Greetings loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is overwhelmed with melancolia. The once proud Royal Navy is slowly becoming no more. Look upon this Guardian article, ye mighty; and despair.

As an Anglophile and great lover of the history of the Royal Navy this makes your Maximum Leader very sad. Indeed, he has a framed poster above his computer in the Villainschloss that reads “The British Navy guards the freedom of us all.” Alas, we know that Britain’s time as a world leader has passed. But come on John Bull! You’re going to give up 300 years of naval supremacy over the French! Be ye prepared to give up kippers, bangers & mash, and beans on toast to the onlslaught of croissants, coq au vin, and roquefort.

Your Maximum Leader finds it hard to continue.

Carry on.

Re: Greg’s post on Dean, below…

Tacitus’ take on Dean is not quite as frothing as that of other anti-Deaners. He says:

I finally caught Dean’s “YARRRRRRAAGHHHHHHH” moment on the telly (yeah, I’m a bit behind things these days). In context, I didn’t find it at all the manic moment that it has been portrayed, and I think Dean is getting unnecessarily and unfairly hammered over it. My impression was of a guy standing in front of a disappointed and demoralized crowd who needed to be rallied into action. He was doing what a candidate has to do in those moments.

My failure to see the ‘weirdness’ of the pirate moment I believe is that I’ve watched Dean on the stump before. He has always had an awkward quality to him when he whips up a crowd. A sort of uncomfortable air, as if he simultaneously bathes in the adoration yet loathes the moment. If that awkwardness and agitated style is new to any commentators — they just haven’t been paying attention. To characterize this speech as it has been strikes me as disingenuous. I think that if the video were seen in New Hampshire and elsewhere without the surrounding ‘Dean has lost it’ commentary it would have had little if any influence. Color me skeptical that there wasn’t a bit of premeditated pouncing on this one by some intra-party Tigger. After all that’s what Tiggers do best.

I didn’t watch Dean speak except for a few sound bites while I was in the States. Then a couple days ago I watched a video clip (and heard an audio clip) of Dean’s “YAAAARGH” rant, and that’s all the context I’ve had concerning Dean-in-motion. To me, Dean came off as unhinged, but I grant that Tacitus may have a point: if Dean’s like this at every rally, then maybe it’s not a sign that he’s self-destructing– it’s just a sign that he’s… excitable.

Theory: Dean and I may have something in common: a “performer” side of our personality that shows up in certain circumstances but not in others. Call me crazy, but I trust Dean’s wife when she claims in the Deans’ ABC interview that Dean’s not an angry guy at home. Of course, she knows he’s running for high office and isn’t about to betray her husband by revealing his foibles, but I still think she’s sincere. So maybe Dean, like yours truly, gets a little over-the-top when it comes to public moments, and feels the urge to do things he might not otherwise do. Viewed in this way, the whole “would you trust this man as your doctor?” meme needs to be reexamined. Perhaps Dean one-on-one is nothing like Dean behind a mike.

Am I the only one who still writes “mike” instead of “mic” these days? Sorry; I hate “mic”– looks too much like an insensitive slur against those drunken, brawling, filthy Irish bastards, pissing syrupy stout and shitting boiled potatoes everywhere, God love ‘em.

_

Come on folks…. I want him to get the nomination! Every time someone pokes fun of his primeval scream, his credibility erodes, and I don‚ÄövÑv¥t want that to happen till next September/October!

He is probably the easiest on the Dem plate for George to beat.

Speaking of George, I really get irritated when people mention Draft dodging by folks joining the National Guard.
In WW2 300,034 Guardsmen reported for active duty

In Korea, 138,600 Guardsmen were federalized including eight infantry divisions, three regimental combat teams, and 714 company-sized units.

VIETNAM During the Vietnam war, 102 Air National Guard units, consisting of 10,511 personnel mobilized. This included four tactical fighter squadrons. The Largest Army units to mobilize were the 29th Infantry Brigade and the 69th Infantry Brigade. Thirty-four Army Guard units consisting of 12,234 personnel mobilized.

GULF WAR 1 Of the 265,322 reservists mobilized, 63,050 were Army Guardsmen and 12,428 were Air Guardsmen.

BOSNIA President Clinton deployed the National Guard again on Dec. 8, 1995. Although this is an on-going mission, as of Nov. 22, 1999, 19,093 reservists have or are serving in the Bosnia.

2003 ‚ÄövÑv¨ Iraq As of March 19, 2003, more than 138,000

My point is that joining the NG is no safe bet to avoid going to war. In Vietnam, it was mostly Air Guard units deployed and GW was a Pilot. Your chances of being sent to war are infinitely greater being in the Guard than being in Canada or England.

Popeye‚ÄövÑv¥s has not responded‚ÄövѬ . But I did not expect them to.

Back to the trenches‚ÄövѬ ..

From Below

>>Your Maximum Leader knows the President means well. But what is up with all this spending? And all these new programs? Ack!<<

Go Figure. Maybe this president isn't a true conservative? I don't think Dubya could even spell "Hamiltonian", much less comprehend the principles behind it. I think Bush is a mish-mash of principles that don't really fit well together. Incredibly socially conservative, fiscally out of control, and internationally unilatterally hawkish. I don't think Bush comprehends, or cares about, the role of the Executive branch as laid out in the constitution.

I yearn for the days of Clinton-Gingrich. Yeah, those two were sleazeballs, but they were smart sleazeballs who understood how to compromise, work togehter and they actually do some good stuff.

>>What? What was that you say? It’s an election year and the President is starting to make promises? Well shuck your Maximum Leader’s corn and call him baldy! Surely not! You mean all this other stuff we’ve been spending money on was just LEADING UP TO ELECTION PROMISES!<<

Well, duh. I assume ML is trying to be sarcastic here. The problem with George Dubya Shrub is that just about everything he’s done since last March has been geared towards next november. Speaches, policies, and initiatives all seemed to be setting himself up to make claims during the election, and positioning the democratic party to look bad.

Yes, it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before. But this administration is more blatant, unappologetic, nd takes things to a new level.

I still suspect that when the dust settles, this will go down as one of the most corrupt regimes ever to hold the White House.

Greetings loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader wanted to wait until after Iowa and the State of the Union to give a little commentary on the political happenings around our great Republic.

First… I’m sure you’ve seen it… Howard Dean’s “Incredible Hulk” moment. What can one say except: Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhggggrrrhhh! Really! Has Dean gone completely mad? I’m beginning to think so. This moment has been parodied so often all ready, I’m not sure I can add anything as funny or substantive as has already been written. I do like what James Lieks wrote about the “Dean/Hulk” moment. And the audio file he connects to is great. (And make sure you read the whole thing. I liked the remake of the famous Apple “1984″ commercial.)

Dean’s behaviour is beginning to concern me. Did the good people of Vermont (including some of Mrs. Villain’s relatives) somehow miss Dr. Dean’s pechance for getting “lost in the moment.” If he gives a primal scream after placing third in Iowa can you imagine what will happen if he wins in NH? It also makes you wonder how he reacted to making a good diagnosis while in medicine. (”I just discovered your enlarged prostate Mr. Smith. You’re gonna need treatment. Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhrrrrgggghhhh!”) I wonder how much damage has been done to his campaign by that yelling moment.

While I joked a while ago that I thought that John Edwards would be out of politics soon, it looks like he will linger on for a while more. I still just don’t think he has it in him to win the nomination. He is being too nice. Sooner or later he will have to get dirty. Politics is a very dirty business afterall. And while Senate races in North Carolina are not cakewalks, they are nothing like what will happen to you running for President. Oveall, I think Edwards (while not getting the nomination) is the Dems best candidate out there. He talks the talk, but hasn’t been in politics long enough to know all his walks. I seem to remember reading somewhere that Karl Rove is most afraid of an Edwards campaign. (Tired to find the link, but couldn’t dig it up…)

Second… The State of the Union Address. Is your Maximum Leader the only person in America who wishes that modern presidents would go back to the precedent of Jefferson and just have some lackey run a copy of the address up Pennsylvania Avenue, hand it off to the Speaker of the House’s office; who in turn would have it read into the record? No, really? Is your Maximum Leader the only one?

Now your Maximum Leader fully understands the need to have event where the President can look “Presidential.” But the State of the Union has become a launchpad for some of the most ill-conceived ideas and programs besetting our nation today. Certainly your Maximum Leader is all for the War on Terrorism. And I am pretty much okay will all of the foreign policy messages. But all that other stuff. Whew! What the hell is going on at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?

What? What was that you say? It’s an election year and the President is starting to make promises? Well shuck your Maximum Leader’s corn and call him baldy! Surely not! You mean all this other stuff we’ve been spending money on was just LEADING UP TO ELECTION PROMISES! No Child Left behind is just a prelude to no semi-sentient biped left behind? You mean that the prescription drug “benefit” is just Act 1 of George W. Bush’s magum opus “America’s National Health Service?” Is the Department of Homeland Security just a ramp up to our very own Committee of Public Safety?

(Aside: Two things… Since when has Tom Ridge worn a hearing aid? Your Maximum Leader spied it in his ear as he walked down the asile last night. Of course, it might not have been a hearing aid after all. It might have been an earpeice so he could listen to Patriot Act wiretaps while the President spoke! Second thing… In case you are a new minion and haven’t read the master plan. In the Mike World Order (MWO) there will be a large impersonal “Commission of Public Safety.” It will, as you can imagine, be lead by a very trusted minion who will hold the innoccuous title “Commissioner of Public Safety.” The Commission of Public Safety will be a combination of CIA, FBI, NSA, National Reconnaissance Office, Coast Guard, INS, and some special forces thrown in for good measure.)

Your Maximum Leader knows the President means well. But what is up with all this spending? And all these new programs? Ack! (Or if I were Howard Dean: Yeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhrrrrrgggghhhh!) Jonah Goldberg’s recent NRO column is a good summary of that which I am blogging about. Your Maximum Leader believes that government (at least the Federal Government) is not the solution to most of the problems that might ail us.

If creating these new programs and spending all this treasure is supposed to out-Democrat the Democrats… Well it never will. Because what George W. Bush is doing will only become a low-end benchmark for that which the Dems would like to do. Ack!

Now the question becomes, if you let your mind wander for a moment, do you vote for the Republican who spends like a Democrat? Or the Democrat who spends like a Democrat? Hummm… Toughie. I suppose if there is no difference in domestic politics, it comes down to foreign policy. And, in your Maximum Leader’s mind, Bush has that all locked up.

Your Maximum Leader is going t get off his arse and start working on the MWO right quick….

In other news….

Your Maximum Leader knows he already blogged about Charlie, Winston Churchill’s parrot. But really, he deserved to be mentioned again and again. I might even find a way to add him to the ole sidebar…

For those of us of Scottish extraction this is good news. Just in time for Burns Night Dinners!

For those of you with a little too much time on your hands, and a desire to oggle some adult material. This article about a new search engine is for you.

Your Maximum Leader was told by a minion that this woman is fat. (Photo is work safe. Just a hottie brazilian girl on the beach.) Your Maximum Leader sits agog in the Villainschloss after hearing that. This curvey brazilian chicka is fat? We are really screwed up in this society if that is now fat. Crazy…

Of course, if you visit Booble.com, or look with lust in your heart at the photo of that brazilian girl, you may want to atone and remember this Rabbi’s prayer. Let’s repeat: “Please God, help me cleanse the computer of viruses and evil photographs which disturb and ruin my work…, so that I shall be able to cleanse myself (of sin).”

And since it is upon us your Maximum Leader says: “Gung hay fat choi.” (Not sure if that is transliterated properly! On this item your Maximum Leader is open to corrections.) The Year of the Monkey is begun! Your Maximum Leader doesn’t know what he will do to celebrate, but some celebrating is in order.

And with that my loyal minions, your Maximum Leader bids you…

Carry on.

The problem with the NHL is threefold

1. Poor product
2. Poor marketing
3. Ridiculously over priced.

1. Compare games played today to games from 10 years ago prior to the recent expansion boom, and you’ll see what I mean. Watch NHL on ESPN Classic… playoff games from the late 80s/early 90s and you’ll see a fast paced, skilled game that is as compelling and exciting as anything Football or Basketball have to offer.

Now, scores are much lower, the premium is on checking forwards, and skaters are not allowed to skate. GM’s want bigger guys who can hold and hook the faster guys. The reason is that officiating has tanked. Penalties aren’t called consistantly, and there’s no accountability for bad officiating.

In the mid 80s, if a forward beat a defenseman on the rush up the ice, the defenseman would try to hurry back, but the forward would have earned a breakaway, and a scoring chance would result. Now the defensman will trip or hold the forward and more often than not, a penalty is not called. this equalizes the game, putting a premium on guys who can fight along the boards. Now most of the action is in the corners, along the boards. Is this exciting? Not really.

2. goes without saying. Hockey has expanded into markets where it has no natural hold. The league has done little, if anything to promote hockey away from games. Promotions at games are great, but that’s preaching to the choir.

3. For a shitty product, the prices are absurd. This is largley the fault of about half a dozen GM’s i.e. the rich ones. They pay Baseball prices for hockey stars without the revenue to cover it.

The real problem lies in the lack of revenue. The NFL has the lucrative national TV deals. Baseball has huge TV contracts. So does Basketball. Using the NFL as an example, each team gets enough revenue from the TV contract to cover the salary cap. So there is no real benefit comparing a large market (i.e. New York) with a small market (i.e. Green Bay). Hockey is a gate driven sport, so high ticket prices, local TV revenue, and merchandise are the main source of operating revenue. The NHL is basically a minor leage compared to the big boys. It’s one of those situations where

Costs >> Revenue

So it can’t continue. Simply put, either Cost has to come down (i.e. salaries), or Revenue has to go up. Since the product sucks, and national popularity is dwindling (following a brief surge in the mid 90s), Revenue stands little chance of going up. Since the players have a semi-strong union, Salaries have little chance of going down.

it’s nice to say “Hey, reduce salaries accross the board” but realistically that is absurd.

The NHL, simply put, is screwed as is. So there’ll be a labor stoppage. The NHL is already losing popularity rapidly. Being gate and merchandise driven, revenues are dropping. Salaries are going up. So what’s the solution?

1. Improve the product.
2. Reduce cost
3. Market

1. will only happen with a contraction of the league. Simply put, there are too many sub-par players in the league because there are too many teams. 10 teams have been added in the last 15 years. That’s absurd. Most teams in the 80s had two quality lines, now a team is lucky to have one. Also, an improvement in officiating MUST take place. Officiating is a joke now, even worse than MLB.

2. Salaries have to drop, and costs have to come down.

3. The current NHL administration, going on 10 years, has been absolutely incompetand in this regard. No reason to believe this’ll change.

So to say it again, the NHL is screwed. Anyone who watched the Salt Lake or Nagano Olympics saw some of the most amazing hockey the world has ever seen. That’s the level of talent out there today. And despite the fact that the NHL has those same players, the game on NHL ice isn’t the same.

Want to see good hockey in 2004? Go see the Disney movie about the Miracle on Ice. Probably better hockey than the NHL right now.

The Great Maximum Leader
Linked a sports story
Great One fears hockey lockout

In the article Mike linked, Hockey officials attempt to explain why fans aren‚ÄövÑv¥t coming to the games. They have all kinds of suggestions, but seem to miss the real economic reason.

Basic supply and demand should set prices. If the price of a family outing to a sporting event is so high that demand increases, the real answer to hockey‚ÄövÑv¥s woes should be to reduce ticket prices.

If owners are losing money under the current price structure, it seems to me that they should try to sell more tickets. Even if the tickets cost less, the owners might make more money if more sold, resulting in more concession sales as well. It seems to me that the overhead for the rink will be the same whether it is packed or half-full.

Not being a real hockey fan, I propose a simple math problem for the Air Marshal and/or Maximum Leader:

Reduce the average annual salary of players from 1.79 million to the mere pittance of $790,000. Multiply by the number of players on an NHL team roster. This would be the annual savings. Instead of putting that money in the owner‚ÄövÑv¥s pocket, divide the savings over the number of home game seats in a season. What is the total possible reduction of ticket prices?

While I dislike Snyder‚ÄövÑv¥s incessant price-gouging ever since he took over the Redskins franchise, at least one can argue that Snyder is simply allowing supply and demand to set the prices. If the stadium still fills when people are paying hundreds of dollars to go to a losing ball club‚ÄövÑv¥s games, then the fans get what they deserve. The NHL can‚ÄövÑv¥t even argue that they are selling all their seats. Ego, they are overpriced.

For once I would like to see a sports franchise owner admit that his team is screwing the fans by overcharging for a weak product. Or a player admit that he can no longer justify his multi-million dollar contract on the grounds that the people are paying to see him play.

As the soul of brevity, I have another short post for you today. We have finished the semester at my high school. Since I teach Standards of Learning courses, my kids do not have a school-administered exam. They are off, my grades are done, my papers for the new classes coming Thursday are prepared, and I have some serious blog-surfing time on my hands.

Kim Du Toit has an excellent post today. The second in-defense-of-Norway letter is interesting reading. Gun control advocates typically point to Europe as examples of how firearm prohibition reduces violence. Norway seems to refute that thesis; they have even more guns than we do and still have a low crime rate. Lest you think I have joined the gun-nut bandwagon (though I‚ÄövÑv¥m sure the Foreign Minister smiles every-single-frickin‚ÄövÑv¥-time that I extol the virtues of my scoped 306), I should also point out that the pro-gun group also makes the asinine argument that many states in America with lenient gun laws have lower crime than stricter jurisdictions like D.C. Perhaps areas with higher crime have responded to that crime by passing gun control measures. Additionally, outlawing gun-purchases in D.C. when everyone can hop across the border to gun-friendly Virginia is going to be ineffective. It seems to me that crime levels are a function of several variables in society such as (but not limited to) economic opportunity, freedom, individuality, assimilation, and level of homogeneity. In general, I believe that the availability of firearms is not a causal factor. That said, if crime exists, I believe that drive-by-knifings are a) less effective and b) unlikely to result in innocent sleeping children catching ricochets with their skulls.

I was highly entertained by the Iowa results last night. As other commentators have noted, Dean came across as a lunatic in his ‚ÄövÑv concession‚ÄövÑvp speech. (UPDATE from ML: Thanks to Allah and All-Emcompassing for link.) Both Kerry and Edwards showed class. I have blogged here before about this Democrat‚ÄövÑv¥s Dean problem. It looks like I may be cured by Iowans‚ÄövÑv¥ elective surgery on the doctor.

I‚ÄövÑv¥m not that excited about either Kerry or Edwards. I saw Edwards on an interview show a year or so ago and he came across as vapid. Dismissing him, I haven‚ÄövÑv¥t paid much attention to his campaign. Maybe I should take another look; perhaps my first impression was inaccurate. At least the Des Moines Register thinks so.

I have a buddy who thinks a Kerry-Clark ticket destroys Bush on the national security ticket. I actually thought of a rather pithy campaign statement‚ÄövÑvp ‚ÄövÑv V.P. candidate Clark WON a war. Bush has dragged us into a quagmire. During the last quagmire, while Bush was using his family connections to dodge danger, Kerry was saving lives and serving his country in Vietnam.‚ÄövÑvp Of course, Clark‚ÄövÑv¥s war was in no way comparable to either Vietnam or Iraq. The Serbs were like gnats to our modern military. The real crime is that both Bush Senior and Clinton dithered for YEARS while genocide was raging in the Balkans. Once we got serious and started dropping bombs, the Serbs came to heel quickly. Think of all the lives we could have saved if we hadn‚ÄövÑv¥t listened to modern day Chamberlains and the Cliveden-set ‚ÄövÑv give peace of chance‚ÄövÑvp nimrods. I don‚ÄövÑv¥t really blame Bush for dodging Vietnam; if you knew that a war was hopeless, would you want to die for no particular reason? Had I been old enough, I would have served if drafted, but you can be darn sure I would have worked assiduously to keep my education deferment in play. And if I wasn‚ÄövÑv¥t a scholar and my dad had political juice, I sure as hell would have used connections to get into the guard. But the military service thing seems to matter to a lot of people. Remember when the Republicans kept bashing away at Clinton‚ÄövÑv¥s educational deferments? But they got strangely quiet about the sin of dodging Vietnam when their candidate was a former (AWOL) member of the Texas Air Guard. I ask you, putting aside partisan rhetoric, which is more disturbing: the guy who took advantage of the educational deferments available to everyone, or a guy who dodged the war by using Dad‚ÄövÑv¥s political connections, taking the spot of people who had been in line for the Guard appointment for a longer period of time.

Now I‚ÄövÑv¥m really rambling.

Also think about how indignant the Republicans were that Bill smoked a joint in college (breaking no American law since he was in Jolly Olde England), but then were not bothered by the never-refuted allegations that their boy had snorted coke as an adult. I was bothered more by Clinton‚ÄövÑv¥s refusal to take responsibility and stupidity when the Mary Jane allegations surfaced. The whole ‚ÄövÑv I didn‚ÄövÑv¥t inhale‚ÄövÑvp thing was a big red flag warning of his troubling personal ethics that plagued his whole administration. If he would have just said ‚ÄövÑv I was a stupid college kid in the SEVENTIES. I smoked a little dope and I regret it and hope my daughter will make wiser choices than I did,‚ÄövÑvp the Minister of Agriculture would have applauded. But the ‚ÄövÑv I didn‚ÄövÑv¥t inhale‚ÄövÑvp thing ‚ÄövÑv¨ ARGH! How stoooopid do you think we are. Of course you inhaled. That‚ÄövÑv¥s the point of smoking dope. I do have a problem with Bush‚ÄövÑv¥s cocaine use (alleged, but never denied), particularly when he sponsored mandatory sentences for first time drug offenders. Even granting that he made mistakes (youthful ones like Henry Hyde‚ÄövÑv¥s ‚ÄövÑv youthful‚ÄövÑvp affair when he was forty?), he should really explain why he should be forgivin‚ÄövÑv¥ for hell-raisin‚ÄövÑv¥ ‚ÄövÑv=fore he came to the Lord and other people should do a decade in the joint.

While I‚ÄövÑv¥m on the whole drug morality topic, I‚ÄövÑv¥m not sure sitting around with buddies and altering your consciousness is a sin, as long as you don‚ÄövÑv¥t endanger anybody. The Maximum Leader, Foreign Minister and I have been known to drink a little beer now and again - though I only get drunk when the ML or FM are around ‚ÄövÑv¨ I blame their bad influence on my otherwise exemplary character. I‚ÄövÑv¥m not sure how smoking pot is MORALLY different than drinking beer. The argument against pot-smoking, to me at least, is that it is STUPID. When I am sitting at home and drink a few beers, or drink a few beers at a bar and have a designated driver, I endanger nothing ‚ÄövÑv¨ not innocent bystanders or my own freedom. If I get caught smoking dope, I‚ÄövÑv¥m in the legal system. My property may be seized. As a convicted criminal, I wouldn‚ÄövÑv¥t be able to coach my daughter‚ÄövÑv¥s pee-wee soccer team. I wouldn‚ÄövÑv¥t be able to get a job holding public trust (we teachers are on the list of drug-tested professions). I never even did a Bill Clinton in college; one positive test would have jeopardized my ROTC scholarship. But I can‚ÄövÑv¥t say my lack of acquaintance with the doobie is a moral stand.

Cocaine may be another animal, but the only real moral objection to snow I can think of right now is its more addictive nature. Still, if Bush wanted to get stoned at a party and someone else drove him home, the stupidity rankles me more than his ‚ÄövÑv youthful‚ÄövÑvp moral lapses.

But someone else did not always drive George home. He drove drunk several times, endangering the lives of other people. He even lied about being arrested for it ‚ÄövÑv¨ under oath on a jury questionnaire ‚ÄövÑv¨ but the morality police don‚ÄövÑv¥t seem troubled. But if Clinton lies about a hummer, it‚ÄövÑv¥s an impeachable offense. Disclaimer: while I don‚ÄövÑv¥t think he should have been impeached, I think that if he had any decency or really cared about his political agenda, Willy should have resigned.

Inquiring minds want to know: What happened with the Foreign Minister‚ÄövÑv¥s tribute to Popeye‚ÄövÑv¥s? (Perhaps the ML will insert the appropriate trackback link here)

Did Popeye‚ÄövÑv¥s admit their misdeeds and compensate the FM in some way? Or has FM funneled his Chicken-shack-fueled-rage into his new thespian career?

In my blog-o-sphere trek I have noted that the Maximum Leader frequently leaves comments on other people‚ÄövÑv¥s blogs. Yet he has no comments on his own. Since I find that sometimes the comment threads are highly entertaining and/or educational, I urged him to add the feature, but, alas and alack, the ML cares not for the insights of his minions. For my unforgivable boldness, I was shipped off to a ‚ÄövÑv Clockwork Orange‚ÄövÑvp style re-education center.

I will never question the Maximum Leader again. The Maximum Leader is always right. The Maximum Leader is a benevolent despot. I do not need to think because the Maximum Leader thinks for me. The Maximum Leader can spend my income more wisely than I ever would. The Maximum Leader is a wise and handsome man.

I‚ÄövÑv¥m signed up for graduate-level re-education courses next week, so watch this space for Maximum Leader haikus.

All in all this past weekend was a great weekend for football from my point of view.

Not a big fan of New England teams, but my Father in Law is from there, so I have no problem cheering for the Pats. As long as I can disassociate Pats fans from bitching and whining Bruins fans, I can root for the pats. Ugh. Bruins fans in ‘98 were just the biggest group of babies I’ve ever seen, when the Caps beat them in the playoffs. I’ve never seen a bigger bunch of sore losers. Maybe I don’t like the Pats. Mrs. Villain is a big Pats fan, so at the very least I’ll root for them for her sake. Plus there’s something about seeing Peyton Manning Loose that I find oddly satisfying. Seeing that ugly, inbred, cornfed, redneck visage of his in abject despair is quite nice. Plus now I don’t have to hear my wife tell me how dreamy he is.

As for the NFC game it was a good outcome for several reasons. First of all, I always liked Stephen Davis, and when he was here in DC, he was a great team player with a good attitude. I’m sorry Spurrier let him go (big mistake), but Davis is one of those players who I’ll always root for. Secondly, I hate the Eagles. Seeing Philthadelphia lose is always good. But this was more than that. This was absolutely wonderful. McNabb has a horrible day, in big party due to his rib injury, but also his supporting cast just blows. The play calling was suspect at best… again. And while I think Carolina was just a better team, the Phily mentailty still says “Choke”.

This is the city that has brought us such paragons of sports virtue as Ron Hextal, Buddy Ryan, Andre “Dirty” Watters, Alan Iverson, Charles Barkley, John Kruck etc. Philly’s version of a Champion is punk/GM Bobby Clarke? Please. As for the Eagles, what’s the significance of the name Norm Snead? That’s who they traded Sonny Jurgensen to Washington for. Oops.

My Father in Law insisted that I had to root for the Eagles in this game because my wife’s brother currently resides in that city. Yeah, right. I’m sure he’ll root for the Skins because I’m in DC. Uh huh.

As for the SuperBowl, I think the Pats will do it. The Panthers are good, but the Pats have a better defense, than the Panthers, and Tom Brady is a more accurate QB in the short game than McNabb is. Ultimately, the Pats get the not because their D and special teams are better. I think the Panthers will run the ball with some success, but they simply won’t score enough on the Pats to win the game. It’ll be a great, nasty, physical SB with lots of hitting, and a potentially close low scoring game.

Greetings loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was just over on Kilgore Trout’s page. And all he has to say is “Amen Brother Kilgore!” Read this post. Now let your Maximum Leader state that he couldn’t care less about the NBA; but he loves hockey. And the NHL post-season is waaaay too long. (And frankly the league is too big. Did you see this article about the impending lockout and the general financially sucky situation the league is in?)

Anyway… Football… Final score prediction: Patriots 24; Panthers 17. I know this is a gutsy call. Not only because your Maximum Leader is predicting that the Patriots will win a 15th straight game (and aren’t the odds against that something like 3,000,000,000:1?); but that the chances of predicting a final score are nearly impossible. But your Maximum Leader, a religious reader of Gregg Easterbrook’s TMQ column, has read that 24 - 17 is the most common score of the past season. So there it is.

Finally… The safety rules!

Carry on.

Greetings loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was unaware that Churchill owned a parrot. Indeed, someone’s fact-checker may have been asleep when this hit the wire. But your Maximum Leader, the great Churchill admirer, loved this.

Carry on.

Greetings loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader had a little sit-down with the Villainettes this morning to discuss Martin Luther King, Jr.. They wanted to know more about him and why we get the day off because of him. Your Maximum Leader tried to explain in a way appropriate to the Villainettes.

Since he was thinking about MLK, your Maximum Leader decided he would share some thoughts on MLK with you. First, your Maximum Leader believes his best speech is this one. Which is often known as the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” speech. It was delivered in Memphis, TN. Your Maximum Leader has traveled to Memphis many times. One time he visited the Lorraine Motel. The spot is a somewhat errie one. The neighbourhood (at least the last time he saw it) was run down, but in the middle of the run-down area was this sparkling building. In a way, the setting bespoke a problem. The building where King spent his last hours is a gloriously kept facility inviting visitors to come and learn. But the neighbourhood is run down, and in some ways desolate looking. Would a better tribute to King have been the redevelopment of the whole neighbourhood?

Carry on.

Greetings loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader must also wish the Big Hominid’s Dad a Happy Birthday. The Big Hominid’s dad is one of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. If the world had more like him, I would begin to doubt my own Hobbsian tendencies. Perhaps because there are so very few like him, he is that much more great. Happy Birthday!

Your Maximum Leader was perusing the Classical Values site today. Normally, on Friday over on CV, he posts results of web-quizes he’s taken. Today one fascinated me. So… If your Maximum Leader were a country he’d be:

You’re
the United Kingdom!
You’re a much weaker person than you used to be, but you still
act like you did when everyone looked up to you.  Despite this, you’re
probably a better person than you were when you had so much power over those
around you.  Though you do have a strange fascination with jewels and monarchs,
which lets you play in castles, but also end up leading a sort of tabloid lifestyle.
 You really like the Beatls, even more than you like Oasis.
face="Times New Roman">Take the Country
Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

Your Maximum Leader isn’t sure about the “weaker than you used to be,” insofar as it refers to his person. But overall he likes the outcome.

In other news…

Have the planets aligned? Are the heavens about to fall? One of the greatest duo’s in TV/Movie history reunited (if only for 30 seconds)! Allah be praised!

Of course, your Maximum Leader doesn’t really think Allah had anything to do with that last bit. But he is sure funny! And by the way. Go, read!

Your Maximum Leader is a little disappointed in Dr. Burgess-Jackson today. It is about Pete Rose. I was, for years, conflicted on the whole “What to do with Pete Rose?” issue. Now I am not. I believe Pete Rose should be posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. When Rose was a player, he was great. He always played to win, and you could see it. But, as a manager he violated the cardinal rule of the game. He bet on baseball. As others have said, no violation goes more to the heart of the game than betting on the outcome of games. It calls into question the basic integrity of the contest. Pete Rose allowed himself to get banned from the game by not controlling himself. He must now suffer the consequences. If you like you could read what one of your Maximum Leader’s favourite players has to say about the whole mess.

Scotch and Cigars…. In Scotland… Heaven.

Did you know Anna at Primal Purge was back? Your Maximum Leader loves her. Words hardly explain the pleasure I get from reading her stuff.

Your Maximum Leader bought a CD the other day. It was Tom Jones Reloaded. It is awsome. He was just listening to “Sex Bomb” on the way to the Villainschloss…

Not much else going on….

Carry on.

It’s inexcusable for a defense to allow a 27 yard pass on 4th and 26 when the game’s on the line. What the defense should have done is rush 4, contain McNabb and cover all receivers. Give McNabb the short underneath stuff, because the philly WR’s hadn’t been getting too much yardage after the catch if my memory serves.

The blitz had been workind sporadically, but most sacks of McNabb were coverage sacks where the LB’s were working on containing McNabb. I also understand that the Blitz was designed to force McNabb into a quick throw which theoretically would be a short throw. Obviously that didn’t work.

Also, Green Bay should have gone for it on 4th down. late in the game. Trying to draw a veteran Philly defense off sides was a NCAA trick that rarely works in the NFL. Green Bay was getting good yardage out of both the running game, and the short passing game and should have tried maybe a play action pass.

And the Pack should have run the ball down Philly’s throat in the second half rather than opening up the passing attack.

Greetings loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader laughed and laughed at the following posts…

Frank J over on IMAO.

Allah’s most recent Dean-O contribution. Your Maximum Leader almost feels guilty sending you over there and exploding our benevolent Deity’s bandwidth. But, while you are there, give a few zakats.

Carry on.