The Biggest Current Debate in Politics: Government-Run Health Care: Lies, Propaganda, and Difficulties in Politics

“We’re afraid of Obama!” yelled an onlooker at a republican town hall meeting about health care.

Another member of the crowd shouted, “We’re afraid of Obama! He’s a Socialist! We’re all afraid of Obama! You should be afraid of Obama!”

"Turn off Glenn Beck,” the speaker responded.

Sarah Palin, while too busy for politics and the Governorship of Alaska, found time to write on her facebook page, “I will not stand for Obama’s ‘death panel’ that will say whether or not they (her children and grandparents) live.”

President Obama had to rebut these rumors on his web address Monday.

“Let me start by dispelling outlandish rumors that health care reform will promote euthanasia or cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of healthcare. That’s simply not true. This isn’t about putting the government in charge of your health insurance, it’s about putting you in charge of your health insurance. …it will provide for the hundreds of millions of Americans that don’t have health insurance…We’ll stop insurance companies from denying coverage due to past medical history.”

Can we all agree on something here?

It is not positive that one group lies about another so much, to the point that our President has to coddle us while explaining the real hopes and dreams of health care reform he has put forth.

But what has driven people to seemingly mindlessly insane with rage directed Obama’s way? What could have made this sector of Americans so angry?

As the famous Islamic Caliphate Ali bin Aba Talib (RA) in the seventh century said of human nature, "We Fear What We Don't Know."

So, should we be fearful, and in hand, angry about things we don’t understand, or should we seek to know as much about them as possible?

Here we come across a problem. In today’s postmodern condition, the very one we all live in currently, we have many things to get in the way of simply “knowing” things, or even “learning” things.

The postmodern condition leads to “information overload,” too much information to sort through to find what is the “truth” of the matter. It also leads to stereotyping, which, while negative many times, may not always be the case, but a way to navigate our world.

The “news” providers of 2009 basically force us into stereotyping though, through our bipolar world view, that says, “If I’m good, you’re bad,” and vice versa.

The cable news networks, like FOX News, CNN, MSNBC and others absolutely feed off this negativity, and the way they publish their “news” is through a very effective medium that can penetrate deep and in a broad way.

This “news reporting” is called propaganda.

But what exactly is propaganda?

Most people, when asked, “What is propaganda?” would answer, “Isn’t that what those WWII movies were based on?” The answer would be exactly correct, though it wasn’t the first time, nor last time propaganda has been used.

Noam Chomsky describes propaganda as coming in five “filters.” The filters are; ownership of the medium, medium’s funding sources, sourcing, flak, anti-communist ideology.

Chomsky argues that since mainstream media outlets are large corporations or part of conglomerates, the information presented to the public will be biased with respect to these interests. According to the funding “filter” the news is nothing more than a “filler” to get readers, or viewers, to see the advertisements, which make up the real content.

Chomsky continues, talking about sourcing saying, “The mass media are drawn into a symbiotic relationship with powerful sources of information by economic necessity and reciprocity of interest.” The fourth filter is flak, which is, “Negative responses to a media statement or program.” And the fifth is “anti-communism” which in today’s thinking, can be thought of as “anti-ideologies” which exploit fear and hatred of groups that pose a potential threat, either real, exaggerated, or imagined.

Where does propaganda play a role in our every day lives?

Now that I have described propaganda, in however a brief and possibly confusing way, how does it really affect us in our lives as Americans?

I will use some concrete examples to show how propaganda influences us in a real way, through the media.

FOX News’ Bill O’Reily in 2007 called Left wing demonstrators, “Nazis. Nazis used to change facts and make smear campaigns. That’s what they’re (left wingers) are doing.”

In those three brief sentences, O’Reiley is using three of the “filters” Chomsky described above; ownership, anti-ideologies, and is the quintessential example of sourcing.

FOX News is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who owns News Corporation, one of the five media conglomerates that run all of the news we have in America today. The other four are Disney(ESPN, ABC), Viacom(CBS, MTV), Time Warner(TNT, CNN), and GE(NBC). Oh, and those that say there is a "Liberal Media Bias," the majority of these companies are owned by Republicans, so therefore, there is a "Conservative Media Bias" in actuality.

So, basically, there are five companies that own 80-90 percent of our media, TV, radio, and movies. The internet is the one medium that is seemingly “free,” although conglomerates are at work here too. The five companies have five main owners, and the news they provide is subject to the owners of the conglomerate.

In actuality, what is reported to the American public is news that is beneficial to the owner, not what is necessarily “news worthy.”

FOX News, and in turn many of the cable news networks, are exemplary of showing stories that should not be news worthy, and spreading propaganda.

FOX “News” Network is spreading this propaganda to a sector of the American public that eat it up and turn what they don’t know into fear. FOX News, instead of reporting real news, in a “fair and balanced” way, like that advertise, does nothing but use fear tactics about things we (the American public) do not need to worry about.

Here are just a few examples, of the hundreds I have personally heard from these “news” channels, as FOX is not the only culprit here: The Swine Flu, The Bird Flu, Anthrax, E-Coli in Tomatoes, or even terrorists in general.

Think about it, how many terrorist attacks have there been in America? That’s right, everyone thinks of 9/11 off the bat, but what else?

Sure, there was the DC sniper, Ted Kaczynski, and other random crazies out there. So, add all those up and how many do you get? A minuscule amount, especially compared to many countries in the Middle East and other places on the globe that are subject to this kind of violence on almost a daily basis.

But what did FOX News used to harp on while W. was in office? “The US hasn’t been attacked again since 9/11, so what Bush is doing is working, and is right.”

To think that way is not only illogical, it is plain wrong.

Sure, Bush changed a lot of things security-wise during his presidency, but his hand was forced, not voluntary. Not to mention domestic wire-tapping, which goes completely against the Constitution and the government used the CIA to do so, when their jurisdiction is solely outside of US borders, not inside.

America has not been attacked though because we haven’t been attacked, not because of Bush, or any other regime. It’s like saying, “I had a house built, and during construction, one of the builders was crushed by a beam. After the accident, we stepped up safety, and no one was injured, so I guess it worked.” There is no cause and effect in the argument in the statement, “We haven’t been attacked because of what Bush did.”

Think about it all, it takes a lot of time, effort, and most of all money to make something like the 9/11 attack happen. Bin Laden (if that’s really who was behind it all) had to plan the attack all out, plant people in America to learn how to fly planes etc.

Basically, they hit us in a weak place, a place that has been sored up since, but is not impenetrable. Bush though, also sold the port of Miami to Dubai, a middle eastern nation. And while Dubai may be the least of the US’ worries, to think that someone could ship a nuclear weapon or worse into the country through the port is scary in itself.

But this is where the argument comes full circle. There are some things we should worry about, real problems that can affect us in a real way. There are also some things that are absolutely ridiculous to spend time fretting about.

The evidence of this propaganda and use of fear tactics is shown in something that has come up repeatedly in the last three days since Sarah Palin’s facebook statement came out, “Obama and his ‘death panel’.”

Every one is in an uproar over her comments, not because of how incredibly ridiculous they are, but because some people actually believe that they are true!

The US Government setting up a “death panel” that gets to chose whether you live or die? Come on, this isn’t some SciFi story we’re reading, this is 2009, the year of change in the form of a black president.

But who could make these seemingly intelligent think such crazy things? The media of course. The media, as I learned, is pervasive, domineering, and like some people’s God, omnipresent. Think about going in public and all the media you are subjected to.

TV in public places like the bus station, or radio on the bus, or a huge ad on the side of a bus —and we’re just talking about a small sector of our society, public transportation!

A great example of this came today, August 12, 2009, as I watched more propaganda hit the TV screen while watching Jeopardy. An “ad” explaining that “$22,750. Government run health officials in England decided that’s how much six months of life is worth. Tell your members of Congress to oppose Government run Healthcare.” If there were any better example of propaganda on TV, I wouldn’t be able to find it.

So, in summation, there are a few final points I would like to reiterate to everyone.

First, the media is everywhere in the postmodern world, and we must navigate our way though it, in a critical way. Second, some media is advertised as “news” but is in actuality really just filler of interests that helps the owner of the network. Third, propaganda, while seemingly dead, is still present in our every day world. Fourth, EVERY news network is guilty of using propaganda as a strategy, not just FOX News, although they are a prime example.

Lastly, and most importantly, do NOT believe everything you read, watch, or listen to, as it could be false, misinformation, or complete propaganda designed to lead you astray from your usual intelligent understanding of the world.

Don’t even believe me fully. Question, criticize, and comment if you think I’m wrong, and why.

A Midnight Romp Around the Gambler's Paradise that is Black Hawk

Black Hawk and Central City are gambling towns in the Rocky Mountains, only minutes from Denver, and are simply breathtaking.

My first contact with these towns came when I was a mere eight or nine years old, and about the only memory I can recall is sitting next to this realistic-looking octogenarian on a bench—and the town was small, with three-story at most buildings.

Besides those faint memories, my biggest experience with the gambling towns themselves are the TV adds that commonly follow Jeopardy.

One common thread in the commercials is a sweeping view of the town, showing their casino, which the most extravogant have LED jumbotrons above the front entrance, that scream things like, "Loosest Penny Slots"(which, when heard on TV sounds eerily like another kind of business associated with gambling) and "Friday Buffet: $4.99."

The catchiest of the adds is for Lodge Casino with their singing slogan, "Lodge Casino: Your choice for fun!"

But, as Mike first proposed the idea of going to Black Hawk at 3pm yesterday, I immediately got excited.

Finally, after much deliberation sitting in a large circle, and procrastination, we were off to Black Hawk at 10:30pm.

The drive down for Will and I was highlighted by the "mashup" put on by Alice 105.9, and many crazy drivers on I25. There was "the jerker," the guy that swerves in and out of lanes (not something else pervs), and the "I go 45 mph in the middle lane" guy as well.

As we flew down the highway all I could think was how exciting it would be to gamble, legally. I should make an announcement here that I have never been to Vegas, unlike most all of my friends, and most of what I know of it comes from TV shows and personal "Vegas Confessions" from Mike, Diana, and Koby.

The last 30 minutes of the drive is a dark winding journey through the mountains, as hundreds of cars were leaving the gambling towns, and we were the poor schmucks showing up late. Every turn led to another, and another, with nay a street light on the side of the road, until, finally there was the splendor of Black Hawk at night time.

We even made it by our planned time, midnight.

There are huge parking structures with neon lights, one of the biggest is free, and some relatively large casinos.

The biggest and most awe-striking building was a hotel that was that rises majestically 30 stories out of the canyon mountainside. The hotel is around two thirds of the way done, so the two cranes alongside it make it seem even more massive. Adjoining the hotel is a double-digit story parking structure that looks as if it has rooms inside it as well.

As Will and I drove down the narrow "strip" as I assume the designers were attempting to emulate, I noticed how narrow the road is, and how wonderfully clean the city is as a whole—especially since it's such a popular tourist destination. Space is a definite rarity here, but there are still so many casinos packed into the small area.

We arrived at the Lodge Casino, (Go figure right? I guess their advertising works) which from my understanding, is one of the biggest and best of Black Hawk. Upon entering, there is a nifty big rotating door that senses you coming and moves without anyone pushing it. In fact, there is a sign that reads, "Please do not push," something that was lost on a belligerent man who stumbled into the door, which came to a halt, hitting his wife in the face.

As Will and I walked in, we were almost assaulted by the security guards waiting at the door, a somewhat intrusive, almost rude exchange between the four of us. We proceeded up the escalator, and the Lodge was packed, teeming with gamblers from seemingly all classes and many different places. From young white and black people, to old white and asian people, to middle aged native Americans, everyone was represented.

We weaved our way to "Frank's Bar" and I was pleseantly surprised when the cost of a Bud Light was a mere $2.25.

A somewhat unpleasent surprise that the bartender had in store for me was that there is a 30 minute wait between drinks, as per Black Hawk regulations apparently. (As we sat down, Will played, and lost, $20 on video poker in about three minutes, a quick wake up call to me.) This of course would not work for us beer drinkers, as it was already 12:30 am, and last call is at 2:00. Will, Mike, Diana and I waited for our other four companions, as Will let me know the loop hole around the rule though; go to another casino.

So, all eight of us were off, across the street, to the Golden Gates casino. Contrasted to the Lodge's newish feel and design, the Golden Gates had a much older style. The bottom floor, where we played for about two hours, had a rustic, almost "old western" feel to it.

Right away, five of my companions jumped on a Black Jack table, and I followed over to watch. As I was the only "casino virgin" I was a little shy to throw my money away on a $5 per bet Black Jack table. The play was quick, as lots of money was lost, and won for some time, by friends.

Luckily for me, Diana wanted to play some slots, and we went to play together. Slots are a fun and easy way to spend a little money, but their rewards are small as well. I had a great time perusing the machines, as Diana kept explaining that we "had to find one that calls out to us."



The best machine I played all night was this "Reel Money" one that was 30 cents per play, but ended up shelling out around $12 to me in around a half an hour of play all together.

We jumped from machine to machine though, all the while checking in on the guys playing cards, and hitting the bar. Again, luckily for me, the pregnant young lady behind the bar at this casino wasn't so worried about the 30 minute rule, as she was making money, and getting me buzzed.

After a while though, and much losing by a few of us, we left the Golden Gates to go back to the Lodge, as Will needed to leave for the Fort, and work. Koby and I were to go with him, until Mike convinced us to stay to gamble more, and sleep in Winter Park.

I was stoked to get to stay, and we left again for the Gilpin Casino. It, like the Golden Gates, is located on the "older" side of the road, but the casino was at least as nice as the Lodge. By now, 2:30 am, the casinos were relatively empty, but not completely, as I suppose any time is a good time to lose money.

Again, five people jumped onto a Black Jack table, and again I watched. This time, I was feeling a little more lucky, and after a bunch of hands, jumped on the table to play as well. I threw down a $20 bill, good for only four chips. First hand, a 3, followed by a 7, followed by a 10, winner. Second hand, a 3 again, for another win. At one point I was up $15 dollars, but after losing four hands in a row, I got up from the table with $10 in chips to play with still.

At this point, Mike, Diana, and I went back to their car to have a few more drinks. In the free parking garage was the place Black Hawk actually reminded me of what I think Vegas would be like. The stairwells are full of trash, cups, and dirtiness in an otherwise superbly clean city.

As we walked back down the "strip" we stopped at the Canyon casino, played a few slots before going back to the Gilpin. As Koby was done on Black Jack, the three of us got him to come with us as we looked to play Hold'em. We found the room, after walking through a somewhat busy, good smelling restaurant, but were too intimidated to play. The room was not bustling, as only about 15 people played, and would have likely taken our money, and fast.

Back to the slot machines for me, as I kept looking at the time, but wasn't tired at all. As 4:00 am rolled around, we headed back to the Lodge for some craps, which Mike really wanted to play. We hung around a packed table for about an hour, and I got a quick lesson from a hot better, and a craps "psychic."

The guy in a North Carolina hat kept betting and betting big, and coming out positive. At one point, he had around $200, but at the end of our stay, was back down to about $40. The guy directly to my right kept calling every single dice throw, as he was wrong 90% of the time. I heard him spill that he had lost $300 earlier in the night though, and wouldn't be gambling anymore.

Mike finally got his chance to throw, and did for around 20-30 minutes. Mike was paying everyone, including this 50-year old woman to my left. At one point, there was around $300 on the table as Mike had a hot hand. He eventually crapped out though, and we felt like 5:00 am was a good time to leave.

As we left the Lodge, we decided to just dive back to Fort Collins, instead of staying in Winter Park. The drive down the canyon was remarkable, as the sun was rising and I had never seen the mountains in this light.

At last, we arrived in Fort Collins, as I was awoken in my backseat temporary bed of Mike's car.

Overall, the experience was great, classic, fun, although expensive ($50, 15 of which for drinks), and at times intrusive by security and the loud noises of machines. For anyone that lives in Colorado, or anywhere close by, I definitely suggest going to Black Hawk for a night of fun.

The Pro-Bowl and Cons of Moving the Game From Paradise

Let's face it.
The Pro-Bowl is the most glorified exhibition game for the NFL and, more likely, of any professional sports league.
There are so many microphones on the field, there’s no wonder NBC had a 15 second delay that Al Michaels mentioned in the first half. The best of the bunch are the ones on quarterbacks, making the in-game experience wonderful.

The NFL should incorporate the mics into regular season games, as long as there is a long delay, so no one can cheat on what plays are called.

Other gimmicky subtractions from regular-season NFL play are rule changes including no motioning by the offense, no more than two receivers on either side of the quarterback. And on defense, cornerbacks must play at least five yards off.

All of these rule changes by the NFL encourage one-on-one play of the finest athletes in the world, fighting in a high-scoring, exciting, ratings-boosting game. However, not all of these were true in 2009.

The NFC won the game 30-21 after Jay Cutler of the Denver Broncos went 0-4 on the AFC’s last drive.

Sure there were exciting plays.

Larry Fitzgerald had a great Touchdown catch in lots of traffic to end the first half. Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets grabbed an amazing one-handed interception in the end zone off of an Eli Manning pass.

Or the AFC’s “Fumbleruski-like” play in which there were three backs in the backfield with Cutler, the ball was hiked, and then reverse hiked to Le’Ron McClain of the Baltimore Ravens, and after much confusion, the fullback went in for the score.

Even though the game was close to the end, the second-lowest scoring game in a decade was not what the NFL, or more important, fans hoped for.

With the Pro-Bowl being played this week came word of the game moving away from the paradise of Hawaii. Early reports came back this week that players are sad to see the game moved and want it’s return to the USA’s 49th state.

As the plan stands now, the 2009 Pro-Bowl, the 30th consecutive at the site of Honolulu, Hawaii, will be the last, at least for the time being.

2010’s game will be played in Miami, the week before the Super Bowl, when there is normally no football played. Obviously, due to tradition, there are many pros and cons for moving the game.
Pros – The game will be more accessible to most NFL fans. Of course, the game will be taken away from fans in Hawaii, who only have one college team to root for, but many mainlanders cannot find it economic to fly to the island for an exhibition game.

Also, those that can afford to spend some extra money can catch the Pro-Bowl and Super Bowl in little over a week’s time. Imagine that vacation!

Another pro of the game being played in Hawaii, as Ray Lewis puts it, “You want to come over and do something different. You want to tour the islands and bring the kids over here to see something different.” (nfl.com)

Players in the NFL aren’t impressed with cities they visit during the regular season, they like the Pro-Bowl as a vacation and as an exhibition game.

Also, no more being subjected to seeing huge guys in floral and palm tree patterns. I mean come on guys! You look like a weekend bowling league with those silly things on.

Cons – The most glaring con of moving the game is not necessarily in the site, but the date. Players that are Super Bowl bound are not going to compete in the Pro-Bowl, and the game will undoubtedly lose some star showings.

The 2009 game would have missed six stars in total, including MVP Larry Fitzgerald, a number that has been higher in other years.

Another con is that, although the game next year will be in Miami, others will be in cold-weather cites like Detroit or Indianapolis. There is a week-long party that leads up to the Pro-Bowl, something that will be diminished in these cities.

Also, the players are not in favor of the move. One thing the NFL does not want is upset players. These guys want a vacation at the end of the season, a time to unwind and relax in paradise.

Even though the game will definitely be played in Miami in 2010, there is no certainty of the game’s future site.

Al Michaels, on top of his game as usual, broke the news that league executives are in talks about bringing the game back in 2011, and even alternating years with the mainland.

Why not play the game at places that cannot host Super Bowls due to weather? Denver, New England, or even Green Bay, a snow-game Pro-Bowl would definitely bring ratings for the NFL.

If nothing else, this story got people talking about a once boring and unpopular game.

For Roger Goodell, this could increase the profile of the game. Or make it more lackluster, and unpopular than ever, of players and fans.

Truly a Sunset day in Sports

July 15, 2008

Today saw the 79th MLB All-Star game, the final played at original Yankee Stadium, which is considered by most the "sports cathedral" of the world. It was a true rubber match for most of the game, the first since 1990 to go 4 innings scoreless.
They would have had to go back a few more years if it weren't for Matt Holiday of the Rockies hitting the second hit, and first home run of the game. The home run gave the NL a temporary lead of 1-0. The NL went up 2-0 before the AL rallied to tie. The NL again gained the lead, only for the AL to once again tie. The game was epic all around, and along with the insanely entertaining home run derby last night (Josh Hamilton of the Rangers, recovering heroin addict who hit a record 28 HRs in the first round) is a fitting start of the end for Yankees Stadium.
The game was the longest in All Star game History by the 12th inning, and went into the bottom of the 15th.
Holiday was not the only Rockie to do well in the game, Aaron Cook came in in the bottom of the 10th with the bases loaded due to Dan Uggla's two errors in the inning. Luckily for the NL, Cook pitched 3 scoreless innings, and the defense was miraculous.
Two plays in a row were a force at home, and the last out of the inning was an amazing charging play on a ground ball by Miguel Tijada, in which he rocket flipped to first, flailing, off balance. Cook did give up a hit, though the Center Fielder at the time, Nate McClouth, threw out Navarro at home. Navarro was trying to score from second base, and the play was a razor's edge close tag.
"This game", as Joe Buck (Head Commentator of FOX and all around know-it-all) said, "has had everything!" It was the most exciting 4-3 game I have ever seen, and a great All Star weekend all around. It will be sad to see old Yankee go down, but new Yankee Stadium looks a great deal alike, and will have to offer 21st century amenities for over $1 Billion.

NBA
In Denver today, Marcus Camby's reign as the best defender, and one of the most feared Centers in the league ended as he was traded to the Clippers for a future 2nd round pick.
I understand the Nuggets had to drop salary, which they did partially by trading Eddie Najera away, and Camby was to make around $10 Million next season. Yet, did they have to get absolutely nothing in return?
I mean at around $10 Million, Camby has a tradable salary, even though he is aging and has been injury riddled in the past. Although, he started many of the games the past 2 seasons, playing in 70 in 06-07.
The last person selected by the Nuggets in the draft was Leon Powe, in the 2nd round. He is actually in the league, we dropped him and the Celtics picked him up. Karl didn't think he could play, but somehow he found minutes on the World Champion Celtics during the season.
We draft horribly, and a second round pick in the NBA is basically worthless.
The problem is, Camby and Najera are easy answers to dropping salary, compared to other options. A.I. decided to stick with the team for the final year of his over $20 Million contract. K-Mart has a ridiculously high salary(thanks to the Nuggets "cough" friend Kiki Vandewege) and has been more than injury riddled, has poor work ethic, and a bad attitude towards coaches and players. Although, he had his best season last year as a Nugget, surprisingly.
Kiki by the way also drafted huge bust Nikoli uh...Ski-tish-vee-lee is the phonetic way to spell it, and recently tried to steal Carmelo from the Nuggets in a trade for Richard Jefferson. Nene was payed a huge amount of money by the Nuggets via Kiki(when he was the GM). Nene, although a rising talent, has already had a major surgery on a knee and is currently undergoing chemotherapy for cancer that was found. Nene was also drafted in front of Amare Stoudemire, the NBA All Star, and backup center for the USA Men's Olympic Team. Well he was until he pulled out due to an injury.
Carmelo is about the only other option to drop money, yet I would have hated it if he were traded. Basically, Stan "The BIG Man" Kroenke, owner of the AVS, Nuggets, Pepsi Center etc., was not about to pay another $50 Million to the league for being $25 Million over the salary cap. After all, the Nuggets were only the 8th best team in the West this year, even though their record was an impressive 50-32.
All in all, a sad day in national (league) and local sports history. Old Yankee is almost closed after being open 85 years, and Marcus "Cambles soup" Camby leaves the Nuggets.

Underhanded, dirty, no good scoundrels, and Sports too!

July 14, 2008
Well it's been three weeks since my former place of employment, Pizza Street, closed in my hometown of Fort Collins. I know, I know, "Pizza Street, Rich?" you ask with a tint of "what's so great about a pizza place?" in your voice, but honestly, I had it pretty good there.
I was given a decent birth in being able to run the store, taking on the responsibilities of making sure customers were satisfied, and even was allowed to drink at work if I wanted.
I worked at the Street from Jan '07 through June 20th '08, and was promoted to Assistant Manager in November of '07. What also started in November was envelopes full of cash instead of checks. I knew this was not exactly legal, but looked the other way because taxes were not being taken out. On June 17th I attended a store meeting in which one of the owners told two drivers and myself that the Street would close that weekend!
Everyone knows when you are planning on quitting a job, you should give your employer two weeks notice, yet they didn't even give us one week!
After being laid off, I claimed unemployment through the great state of Colorado. Even though there are more strict rules, like visiting possible employers 5 times a week, instead of 3, I was up to the adventure. Until I received paper work from the state in which the owner of Pizza Street said I made less than I did in the last quarter of '07, and apparently did not make any money through them in the first half of this year!
This of course affected the amount of money I can receive through unemployment, down to about $200 a month, which is $100 short to even make my cheap rent.
This is so frustrating, and appalling that the two owners are heartless enough to kick me while I'm down, due to them.
Both gave me lip service and acted friendly to me also. Brian said of all the employees, he was worried about me most. Tom constantly sided with me in disputes about Tiffany, the GM of my store, and reassured me I would know if the store would be closing even for a move, let alone a store closure. I understand that the unemployment payments I may acquire would come from their "struggling" pockets, yet I feel they owe me at this point.
The problem is, I really just want another job. I do not want to be on unemployment because I know that it will be a huge hassle to get everything worked out about how much I really made last year, and that I worked there this year. There are no records showing how much money I made, therefore, I cannot think of a way to prove so. Overall, Pizza Street, and I mean the Pizza Streets in Colorado, are owned and run by dirty, lying, no good scoundrels that care about nothing more than fattening their wallets. Then again, this is Capitalist America, isn't it?

Sports!
MLB
Now onto my true love, sports. The Colorado Rockies, my favorite MLB team since 1993 and the days of Baseball a Mile High, are blowing it throughout the first half of the season, again. It seems to happen every year. Spring Training, excitement, high hopes and dreams for the Rockies, especially after their magical season of '07. Yet, just like last year, the Rox are far from first place in the division, and pitching is a major reason why.
Jeff Francis, the "Ace" of the staff has looked more like a Joker. At 3-7 and a 5.67 ERA, Francis has been down right horrible in the first half. Morales was sent back down to the Springs and AAA ball, Jimenez gives up at least two home runs a game, I can throw it harder than Redman, and don't get me started on Vizcaino (who I had the "pleasure" of watching in person a week ago).
Then again, so has the entirety of the Rockies. Tulo, Holiday, Francis, Hawpe, Taveras, it seems everyone has been hurt this year. Bad luck or not, the Rox will need something monumental once again to happen in the second half if they want to make the playoffs for two consecutive years.
I just found out the Home run Derby is tonight! YAY! Oh BTW, two Rockies in the All Star game, Holiday and Cook, our only good pitcher. And Clint Hurdle, the manager of the '07 National League Champs!

NBA
Donaghy and Foster, sitting in a tree, B-E-T-T-I-N-G! The referee found gambling and fixing games, Tim Donaghy, is getting another ref in trouble this week. After the feds looked at Donaghy's phone records, they found that he called Scott Foster, another NBA official, before and after 54 of the 57 games the two officiated together during the 06-07 season! According to ESPN. This is appalling, and I can only hope that nothing is found that further soils the NBA. I am a huge fan of the NBA and Denver Nuggets, and would hate for there to be a wide-spread conspirency in the Association. One thing is for sure, if the two were in it together, or other Refs are found to have been betting, David "Too" Stern will come down on them, hard.

This is my second blog post ever so thank you to anyone who read any of it, and please comment! I gotta go catch the home run derby, peace!