If the Rockies can't stop Ramirez, Ortiz, or Lowell tonight, then Boston wins it.

They're finally playing at a ballpark with a real outfield. Rockies win.

I'm in a great mood... Georgia just beat Florida... It's a great day indeed...

Allow me a moment of personal absorbtion and let me talk about the fires out here. It's been kind of a big deal to me on several levels, and I have to get it off my chest. The fire closest to me was the Santiago fire. There's a good map, showing the day-by-day progression of the fire, here. Although the prognosis is good at present, and the weather is cooperating at present (it's even drizzling!), it's still burning and only 30% contained. At present almost 1000 homes are threatened, and all of the canyon communities in the area are still under mandatory evacuation orders.

Another good map is here. It's an interactive map, so you can zoom in and out, change it from a road map to a sattelite map (to get a sense of the topography), or a hybrid. Rick Weber's Saddleback church is in the triangle defined by the 241, Portola Parkway, and El Toro Rd. Look at how close the fire came! A bit further south is Lake Mission Viejo. I live just to the west of that. Had the wind been blowing in the right direction hard enough, it could have been very bad. The wind was blowing hard enough, but as luck would have it, not in the right direction. At the most critical time it was mostly blowing due west -- in Dasein's direction -- rather than due south. As a result, and even though he lives many more miles away, Dasein probably suffered worse air quality than I did. The air got pretty dense at times, but it could have been much worse. We got a bit of an ash-dusting as well, but that was mostly due to the Ammo fires in Camp Pendleton, south and west of us, rather than the Santiago fire.

I finally heard from a friend of mine yesterday afternoon, the first time in days. I'll call him Peter, cuz that's his name (don't call him Pete). He's easily the most interesting, most colorful guy I know. He lives in Rose Canyon (part of what is commonly considered the Trabuco Canyon neighborhood) which, like the other canyon communities in the area, are very atypical of SoCal. Getting into the canyons is like stepping back 100 years. They're full of crusty old-timers and eccentrics. Some are dirt poor, some are filthy rich, but they all get along. And it would be hard to find a more colorful bunch.

Phil, one of Peter's neighbors, decided to stay despite the evacuation order. Phil raises goats, pigs, and avocados, and I've never seen him dressed in anything but bib overalls and either a flannel shirt or t-shirt (depending on the weather). If Phil steps off his property, he'll get arrested. That's the way it is right now -- the authorities can't order you off your property, but if you voluntarily step off it, you'll be arrested. They'll phrase it in some other way, but the charge boils down to "being an idiot".

Phil's wife died a few years ago. She wasn't in her right mind (which itself provided some very interesting moments, but I won't go into them). Phil is one of the most rabid bigots I've ever known, and that's saying something. According to him, all the evils in the US are due to black folks. They're all lazy good-for-nothings, yadda yadda yadda. Then about a year after his wife died he met Callina. She's black. She's also very entertaining. I love that woman, she's hillarious. Yet Phil is still a bigot, and doesn't have any sense of the fundamental hypocrisy in it. To him, Callina is an exception. She's Ethiopian, not black. Callina rolls her eyes and smiles.

I don't get it. But it's really not my place to get it, is it? Apparently they love each other despite the obvious contradictions. Such is life in the canyons. I have a million similar stories -- stories that pit real life against ideology, and the hypocrisy that derives once the theory runs up against life. Real life usually wins out eventually. But often it takes time. Even outside the canyons. But it's oh so entertaining in the canyons, because the time frame is so very different.

Back to Peter... He evacuated his animals to another piece of property he owns in Julian, which is another area throw-backs in SoCal love. Yesterday morning he got the order to evacuate from there! The Harris fire was bearing down on Julian. Back in 2003, everything on that property was burned in the Cedar fire -- except the house. The house was occupied by his ex-wife, who he hasn't been married to for almost 20 years. She has no claim on the place. She occupies it because of Peter's good graces. Yet a few years ago when I first met her -- let me reiterate... within MOMENTS of when I FIRST met her -- she found it SOMEHOW appropriate to lace into Peter, telling me what an asshole he was. The occasion was their daughter's wedding, which took place on Peter's Rose Canyon property. He built a freakin' ridiculous 3-story gazebo in honor of the occasion, built from scrap wood he obtained on the cheap when they rennovated the Angels stadium in ANAHEIM (NOT Los Angeles). Consequently, the fence slats have seat numbers on them. He pre-assembled as much as he could, then had about 40 friends put it up over a weekend. We just about did it, too! At least the superstructure. The idea was to put it up quick so that by the time the housing authority noticed, it would be an "existing structure". It's still there, so apparently it worked. And I haven't had so much fun working my ass off in a good 30 years.

But I digress. He ended up transporting his animals to a friend's spread in Imperial valley. And both places are still under mandatory evacuation orders. So he ended up transporting them again to a friend's ranch further east in Imperial Valley. The Harris fire is still burning largely uncontained too. But hopefully by the time it gets that deep into Imperial Valley his stable in Rose Canyon will become available.

All in all, it really has sucked around here. Just about everyone south of LA has worried to one degree or another about themselves, their loved ones, their livelihood, and ultimately their lifestyle. It's going to take a while to work back up through that onion of concern. And I haven't heard a damned thing -- not one damned thing -- from my congressman, and precious little from those of surrounding areas.

As for baseball... I'm having a hard time giving a rat's ass.

Ricorun,

I hope they soon get the fires under control and everything works out for the best; although, for some, that's obviously not the case. Next will be the rains and mudslides.

How much would it have helped if some of that underbrush and dead vegetation had been removed? From some of the news reports I heard, various environmental groups had filed suits in the courts and prevented people from even clearing near their houses. If that's the case, I would think some of those who lost their homes could sue in return.

AAR

Ricorun,
You and everyone else out there is in my prayers. We went through a fire here a year ago and our family added an extra 8 members overnight (2 adults, 5 teenagers, 1 dog). Fortunately,, the fire was under control within a couple of days. If there is anything I can do to help, please ask.

Rico,

Glad to here you are OK. Enjoyed the stories about your friends. A couple of year ago I rented a Harley in San Diego and road out to Julian. I enjoyed the ride and the countryside.

What a tragedy for all of you out there. Our prayers are with you.

Does anyone know if Thrower and his family are OK?

I hope the catch the bastards that started the fire.

Hey did anyone see the FEMA press conference?

It sorta reminded me of the Foxnews Interviews they used to have with Cheney.

Thanks for the concern Phnx. I am genuinely touched. We went to bed at 2:30 on Sunday Night/Monday morning with the Witch fire twenty miles away. I figured we would pack up in the morning as it appeared the fire might reach here by evening. We were awakened two hours later by a cell phone call from a friend who lives couple of miles north saying they were on I-15 heading south and houses on their street were on fire. That was absolutely stunning. We were gone in ten minutes lugging photo albums, financial records and a suitcase of clothes.

We were able to determine that our kids were safe and we were all reunited at my in-law's house in the SDSU area on Monday night. For the next 48-hours we were only able to verify our house was still there because the answering machine responded to our calls.

As strange as it might seem, my wife and I were OK with the possibility we might lose the house because it was beyond our control. We were gearing up for the challenge of rebuilding, but thankfully the fire never got south of my friend's neighborhood.

The best aspect of this nightmare is the way the community pulled together to help those who were displaced. We received multiple offers of lodging from friends, and we returned the offers when we were allowed to return home on Thursday and other areas were threatened. The emergency system worked effectively, and loss of life was absolutely minimal given the immense size of the fire.

The downside is that this is obviously a harbinger of things to come in SoCal. We were almost thirty-five years between major wildfires leading up to the Cedar fire, and this one came exactly four years later. Fox News caught some hell for suggesting it might be terrorism, but that thought occurred to me too given the almost simultaneous outbreak of fires in multiple geographically dispersed areas. Sad to say, that is obviously a vulnerably down here that could be exploited.

As far as our immediate environment goes, a beautiful pine tree in our back yard is coming down in the spring. It could easily catch a flying ember and set ours and our neighbor's houses on fire. For me personally, I had shoulder surgery four weeks ago and carrying boxes of photo albums to my truck was an unfortunate decision on my part. My community and I are hurting but recovering.

How will Saturday Night Live parody the FEMA press conference? It's already a joke. Who ARE these idiots and how did they get control of this great nation?

I was in the '94 Northridge earthquake, which cracked my house up pretty good. FEMA came to me within days, inventoried my damage, were friendly, thorough and professional, and comforted me and my family in a way that only supremely competent professionals could have done. They were angels amid chaos.

What the hell happened? Really. WTF?

It sorta reminded me of the Foxnews Interviews they used to have with Cheney.

You sorta remind me of the conversations I used to have with my older sister, Deborah.

I didn't know you were in CA, Thrower, and, although you and I aren't exactly "buds," I too am glad you're okay.

btw, has anyone heard from kblockhead lately? Is she from CA, too? If so, we should all say a prayer for her, and hope she's back polluting this blog soon. It's a rather heavy load for Broder to carry on his own, even with stevojerkweed's assistance...

As for the Series, I told you that the Sox would sweep, back before I knew the outcome of Game One. It will end today...

My prayers are with all of those in the fire zones, Godspeed and stay safe.

I do have to ask Thrower about his concerns of this possibly being related to Terrorism. Really? I thought you said terrorism was a justifiable response to Americas imperialism, and nothing to be to terribly concerned about, and that we were wasting our time and treasure fighting it. Would this be justified if it is terrorism?

For all of the lefties who still claim that the war is lost, I submit the following:

Al Jazeera has broadcast excerpts from Osama bin Laden's latest tape, and the jihadists are up in arms. The problem is that, as presented by al Jazeera, al Qaeda in Iraq is in disarray, probably even losing, and bin Laden is desperately trying to encourage radical Muslims to confess their errors and stick together:

Al-Qaida sympathizers have unleashed a torrent of anger against Al- Jazeera television, accusing it of misrepresenting Osama bin Laden's latest audiotape by airing excerpts in which he criticizes mistakes by insurgents in Iraq.
Users of a leading Islamic militant Web forum posted thousands of insults against the pan-Arab station for focusing on excerpts in which bin Laden criticizes insurgents, including his followers.

Analysts said the reaction highlighted militants' surprise at bin Laden's words, and their dismay at the deep divisions among al-Qaida and other Iraqi militants that he appeared to be trying to heal.

"It's not about Al-Jazeera, it's about their shock from bin Laden," said Diaa Rashwan, an Egyptian expert on Islamic militant groups. "For the first time, bin Laden, who used to be the spiritual leader who gives guidance, became a critic of al-Qaida and is confessing mistakes. This is unusual."

Baseball? That's the focus of your open thread?

The Blackwater debacle, the price of fuel skyrocketing, the dollar's decline, and the plethora of monumentally important issues and your thread is about baseball?

Lighten up you may say, HOW is my question. Our nation is sinking quickly under your preznits leadership.

I did not write this quote but I find its commentary applicable for open thread.

Horowitz's college tour promoting "Islamofasict" week.

Yeesh.

For your pleasure:

"Let’s discuss, shall we? Islamofascism. The term itself is ridiculous. Any high school student with a mild understanding of the word Fascism can tell you that Islamic terrorists aren’t fascist. They’re fanatical, maniacal, and desperate. They are not countries with leaders that are trying to take over other nations. That’s what we are. They might be nuts to hate Israel, but it’s not really fascism, though historically both did have a hatred of Jews. If that alone is what makes them fascist to you, I suggest you look at your own Christian, Jew-Hating past and ask yourself some hard questions.
Next let’s look at the threat of Iran, which is what this college tour was really about. Their leader might be nuts, but the country as a whole is not a threat, and couldn’t be for many years, until they got a nuke. Even if that day ever comes, the vast majority of the country not only hates Ahmadinejad, but are more pro-America than most Saudi’s. None of the 9/11 hijackers even came from Iran. We’ve had problems with them in the past, but that was also due to the ineffective diplomatic skills of our leaders, the same problems we face now and then some.
And lastly, what is the whole goal of raising this “awareness?” To get Americans onboard for another war, that’s what. But even if Bush and congress do eventually slide towards that, the polls have easily shown that for quite some time we aren’t for it. So even if they were a threat, which luckily they aren’t, you aren’t going to get 70% of the suckers in the country to fall for it again."

Glad to hear you and your family are OK Thrower. Its disasters like this that make us all realize our commonality.

One result of this will be that the insurance companies will change their policies on fire coverage and raise their rates. This happened in South Florida after Hurrican Andrew, and the most recent hurricanes. In some cases home owners couldn't sell their houses because no insurance company would insure them. Some of the companies wanted to drop coverage on houses but retain coverage on cars, which is a money maker for them. The State legislature and the Insurance Commissioner prevented companies from participating in only the lucrative segments of the business.

If this happens in Cal, contact your insurance commissioner, and your local state representatves to ensure this doesn't happen to you.

AgentSmear,

I would have prefered the conference to be called LiberalFascist awareness week. As evidenced by your many mindless posts in the past, you have zero tolerance for disenting opinion and simply begin to shout down ot personally attack those who challenge you.

Secondly, you may want to ask the many dead Sunnis that have challenged AQ and the Islamic fascists in the past only to be killed and silenced and because of their opposition.

But I understand you defending Islamist fascists because of the "birds of a feather must flock together" line of thinking.

Yeesh, smarter liberals please.

We've already had the insurance discussion Phnx. I know what happened in Florida and it is fair to take a second look at premiums rates given the increased combustibility of the terrain here. It is a fine line because housing cost is already through the roof. We had a powerful insurance commissioner in Garamendi, who is now Lieutenant Governor and promises to watch rates carefully.

We are already a politically diverse group down here. Many of our friends come from my participation in track and softball, and they range from Daily Kos liberals to evangelical conservatives. Politics are interesting conversation pieces, positions sometimes even undergo subtle changes but the friendships are strong.

Disasters truly unite us as witness 9-11. There have been times when I wanted to get my hands on Keefer, but if he lost his home he would be welcome in mine and would be treated with compassion and respect. As awful as these experiences are, they bring out the best in us.

I don't know who Neocon has confused me with. I have never denied the obvious reality of the war on terror, nor am I confused over the extent of the threat. What pains me is that the war in Iraq diverted our attention from the people who planned 9-11, and they are now in nuclear Pakistan creating dangers far worse than we faced six years ago.

Horowitz's college tour promoting "Islamofasict" week.

When the campus leftists actually allow him to speak, which is not always the case.

Islamofascism. The term itself is ridiculous.

It seems you have a point. How does one combine the teachings of Mohammed with those of Mussolini? But on the other hand, fanatical muslims and that other fascist distator, Hitler, seem to be on the same page when it comes to attitudes about Jews.

AAR: How much would it have helped if some of that underbrush and dead vegetation had been removed? From some of the news reports I heard, various environmental groups had filed suits in the courts and prevented people from even clearing near their houses. If that's the case, I would think some of those who lost their homes could sue in return.

Lots of angry accusations have been floated around. Some are likely to be true, others not. It's very hard to tell at this point. Around here if you have tall grass or dry tinder on your property you'll get cited. But in the grand scheme of things, that amounts to a drop in the bucket. The size of the wilderness areas around here are huge. The idea of keeping them all free of underbrush is almost certainly impractical.

One of the things that is talked about a lot is whether fire fighting agencies have been too aggressive in knocking down smaller fires that occur in more controllable situations. The result is that the underbrush builds up and eventually burns when the circumstances are unfavorable leading to major conflagrations. The winds were unbelievable last week, and they served to blow glowing embers for miles, burning down houses and touching off more fires in places that were a long way from the existing fireline.

I'm glad to hear hear you, Thrower, and your family and friends are safe, as is your home. I hope that's true of everyone you know. The firefighters did an amazing job in a very difficult situation to keep the loss to a minimum. It's true that "disasters unite us". But it is also true that for most folks, "politics are interesting conversation pieces" and little more. In real life you can't ignore others' humanity like you can on the internet. When dealing with real people, ideology takes a back seat. You deal with the person first and foremost, and what sort of bumper sticker they have on their car is the least of concerns -- even when no disaster is involved.

I try to throw in a personal anecdote from time to time (e.g., the story of Phil and Callina) to try to remind people that in the end we're talking about real people, with real lives. And real people often lead complicated lives.

THANK YOU SIR MAY I HAVE ANOTHER!

Hey there its open thread, howzabout this tidbit.

Why, oh why does this not surprise me. Your WAR preznit.

From the Yale Daily News:

Cartoonist Garry Trudeau '70 said he thinks a little-known fact about President George W. Bush '68's past -- that his first mention in The New York Times occurred in 1967 when, as former president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter at Yale, Bush defended the fraternity's practice of branding its pledges with a red-hot coat hanger -- deserves more national attention.

On Sunday, Trudeau's cartoon "Doonesbury" featured fictional character Mark Slackmeyer explaining the President's position against current anti-torture legislation by revisiting a series of 1967 Yale Daily News articles that exposed DKE's rush activities, which at the time included brandings and alleged beatings. Soon after these stories were published, the University's Inter-Fraternity Council fined the fraternity for performing "physically and mentally degrading acts," and the Times published an article in which Bush defended the brandings, comparing them to cigarette burns.

"At the time, it caused quite a stir on campus, even generating some national attention," Trudeau said.

The News article, published Nov. 3, 1967, featured a photograph of a half-inch high "D" burned into a pledge's naked backside. Trudeau drew his first cartoon for the News for the story -- a picture of smiling pledges, naked and bent over at the waist, with a figure holding a DKE branding iron standing over them.

In a News story the next day, Bush is quoted calling the branding "insignificant." He said he did not understand how the News "can assume Yale has to be so haughty not to allow this type of pledging to go on."

Trudeau's recent cartoon comes on the heels of the controversy over Sen. John McCain's Anti-Torture Amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill. The amendment, which would outlaw torture and "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees in U.S. custody," passed in the Senate 90-9 on Oct. 5, but Bush has threatened to use his first-ever veto on the bill if McCain's provision is included in the final passage.

Trudeau said he drew parallels between Bush's connection to fraternity hazing and his national policy today because he feels that it reveals a lot about the President's philosophy.

"While you can't draw a direct line between a 19-year-old's fraternity activities and national policy … this is part of a larger picture of this administration's belief that the ends justify the means," Trudeau said. "I don't think [Bush] gives much thought to what it means to torture people or how it makes us look in the eyes of the world."

The 1967 Yale Daily News article provided a look into the covert hazing practices of fraternities in general, but focused on the DKE branding. Some pledges at the time told the News their branding was preceded by a physical beating.

"By that time, my body was so numb [from the beatings] that the iron felt good, like a match was being held close to my body," an anonymous DKE pledge told the News in 1967.

While the article provoked outrage in the Greek community, most of those who complained expressed anger that fraternities' reputations were being called into question, though few charged that the story was fabricated.

"Once the article came out, nobody denied its truth," Trudeau said. "It became simply a question of characterization."

But in a 1967 letter to the News, Collister Johnson '68 -- who recently served as Bush's Ohio campaign manager and national field director during the 2004 presidential election -- wrote that the article contained "embellished facts" and "smacks of sensationalism." Johnson could not be reached for comment yesterday at his home office in Virginia.

Albert Evans '68, a college acquaintance of Bush's and the president of the Inter-Fraternity Council in 1967, said the majority of DKE's rush activities at the time were performed in the spirit of good fun and camaraderie.

"What DKE was doing was clearly outside the rules, and they were sanctioned for that," Evans said. "At the same time, it wasn't of the order that somebody was killed."

Although he was quoted by the News at the time as saying that the branding was "not as bad as it sounds," Evans said he disapproved of the practice when it was revealed.

"My personal reaction was, 'I can't believe they'd do that,' but not, 'Why aren't these people being expelled?'" Evans said. "We all did something in our four years we're just as glad wasn't reported in the Yale Daily News."

The White House did not respond to requests for comment before press time.

Yeesh...

Hey, the guy at FEMA responsible for the so-called "press conference" who resigned in shame, John "Pat" Philbin?

THEY JUST HIRED HIM AT THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE! This WaPo article pushes his apology, crocokile tears and all, then in the very last sentence - GOOD GOD!

Astonishing! The guy demonstrates a horrific lapse in ethics and judgment at FEMA, so the PROMOTE him to National Intelligence! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?!?!?!

Read the ODNI WEBSITE, then think about who they just hired...

Defend this. Someone. Please.

Mark, do you think that if Vice President Dick Cheney changed his mind tommorrow and decided to run for president, do you feel he would immediately jump ahead of all the nominees on the GOP side. I know he is not going to change his mind, but if he did, he would have my vote. I just wanted your opinion.

Agent, maybe we're tough enough to not consider "rough" treatment as torture. Maybe we see a spectrum where you don't.

If you really want to read about torture, look into how the Japanese treated us and the Brits in WW2. You think we compare to that?

Oh, and least while in college he was getting better grades than Kerry and Gore. Apparently he was smarter than them even while drunk and soothing a hanger brand.