More Praise for Clarkson

I can't stress it enough. This chick is the real deal. Be sure to watch the MTV VMA's tonight to see just how many this talented, gorgeous superstar takes home for what is probably the best music video since Michael Jackson's Thriller, for the best song since the Beatles' "Hey Jude".

BC Bounces Back...

and beats one of the best teams in the city.

You May Not Like Us, But Your Girlfriends Do.

Fury at the Fuel Pump

Gas prices are at their highest level in history. It cost me $30 to fill up my Honda yesterday. I agree, it sucks.

Millions of Americans are asking, along with the elite news media: "What is the government going to DO about this?"

Hopefully nothing.

During the late 70s, in response to rising oil prices, the Carter Administration created the Department of Energy. Worst idea ever. Carter set price controls on fuel, regulating what gas station owners could charge for a gallon of gas. This, of course, led to long waiting lines at gas stations because demand was unnaturally outstripping supply.

Enter Ronald Reagan, whose first action as President in January of 1981 was to end these disasterous price controls.

Bam. Energy crisis solved. Gas lines disappeared. Beginning in 1981, the price of oil went back up to its natural market level, inducing firms to produce more oil, and during the course of the 1980s the price of oil dropped substantially. With the stroke of a pen, Reagan ended the energy crisis.

So what's going on 25 years later? The explosive growth of China and India over the last 5 years, the current mess in the Middle East, and a strict Sierra Club-style regulatory environment preventing production and refining in the US are all reasons for oil's high price today.

My point is, we don't need an energy "plan". The best thing the government can do right now is LEAVE THINGS ALONE and GET OUT OF THE WAY. The cure for $60 a barrel oil is...$60 a barrel oil. The price system will take care of everything, and all indicators show that it already is doing so. Prices are the most efficient mechanism at sending the necessary signals to producers through profit incentives to bring more petroleum to market (world oil production is at its highest level in history), to entrepreneurs to invest more in alternative fuel technologies (happening), and to consumers to conserve more (also happening; i.e., more people are buying hybrids instead of SUVs).

There's a great article at the Baltimore Sun that puts this to words much better than me. Subscription is free.

Give me one example where government has done a good job solving energy crunches. Why do people always turn to government to solve their economic problems? Especially when the government has the worst track record and the free-market has the best? All of the aforementioned participants, acting in their own self-interest and not under some grand "master plan" of a central authority, nor naive altruism (notice, for example, how more people are buying hybrids today NOT because they're tree-huggers or anthropology majors but because it will SAVE THEM MONEY), will solve our energy crunch in the most efficient manner. Just watch.

The rendez vous point

Look at that sparse sun baked crab grass... great surface for boat shoes.

More BC Stuff

Coach Brackett spoke at the Alumni Association meeting last night. Typically, Brackett uses Holtz-like poor mouthing when talking about his teams. Last night, though, he seemed rather upbeat about the Cadets chances this year. Here's a breakdown of what he said.

As a unit, he said this is the best group of RBs he's ever had. There's no superstar but they all understand their roles and are ferocious blockers. Kourtney Pollard (4.4 40) is the best of the group but had some attitude problems last year. Brackett promised that he is straightened out.

QB is still a tossup between Dotson and Cail. Both have shown significant improvement over the offseason, thanks in large part to the new QB coach. I imagine Dotson will get the nod against Marist because he is a senior and he is a Dotson.

OL started out as a question mark but the coaching staff has found a good set of starters. If any of the five starters goes down, though, we could be in trouble. The new OL coach is Ken Cooper (former OL coach at UGA and head coach at Ole Miss). Both tightends are good receivers and will be utilized in the passing game.

Coach Brackett was not so optimistic about the defense. They are small up front and will not be able to go toe-to-toe with a strong offensive line. After consulting with former Valdosta coach, Mike O'Brien, this summer, Brackett is putting his best athletes at DE. One is Craig Thomas, who will also start at fullback. The other, whom Brackett did not name, went down with a knee injury.

We all know who is back at linebacker. Although not quite as gifted as his older brother, Anthony Wallace will be the focal point of the defense. Brackett also seemed pleased with the other starter at LB, whose first name, if I heard him correctly, is Gay. If that is his real name, I hope he takes out all his frustration from being teased as a kid on the Marist backfield.

The secondary seemed to be the coaching staff's biggest concern. Lack of size, speed, and depth is a deadly combination.

The kicking tandem of William Boyd (PK) and Ashton Phillips (P) is one of the best in the area. Boyd has a strong leg but was very inconsistent last year, missing way too many extra point attempts. Scott Shelton worked with him a little over the summer and hopefully straightened out his technique.

Despite the losses of long-time coaches Wayne Munch, Donal Chumley, and Tommy Cannon in recent years, Brackett said this is his best staff yet. Ken Cooper certainly adds validity to his statement. Also, the new OC is former East Hall head coach, Buddy Sorrow. Before retiring, he led East Hall to many region championships. He called Brackett out of the blue and told him he wanted to get back into coaching, but only at the right place. Coach Hall (QB coach) played quarterback at a D3 school and also coached QBs at the collegiate level. Donal Joyce ('97) started on the DL on the infamous '96 team and returns this year to coach the DL.

And finally, Coach Brackett guarenteed victory Saturday night. He said the attitude and leadership on this squad is off the charts.

I stand by my prediction:

BC .......................20
Marist.................14
Class of 2001.....Drunk

On a side note, I met yet another cousin to the Leonard dynasty last night at Sky Bar. He was a Markwalter, but I'm not sure what his first name was. Vick, maybe. Anyways, that satisfies my yearly quota of meeting people related to the Leonards in Statesboro.

BC-Marist Brings College Atmosphere

Even the Savannah Morning News is pumped up about the War Eagles coming to town. The article says that BC is trying to also add St. Pius to the schedule, so that, each year, we would play one game in Atlanta and one game in Savannah.

In other news, I just recently discovered the BC Alumni website www.benedictinealumni.org. You can create an account and they have message boards and news forums. There is a meeting tonight to vote on the Association's Board of Directors. Jason Jue is one of the nominees. Enough said.

BREAK AN ARM! BREAK A LEG! BENEDIC! BENEDIC!

3 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!

One More Week

The Cadets and War Eagles will be lacing them up exactly one week from now. My prediction:

Benedictine 20
Marist 14
Class of 2001 Drunk



I hit the phones hard today and made a lot of headway. Here is the RSVP list so far.

1. Eric Brown
2. Tavares Brown
3. Stephen Bruce
4. Ty Butler
5. Adam Clary
6. Rett Colleran
7. Tommy Davis
8. Davis Derst
9. Jeff Disk
10. Steven Doan
11. Will Fleming
12. Randy Gill
13. Mark Haslam
14. Patrick Holland
15. Morgan Jenssen
16. Chris Lane
17. Stephen Leonard (if he can find a ride)
18. TC Madison
19. Bryan McBride
20. Lee McCurry
21. Stephen Morgan
22. Chris Murray
23. Chris Pace
24. Arvind Raman
25. Michael Reardon
26. Patrick Sauers
27. Ryan Smith
28. Nardis Walker (maybe)
29. Tim Wallace
30. Brent Watts
31. Patrick Whitledge
32. Joe Wood
33. Brooks Zeigler

This list only shows people that have confirmed either me or Brooks. With everyone spreading the word, it looks like we might get 50 or more people!

Come Fall In Line

The 5-year reunion is starting to come together nicely. We already have confirmations from about 20 guys. I think 40 is a realistic goal. I checked out Marist's website and it looks like they are bringing a lot of people too. They are sponsoring a student trip to Tybee that afternoon. It also seems Marist is hosting a barbecue dinner at BC before the game. I can't wait!

12 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!

Kelly Clarkson - Best Singer in America

This girl rocks, and I don't care what any of you say. While I am still too cheap to buy her CD, I have downloaded pretty much all of her songs. Her "Breakaway" album released last year will probably go down in history next to Rubber Soul and Pet Sounds as one of the best albums of all time. Funny thing is, I'm not being sarcastic at all. My current ringtone is "Behind these Hazel Eyes." Every time I hear this song my eyes tear up. Clarkson belts out her beautiful lyrics with a passion that makes Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera sound like William Shatner. So Kelly, this is an open invitation -- will you marry me? Because I'm in love with you and your music.

We're Gonna Drive Ol' High School Off the Sod....

The scrimmage with Savannah High, which Pat alluded to, is set for Friday, August 5, 7:30 at Daffin Park. It's good to see both schools making an effort to renew this storied rivalry. BC leads the 107-game series with a record of 52-47-8. Sadly, I will not be able to attend since I will be on a retreat for my intramurals job at GSU.

Apparently, the new principal at the High has been cleaning house this summer. This has rubbed some people the wrong way, but I think it's about time these coaches are held responsible for their team's performance. If Savannah High missed the playoffs in basketball, you better believe Tim Jordan would be on the hot seat. With the athletes roaming the halls at all the public schools, all it takes is a good coach to turn things around. The tide has already turned at Groves and Windsor Forest. It looks like the High may be next.

Slainte

My report to the good people of BMBS is now due, for I have traversed the four corners of the Mother Land. I must be brief for I'm on the run, sight seeing and what not. Here's my synopsis thus far.
I started in Dublin where we got real drunk. Then off to Cork (very wet but nice), where we got real drunk. Then to a real Irish Catholic wedding (they put our weddings to shame, as well they should. The damn thing last 13 hours, I'm not shitting you.) near Middleton Co. Cork, where we got real drunk. Patrick and I then met my father on the Dingle Peninsula (great scenery), from there we worked our way up the west coast through Ennis(dirty, yet a great party town), Sligo (cool mountains, wide beaches, very industrial), Donegal (tiny town, nice city center, great music), and then Derry (by far the highlight of the trip for me. I visited the walled city where many IRA fights took place ) From Derry we landed in Droughegal (wide beaches covered in algae, apparently where huge horses are held right on the beach head every September. A lot of history in the town, very old) just north of Dublin. At the moment I am typing this in Dublin... on a computer hooked up to a TV, crude by manageable.
Economy: Holland, my expectations have been met. The economy is booming, everyone in Ireland is benefiting. Lots of people walk the streets of Dublin in pin stripped business suits and the factories are pumping.
Government: Not much exposure ot this yet, but a lot of political news apparently is reported by hearsay and rumor. But one major problem here is immigration. Ironic because 15 years ago emigration was a severe problem. But because of the Celtic Tigers booming economy, Dublin has become the hot spot for immigrants. The Dubliners here love the Latvians, Poles, and Rumanians because they are honest hard workers. The problem here arises with the influx of Nigerians. They declare themselves refugees of a war so that Ireland will provide welfare to them for the rest of their lives. The locals have acquired animosity to the Nigerians, as well they should. From my sources, the Nigerians are really trying to escape a hard days work rather than a tyrannical dictator. The Dail (the Irish Legislature) has passed laws restricting these people from riding the hog of the tax payers. But the socialists EU is fighting Ireland's fight against these worthless "refugees."
Running: A lot people go for runs here, athletics is a major of part of everyone's life. Currently, the Gaelic Games are in the finals. The pubs are jammed packed watching these oddly ruled games.
Mike Leonard: His accent is so southern that the Irish look like deer caught in head lights when asked a question by old Mike.
Possibility of living here: No way, there's no good hambugers or steaks,... and there's no happy hours.
Thats all I have for now, more to come later. I have tons of picture for yall.
Later

Beat Downs

A list of the Top 50 People in America today that need a severe beating. Apologies for Ann Coulter.

Minimum Wage Rage

A great post on the minimum wage over at Capital Freedom. Everyone should read it.

Countdown to Marist

Less than a month remains until the Cadets take on the War Eagles at Savannah's Memorial Stadium. Everybody better be there. Win or lose, you can find me at one of the big booths at Hilliard's after the game. We should all try and go on at least one road trip this year too (Hephzibah or Jefferson County). Also, BC will scrimmage Southeast Bulloch this Friday, and a scrimmage against Savannah High may be in the works too.

Anyway, here's BC's schedule. I apologize for the weird layout; for some reason it won't let me space it out more neatly.

Aug 20/Saturday/6:00pm/Marist/Memorial
Aug 26/Friday/7:30pm/Groves/Garden City
Sep 2/Friday/7:30pm/Hephzibah/Hephzibah
Sep 10/Saturday/7:30pm/Richmond Academy/Memorial
Sep 16/Friday/7:30pm/Effingham County/Memorial
Sep 23/Friday/7:30pm/South Effingham/Rincon
Sep 30===============BYE================
Oct 7/Friday/7:30pm/Burke County (HC)/Memorial
Oct 14/Friday/7:30pm/Richmond Hill/Richmond Hill
Oct 21/Friday/7:30pm/Liberty County/Memorial
Oct 28/Friday/7:30pm/Jefferson County/Louisville

Come out and support the Cadets.

Two-Weeks Notice

It is Friday, July 22 and I have submitted my two-weeks notice. Reflecting on my internship with Savannah Area Geographic Information Systems (SAGIS), I have decided that my greatest achievements this summer occurred during lunch hour. Having eaten at many fine downtown establishments, I feel I have earned enough credibility to produce a ranking of downtown lunches.

The 5 Best:

1. Jupiter Cafe. I had never even heard of this place before today. The lunch buffet is the best I've had this summer. Mac & cheese, cabbage, barbecue, squash casserole, green beans, chicken wings, and fried fish. They also had a dessert buffet with banana pudding and strawberry shortcake. The wings were not as good as Maury's but they did not disappoint. Definitely worth the $8 that I did not pay.

2. Sakura. A fusion of Chinese and Japanese flavors, Sakura offers the most bang for your buck in the non-buffet category. This was my most frequented restaurant and I ordered the sesame chicken every time. Huge portions and a side salad for $6 is hard to beat on Broughton St.

3. Ray's. Your traditional "meat-and-three" home cookin' restaurant. A typical meal at Ray's included fried chicken, mac & cheese, collards, mashed potatoes & gravy, cornbread, with a side order of Mr. Wolf for about $7.

4. Chao. A Chinese buffet right next door to Ray's. Though not a super buffet, it contained all the Chinese essentials, like pepper steak, sweet & sour chicken, lo mein, egg rolls, and hot wings. For $5 it is the cheapest lunch buffet in the historic district.

5. Locos. This chain restaurant, primarily known for its underage nightlife, makes the list based soley on one item: the Blackened Salmon BLT. It also doesn't hurt to have a Josh Mallard jersey hanging on the wall.

The 5 Worst:

1. Larry's Giant Subs. By far the worst lunch experience I've ever had. First off, the wait is ridiculous for a fast-food establishment. Granted the downtown location get slammed at lunch time, but every Larry's I've been to had been slow. Upon ordering a BLT, the cashier told me they were out of tomatoes. Not wanting to search for something else on the menu, I said that was fine. However, the person ordering after me got tomatoes on his sandwich. Inexcusable!

2. Exchange Tavern. This story requires a little background. SAGIS is sort of a task force of county and city employees. There are only four of us: a city employee, a county employee and two interns, both employed by the county. We went to the Exchange for a retirement lunch for another city employee. Myself, and the county employee were the only non-city employees there. At the end of our meal, a lady took up a $1 collection to pay for the retiree's lunch. I only had a $20 bill on hand so I apologized for not being able to contribute. She made some snide remark about it only being a dollar and I again apologized. What a bitch! I don't even know this person and I'm expected to help contribute to her retirement lunch. And it's not like I'm not paying for my own lunch, which was terrible on its own merit. I got the barbecue lunch special with a side of cole slaw. It was terrible. It tasted like Kraft barbecue sauce. Plus, it was about $10.

3. State St. Cafe. The sign out side read, "Mix and Match: Half Turkey Melt, Chicken Caesar Melt, Ham & Cheese, $5.95" Call me slow, but I took this to mean you could choose half of one sandwich and half of another. I came to find out that the "mix and match" referred to the side items. So I got half of a sandwich and my choice of fries or onion rings for $6.

4. Churchill's. Bad service, bland food, and high prices get you a 4-spot on this list.

5. B & D Burgers. More like B & D Buns. And, unlike Coop's, you have to order from the table and leave a tip.

"Capital Freedom"

I highly recommend this new blog, started last week by a student at George Mason University. Not only is she a staunch defender of classical liberal thought, but she's also pretty hot.

In other news, co-blogger Stephen Leonard leaves for Ireland tomorrow. He will be filling the new BMBS International News Correspondent position.

All I have to say is be careful in Belfast buddy. We don't want you to get beheaded like the other foreign reporters, but don't compromise your journalistic integrity either. When they hit you with an Irish Car Bomb over there, you'll realize you're not at Molly O'Shea's anymore.

These People Walk Amongst Us

My name is Ryan Smith, and I am an English major. Small problem, though: I hate everything about it. I haven't read a single assigned book for any of my classes. I read Sparknotes to write all my papers, which, by the way, are masterworks of complete bullshit. English "professors" love that; as long as everyone is still playing pretend, things are great.

Worse than any of this are the people I have had to deal with in Park Hall for a year and a half. You know the type even if you don't go to UGA. Here are some of their favorite activities:
-Chain smoking
-Intellectualizing
-Arguing passionately about a poem in class
-Making sure everyone sees their I-Pod earpieces
-Writing in their diary in class (true)
-Coming to class barefoot
-Putting "Not My President" buttons on their satchels

But if you need a visual aid, I went to the trouble of coming back into my classroom when it was empty so I could take this picture.


"This is why things fall apart." Let's examine this. First off, we all know HOW ANNOYING IT IS TO WRITE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. Well, except for Tim, who sends every text message like this. Secondly, there's no punctuation, and as an English major, the author should be admonished.

More importantly, let's get to the message. The author fails to include exactly what or who is causing things to fall apart, so we are left to speculate. Perhaps he is being literal and referring to the occupant of the desk in front of them during the time of the inscription. Therefore, said occupant must be a severely obese person who causes things to break, such as desks. If this was the author's intention, then I must agree; obese people do cause things to fall apart and should be put down like dogs.

Most likely the message is a lyric from a music group, or even cuter, the graffiti artist himself. I must admit that I'm a little underwhelmed by the lack of originality or specifics. "Things" could be cars, relationships. unused showers, societies, black-rimmed glasses. You just never know.

In a decent world, the author is being self-referencial, owning up to his boo-hoo baby, liberal smarm and all its associations. Yes, because of people like him who damage other people's property, who protest things to get the attention they claim they don't want, who preach socialism while given the oppurtunity to thrive by way of capitalism, who infiltrate the hallowed grounds of BC and rob McDonald's, who get their news from The Daily Show, and who ruined their family members' lives that things are falling apart.

Thanks for reminding me every weekday.

Sorry, More Boring Stuff...

I'm just now getting back from the beach, where I didn't have internet access for over a week. So there's a lot to catch up on.

First, let's go ahead and get all of the "Live 8" malarchy out of the way. I tuned in and watched some of the performances last weekend, and I must say, great music and good intentions, but this is the most misguided effort ever. These left-wingers are still convinced, after decades of failed attempts, that somehow prosperity can be achieved through redistributive means.

Here's two great articles, here and here, on how foreign aid is pointless and usually hurts those it intends to help. I'll bet anyone that Africa will still be in poverty 50 years from now. I also bet there will be at least 50 more Live Aids that will try, and fail, to "end poverty". All of these organizers are so intent on finding out just what causes poverty, but the real question they should be asking themselves is what causes prosperity. Poverty has long been the norm. It's very easy to create poverty. Just do nothing.

The entire world lived in extreme poverty by today's standards until, about 300 years ago, the West began to prosper. How did this happen? Why do Americans enjoy the world's highest living standards? What is preventing Africans from creating wealth? If people like Dave Matthews and Bono really understood the answer to these questions, they wouldn't be giving a dime to Africa.

Foreign aid sustains poverty. Simple as that.

Second, Ireland. Came across a great post over at Cafe Hayek (a libertarian economics blog) that talks more about the Irish economic miracle. Interesting stuff. Lots of prosperity being created there, all without foreign aid.

Third, the U.S. employment rate dropped to 5% last month. This is the lowest rate since 9/11. I'm not saying Bush had anything directly to do with this, as presidents have no control over the business cycle (John Kerry reminded me of Josef Stalin last year when he promised that HE HIMSELF would somehow "create" 9 million jobs under a grand "jobs creation plan" if elected), but you have to give some credit to the 2003 tax rate reductions for creating a better climate for growth.

There's a great article in today's Wall Street Journal concerning this. Here's a sample:

Almost from the very day in May of 2003 when those tax reductions became law, the U.S. has experienced a robust expansion driven by investment and productivity gains, not by consumer spending...Consumers aren't irrelevant, but prosperity is created on the supply side of the economy with the incentives to produce goods or services that people want to consume. So tax cuts in marginal rates that boost incentives to work and invest provide a much bigger bang for the buck.

The private sector, not the government, drives economic growth. Even Clinton understood this to some degree. Why can't the rest of his party?

That's enough for today kids. Tomorrow I'll cover gas prices. Stay tuned.

The Anglican Church; still crumbling.

I am not able to recall this episode, but way back in 1991 there was a mass exodus of male Aglican priests. They knocked on the doors of the Vatican for permission to defect into the Roman Catholic Church. This mass conversion was a result of the Anglican Church allowing the ordination of women priests. The Pope allowed these men to convert only after it was ensured that they would preach the correct beliefs of the Catholic Church.

The Anglican Church will soon vote on whether to allow the ordination of women bishops. Knowing these people, the proposal will certainly be accepted into their catechism. Some current Anglican Bishops predict yet another mass exodus of priests into the Catholic Church after the upcoming vote.

What are these refugee priests seeking? It couldn't be order, authority, honor, tradition, and respect now could it?

On a lighter note, the ever experimental Anglican Church is now contemplating its next great idea