!!!

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-dunkie

A Whole lot of Nothing.

As the saying goes, “no news, is good news.” Sadly, this doesn’t really apply to what happened today in the United States. Instead of receiving no news, what we got was a whole lot of news that really didn’t tell us much. What do I mean by that?

First, we received news that the Senate voted and approved an $838 billion economic stimulus package. Yippy skippy. The only problem is that the Senate approved stimulus plan is different from the House approved stimulus plan. Because of this, we still don’t know what the bill will look like once President Obama signs it into law. In other words, nothing has changed on this front, yet…

Secondly, Treasury Secretary Geithner came out today and announced the “details” of a $2 trillion dollar rescue plan. While he outlined the plan, he neglected to provide the details of how things would really work. The result of this was somewhat reminiscent of when we first heard about The Bailout (i.e. very few details at first) and the markets did not react favorably.

So despite all of this news, we are pretty much left with knowing as much as we did a week ago. As a result, the stock markets are pretty much back to where they were, a week ago (i.e. the DJIA was down 381.99 points and closed at 7,888.88).

Really, the only point of today’s news(and this post for that matter) is to report that eventually, we are going to hear something, at which point I’ll hopefully write something about the US Economy again.

-dunkie

An A-Rod Montage with Music by Chris Daughtry

Just dug this one out of the wood works. It's an A-Rod Montage that I put together for Sherman a year or so ago. Figured that I might as well put it up. Kind of brings a tear to my eye when I watch it...

p.s. 25,000 hits? lol

-dunkie

Forgive A-Rod, but the rest is up to uou

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure, felt all the weight of the world on top of me to perform, and perform at a high level every day. Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance. For that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful." -Alex Rodriguez

The guy screwed up. And make no mistake about it, as far as screw ups and bad decisions go, taking steroids is a pretty big one.

Let's be honest though. We all make mistakes, we all screw up, we all make bad decisions, and in the end, we all must deal with the consequences of our actions. In this manor, A-rod is no different then anyone else. He made a mistake and he will have to deal with the consequences.

Note: If you don't ever make mistakes, or screw up, you either a) aren't being honest with yourself or b) perfect, in which case (a) also applies.

What sets A-Rod apart, along with the few others who choose to do so, is that he admitted to his mistakes (Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, as well all the other 103 players who tested positive for illegal substances back in 2003, you might want to start taking notes...). Now that A-Rod he has done so, we all have a choice, and it is an individual choice that we are all free to make.

For myself, that choice is to forgive A-Rod.

Yes, I realize that he made a mistake, one that will no doubt hurt the national pastime that I love. However, I applaud and respect the courage that it took for him to come out and tell the truth, especially when taking into consideration the possible consequences of doing so. In realizing such, I support him in moving forward in his career and hope that he will work hard to regain the trust of not only his fans, but of Major League Baseball fans too. In doing so, I hope that one day he will earn the right to be enshrined in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

Don't get me wrong though, I do not support the use of steroids, and just because you say that you're sorry doesn't automatically earn you a get out of jail free card. Furthermore, if you think A-Rod should be banned from Major League Baseball and the HOF, you are probably justified in your thoughts, and whether or not he will actually ever make it there, I really just don't know.

What I do know is that I've made plenty of mistakes in my life, and if it wasn't for the forgiveness or support of others, I probably wouldn't be who, or where I am today. With that in mind, I would hope that we could all find it in our hearts to forgive A-Rod. Beyond that, whether you choose to support him or push for his banishment, is completely up to you.

-dunkie