Up and at 'em

by M. Stewart

Things sure have changed. When breaking news happens, learn about it first on Facebook. The way the cops want the story told will appear in tomorrow’s newspaper. The suicide death at the Calcutta Wendy’s restaurant is a case in point. Whether you consider such things as good or bad is irrelevant. News travels fast these days, very fast.

On the national scene, disgraced former presidential candidate Herman Cain has “enthusiastically” endorsed Newt Gingrich. After a brief vacation from the cameras, gool ol’ Sarah Palin also has come out swingin’ fer Newt. That ought to help, yah?

Well, not so far. Polls continue to show Gingrich significantly behind Mitt Romney in Florida, but there is one day left before the vote, and we’ve seen that anything can happen. While the various media portray Romney as the juggernaut candidate, they do so without much evidence. On the contrary, I don’t see a lot of genuine enthusiasm for Romney at all; even his supporters seem compromised.

It’s entirely possible the race could be decided on the convention floor this summer. If things keep going the way are, Gingrich and Romney will have completely ruined each other by then. In order to survive, Gingrich will have to embrace the Tea Party and the far right, which means to mouth whatever platitudes they favor.

While it’s hardly anything new, politicians pandering to constituent groups is a degrading process. Truth and honesty are the first casualties as candidates readily mouth ideas put into their scripts by local political organizations. Candidates are comfortable distributing bold-faced lies, which are readily accepted by voters who know nothing of the truth themselves. Ignorance is a requirement for the democratic process, and it’s on full display during presidential election campaigns.

Did anybody bother watching the NFL’s Pro Bowl game yesterday? Apparently the AFC won by a score of 59-41 in the meaningless exhibition. To attract at least some viewers, the NFL has taken to playing the Pro Bowl game on the dead Sunday before the Super Bowl, which makes more sense than waiting until football season is over. Still, I wonder how long the game will go on. At some point, I think the Pro Bowl will end up being a video game of some kind rather than the flag football game it is now.

Next weekend’s Super Bowl should be the opposite of the Pro Bowl, and it’s a great matchup. I’m taking the New York Giants by three points. 

Stills

Giants and Patriots in Super Bowl rematch

by M. Stewart
As an NFL fan, I am satisfied that this year's Super Bowl will be a worthy match up; in fact, it will be a rematch of four years ago, which was one of the greatest game in SB history. The New England Patriots and New York Giants will go at it again.

Both conference championship games were fantastic, though I admit that it was difficult to see how the Baltimore Ravens lost to New England. A stripped catch in the end zone that would have won the game, a game-ending botched field goal by one of the more reliable kickers in the league--I can only imagine how Baltimore fans must feel.

I consider it kind of low-class to "hate" your favorite team's rivals; in fact,  to me that's the difference between a football fan and someone who merely "loves" a particular team. As such, I take no pleasure in the Ravens loss. Joe Flacco played a great game, as did all the other Baltimore players. They certainly played well enough to win, and probably should have won. But everyone knows that should never won anything.

So congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens for a great season. As for the San Francisco 49ers, I don't have much connection to West Coast teams. Still, the 49ers too played well enough to win. A couple of botched punts by a young player was the difference in the game. Congrats to San Francisco for a fantastic year.

I became an Eli Manning/New York Giants fan after the big Super Bowl win over the Patriots four years ago. Everyone has pointed out how this year's Giants team has taken a similar path to championship. Can the beat the Pats a second time? The odds are against it, but who knows? I'll be rooting for the Giants, but mostly I hope it is a great game decided in the final seconds.

How people from East Liverpool see the Tri-State Area

Name that movie

If you think you know what movie this "still" is from, chime in. I won't respond until someone gets it right.

49ers stop Brees; Pats crucify Tebow; Steelers fans confused

by M. Stewart
Saturday's NFL playoff games provided the kind of drama that makes football great. First the 49ers and Saints play a full 60 minutes of great offensive and defensive football, then the Patriots blow out the Broncos. The first was the better game by far, but the New England game was a statement. The Pats are a Super Bowl team if I've ever seen one.

Of course the Tim Tebow story provided the week's pre-game hype, but Tom Brady was the one who showed up to win. The best quote of the day came from Dan Marino, who at halftime said that the only way the Broncos get back into the game is if Tom Brady switches sides.

The New England defense studied last week's Denver-Pittsburgh game and discovered how not to play the Broncos' college-style offense. There are several obvious reasons why the Steelers lost that game--injuries, playing away, poor execution, bad clock management, etc.--but Pittsburgh came into the game ranked as the league's number one defense behind a "genius" hall-of-fame defensive coordinator in Dick LeBeau.

As it turned out, the Steelers' defense made Tim Tebow a star. Yet the New England Patriots' defense, ranked next-to-last in the league, shut Tebow and the Denver offense down completely on Saturday. Remember too that Pittsburgh beat New England decisively earlier this season. So Dick LeBeau's defense could shut down Tom Brady but not Tim Tebow? I don't understand.

Especially in the playoffs, where all the teams are good, football is a psychological game, and it seems there is no more important psychological factor than playing at home. So far, the home team has won every playoff game. (I'm writing this two hours before Sunday's games begin, so that could change.)

Also, playoff games are culminating events. After every game, someone's season is over, and it can be analyzed as a whole. Finishing the regular season at 12-4, the Steelers limped into the playoffs. Early in the Denver game, Pittsburgh lost its two best defensive linemen--Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton--as well as their best offensive lineman, Max Starks. Ben Roethlisberger came in gimpy. Star safety Ryan Clark couldn't play due to altitude sickness. Star linebacker Lamar Woodley was a non-factor with a hamstring injury, and all-pro center Maurkice Pouncey was out with an ankle. Starting running back Rashard Mendehall was out for knee surgery.

Every team has injuries this late in the season, but the Steelers were reeling. Add Denver's home field advantage and the whole Tebowmania thing, and anything could have happened. And it did. Still, the Denver-Pittsburgh game was a great one. Even with all the setbacks, the Steelers could have (and should have) won the game in regulation. Starting with last year's Super Bowl loss, Ben has not shown the ability to win games in final possessions. Despite his two rings and three appearances, Ben is not in the same league as Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers.

Brees is out, but Brady and Rodgers are still in. Wouldn't you just love to see a Patriots-Packers Super Bowl?

Wetzel painting class begins Feb 9

If you have any interest in learning how to paint, why not learn from a local master? East Liverpool's Craig Wetzel will be offering a month-long, hands-on class in "Fundamentals of Painting" Feb. 9 -- March 8 at the Kent State East Liverpool Campus.

The cost is a mere $125. Check out Craig's website for more details, or call the artist himself at 234-567-0697.

Crazy Pat claims God wants Obama out

Driving on ice

Looks like Scott Stewart, but it isn't. Frank Gallagher (left).

Happy New Year

Merry Christmas

An angel announces the birth of the messiah.

Winter Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice--the shortest daylight period of the year in the northern hemisphere of Earth. Within the Arctic Circle, there will be no daylight today. There is nothing magical or mystical about it. The laws of motion and gravity conspire to create this annual phenomenon.

The Hobbit (Dec. 2012)

Data from Kepler

Steelers are toast

By M. Stewart
Well, it looks like the 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers don't have what it takes to win a big game on the road against a quality opponent. Last night's 20-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers wasn't even close. Pittsburgh's offense couldn't buy a touchdown, and SF moved the ball easily against an ineffective defense.

Given his four-turnover performance, Ben Roethlisberger shouldn't have played. Mike Tomlin's refusal to play backup quarterbacks when Ben is injured shows that he has no faith in Batch or Dixon, which is a serious problem.

Last night's loss pretty much assures that Pittsburgh will be on the road throughout the playoffs, and with the way this team plays on the road, I'd say the chance of another Super Bowl appearance is slim to none.

A little closer to home . . .

I see in the local newspaper that East Liverpool City Council is debating whether to give our deceased police chief a retroactive raise. Obviously there is something I'm missing. Anybody know what it is?

How low will the NFL stoop?

This is a screen capture of today's NFL's web site headline after Tom Brady and the New England Patriots beat the shit out of the Broncos in Denver on national TV. Apparently, the league no longer thinks winning is important. For the rest of us: Brady and his offense were brilliant, and after the first quarter, the Patriot defense took over the game.
Patriots 41 -- Broncos 23.

Steelers fans will take note that virtually every piece that needed to fall did indeed fall on Sunday. The Chargers' Philip Rivers destroyed the Baltimore Ravens. The Carolina Panthers beat Houston convincingly behind rookie quarterback Cam Newton. Philly blew out the Jets.

All this makes tonight's Steelers-49ers game really big-time football. If the Steelers can win and then beat St. Louis at home and Cleveland on the road, they are the AFC top seed and North division winners. Those are big ifs, especially the one tonight.

More miracles

by M. Stewart
It took rescuers hours to free the body of 41-year-old advertising executive Suzanne Hart from the elevator that killed her Wednesday. This was the same elevator she had ridden every day since June 2007, when she started working at the Madison Avenue advertising firm of Young and Rubicam.

On this day, she put one foot across the threshold and the elevator suddenly lurched with the door still open, pinning her body between floors. Those already on the elevator stood in horror as Suzanne Hart's body was mangled before their eyes by the machine.

Ms. Hart had a good job in New York City. She was described as "generous, warm, creative, and nurturing." Apparently she had a "spirit that knitted people together" and was "one of the most wonderful people in the world." Fighting to maintain his composure after hearing the news, her father called her "the most marvelous daughter imaginable. . . . No father could have ever been more proud of her."

What happened to Suzanne Hart on Wednesday could have happened to any one of us. You walk onto an elevator, and the next thing you know, you're life is squeezed out by a brainless, malfunctioning machine. It's no one's fault. There is no sense to it. No one can help you. Your number was up. Wrong place, wrong time.

Religious people might ask, "Where was God? Why would he let something this horrible happen to this good person? Where's the justice?"

Come to think of it, those are the last questions religious people would ask. Instead, they would go on singing the praises of their god, thanking Him for everything they have, begging Him for everything they want, doing and saying anything to keep Him from crushing them too. The people who were ready to step onto that same elevator behind Suzanne Hart will call it a miracle that they were saved by the invisible hand of the Lord.

Where was the omnipotent, omniscient ruler of the universe on Wednesday? Perhaps He was Christmas shopping in Alabama or Mississippi or Florida or Texas. Perhaps He was looking for a new flat-screen TV so that He and His celestial friends can watch the Denver-New England game on Sunday. That Tim Tebow, now there's somebody to watch. He can bring more young people to the Lord as long as He wins another game in the fourth quarter.

As completely absurd as this sounds, millions of people believe it and would have you believe it too.
_________________________________________

Closer to home. when are the local newspapers going to stop printing everything Gary Bonnell wants them to? The man's raison d'etre is launching petty personal vendettas against his political enemies through the newspapers.

Mind you now, Gary Bonnell has been a Liverpool Township zoning administrator and a member of local school board, and he didn't do either of those for very long. These are the major accomplishments of his public life. Yet the reporters come a-runnin' every time Bonnell's venom builds up and needs released. This time it's Dick Wolf. Before that it was Nick Trombetta, Maureen Aronoff, and Bob Miller.

As long as the newspapers remain at his disposal, Gary will continue to be our area's Grand Inquisitor.

Who is Jack Marshall II?

by M. Stewart
Because the local newspaper web sites have been down for the past couple of days, I'm just now getting to Sunday's Morning Journal story, "Commissioner's conduct at jail at heart of deputies' grievance," which is a follow up to a story last week.

It seems that on Nov. 19 county Commissioner Mike Halleck and Republican Party Chair David Johnson showed up at the sheriff's office to post bond for a Jack Marshall II, who had been arrested after failing to appear for a hearing regarding a traffic offense. Neither of the MoJo stories offered details of the offense, nor did they have much to say about Jack Marshall II. Instead, the stories focused on the issue of whether a union officer should have escorted the prisoner from the jail to the sheriff's office and the manner of payment made by Commissioner Halleck.

Am I the only person who wants to know who Jack Marshall II is? What was the nature of the traffic offense, and why didn't he appear at his hearing? If this guy is so important that he can mobilize the chairman of the Republican Party and a county commissioner on a Saturday night to pay his bond, why couldn't he come up with the $600 himself? Why did these prominent Republican politicians need to be involved at all?

Whatever the real story is, it's being hidden behind the smokescreen of a relatively insignificant union issue.

In another story involving the S.O., county Sheriff Ray Stone has announced that he plans to retire on April 30, 2012, but he intends to run for re-election when his current term expires in the same year.

Even though Ohio law permits this double-dipping nonsense, I remain opposed to it. Retirement benefits should be for people who retire, and retirement means to stop working at a particular company or agency after a designated period of service.

Besides, who would be the sheriff between April 30, 2012 and Jan. 1, 2013? If Stone retires, he is done on that day. It's questionable if Stone will be re-elected, but even if he is, who will be the sheriff during the seven-month interim?

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of paying public employees retirement benefits while they are still working. Not only does this practice keep younger people out of jobs, it allows older workers to scam the taxpayers for a double wage that they do not deserve. Why aren't the Republicans worried about this scam? Why won't Halleck or Johnson comment on this?

Inverse Icarus

SENSE OF FLYING from Goovinn on Vimeo.

Prater leads Broncos to another "miracle" victory

by M. Stewart
It looks like the Denver Broncos have snatched yet another last minute victory, this time from the hands of the Chicago Bears, or should I say Chicago running back Marion Barber, whose play in the last four minutes of regulation and in OT makes one wonder if he purposely threw the game. Take Barber out and the Bears win 10-7.

But that's not how it works. How it does work is that Broncos kicker Matt Prater hit a 59 yard tying field goal in the final seconds of regulation. Prater then hit another in OT for the win. Yet none of today's sports headlines read, "Prater leads Broncos to victory!"

Given that most of the world's digital citizens use Facebook, it's clear that online privacy is not an important issue to most people. It's getting to the point where those who are concerned about privacy are seen as Neanderthalic cranks. I guess I'm one of the cranks.

According to a story in the New York Times, Netflix is lobbying to overturn the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act, which stipulates that video rental/distribution companies must obtain a customer's written consent before disclosing viewing information and other personal information.

Netflix wants to turn its popular video streaming service into a social-media, data-sharing site. Quoted in the Times, Netflix lawyer David Hyman said, "It really is meant to empower the consumer to be able to share with their friends. . . . It really kind of levels the playing field in social media."

Empower the consumer? Oh come on!  It's safe to assume that Netflix isn't spending all this money and effort because customers are clamoring to have the company share their personal viewing data. Clearly, dispensing with privacy will benefit the company in some way. According to the Times piece, Netflix wants to eliminate the Video Privacy Protection Act altogether, but I'm sure the company will be happy with some weakening of the law . . . for now.

It's starting to look like George Orwell's "Big Brother" was small potatoes. Orwell's mistake was that he thought government would be biggest snoop in our lives. He forgot about business.

Death, resurrection, and more death

by M. Stewart
Better late than never . . .

Steelers-Browns Thursday night was a great game. Big hits, big plays, big injuries, big drama--what more can you ask for? Like everyone else who saw the game, I was certain that Ben Roethlisberger's leg was broken and that his season was done. To see him come back out and play in the second half was a miracle sent directly from Yahweh, who, I'm told, is an football fan.

Along with Roger Goodell, Yahweh oversees the game. We all know he's got a man in Denver, but his best work is in Pittsburgh with the reclamation and resurrection of Big Bad Ben. Let's face it, God is a Steelers fan. He set up James Harrison's hit on Colt McCoy, whom He sees as nothing more than a pagan Leprechaun, and He dialed up the 79-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown to end the game. Anybody who thinks it wasn't God who did these things is a foo.

God is a Packers fan, you say? Is that what I heard? Maybe, but I'm thinking He's setting them up for a fall. Look what He did to Tom Brady and the Patriots a few years back when He used Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress to get the job done. Think about it.

On the other side of the planet, Palestinian leaders are lining up to express their dismay at Newt Gingrich's interpretation of history regarding the Palestinian right to the Land of Canaan. See Palestinians attack Gingrich. Calling the Palestinians an "invented" people, the Republican frontrunner upholds the basic Zionist point of view on the legitimacy question.

The Palestinian leaders quoted in the story claim that Gingrich's history is wrong, but they are short on details. In fact, they don't offer an alternative interpretation of history--only that they didn't like the candidate's statement and that Gingrich is pandering to Jews. I'd be willing to bet that not one of the other Republican candidates could even follow Gingrich's argument.

As you undoubtedly know by now, more gun violence has struck the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. With a mass murder, female decapitation, and random cop murder/suicide in the last four years, one has to wonder if something hasn't creeped into the fracking water down there.

Even though Blacksburg sits in the middle of a hardcore Southern Appalachia, it is a sophisticated oasis of learning and research thanks to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University--a.k.a., Virginia Tech. I taught there for several years and lived in the area for many more, and I can tell you that there is no particular reason why these horrible events should have clustered around this town. In fact,  I saw one of those "ten best" roundups on the news recently that designated Blacksburg as the best place in the country to live and raise a family.

As yet, no one knows what the 22-year-old Radford University student was doing at Virginia Tech in the first place, let alone what led him to walk up to a police cruiser at a traffic stop, shoot the cop inside, change out of his clothes, then shoot himself in a parking lot. It's this kind of random violence that freaks people out the most.

At one time, Virginia Tech was an all-male technical institute, and Radford was the nearby (but safely distant) women's college, but both institutions have been co-ed schools for at least 50 years. While Tech retains a military subculture, it has become the largest university in the state of Virginia, attracting students and faculty from around the world. In contrast, Radford is a small, isolated college-turned-university that doesn't compete with Tech on any level. I can't imagine that the recent killing has anything to do with either university, but at this point, who can say?

At this writing, all that seems known about the killer, Ross Truett Ashley, is that he is 22 years old, lived in a Radford apartment above some businesses, liked to run down hallways, and recently shaved his head. That "recently-shaved-his-head" part will provide the key to this crime. Didn't Cho Seung Hui also shave his head before killing 32 people in April 2007? Could Ashley have been following in Cho's footsteps but chickened out after he shot and killed Ptl. Deriek Crouse (right), an innocent man from nearby Christiansburg and father of five children?

Tebow time in Texas: Obama's war on religion

Monday stuff

by M. Stewart
I hope most of you were able to get downtown for the annual East Liverpool Christmas parade. We were in Pittsburgh on Saturday but planned everything to get back just in time. It was great to see all the local high school bands participate. The weather was comparatively mild, considering that the parade usually is a serious cold-weather challenge, so nobody's lips froze to the horn.

Also Saturday, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain decided to call it quits in front of adoring supporters in Atlanta. Defiant to the end, Cain refused to come clean, claiming that his campaign was derailed by women who are out to get him. The ordained Baptist minister said he was innocent of all charges and that he is right with his god and wife. I felt sorry for Cain's chump wife, who had to stand there and pretend that she believed it all.

Cain hinted last week of still more women coming forward to make false claims against him, which, I presume, had everything to do with his decision to throw in the towel. Let's face it, Cain was hardly presidential material in the first place. His early success in the polls came as the result of a remarkably weak field.

Newt Gingrich is sitting pretty at this point, and he may be the only Republican left who can beat Obama. Mitt Romney seems to be fading fast, or perhaps he's just no longer the flavor of the month. But even if he can mount a comeback and somehow win the nomination, he has established himself as a pandering candidate. Even the Republicans have seen this.  

The Republican masses imagine that Obama is more vulnerable than he is. What they are unable to see is that most reasonable independent voters understand all too well that the Republicans have aligned themselves with the super rich. Add to it a Republican Congress that has been a complete bust, willing to bring the nation's economy and government to a standstill in the name of ideology, and the party comes into the presidential election with little practical credibility. The only ones who have forgotten how Republican policies tanked the economy in the first place are the Republicans. The rest of us have not.

The one problem with Gingrich is that he is intelligent and articulate, which is enough to make the tea-soaked modern Republican electorate nervous. A lot of people won't understand him. As such, Newt will have to dumb it down considerably if he expects to get the nomination, which I think he can do. A catchy slogan would help. Some advice for Newt: Leave the scary wife at home.

Here's a good piece on the Republican situation by Paul Krugman.

Now on to football.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to trounce the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field Sunday by a score of 35-7, the same score by which the Steelers lost to the Baltimore Ravens on opening day. The Bengals, however, are far from out of the playoff picture. Pittsburgh fans are counting on them beating the Ravens in the last game of the season. Well, let's say our fingers are crossed. Personally, I don't see it.

The Steelers have a good chance of winning out and ending the season with a 13-3 record. The only tough game for them is the San Francisco 49ers in San Fran. Because the 49ers already have won their division, they won't be out for blood, so winning out seems very possible for Pittsburgh, even probable. Otherwise, it's two games with the Browns and one with the St. Louis Rams. The Steelers would have to forget to show up to lose those games, but anything is possible.

The Ravens have two games left against worthy opponents. As bad as the San Diego Chargers have been this year, they can still beat a good team if they want to, and the Bengals could take down the Ravens if they play a flawless game and the Ravens don't. Still, I have to predict that the Ravens will win out too, leaving them 13-3 with a head-to-head tie-breaker advantage over the Steelers.

I watched the Cleveland Browns try to play the Ravens yesterday in Cleveland, and it was no contest. Put simply, the Browns are one of the worst offensive football teams I've ever seen. Poor little Colt McCoy has no chance with such bumbling, inept receivers, and running back Peyton Hillis isn't able to pick up the slack. Cleveland needs so many players that it's impossible to predict how long it will take for them to become competitive, especially in the AFC North, which is no place for weaklings.

Thank God for Fox

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Steelers count on Chiefs to self destruct

Photos by Jeff Martin

by M. Stewart
The Pittsburgh Steelers often play their worst games on national television against weak opponents, and Sunday night was no different. Oh yeah, they won they game by a score of 13-9.

The Kansas City Chiefs defense, one of worst in the league, looked like the Baltimore Ravens as they held a bumbling Pittsburgh offense to a touchdown and a pair of field goals. Unable to conduct any business at all in the second half, the Steelers' offense looked like it had been modeled on the Cleveland Browns. They wouldn't have scored at all if KC hadn't handed them four turnovers.

One has to wonder what was going through offensive coordinator Bruce Arians' head when he decided to sit his first- and second-string running backs in favor of third stringer Mewelde Moore in the red zone. On his only carry of the night, Moore fumbled the ball away on the goal line. This is after Rashard Mendenhall scored on two tough red zone runs last week. I guess Bruce wanted to punish him.

Despite a broken thumb, Ben Roethlisberger managed to play well enough to outscore Chiefs' quarterback Matt Cassel, who didn't play at all due to injury. Ben barely played well enough to beat Tyler Palko, who threw three interceptions right to surprised Steelers' DBs. But it's hardly Ben's fault. He was under siege most of the evening from the Chiefs' pass rush. The Pittsburgh offensive line played it's worst game of the season. It happens.

It seems too that Mike Wallace is no longer a deep threat, if for no other reason than Ben can't throw the deep ball with any accuracy. If it were just this game no one would notice (broken thumb and all), but Ben hasn't been able to throw the long ball for several games. It probably wouldn't have mattered last night. Uncharacteristically, Wallace played like he had greased fingers.

If you saw the game, you know that as bad as Palko played, he nearly engineered a winning drive in the last two minutes. It was ended by an interception in which his wide receiver literally folded his arms against his ribs rather than attempt to catch the ball. Forever on film, Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe will go down as the NFL's biggest pussy.

But, as the cliche goes, a win is a win, especially a road win. In a week or two, no one will remember the Kansas City game. A win truly is a win, even if you look terrible in getting it. It won't be the first or last time the Steelers escape a loss with a disappointing performance. Good teams win even when they don't play well.

NOTE: Former Morning Journal reporter Jeff Martin was at Arrowhead Stadium last night. He promised to send some photos that I'll post as soon as they arrive.