"Rest in peace Milton Friedman, big government's best friend."

Milton Friedman: a study in failure.

Friedman's one success? In 1942, during world war two, Friedman actually went to work for the US government. While there he helped design the payroll tax that in Britain is known as PAYE, Pay As You Earn, and in the US as withholding tax, the system that allows the government to administer the taking of income tax directly from salaries and pay packets. Unlike everything else he argued for, withholding tax was withstood the test of time and is in use all around the world. It was the best thing that Keynesian-style government could ever have wished for, and Friedman bitterly regretted it.

In Reply To a Friend's Question Earlier Today

My favorite Aerosmith song is either "Last Child" or "Sweet Emotion."

On a related thought - if Johnny Marr and Steven Tyler (or for that matter, Joe Perry and Morrissey) formed a band they could call it "The AeroSmiths."

And for the record, I did have Roman Polanski's adaptation of Macbeth tops in my Netflix queue over Back to School. But that doesn't mean I'll watch it first.

Feelin' Blue

In Minnesota:

Klobuchar over Kennedy - I used to work with a brother of Mark Kennedy. And if the Congressman is as smart as his brother ... well then Minnesota would have been in a heap of trouble if he had gotten into the Senate. The brother was a complete tool and Kennedy has the same dopey blank look in his eyes. Plus, he's just not very likeable. Some pundit Tuesday night said the GOP was convinced at the beginning of the year that the seat would be a lock for them. By the end of the summer, it was apparent that Kennedy was running against the wind. Hence, Klobuchar wins by twenty points. Hey GOP: Nice job of kingmaking!

Pawlenty over Hatch - Hatch popped off last week, calling a reporter a "Republican whore." Of course, the worst insult here was calling the dude "Republican." And now I'm going to get that creepy feeling as Pawlenty starts getting national attention come 2008 ... GOP convention to be held in St. Paul ... yikes!

The DFL put a beatdown on the GOP, holding the state Senate and capturing the state House. They have significant majorities in both houses. The DFL also knocked off incumbents at the state auditor and the secretary of state. I caught part of Governor Timmy's victory speech last night and cracked up as he read off the long long list of names of his comrades who had been defeated. Steve Sviggum, out as Speaker of the House, looked like he was crying.


Nationally:

A nation-wide referendum on Bush and the war turns into a victory for the Democrats, winning both houses of Congress. Rove comes up short (ha ha) of his "permanent Republican majority." Why? Bush is narrow-minded and incompetent. Once you see through his facade of folkiness, you see a spoiled little momma's boy who just wants things his way. I missed his press conference on Wednesday, but imagine that he wasn't bragging about his political capital (how long did that last for him two years ago ... ten minutes?) I do daydream about him hitting a microphone and yelling: "If you wanna crown 'em, then crown their ass!"

The best political analogy Tuesday night came from MSNBC's Chris Matthews, who compared Bush's efforts in this year's campaigns to William H. Macy's effect in The Cooler.

You could argue that fatass druggie Rush Limbaugh had a similar effect on Jim Talent's campaign in Missouri. Hey Limbaugh: Donovan McNabb is the #2 leading scorer in my fantasy league!

Also on Tuesday, Keith Olbermann pointed out that a former member of Orleans won a Congressional seat in New York. The guy sang a Little Steven song at his victory rally!

Tomorrow: Don't Reward Incompetence

Just a few of the achievements of the GOP and George W. Bush:

- Needless bungled war in Iraq where American troops are still dying.

- Rumsfeld keeps his job. Bush says he's doing "a fantastic job."

- Horribly mishandled the response to Hurricane Katrina. Bush on the FEMA director: "hell of a job."

- Take their orders from the anti-science, homophobic religious right.

- Turned a surplus into a huge deficit. It's hilarious to see Republicans brag about reducing a deficit they created.

Don't reward incompetence. Vote Democrat and throw the Republican bums out on November 7th.

Redemption Code

Reverend Jesse Jackson mediated a meeting between Ron Artest and Ben Wallace, bringing me a smile while reading the sports page today. His words after made it sound like he had just been part of the Camp David Accords:

[The message of] reconciliation over retribution is what we should do for mass conflict. When giants come together, those who look up to them also come together. This sent a shot around the whole league. It's one thing to have a dress code, it's another to have a redemption code."

Line of the Week

Somebody emailed the Common Man show on Thursday and explained the Vikings' "Cover Two" defense: The opposing team lines up five receivers at the line of scrimmage and the Vikings cover two of them.

And I understand that the Vikings went trick-or-treating Tuesday night. They masqueraded as a playoff team.

When Sports Geeks Babysit

Last night, I cracked up my two-year old niece with my Jim Mora impersonation and she started saying: "Playoffs? You kidding me?"

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod: Where To Turn When The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod Is Too Liberal For You

Michele Bachmann - the Jack Chick candidate.

Monday Night Beatdown

- Loved the ESPN MNF crew's relentless slurping of the Patriots franchise. I'm sure Purple fans will whine all about this tomorrow on sports radio. Respect is something that is earned, Viking fans.

- Speaking of Vikings fans, I'm also sure that some will try to pin this loss on the officials.

- The Purple's defense gave up 31 points at home and was unable to defend the pass. Yeah, Mike Tomlin's phone is sure to be ringing.

- A "huh" quote from Joe Theisman. Talking about next week's MNF game, Seattle vs. Oakland, he said: "It makes for a very good game because key players are out." Yeah, Joe, we love watching the second team!

- Thanks to the Purple's offensive line, for hanging Brooks Bollinger out to dry to get repeatedly sacked and hence giving Grand Forks a bad name nationwide.

- Tonight Troy Williamson (who some call "Edward Scissorhands" heh heh) reminded me of Jose Canseco.

In Fantasy Football, We General Managers Celebrate Game Days When They Actually Happen, Not Three Days Early. Yes, We Are Geeks. Wanna Hear About My First-Place Team With Its 6-1 Record?

The Wikipedia entry on fantasy football.

The birth of fantasy football. It predates Rotisserie League baseball by almost twenty years and has been around for over forty years!

In a related note: I think I'm going to start doing fantasy golf when the next season starts.

"Adult" Is The Key Word In That Last Sentence

Years ago, I was in Vic's Lounge in Moorhead with my best friends Joel and Scott. The date was December 30th, but the bar staff handed out party hats. They would be closed on New Year's Eve night, they informed us, and were hence celebrating on this night. So yep, we counted down to midnight and yelled and screamed and celebrated the new year 24 hours early. I think we may have even gotten a free glass of champagne.

Silly? Yes, but not as downright ridiculous as what is being celebrated this weekend. Yesterday on the radio I was informed that it's "Halloween Weekend." I was invited to a Halloween party tonight (I declined.) While out on my cigar-and-beer run earlier tonight I saw a few folks dressed up in costumes.

People: HALLOWEEEN IS OCTOBER 31ST. When you were a kid, did you go trick-or-treating three days early? No! So celebrate Halloween as an adult on the last day of October like you're supposed to or else don't celebrate at all.

Take Lyndale Back To The Southside ...

I saw the Hold Steady at First Avenue Tuesday night in show that was the definition of Kickass. If it were not for (lack of) money concerns, I would have gone back Wednesday for their second show. If you love passionate guitar/keyboards/smart vocals rock 'n roll, you need to get their albums and see these guys live. Random stuff from last night's show:

- My recent inability to get out to shows has been documented elsewhere, but omigod I haven't been to First Ave in two years! That was a show by the Drive-By Truckers, who I was persuaded to see because of the writings of Mark from Cheek, Paul from Live Nude Weblog! and coincidentally, an email from Craig from the Hold Steady.

- Being out of the loop for so long brought me back to the days of the late eighties/early nineties, when I went to shows and didn't run into a damn person I knew. Of course, back then I didn't have my zine (through which I have met countless cool people and made many friends) and worked in some moronic corporate job - so who exactly was I going to run into? But I did run into Brad last night, which was sweet.

- I spoke briefly with Craig from the band after the show. Immediately, the talk turned to the beatdown that Maine put on North Dakota in hockey last weekend. All I can say is that championships aren't won in October, nor are seasons lost. I gave Craig props for Boston College's win (he's a BC alum) over UND in the semifinals last year. UND vs. BC has become an NCAA postseason rivalry: 1999 - BC beats favored UND in the quarterfinals; 2000 - UND knocks off ESPN-favorite BC in the finals; 2001 - BC defeats UND in the finals in OT; 2005 - underdog UND destroys BC in the quarterfinals as part of their "Boston Massacre," the previous night they had shut out Boston University - both games were played in the Boston area; 2006 - BC capitalizes on every UND mistake and beats them in the semifinals. My money's on the Sioux in the next UND vs. BC postseason meeting.

- I need to go to bars aside from the Country Bar because last night two cute girls talked to me, and all I was doing was standing around checking out a band.

- Almost as exciting as being approached by girls out of my league ... First Ave now has high-definition TVs placed around the bar so if you are short like me and have no desire to venture out on the main floor, you can see the band quite well. It can be very counter-intuitive though, as the awesome sound is coming from stage central and you're looking at a TV off to another direction. On another nice customer-service note, you can just be standing somewhere and a waitress will take your order. You don't have to be sitting at a table. Nice.

- Speaking of the Country Bar, I stopped by last night after the show for last call and one of the foxy bartenders asked where I'd been. I said at a rock show at First Avenue. But what she meant was "where have you been in general?" Girls flirting with me at a show and cutie bartenders missing me? WTF???

Let's Give Brent Bobyk His Due

An article in the Grand Forks Herald about Tony Hkrack's visit to Grand Forks. Unfortunately, it prints the oft-repeated myth of the "Hrkac, Joyce, Johnson" line.

I attended most of the 86-87 home games and witnessed the evolution of the top line. Early in the season Hrkac, Joyce, and Johnson shared a line. Gino Gasparini broke this up early in the season and experimented with different right wingers for a few games. He eventually settled on Brent Bobyk, who was on the line for the bulk of the season. Steve Johnson was moved to the second line, which was a great move by Gino - offense from Johnson on the second line helped big-time in that championship season.

That was the greatest college hockey team I have ever seen.

Crown 'Em?

Okay, it's only October. But the Maine Black Bears have defeated two traditional WCHA powers in their home states. Two weeks ago they beat the Gophers in the Xcel Arena. Earlier tonight they finished trouncing all over the Sioux for the second night in a row in Grand Forks, earning a sweep.

I can see UND coach Dave Hakstol melting down after tonight's game, shouting: "The Bears are who we thought they were! That's why we took the damn ice! Now, (hits microphone) if you wanna crown 'em, then crown their ass! But they are who we thought they were!"

Darkness Darkness

What a great time of the year! There is a nip in the air, all that accursed heat has finally gone away, and the sunlight is blissfully in a dwindling supply. I am completely serious here ... if you are a so-called victim of The Myth Known As Seasonal Affective Disorder and/or if you think Twin Cities winters are "brutal" then you are a fucking pussy!

To go along with my embrace of the dark and cold:

1) I'm reading Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground.

2) My friend Ben burned me a copy of a High on Fire album.

3) Metal is again sounding all the more glorious. Precious pop sucks big-time, I want to kick the collective asses of The Decemberists.

4) College hockey is ramping up.

5) I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who scored me a Cuban cigar via The Great White North. Can't wait to sit outdoors with a hoodie on with a Summit India Pale Ale in hand while I smoke that Cuban.

I love autumn.