State of the Union

I'm just completely disgusted with the entire state of the current union. If you were upset with some of the hypocrisy of the Bush Administration, you would have to be absolutely pulling your hair out with the Obama Administration. This is a group that contradicts itself on a daily basis, from Guatanomo to bailouts to Iraq to national security. It's an administration adrift and confused.

Or is it? Perhaps confusion is how the Obama administration works best. Saturate people with conflicting stories until they have no idea what is really happening. We're shutting down Gitmo. No, we're keeping Gitmo open. We're restarting military tribuanals. We're trying them in the American judicial system. We're letting detainees go. We're transferring them to American facilities. It's a new story everyday. The Democrats relish in mis-direction and confusion.

The other thing the Dems are feeding on is pure fear. Swine Flu! Unemployment! Debt! Bankruptcy! War! Terror! Vaccines! Coal! Carbon! Global Warming! China! Dollar!

People accused the Bush Administration of playing on fears when it comes to terror. Well, the Bush folks were mere novices when it comes to playing the fear card. When people are fearful and not in control of their surroundings, they want to put their faith that someone will protect them. Obama has promised the government will protect everyone. The more fear, the more people look to the government to protect them. This plays right into their hands in the attempt to grow the government ever larger. And the media is right there to perpetuate those fears onto the American public and to further perpetuate the belief that only the government can protect folks from their fears.

The other thing I find extremely disgusting is the allegedly high poll numbers Obama receives. I have a hard time finding anyone that supports the Obama Administration policies. Even people who voted for him have gone out of their way to denounce the outrageous spending practices. I find it hard to believe that 70% of Americans approve of the direction this administration is taking us. Maybe 70% of those looking for a handout. Maybe that's the only people the press polls anymore.

I find it frustrating and, quite frankly, infuriating to watch the direction we are heading. That is the primary reason I have limited my writing. I find it hard to watch the news on a regular basis because of the constantly conflicting stories and the obvious Obama-worship that most newscasters display. I can only hope that we can rectify the issues that are being created. I'm not confident in that however.

Favre to Return...Again?

Brett Favre is meeting with Coach Brad Childress of the Vikings to discuss possibly returning to play yet another season. This is hardly a shocking development. As soon as the Jets released Favre, everyone saw the potential for yet another Favre comeback. And, of course, it would be with the Vikings since Minnesota is an in-division rival to the team that made Favre famous, the Green Bay Packers.

If Favre returns and plays for the Vikings, it would be the final finger to all Packers' fans and prove that Favre has always cared more about Favre than the fans of Green Bay. Over his many years in Green Bay there were plenty of spin doctors playing on Favre's team, convincing anyone who would listen that Favre only cared about Green Bay. Last year's debacle with New York and now this year's Favre tease proves that Brett Favre only cares about Brett Favre.

Personally, I don't care whether he returns or not. It's always nice to have Favre out there helping defensive backs pad their interception stats but, other than that, there's not much use for him. Favre might be a working stiff yet again...time to hang up the tiara until next year.

NASCAR at Richmond

Went to the Richmond to see the Crown Royal 400 this past weekend. Needless to say, it was an interesting experience. The most amazing part was the variety of people to see...and, well, there was a race too.

Being still considered a "southern" sport, we obviously saw our share of interesting people. The Confederate flag is still flown proudly in Richmond apparently...I imagine even more so the further south the race gets.

Yes, his leg says "Git 'er Done!"

This dude's back is a tribute to the Civil War with Generals Lee and Grant on the back.

And, well, I'm not going to say anything about this...

The facilities were what you would expect for about 90,000 people hanging out in a parking lot.

As you would expect with something as sponsor-oriented as NASCAR, there were booths setup everywhere advertising different products

But who really wants a sample of Hellman's mayonnaise???

And nothing really explains this guy...

Thankfully the it didn't rain during the race itself but we had a few good downpours mid-afternoon that sent the spectators scrambling.

Once inside, we found track drying was well underway. The sound of the track drying equipment is actually louder than the actual cars. It was painful listening to the blowdryers but at least they were able to get the track dry and start pre-race festivities on time. One of the more interesting aspects of getting into the track is that NASCAR actually allows you to bring your own food and drink into the track. So everyone had bags and coolers. It's pretty nice because you don't have to worry about excessive costs in buying a hotdog from a vendor. It's a very fan-friendly sport.

They parachuted in the American flag and there was a flyover. And the "The Commandant's Own" The United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps performed the Star Spangled Banner.

Because of track drying, they actually started the race under the yellow flag to take care of any wet spots but it wasn't log before the green flag flew and we were racing.

Everyone there had their favorite drivers. Obviously, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. elicted the loudest applause while Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson shared the title for most boos. The crowd was most pleased when Johnson wrecked in the latter stages of the race.

I think the race tied or surpassed a Richmond record for cautions and a few occurred between turns 1 and 2 where we were located but, for the most part, there weren't any major accident.

Kyle Busch won the race handedly and, surprising, the crowd wasn't too opposed to that outcome. It just happened to be Kyle Busch's 24th Birthday so that was interesting too...

All in all, it was an enjoyable experience. I think people take shots at NASCAR fans because of the redneck beginnings of the sport but the people at the track were really no different than the variety of people you would see at a typical Mountaineer game. I'm definitely going to have to go to another race at some point...it was an overall fun time.