about the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in DC. I hope that the gunman will be brought to justice. I hope that we as a people are on guard against terror and more specifically anti-Semitism.

A couple of months ago, the Department of Homeland Security put out a list of profiles of people who might be prone to terror attacks. Some conservatives were upset, because it slandered veterans. I don't think that all veterans would fall into this category. This guy had a history of anti-Semitism and racially bigoted behavior, if we are to believe reports.

Crime doesn't pay, at least for Baltimore

Yesterday, I came across an article that I saw on Rush Limbaugh's website, how a big East Coast city lost a Venture Capital firm to the suburbs. Here is the link.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.mountvernon06jun06,0,6437748.story

This story is very sad, but illustrative of what happens when a city is run by people who don't make law and order a priority. It drives away capital from the city and into the suburbs, where the investors feel safer and more secure, physically and emotionally. By the way, this can happen in other cities as well, so I am NOT picking on Baltimore. I like Baltimore, actually.

Let's start a discussion about quality of life and civil society with this article.

Interesting mentality

Well, I notice that a lot of the sports fans here are just thrilled to have a team in whatever league we're in. I don't think that winning a title is the primary motivation. It's almost like the league puts a team in Seattle for marketing purposes and to advertise its product to people in the Northwest and that's good enough for 85-90% of the fans here. In my former cities, that wouldn't be good enough.

Anyway, after seeing Game 2 of the NBA Finals, I came to the conclusion that while the Lakers will win, they won't sweep the Magic simply because they're not as dominant as they used to be. I fully expect Orlando to win tomorrow and even on Thursday. Expect to see a game 5 and probably game 6, but a Lakers win.

While I dislike Yuniesky and Adrian Beltre, I think that Cedeno isn't the answer. He's hitting about .150 and got caught stealing yesterday by Joe Mauer.

Tomorrow is the MLB Draft. The Mariners are supposed to take this kid from North Carolina who's a power-hitting first baseman. We need sticks, not pitchers, if we're to improve on our 29th rank in runs scored.

300 Wins

Well, a former Mariner reached 300 wins this afternoon in Washington, DC.
http://http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/04/SPQK181507.DTL&tsp=1

Better than hearing about the Yankees and Red Sox and Mets travails or Zambrano's latest temper tantrum.

Safeco and Softball

Last night, I had the good fortune of attending my first Mariner game of the 2009 season with my family. We had a good time and the Mariners won 8-2 over the Baltimore Orioles.

Some thoughts: Neither the Mariners nor the Orioles are going to be playing in October. Baltimore didn't look like a good offensive team. Adam Jones is having a nice year for them, Aubrey Huff and Nick Markakis can produce runs, maybe 20-80-25-100 (HR-RBI) but that's it.
Melvin Mora, their third baseman, needs to be freed from the captivity of playing for a perennial loser. I think he needs an ACLU Lawyer to make the case that playing for Peter Angelos and the Baltimore Orioles is cruel and unusual punishment. Maybe the Libs and civil rights advocates can take up his case after they're done with the Water boarding business.

Anyway, sorry for my political aside. Erik Bedard, who doesn't remind one of Jack Morris or Steve Carlton, pitched 6.1 quality innings. He struck out seven and walked three, two of which were in the seventh inning, when it was obvious to me, a non-baseball professional, that he was laboring and his time was up. Adrian Beltre got a couple of hits and Russell Branyan and Ken Griffey Jr. homered in the eighth inning off of Jamie Walker, who belongs in Norfolk, the Orioles AAA affiliate.

Some of the fans at the game were nice, but clearly Northwest natives. I feel funny saying this, but my approach to sports is more Northeastern, because of all of my time spent in New York and Chicago. Northwest Natives aren't the type to call and yell and scream about an overpaid infielder hitting .230 like Adrian Beltre is. If we were in NYC or Washington, DC or Boston, there would be a Jerome from Manhattan type demanding that the manager bench Adrian Beltre and or trade him for a better alternative.

A shout-out to the Washington Huskies Women's Softball team for winning the 2009 Softball title last night 3-2 over Florida in Oklahoma City. For all of the Steve Kelleys and Ian Furnesses who hate OKC because of the Sonics move there, I hope that last night provided a little redemption of Oklahoma City. Besides, it's not too far from where Carrie Underwood, the second prettiest Carrie, grew up.

Washington State college sports

While the Mariners stumble and bumble and the Seahawks have no one at the skill positions, that anyone east of Boise would know or care about, the Huskies women's softball team has reached the NCAA Women's Softball title game. Good luck to these ladies.

Also Gonzaga and Washington State's baseball teams reached the first round of the Baseball playoffs. While they both lost, they gave their schools something other than hoops to cheer about.

Same old Song, different town

Shavuot was nice in Seward Park. I didn't make it through the night, but was able to study and get the essence of the holiday.

One thing that I have to harp on is the fact that very few Synagogues and Temples cater to single people, particularly working ones. What I saw recently on Facebook is a credit to one community and a black eye to another one. There is a synagogue on the West Coast that had a program designed for recent college grads and working professionals. This is the kind of thing that a lot more communities need. Single religious people don't necessarily feel comfortable at the larger synagogues with lots of families. There's only so much one has in common with the married guy with three kids, no matter how tight you were in high school or yeshiva.
I am deliberately withholding the name of the synagogue and the city because I feel it would reflect poorly on some other places that I have lived in , and don't wish to burn bridges. Just want to be constructive, not destructive, unless it's hardened criminals at Guantanamo Bay, where as my buddy Curtis Sliwa says, we should stick the juice in their caboose.