Thursday, November 11, 2010

Cowboys' Jason Garrett Blasted By Terrell Owens On The T.Ocho Show

Terrell Owens has the last word on the Dallas Cowboys coaching situation.

Jason Garrett, the Dallas Cowboys Interim Head Coach, and former offensive coordinator was blasted by Owens as being a poor choice to replace former Cowboys Head Coach Wade Phillips.  

On his new show, The T.Ocho Show on Tuesday, November 9th, Owens, a Cowboys wide out two years ago, and now a Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver, along with show co-host Chad Ochocinco, asked Chad about the firing of Phillips by Cowboys Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones.

Here's the video:



Chad said he expected Phillips to be fired because he was not meeting the high standards The Cowboys set for themselves. Terrell Owens responded with words that cut like a hot knife through butter:

"From my experiences there, it's not Wade Phillips. But how do they think Jason Garrett is going to right the ship? No. He was the offensive coordinator? Just put this in perspective. Last week Green Bay scored 45 points. So obviously, if they're scoring touchdowns, then they're kicking off to the (Dallas) offense. They only mustered-up 7 points. Jason Garrett is the offensive coordinator. So if he's not putting points on the board, it's not Wade Phillips fault." 
Under Jason Garrett Terrell Owens posted his lowest season performance totals of his career in 2008, with 1,052 yards and 20 touchdowns, then Dallas released him after that year.  With the Bengals, Owens is already at 770 yards and 7 touchdowns.  Owens is correct: Jason Garrett is not the solution.

The problem is Jerry Jones thinks Garrett is the solution, and has become spell-bound by Jason's confident speech and tone.  But confident speech and tone don't win football games; good coaching does.  This blogger agrees with Owens that Garrett isn't the answer:



But Garrett's in now, and on a short time frame to make a difference. He must engineer a way to beat The New York Giants. Only that will save his job, and it's a big first test coming up.

If he fails that, forget about the rest of the season and forget about Garrett as the Cowboys coach for 2011.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Julia Mancuso Still Gunning For Lindsay Vonn On And Off The Course

Julia Mancuso, the downhill skiing racer who's sexy Playboy photos and very provocative lingerie business (remember "Kiss My Tiera"?) was the talk of the 2010 Winter Olympics,...



...is in the news again. After winning two Olympics Silver Medals, Mancuso sets her sights on the World Cup overall title, and fellow downhill competitor and nemesis Lindsay Vonn, who's won the title three times over the past three years.

What's interesting, is while Mancuso says she doesn't have a "beef" with Vonn, she, at the same time, feeds the idea that one exists. In the New York Times, Mancuso says:




We are just so different and we come across as different, and maybe that's what this is all about. The differences make it easy to compare. But I respect Lindsey as an athlete, and we’ve never had any real conflict, so to speak.



"So to speak."

It's that line which keeps the assertion that Vonn and Mancuso do have a personal conflict alive. If Julia had clipped her sentence - just avoided saying "so to speak" - that may have killed the speculation that a problem exists.

The best thing for Julia Mancuso to do is concentrate on her skiing and the propagation of her sexy image and related products.  

Lindsay Vonn can generate her own publicity.

Jean Quan Is Oakland's Mayor-Elect; Don Perata Considers Lawsuit

The Oakland Mayor's Race is both over and heating up yet again. First, big congratulations to now-former Oakland Councilmember and Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, who won the Ranked Choice Voting mayoral election by 50.98 percent to 49.02 for Former State Senator Don Perata. This after all absentee and provisional ballots were counted today by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, Wednesday.

Jean becomes Oakland's first female and first Asian mayor.  That, alone, is massively cool.

The outcome has rankled the Perata Campaign, which has put out strong signals that it plans to file a lawsuit to have the vote count "reconsidered."

As Perata Campaign Manager John Whitehurst has said to the media

"It's a travesty that a candidate that wins 78 percent of the precincts and leads by more than 11,000 votes (after first-choice votes are counted), with a margin of nearly 10 percent, loses the election. In any other contest it would be a landslide win, not an election loss. Ranked-choice voting is an injustice, and Oakland will pay the price."  


But that's the media spin, and add to that the Perata camps assertion that Don won "all of the African American precincts." The Perata Campaign and supporters are putting out all of the signs that point to only one conclusion: a lawsuit. None of my sources would deny that possibility.  Moreover, the Perata camp is issuing a press release that contains a blog post from Lance Williams that, until now, has not been mentioned in any of the media coverage.

The title of the blog post says it all: "Confusion about Oakland’s voting system may have affected election."  And these three paragraphs are key to its message:




One out of every 10 Oakland voters showed signs of confusion about how to vote for mayor using the city’s new ranked-choice voting procedure, according to a computer analysis of returns obtained by California Watch.
The confusion was so great that it may have flipped the final results of the extraordinarily tight mayor’s race between former state Senate leader Don Perata and city council member Jean Quan, the analysis shows....
More than 5 percent of voters marked the same candidate for their first, second and third choices, the analysis shows. But a voter can only vote for a candidate once, so for these 4,900 voters those second and third choices went uncounted.

The other factor upsetting the Perata campaign is that  Quan and Councilmember Kaplan openly "gamed" the Rank Choice System.  Now, from this blogger's perspective, not making voting deals with the other campaigners was a massive error.   The Perata Campaign should have fought fire with fire, but openly chose not to do so.  The result is Jean Quan wins, but in doing so sets a dangerous precedent for future Oakland elections.

Now, Jean's the target, and if she does not do well as Mayor (which I personally don't think will be the case because I'm going to be on her 24 and 7), the same voting games that got her in, will be the ones that cause her to be out in four years.

That written, Quan can be a great Mayor of Oakland - perhaps the best we've had for a host of reasons I will get into later.  It will be exciting to see what she does.  Installing a new Chief Administrative Officer to replace Dan Lindheim will be her first major official action.

Mayor-Elect Quan Does Not Have A Mandate

With all of this, Mayor-Elect Quan must be sure to realize that she does not have a mandate; she did not score the majority of popular votes.  That should be of concern for her.  The Mayor-Elect must - and I think will - be open to people.  Moreover, Jean must - and this can't be overstated - develop a very thick skin. She must work to jettison the idea that people who criticize her aren't in her corner.  Not so.  She's Mayor of Oakland, now, and that means she's got a PR-issue to deal with every day.

As Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris told me, "Zennie, there are a thousand games you can play in City Hall every day.  The question is which one you should play?"   What Elihu was saying to me is you always have to watch your back, figure out where the arrows are coming from, and then have a plan to strike back, if it's worth doing so.  If you have the right temperament , the game's fun.  Jean's got to develop that to be successful.

But that's all to come.  Right now, the Perata camp is seething.

Stay tuned.

Stabenow Silent on Tier 5 Again! Students Riot in London over Austerity Measures


In her appearance on MSNBC’s The Ed Show Wednesday, Debbie Stabenow was silent on Tier 5 again. Once more, the 99ers are being completely ignored in favor of Washington focusing to extend the UI filing dates for the more recently unemployed Americans - those who have had their benefits, instead of those 99ers trying to survive on ZERO UI checks for more than 8 months.

Senator Stabenow (D- MI) along with 10 other Democratic Senators, waited until the very last minute before the Senate adjourned for 6 weeks back in August - to introduce S3706 (Tier 5) originally. Then when the Senate returned - S3706 was sent to committee to die, before the 99er NOVO movement forced some action to be taken. Unfortunately, the action Stabenow promised the NOVOs ended up being a lame half-effort by Stabenow and Whitehouse (D-RI) that was - you guessed it - at the very last minute before the Senate adjourned again for 6 more weeks back in September. It was the token Republican Senator George LeMieux (FL) who objected to Debbie Stabenow’s request for unanimous consent for her Discharge Resolution in order to bring the Americans Want to work Act to the Senate floor before the election.
[Stabenow's interview begins at 8:32 in the clip below]



The term ‘Washington is broken’ does not even begin to cover what is wrong with our government. Congress is also heartless, cruel, stupid, selfish and completely void of any moral constitution or conscience.

It is totally incomprehensible how in America our highly overpaid leadership, from the lowest ranking member of the House up through the President himself could allow millions of people to go hungry and homeless for months on end and refuse to even acknowledge the plight of the 99ers - let alone refuse to fix the problem.

Students Riot in London over Austerity Measures
We could learn well from our brethren across the pond. Tens of thousands of students marched through London on Wednesday against plans to triple university tuition fees, and violence erupted as a minority battled police and trashed a building containing the headquarters of the governing Conservative Party. Organizers said 50-thousand students, lecturers and supporters demonstrated against plans to raise the cost of studying at a university to 9-thousand pounds a year - three times the current rate - in the largest street protest yet against the government's sweeping austerity measures.



The students in the video above are not even hungry, homeless or hurting people - they just want affordable education for a better life.

The 99ers are struggling to survive. Washington is responsible for deregulating Wall Street, allowing greedy bankers to ruin our economy then Congress bails them all out. Washington is responsible for rewarding those who ship our jobs overseas by the millions. Washington rather spend trillions on killing overseas then spend hundreds of billions of dollars improving living conditions on foreign shores - but Washington does NOTHING to help the American victims of the economic carnage directly caused by the failure of Congress to do their jobs right. (Right being to work in the best interests of the American public)

I suspect that very soon hurting Americans will rise up and send a clear, unmistakeable message to Washington that the poor will not be ignored any longer. After all - if American Protestors happened to get arrested, at least they will be fed and have a warm place to sleep for a few nights, more than many have at this point.

If you are waiting for Tier 5 to save the 99ers - don't hold your breath - as Washington couldn't care less about impoverished, hurting Americans. Not before the election, not during the Lame Duck Session and certainly not when the Republicans take over next year.






The Walking Dead: New Series on AMC




The Walking Dead is a new series on AMC about, you guessed it, the walking dead.  I am a huge fan of zombie movies and so when I saw promos for this show while watching a movie on AMC I was immediately excited.  I have always had a fetish for post apocalyptic scenarios and so I went to the website where they are streaming the first episode.  I was expecting a cheesey show with sub par acting and costumes, which I would have been fine with because I'm such a fan of zombies.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the show is surprisingly well made.  The show is directed by Frank Darabont who directed The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.  The dialog and plot is well written and from what I've seen in the first two episodes the series is going to be a great opportunity for zombie fans to get their fix of post apocalyptic goodness every week.

The show airs Sundays on AMC at 10/9 Central.  For more information on the show and to check out the first two episodes streaming online you can go to the shows website at

Demi Lovato Drug Accusations




So after reporting and keeping updated with Demi Lovato's situation there has been new information released by Life &;Style that suggests that Lovato has a drug problem:



" “She was doing line after line like a pro — and she was 17 at the time,” he tells Life &; Style, recalling the wild party they attended after a concert by the band Neon Indian at the Granada Theater in Dallas. “I just remember her doing it as if she had been doing it for a long time. It didn’t seem like something new to her.” Insiders say the pain of her breakup with Joe Jonas — and the fact that they’re on the Camp Rock 2 tour together — further fueled her downward spiral. “Demi’s been on a tear lately,” says an insider. “She’ll chug booze straight from the bottle.” Luckily for Demi, her mother and stepfather were quick to take action after they heard that she had punched a tour backup dancer in the face. “They overheard one of the dancers talking about it and freaked out,” says the insider. “They heard Demi was drinking, but the news that her partying was getting out of control shocked them — and they confronted her immediately." "

The Superficial's current blog post title is "Demi Lovato is Officially Lindsay 2.0," which refers to fellow Disney star Lindsay Lohan who started off all innocent and sweet and eventually got brought into a very bad situation that has impacted her life severely.

There is hope for Lovato as long as she is truly seeking help. It would be terrible for her to be another Disney star that ends up ruining her reputation by posting nude photos (Vanessa) or lap dancing on 40-year-old men (Miley).

Maybe Lovato's old best friend Selena Gomez can come to her rescue.
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Kendra Wilkinson Does Playboy Again




People Magazine reports that Kendra Wilkinson is back in the pages of Playboy. In the latest episode of Kendra on E! she has a deep conversation with her husband Hank Baskett where she asks him what he thinks of the idea. He voices his opinion that since he is now her husband that being able to see her naked should be a privilege for him and not something the entire world can experience. The previous Playboy she has done were all before being married to Baskett and during her time as (one of) Heff's girlfriends in the mansion.

She tells People Magazine that her December cover of Playboy was not a recent shoot, but rather photos from two years ago when she was living in the mansion.

On her blog she writes:

"Hey guys! So I wanted to clear something up really quick! A lot of you saw on my show that I was struggling to decide whether to pose for Playboy again or not. I AM on the December cover of Playboy but it wasn’t from a recent shoot. The photos are from a shoot I did 2 years ago when I was still living in the mansion. I’m flattered to be on the cover again and as you all know Playboy has a very special place in my heart! I just wanted you guys to know I didn’t recently pose."


She should probably start preparing for the backlash.

Kendra Wilkinson Does Playboy Again




People Magazine reports that Kendra Wilkinson is back in the pages of Playboy. In the latest episode of Kendra on E! she has a deep conversation with her husband Hank Baskett where she asks him what he thinks of the idea. He voices his opinion that since he is now her husband that being able to see her naked should be a privilege for him and not something the entire world can experience. The previous Playboy she has done were all before being married to Baskett and during her time as (one of) Heff's girlfriends in the mansion.

She tells People Magazine that her December cover of Playboy was not a recent shoot, but rather photos from two years ago when she was living in the mansion.

On her blog she writes:

"Hey guys! So I wanted to clear something up really quick! A lot of you saw on my show that I was struggling to decide whether to pose for Playboy again or not. I AM on the December cover of Playboy but it wasn’t from a recent shoot. The photos are from a shoot I did 2 years ago when I was still living in the mansion. I’m flattered to be on the cover again and as you all know Playboy has a very special place in my heart! I just wanted you guys to know I didn’t recently pose."


She should probably start preparing for the backlash.

Congress Returns next week: Will they pass Tier 5?



Next week, Congress will be back in session - but will they deal with extending unemployment or will they pass Tier 5 for the 99ers?

Currently, S3706 is not on the Lame Duck Senate agenda at all. Nancy Pelosi told the Huffington Post that extending UI benefits (filing dates only) is third on her priority list - yet did not mention of the coveted Tier 5. Nancy still runs the House (for now) but S3706 is a Senate bill which requires Harry Reid to put the bill on the Senate floor "Lame Duck" agenda.

Ed Schultz, staunch supporter of the 99er cause, was on The Rachel Maddow Show last night. When asked during Maddow’s new ‘Lame Duck’ segment about what the Democrats should do when they return next Monday, though Ed did mention extending unemployment benefits for those Americans who are “about to lose them” - he did NOT even mention Tier 5 for the 99ers (who have been without UI benefits now 8 months and counting). Say it isn’t so!

This omission by Schultz leads me to believe that he must know Tier 5 isn’t even on the radar when Congress returns. We all know that it is not on the official Congressional schedule, available online. Harry Reid is the one who decides what bills come to the Senate floor - and this is how he shows his gratitude for us saving his job?

My calls this week to the Senate offices of several co-authors of S3706 all had the same result. “The Americans Want to Work Act (S3706) is not scheduled to come to the floor for a vote during the remainder of this session and not likely to ever be considered even next year.”

Personal visits yesterday to the San Diego offices of CA Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstien (on behalf of the 99er community) met the same result. This is an outrage!

I say every 99er and concerned non-99er needs to contact Harry Reid via his staffers and tell them how we feel about being ignored and left to die after saving his butt:

Congressional Toll free Switchboard: 1-866-220-0044
Senator Harry Reid 202-224-3542 REID FAX 202-224-7327
Reno office:Tel 775-686-5750 Fax 775-686-5757

Reid Staffers:
Rodell_mollineau@reid.senate.gov,
Danica_daneshforouz@reid.senate.gov,
Mike_esposito@reid.senate.gov,
Mary_conelly@reid.senate.gov,
Gary_myrick@reid.senate.gov,
Robin_mccain@reid.senate.gov,
jim_manley@reid.senate.gov,

99er Nation, it is time yet again to flood the Ed show with emails http://www.bigeddieradio.com/emailEd/ saying we need his voice for the 99ers to survive! ed@edshultzshow.com


And please do not forget to keep calling the White House Comments Line 202-456-1111 - Comment line is only open 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Monday thru Friday EST. ***REMIND the President that this is an emergency and the very survival of millions of Americans depends on Tier 5 getting passed immediately!

[See the interview with Ed Schultz at 8:25 into the clip below]







Happy Birthday Marine Corps




Today marks the 235 years of the United States Marine Corps.

"The Few, The Proud" and "Semper Fidelis" are two of the mottos that the marines live by. The Marines are the smallest branch of the U.S. armed forces.

The Washington Post recalls that Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!"

The New York Daily News recalls how much the USMC has done for its country. The Corps protected Washington from three major British assaults during War of 1812 and stopped the German advance at the Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I. The Corps makes up less than 11percent of the U.S. military, but more than 23 percent of the Americans killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan are Marines.

Tomorrow is Veterans day: so remember and give thanks to those who have fought overseas to protect the rights of the United States.

KPFA: Show Cancellation at Local Radio Station (Video)



The KPFA The Morning Show cancellation issue drew 200 people for a rally on Tuesday outside the KPFA studios in Berkeley. The show hosts - Aimee Allison and Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and Morning Show Executive Producer Laura Prives and Esther Manilla - managed to lock themselves in a third floor studio and broadcast their show. (Video courtesy of The Daily Cal.)

That went against the wishes of KPFA Executive Director Arlene Englehardt. She wanted to bring in a radio feed from the sister station in LA. But the LA producers managed to get sick. That paved the way for the guerrila show.

In the audience look for the number of people who aren't using camcorders. That's one problem with media today - it's in the hands of each of us, but we have to know to use it to make a difference.

KPFA and NPR

What is it about Liberal Media lately? Why does it seem like the one medium needed to make a difference is coming apart at the seams? NPR has the embarrassing Juan Williams issue, and KPFA has this matter, where both seem like they're being ran by Old Media thinkers.

More on this soon.

KPFA: Show Cancellation at Local Radio Station (Video)



The KPFA The Morning Show cancellation issue drew 200 people for a rally on Tuesday outside the KPFA studios in Berkeley. The show hosts - Aimee Allison and Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and Morning Show Executive Producer Laura Prives and Esther Manilla - managed to lock themselves in a third floor studio and broadcast their show. (Video courtesy of The Daily Cal.)

That went against the wishes of KPFA Executive Director Arlene Englehardt. She wanted to bring in a radio feed from the sister station in LA. But the LA producers managed to get sick. That paved the way for the guerrila show.

In the audience look for the number of people who aren't using camcorders. That's one problem with media today - it's in the hands of each of us, but we have to know to use it to make a difference.

KPFA and NPR

What is it about Liberal Media lately? Why does it seem like the one medium needed to make a difference is coming apart at the seams? NPR has the embarrassing Juan Williams issue, and KPFA has this matter, where both seem like they're being ran by Old Media thinkers.

More on this soon.