Al Davis Did What? By Nick Haswell-Football Reporters Online

Al Davis Did What?
By Nick Haswell-Football Reporters Online

Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders just traded their 2011 First Round Draft Pick to the New England Patriots for Future Hall of Fame Defensive End Richard Seymour. This is just the latest transaction by the Raiders that proves the insanity of Owner Al Davis. It’s almost hard to imagine that the Raiders were participants in Super Bowl XXXVII, just 7 seasons ago. Since the morning of that game, where All-Pro Center Barrett Robbins went AWOL before the game, the Raiders have become the joke of the NFL. The Raiders have a record of 24-72 and a winning percentage of .250 since 2003, good for the worst record and winning percentage in the NFL. As Al Davis has gotten older, it seems that his roster moves and coaching hires have gotten crazier. Here is a look at the top 5 reasons that Al Davis has gone crazy since 2003:
5. Signing DE/DT Tommy Kelly to a seven-year, $50.5 million contract in 2008: A 4-year pro that has never been to a Pro Bowl and is coming off a torn ACL gets the largest contract ever for a defensive tackle. That’s exactly what the Raiders did by re-signing Tommy Kelly. Kelly was a defensive end his first four seasons in the NFL, but with Warren Sapp retiring, Al Davis was compelled to overpay to re-sign Kelly and move him and his 6-6, 300 lbs. frame to defensive tackle. But to sign Kelly to a contract that paid him more than Albert Haynesworth (in 2008), Kevin and Pat Williams, and Vince Wilfork is quite ridiculous.
4. Offering Head Coaching Position to Tom Cable following 2008 season: Tom Cable is a fine offensive line coach and has been a very successful offensive coordinator at the college level at Colorado and UCLA. But as a head coach, he has a less impressive resume. As a head coach at the University of Idaho from 2000 to 2003, Cable’s record was 11-35, with 4 consecutive losing seasons. After taking over for Lane Kiffin during the 2008 season, Cable led the Raiders to a 4-8 finish. His head coaching record is not exactly worthy of a head coaching position in the NFL.
3. Trading 2011 First Round Pick to Patriots for Richard Seymour: Trading for a future Hall of Famer is not a crazy idea. But trading away a First Round Draft Pick for a player that could only be in uniform for one season is. Not only could Richard Seymour not be on the Raiders past 2009, but given the Raiders past performance, the Raiders could lose a top 10 draft pick in 2011. And how much will this move improve the Raiders, to win 5 or 6 wins, instead of 4? But the Raiders and Al Davis are desperate to improve their run defense, which has been the worst in the NFL the past several seasons. But exactly where Seymour fits in Oakland’s defense is in question. Seymour has been a 3-4 defensive end his entire career. By being traded to the Raiders, Seymour either moves to a 4-3 defensive end or to a 3-technique defensive tackle, where Tommy Kelly is currently starting.
2. 2009 NFL Draft: Wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin were still on the draft board when the Raiders drafted in the #7 overall spot in the 2009 NFL Draft. But Al Davis and the Raiders surprised everyone and drafted speedster receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey from Maryland. Davis and the Raiders are notorious for their love of players with speed, especially with skill position players. Heyward- Bey ran the fastest 40-time at the 2009 NFL Combine at 4.30 seconds. But he is not a polished route-runner and doesn’t possess the best hands. Heyward-Bey was projected as a late first or second round pick. And then in the second round the Raiders selected safety Mike Mitchell from Ohio. Mitchell was considered a late round pick, but Al Davis surprised everyone and took Mitchell early in the second round, when he could have taken him several rounds later.
1. Offering Head Coaching Position to Lane Kiffin: When Art Shell was fired by the Oakland Raiders in 2007, one of the first people Al Davis contacted for the open head coaching job was USC co-offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. After being rebuffed by Sarkisian, Davis moved on to bringing in Sarkisian’s co-coordinator at USC, Lane Kiffin. Despite never being a head coach at any level, or coaching a position at the NFL level (Kiffin was the offensive quality control coach for the Jaguars in 2000), Davis offered the position to Kiffin. Kiffin’s tenure with the Raiders was contentious, almost from the start. There were reports that Kiffin entertained the idea of leaving the Raiders for a college head coaching job before the end of the 2007 NFL Season. Reportedly, Al Davis drafted up Kiffin’s resignation papers following the 2007 season for Kiffin to sign, but Kiffin refused to sign them because he would lose a guaranteed $2 million by signing the papers. Al Davis needs a puppet as his head coach, as Davis has the last word on roster moves and coaching hires. Kiffin was not one who would cooperate with Al Davis in this capactity and his hiring and firing ended up turning the Raider organization into even more chaos.

Richard Seymour may not report to the Oakland Raiders

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According to my friend Mike Florio over at ProFootballTalk.com, the Oakland Raiders trade for Richard Seymour may be scuttled by one action: Seymour's not reporting to the Raiders.

According to Mike and also Peter King of SI.com, Seymour is "angry" that he was traded to the Oakland Raiders, described as "football's literal black hole" over at Profootballtalk.com.

Peter King writes:

Seymour, I'm told, is angry about the deal. He lives in Foxboro, has children he may have to relocate to new schools as the school year dawns and has to get acclimated to a new defense (and an awful team) a week before the opening game. "I would not be surprised if he doesn't report,'' a good friend of Seymour's told me Sunday. I would. Aside from not earning his 2009 salary of $3.7 million, Seymour wouldn't be able to be a free-agent if he doesn't play this year. As it stands now, his contract is up after this year, and if he plays well and stays healthy, he could hit the jackpot when next year's probable uncapped season plays out.

So what's looked like a trade with a possible upside may turn into a complete disaster. How can the Raiders fix this? With CEO Amy Trask putting in a call to Seymour right now on Labor Day to adress his concerns. The call alone would do a lot of good.

Stay tuned.

Richard Seymour may not report to the Oakland Raiders

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According to my friend Mike Florio over at ProFootballTalk.com, the Oakland Raiders trade for Richard Seymour may be scuttled by one action: Seymour's not reporting to the Raiders.

According to Mike and also Peter King of SI.com, Seymour is "angry" that he was traded to the Oakland Raiders, described as "football's literal black hole" over at Profootballtalk.com.

Peter King writes:

Seymour, I'm told, is angry about the deal. He lives in Foxboro, has children he may have to relocate to new schools as the school year dawns and has to get acclimated to a new defense (and an awful team) a week before the opening game. "I would not be surprised if he doesn't report,'' a good friend of Seymour's told me Sunday. I would. Aside from not earning his 2009 salary of $3.7 million, Seymour wouldn't be able to be a free-agent if he doesn't play this year. As it stands now, his contract is up after this year, and if he plays well and stays healthy, he could hit the jackpot when next year's probable uncapped season plays out.

So what's looked like a trade with a possible upside may turn into a complete disaster. How can the Raiders fix this? With CEO Amy Trask putting in a call to Seymour right now on Labor Day to adress his concerns. The call alone would do a lot of good.

Stay tuned.

President Obama school speech text

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The White House just released the text of President Barack Obama's planned speech to be given on September 8th. The Presidents plan to talk to the school kids of America drew fire from some who believed - and still believe - its a "Trojan Horse" for his political platform. Of course, some of those people - like Alan Keys - think Obama's not American, too:




But President Obama's American, and the speech isn't a political statement. Read the text - carefully and again, slowly.

Here's the speech.

Arlington, Virginia

September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone - how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday - at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.
I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world - and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer - maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper - but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor - maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine - but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life - I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that - if you quit on school - you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.

So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life - what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home - that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer - hundreds of extra hours - to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.

And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education - and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published.

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you - you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song.

You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust - a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor - and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you - don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down - don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Shawne Merriman, Tila Tequila and, her website message

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YouTube.com

ESPN reports that San Diego Chargers Linebacker Shawne Merriman was accused of suspicion "choking and restraining" his girlfriend as she tried to leave his home at 3:45 am. This is what's written on ESPN's website:

Deputies responded about 3:45 a.m. to Merriman's house in Poway, north of San Diego, after a woman called to say she was choked by the player and thrown to the ground when she tried to leave, Sheriff's Department spokesman Jan Caldwell said at a news conference.


Merriman, 25, was taken into custody and booked into the central jail at about 8:30 a.m. He was released shortly after 11 a.m. Caldwell said she didn't know if he posted bail or was released on his own recognizance.


Tequila left Pomerado Hospital at 7:36 a.m. Sunday, ESPN's Colleen Dominguez reported. She was observed and treated, but not admitted. Her stay at the hospital was approximately two hours.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune was interviewed by ESPN's and said "this does not fit with the Sean Merriman I know. Now, I only know Merriman's fantastic football career, and little else, but I know nothing about Tila Tequila, so I went on a little Internet searching spree.

Tequila's real name is Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen, or Tila "Tequila" Nguyen and is known as an MTV star. She had a show on that network called A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila and was on for two years before it ended July 8, 2008. Tequila has been featured in Maxim, Stuff, and Penthouse magazines.

Her MySpace page was reportedly the most popular in pageviews in 2006, which is no mean trick to achieve. So I visited her MySpace page, scrolled down to "About TILA TEQUILA IS IN SAN DIEGO", and found something really interesting...

You've got to read how Tequila describes herself in this message:

You people probably won't even be able to read this because my page is so cluttered...sooo...imma blab a little bit here...hoping you won't read it. Here we go: i like people who are really fucked up. I mean like tormented in one way or another because then i won't feel like such a freak around those that are "normal." nerds, geeks, and freaks are all my friends. Cool people are pretty damn lame. I am very high strung and suffer from multiple personalities. Jane. She's crazy and she always wants to kill me. Tila...poor girl..she works so hard and always wants to make others happy...she deserves a break. I haven't had boyfriend for so long. I always want one, but when there is one around i run. I'm too busy. I love being in love but i hate the consequences. I do a lot of things that are self destructive. I try not to. I like being at home alone...a lot! So much more fun than surrounding myself with a bunch of wacko's out there. I am also bi-polar so that should explain my irratic postings. I like to read. I love to read. I am a nerd. I've always been a nerdy geek trapped inside a umm...woman's body. Yea....that's me. People love me for some reason. I don't know why...i do but i just say i don't know why just to be modest. I want to be a multi-millionaire by the time i reach 25 years of age. And i will.

What I could not help but focus on was this:

I am very high strung and suffer from multiple personalities. Jane. She's crazy and she always wants to kill me. Tila...poor girl..she works so hard and always wants to make others happy...she deserves a break. I haven't had boyfriend for so long. I always want one, but when there is one around i run. I'm too busy.

Now, let me make this clear, I don't care what personality Tila Tequila may have been, choking and restraining any one of them is wrong. But I also know from personal experience anyone who says, let alone blogs, that they "suffer from multiple personalities" and is "bipolar" and "bisexual", is not someone to deal with as they have a tendency to completely self destruct and distort reality and as Woody Allen said in Husbands and Wives "crash their plane right into you."

Unless you crave drama, it's best to run away from such a person just to preserve your sanity.

Also interesting is her Twitter page (which has been "protected" since about four hours ago) and tweets written in French, but loosely translate to..

You did not realize that I knew that you are in love with me, but I am more intelligent than you realize 1:01 PM Sep 5th from web

And this one:

My secret lovers.......always bitter sweet. Love undying....lust then weep...there she goes again.....Where is she now? Who is she with? 12:30 PM Sep 5th from web

What really happened?

All of this makes me wonder what really happened between Merriman and Tequila. Merriman is out of jail, having been released this morning at 11 am; Tequila was at the hospital for two hours, but its reported she was there for two hours, then released, not admitted. And it was reported she was drinking. According to E! Online the pair were partying at a hotspot called Stingaree in San Diego "without incident."

Ha. Except that they were having a load of fun. TMZ.com has a set of photos of Tequila on his lap, or more accurately, his thigh, but another one where it looks as if Merriman is drinking water from a bottle - look for yourself.

By contrast, It's reported that she was drinking at Merriman's house.

This is hard one to deal with because my gut, just my base instincts, say that Tequila got too drunk and Merriman tried to stop her from doing something, perhaps driving, then all hell broke lose. Others were in his home and the San Diego County District Attorney's Office will question them.

I know Sean's an NFL veteran, but this is one of those kinds of incidents they talk about avoiding at the NFL Rookie Symposium. In my view, there's nothing wrong with being a careful snob. People like Merriman have too much to loose and too many people and kids who look up to them to allow themselves to be connected with anyone who claims to "suffer from multiple personalities".


After all this is over, Merriman should get a new set of friends.

Shawne Merriman, Tila Tequila and, her website message

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YouTube.com

ESPN reports that San Diego Chargers Linebacker Shawne Merriman was accused of suspicion "choking and restraining" his girlfriend as she tried to leave his home at 3:45 am. This is what's written on ESPN's website:

Deputies responded about 3:45 a.m. to Merriman's house in Poway, north of San Diego, after a woman called to say she was choked by the player and thrown to the ground when she tried to leave, Sheriff's Department spokesman Jan Caldwell said at a news conference.


Merriman, 25, was taken into custody and booked into the central jail at about 8:30 a.m. He was released shortly after 11 a.m. Caldwell said she didn't know if he posted bail or was released on his own recognizance.


Tequila left Pomerado Hospital at 7:36 a.m. Sunday, ESPN's Colleen Dominguez reported. She was observed and treated, but not admitted. Her stay at the hospital was approximately two hours.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune was interviewed by ESPN's and said "this does not fit with the Sean Merriman I know. Now, I only know Merriman's fantastic football career, and little else, but I know nothing about Tila Tequila, so I went on a little Internet searching spree.

Tequila's real name is Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen, or Tila "Tequila" Nguyen and is known as an MTV star. She had a show on that network called A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila and was on for two years before it ended July 8, 2008. Tequila has been featured in Maxim, Stuff, and Penthouse magazines.

Her MySpace page was reportedly the most popular in pageviews in 2006, which is no mean trick to achieve. So I visited her MySpace page, scrolled down to "About TILA TEQUILA IS IN SAN DIEGO", and found something really interesting...

You've got to read how Tequila describes herself in this message:

You people probably won't even be able to read this because my page is so cluttered...sooo...imma blab a little bit here...hoping you won't read it. Here we go: i like people who are really fucked up. I mean like tormented in one way or another because then i won't feel like such a freak around those that are "normal." nerds, geeks, and freaks are all my friends. Cool people are pretty damn lame. I am very high strung and suffer from multiple personalities. Jane. She's crazy and she always wants to kill me. Tila...poor girl..she works so hard and always wants to make others happy...she deserves a break. I haven't had boyfriend for so long. I always want one, but when there is one around i run. I'm too busy. I love being in love but i hate the consequences. I do a lot of things that are self destructive. I try not to. I like being at home alone...a lot! So much more fun than surrounding myself with a bunch of wacko's out there. I am also bi-polar so that should explain my irratic postings. I like to read. I love to read. I am a nerd. I've always been a nerdy geek trapped inside a umm...woman's body. Yea....that's me. People love me for some reason. I don't know why...i do but i just say i don't know why just to be modest. I want to be a multi-millionaire by the time i reach 25 years of age. And i will.

What I could not help but focus on was this:

I am very high strung and suffer from multiple personalities. Jane. She's crazy and she always wants to kill me. Tila...poor girl..she works so hard and always wants to make others happy...she deserves a break. I haven't had boyfriend for so long. I always want one, but when there is one around i run. I'm too busy.

Now, let me make this clear, I don't care what personality Tila Tequila may have been, choking and restraining any one of them is wrong. But I also know from personal experience anyone who says, let alone blogs, that they "suffer from multiple personalities" and is "bipolar" and "bisexual", is not someone to deal with as they have a tendency to completely self destruct and distort reality and as Woody Allen said in Husbands and Wives "crash their plane right into you."

Unless you crave drama, it's best to run away from such a person just to preserve your sanity.

Also interesting is her Twitter page (which has been "protected" since about four hours ago) and tweets written in French, but loosely translate to..

You did not realize that I knew that you are in love with me, but I am more intelligent than you realize 1:01 PM Sep 5th from web

And this one:

My secret lovers.......always bitter sweet. Love undying....lust then weep...there she goes again.....Where is she now? Who is she with? 12:30 PM Sep 5th from web

What really happened?

All of this makes me wonder what really happened between Merriman and Tequila. Merriman is out of jail, having been released this morning at 11 am; Tequila was at the hospital for two hours, but its reported she was there for two hours, then released, not admitted. And it was reported she was drinking. According to E! Online the pair were partying at a hotspot called Stingaree in San Diego "without incident."

Ha. Except that they were having a load of fun. TMZ.com has a set of photos of Tequila on his lap, or more accurately, his thigh, but another one where it looks as if Merriman is drinking water from a bottle - look for yourself.

By contrast, It's reported that she was drinking at Merriman's house.

This is hard one to deal with because my gut, just my base instincts, say that Tequila got too drunk and Merriman tried to stop her from doing something, perhaps driving, then all hell broke lose. Others were in his home and the San Diego County District Attorney's Office will question them.

I know Sean's an NFL veteran, but this is one of those kinds of incidents they talk about avoiding at the NFL Rookie Symposium. In my view, there's nothing wrong with being a careful snob. People like Merriman have too much to loose and too many people and kids who look up to them to allow themselves to be connected with anyone who claims to "suffer from multiple personalities".

After all this is over, Merriman should get a new set of friends.

Oakland Raiders now have Richard Seymour and Greg Elllis, but...

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UPDATE: Seymour may not report to the Raiders.

The trade shot heard 'round the football and the Internet world is that the New England Patriots long time defensive end Richard Seymour was traded to the Oakland Raiders.

While the transaction seems like a good deal for Oakland, hold on. There are two problems: the first one is that Seymour has not had an all pro season since 2006 and the Raiders defensive formation design is suspect.

Since 2001 Richard Seymour has been a force on New England's defense. But starting with a knee injury in 2007 and a back injury in 2008, he hasn't been the disruptive player he was known as three years ago. While he did have a career-high eight sacks last year, giving up a first round pick was too much for Seymour. Why Oakland did that is beyond me (it would make more sense for a Seymour three years younger) but he's here so we have to figure out a way to employ him to get best results. Let's look at the pluses of this trade:

Richard Seymour is not old

Richard Seymour while 29 years old, is not old at all. He still has perhaps five good years left in him. If the Raiders focus on enhancing his pass-run skills, then he will be a major addition to the squad. If the Raiders use him paired with Greg Ellis in a hybrid version of Buddy Ryan's "46 Defense" - where Ellis and Seymour would be aligned on the strongside of the formation - it would place considerable pressure on the offenses of the AFC West, especially the San Diego Chargers.

Richard Seymour is a tall defender

Seymour's 6 foot 6 inches tall so having him rush on the left side, when most quarterbacks are right handed, would block throwing lanes like no other player has been able to do. Greg Ellis, who the Raiders got from Dallas, is the same height as Seymour, so having them on the same side in a 46 Defense would spell matchup problems for any offense.

Richard Seymour brings the experience of a winner

Richard Seymour has four Super Bowl rings and is a product of a New England Patriots locker room culture that transformed Randy Moss from a player not really into the game in Oakland to a star player who takes over a game in Boston. Yes, I can understand if you question the Raiders culture, but this move signals a desire to bring in people who can lead the team and set the tone on the field and off of it.

Will Coach John Marshall creatively use Seymour?

My concern is less with Seymour than with Oakland Raiders Defensive Coordinator John Marshall. Will he design schemes that creatively employ Seymour and Ellis? Is Marshall capable of the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that's needed to counter what is a period of revolution in NFL offensive design?

The college game has altered NFL offenses like never before with the Utah Spread and the Wildcat Offense being paired with the passing philosophies popularized by the late 49ers Coach Bill Walsh to produce some of the best passing systems ever seen. It's no wonder why defensive designs like those used by the Baltimore Ravens are more in vogue, with overload defensive fronts and stand-up defensive end / zone blitz schemes.

Is John Marshall willing to be creative with the Raiders Defense? If so, he certainly has the tools to do so. Now, with the addition of Seymour, the Oakland Raiders Defense is a wild card; I don't know how well they will do this year and have to wait until the San Diego game to determine that. But I'm excited to see what's next from this unit.

Van Jones is a good man who should fight back

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Van Jones talks about "The Green Collar Economy"

I just saw an email from The Washington Post explaining that Van Jones resigned from his post as the Green Jobs Czar in the Obama Administration. Sad news as I know Van and have known him as nothing but a good man committed to the betterment of society.

One of the staples of Van's life has been the pursuit of social justice. He's always worked to better the lives of those less fortunate and the creation of the Oakland-based Ella Baker Center is a great example of what he's tried to do to improve life for Oaklanders, especially those who are poor and black.

Van Jones stepped down from a post that was the logical end result of his tremendous growth as a person: a job in the White House. Moreover, those attacking his character themselves are people with questionable backgrounds or anti-social actors. I will not go into that here; but Van should fight back.

Glen Beck is the person Jones should fight back against. Beck's acting like a domestic thug, calling the President racist, then using the media to be the inspiration for others to make terrible statements and threatening acts, like the woman who camped out at a National Guard base, thinking it was a FEMA encampment.

But Beck's not the only one who's unfairly attacked Van Jones. There's a long list of conservatives. To be fair, they did go and get video of things Jones did say, but then posted part of the videos so the comments lack the proper context and have him sounding like a radical totally against America. (By contrast, I have an unknown cyberharasser that makes up lies about my life online. If I learn who this person is, they will be arrested and prosecuted as they're breaking Federal law.)

I'm proud to be an American, but I'm not proud of the modern-day McCarthyite's run amok online. It's as if we're allowing them to get away with murder.

A Landmark graduate

Some of my friends who also know Van point to his enrollment in The Landmark Forum as a key reason for his amazing personal growth. The idea of Landmark, which I've not "done" but seem surrounded by people who have been in it, is to provide a person with mental tools that cause them to overcome their cognitive road blocks and achieve their desired objectives.

Can one say Van became a different person? No. I think it's more accurate to say he became a better version of himself. I met him after his time in the program; the Van Jones I know has never even come off as anti-American and always as one who cares about people.

Good people like Jones must vigorously fight back against their attackers. To me, it's as if he was mugged in broad daylight.

Meghan McCain doesn't want her "juicy booty" on the Internet

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Boy the things some people put on Twitter! Senator John McCain's daughter the now famous blogger Meghan McCain (which some people misspell as "Megan McCain")just tweeted this:

my hotel has this amazing pool but I've been too paranoid 2 use it cause I don't want any pics of my juicy booty in a bikini on the internet

I couldn't stop laughing. Meghan should let it all hangout - so to speak. She's a great looking woman. She may be surprised to learn that she's better looking than Michelle Nunes and Stacy Burnes (In this video from a Bauer's Limousine Super Bowl Party I attended in Miami two years ago):



..And they don't have her tush!

After I stopped laughing, I wondered if someone had scored such a photo of McCain's rear and placed it online; the answer's no so her wish is intact. But this picture of her is a cool one:

Someone should tell Meghan the brothas (black men like me) love a juicy booty!  It's also good to learn that Meghan herself thinks her butt's juicy!

Lou Holtz says Notre Dame's Charlie Weis is "most underrated"

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It's College Football Gameday and I'm watching ESPN's Lou Holtz make the case that Notre Dame's Charle Weis is the most underrated coach in college football. Now, remember this is the same guy who said Notre Dame would play in the BCS Championship.



Holtz colleague, the former Washington Redskin Mark May went ballistic, and rightly so.

Sure, Weis generates good schemes, but if he were the great coach and "most underrated" in college football he would not have lost 15 games in the last two years. Weis record between 2007 and 2008 is 9 wins and 15 losses, going 3 and 9 in 2007.

Weis' record over the last two years is so bad 2007 and 2008 aren't even mentioned in Coach Weis' on profile on the Notre Dame website.

Who's really underrated? Cal Coach Jeff Tedford, who's Golden Bears take on Maryland today. Of course, being a Cal graduate, I'm biased, but I'll put Coach Tedford's 59 and 30 record against Coach Weis' 29 and 21 record any day.

Notre Dame plays Nevada this afternoon and for the first time in school history.  Cal takes on Maryland in this evening's game at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

LeGarrette Blount punch reveals America's fear of talking about race

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On YouTube.com

What I find really infuriating about the "LeGarrette Blount punch" issue, where Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount punched Boise State Defensive End Byron Hout after Thursday night's Oregon v. Boise State football game, is the number of people who can't look at the video or the issue and agree to talk about race in a constructive way.

I've found there are two categories of readers:

1) People who want to attack any mention of race.
2) People who have to mention something racially negative, for example stating that I'm trying to give LeGarrette Blount a reason not to feel bad about what he did because I'm just a black person defending an African American male.

Both are wrong.

My motivation for writing was the vast number of blogs speculating that LeGarrette Blount's motivation for punching Byron Hout was because Hout may have said something racist.

Note the word may.

What compounds the problem is that not one of the people - Blount, Hout, or either coach - is saying what was actually said. So we have this huge void created by their silence right at the moment when America wants the void filled.

It's not happening.

What I'd like to see is for America to evolve into a country that doesn't shy away from a good dialogue about race if only to make sure race has nothing to do with an issue. We're all different by appearance, but via talking and sharing we realize that we're really all the same.

And for the record, again, I don't think what LeGarrette Blount did was right and his suspension for the season was just. Even if it's revaled that racist language was used, it doesn't let him off the hook, but it does cast a dark shadow on the character of those who made the comments.

If Hout did this, he should be punished but I think he should be publicly reprimanded just for trash talking, period.

Chevron Ecuador: Amazon Defense Coalition's statement on Judges' recusal

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The Amazon Defense Coalition sent this email to me containing their statement responding to the news that Ecuadorian Judge Juan Nunez recused himself in the wake of a video that captured him in a meeting explaining how he planned to rule in the Ecuador / ADC lawsuit against Chevron.

The statement:

Judge’s Recusal Clears Path For Legal Proceedings to Continue
Validates Chevron’s Initial Faith in Ecuadorian Court System

Quito, Ecuador (September 4, 2009) – Steven Donziger, attorney for the plaintiffs, said:

The judge’s decision to recuse himself clears the path for the legal proceedings to continue uninterrupted. This appears to have been done by the judge to disrupt Chevron's intention to further delay a litigation that has lasted 16 years. The judge’s action once again validates the effective functioning of the Ecuadorian legal system — a system that Chevron chose as the best forum to hear the lawsuit. The vast majority of the competent evidence in the case, including all the evidence used as a basis for the $27.3 billion damages assessment against Chevron, was received by the court prior to the tenure of Judge Nunez.

We again call on competent authorities in Ecuador and the United States to investigate any role Chevron and its officials might have played to script a bribery scheme for purposes of extracting an advantage in a private litigation.


The recusal does not change the overwhelming evidence against Chevron in the underlying case. The evidence in that case demonstrates clearly Chevron’s responsibility for wrecking the rainforest, decimating indigenous groups, and putting thousands of Ecuadorian citizens at grave risk.”


NOTE: Chevron’s main defense is that a 1995 remediation agreement, signed with the government of Ecuador two years after the lawsuit was filed in the US in 1993, releases the company from all responsibility for the contamination. However, it is important to include that the agreement specifically carves out individual, third-party claims, such as ours, in the agreement. Chevron was not released from lawsuits such as the Aguinda vs Chevron case. Also, evidence in the Ecuadorian trial has found that the oil wells and pits that Texaco claimed to have cleaned in the remediation agreement test today at extremely high and illegal levels of toxic contamination. The plaintiffs maintain that the remediation agreement was a sham. Two Chevron lawyers, who worked for Texaco at the time, and seven former Ecuadorian officials have been indicted for fraud.

Maryland folks make fun of Cal's Jahvid Best

Maryland fans are making fun of Cal's Heisman Trophy hopeful running back Jahvid Best and the reason is a monster hit Best sustained last year and delivered by Terps linebacker Kevin Barnes. He hit Best so hard the runner was momentarily looking to right himself, then tossed his cookies on the field.

As we approach what's shaping up to be an epic battle between the 12th ranked California Golden Bears and the Maryland Terrapins, that play comes up again and again, and again in the media and on the blogs with the Internet providing remiders of headlines past.

The blogs have had a field day.

"Terps Pull Upset, Cal Pulls Upchuck"
"Terps Football Makes People Sick"
"Cal's Jahvid Best Loses His Lunch"

You get the idea.

Best wants revenge, saying "I have to go this weekend and reclaim my name in Maryland." And he has every reason to want to. That hit was the shot heard round the World. Barnes hit Best so hard that dogs howled, children dried, Terrapins hi-fived, and, well, Best threw up.

I wonder how the memory of that play will impact Best on Saturday,after his first contact. It's a weird position for him to be in: first game of 2009 but against the very team that knocked him silly last year. Best can either sink or swim. My bet is that he swims.

Notre Dame national champs? No. Cal beating USC? Yes!

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YouTube, Yahoo, MySpace, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, StupidVideos, Sclipo and Viddler

College Football's back and ESPN's Lou Holtz thinks The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will be in the BCS National Championship Game. He's wrong. But the Cal Golden Bears will beat the USC Trojans October 3rd in Berkeley, 20 to 14.

Notre Dame lacks team speed

At 29 wins, 21 losses this is Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis' make-or-break year. If he wins seven games or more, he's in the clear and gives Irish fans and boosters a reason to expect better years ahead. But if he losses 7 games or more, he's in trouble. My prediction is for another six win season.

Why?

Notre Dame's chronic lack of team speed.

The Fighting Irish have a problem drawing the fastest players at all positions. The states that generally produce the fastest talent - Florida, California, and Texas - have those players literally programmed to go to one of the colleges in those states, and for good reason: they can get into them.

Notre Dame's demanding academic requirements, both before and after entering the school, are a road block to securing the best athletes required to reach the BCS title game.

So how does one explain Notre Dame and Weis success in 2005 and 2006, winning nine games in '05 and 10 in '06? Easy.

First, Weis was coaching former Notre Dame Head Coach Tyrone Willingham's recruits. Coach Willingham was able to get talent to chose Notre Dame in large part because as the school's first African American head football coach, he was a symbol of change where it wasn't expected. One of Willingham's prized players was Brady Quinn, who was obviously a player with great potential before Weis arrived: Weis caused Quinn to reach his potential as a passer in 2005 and 2006.

Quinn is Notre Dame's career passing leader and set 36 records while there. How he did this is the second reason why Weis won in 2005 and 2006: the system was new. Weis brought in the schemes he created while Offensive Coordinator with the New England Patriots: a combination of the timed offense popularized by the late Coach Bill Walsh, and a system that looks a lot like elements of the passing patterns used in the "Airraid" Offense at Texas Tech.

But in fairness, while Weis' system looks like the Airraid Offense created by Coach Mike Leach and Coach Hal Mumme, it's not and evolved from his years at New England.

It took two years for Notre Dame's NCAA foes to develop a "book" on the Weis system, and as that happened, the Irish faced a loss of Willingham-recruited talent. The once-good Irish defense was weakened by these losses.

The result was a season in 2007 that was so bad, with Notre Dame winning one game, it's not even mentioned in Weis' profile on the Notre Dame website.

2008 was not much better. While Notre Dame showed promise it was trying to determine who its signal caller of the future would be. Emerging from injury, Weis star recruit, the celebrated high school passer Jimmy Claussen, emerged to take control of the offense. The Irish roared to a 4 and 1 start, but finished 6 and 6.

I can't see them doing better this year. But this is not a wish just an analysis; I like Coach Weis and met him at the 2005 Super Bowl Party hosted by ESPN and sports agent Leigh Steinberg in Detroit.

Where I would be wrong is in the scheme changes. If Weis stays with more shotgun and spread attacks, rather than trying to emphasize running the football, the Irish will be in for a long season. But if he places the load on Claussen and uses the short pass and screen game, a 7 or better season can happen. Plus, I'm not sold on their decision to use a 3-4 defense with their opponents: pass rush has been the Irish' problem.

National Championship? Notre Dame? No. Cal beating USC? Yes.

Why?

Everyone talks about Cal's offense and Jahvid Best, but for me the key to what could be a national championship season for The Golden Bears is their defense. Cal has eight of eleven defensive starters returning for 2009. USC by contrast is burdened with the task of breaking in a freshman quarterback and rebuilding their defense. I can't see USC beating Cal, let alone Ohio State.

Score: Cal 20, USC 14.

On this issue, there's a looming problem for Cal this Saturday in that reportedly, Cal has no idea what kind of defense the Maryland Terapins will use because its brand new.

Maryland's planned "attacking 4-3" is a design that I favor, but I also know how to beat it: spread four and five wide receivers and match pressure with pressure and throw short passes. If Maryland should go "max blitz", the chance that a receiver will score after a catch-and-run or be wide open increases dramatically.

But if Cal runs a two-back set it's not going to be the easy win that's predicted for the Golden Bears.

At any rate, GO BEARS! And remember its BLUE DAY Saturday at Berkeley!

Visit Jennifer Campbell at Shuz in Oakland; buy some shoes!

I just got this message at my Facebook page:

I'm sure you've been following the awful story about the disappearance of Hasanni Campbell. His foster mother is a very dear friend of mine, Jennifer Campbell. She is expecting a child, while desperately searching for Hasanni, and had to go back to work at "Shuz" in Rockridge today, the site of Hasanni's disappearance. She will probably only be able to work a short while but as she is paid mostly on commission, she needs to sell a lot of shoes. The media coverage of this whole tragic situation hasn't made it any easier.
I am beseeching you to please visit "Shuz" on College Ave. in Rockridge. Ask for Jennifer Campbell. Buy some shoes. Please.

Where's "Shuz" exactly? It's at 6012 College Avenue (map below) and has great reviews on Yelp!

Jennifer's had a rough time; give her your support! Buy some shoes!

Here's the map for Shuz in Oakland within the Rockridge District!


View 6012 College Ave - Shuz! in a larger map

Tom Hayes: What does “The Obama Experiment” mean to you?

As an artist, Mike Cuffe has felt the high cost of health insurance premiums hit home and he's gone through many periods of not having any health insurance coverage whatsoever. He's also watched recently as more than one family member has been denied life saving treatments, "due to system that focuses on increasing shareholders revenues than on choosing wellness."

Cuffe's "TheObamaExperiment.com" site began in March 2008 to raise awareness by "creating art around then Senator Barack Obama's bid for the presidency." Then it took a turn for the strange in mid-July when the RNC launched a website using the same name evidently intended to obfuscate the debate and counter sentiment favoring President Obama's campaign for health care reform.

"Currently I find myself in a direct debate with the Republican National Committee over my website The Obama Experiment. I've created a health care piece entitled Support Wellness: Nationalize Health Care to offset their attack on Health Care Reform. You can watch me paint the image in time lapse..."

Here's the story about Cuffe's scuffle with the RNC, which is working to spin and propagandize the national debate over health care reform that a recent poll by the Wall Street Journal and NBC revealed is marred by misinformation. Any way you slice it 91% of Americans think at least some reform is necessary, yet over half have been taken in by spin-mongering about non-existent death panels and baseless rumors about a purported government take-over of health care.

In short, the GOP picked a name eerily similar to the domain Cuffe was using, TheObamaExperiment.com and inadvertently directed a lot of traffic Cuffe's way. When asked what he felt about the Republican version of The Obama Experiment, Cuffe said,

"I see it as a win, win situation. If they're going to tell people why they are against health care, I am going to tell people why I am for it. Their Obama Experiment dialogue is sending a great deal of people to my Health Care supportive website. I'm just the ying to their yang."

Burning Man Live Stream

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This is a live stream from Burning Man courtesy of USTREAM.TV.  No.  I'm not there - even though its a San Francisco Bay Area tradition to go to the playa - but someone who set this up is and a bunch of people are chatting from the media room there.

Check it out below and join in the chat:

Free live streaming by Ustream

Chat area:

First Miley Cyrus, now pole dance doll? OMG!

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On YouTube.com

Folks, I can't believe this and I'm in total agreement with Karen Hawthorne and Tolu Olorunda that we've gone too far as a culture. At a time when we should pay more attention to adult women like Candice Crawford (who's rumored to be dating Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo), we have this news.

Miley Cyrus' pole dance is part of a trend

First and just recently we had Miley Cyrus dancing with a stripper pole on the Teen Choice Awards. Before that we had and have poll dancing as a fitness class. We even saw airline stewardesses pole dancing in the Iron Man movie last year. But a pole dance doll? This is the end of civilization as we know it.

A pole dance doll.

Pole Dancer Doll

Yes. According to the blog Gizmodo the "Pole Dancer Doll" "rotates. It has blinking lights, a disco ball, and a pole. And it's probably one of the wrongest toys you can give to any girl." No kidding. On top of that, the doll is made to look like a girl rather than an adult woman as was the case with another pole dance doll released in 2006.

We're going backward as we move forward.

Susan Boyle is older and innocent; girls are sex symbols?

This is weird. This year 2009 we have the 48-year-old singer Susan Boyle, a middle-aged woman, as the picture of innocence and purity, and 16-year old Miley Cyrus as the poster child for sexual fantasy.

As we've "advanced" over the decades the idea of what a female sex symbol should be let alone what we allow youth to do, has been turned on its head.

When I was little and gentlemen were respected and desired, older women were the sex symbols because they were classy, beautiful, experienced, and just plain dripping with hotness. They sang to presidents, as Mariyln Monroe did, and slept with them too. (No, I'm not thinking of Monica you-know-who here!)

My favorite was Rachel Welch. Ms. Welch was sexy, curves all over the place, and a smile that could light up the world. And then there was Pam Grier, who today is still as lovely and hot as Jackie Brown as she was during the days when she was the star of Foxy Brown. Thank God for Quentin Tarentino!

What's happened to our society? Is Tolu Olorunda right when he points the finger at corporations like Disney for doing anything in the way of image-making to make a buck? (To be fair, Disney has nothing to do with this doll.) Or is it that the Internet age has broke through a moral barrier I'm used to and to expose the fact that sexuality isn't confined to those over 21?

This trend of the sexualization of youth has been long in development. I remember a party in San Francisco during the 2003 Fleet Week where my friend's dad, visting from Florida and 65 years old at the time said in response to my question of how have things changed  "In my day," he said, "the girls didn't wear these  jeans cut low around their privates; but (openly pointing to two young women walking by) now, they leave nothing to the imagination."

He's right. We've gone too far, but do you care? For all those who may comment in protest, and rightly so, this social trend seems to march on unabated. Do you really care? Take my poll.

More politics surveys on pollsb.com

Oh! Check out the Burning Man Live Stream!

Oakland parking ticket last straw for Michael Caton

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My friend, fellow Oakland blogger, and valued guest blogger at Oakland Focus Michael Caton has had it with Oakland, and to my surprise wrote a stinging blog post on my Oakland Focus Blog that detailed the reason for writing that he would never return to our city in the future: the parking problem.

 

An Oakland parking enforcement official

Michael has a blog called "An Oakland Citizen" where he opines about political and social issues in Oakland and gives a comprehensive view of how people of different stripes interact in our town. He's headed to medical school in San Diego, but it could be said the Oakland dog "bit him" on the way out of the civic door.

Since he wrote the blog post exclusively on my Oakland Focus site and part of my blog network, I cross-posted it here below:

A Fitting Send-off - Michael Caton in Oakland Focus

I have a note to add to the farewell-to-Oakland parking post I left on my own blog some time ago. To the merchants who feel like the City of Oakland is hell-bent on destroying local businesses with draconian parking policies, I can add a personal experience that has removed me from the Oakland economy permanently.

I moved to San Diego last week to start medical school. For one day, I had the U-Haul trailer I'd rented parked in front of our building - the three story one at the corner of Broadway and Oceanview. There is a stretch of red curb there that is a) out of the way of traffic and b) always, always used by everyone moving into or out of the building.

You already know where this is going. I was riding the elevator back up to my floor, and, tired and sweating from dragging furniture out to the truck, I happened to glance down to the street out through the clear wall to see the parking enforcement vehicle pull up in front of my worldly possessions. I got off and hurtled down the stairs to the street; the parking guy couldn't have been there more than 60 seconds. "I'll move the truck. I'll move it right now," I said breathlessly.

"Sorry. Ticket's already issued." He had his little parking-fascist computer and was waiting for the ticket to print out.

"Is there any way it can turn into a warning? I can really move the truck right now." I had the keys in my hand. We were 10 feet from my car and trailer.

"No," he said, and handed me an eighty dollar ticket. He stood there waiting and watching until I'd moved the trailer.

No, I don't think I'm special, and yes the law applies to me - and I was indeed in a red zone - one that, to my knowledge, had never been enforced, and that I offered to move out of immediately. I think you can understand my frustration. And God forbid Oakland devotes resources to getting criminals off the street - one dead, one paralyzed and critical, one badly beaten in this taco stand robbery a few days after I moved - but hey, at least Oakland is safe from people with U-haul trailers. Guess what I could do in my new, safe place in San Diego? Find parking easily and unload the truck with no tickets!

Although I don't like leaving anything on negative notes, the end of this anecdote will do just that to my brief participation in the Oakland blogosphere. That said, I truly wish the best for Oakland and for its committed residents who are working hard to make it a place to be proud of. Understatement of the year: you have some challenges ahead of you.

The last words between myself and this "public servant", were: "Hey, thanks for sending me off in style." And, standing there and waiting for me to move the trailer before he would leave, he grumbled, "You're sending yourself off."

Yep, I sure am. Once I'm practicing medicine, I will certainly come back to the Bay Area. I will not come back to Oakland.

This is not the first time I've learned of Oakland Parking Officials being nasty to Oaklanders. The worst case I know of other than Michael's is story told to me by a third party where one Oakland Parking Officer told a person trying to get into a wheelchair on Grand Avenue "Have your driver put a quarter in the meter or I'll give him a ticket."

Now, a decent person could have 1) let the disabled person and his driver go on with their business, or 2) put the quarter in the meter themselves! But this action? It's the talk of the Grand Lake business community.

Let's get something clear now: violence against parking enforcement officials is just plain wrong. Oakland parking officials showing disrespect to Oakland's people is equally wrong. It's hard enough to get an $80 ticket - harder still if one's out of work or on a fixed income. A public official being mean to someone in this position - heck in any walk of life - is an abuse of power the City of Oakland must stop now!

Gmail is up at least for me? You?

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After about two hours of being down, my Gmail service is restored, just when I was headed outside. Is Gmail working for you? How did the outage impact you?

Over at Twitter, it seems Gmails working for some others, too:

echoleigh GMail is working for me again.

writerbenjamin #gmail seems to be back up.

thesharath @denharsh #gmail is back

As to what happened,I do not know as of this writing, but will inform you if I get news of the problem. It's amazing to see Twitter working as "the pulse of the public" on this issue.

Gmail is down - 502 Server Error

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Say, if you're trying to access Gmail and getting a "502 Server Error" message, it's not you; Gmail is down.

I went to Twitter to learn if anyone else was experiencing this problem and for a time it was a top tag, which means people were complaining about the problem. Here are some of the Tweets:

rachelrusso What is the deal with gmail? It's been down for over an hour!!

femaleprodigy OK people, take a deep breath. The gmail problem will soon pass. Until then, turn off your computer and take in some fresh air! THAT IS ALL!

kelvinmaphoto RT: @daveweigel: Democrats to pay tribute by naming the health care reform bill after gmail.

gracemcavoy gmail u r ruining my life #epicfail

Well, you get the idea.

Over at its' Twitter page, Google reports:

google We're aware that people are having trouble accessing Gmail. We're working on fixing it. Apologies for the inconvenience http://bit.ly/31kL4B

The link goes to an "Apps Status Dashboard" which confirms that as of this writing Gmail is down. Well, that's a bunch of accounts for my baseball sim for the classroom that will be delayed. But it's a sunny day!

Confused Erin Andrews returns to ESPN College Football

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She's back!

After laying low in the wake of the Erin Andrews Peephole Video Scandal, ESPN reporter Erin Andrews is coming back to work this Thursday as part of ESPN's telecast of the rivalry battle football game between the University of South Carolina and North Carolina State. But that's not all for the 31-year-old media star.

Erin's appearing on Oprah September 11th to talk about the videotape and how it impacted her. (Though some sites report September 24th; I will get a clarification on this.) Plus, she's not shying away from the camera, having just finished this photo shoot for GQ (before the video issue but out now for some reason), where she gets "dirty" wearing football gear.

 

Erin Andrews (photo courtesy of GQ)

Meanwhile whatever happened to the person who made the video? No one knows. Some have speculated that the person who did it either knew Erin or covered athletic events. Whatever the case, the person's still out there and the video was sold for profit.

Something tells me the person who did it is going to be identified in a strange way.

Erin's back,... as "trophy girl?" 

Meanwhile, with the upcoming GQ photo spread its clear Andrews is not only back in reporting action but has no problem posing before a camera. There's something, er,telling about the photo below where she's on a pedestal while a group of college football players look up to her as if she's, well, a trophy girl.

Erin Andrews (photo courtesy of GQ)

I have to admit I've got a problem with her decision to make that photo in the wake of what happened to her and her increased visibility. As I wrote before, she should really use this moment in time to bring attention to the needs of those less fortunate, not just herself.

Plus, as I said in my video above, I'd prefer to see her in the image I used rather than the one she presents here. It's confusing. She's upset about the nude peephole video of her, goes into hiding essentially, then comes out having done a photo shoot that glorifies her sexuality and male desire for her.

What does Erin want? How does she want to be seen? Is she confused? What does she stand for? If she wants to be the 31-year-old version of Miley Cyrus, she needs to say so and do it. Period. Be authentic. But this confusing set of messages she's sending out is of concern to me.

Reportedly, Erin told Oprah the video was "a nightmare" but it's hard to take Andrews's claims against the video that seriously if, with this GQ photo, she's going to basically swim in the sex-based marketing pool she claims to hate, stating that people think she got her job because of her looks.

Maybe Christine Brennan was right and the whole video peep camera thing was just Erin working to get more publicity. Earlier this year, Brennan basically said that because Andrews was "trading off her looks" she created the problem.

Plus, the timing of the release of the photos, after this scandal, calls the whole video matter into question yet again.

I'm just going with my gut here, but something tells me this whole matter has changed her in a way she may not even see. If she's going to be Miley Cyrus she should stop being confused about it, that word again, and just do it. Personally, she could do a lot of good with her platform, but for now she's just messing around.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Here the new Erin Andrews GQ video: