Unbelievable!
Wouldn’t you know it, my Friday-afternoon post speculating on an I-95 World Series was the kiss of death for the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. Before the night was over, BOTH teams were eliminated from the 2012 pennant chase, the O’s in the American League and the Nats in the National League.
A short post on my humble blog has the same power to jinx as a Sports Illustrated cover story? Who’d ‘a thunk it?
I-95 World Series Possible! — The Baltimore Orioles play the New York Yankees today (Friday) at 5 p.m. in the Bronx. And the Washington Nationals play the St. Louis Cardinals tonight, starting at 8:37 p.m. at the new Nationals Park in Southeast Washington. Both contests are the fifth and deciding games in their playoff series.
If both the Orioles and Nationals win, it would set the stage for a possible first-ever World Series between the neighboring cities of Baltimore and Washington.
Here are my impressions from listening to, but not watching, tonight’s debate.
Congressman Paul Ryan is a well-informed, fact-filled young man, an expert on the Budget of the U.S. His depth of experience is in the House of Representatives, with special expertise in budgeting. Mr. Ryan feels passionately about economics, debt, and numbers.
Vice President Joe Biden is an older man with a depth of experience in life, and nearly unparalleled experience in American politics and world affairs. Mr. Biden is passionate about people, particularly workers and soldiers.
Joe Biden may have appeared condescending to his younger challenger; Paul Ryan may have appeared to have a bit of a wise-guy attitude toward his more mature adversary. The two men — both Catholics — gave sincere and differing points of view on the abortion question.
Martha Raddatz is an outstanding debate moderator.
Which man, Paul Ryan or Joe Biden, or both, do you believe is prepared, if necessary, to assume the responsibility of commander-in-chief and president.
— John Hayden
Here’s the shadow side of cable TV news:
“Where was Obama tonight? He should watch — well, not just ‘Hardball,’ Rachel [Maddow], he should watch you, he should watch the Reverend Al [Sharpton], he should watch Lawrence [O’Donnell], he would learn something about this debate. There’s a hot debate going on in this country. Do you know where it’s being held? Here on this network is where we’re having the debate. We have our knives out. We go after the people and the facts. What was he doing tonight? He went in there disarmed.”
That was Chris Matthews on the MSNBC post-game party after the Obama-Romney debate Wednesday night. Continue reading
AFTER THE FIRST DEBATE: “Never mind.” The election goes down to the wire. Probably it will be close. The pundits on MSNBC were bitterly disappointed in President Obama’s performance. Mitt Romney took two weeks off to rest and prepare, and it paid off. He denied repeatedly that he’d cut taxes for the wealthy. He pounded the president on investments in green energy. He accused the president of cutting Medicare funding. All Romney had to do was stand on the same stage and look like a plausible candidate. Mission accomplished. — John
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BEFORE THE FIRST DEBATE: After tonight’s domestic-policy debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the outcome of the November election will be settled. That’s what I’m thinking. Romney’s ace has always been the economy, but a growing consensus says things are improving. If Mr. Romney can’t find a way to break that mildly optimistic economic consensus tonight, he’s done. — John
Related articles:
Got it! A first-edition hardback of “The Casual Vacancy,” by J.K. Rowling, published in the U.S. and Great Britain this week. The 503-page tome comes with a cover price of $35 ($36.99 in Canada), but Walmart has it on deep discount at $24.50.
The Casual Vacancy may signal a turnaround for quality in popular fiction. Where can it go but up, after “Hunger Games“ and “Fifty Shades of Grey?” Talk about your lowest common denominator!
I plan to do one of my serialized book reviews for Casual Vacancy, with updates posted every few days, as I read.
Firefighters battled an intense fire that engulfed the top floor of a condominium building at 38th St., just south of the Convention Center, in midtown Ocean City, Maryland. The fire started at about 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012. No injuries were reported. The summer season is over, and parking lots on both sides of the building appeared to be nearly empty, allowing fire apparatus to get close to the building on both sides. Firefighters had to brave clouds of intense, acrid-smelling smoke.
Living Simply And Still On The Grid 