(free topic) 3 Reasons on why the Atlanta Hawks should fire Coach Woodson (and 3 reasons on why they shouldn't)

I've gotten a lot of feedback from friends and fellow Atlanta sports enthusiasts on their disappointment that the Hawks have nearly choked away a first round playoff series and now many are calling for Mike Woodson's head (or his job which ever comes loose first). A few others point to how much this team has improved under Woodson's tenure and that it would be a huge overreaction to fire him just now. I've sorted through the best arguments of each and will present the top 3.

Reasons why Woody should be canned.






1.) Its seems like he has no idea what he's doing. Hawks fans like to joke that the most game adjustment Woodson likes to make are simply to glare at his players.And as the game goes on (Hawks have been awful in the third quarter by the way) thier turnover and scoring rates rank near the bottom half of the league.What the sam hell is woody doing. To quote an email I've gotten from a friend.

I've been able to incorporate Woodson's coaching technique for my ten year old son's soccer team. When the other team adjusts to our game, I glare at my kids. The further we get behind, the more I glare. It's an excellent strategy. But I gotta tell you, my kids must stink because we keep losing.

That's the perception anyway, maybe we're all wrong but so far Woody has not delivered in the big games.

2.) And to pile on that, in the Woodson era the Hawks have really struggled securing the big game particularly on the road. Hawks struggled mightily in this category during the regular season losing 3 out of 4 to both the Cavs and the Magic. To be fair they did sweep an aging but still potent Celtic squad which in the end helped them secure a playoff spot.

3.) Alright lets talk playoffs. Based on regular season merits alone Woodson would be in very little danger. But in the past 3 playoffs runs the Hawks have lost their road games a combined 2-11 and lose by an average of 22.0 points. In that time the Hawks have advanced to the second round once (only to be swept by Clevland) and in both 2009 and 2010 playoff series the Hawks were pushed to the brink of game 7 elimination by severly overmatched teams.


Reasons Why he keeps his Job

1.) The Hawks were crap before he got here and have vastly improved win totals in each of his 6 six years at the helm. logic says that if trend continues a finals visit or a championship can't be that far around the corner.


2.) If Woodson goes so does Joe Johnson. Johnson the Hawks leader since he got here in 06, has a contract that expires at the conclusion of the season. Currently Hawks ownership is in negotiation to get him a new one but if you cut loose his coach its unlikely that the Atlanta Star would be willing comeback as their are plenty of other teams out there willing to pay Joe far more money.


3.) Who are you going to replace him with. There are few immediate candidates lined up to succeed Woody, and it would do no go to get rid of an established figure if you don't have some one in mid to fill his shoes once he's gone. Phil Jackson's rumored to be leaving the Lakers if they don't repeat but I don't put much stock in that and even if he was that doesn't garuntee that he'd want to come here.





There you have it a few reasons why and why not Coach Mike Woodson of the Atlanta Hawks should be fired. Sunday's game (1p.m ABC) against Miluakee will most likely decide Woodys ultimate fate as I don't see him coming back if the Hawks drop that game.

Whales and Ethics

There's a show on Animal planet called "Whale Wars" in which environmentalists (The Sea Shepeard Conservation Society) and others take to the ocean to try prevent inhumane Whale hunting practices. Often they result to aggressive and often violent means to harass the fishing ships, putting themselves and the fisherman in danger. The question. Does the ends justify the means. Are the Whale Pirates (its what they are referred to on the show) justified in trying to stop cruel fishing practices even if they put humans in danger.

Its an interesting question. Does anyone have the right to circumvent the law in defense of actions they believe are right. Many critics and even a few other environmentalists have been critical of the Sea Shepperd Society. They charge them with being ineffective and dishonest in order to achieve thier goals.

Paul Watson, head of the Sea Shepard Conservation Society and main captain on the show has on numerous occasions been accused of artificially creating media incidents and on one occasion even been accused of faking being shot. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7282760.stm).

In one instance the protesters threw stink bombs onto a whaling ship and the fisherman responded by by throwing flash bangs at the the Sea Sheppard. In another episode Watson had two of his colleagues sneak aboard a whaling ship to purposely create an international incident through their detainment. (They were eventually relased after a huge political standoff between Australlia and Japan.)

My Favorite SuperHero

How easy would it be to say Batman? Ol Bats was popular before, but ever since the Heath Leadger award winning Dark Knight movie, Batman has transended the Super Heroes of Comic Books and has become a icon of American Culture. So I'll go a different route.....





Yep Freakazoid!



For those of you who grew up in the 90's watching the cartoon Animaniacs you may remeber that Freakazoid began as a seires of animated shorts(along with the vastly more well known Pinky and the Brain) that would eventually be given its own time slot.

He was the chronically insane superhero that did battle with equally batsh@t crazy villans (with names like the Nerdarator and Cave Guy). Alright so he's not really my favorite but looking back on it Freakazoid had its own blend of slapstick humor that set it apart from other more serious hero toons. Freakazoid couldn't even fly he would just run around with his hands up in the air going woooooosh. In fact I can't remember if he had ANY real powers.

You may notice in the title card above that the show was produced by Steven Spilberg (Yes that speilberg). Spilberg wasn't shy about putting humor that would be over most childrens head in the show often refrencing celebrity and political humor.

Alas as with many of the WB Speilberg spinoffs the show was cancelled after a few seasons in favor of more action packed shows as Pokeman and Yugi-Oh

Objectivisim

Created by author Ayn Rand, Objectivisim is the philosophy that stresses the goals and rights of individuals. Rand argued that "there is no greater moral goal in life than achieving one's own happiness".

Essentially, followers of Objectivisim strive for a capitalistic laziez faire society where scientists and industrialists can be left unhinderd to pursue thier trade that will, in the end benifit society as a whole.

In her books, Ran idealizes the "producer" who lives by his own efforts, who does not give or recive undeserved and honors achivement over envy.



Ayn Rand's own words on what objectivism is.
The survival of the organism is the ultimate value to which all of the organism's activities are aimed, the end served by all of its lesser values

My philosophy, Objectivism, holds that:

Reality exists as an objective absolute—facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.

Reason(the faculty which identifies and integrates the material provided by man’s senses) is man’s only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.

Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.

The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism. It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit. It is a system where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no man may initiate the use of physical force against others. The government acts only as a policeman that protects man’s rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders. In a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet been) a complete separation of state and economics, in the

They see religion as a short circuit of society holding back many of its greatest thinkers and inventors. Faith is a disease that gives humans the ability to hold themselves and others back without any evidence or reason.

Existence exists

Objectivists see the world acing independently of the mind


Existence exists" is most easily understood by noting that when another person dies, you continue to live, to go to work, to eat, etc. even though the other person has absolutely no thoughts at all about the world once he is dead: the world exists not in anyone's mind, but independently of it. Accordingly, Objectivism concludes that the nature of things is objective: an Oak tree rises perpendicularly to the earth whether or not you believe that to be the case - A is A.

Objectivism asserts that logic is man's means of concept formation/knowledge, and that truths are absolutes.

Because every individual is faced with the same choice - to live or to die - Objectivism holds that each individual should be the beneficiary of his own actions: each man should live and think for his own sake, not for others'. In other words, rational self interest is the ethics of Objectivism. Accordingly, Objectivism is the antithesis of altruism, in which each man either sacrifices himself for others, or sacrifices others for himself.

http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-32-408-FAQ_is_Objectivism.aspx
http://www.mondopolitico.com/ideologies/atlantis/whatisobjectivism.htm
http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_intro

The Visit

Last week me and my roommates went to go see the visit. And while I wasn't blown away huge special effects or stage props, It was the first Georgia Southern play I'd ever attended and I was pleasantly surprised with how professionally it was executed. There were several people in the play (a few friends) that I knew personally and was blown away that they could legitimately and convincingly, ACT. I had no idea.

On to the play....


To make a long story (nearly 2 and a half hours) the visit centers around a small (German?) town receiving a visit from incredibly wealthy and former citizen Mrs. Zachanassian (admittedly had to look that one up, no way my memories that good) under what at first seems very friendly intentions. Come to find out she had a prior relationship with shop owner and future burgermiester (a word I probably butchered but its like a mayor) Anton Schill. Evidently he'd impregnated and abandoned her. Well now Mrs' Z is back and she wants revenge. She offers the town a billion marks for what she calls justice. His death. The rest of the play centers around Anton Schill coming to the sudden realization that the whole town is slowly taking up her offer.

As I said before I thought the acting was brilliant. Everyone from the burgermiester and the school teacher to the blind twins everyone played a very convincing part. But overwhelmingly I was blown away by the characters of Schill and Zachanassian. They were really really good. I could have been watching a movie. Much more than I expected from a campus play.

How Insurance Works (The Basics)

In many aspects of life, there is a measure of risk. (Risk being Probability x Consequence). Buying Insurance probably won't stop a car from hitting you or your house from burning down but in certain situations it can help people deal with the Consequence.

Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. In simple terms, Insurance is a contractual policy that a company agrees to take on to protect against a persons risk. In return the policy holder agrees to pay an annual or monthly fee that is worth a fraction of the total risk.

There are many different types of risk so of course there are many different types of Insurance

Health- Health Insurance typically covers the cost of medical treatments and prescription drugs.


Life Insurance- One of the few insurance policies that you have to be dead to reap it. Life insurance helps the policy holder's family (or other designated beneficiary) recive some sort of monetary compinsation in the event of the holder's death.


Auto Insurance- This insurance protects you from financial loss in the event of a vehicular accident. Many states including Georgia require that all drivers have some sort of Auto Insurance.


Property Insurance- Property covers everything from Fire, Flood, and Earthquake insurance to the far less likely Volcano and Terrorist insurance.


Liability Insurance- Helps cover the policy holder against legal claims (like financial loss when losing a law suit.)


and many many more


Now like alot of things Insurance can have a dark side. First depending on the situation your insurance policy is probably not going to cover the entire situation. (Often only covers a %). In fact most companies will actively look for ways to pay you less or not pay you at all. Remember that Insurance companies aren't there solely for your benefit but like many businesses are seeking a profit.

They've also been accused of discrimination. An ederly person for instance will have a tough time finding health or life insurance because orlder people ususally require more care, in which many companies can't see a profit.

Expectations for this Summer

Now originally I'm from Atlanta but I spend my Summers down in Florida (I have Friends and Family there. And its where I work)

While most people prefer to frequent Fort Lauterdale, Tampa or Daytona,
I usually spend my Summers in Jacksonville, going downtown on weekends. Hey it has just about every thing those city have without the overcrowding and insane prices. The Landing (like downtown Atlanta cept its on a pier) has some of the coolest shops and bars.


Newly added to the city is one of my favorite unheralded sports Arena football. If you've never been its a blast. The field is only 50 yards long but if you like high scoring and close up action (your never seated more than 200 feet away.) you have to give this a try.


The Jacksonville Sharks

But of course the main attraction as with anything in Florida is the beach. Now to me personally its just as pretty as any thing they have in Panama City or Miami (ok maybe not as blue, but still) without having to work around 10,000 other people looking for a spot.

World War I and How Gavrilo Princip changed the History of Europe (and the world)

Alright most of us know how how the first World War started. Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand is assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip as the Archduke's car was touring Sarajevo. This kick starts a domino effect (Austria declares war on Serbia, Russia declares war on Austria, etc.) sending most of the worlds major nations headlong into war.
























I'm gonna make the case that Gavrilo's actions on that day for better or for worse quite possibly changed the course of not just of 1914 Europe, but of the entire world for the next 100 years and maybe even our lives today.

First we have the previously mentioned consequence. World War One. Now it is not necessarily true that Princip alone is responsible for the first World War. Long before the Archduke's death, Europe sweltered under Nationalist politics and some sort of war (be it economic or actual conflict) was possibly inevitable. But most history books would agree that Princip provided the catalyst.

Nearly every major power on at the time contributed in some way to WWI. By the end of it several million lay dead, tens of millions more wounded and far more than that were homeless. It was by far the deadliest war in the history of the world.


to that point....


After the Central Powers surrender in 1918, Germany incured huge amounts of war debt, leading the German Mark to be almost completely worthless, again Millions without a home or a job. The tremendous political unrest that followed would allow this man to be elected chancellor....


























You can kind of see where this is going. World War II, Holocaust, Post World War II Europe.

Again millions lay dead, entire nations lay in tatters, the United States and the Soviet Union (who's very existence is tied closely to WWI) emerge as the worlds leading superpowers and warfare would never be the same again.



From here we move to the Cold War, the space race, East and West Germany, the Iron Curtain, along with the Berlin Wall, and the Korean and Vietnam War's.



If you really wanted to, you could go much deeper. Such as the technologies that came out of both World Wars (faster airplanes, New Medical Techniques, Television), post economic America, the hippie counter revolution of the 60's (in large part a reaction to Vietnam) and how British in 1916 and the United States and Russia in 1980 set the stage for the Mujahideen which would become the Taliban.

All can be traced back to a seemingly small conflict between Serbia and Austria and an Assassin named Gavrilo Princep. Its amazing the repercussions small events can have on History. And if you really really want to dig into it, through a set of very loosly connected events its entirely conceivable that we could live in very different world had just a few of these things gone different. Think about that next time you watch the World News.

5 Editorial Cartoons (explained)

Editorial Cartoons are often a simplified and hilarious ways to look at what current issues are headlining the news. Since the days of woodcuts, newspapers have featured these political satires. But they can sometimes be confusing to the reader if they don't know the backgrounds behind the joke.


(note many of the panels were cut off by the edge of the blog. Sorry their is nothing I can do about it but if you wish to view the entire toon simply click on the picture and you'll be given a separate tab.)




By Walt Handlesman

NewsDay

The cartoon is a reference to allegations that Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele used or someone in his staff used political funds visiting a bondage club.



By Steve Kelly

The Times-Picayune

This cartoon refers to many Americans concern with Health care yet total disregard for their own personal health.




Chris Britt

The State Journal-Register, Springfield

This one pokes fun at Vice President Joe Biden's comments that Health Care was a big "f***ing deal".



Clay Bennett

Chattanooga Times Free Press

I've got two theories on this one.

In this one, a brick with a Tea Party press release denouncing acts of intimidation and violence. The irony is that in the weeks leading up to hostility against the Tea Party protesters, many pro health care, liberal supporters and congressman were threatened, harassed and reportedly one political HQ had a brick thrown through its window.


or

Perhaps it is a shot at Tea Party leaders denouncing violence yet doing nothing overtly public to stop it.



Michael Ramirez


Investor's Business Daily


And finally we have this dig at President Obama, over his unwillingness to "reach out to Israel" despite having attempted rhetoric out to Iran, North Korea, and Russia.