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Saturday Night Open Thread: It’s Tebow Time!
It’s almost time. In a little over an hour, Denver and New England will take the field for the AFC Divisional playoffs. For the fun of it…I thought I’d put up an open thread for anyone who wants to comment on the game. I’ll be watching but I won’t promise any comments…it just depends on how my man Tim Tebow and the Broncos are doing.
I’m nervous.
Go Broncos Go!
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HB NOTE:
Can someone please write in comments an explanation for the whole Tebow phenomenon for those of us who don’t follow sports?
This is one of those situations where something important is related to either football, baseball, or basketball and I thus have no idea what’s going on. It’s one of those gay-straight world disconnects for me — like if you were aware that Gaga was spotted in WeHo at Abbey and you can figure out that’s a singer but aren’t sure if she’s in LA or New York and you don’t know if Abbey’s a street or some other place. But, you know it must be fabulous and are sure gay people are talking a lot about it.
I know that Tim Tebow did an ad for a pro-life group that people talked about and I also know that he prays before games — and this has caused the Left to gin up a hate campaign against him because it’s one of the main missions of the Left to persecute Christians. So, I understand this part. I also get that Tebow seems to be a very nice guy who has become very popular. I know who Tom Brady is because he has a fabulous beard and was the inspiration for one of those ripped from the headlines episodes of Law & Order: SVU about a handsome football player with a supermodel wife and you can fill in the blanks (or, maybe not, if you’re still trying to figure out what a WeHo is).
I think the big deal about this game is that it’s a championship or something, but it seems to me there is always some kind of championship thing on, so I can’t tell which one is the important one. Is tonight like the Emmy’s of football, or is it more Golden Globes? I know the Super Bowl is the Oscars. I am trying to understand the sports things based on either the entertainment or political worlds I know well. Is this game like the New Hampshire or the South Carolina primary? Why is it so important?
Is it a thing where people want Tebow to win to sock it to the Left? Because I am all down for that. I also think the guy seems nicer and more honest about himself than Tom “Shady Lady” Brady, so there’s that.
I’d love someone to take the time in comments and really explain why you’re rooting so strongly for Tebow and what the larger phenomenon is about. Some of this became important last year when I was sick and out of commission so I’m still trying to fill in some of the gaps from what I missed when I got disconnected from the zeitgeist like that.
Thanks -
K.D. for H.B.
A Little Tim Tebow’s Fire for the Weekend.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAIQWzW1MIc
I thought we could all use a little Friday the 13th inspirational moment…something to get us through this cold day so we can start our weekend off right…something to get us geared up for the NFL playoffs this weekend. I’m an Atlanta Falcons fan (love Matt Ryan and my very favorite Jolio Jones) but…alas…the Falcons are out of the playoffs thanks to the New York Giants. My eyes are now on the Denver Broncos and Mr. Tim Tebow. I have never been a Broncos fan. I have no affiliation with Denver but I am now one of their biggest fans…thanks to Tim Tebow. I don’t think I’m alone either. In fact…the 80′s hit songwriter John Parr is also a fan and has written a remake of his 80′s hit “Man in Motion” which was the theme song for the movie “St. Elmo’s Fire”. I”m dating myself but that movie was one of my favorite movies and the original song is still one of my favorites (even on my ipod).
When I googled “Tim Tebow John Parr” while searching for a video of the remake of the song, I noticed that NPR’s Melissa Block had done an interview with John Parr about the song. I first googled it this morning and came up with the article that contained the word “Spoof” in the title (something like “John Parr writes Tim Tebow Spoof”). The reason I don’t have the exact name of the title is because when I googled it an hour later…the article name had been changed to “John Parr Rewrites ‘St Elmo’s Fire’ as Valentine to Tim Tebow”. Why the change in title? Because during Melissa Blocks interview, it became very clear that John Parr did not rewrite the song as a spoof. John Parr is a Tim Tebow fan. NPR wanted it to seem like it was meant to be a spoof. Here’s what Mr. Parr had to say about Tim…
PARR:I’m a fan, generally, of him. I mean, it’s funny. I’ve not seen many Broncos games. I’m definitely a Tim Tebow fan because of two things. I think he’s a complete maverick, and he believes in something. I mean, everybody doesn’t share his religious belief, but I think we live in a world where people have lost faith in anything. And I just like it that here is a man that believes in something, his teammates believe in him. And it just inspired me.
How wonderful. Tim Tebow is such a breath of fresh air in this stale anti-Christian society that we now live. Whether you are a believer or not, it’s hard to deny that something is happening right now on the Denver Broncos team. Tim Tebow is a leader and the rest of his team knows it and are following. All the Tim Tebow critics have nothing to say. I’ve seen them sit speechless after an impossible Broncos win. Could it be possible that some are becoming Tim Tebow believers? They would never admit it publicly but perhaps they will dim down the criticism.
I am a Tim Tebow believer. I believe he is a leader who leads by example. He has a quiet calm that is amazing. He puts his whole existence in the hands of God and then just does his thing and his thing has turned out to be quite terrific this season on (and off) the football field. Critics will scream…”Just wait, the Patriots are going to destroy Denver this weekend in the playoffs.” Maybe they will…maybe they won’t. The Patriots are predicted to win by a couple of touchdowns. No matter what happens…Tim Tebow is an amazing young man who now has a large fan following. He is the exact kind of role model that kids need to follow. We need more Tim Tebows.
I’m looking forward to watching Denver take on New England on Saturday night.
Go Denver Go!
Is Debbie Wasserman Schultz still blaming the Tea Party for the Gabby Giffords shooting?
For some unknown reason…this morning I stumbled onto the Media Matters website. I think I was following a link that I found on the Fox site about Debbie Wasserman Schultz and before I knew it…I was there. I’ve never been on this site but…let me tell you…it’s worth visiting if you need a good chuckle. Do any of you watch “The Five” on Fox? I watched it yesterday and one of the topics was about DWS and how she is a complete disaster for the DNC but a great asset to Republicans. Four of the five (not Bob Beckel) were laughing about the fact that every time DWS opens her mouth, it turns people away from the Democrat party. It was a really funny segment. Anyway…one of the things discussed was the comment she made this week while she was speaking in New Hampshire. An audience member asked her about the lack of civility in Congress and DWS’s answer contained remarks about the Tea Party. The left is highly insulted that Fox is claiming that DWS is (once again) blaming the Tea Party for the Gabby Giffords shooting. Media Matters claims that her statement was taken out of context.
Here’s the transcript of the question….
AUDIENCE MEMBER: The American people are losing faith in Congress. [inaudible] because of the lack of civility. What do you think can be done to bring that faith back and then we can start thinking that they’re doing their job instead of just fighting with each other?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, as someone who spent 19 years as a member of a legislative body, I really agree with you, that we need to make sure that we tone things down, particularly in light of the Tucson tragedy from a year ago where my very good friend, Gabby Giffords, who is doing really well by the way, and I know everybody is so thrilled, as I am, to hear that, making tremendous progress.
But the discourse in America, the discourse in Congress in particular, to answer your question, very specifically, has really changed.
And I’ll tell you, I hesitate to place blame, but I have noticed it take a very precipitous turn towards edginess and a lack of civility with the growth of the Tea Party movement.
After the 2010 elections, when you had the Tea Party elect a whole lot of their supporters to the United States House of Representatives and you had town hall meetings that they tried to take over and you saw some of their conduct at those town hall meetings, you know, in the time that I’ve been in my state legislature and in Congress, I’ve never seen a time that was more divisive or where discourse was less civil.
It’s one thing — I’ve always had people come to my town hall meetings, for example, and say that they don’t agree with me on something. And that’s fine. And you know, that’s what those town hall meetings are about, they’re for civil discourse and give-and-take. And I learn something when I hear from a constituent who doesn’t share my view, and hopefully they do also because we’re listening to each other and there’s a back and forth.
What the Tea Party has done is they have taken it to a different level, and so when they come and disagree with you, you’re not just wrong, you are the enemy. I mean, that’s really a place that politics in America shouldn’t go. And you know, when they disagree with you on an issue, you’re not just wrong, you’re a liar. Rather than just have a difference of opinion, accusations like that get hurled, and it brings the entire discourse down to a level that I think none of us want to see remain there.
So, I have done my part. I’ll tell you that President Obama, you’ve seen, he’s tried so hard to get the Republicans to work with him, to bring them to the table, to try to get them to compromise and find common ground, but when you have someone like Mitch McConnell, for example, the minority leader of the United States Senate, say at the outset of this Congress that his number one goal is not turning the economy around, not creating jobs, but to defeat Pres– Barack Obama, well, then how are we going to reach compromise if that’s the goal that drives them and all their decisions? Because then — we won’t.
Because if that’s their goal, then anything that they do to compromise gives President Obama a win, a success, and makes it less likely in their minds that they would defeat him. Unfortunately, I think what has driven the Republicans in Congress is their interest in only one job, Barack Obama’s, when Democrats have been fighting for American jobs.
And that’s the difference. And that’s going to be the choice that people have to make.
So…what do you think? She doesn’t come right out and say “The Tea Party is responsible for Gabby’s shooting.” but I believe that the insinuation is there. There is one thing that is obviously missing in her statement. Not one time does she mention the Occupy Wall Street movement and their monstrous behavior. Not one time does she mention the Wisconsin teachers union thugs and their monstrous behavior. Not one time does she give an example of any case of violence or uncivil behavior from the Tea Party.
Greg Gutfeld has such a way with words so I think I’ll let him sum it all up…
GUTFELD (co-host): So, in my mind, which is made of felt and potatoes, Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the best thing to happen to Republicans since Ronald Reagan. Seriously, I’ve had wedgies less irritating than her. And that can only chafe the Democrats. Case in point: Once again the DNC chair links the Tea Party to the Tucson mass murder. So, Frizzilla, I bet you think the discourse in America, the discourse in Congress in particular, has really changed. [Fox News, The Five, 1/12/12]
So true!
Friday Open Thread: January 13th, 2012
Happy Friday the 13th…be careful out there today.
What’s on your minds this Friday?
What are people talking about in your part of the world?
A Mafia-Style Solution to Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Crisis
It isn’t funny when anyone dies but there’s something very amusing about what’s currently happening in Iran….more specifically…in Iran’s nuclear community. On Wednesday, an Iranian nuclear scientist was the victim of a car bomb in Tehran….bringing the total to 5 nuclear scientists killed by mysterious explosions or accidents in the past 2 years. Wednesday’s car bomb could have been a scene straight out of The Sopranos. Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan,who was deputy director of the Natanz enrichment facility, was sitting in his car…minding his own business…when 2 people on a motorcycle pulled up and slapped a magnetic bomb on his car after which they sped away. Roshan didn’t have time to react before…KABOOM. Of course, Iranian officials are blaming Israel for the whole thing….which is probably pretty accurate. Why go to war over Iran’s nuclear weapons program when you can quietly and effectively stop it…one nuclear scientist at a time.
This has to be putting a damper on the progress of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. I’m thinking that being a nuclear scientist in Iran isn’t a very desirable position right now. In fact….Yid with a Lid sums it up perfectly…
“The position of nuclear scientist in Iran is quickly becoming more dangerous than standing between NY Senator Chuck Schumer and the nearest TV Camera or between Ron Paul and the chance to add another earmark”
Now that’s funny.
Go Israel Go!
Open Thread: Thursday January 12th, 2012
(h/t Moonbattery)
So…what’s on your minds today?
What are people talking about in your part of the world?
Open Thread: Wednesday January 11th, 2012
Welcome to South Carolina….home of the Palmetto tree, the beautiful low country, the Sea Islands and the South Carolina Primary. The brutal battle for the GOP nomination has moved south…to my home and it is getting very ugly. It appears that winning South Carolina is tantamount to winning the nomination so no one’s holding any punches. Since 1980, the winner of the South Carolina primary has gone on to win the GOP nomination.
For those who live in SC…please give everyone updates on what’s happening around you. Any interesting conversations? Interesting campaign flyers?
A lot can happen in 10 days.
What else is going on in your neck of the woods?
