Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Baseball Update: We Have An Unassisted Put Out

Andrew recorded his first unassisted put out during a game today. 5U for those keeping score at home. Hot roller just to his left, he scooped it up and ran to third ahead of the runner. A proud moment for me.

Of course during last weeks game, our 2nd baseman, Jacob recorded 4 (four) (quattro), 1 more than 3, unassisted put outs in the same inning. That has to be some sort of record, beating the previous league record which was no doubt 1. In addition he was also part of a 1-4 double play in that same inning.

Einstein could not have calculated those odds.
The Clinton's Want To Share The Wealth

Not their own of course.... originally from Hot Air

The Democratic senator said what the Bush administration touts as an “ownership society” really is an “on your own” society that has widened the gap between rich and poor.
“I prefer a ‘we’re all in it together’ society,” she said. “I believe our government can once again work for all Americans. It can promote the great American tradition of opportunity for all and special privileges for none.”
That means pairing growth with fairness, she said, to ensure that the middle-class succeeds in the global economy, not just corporate CEOs.
...
“There is no greater force for economic growth than free markets. But markets work best with rules that promote our values, protect our workers and give all people a chance to succeed,” she said. “Fairness doesn’t just happen. It requires the right government policies.”

In unrelated news:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former President Bill Clinton traveled the globe in 2005 giving speeches that earned him $7.5 million, according to financial disclosure documents his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, is required to file annually

and who can forget this...
(CBS) Former President Clinton has agreed to write his memoirs for Alfred A. Knopf, the publisher announced Monday, in perhaps the biggest deal ever for a nonfiction work.

Terms were not immediately disclosed, but the New York Times reported on its Web site that the 42nd president agreed to an advance of more than $10 million. The book is expected to be out in 2003.

The president's wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, inked an $8 million book deal with Simon & Schuster for her memoirs earlier this year. Her one-time opponent in the Senate race, outgoing New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani is in the midst of a $3 million, two book arrangement with Tak Miramax

As Ace said
I'm virtually camped out by my mailbox waiting for my share of the Clintons' considerable wealth.

Monday, May 28, 2007

It Is Time To Start Living My Life

I have made the decision to start living my life a little more aggressively. 30 or 40 years from now, I do not want to look back on my life and say "I watched a lot of CSI". Life is short, life is precious, life is about doing, not watching other do. Statistically my life is about half over. I am going to start putting together a list of things I would like to accomplish and things I should experiance. A couple of examples:

Personal Improvement:
Get organized
Dress better
Continue getting in better shape
Learn to confront small issues before they become big issues
Socialize more and increase my circle of friends
Find a worthy cause that helps others

Experiances:
Spend a week in Washington D.C. seeing the sights
Bicycle around Lake Washington

Golf:
Get my handicap to single digits
Make a hole in one
Play some of the great courses
Go to a golf camp


Like I said, a couple of examples. Anyone have any suggestions?


Update:
Seems I have offended Ace. I would therefore like to make an edit, please replace "I watched a lot of CSI" with "I watched a lot of Law and Order". The last thing I need is a dead hobo in my front yard.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Weight Los Advice

A little over 2 years ago... I was "kind of a fat guy", as my Doctor told me. At the time I tipped the scales at about 238 which according to the Body Mass Index,for a 6 feet 1 inch male, put me, not overweight, but obese. The Doctor told me I needed to drop about 15 pounds to get my BMI number under 30. I told him I would prefer to gain a few more inches instead. He did not find that nearly as funny as I did. So anyway, I started on this so call "diet and exercise" program and by "diet and exercise" I mean I walked the dog around the block when I got home from work and stopped eating a bag of chips as a snack between lunch and dinner. Within about 6 months I had dropped 15 pounds. I did other common sense things also such as walk the 3 blocks to the post office or to the bank instead of driving. The one other thing I did was substantially reduce the amount of TV I watch. Put me in front of the TV with a can of Pringles in the house and there is only one possible outcome. When someone asks me what was my secret, I tell then to stay busy, go do something. Work in the garden, hit a bucket of balls at the range, take the kid to a park, help the neighbor build a fence or lay sod in his backyard. Something other than sitting around the house waiting for lunch.

So anyway I had a follow up with the Doctor a month or so ago, now down 40+ pounds, current weight, 196, ultimate goal, 188, and the Doctor told me what I had achieved was nothing short of amazing. It is the kind of results they tell people are possible but never actually see short of a strictly supervised diet and exercise program. My total cholesterol went from slightly over 200 to 155. My LDL cholesterol is 83, HDL is 47 and Triglycerides is 127. I am told all of these numbers are good. Actually I am told the HDL could be a little better. The funny thing is I looked up ways to improve your HDL and it says to have 1 or 2 alcoholic beverages per day. I have never had 2 alcoholic beverages in a week so I do not see that happening anytime soon.

The sad part of all of this was how I did not think I did anything special and yet the Doctor is saying almost nobody is capable of doing this. Are we that pathetic? I think it is a sign of society that we need to see instant results or we give up. We jump from the latest fad diet, all protein, low carb, do not eat white bread after 8pm, whatever. Forget all of that stuff, eat less, exercise more. Trust me, it works.
Weekend Wrap Up Of Odds and Ends

/ramble on
I found out a few days ago that the priest at my church while I was in college died last week. I was thinking about it for a number of reasons. First I ran into him a few years ago at the driving range I go to most Saturdays and Sundays so when I went there this weekend, I was reminded of that meeting. We spoke for a while and I walked away thinking what a decent guy he was. The one story I have about him was while in college I use to mow the lawn at the church and I had interviewed for an after school job with an actuarial firm. I had told him the interview had gone really well and I was fairly confident I would get the job. For the next week or so every time I saw the priest he would ask about the job but the answer was always I had not heard yet. Finally I called to ask and was told I had not got the job. I was fairly disappointed but was more upset that they did not have the decency to call and let me know. So the next time the priest asked, I told him how I had called and was told I did not get it. He looked at me and in as serious a voice as I have ever heard told me to go home, call them up and "you tell them to go to hell". Kind of took me back a bit. Never heard that kind of talk from a priest even though I had gone to a parochial high school. Was kind of my first priests are just like the rest of us moment.

The other thing I remember was a sermon he had given having to do with the Catholic - Protestant violence in Northern Ireland. He was born in Ireland but told the congregation that he always refused to give any support to the IRA because of the violence they caused. Now to me that conflict is not really a religious conflict but a fight between two countries over land, one side just happens to be largely Catholic, the other Protestant. I could be wrong on this but that is my take on it. I bring that up because of the violence in Iraq. For the most part it is not Iraqis or Islamist fighting U.S. soldiers, it is Shia fighting Sunni. Earlier I was trying to think of another example of a religion, in this case Islam, fighting itself and the only thing I could come up with was Northern Ireland, but it is not like the Catholics are bombing the heretic Protestants over religious issues so I am not sure that example counts.

That brings me to another topic in this long ramble of a post, Catholics as Christians. I saw the phrase "Christian and Conservative" on an internet post recently and for some reason that strikes me as Catholics need not apply. I am sure that is not the case but for some reason that is the way it does and I do not know why. I know I consider myself both Christian and Conservative. Up until a few years ago, I had never heard of anyone ever say Catholics are not Christians. Maybe I do not get out enough but 40+ years worth of being a Catholic before I heard that some people actually believe that. In fact I remember taking the entrance exam for my high school and the hardest question on the test was what religion are you? I sat forever thinking Catholic or Christian, to me they were the same. Literally flipped a coin and wrote down Catholic. Divine intervention? Maybe.

Back to the driving range... putted ok, the greens have not been in great shape lately. Thought it may have been a result of the "Women's Day of Golf" the other week but that does not appear to be the case. Chipped fairly well, hit the driver really well, OK, well for me, hit everything else left. I was once told the path to hitting a draw is through a hook, not sure where the path ends from a dead pull.

Memorial day... remember to thank a vet and why not send a care package to someone serving overseas.
/ramble off
Free Speech Controversy In Berkeley

An item in the Berkeley Daily Planet, no I am not making that up, describes a controversy at the "Peace and Justice Commission", again, not making that up. What I find interesting is the reactions and comments from some of the commission members, the enlightened, educated, Peace and Justice minded representatives of the Berkeley community, who want to defend a religion that treats women as 2nd class citizens and passes death sentences on homosexuals but has a serious issue with someone with a differing point of view.

Last week, members of the Peace and Justice Commission received in their e-mail in boxes another sample of what many are calling “hate speech.” The e-mail links to a five-minute video that condemns Islam as a religion of war and its prophet Mohammad as “some rambling ancient desert nomad with a psychological disorder.”

The e-mail was not sent by a right-wing fanatical group as the newspaper drop apparently was, but by fellow Peace and Justice Commissioner Jonathan Wornick.

The video is by a British comedian, Pat Condell, who appears to have issues with religion in general. The video, Pat Condell about Islam, can be seen here on You Tube. Slight content warning.

Some of the reactions to the video are not exactly free speech and tolerant friendly. Not to mention lacking is logic and facts.
It would also be a mistake to identify Christianity by its worst representatives, such as the Inquisition or the genocide of native peoples in Latin America, Bendib said, adding that distributing such a video does not promote dialogue. Rather, “it fans the flames of hatred,” he said.

Not to Commissioner Bendib, the Inquisitions and the genocide of native peoples in Latin America happened a long, long time ago. Mr. Condell is talking about things that are happening today.

“People should not be allowed to spew racist propaganda” without others being able to respond, Cohen said. “It’s not about free speech—it’s hate speech.”
What "race" is being attacked? Last I checked, Islam is a religion, not a race.
Sherman said he did not understand why someone who consistently votes against proposals to promote peace is sitting on the commission, and Commissioner Mark MacDonald said he thought Wornick “crossed the line on this one” and should resign.
Now we are seeing the real issue. In the land of free speech, they just do not like someone who has a differing point of view.
Directing her comments to the content of the video and its claims that Islam is a religion of war, Lily Haskell, program director at San Francisco’s Arab Resource and Organizing Center, said “there is no legitimate claim that Islam is not a religion of peace.”
and this...
Khalil Bendib, Berkeley resident, cartoonist and Middle East commentator for KPFA, further described radical Islam as a “grab bag.” In fundamentalist Islam, there are many schools of thought, he said. Only a few on the fringe justify violence by the religion.
In unrelated news, a new Pew Research Poll says U.S. Muslims more content, assimilated than those abroad but 1-in-4 youths sympathize with suicide bombers

If you would like to see more Berkeley "tolerance", and a whole lot of people who would be beheaded in an Islamic country, visit Zombie's site. STRONG CONTENT WARNING!!!!!
The Family Chess Championship Changes Hands Again

I am once again the family chess champion, which means I beat a 7 year old. A rematch is set for 7pm tonight.

Friday, May 25, 2007

A Critical Mass Of Illegal Activity

It is the last Friday of the Month, that means laws against blatantly illegal bike riding in Seattle do not apply. Just do not call the police and ask why people are not being arrested cause the police stations say their hands are tied. The police chiefs office sends you to the department spokesperson who asks why you called him. The mayors office... they have no idea what you are talking about.
What & Why:
on the last friday of every month in over 100 cities around the world cyclists congregate together to ride in demonstration and in celebration. critical mass has no leaders and no set agenda and people come together to ride for many different reasons.
just a few of those reasons are...
to assert cyclists right to the road, to promote bikes as a fun, healthy, viable alternative to cars, to build a greater sense of community, to get more folks on bikes, or simply to celebrate bike love and ride in solidarity with other like minded individuals and have some fun!
overall the ride is what you make it!

Keep dinner warm for me. I will probably be late.
National Geographic Gold


Good video over @ Aces'
, ok, the quality of the video aint great but what they captured is priceless.

The real action start with 6:30 left and you have to watch until 1:50 left.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Where Women Should Go To Find A Date

I was talking to a female relative of mine who is in her early 40s and has been divorced for a couple of years. I had not heard if she was dating, looking to date or what her situation was so I asked and was told if I find someone great but she was not actively looking. I told her if she wants to find someone she should take up golf. Specifically she should go to a driving range with a decent practice putting green and spend an hour or so practicing. See someone interesting, make a "nice putt" comment and that is all it would take. She told me another person recently told her the same exact thing, lots of single guys who tend to have a job. The male female ratio at a driving range is well over 10-1, where usually the 1 female is with her boyfriend, husband or plays for the other team, and there is a fairly wide range of ages represented amongst the males. The other bonus is that for the most part, golfers tend not to be jobless drug users with prison records. What made me think about this was the previous Saturday I went to the range by my house and they were having a "Women's Day of Golf" or some sort of promotion. There were at least 50 women taking part in a short game clinic, putting and chipping on the practice putting green. What struck me as odd was how these women did not represent a wide range of the female population. For the most part they were older than I would have expected with the majority over the age of 50. The one thing women who decide to find a date at the driving range would need to understand is the guys tend to take the game very seriously. It is probably a good idea to have some basic knowledge of the game, maybe take a few group lessons first and have an understanding of proper golf etiquette.

So then the conversation shifted to where would be an equivalent place for a single guy to find a date. The only thing the two of us could come up with was cooking classes. It reminded me of back in college, when my sister in law use to work 2 blocks away from the campus at a hospital. I was having lunch with her one day and was complaining about the lack of females in the math and computer science programs. She had gone to the same college and she told me to take a nursing class, you would be the only straight guy in the entire class.

Monday, May 21, 2007

My Kind Of Immigration

Breaking news.... we have an update on the status of Alaa the Iraqi translator who is legally trying to come to the United States. Here is an email from Alaa:
hi every body.....

yesterday at the afternoon i get text message from my friend captain murray,the message say one word[approved],i wasnt think iam so lucky for getting my visa application signed by the General.i hope that but some fear inside me make me think its may be something else,so i called him and he told me that iam approved and my application complete ,the greatest thing in my life just happened to me,finally i have a real hope to make my dream and go to the states.that wasnt happened to me without your help,your strong litters of recomendation for me make me look great for the people how sign my paperwork,,captain murray help was great for me he do every thing for me,without him i wasnt be able to even start my application, he make me do all the process i very short time,i will not forget his help or yours as long iam alive and no matter i make it or not i will still apreciate that my friends you guys help me in spite that you are so busy,,,major rivers help was so important for the application ,i appreciate what he do to me even that i work with him for short period,,

if i make it to the state i will visit every one of you and buy him abeer[thats promise]but for captain i will buy him beer in texas for the rest of my life....

i will never forget that my friends...

Alaa


and from the Captain.
All,
Alaa is the interpreter and pharmacist that works with me daily here. There is a program that grants US citizenship to linguists after a period of admirable service. Alaa isn’t tasked to me, but rather a different subordinate unit. His work with me is voluntary- and he does it out of a sense of altruism, and service to his people. I have been in contact with people who’ve worked with this gentleman consecutively since we came to Iraq- and all are of the same opinion as I am… he’s a great man, and the type of person we want to have as a United States citizen.

I had a hasty phone call from Alaa after I sent him the “approved” text message… and his excitement was amazing. It was a tremendous feeling to share his excitement for something that so many of us take for granted… the ability to live in a safe place, with the freedoms to talk to who we want to, worship the way that we please, and very nearly do whatever we want- without fear for our lives. I told him his packet came back from the Commanding General, and would be forwarded to the USCIS after we came up with a $190 dollar money order. His English remained mostly English, but an excited non-understandable babble that only conveyed delight.


My wife has told me that if I accomplish nothing else on this trip- for at least one man, I’ve helped make a life-changing difference. And gotten a regular supply of beer in the process.


Can you imagine- freedom costs $190 dollars. And some dedicated service.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Jim McDermott, Always Willing To Help Out The Anti American Cause

At least the guy is consistent. I do not have the time right now to properly blog on this... not like it has stopped me in the past. Originally from Hot Air. My Representative, Jim McDermott, questions the United States government's explanation of an event, a rocket attack where no Americans dies but the Jihadists claim 300 American died. Representative McDermott seems to believe the anti Americans version over his own governments. Where have we seen that before?

It seems Rep. McDermott has a newest bestest friend telling him all sorts of stories about how bad we are. The NYT
has more.
Mr. Daini, 35, is a member of the National Dialogue Front, a Sunni Arab political group led by Saleh al-Mutlak, a former Baath Party official who insists that the Baath Party, the party of Saddam Hussein, was the best party ever to govern Iraq.


Read the whole thing, for those that follow Jim McDermott, it should not come as a surprise.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Problems At 570 KVI

Got a phone call earlier today that indirectly told me there are serious issues within the KVI 570 promotions department. Serious. Problems.

One would think they would have something similar to what the airlines have with the no fly list. Well apparently not.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

AndrewsDad, Blocked In China!

Originally from Orbusmax:

You can go to this website to see what URLs are blocked in China...

AndrewsDad, BLOCKED!!! And proud of it.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Demand The Truth

First it was John Kerry


Next up is John Edwards


As Ace says, we should demand the truth. Do the Democratic candidates believe, like their base does, that President Bush knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance?
Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure.

Just do not hold your breathe waiting for the MSM to ask.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

2 More Reasons Why Heterosexual Men Are Conservative

This has been around for a while:




And then of course we were introduced to the one and only Mary Katharine Ham:




Followed by Bethany of Real Verse:




And now there are two more to add to the list...


First is Sister Toldjah, whose excellent blog I recently realized needs to be a daily stop:




Followed by Amber Gunn of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. She is a policy analyst for a group whose mission is "to advance individual liberty, free enterprise and limited, accountable government." And her last name is "Gunn". How does it get any better than that?



So if you refer to yourself as a heterosexual male and you do not vote conservative, maybe you need to do some serious soul searching on the heterosexual male part.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Help An Iraqi Who Has Helped Us

KVI 570's
Bryan Suits, an all around good guy, whose ideas I often "borrow" in my personal life and on this blog, and I use the word borrow to mean "steal without giving any credit", needs a favor. His former translator is trying to LEGALLY come to the United States. You, the two loyal AndrewsDads readers can help by writing an email to:

kenneth.murray@us.army.mil

stating your support for Alaa to receive a Visa.

Important:
Make sure you address the letter: "To Whom It May Concern", not to Capt. Miller



Karl over @ Leaning Straight Up has a better version of this same post.

It is also listed on the KVI Blog, scroll down to Alaa's First Election. You can see Lt. Suits YouTube video of Alaa in action here.

Update:
Thanks to Ace for the link. If you do not visit Ace 'O Spades on a regular basis, you should... just do not blame me if you are easily offended.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

A Solution To Many Of America's Problems

I am going to throw this out to the public but remember, it was my idea, you heard it here first.

One of America's biggest problems is energy independence. Another is the terrorist issue, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. What is one way we could solve both problems with one solution? Easy answer, become energy independent. No more need to buy oil from the Middle East, no more billions of dollars available to those who would like to see us dead.

So how do we do this? Being the capitalist society we are, monetary incentives and disincentives. Now stick with me for a second... we raise the tax on gas and other oil products that come from outside our borders. Call it the foreign oil tax. Not sure the proper amount per liter, quart, gallon or barrel but enough to cause at least some mild discomfort from the consumers and enough to raise some serious cash. Then we take that money, and I am talking multiple billions per year, and we have a national contest, make it a reality show. An American Idol type event called American Energy Independence. Anyone and everyone who is an American citizen, any individual, group, team, company, non profit, church, club, quilting circle whomever, whatever are eligible to submit a plan to a blue ribbon panel with the goal of making America energy independent. The ultimate goal would be a source of energy that is homegrown with bonus points for renewable, cheap and clean.

The foreign oil tax money would be used to fund the research and development of the top ideas deemed worthy of pursuit. There would be a limit to how many are currently being funded and every so often, say 6 months, each plans progress would be reviewed and ranked by probability of success. Any new plan, or even updated old plan, that has been submitted that looks more promising than the current list would replace any existing plan for funding.

The ultimate winner gets any money left over and all future foreign oil tax revenue in addition to a reasonable royalty fee on all future units of energy sold. And by reasonable I mean enough to make Bill Gates wish he had not wasted his time on software.

One condition. The name of the ultimate product has to be called VOOM! Because I really like reading Dr. Suess to Andrew and like I said, it was my idea.
"End" The War?

That seems to be the new phrase, "End The War". Now before we decide to do this, someone needs to explain to me how exactly pulling out of Iraq "ends" the war. A war ends if one side wins and the other loses or a truce is negotiated. Unilaterally leaving does not end it as what you are actually doing is quitting, surrendering, telling the other side you win. The war will not be over.

Imagine you live next to someone who is doing something you do not approve of. Maybe illegal, maybe unethical, using environmentally damaging pesticides, burning leaves against local laws, criminally abusing his dog or worse. So you as a concerned citizen and all around good person decide to "wage your own personal war" on this behavior and decide to do something about this. So you politely ask the neighbor to stop. The next day your garden shed mysteriously catches fire and the behavior continues. The next week you report him to the officials in charge and the next day your garage burns down and the behavior continues. If you now decide to sell your house to "end the war", do you think the behavior will stop once you leave?

As KVI radio host Bryan Suits said earlier today, and I am obviously paraphrasing, the Democrats do not want to end the war. They could stop it tomorrow if they would like by simply cutting off funds. What they are going to do is use the war as a sledgehammer against Republicans for as long as they can and that requires the war to continue.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you should start seeing articles such as this: No safe way for U.S. to leave Iraq, experts from traditionally liberal leaning sources warning about the dire results if we were to up and leave Iraq as the Democrats claim they want.
(CNN) -- Pulling U.S. forces from Iraq could trigger catastrophe, CNN analysts and other observers warn, affecting not just Iraq but its neighbors in the Middle East, with far-reaching global implications.
May Day, The Perfect Day For An Immigration Protest

Former King 5 anchor Lou Dobbs recently penned an article on the CNN website questioning the choice of May Day for the recent immigration protests:

Dobbs: A peculiar day for immigration rallies
May Day was a peculiar choice for those demonstrations, a day in many countries in which international socialism is celebrated and a reminder of those old Soviet Union military parades.

Now the "May Day" connection is actually a minor part of his article but in fact it is the major reason why the day was selected because:
May Day also refers to various socialist and labor movement celebrations conducted on May 1, unrelated to the traditional celebrations, to commemorate the Haymarket martyrs of 1886 and the international socialist movement generally. The latter event is an important holiday in Communist and Socialist countries.

Understand that the immigration protests are put on by groups such as International Answer
In addition to anti-war activism, ANSWER is involved in advocacy for rights for illegal immigrants, for whom it supports immediate and unconditional amnesty.

ANSWER was more prominent in the promotion of a May Day "Day Without An Immigrant" strike and boycott, because this call was controversial within the immigrant rights movement, contributing to a growing division between its left-wing advocates and moderates who believed a strike and boycott would be counterproductive

For those unfamiliar with International Answer:

Act Now to Stop War and End Racism — also known as International ANSWER and the ANSWER Coalition — is a American protest organization involved in the post-9/11 anti-war movement.
...
ANSWER characterizes itself as anti-imperialist, and its steering committee consists of socialists, Marxists, civil rights advocates, and left-wing progressive organizations from the Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, Filipino, Haitian, and Latin American communities. Many of ANSWER's leaders were members of Workers World Party (WWP) at the time of ANSWER's founding, and are current members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a Marxist-Leninist organization that formed in 2004.

Just whatever you do, as the Seattle Times pointed out in an article about the local protest, do not question their patriotism.



Update:
Some really good pictures of the Seattle Rally from the My Own Side Blog by way of Sound Politics with lots of Marxist, Socialists, ANSWER and of course, you gotta have Che.
McDermott "Fights" For The First Amendment

And by "fights" I mean blatantly breaks the law, lies to his constituents in the process and does everything he can to avoid taking responsibility for his actions.

Now I disagree with everything single thing Representative McDermott does and believes in. Not some, not most, everything, and trust me... it is not that much. What he did was wrong, unethical and illegal... but... I at least would have had a sliver of respect for the guy if at the time he had turned over the tapes, he had done so publicly. If he would have stood on the Capital steps in front of news cameras and played the tapes for all to see and hear, at least you could say he had convictions and stood by them. At least he could say this is what I believe and I know what I am doing is legally wrong but I am doing so anyway because of the greater good. But that is not what he did. And he did not do that because he knew it was wrong, he knew it was unethical, he knew it was illegal and he is not man enough to stand behind his convictions, to take responsibility for his actions. He did not believe what he did was the correct thing to do.

Bet the house on this one... Representative McDermott will not be paying the fine out of his own personal checking account.

For more details on the issue, check out LSU's post at NW Bloggers and the Recorded telephone conversations section of Jim McDermot's Wikipedia page