Well in some States anyway. Came across this disturbing article where some states basically require you to have a belief in god in order to run for office even though the Constitution clearly prohibits such behavior.
From The New Civil Rights Movement: “No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office”
Posted by Woody Bass on March 29, 2011
http://woodybass.com/2011/03/29/interested-in-running-for-office-you-gotta-believe/
As I suspected would happen.. Herman Cain would do or say something to prove that he would never be an ideal candidate to hold any political office. Case and point care of the Political Insider at the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
CT: When speaking about your battle with cancer at the Milner church, at one point, you indicate that you were a little uncomfortable when you found out that your surgeon’s name was Abdallah, until you found out he was a Lebanese Christian. So what’s your perspective on the role of Muslims in American society?
Cain: The role of Muslims in American society is for them to be allowed to practice their religion freely, which is part of our First Amendment. The role of Muslims in America is not to convert the rest of us to the Muslim religion. That I resent. Because we are a Judeo-Christian nation, from the fact that 85 percent of us are self-described Christians, or evangelicals, or practicing the Jewish faith. Eighty-five percent. One percent of the practicing religious believers in this country are Muslim.
Um no Mr Cain, aka Boortz Light Wannabe. We are NOT a Christian Nation. We are not a Judeo Nation. We are NOT any other sort of religious nation. He has READ the Constitution correct?
This is pretty atypical of modern day politicians. They say what they know a certain segment of the population wants to hear just so they can get into office. Pandering to this particular population.. isnt anything new to Republicans either. The fact that it appears that Cain wants to be Ralph Reeds political mouthpiece and
puppet……………….. is just that much more of a reason to believe Cain would never ever be fit for office.
Instant disqualification.
Posted by Woody Bass on March 22, 2011
http://woodybass.com/2011/03/22/herman-cain-is-sooo-sooo-very-wrong/
I dont normally post about astronomical events… but I particularly love this one. Partially because well… March 19 is the last day of Winter, I have a great new camera I have been playing with that I now plan on getting pictures of this SuperMoon we will get tomorrow… and well… March 19 is just an all around fantastic day. It should be a National Holiday. Just sayin.
The so-called “supermoon” occurs when a new or full moon is in its closest orbit to our planet. On Saturday the moon will be 356,577 kilometers away, the closest it’s been in 18 years.
“The moon will be a little closer than it was last year, 1/4000 of a percent closer,” Gordon Johnston, planetary program executive for NASA, told FoxNews.com. “The distance between the Earth and the moon changes a lot in its orbit. Really the only change is that it appears bigger when it’s close. This coming full moon will be the brightest of the year.”
AJC.com article: ‘Supermoon’ to show up Saturday
night
Posted by Woody Bass on March 18, 2011
http://woodybass.com/2011/03/18/supermoon-on-31911/
I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. – Thomas Jefferson
Love that Jefferson dude.
Posted by Woody Bass on March 8, 2011
http://woodybass.com/2011/03/08/something-to-think-about/
Story: AJC.com: BYU loses center due to premarital sex
Allow me to point out some hypocrisy by BYU which is under the stranglehold of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
BYU’s honor code instructs students to live a virtuous and chaste life, be honest, attend church regularly and refrain from smoking and drinking alcohol, coffee or tea.
“Be honest”… he was! He told the truth. He obviously didn’t try to hide anything. But no.. he “screwed” up and had sex with his girlfriend and suddenly the kid is being shackled and whipped for it by a waving finger. “Don’t you do that young man… you must keep that thing in your pants until the church determines you’ve made a proper commitment to consummate this relationship with this young lady!”
C’moonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Seriously?
Oh and speaking of “commitment”…
“Everybody who comes to BYU, every student, if they’re an athlete or not an athlete, they make a commitment when they come,” Cougars coach Dave Rose said. “A lot of people try to judge if this is right or wrong, but it’s a commitment they make. It’s not about right or wrong. It’s about commitment.”
How does the church know he’s not been committed and completely faithful to his girlfriend? Only BYU and the Church can determine the definition of a commitment?
C’moonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Seriously?
Posted by Woody Bass on March 3, 2011
http://woodybass.com/2011/03/03/pre-marital-sex-at-a-university-bah-say-it-isnt-so/
It would appear that the Westboro Baptist Church has won yet another round of legal battles to continue their tirade of dispicable acts. Fine… 1st Amendment rights .. I get it. What I do not understand is clearly those same rights would be open to counter-protesters as well. We know there are Christians that feel the acts of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church are dispicable… but where are they? Clearly they could band together in greater numbers, perhaps in song, and help these grieving families that have to suffer through this atrocity, aka Fred Phelps, time and time again. What is even worse… how many of these protests were of military members who were also Christians?
Here is the story on their latest victory: AJC.com: 1st Amendment protects military funeral protesters
If you were to create a “Most Wanted” or “Top 10″ list of the most dispicable humans in recent history… I can think of quite a few people on that would have Fred Phelps right up on that list along with people like Timothy McVeigh, Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Jeffrey Dahmer. No.. Phelps (to our knowledge) hasnt killed anyone nor (to our knowledge) threatened or performed any sort of violent act towards another in support of their beliefs. But their acts are just as troubling and just as disgraceful. Think about it this way. They are protesting against homosexuality during soldiers funerals who were killed in battle while serving our country at a time of war. Havent these families suffered enough? We do not know that these soldiers were gay. They were more than likely Christian themselves. Exactly how is this getting their point across? What are they really proving other than they continue to win a legal war to continue being dispicable and masses of media exposure? Their cause hasnt grown any stronger. That is all they have gained from this.
Posted by Woody Bass on March 2, 2011
http://woodybass.com/2011/03/02/westboro-unfortunately-gets-another-w/
Congratulations to the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs on their big win in the 2011 Rose Bowl over the Big Tens 5th loser in New Year Day bowl games – the Wisconsin Badgers.
I am not sure exactly how many people really think this TCU win was really that much of a surprise. Perhaps it was because Wisconsin hung 80 on Indiana and two weeks later laid 70 on Northwestern. Ok fine.. so I was one of those people. I was major drinking the fruity flavored powdered stuff. Well all those big wins don’t really look all that spectacular now do they? Icing on the Big-TelevenTwelve cake if Arkansas takes Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. That 6th loss would prove my point about the strength of schedule and pre-season polling by the way. Do any of those teams look like a Top.. 15 team?
TCU had one other goal they wanted to accomplish by winning the Rose Bowl. They wanted to do it for the little guys. For all those poor poor teams in Non-Autoqualifying Conferences.
Hmm really? REALLY?
Ummm thennn wwhhyyy are they going to the Big East, a BCS Auto-qualifying conference if the whole point of winning the Rose Bowl was to prove a point. and make a case for teams of Non-Auto-qualifying conferences?
From Coach Patterson press conference on the TCU moving to the Big East:
On how this moves helps toward the BCS Championship Game
“I don’t know. I don’t know if we would be any higher than where we are now. You have two very good teams right ahead of us. I have always said it doesn’t matter what conference you are in, you should be judged by what type of football team you have. We feel like we have a very good football team.”On joining an automatic-qualifying conference
“Obviously there is an automatic qualifying berth that goes along with this, so for us, that plays into the realm of things and how we wanted to do this. We have more TV markets when you play on TV, more people will watch us on a national scale. So I think it’s a great move.”
Umm sorry Coach.. not buying it. This move was made to position TCU to win the Big East and remove those questions as to whether you belong in any BCS discussion. You win your in.
In essence… TCU didn’t win the Rose Bowl for the little guys not one bit. They won it for TCU. If they were looking to break the mold and challenge the system they would never have agreed to become a part of it by joining the Big East.
Posted by Woody Bass on January 3, 2011
http://woodybass.com/2011/01/03/tcu-rosebowl-hypocrits/
So I barely get my blog, What does the Gator Nation Want in the Next Head Gator?, posted and Foley pulls a fast one on me that very same day… and hires Will Muschamp. As I sit here freezing my backside off on a post snowy bah humbug in Atlanta… I thought now is as good a time as any to compare the Coach Must-Chomp hire to what the Gator Nation is looking for.
First things first, the Gator Nation will have to be patient. 2011 was not going be an easy season to stomach as it was… but going through a grueling schedule like Bama, @LSU, @Auburn in a three game stretch while going through a transition not only in coaching staff but in philosophy… well stock up on antacids or valium… or both. In fact, I am actively encouraging the UFAA to send valium with their tickets next year.
#1: First and foremost he has to have a very deep appreciation for the Gator Nation.
Ok. I will fully admit when I heard that Foley had hired Muschamp I over reacted. I must have sent 100 emails and tweets saying “HE’S A BULLDOG’. I immediately hated the hire. Well, I overreacted. My disdain for the puppies 45 minutes from my home got the best of me. I didn’t research him thoroughly, nor did I think just how brilliant a hire Muschamp really was for Florida. Yes… he is a Graduate of “that school”. What I never realized was… deep in his heart he has always been a Gator. He grew up about a mile from Florida Field. He tried to walk on at Florida even after moving to Rome, Georgia where he graduated high school. Florida was his first choice, he only settled for “that school”. During his introductory press conference, talked about all the games he had been to at Florida Field, mentioned specific plays and the Gator players who made them. It was obvious deep down he has always been a Gator at heart. He left the opportunity to be the Head Coach at an equally impressive program of University of Texas… to be the next Head Gator. I cannot speak highly enough that he is reaching out to the Gator greats – Spurrier, Wuerffel, Tebow and yes Meyer. That is saying alot. In my eyes… requirement fulfilled.
#2: He must be able to acknowledge the inflated expectations of the Gator Nation… and want to exceed them.
Hmm.. I think he knows the Gator Nation expects wins. They expect championships. They expect to dominate our opponents, especially our direct rivals. I think he expects and wants them as well. But when the Gator Nation’s expectations are not met… how will he handle this? As with most of these requirements… only time will tell. But if he can handle it… I truly believe Muschamp will be a Gator for the rest of his career.
#3: Head coaching experience is an absolute must, but it must be with a proven winning track record. Proven experience as a Coordinator – Offensive or Defensive – is also a must.
So… obviously Muschamp has not been a head coach before and this is one of the biggest question marks of this hire. Until he proves he has been ready it will remain so and ya know.. I think Muschamp is the kinda guy that will use that as motivation. One of his favorite phrases is “over achiever”. Muschamp is not your typical assistant though. He does after all come from the great Belichick/Saban coaching tree. He has been one of the most successful Defensive Coordinators in the game today. He has coached SEC and National Championship defenses. Some are comparing the Muschamp hire to the Stoops hire at Oklahoma. That is a fair comparison. Considering his pedigree… requirement fulfilled.
#4: The Head Gator must be a master recruiter.
Considering recruiting analysts like Ed Aschoff of the Gainesville Sun, Keith Niebuhr of Rivals.com and Laura McKeeman of Scout.com all glowed about Muschamp as a recruiter.. Immediately put me at ease in this area. Here is something to consider about the impact he has already had on recruiting… a) He has pretty well held the existing commits intact and b) he very well may have stolen the biggest WR commit Kelvin Benjamin. Benjamin was at one time considered a lock to FSUcks. He very well may be… but whatever Muschamp said to Benjamin in one conversation and persuaded him to take an official visit to UF is nothing short of impressive. Requirement definitely fulfilled.
#5: The next ball coach must be a master motivator and want the most disciplined team in America.
Another we’ll have to wait and see what happens — at least as far as discipline is concerned. But considering he is a Saban protege’… I don’t see discipline being an issue… but he is his own man. He will want to do things his way. He will want to make a name for himself. Still do not see discipline being an issue.
As far as being a motivator… yea well that wont be an issue.
‘Nuff said?
He must hate our rivals more than we do. It should never be good enough to “just win”… he must want to dominate in all phases of the game — every game.
Would it be safe to say that October 29, 2011, suddenly became more interesting than ever before? Can a man hate the alma mater that gave him his shot as a walk on? Interesting stat: Muschamp is 1-3 vs “that team” regardless of whether it was LSU or Auburn.
2003 – DC at LSU vs “that school” – W – 17-10 (Bonus: W 34-13 in SECCG)
2004 – DC at LSU vs “that school” – L – 45-16
2006 – DC at Auburn vs “that school” – L – 37-15
2007 – DC at Auburn vs “that school” – L – 45-20
Lets hope that doesn’t carry over as a UF stat because if it does… how he handles the response from the Gator Nation will be very telling. Granted he cannot be blamed for the offensive woes at LSU or Auburn those years either. But a D that gave up 37 and 45 (twice) back to back to “that school”.. not good. Keep that valium ready… because it would appear that “that school” may have Must-Chomp’s number.
Right now… the Gator Nation seems somewhat at peace with this hire. But as the story goes with any hire.. “we will see”. Even Urban Meyer came to Florida with plenty of question marks… and he managed a few National Championships. All in all… so far I agree with Coach Meyer… Muschamp was not a good hire.. this was a great hire. I think this very well may be the kind of hire that the Gator Nation can come to love and appreciate for a very very long time.
Welcome back and welcome home Coach Must-Chomp.
What say you Gator Nation… does he fit what you want in your Head Gator?
Posted by Woody Bass on December 26, 2010
http://woodybass.com/2010/12/26/the-next-head-gator/
It is that time of year my friends… no.. not for Bah Humbug… its Bowl Championship Series season better known as the BCS. As always this time of year… its also open season for all the Playoff proponents to come out in full force ready to line the BCS up in front of a firing squad and probably follow that up with a trip to the guillotine just for good measure.
That is also when I look at them, roll my eyes in dramatic fashion and simply tell them they are wrong.
Oh yes… it’s the usual arguments…
“Why is this or that team in that bowl?”
“Why is that team in that bowl and not that team?”
“Woody how can you possibly support this corrupt system?”
“Every other major sport has a playoff… why not D-1 football?”
“Well, but Auburn in 2004….”
First of all, I will, as I always have, conceded that the BCS is not perfect. But I will also contend, as I always have, that a playoff would be no better. In fact… if you look at this deeper… it would actually be worse. I know… crazy talk right? Umm no. It’s not.
There will always be teams that will bitch about being left out of a playoff run that should be in (and some had a good point… just see a previous blog I wrote for some examples).
Then their will be those that’ll bitch about well that such and such team had the easier bracket to play through than such and such team. You know… like in 2006 when THE Florida Gators Mens basketball team repeated as National Champions.
You see my fellow college football fans… I have a news flash for you… it’s not about us. And there are fans that sometimes forget that they are not football players… they are Student Athletes. Just because S T U D happens to be the first four letters of Student doesn’t matter.
A playoff would take even more time away from the student aspect of their time on campus, and that HAS to play the most important part. If you will… a quote from our new Head Gator, Coach Must-Chomp, on the importance of these players getting their degree:
I think it’s critical that they get their degree when they come here. It hit home for me. I was lucky enough to coach in the National Football League. I was at the Miami Dolphins, and I’ll never forget it, a 24-year-old man who had a bad knee, who was married and had two children came into my office in tears because they had cut him that day. He said, Coach, I’ve got nothing to fall back on. And that’s when it really hit home with me. I said, well, you just need to go back and finish up school. He said, Coach, I’m over a year away; I went to a school that doesn’t pay for their students to come back and try to finish for their degree. And that’s where it hit home. You’ve got to get your degree. That’s why you’re here.
Now to this silly notion that “well the other kids are doing it” idea… umm what’s wrong with being unique? Why is it soooo important to destroy that which makes Division 1 football unique?
So what would I do to fix what is broken?
First… this auto-qualifier notion for certain conferences has got to stop. Does anyone really think that anyone from the ACC or Big East deserves to be in a BCS Bowl game? UCONN is ranked 25th in the nation… they are only in the Fiesta Bowl… because they won the Big East.
This association with some bowl games to certain conferences… has got to stop. I know… its tradition for the Rose Bowl to match up the Big Televen winner versus the PAC-10 winner (except in 2010)…. but well… here let me explain it this way… here are the 10 teams who finished atop the BCS standings … and the bowl game they are playing in.
1 – Auburn – BCS National Championship vs. #2 Oregon
2 – Oregon – BCS National Championship vs. # 1 Auburn
3 – TCU – Rose Bowl vs. #5 Wisconsin
4 – Stanford – Orange Bowl vs #13 Virginia Tech
5 – Wisconsin – Rose Bowl vs #3 TCU
6 – Ohio State – Sugar Bowl vs. #8 Arkansas
7 – Oklahoma – Fiesta Bowl vs. Unranked UCONN (AP #25)
8 – Arkansas – Sugar Bowl vs #6 Ohio State
9 – Michigan State – Capital One Bowl vs #16 Alabama
10 – Boise State – Las Vegas Bowl vs #19 Utah
Here is an example of how the 5 major BCS bowl games should have played out:
BCS National Championship Game: Auburn vs Oregon
Rose Bowl – TCU vs Stanford
Fiesta Bowl – Wisconsin vs Ohio State
Sugar Bowl – Oklahoma vs Arkansas
Orange Bowl – Michigan State vs Boise State
Other problems that have to be fixed-
- Preseason polls – Umm looking back on Florida and Texas… didja REALLY think either of them would end the season in the top 10? Really? Cmonnnn. I am the biggest Gator there is… and even I said they shouldn’t be in the top 10.
- All NCAA D-1 conferences should have a conference championship game. BigTeleven and Pac-10 is fixing that problem in 2011, but now the Big-12 will not have one. I mean c’mon. even C-USA has a conference championship game.
- Strength of Schedule – This shouldn’t even be determined until after the championship games have crowned their champions. How can we automatically be determining strength of schedule until after it is all said and done? I may be a Gator.. but I am not a SEC homer. Look at the SEC East… do you really think anyone who had to play a team from the division provided much help in this area? Really? South Carolina was given a gift.
Posted by Woody Bass on December 24, 2010
http://woodybass.com/2010/12/24/tis-the-season-for-the-bcs-open-season-that-is/
So the Gator Nation is once again without a fearless leader. Of course, some within the Gator Nation might attempt to make the argument that the Gator Nation has been without a fearless leader since December 2009 after going 7-5 in the 2010 regular season… but in this blog.. we are a little more fair and more appreciative than to have such an attitude. Regardless if I have great displeasure with the kind of season the Gators had.
But Urban Meyer is now gone and since we are far beyond 24 hours… this time for good.
So Jeremy Foley, Athletic Director for THE University of Florida, is at it again to find the Gator Nation a new head Gator for the Multi-National Champion Gator Football team.
There are lots of articles about what kind of candidate Foley is looking for. Jeremy will get the job done… I don’t think there is any doubt of that and he has even admitted he has learned from the Zook experiment.
That is all fine and well… but what kind of coach does the Gator Nation want?
- First and foremost he has to have a very deep appreciation for the Gator Nation. If he doesn’t already bleed Orange and Blue, he damn well better get a very quick infusion. If he doesn’t love being a Gator and want to call The Swamp home… I don’t want him there wasting our time or money.
- He must be able to acknowledge the inflated expectations of the Gator Nation… and want to exceed them. He should cherish reaching out and being the face of Gator Nation. His is a big job to coach a team and lead an entire nation of followers… that must be a situation he wants to embrace and more importantly can handle. Embrace and cherish who the Gator Nation is, our traditions… then enrich and expand upon them.
- Head coaching experience is an absolute must, but it must be with a proven winning track record. Proven experience as a Coordinator – Offensive or Defensive – is also a must. If he can’t make proper adjustments during the game… we don’t need him. If he can’t see that this or that play just isn’t working but continues to use it anyway… we don’t need him.
- The Head Gator must be a master recruiter. He must be effective hauling in the best talent in America and bring them home to The Swamp as Gators. He must be able to recognize and recruit the best talent to coach these recruits as well. As we have seen over and over again… you can have all the best players your team can handle… but if they do not have the most experienced and knowledgeable staff to take their talents to the next level and build a proper game plan which will utilize the players talents… he will have failed. He knows better than to recruit players he knows would never fit his system or hire a coaching staff who can’t “coach em up”.
- The next ball coach must be a master motivator and want the most disciplined team in America. He must understand that the Gator Nation is tired of off the field issues and penalty after penalty after penalty. If you want the Gator Nation fired up and The Swamp rockin… fire them up. His attitude, his presence carries over to the entire Gator Nation. Just ask Steve Spurrier.
- He must hate our rivals more than we do. It should never be good enough to “just win”… he must want to dominate in all phases of the game – every game. He understands that the sort of attitude to “just win” is not a winning formula to win in the Southeastern Conference or bring home championships. Sure… shake hands be all sportsmanlike once the game is over… but during the game…… you must want total domination to win in this league. No mercy. The Gator Nation recognizes and appreciates a total effort the team puts on the field… even if the good guys come up short… a fantastic effort doesn’t go unappreciated.
Posted by Woody Bass on December 11, 2010
http://woodybass.com/2010/12/11/what-does-the-gator-nation-want-in-the-next-head-gator/
