Tim Tebow and Demaryius Thomas - Denver Broncos rookies show skills

The talk about Tim Tebow's Hillbilly haircut aside, both the heralded quarterback and fellow Denver Broncos NFL 1st Round Draft Pick Wide Receiver Demaryius Thomas put on a show for 20,782 fans at Invesco Field at Mile High Saturday night, according to The Denver Post. The audience formed a record crowd for this annual "open practice" event.

Tim Tebow threw a 24-yard touchdown strike to Thomas, then celebrated by doing a flying chest-bump with him after the score. "I think it's great for us to come down here and play in an atmosphere like this," Denver Head Coach Josh McDaniels said to The Denver Post. "I think the guys who hadn't done it before start to understand what Denver's all about and how much this city loves this football team, and we're all blessed to be able to coach and play for it."

Brady Quinn plays catchup

As of this writing Quarterback Kyle Orton, who has more experience in the system Denver Head Coach Josh McDaniels installed, is the best performing passer. Brady Quinn, the Notre Dame quarterback who was drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft 1st Round by Cleveland, then traded to Denver after the 2009 season, has some catching up to do. That's why Quinn's getting more reps in practice, but Orton's said to be light years ahead of Quinn and Tebow.

But at Saturday's practice, Tebow, who's only seen sporadic on field action to this point, was allowed to direct an entire drive and before fans who came out to see him play. Tim Tebow's the fan favorite.

Demaryius Thomas comes into his own

If you regularly read this space, you remember meeting Demaryius Thomas at the 2010 NFL Draft in this video interview:



And where we talked about Demaryius Thomas playing with Tim Tebow at Denver. Well, after Saturday's touchdown pass from Tebow, it looks like the two are off to a promising future. The only thing standing in their way are the other teams of the AFC West, especially the Kansas City Chiefs and The Oakland Raiders, which have added the most promising sets of talented rookies in the division.

Stay tuned.

茶分心 - Tea Party Distraction

Many of the pundits and commentators have been speculating, uttering for public consumption variations on a disingenuous theme: the Tea Party threatens to undermine the grand old Republican party. Are you falling for it? Nothing could lead you further from the truth.

Ask what motivates those who echo this "conventional wisdom"

In the case of most employed in the media the answer is simple enough, they seek attention because their producers use ratings as the primary metric - corporate media thrives on advertising revenues, which rise and fall with ratings. Relatively few fans realize credibility takes a back seat to celebrity -- logic is overwhelmed by the profit motives of the "business" of news coverage.

The goal of an expert political commentator has some of that same need for attention, interwoven with the complex agendas of using their pulpit to at once distract and mislead their opponents, hopefully to such an extent they become depressed and disenfranchised, while inspiring and energizing those who contribute to their party's success via both votes and on-going media "success."

Consider the two major factions

In the case of a political strategist the goals, at least, are clear even though the strategies and tactics often defy attempts by the pundits to explain, let alone forecast.  The political strategist cares not - the pundits are a tool, and persuading them to portray the process in a way that conveys advantage to the strategist's cause doesn't require the understanding and consent of the media, although that willingness to play along (as the Fox network is generally charged with doing during the previous administration) has obvious benefits.

Both major parties seek to expand their influence and control. Since voters often forego logic when deciding who to empower, the original goal of a political party has to bow, at least in part, to pragmatic reliance on persuasion to preserve their bureaucratic turf.

The Democrats would be delighted if more people accept that the Tea Party signals the decline of the GOP no matter what the party strategists may or may not believe.  The Republicans party's goal is to use the coverage to suggest that either the mood of the country is more right-leaning than it was as the electorate swung from supporting Bush administration initiatives to sweeping Obama and Democrats into office, or that voters who feel that way are shrugging off their lethargy and energized enough to matter nationwide in the looming elections - although we hear over and over that all politics are local.

What does the Tea Party represent?

The Tea Party ideology may have had legitimate, grassroots origins, but it's now a tool of right-wing strategists who spread the story of their concern that it attracts extremists and all manner of unsavory and under-educated bigots while disingenuously stressing the threat to the GOP if Republicans don't accommodate and react. The appeararnce of a growing third party movement even further to the right than the Republicans sets up the GOP strategists to market their candidates as "middle of the road" moderates in the political spectrum. Brilliant not simply as strategic ploy, but also because it's lately become impossible to continue winning votes by touting the GOP brand as compassionate,  fiscally conservative, or good for small business interests.

On most ballots in November, though, there will only be Democrats and Republicans; the GOP will have invested in looking sensible and middle-of-the-road in their coordinated advertising campaigns while many Democrats will rely on voters to make the logical choices.  Logically, of course, more voters are aligned with what Democrats have accomplished and Democratic candidates advocate. But compared to the media coverage of Tea Party rallies replete with misspelled signs and hats festooned with tea bags the Republicans will seem close to most voter's self-image: sensible and moderate.

The Tea Party is now, above all else and quite regardless of the beliefs and goals of its founders or participants, an excellent marketing tool to reposition and re-brand the GOP in advance of the 2010 general elections.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, Democratic Campaign Manager, journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Tim Tebow Haircut looks more like Hillbilly than friar

Sophie Monk 

Denver Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow's sporting a wacky hair style that this space thinks makes him look like a Hillbilly. One of the first posts on the Tim Tebow Haircut was here, but now some have claimed that he's supposed to look like a monk. Er, no way.

There are several kinds of Monks.

For example, there's the super hot Sophie Monk, and Tim Tebow looks nothing like her, even on a good day for him and a bad day for her. There's also Monk from the TV Show Monk, and Tim Tebow with haircut looks nothing like him at all.

Nope, Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos rookie, looks like a Hillbilly. He's got the classic look of hair on the side, beard, and bald top.

The real question is will he keep his HillBilly hair? Time will tell.

Tim Tebow: Denver Broncos Rookie QB has Hillbilly Haircut

Quarterback Tim Tebow, once The Heisman Trophy-winning signal caller of the Florida Gators and now the Denver Broncos 1st pick in the 1st Round of The 2010 NFL Draft, is just a rookie trying to fit in with a new team.

To do so, it seems Tim Tebow will stop at nothing, including wearing a haircut that makes him look like a hillbilly.

Tim Tebow looks like a cross between Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillys, Shaggy of Scooby Do, and some Hollywood movie monster.

In short, Tim Tebow looks laughably horrible.

The person who took the picture of Tebow and spread it around Twitter and the Internet, Former USC fullback Lendale White, wrote "Way to go Rook" at his Twitpic page.

Regardless of how you feel about Tim Tebow, it's hard to argue that he's trying to fit in and doing a good job at it.

Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Russ Grimm in NFL Hall of Fame: Kenny Stabler for 2011

Kenny Stabler 

The NFL 2010 Hall of Fame Class is in: Dick LeBeau, Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Russ Grimm, Floyd Little, and John Randle make up what is, if not the best NFL Hall of Fame classes, then one of the best ones.

But such a discussion of the best class inevitably turns to talk of who should be in the next one. This blogger pushes for Oakland Raiders Quarterback Kenny "The Snake" Stabler.

Ok, let's get this out of the way: I grew up not just watching Stabler, but attending Oakland Raiders games at the Oakland Coliseum.  Everything from rain-drenched affairs to the playoff game against the Steelers in 1976, and even beyond Stabler's time after the Raiders returned to Oakland.

This is not just for Kenny Stabler, but for Oakland and its rich sports tradition.   But Stabler has been a key architect of it.

Kenny Stabler has all of the records and stories that go with being an NFL Hall of Fame player: he's won a Super Bowl, led the Oakland Raiders of the 1970s which posted dramatically successful records during that decade, and posted wins for the Silver and Black in some of the most storied games in NFL history, from the "Holly Roller" play against the San Diego Chargers in 1978...



To the Raiders' "Sea of Hands" Clarence Davis catch play against the Miami Dolphins in 1974:



Ken Stabler has played a key role in the formation of NFL history and lore. Stabler should be part of the 2011 NFL Hall of Fame Class.

Omar Thornton: Connecticut shooting an issue of race

Connecticut shooting: Omar Thornton said it was an issue of race.

As it turns out, Omar Thornton, the Connecticut shooting suspect who took eight lives then killed himself last week Wednesday, himself said his actions were all about race and racism.

When this blogger's initial post was issued expressing sadness for the action and concern that some younger black men may not have the mental strength to deal with race, some people went so far as to send emails explaining that his actions had "nothing to do with race."

Well, the 911 call that Omar Thornton made to police after the shooting put an end to all that, and brings my concerns up yet again.

I'm very concerned that we may be allowing a group of African American men to grow up without the mental discipline required to deal with racism. What to do about this is a topic for both discussion and action. It's also one that must include all races of people, not just blacks, because then society would not change.

Omar Thornton sent a dangerous message that, if we don't pay attention to it, could fester and develop in American society. We can't let that happen.

While it's no question that the workplace Omar Thornton was in had racial problems, what Omar Thornton did in response is not the answer. That must be communicated over and over again.

Lady Gaga was that you? by Suzannah B. Troy

I was walking down the street here in NYC and I heard someone yell out, "Hey, Lady Gaga!" and it did look like her.   Who knows...only Lady Gaga knows.   TMZ has a racy video of her body surfacing with fans and their hands moving her like Niagara Falls...the movements rough, rapid and full of life.

I got the new Vanity Fair Issue to read the piece on disgraced money manger to king Mike Bloomberg but of course I read the cover story on Lada Gaga.

Here is the Vanity Fair Photo Cover shoot of Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga is the star of The Vanity Fair cover, the name of another posting on VF.

Lady Gaga on Sex, Fame, Drugs and Her Fans....

For Lady Gaga fans the issue of Vanity Fair is a must have.  For those waiting for more corruption to be exposed at City Hall reading the Steve Rattner article is a must not only for what is reported but mostly what is not reported including Rattner and Bloomberg shifting some of Bloomberg's money to the Cayman Islands.   If Steve Rattner gets banned by the SEC for three years than it will mean a third shift for king Mike Bloomberg's 5 billion Steve Rattner is suppose to be money managing.  You see the first shift was out of Quadrangle because denial is Steve Rattner's cocaine, along with every corrupt politico and Rattner thought Quadrangle would take the fall not him.  Wrong.  So denial still in play, Rattner shifts Mike's 5 billion to a new created company.  If and when Steve Rattner gets banned by the SEC the money will have to be shifted yet again or Rattner can sell the company yet again like he did Quadrangle but will Mike Bloomberg still be able to stand by his man?  Ditto for the owners of The New York Times and The New York Daily news both very good friends and I believe both have had their money managed by Rattner.   The Vanity Fair title "The Smartest Guy in The Room" but truly if you look at the big picture, perhaps the dumbest.  From Albany to City Hall denial is the new crack cocaine.  How ironic under Mike Bloomberg heroin is cheaper to buy and sell than cigarettes but denial is the new crack cocaine -- because it's free... most used and abused by politicians, rich people and celebrities in trouble with the law or those lucky so far to avoid getting busted.

Anyway, if you just want to think happy thoughts than stick to the Lady Gaga article and enjoy.  Vanity Fair even smells delicious.  For depressed people you might want to read Christopher Hitchens piece on his battle with cancer.  There is a photo of him and it is shocking.

Lady Gaga may be the way to go.  Her meteoric success is something I think she is still trying to absorb but one thing is very clear.  Gaga loves her fans and deeply appreciates them.  She spends time with them...there are peeks "peaks" in to this love affair in the fun piece.  This issue of Vanity Fair has something for almost everybody.

Megan Avalon for FHM 100 Sexiest Women in The World

Megan Avalon, the San Francisco Bay Area's super hot female bodybuilder, again shows why she should be one of FHM Magazine's Top 100 Sexiest Women In The World. In Megan Avalon Female Muscle Webcam - no sound, Megan shows her tanned, muscular, body that causes her to be called "Barbie with Muscles."



Metacafe, DailyMotion, StupidVideos and Viddler

Megan Avalon is also an excellent personal trainer and spokes model. Her unique combination of personality, power, strength, female muscularity, and sexy hotness make Megan an excellent choice for FHM 100 Sexiest Women in The World.

Megan recently won the Sports Division of the Silver and Black Women's Bodybuilding Classic in Oakland, California.

Visit Megan's website at MeganAvalon.net

Megan Avalon for FHM 100 Sexiest Women in The World

Megan Avalon, the San Francisco Bay Area's super hot female bodybuilder, again shows why she should be one of FHM Magazine's Top 100 Sexiest Women In The World. In Megan Avalon Female Muscle Webcam - no sound, Megan shows her tanned, muscular, body that causes her to be called "Barbie with Muscles."

Megan Avalon is also an excellent personal trainer and spokes model. Her unique combination of personality, power, strength, female muscularity, and sexy hotness make Megan an excellent choice for FHM 100 Sexiest Women in The World.

Megan recently won the Sports Division of the Silver and Black Women's Bodybuilding Classic in Oakland, California.

Visit Megan's website at MeganAvalon.net

Bloomberg violates artist's 1st Amendment rights! by Suzannah B. Troy

Dear Zennie Blog Readers:

First thanks for tuning in and I am reporting to you from NYC. If you do not live here than you might be unaware of the shocking injustices that are going on. There are many to tell but for today I am only talking about Artists' 1st Amendment rights being violated in Union Square and many places in NYC where artists are in theory allowed to be vendors but the city and at Union Square the Parks department is putting on the heat with the goal to drive artists out of Union Square.  It seems king Mike Bloomberg wants to make the unemployment rates much higher than they are.  They are high for the country and NYC and of course unemployment rates are under reported and for many earning a living many say they are not earning a living wage including the NYPD who often work two jobs just to survive and support their families.

I make reference to my blog which focuses on corruption in NYC politics. What is very disturbing is king Mike Bloomberg and his "ruling party class", (I say party -- because their emphasis is on partying and there are no "stop and frisk", metal detectors and drug sniffing dogs for the rich party class and most of all they want to feel they are above the law. In NYC more and more it is about two laws. One for the poor/middle class and one for the rich; actually mostly the rich are above the law.  The goal seems to displace, drive out as many New Yorkers as possible from eminent domain abuse to simply ticketing New Yorkers up to their eyeballs.  On my blog I show you how rich people are never ticketed and it is more than confusing when poor and middle class people are ticketed so unjustly.  A working class man that sells water for a dollar and has a vendor's license was given a $1,000 ticket by an NYPD officer because the officer said water is food.  This poor guy has a family to support.  Back to the artists....



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDSw7kT8eHk


Special note to my loyal blog readers:  In the interview with Miriam I ask her to tell me about one of her unique art works with clocks in it.  She responds the title of the work is "Time Discovers Truth" the quote by Seneca.

This was very significant for me.   I have more news and I am not posting on the blog.  A "special" email went out and phone calls were made.   Time does discover truth and the key is patience.   Anyone following my blog knows the theme and perhaps the context...

Miriam and Tony explain to these young men about why they are here in the park protesting.  I am so glad they stopped to talk with Tony and Miriam.  They seemed to genuinely care.

Trapped By Fear -- Art by Miriam West

Tony and Miriam worked on the small Gandhi necklace together.  Their visual is very beautiful.  They have one more Gandhi left and I am buying it!  I am so grossed out by rich people trying to get my work for as little as possible I happily pay fellow artists for their work.

If you click on this photo you can see Gandhi - the sculpture in the park.   I had to walk around many trucks and tents to get to Gandhi and no artists were obscuring the Gandhi sculpture at all as Adrian Benepe thought and as far as the fountain -- the fountain area and the entire park is crowded so why single out artists and violate their 1st Amendment rights king Mike Bloomberg and Adrian Benepe?

We have no problem with the Farmers Market but please don't blame the artists for obscuring any thing to do with Gandhi with my photos give you just a hint of trucks and tents obscuring the sculpture,  not artists!!

Crude Movie: Leonardo DiCaprio, DGA, Trudie Styler, Hollywood misfire

Inception's Leonardo DiCaprio, The Director's Guild of America (DGA), and actress and rainforest activist Trudie Styler (wife of rock musician Sting) who has been one of the most active promoters of the movie “Crude” by director Joe Berlinger, which paints Chevron as the culprit in polluting the Ecuadorian Amazon, have all been fooled in their campaign to block access to 600 hours of cut footage from the movie.

The movie may prove to be the biggest break in proving the innocence of Chevron (and Texaco, which it acquired in 2000), and lead to pointing the finger of the cause of real environmental damage where it should be: at Ecuador's government.

This week Chevron’s lawyers introduced outtakes from the movie that demonstrate the lead attorney, Steven Donziger met and virtually directed the ‘independent’ court report that found Chevron guilty of $27 billion dollars in damages.

The “Crude” outtakes provide a shocking look at the arrogance of Donziger. Donziger calls his own case against Chevron "… just a bunch of smoke and mirrors and bullshit. It really is."

Steven Donziger's admission of lack of evidence against Chevron reveals to what degree people will go to win a ton of money from an entry perceived as having a lot of it. This blogger's working to get the actual film clip, as it will be damning.

Bottomline: the case against Chevron for alleged pollution is all but over now that Donziger has been captured on film admitting the false charges against Chevron were created to “get money” and that there is no evidence to support the lawsuit against the oil company.

The point here is just because an oil company is an oil company, does not mean anyone can file false claims against them and expect them to stick.

Stay tuned.

Mark Hurd : Former HP CEO ousted with $40 million - fraud, sex scandal claims

Mark Hurd 

What a way to make $40 million: Mark Hurd became Hewlett Packard's CEO, then got into alleged sex scandal and sexual harassment trouble, only to be ousted from HP with a $40 million severance package, including $12 million payable in 30 days from his departure.

(But to put that in perspective, Hurd earned $24.2 million in 2009, just down from $42 million in 2008, according to TechCrunch.)

According to Business Week, while HP's investigation found that Hurd, who's married according to TechCrunch, was not guilty of sexual harassment of a now former marketing contractor, Hurd did violate the tech firm's business practices policy.

What Hurd did that really got him into trouble was filing a false expense report to cover up his relationship. A letter to HP employees by HP's CFO Cathie Lesjak, who's now interim CEO, tells the whole story from overview perspective and was posted at Engaget. Here's what it reads:

This is to advise you that Mark Hurd, Chairman and CEO of HP, has resigned from the company effective immediately. Mark's resignation was submitted at the request of the company's Board of Directors as a result of inappropriate behavior in which he engaged that violated HP's Standards of Business Conduct and undermined his ability to continue to lead the company.

At the request of the Board I have agreed to serve as interim CEO until a new, permanent CEO is hired. During this time I also will continue to perform my duties as CFO. The Board has formed a committee to undertake a search for a new CEO, and candidates from inside the company as well as outside the company will be considered. I have informed the Board, however, that I do not wish to be considered for the role of permanent CEO, and I have removed myself from being a candidate for that position.

While this news is unexpected, HP remains in an exceptionally strong position both financially and in the marketplace. It is essential, however, that we remain focused and continue to achieve – if not exceed – our operational and financial objectives.

Because there is likely to be considerable media coverage of this announcement during the next few days, I wanted to be the first to share the facts with you.

Mark's resignation followed an internal investigation into a claim of sexual harassment asserted against Mark and HP by a woman who is former contractor to HP. The investigation was conducted by outside counsel in conjunction with HP's General Counsel's office and was overseen by the Board. Based on the investigation it was determined that the former contractor's claim of sexual harassment was not supported by the facts.

The investigation did reveal, however, that Mark had engaged in other inappropriate conduct. Specifically, based on the facts that were gathered it was found that Mark had failed to disclose a close personal relationship he had with the contractor that constituted a conflict of interest, failed to maintain accurate expense reports, and misused company assets. Each of these constituted a violation of HP's Standards of Business Conduct, and together they demonstrated a profound lack of judgment that significantly undermined Mark's credibility and his ability to effectively lead HP.

As we regularly remind all employees, each of us is expected to adhere strictly to the Standards of Business Conduct in all of our business dealings and relationships. This expectation applies with even greater force to HP's CEO and other senior executives who, given their positions, must set the highest standard for professional and personal conduct. The investigation that was conducted revealed that Mark had failed to meet this standard.

We recognize that this change in leadership is unexpected news. We also know that HP's success in recent years is due to the collective efforts and hard work of more than 300,000 talented employees who have formulated far-reaching strategies and achieved our objectives better than anyone else in the industry.
On Monday morning we will conduct an all-employee webcast to discuss this matter further and answer your questions. To join the webcast please click on this link.

In closing, I would like to thank each of you for your contributions to HP, and to ask that in the weeks and months to come we do everything to ensure that HP's future, like its past, is one of innovation, operational excellence, and the delivery of world-class products and services.

All the best.
Cathie