Week 13 - the word 'cluster' comes to mind

Lucy: Okay, Charlie Brown…I’ll hold the ball, and you come running up and kick it...

Charlie Brown: I can’t believe it! I can’t believe that anyone would think I was so completely stupid!

Lucy: I won’t pull it away like I usually do, Charlie Brown…I promise!

Charlie Brown: Ha! I know your promises!

Lucy: Look…we’ll shake on it, okay? Let’s shake on it…this proves my sincerity...

Charlie Brown: What could I do? If someone is willing to shake on something, you have to trust her...[he runs...Lucy yanks away ball...] AAUGH! [he lands flat on back.]

Lucy: A woman’s handshake is not legally binding!

And that, in a nutshell, sums up my feelings about yesterday's 49ers loss to the Seahawks by a score of 20-17. Me, Charlie Brown. 49ers, Lucy. Me, drinking 49ers Kool-Aid all week in anticipation of a 49ers win to set up a showdown with the Cardinals for first place in the Division. 49ers (and Cardinals), pulling away the football, the former by losing to a pathetic, old team; the latter by WINNING against a superior team.

This loss was a team effort. The coaches couldn't get out of their own way. The 49ers had to burn a time out on the first play of the game because the defense didn't have the right package out on the field. Coach Singletary then proceded to burn the other two first half time outs before 10 minutes had elapsed in the first quarter.

The special teams coach decided that this would be the ideal game to put a gadget play in to have one punt returner hand off to the other on a reverse. Result: fumble, setting up a Seahawks TD.

The game announcers stated that it is commonly known around the league that the 49ers are susceptible to screen passes - right before Hasselbeck throws a screen pass that results in a huge gain. Hey [Defensive Coordinator Greg] Manusky! If the fricking ANNOUNCERS have figured out that your defense has a problem with screens, why haven't YOU?

The officiating was putrid as well. On a first quarter pass to Delany Walker in the end zone, DB Lawyer Milloy committed an act that, if it wasn't pass interference, it was certainly a Class 4 sexual assault. No call. Later in the game, 49ers WR Brandon Jones was flagged for offensive pass interference for having his left arm extended and barely touching the DB just before the pass arrived. Awful officiating, just dreadful.

There were some bright spots. Patrick Willis had a monster game, with 16 tackles (2 for a loss). Manny Lawson had his best game since he tore up his knee, registering 7 tackles and a sack in addition to pounding Hasselbeck numerous times.

On offense, Alex Smith has one of the best passing days of his career: 27-45 for a career high 310 yards and 2 touchdowns (both things of beauty) and no picks. He's now thrown 7 TDs and 1 INT in his last 3 games. I think it's safe to say that he has arrived.

Also having a great game offensively (if you'll forgive the 2 drops) was Vernon Davis: 6 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. He is fast becoming a premier tight end.

Players deserving of brickbats include headcase DB Dre Bly (called for a stupid pass interference penalty), RB Frank Gore (fumbled during a drive deep into Seattle territory), Michael Crabtree (dropped 4 passes and appeared to have run the wrong route at least twice), and Arnaz Battle (the villian on the punt fumble).

I think it's safe to say that you can put a fork in the Niners; they're done.

Damn it! I'm lying flat on my back again and Lucy is laughing in my face. Good grief!

Wiener of the Month - November

Big Media (the BM for short) has continued to stonewall or downplay ClimateGate.

James Delingpole of The Telegraph (yeah, you have to go to UK sources to read ANYTHING about ClimateGate) wrote an opinion piece that provides a breakdown of the BM's non-coverage of the issue. In the course of detailing this journalistic malpractice, he makes the following assertion.

But in the case of “Climate Change”, the MSM has been caught with its trousers down. The reason it has been so ill-equipped to report on this scandal is because almost all of its Environmental Correspondents and Environmental Editors are parti pris members of the Climate-Fear Promotion lobby. Most of their contacts (and information sources) work for biased lobby groups like Greenpeace and the WWF, or conspicuously pro-AGW government departments and Quangos such as the Carbon Trust. How can they bring themselves to report on skulduggery at Hadley Centre when the scientists involved are the very ones whose work they have done most to champion and whose pro-AGW views they share?

The sad thing is - he's absolutely right. Environmental reporters are as wedded to AGW as the corrupted "scientists" who are studying it falsifying data to keep the myth alive.

Congratulations, BM - you're the Wiener of the Month for November.

Update

Catching up on my reading, I note that Andrew Bolt is on the same page as Mr. Delingpole. A must read.

Wiener of the Week

He's been The Terminator. He's been Conan the Barbarian. He's been Kindergarten Cop. And now -- he's the WotW because of this.

A map of how California will be affected by climate change in the future was unveiled yesterday by state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The map, which demonstrates the devastating effects of global warming in just a century, shows how San Francisco Airport would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by 150cm (60in).

The coastline on the map was also coloured, highlighting how nearly half a million Californians are at risk from rising sea levels.

The map, named CalAdapt, which was revealed at a press conference on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay by Mr Schwarzenegger and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, was created as part of a plan for the state to adapt to global warming.

'Within a century, Treasure Island, this place where we are right now, could be totally under water,' the governor said. 'It is technology in the end that will save us.'

Oh, mighty technology! Please save us! [/sarcasm]

The ClimateGate scandal is front-and-center -- except in the Big Media (the BM for short) -- and the asshat Governator is still selling AGW. Talk about True Lies!

Ahnold - you're the Wiener of the Week.

Zero tolerance = zero sense

It started in the 80's because the "Law and Order" crowd was dismayed at the way that "lenient liberal judges" were "coddling" criminals. They were also upset that small-time offenders were summarily given probation or even a walk. The result was a slew of laws to "rectify" the situation.

To deal with "lenient judges": mandatory sentencing guidelines.
To deal with small-time crime: zero tolerance.

While zero tolerance in law enforcement didn't really catch on, the concept had a certain appeal to other authoritarians of all stripes.

Everywhere you look now, zero tolerance rules are popping up like zits on a greasy teen. Zero tolerance rules in schools have resulted in honor students being expelled for giving Motrin to a classmate. They've resulted in students being suspended for pointing a stick at a classmate and saying "bang". That's not the worst -- one little boy was suspended for the "crime" of drawing a gun! No, he didn't remove a weapon from its holster. He drew a PICTURE of a gun. That's right, an effing picture.

I thought that the suspension for drawing a picture was the biggest example of ass-headed unthinking zero tolerance up until I saw this story on HLN.

A birthday celebration that culminated in a trip to catch the blockbuster movie "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" could land 22-year-old Samantha Tumpach in prison for three years.

The Chicago, Illinois-area woman captured three minutes of the film on her videocamera while taping part of her sister's surprise party at a Muvico theater in Rosemont.

Theater managers contacted police, who arrested Tumpach. She spent two days in jail. Now she faces a felony charge of illegally copying a movie.

"The motion picture industry has encouraged theater owners to adopt a 'zero-tolerance' policy prohibiting the video or audio recording of any portion of a movie," Muvico Entertainment, which oversees the theater, told HLN's "Prime News."

Excuse me. Am I to understand that a young woman could spend 3 years in prison because the motion picture industry "encouraged" theater owners (read: told them in no uncertain terms) to exercise zero tolerance with ANY video filmed in a theater?

In a common sense world, the young woman would be reprimanded and sent on her way. Hell, in a common sense world, the motion picture industry wouldn't be dictating to private business owners and the judicial system how they should handles situations of this type.

The bottom line is this: zero tolerance = zero sense. It permits authoritarian types to throw their weight around like dime store Barney Fifes. Because zero tolerance takes all thought and reason out of the punishment process, mindless, robotic morons, acting in much the same way as a computer running bug-riddled software, simply process the instructions without regard or thought to the fallout or consequences.

It ain't right. It just ain't right.

An administration of True Believers

There are four types of faith. An event-driven faith, brought on by a life-changing event, which flames hot and then is extinguished over the passing of time. Another type of faith is one that blossoms, but is not strong enough to withstand outside influences or the disapproval of others.

Then there is what I call True Faith.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11.1

This faith is powerful enough to withstand the cares of this world and the disapproval of others. This is a faith that is hardly blind; challenges to the validity of that faith are met with personal research to prove or disprove those challenges. Once disproved, the challenge has had the effect of strengthening the believer's faith.

And then there is the cultish "faith" that willfully ignores all evidence with regard to its validity. Picture if you will a person who, upon receiving some bit of information that would render their faith invalid, closes their eyes, puts their hands over their ears, and chants loudly, "LA LA LA LA LA - I CAN'T HEAR YOU - LA LA LA LA LA!" That is the essence of this type of "faith"

Il Duce and his crony administration have this "faith". Official White House spokesmouth Robert Gibbs on Monday testified to the administration's "faith".

The White House on Monday made exceptionally clear that it wants nothing to do with the furor over documents that global warming skeptics say prove the phenomenon is not a threat.

Despite the incident, which rocked international headlines last week, climate science is sound, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stressed this afternoon, and the White House nonetheless believes "climate change is happening."

"I don't think that's anything that is, quite frankly, among most people, in dispute anymore," he said during Monday's press briefing.

LA LA LA LA LA - I CAN'T HEAR YOU - LA LA LA LA LA!

Then there was the administration's "science" officials' profession of "faith".

At a Capitol Hill hearing, the president's science adviser and the chief of the agency in charge of climate research said the e-mails did nothing to undermine scientific consensus on climate change.

LA LA LA LA LA - I CAN'T HEAR YOU - LA LA LA LA LA!

Now, being the cynic that I am (would you have ever guessed that about me?), I have to question whether the administration's "faith" is in warming, or if their "faith" is in the power the issue gives them to tax and enslave the American people.

Given the track record of this administration (and the one that preceded it), one would have to lean towards the cynical view.

Week 12 - upon further review...

Last week I was about as pessimistic about the 49ers as I've been this year. And I should know better! My mantra is "Never assume a team is as good as they seem to be during a hot streak, and never assume a team is as bad as they seem during a cold spell". I was CLEARLY guilty of assuming that the 49ers were as bad as they played during the first half in Green Bay.

Try selling that to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who got humbled 20-3 by the 49ers on Sunday.

This was the first "complete game" the 49ers have played since the Vikings game week 3. The offensive was impressive and unpredictable. The defense was the best it's been all year. "But Vulture! The defense gave up over 400 yards!" And this is of importance why? The only number that matters to me as far as defense is concerned is the number at the top of the scoreboard. 3 points. 3 piddling points. Now THAT'S quality defense.

Patrick Willis is a MONSTER. He may be the best inside linebacker in football. Twice I saw him run down Maurice Jones-Drew from behind. MJD is no slowpoke! Patrick is just THAT GOOD. 12 tackles and .5 sack good.

The D-line and the secondary had excellent games. The D-line seems to get better and better as the season progresses.

I believe I owe Coach Singletary an apology. I called him stubborn and rigid for sticking with his ho-hum run-oriented offense until the team falls hopelessly behind. This week Coach S. turned offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye loose and Jimmy made the most of it. The offense was, as I said before, impressive and unpredictable. 4th and one in Jacksonville territory? No mincing, fraidy cat punt or long field goal attempt like last week. No, Raye had Alex Smith throwing deep to Vernon Davis for a 30 yard gain! It set up a touchdown.

Alex Smith was very, very good on Sunday. His numbers aren't going to blow your mind: 27-41, 232, 2 TDs, no INTs. You had to see it to appreciate it. You get a sense that Smith is FEELING the role of NFL starting QB now. You get a sense that it's starting to slow down and become manageable, whereas it all seemed to be happening in super fast-forward mode when he was younger. I don't want to get too carried away, but Alex Smith may just be the real deal. I certainly hope so; we haven't had a decent QB for any period of time since Jeff Garcia.

Smith's second touchdown pass, to Frank Gore tip-toeing on the sideline, was masterful. Smith scrambled right, looking like he was flustered. He ran forward just a step or two to suck in the defense, and then he lofted a pretty touch pass to Gore. It was the stuff of Montana and Young days.

The offensive line played well in terms of pass blocking, giving Smith all day to scan the field and giving up no sacks. But Frank Gore was shut down all day until the 4th quarter. The line is going to be a huge off-season priority.

Sunday's win, coupled with a last-second Cardinals loss at Nashville to the Titans, completely changed the complexion of the NFC West race. Now, if the Niners beat the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday and the Cardinals lose to the Vikings Sunday night -- a real possibility and practically a given if Kurt Warner is out again -- then the winner of the following Monday's game between SF and Arizona will take ownership of the Division.

It's so funny. Last week I was thinking "wait 'til next year". This week - upon further review - I'm thinking that the 49ers can still win the Division.

More 49er Kool-Aid, please!