Football musings

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader spent yesterday relaxing. Well… Relaxing as much as it is possible for one to relax when watching football…

It was a good break. You see, Saturday was spent on Villainschloss work. To make a long story short… One of the hot water heaters in the Villainschloss ruptured. The rupture was caught early, so lots of damage was avoided. But, some water got into part of your Maximum Leader’s office and was soaked up by the rug. To be safe your Maximum Leader cut out the affected area of the rug. On Saturday, your Maximum Leader and Mrs Villain (and to a limited extent, the Villainettes) moved all of the stuff out of your Maximum Leader’s office, took up the rest of the rug, put down new padding, laid new carpet, and returned everything to the office. Your Maximum Leader now knows he has roughly 900 books in his office alone. (Last time your Maximum Leader counted his - and Mrs Villain’s - books the total was over 2,500.)

Anyhoo…

After a grueling day of labor (the damned dwarves living under the Villainschloss were pretty friggin useless… and must be punished. By the way… if you click on that link, that post was authored by the Big Hominid, not your Maximum Leader. At some point when he moved from Blogspot to MT or from MT to Wordpress the authorship must have been switched.), it was good to sit around and watch some football.

At the risk of upsetting any Badger’s reading this post (in Asia or otherwise) your Maximum Leader’s beloved Packers are on the verge of disappointing him…

Why does your Maximum Leader write this? You may be saying to yourself, “Self, the Green Bay Packers are 5 and 1. Surely that must please my Maximum Leader.” Well, you bet your sweet bippy that a 5-1 record does please your Maximum Leader. But honestly, the Redskins were close (many times) to kicking some Packer butt. Of course, we all know that “close” only has real meaning when one is referring to hand grenades and thermonuclear weapons. But in football “close” means that you should look at the game carefully before bragging.

May your Maximum Leader blog frankly here? The Packers don’t have a running game. Teams that don’t have running games don’t win championships. (Yes, your Maximum Leader is old school in his steadfast belief that the running game is a key component to a championship team. Because running the ball is controlling the clock. When you control the pace of the game, you can dictate the actions of the other team.) Sure the Pack look like they can win the NFC North. They actually look as good or better than most of the teams in the NFC. But have you looked at the AFC recently?

The Packers need to work on their running game, and they need to work on routes that will open up their receivers. As the Redskins game showed, now that other teams in the league realize they can stop the Packers on the run without undue effort they can concentrate on the receivers. Driver, Franks, et al had a hard time getting open, and were well covered. Your Maximum Leader knows that it was wet and raining at Lambeau, but the Skins were doing a good job covering the Packer’s WR and TEs.

Your Maximum Leader wonders if the Pack are playing above their ability… He thinks that with some effort they can resolve these problems, but right now they are shakier than their record shows.

And in more football news… Have you seen those New England Patriots? If they keep playing like this your Maximum Leader will declare this team bound for the Super Bowl. If this team keeps playing the way they are, and wins a Super Bowl, they might be the greatest team to ever play the game. If there any way that you can stop the Pats? Shut down the run, and they can pass on you. Think you can shut down their passing game? Think again hoss. Tom Brady has the most competent receiving corps at his disposal. And he has the brains and vision to exploit every weapon he has. It is insane. Your Maximum Leader always thinks of Paul Hornung as the “Golden Boy.” (Hey! He was Lombardi’s Golden Boy.) But Tom Brady is giving old Paul a run for his money. Between his exploits on the field and his exploits off the field your Maximum Leader has to admire Tom Brady.

Your Maximum Leader wonders if any team can stop the Pats…

Carry on.

Talking boobies, Elvis, and Pawn Shops

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was going to wait until next week for this post… But since he’s on a roll now… Here it goes… By the way, isn’t that a catchy title line?

It has been a while since your Maximum Leader has blogged about the platonic apple of his blogging eye, the dreamy Jennifer Love Hewitt. She hasn’t really been in the news much, so your Maximum Leader’s been keeping his fancies to himself. But thanks to Entertainment Weekly dot com, he now has blog fodder…

You see, recently the dreamy Jennifer Love Hewitt was on the receiving end of EW’s “Stupid Questions” column. Your Maximum Leader read this peice with glee. He’ll excerpt some of his favourite bits…

EW: Do you ever wish you didn’t have the ability to see dead people in real life, too?
JLH: It is a bit taxing. Elvis is constantly asking me questions. Make him a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich. Play his record louder in my house. I’m like, ”Elvis, I don’t have time right now!”

Ah… Another lover of Elvis who is not a wacko conspiracy theorist who thinks that Elvis is still alive and in some sort of witness protection program. Your Maximum Leader (a great Elvis fan) was introduced at a party to guy named (if he remembers correctly) Chris, who was reputed to be a “big Elvis fan.” During the course of conversation Chris asked your Maximum Leader if he (your Maximum Leader that is) knew that Elvis was in the witness protection program. Your Maximum Leader admitted that he did not know this and asked why Elvis was in the witness protection program. Chris said it was because of Elvis’ role in breaking up the Peruvian drug mobs. Your Maximum Leader then said that he’d never heard about Peruvian drug mobs. At this point Chris snapped his fingers and pointed at his Maximum Leader with one motion and declared “Exactly.” QED your Maximum Leader supposes…

But back to the dreamy Jennifer Love Hewitt stupid questions interview!

EW: When people look up at your face, are your breasts like, ”Hey! Eyes down here, buddy!”

JLH: My boobs talk to people a lot: ”Mine are bigger than yours.” They say that when they’re in the mall and they see other ones. And, ”Do these make my butt look big?” By the way, I’m doing this interview in the makeup trailer, and someone just walked in and heard me say, ”My boobs talk a lot.” Everyone here is very concerned for my well-being.

Jennifer Love Hewitt has boobs! Your Maximum Leader had never noticed… She does have lovely eyes, and pretty hair.

EW: John Mayer reportedly wrote a hit song about you. To save time for our fact-checkers, will you confirm that your body is a wonderland, or at least possesses characteristics similar to one?
JLH: My body is far from a wonderland. My body is more like a pawnshop. There’s a lot of interesting things put together, and if you look closely you’d probably be excited, but at first glance, not so much.

Oh… This sets up so many comments. But the one your Maximum Leader will settle on is: “Jennifer… Love… Your Maximum Leader has a gun he’d like to pawn…”

Anyhoo… If you are interested the whole piece is here.

Carry on.

Congrats Mr Gore

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maixmum Leader was roused from his self-imposed break by the news this morning. Yes… Former Vice President of the United States Al Gore has won the Nobel Peace prize.

Now your Maximum Leader’s dear mother did bring him up in accordance to the old maxim, “If you don’t have anything nice to say… Sit next to me.” (God bless dear ole Alice Roosevelt Longworth.); so in that spirit…

Your Maximum Leader will first extend his honest congratulations to Vice President Gore. Winning the Nobel Peace Prize is indeed an honor. So Mr Gore gets a doff of the bejeweled floppy cap from his (and your) Maximum Leader. It isn’t often that a man wins an Oscar and a Nobel Peace Prize in the same year. So, kudos to you Mr Gore. Your Maximum Leader hopes that Tipper give you some extra good lovin’ tonight to celebrate. (Perhaps she’ll need to buy some carbon offsets to counter the furious lovemaking that she’ll be givin’ you.)

Now comes the not-so-nice part, and this is not honestly directed at Vice President Gore… Your Maximum Leader doesn’t know what exactly the Nobel Peace Prize stands for anymore. There are plenty of people who believe that this prize lost most (if not all) its credibility when Yasser Arafat won it. (There are others who would place the Peace Prize’s “jumping the shark” moment earlier when Henry Kissinger won it. Frankly, your Maximum Leader likes to point to the award in 1929 as the moment of the Peace Prize’s downfall. Frank B. Kellogg - Ha!)

Your Maximum Leader is all for a prize recognizing the work of an individual (or even a group) to promote peace in the world. But recently he’s been baffled by the Nobel Committee’s choices. Apparently all you have to do to promote peace in the world is be for sustainable development. For the longest time your Maximum Leader thought that to win the award you actually had to do something to promote peace. You know, like end a war, or negotiate to avoid one. But hell, what does your Maximum Leader know? We will not need a Peace Prize in the Mike World Order - as all will be contented under the semi-benevolent autocratic rule of your Maximum Leader…

Anyhoo… Congrats Mr Gore.

Carry on.

Short break

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has decided to take a few days off. Lots of things are going on this week that require his undivided attention. If things change, he’ll start posting and you’ll all know… Otherwise… See you next week.

Carry on.

Quizzes!

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader took some quizzes. He found the first link through Elisson… Then he was off to the races…

NameThatDisease.com
NameThatDisease.com - Test your disease knowledge

Unlike Elisson, your Maximum Leader used a few clues in the early going of this quiz. He also found that the same photo was used for two questions… That threw him off a little. But hey! Hawkeye (outside of his liberal tendencies) isn’t a bad guy.

NameThatSerialKiller.com
NameThatSerialKiller.com - Test your serial killer knowledge

Apparently your Maximum Leader needs no help naming his serial killers… Although, he doesn’t think that one of the choices in this quiz is a serial killer in the traditional sense.

NameThatDrug.com
NameThatDrug.com - Test your drug knowledge

And finally… Your Maximum Leader’s drug knowledge ain’t all that great. (A fact that doesn’t surprise him.) He went deep into the clues on this last quiz.

100 Below: The Attack.

It was after him. He ran through the maze of city streets. The absence of signs of life even at 3:00 am scared him.

And it was after him.

He turned through an alley. Beyond the alley was the safety of his apartment building.

But it was just behind him.

In the alley he stumbled and fell. He knew it would get him. Quivering in fear and covered in sweat he faced his nemesis.

The cardboard Big Mac box leered at him and declared “Now to avenge my brothers who have died at your hand!”

Randy screamed.

100 Below: The Aftermath

Detective Stanley Howard didn’t know what to make of the crime scene. One dead white male, 20-30 years old. The body was sprawled in a short alley, next to a dumpster. Why not in the dumpster?

The victim had been cut up badly. The attacker must not have been terribly strong. The cuts were shallow. But all the cuts bled. The victim must have bled to death. Howard took a final look at the body and the blood that trickled to a storm drain.

Howard saw a bloodied Big Mac box near the drain, and realized he was hungry.

Skiing, Subarus & Secession - Pt II

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader, back in June of this year, wrote a little piece about the Vermont secession movement. (You may read it here. The Smallholder wrote a short piece on the subject here. And then there was the very popular Maximum Leader in uniform post.) Well… If your Maximum Leader is bringing it up that must mean that it is in the news again…

Secessionists meet in Tennessee. Let us cite the first few paragraphs from the piece:

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - In an unlikely marriage of desire to secede from the United States, two advocacy groups from opposite political traditions — New England and the South — are sitting down to talk.

Tired of foreign wars and what they consider right-wing courts, the Middlebury Institute wants liberal states like Vermont to be able to secede peacefully.

That sounds just fine to the League of the South, a conservative group that refuses to give up on Southern independence.

“We believe that an independent South, or Hawaii, Alaska, or Vermont would be better able to serve the interest of everybody, regardless of race or ethnicity,” said Michael Hill of Killen, Ala., president of the League of the South.

Separated by hundreds of miles and divergent political philosophies, the Middlebury Institute and the League of the South are hosting a two-day Secessionist Convention starting Wednesday in Chattanooga.

They expect to attract supporters from California, Alaska and Hawaii, inviting anyone who wants to dissolve the Union so states can save themselves from an overbearing federal government.

If allowed to go their own way, New Englanders “probably would allow abortion and have gun control,” Hill said, while Southerners “would probably crack down on illegal immigration harder than it is being now.”

The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly prohibit secession, but few people think it is politically viable.

Gadzooks! One would think that secessionists would meet somewhere not “touched” by the history of secession. Perhaps in Michigan, or Montana, or Idaho. Hell… Windsor, Ontario would be a more likely place, it seems to your Maximum Leader, than Chattanoga, TN. You might as well meet in Vicksburg or Atlanta (or Gettysburg).

These secessionist nutjobs just don’t get it. The Civil War pretty much decisively closed the book on leaving the United States. It just can’t be done. There is a reason that the official history of the Civil War written by the government was called the “History of the War of the Rebellion.”

Indeed, your Maximum Leader thinks that it is this simple fact (ie: once in you can never get out) that keeps places like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands from clamoring harder for statehood. Those protectorates and territories are a fickle bunch. Today they want representation in Congress, tomorrow they just want the benefits of being “in” the United States without all the responsibility. They are quite childish in their ways. They just haven’t decided what they want to be when they grow up. Indeed, if Vermont were to leave the Union (and we were to let them - however unlikely that would be); then we would have to force Puerto Rico to become a state. We would have to explain this move to the Puerto Ricans in baseball terms (”Think of it as a call up to the big leagues!”) After all, we just can’t go back to fewer than 100 Senators, 435 Representatives, and 50 stars on the flag. (By gum they aren’t going to get your Maximum Leader to buy a 49 star flag…)

Anyhoo… These secessionist nuts sure are getting lots of press. And by lots of press your Maximum Leader means any press at all. These people ought to be relegated to the back pages of the small-town fishwrap. Right under the story about how the local “cat lady” is going to closely watched this Halloween to avoid any unfortunate incidents like last year’s. Alas, they are not. The AP is picking up the story and running with it. It must be a slow news day…

At least now the secessionists in Vermont are teaming up with the secessionists in the South. Woo hoo! What a winning combo that must be! One wonders if they immediately took issues other than secession off the table. After all, the Vermonsters want to make their land safe for civil unions, gun control and dairy products; the Southerners likely want to make their lands safe for… Well… Does your Maximum Leader have to spell it out?

These people must have a lot of time on their hands. Really now, your Maximum Leader spends his free time plotting to create the Mike World Order out of the ruins of civilization. That takes time and mind-power. These people seem all together more simple-minded. The extent of their thinking is “I don’t like you anymore. I want to take my bowl and go home. Harumph!” Any 3 year old can do that.

Allow your Maximum Leader to state for the record (again) that he will raise volunteers (or pay the people at Blackwater) to keep Vermont in the Union by force. If he later has to mess with Texas or Tennessee he will. He will not like having to do it, but it must be done. (Okay… Your Maximum Leader might enjoy invading Vermont. He doesn’t think he’d enjoy invading Texas or Tennessee as much.)

If you would like to serve in a volunteer regiment (commanded by your Maximum Leader) when the forray of force is required in Vermont, let him know. Please know in advance that your Maximum Leader likes to campaign from March to September, baggage trains for officers will be kept to 2 wagons and 4 native attendants (please send him an e-mail to request a price list for commissions), pillaging is restricted to 4 hours after the capitulation of an undefended town and 8 hours after the conquest of a defended town (towns that arrange their surrender in advance will have terms negotiated before the surrender is accepted), and officers are required to bring formal attire for your Maximum Leader’s Friday night levees. Oh yes… One more item… Your Maximum Leader is looking for a dashing cavalry commander to play Uxbridge/Anglesey to his Wellington.

Carry on.

Another sign of the end of civilization as we know it.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader, as you may know, has two young Villainettes at home. They are aged 10 and 8. The older one (annonymously objectified on this blog simply as Villainette #1) likes Hannah Montana. For the uninitiated, Hannah Montana is a show on Disney Channel. Disney, always cashing in on their successes is having a Hannah Montana tour… And that is where this comes in

Forget The Police, Justin Timberlake or Bruce Springsteen. The undisputed hottest concert ticket of the year is for 14-year-old pop star Miley Cyrus, star of the Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana” TV show.

Fans are so desperate for seats to her 54-date tour, kicking off later this month, that venues have sold out in as little as four minutes and scalpers are getting four to five times the face value — creating a torrent of complaints from frustrated parents.

“We knew it was hot, but we had no idea it was this crazy,” said Debra Rathwell, senior vice president of AEG Live, which is handling her tour. “It’s like the Beatles.”

About 12,000 seats for the Memphis show were gone in 8 minutes. It took 15 minutes in Columbus, Ohio, and swift sellouts have been reported across the country — Nashville, Miami, Lexington, Ky. The Kansas City Council is investigating the matter.

One ticket for the show in Charlotte, N.C., sold for $2,565.

Your Maximum Leader is now, officially, throwing in the towel on civilization. One seat for a Miley Cyrus show selling for more than $2400! Miley Cyrus is compared (seriously) to The Beatles! Gad it is bad out there.

Carry on.

Football

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader had a lovely time this weekend with his wonderful children. Well… To be honest, he had a lovely Saturday with his children. He sat on his duff and watched football all day yesterday. Saturday was a day for the kids and the zoo. Weather was great. Animals were outside and active. And the zoo was filled with parents and kids. (Excursus: there were some fine specimens of humanity available for viewing at the zoo. Not that your Maximum Leader would notice those things…)

Anyhoo…

Here is football question for you…

Which of these teams will be the first to chalk up a victory? The Saint Louis Rams. The Miami Dolphins. The Irish of Notre Dame.

Toughie isn’t it?

Your Maximum Leader thinks it will be the Rams. He doesn’t see many wins in the future of the Golden Domers… Or the Fins…

Carry on.

Sabato’s More Perfect Framework

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has long been a subscriber to the UVA Center for Politics newsletters. He reads them with relish and awaits their appearance with some anticipation. Your Maximum Leader will recommend that if you are of a political ilk you might want to sign up for yourself. (Heck, perhaps you should even make a donation to keep the good work going.)

The most recent e-mail from the Center for Politics is plugging Larry Sabato’s newest book, A More Perfect Constitution. Normally, your Maximum Leader isn’t thrilled about books about how you can “improve” the Constitution or the actual mechanics of “the government.” Most of the time they aren’t grounded in anything that remotely resembles reality. This is not to say that Sabato’s book is completely grounded in reality. Your Maximum Leader hasn’t read the book, but he thinks he might. Sabato is a reasonable man with a practical, as well as professorial, outlook.

For your edification, your Maximum Leader will excerpt some of the passage of the email here and provide quick and pithy commentary…

Here is a tidbit about reforming the Senate:

Two principles embraced by the founders about the Senate are worth preserving. Fundamentally, the Senate represents semi-sovereign states, and despite all the changes wrought by time and technology over the centuries, most Americans still identify with and have great devotion to their individual state.

[…]

The second principle was equally dear to the founders. They insisted that the structure of the Senate should protect minority rights from the “tyranny of the majority,” or “mob-ocracy.” The United States was to be a republic, a representative democracy, not a pure democracy run by 50 percent plus one of its residents.

[…]

In the early years of the Republic, the population ratio of the most populated state, Virginia, and the least populated state, Delaware, was 12 to 1. In 2004 that ratio was an incredible 70 to 1 between California and tiny Wyoming. Therefore, the current Senate is absurdly skewed in the direction of the small states. Theoretically, if the twenty-six smallest states held together on all votes, they would control the U.S. Senate, with a total of just under 17 percent of the country’s population!

Additionally, on most crucial policy votes, such as the Iraq resolution example that opened this section, the arcane rules of the Senate permit 41 of the 100 senators to prevent a final vote on the floor by means of a filibuster–that is, continuous debate. Therefore, just 21 states can provide the 41 senators necessary to block action. The 21 most lightly populated states comprise a mere 11.2 percent of the nation’s population as the Senate is currently constituted.

[…]

So how can the animating principles of the Senate be preserved while making the institution fairer to all the people, whether they live in big, medium, or small states? The Senate needs an adjustment that is both simple and potentially acceptable to most small states–in part, because some of them are growing by leaps and bounds, and they will one day benefit from the change. We should give the ten largest states two more Senate seats each, with the next fifteen largest states gaining one additional seat. The twenty-five states with the smallest populations would not forfeit any representation and keep their current two Senate seats. As with seats in the House of Representatives, the Senate seats would be reapportioned among the states, according to this formula, every ten years after the census assesses population changes. From decade to decade, for example, a state might move into the list of the ten largest states and thus be awarded an extra senator; the state dropped from that exclusive list would lose a senator.

The new Senate, then, would consist of 135 members. This change has an additional advantage. With the population of the United States having expanded dramatically (by almost two thirds, in fact) since the current 100-member Senate was established in 1960, the 35 additional senators can assist in meeting the needs of millions of new Americans in their large states. And the cost to the Treasury is relatively little. The smaller states in the new Senate would, individually and collectively, retain plenty of clout. The difference is that the distorted, decidedly unfair world where the Lilliputians rule the Giants would be dissolved.

Before commenting… Let us read Mr. Sabato’s comments on the House…

The founders had great affection for the U.S. House of Representatives and wanted it to be a reliable barometer of popular sentiment, produced by open and competitive elections, with all its members elected every two years. (The number of members was far smaller in their day, but in our time the House has 435 voting members). How sad the founders would be to see the ultra-stable, uncompetitive House of professional politicians that exists today. In 2004 just twenty-two races for U.S. representative in the country were decided by fewer than ten percentage points, and in 2006–supposedly a highly competitive year–only sixty-one contests fell into that category.

[…]

… [T]he Constitution itself must call for universal nonpartisan redistricting. The states should be given a choice of methods, including redistricting by a panel of retired judges or an independent citizens commission–carefully balanced to prevent control by any party…

The goal of increased partisan competition ought to require that, within the demands of compactness, we should create as many two-party competitive districts as possible. This is what Iowa tries to do, quite successfully. Why is this so important? If there is a national swing of just two or three percentage points in the overall House vote from one party to the other in successive elections, then many dozens of seats might switch hands to the more politically successful party, empowering the people to send their electoral messages. At present, a swing of 2 or 3 percent would produce only a handful of party turnovers, in all probability, so that the voters are cheated of their opportunity to affect the governmental policies that affect them.

[…]

Most of the reforms advocated in this book are primarily structural, without a clear leaning to left or right. Others might be considered liberal or progressive, with a few falling squarely in the middle of the road. Yet constructive constitutional change can and must come in all ideological hues. No one philosophy has a monopoly on good ideas, and if a package of amendments is to be ratified–given the extraordinary majorities required for adoption in Congress and the states–there must be backing across the mainstream political continuum. The following proposals, originated mainly by conservatives, ought to be given serious consideration for inclusion in the new Constitution: expanding the size of the U.S. House, term limits for national legislators, and a balanced budget amendment.

The first of these ideas will surprise many. Why would an increase in the size of the U.S. House of Representatives be considered conservative–or be regarded a good thing? As is frequently the case, we need to go back to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. There is every indication that the founders believed the House would grow with the population. At the same time, they no doubt understood that there was some undefined limit to that growth in the House.

Let’s return to the first House of 65 members. With a U.S. population of about 3.9 million, each House member represented approximately 60,000 individuals. By 1860 a larger House of 183 members represented on average about 100,000 people each. After the 1910 census, the size of the House peaked at 435, with each member representing 213,000. Today, each member of the lower house of Congress represents 690,000!

If the new Constitutional Convention were to tackle this issue, it would be vital not to go from one extreme to the other. Based on the original constitutional minimum district size of 30,000 people per House member, we would have a House of 10,000! Some conservatives have argued for a House of 2,000 up to more than 9,000, but more reasonable is the conservative commentator George Will’s suggestion of a 1,000-member House. It may seem counterintuitive that conservative pundits would want to expand this part of government, but the key is in the follow-through. By increasing the size of the House, the influence of most members is thus severely limited. Resources per member, such as personal staff and office space, should also be proportionately reduced.

A larger House would produce much smaller constituencies of 300,000 people or so, permitting representatives to stay in touch with a larger proportion of their districts and also allowing for the election of a more diverse group of representatives. More ethnic, social, racial, and religious groups might well have majorities in these new, smaller districts, and they could elect a House member to carry their banner in Congress. The need for money in order to mount a campaign would be reduced as well.

Your Maximum Leader, as most of you know, is a deeply conservative person. He means this in the sense that he does want to conserve what is good in our society and change (because it will happen) must be slow, incremental, and measured. Your Maximum Leader is particularly conservative when it comes to messing with our Constitution and the framework of our Republic. Indeed, your Maximum Leader has gone on the record often saying how much he likes gridlock in government. So when someone suggests reforms to help make “the government run better” your Maximum Leader is sceptical to begin.

Having said that, and only having read the e-mail with summaries of the book, your Maximum Leader is generally open to the suggestions that Sabato has put forth here. He certainly is in favor of a balanced budget amendment. He has no objection to expanding the size of the House of Representatives. 1,000 members of the lower House seems a little excessive, but frankly the number of Representatives is arbitrary as it is, so there doesn’t appear to be any reason why one should prefer 435 over 1,000 (or 555, or 721, or 999). Your Maximum Leader believes that whatever number you suggest it should be an odd one - just to avoid ties. (Unless you are sure to point out in your rules of procedure that a tie means a vote fails. Some people aren’t clear on that point…)

Your Maximum Leader is a little leery of adding proportional representation, as Sabato — or anyone else, puts it, into the Senate. He sees the point Sabato is making, and he realizes that the composition of the Senate was a political compromise itself; but having a few states have three or four Senators doesn’t sit well with him. He wonders if it is just his conservative nature that doesn’t want to mess it up coming through here. It likely is.

As for term limits… Your Maximum Leader has never been for them. If people want to elect a saint or an asshole over and over and over again, by gum let them! Your Maximum Leader knows all the arguments on boths sides of this issue (he’s been hearing them since the mid 1980s now — they never change). And frankly it just comes down to people should be allowed to vote for whomever they want as many times as they want. Your Maximum Leader would have been against the Twenty-Second Amendment if he’d been alive at the time it was being debated. Frankly, if people scrutinized their elected officials they might be shocked at what they find. Everyone believes that “their” representatives are “great” and “all the others” are “bad.” But if they bothered to read a newspaper, or follow what goes on at all, they would realize that “their” people are just as “bad” as everyone elses.

Your Maximum Leader doesn’t have time for more pithy discourse on this subject now. He will likely try and pick up the book and read the whole thing for himself.

Carry on.

Obligatory Post

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader apologizes for posting nothing yesterday. He is going to have to re-evaluate his posting habits. The Villainette’s are doing more both after and before school; and your Maximum Leader is actually a contributing member of society with other responsibilities. Perhaps he should banish this idea he has of writing something for the blog most every weekday… He’ll think about it.

Of course, if one is going to blog, one should have something to blog about. Alas, he didn’t have much to say yesterday. Your Maximum Leader did miss the anniversary of the Battle of Stamford Bridge. That was yesterday. Your Maximum Leader should save his blogging thunder for the impending anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, which is happening on October 14th.

Your Maximum Leader has been thinking a lot about sports. He’s been rooting on the Nationals against the Mets. If you can’t be a winner in the Division, you can at least be a spoiler. It isn’t quite as sweet a role to play, but it is better than being the Marlins.

He’s also been thinking about Football. He’s all excited about the Packers, but he is waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Pack are off to a great start, but he wonders if the teams they have beaten have been coasting on reputation from last year. Your Maximum Leader has also been thinking about the San Diego Chargers. He thought that the Chargers would be a great team this year. He was confident that they could make it far into the playoffs. Alas, it is not to be. Your Maximum Leader wonders if they will win 8 games this year. Your Maximum Leader is putting the blame for San Diego’s bad start firmly at the feet of Norv Turner. Turner knows offensive schemes. Turner knows quarterbacks. He doesn’t do well as a head coach. It was a bad move to fire Marty Schotenheimer.

And in other news… Whew! That was short… Apparently the UAW and GM have reached a tenative agreement to get everyone (in the UAW at least) back to work.

Carrry on.

Things done this weekend.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader would really like to just sit around and do nothing today. Not like he did much over the weekend. Let us ennumerate those things he did, shall we?

Friday night - played host to a Villainschloss full of 10 year olds for a sleepover in honor of Villainette #1’s recent birthday. As part of playing host he cooked up about 10 pounds of pork roast using sea-salt, a little coconut, and some liquid smoke. Then he served this bounty with a pineapple/mango salsa. The kids (and the few moms who hung out with us) loved it. Your Maximum Leader also drank rum drinks out of a large tiki mug. Did your Maximum Leader mention that Villainette #1’s party had a “Hawaiian” theme?

Saturday - woke up before the crack of dawn, drove 40 miles to get the tire of the Villainmobile changed. Left the tire place, took wrong turn while listening to The Economist podcast, traveled about 20 miles in wrong direction before coming too and realizing mistake. Then drove hour home. Then cooked breakfast (eggs - fried and scrambled, grits - with and without cheese, sausage - spicy and mild, toast, and fruit salad) for children. Sent visiting children on their way. Went grocery shopping. Read half of a Flashman novel. Tidied up in the back yard. Watched some college football. Played Medieval Total War II - as the Russians (enjoyed killing Turks and Poles - Hungarians are next). Drank some bourbon out of a regular glass. Stayed up late watching TV - including the mediocre “13th Warrior” (your Maximum Leader wishes they would make more Viking movies…).

Sunday - woke up late. Read Luke 7:36-50 with children. Explained parable to Villainettes - to little success. Played a little Medieval Total War II - continued game as the Russians (enjoyed killing Poles and rebels - Turks agreed to alliance for giving up Crimea. Hungarians avoided war by surrendering a province). Then watched football.

Your Maximum Leader watched he beloved Packers pay a wide-open game against the Chargers. He was pleased with the victory, but disappointed that the Pack have no running game to speak of. This was painfully evident when the Pack had a First and Goal on the 1.5 yard line and threw four consecutive (failed) passes to try and score. They turned over the ball on downs. It was sad. Your Maximum Leader is starting to wonder if the Packers might actually be one of the best teams in the NFC this year. That doesn’t mean too much as the AFC is still pretty much loaded and will likely beat up on the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Your Maximum Leader then watched the Redskins lose to the NY Giants. What the hell happened in that game. Your Maximum Leader thought that the throwback uniforms were embued with powerful ju-ju - but only half a game worth of ju-ju apparently. At the half your Maximum Leader was willing to lay money down that the Skins would whollop the Giants. But it was not to be. The Giants came back and spanked the Skins. Very sad.

Speaking of throwbacks… Your Maximum Leader doesn’t like any Philadelphia sports team. He especially dislikes the Flyer and the Eagles. But there was something delightfully tacky about the Eagles throwback uniforms. He hopes that the Eagles wear them the rest of the season.

Your Maximum Leader (during the Skins game) grilled a delightful flank steak, made garlic bread, steamed some squash from the garden, and cooked up some rice. Devoured all of this while watching game. (Also ate some kimchee he got at Giant with the rice. He’s been eating lots of kimchee recently. While a lot to him is probably not a lot to a Korean, he does enjoy a some with dinner. He’s eaten a 16oz jar in one week.)

Then your Maximum Leader watched the first three quarters of the Bears/Cowboys contest. He was pulling (as much as he could) for the Cowboys - because it would help the Packers. But it didn’t feel right doing so.

Then your Maximum Leader headed off the sleepytime. He doesn’t know why he should feel so tired today, but he does.

Carry on.

Foodie Blog

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is transfixed by a blog he found via Rachel.

He’s now added the Old Foodie to the blogroll.

Your Maximum Leader has been reading old entries for waaaay too long today.

Clicky and read-y.

Carry on.

Civics Quiz

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is disappointed in himself. He only scored 56 of 60 on this Civics Quiz he found through the V-man. That makes him a B Student. (He supposes that, depending on the grading system, his grade might be a B+. The percentage score was 93.3%.) On one question your Maximum Leader just misread the answers and kicks himself for going too quickly. But the other three were all legitimate misses.

Take the quiz yourself. It is here.

BTW, the Velocigod scored 57 of 60. Lousy bastard…

Carry on.

    About Naked Villainy

    • maxldr

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