#4

It’s really hard to believe that Brett Favre is now a New York Jet. #4 is a Jet, not a Packer. Who would have thought that? Darn. Even an icon like Favre can wear out his welcome – at least with Packer management.

Brett Favre is a good NFL quarterback, probably in the top 10 or 15 of all time depending on whose list you view. But Favre will always be remembered as the quarterback who, for the last four or five years, strung the Packers along keeping them guessing if he would come back to play the next season. Normally he made up his mind late in the spring. I think the management grew tired of Favre’s annual guessing game.

After the Packers went all the way to the NFC championship game last season with Favre playing one of his better seasons in years (28 TD/15 INT Passer rating of 95.7), I expected him to stop the annual soap opera and come back this season.

Instead, he announced his tearful retirement in March. I thought that was finally the end of it.

Then the desire to throw another pass in the NFL got the best of Favre once again. He wanted to play, but the Packers management was getting a little tired of the annual soap opera. This whole episode with Favre and the Packer management was a lot like a recess at a typical middle school with rumors flying left and right: “He said that.” “They said this.” It went on and on. The sports reporters went wild.

As a New York Jet this season, I expect it to be tough for Favre early in the year because this is a new offense for him to run. On the other side, if the Packers lose a few games early in the season, or if they don’t do as well as last year, the Packer nation may kill and grill the coach and general manager right in the middle of the parking lot in the shadow of Lambeau Field. This makes the upcoming NFL season a little more exciting. It would be even more exciting if the Jets and the Packers played each other, but that won’t happen unless they meet in the Super Bowl. Fat chance.

We’ve seen other great quarterbacks leave the teams they led to championships for another shot at glory. Many fail. Joe Montana got another shot of glory, and since I am a Kansas City Chiefs fan, his two years in KC were golden for me. On my shelf sits a Joe Montana football card. Of course he wears his Kansas City Chiefs uniform.

Montana went from the 49ers to the Chiefs and led the Chiefs to the AFC championship in the 1993 season. In 1994, Joe Montana played in the ultimate revenge game as he led the Chiefs to victory over the San Francisco 49ers and Steve “monkey off my back” Young – his replacement in San Francisco. 1994 is also special for the Chiefs, as this was the last time they actually won a playoff game. They’ve made the playoffs five times since then, but have not won a game.

Some of my readers may remember one of the greater games ever played on Monday Night Football. It happened in 1994- the Chiefs taking on the Broncos in Denver. John Elway and Joe Montana. Montana gained a little more glory that historical night. The Chiefs won the game 31-28 when Montana hit Willie Davis with a five yard TD pass with 8 seconds left to play. Watch it HERE. Right after the touchdown, Monday Night Football’s color commentator Dan Dierdorf said it best, “Lord, you can take me now, I’ve seen it all.”

Will we see Brett Favre bring some magic to the New York Jets? I imagine he has some left, but only time will tell. But just as Joe Montana will almost always be remembered as a 49er to most people, Brett Favre will always be a Green Bay Packer.

The National Enquirer was correct

ABC News is reporting: Edwards Admits Sexual Affair; Lied as Presidential Candidate

John Edwards comes clean, on a Friday afternoon, about an affair with 42-year old Rielle Hunter, who has a baby. Edwards claims the baby is not his. How about a paternity test there John?

The story will air tonight on ABC. NBC will be upset as they are airing the Olympics and this will cut into their viewership.

The National Enquirer first reported the alleged affair in October.

Scumbag. His wife, Elizabeth Edwards, has cancer.

I can’t wait to see the skit Keith Olbermann does about this scandal!

So long John.

Polling for Energy

After being called out by the Missoulian and a few Montana bloggers, what is a politician to do when faced with the facts that they are on the wrong side of the issue.

With about 81% of Americans saying that finding new energy sources is an urgent national need, politicians on the wrong side of the issue must act fast. But canceling their vacation and getting the problem under control is just a little too much to expect from Montana’s senators.

For Senator Jon Tester his “work” on the energy crisis during his 38 day vacation included holding a phone conference and sending out a press release blaming the other party for Congress not solving our nation’s energy woes, although his party controls Congress. A couple of hours to do that, and it’s back to the fun and sun!

Tester actually did a little more than the senior Senator, Max Baucus, did. According to a reporter from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle:

Baucus, at the request of the Chronicle, released a statement promoting some expansion of drilling and promoting alternative energy.

It seems to me that Baucus did not want to really talk about it while on his 38 day vacation. He was probably busy setting up tables for the barbecue.

Ironically, it was reported that Barack Obama found through his internal polling that he was getting hurt/hammered/slammed with his stand against offshore drilling. Now he’s for it. Both Baucus and Tester now favor “some” offshore drilling. Maybe Obama shared his polling numbers. Nonetheless, apparently it’s all about the polls to Baucus, Tester and Obama.

Meanwhile, Denny Rehberg continues to push for solutions and has been Montana’s leader on this issue in Washington, D.C.

Experience: A Speech in 2002

John McCain is beating Barack Obama in hits on YouTube according to this article. There have been several good ads recently by the McCain campaign, but this video is one of my favorites:



It appears Obama does need to take that vacation in Hawaii.

Agreement: Get Back to Work

It is always nice when a major Montana newspaper and The Western Word agree on an issue. Yesterday, I commented about the “Spineless Leadership” in Washington from the Democrats regarding the energy issue.

Today, the Missoulian’s Editorial Board agreed with many of my points in their opinion called, “Politicians, call off those vacations”

In my comments, I wrote, “This is certainly not the time to take a vacation.”

The Missoulian agrees, “Now is not the time for our congressional leaders to be taking a vacation.”

I wrote, “Max Baucus and Jon Tester need to also get on a plane and get back to Washington to solve this problem.”

The Missoulian Editorial Board writes, “In fact, we highly suggest the nation's senators - including Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester - get back to Washington, too.”

The Democrats, lead by Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid, allowed the House and Senate to take 38 days off. 38 days is a long vacation. Recently a friend of my family took vacation before heading to Iraq with the Marines. He received 15 days off before heading off to war. He gets 30 days vacation per year. Maybe Congress should only take 30 days off per year, too, with weekends and holidays included.

So take the suggestion Max and Jon. It’s coming from a newspaper that bends over backwards to give you good press coverage. Just because gas prices have fallen a few cents does not mean this problem is over. You can reschedule your barbecue.

The Missoulian Editorial team also mentions the fact that the House members back in Washington would normally use this August vacation to campaign since they are all up for re-election in November. People like Denny Rehberg have placed campaigning on the back burner to put the energy issue in the spotlight. I commend him and others who are doing this. Will Max Baucus do the same? Will Jon Tester stop jet-setting around the country to campaign for Democrats long enough to find a real energy solution? I highly doubt it because Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are their bosses and Max and Jon follow them like sheep.

Spineless Leadership

Applause goes out to Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg for keeping our energy crisis in the spotlight. Yesterday, Rehberg announced that he will travel back to Washington DC to work with other Republicans to get Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the House back into session and find a solution for high gas prices.

Max Baucus and Jon Tester need to also get on a plane and get back to Washington to solve this problem. Everything needs to be debated openly and honestly.

More and more it appears that if Americans want lower energy prices, they will need to get rid of the current leadership in Washington. The Democrats are walking a fine line by waiting until 2009 to pass any energy legislation. Hopefully voters will make them pay dearly in the November elections.

Democrats can put out press release after press release saying the high energy prices are all the Republicans’ fault. Fact is, the Democrats control the majority in Congress and therefore control the legislative agenda. We have not seen much of anything they promised in 2006 come to fruition. The 110^th Congress has to rank near the bottom of all Congresses in getting anything done. The fact is that gas prices have significantly increased since Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Jon Tester and Max Baucus have been in the majority.

Senator Jon Tester said he has a plan that includes, “Drilling for oil immediately in areas that make sense…” whatever that means. But Tester stopped short of saying he would vote to drill offshore. He wants to talk to Montanans about it and he will probably hear more loudly what he heard in 2006 when he was trying to get elected:

But I’ve been listening to Montana families and they’re sick and tired of buying $3 a gallon gas. Here we are in the middle of the summer when Montana families are taking vacations and farmers are getting ready for the harvest, and gas is just too expensive — all because government hasn’t done anything to look for alternatives. It is time for leadership in Washington.

Yes Senator, it is time for some leadership in Washington. Under your and Senator Max Baucus’ watch, gas prices have increased more than $2.00 per gallon. We’re “sick and tired” of buying $4.00 gas. This is certainly not the time to take a vacation. It’s certainly not leadership.

Although Tester is ahead of his mentor, Max Baucus, regarding the energy issue, both trail Rehberg in coming up with a solution. Rehberg supports H.R. 6566, The American Energy Act of 2008, which has 127 co-sponsors in the House. It is a good bill that includes everything.

Meanwhile, Jon and Max’s leader, Barack Obama, will be vacationing in Hawaii next week. Not many folks can afford to buy airline tickets these days to take a Hawaiian vacation. Some fares have increased over 200% percent since the Democrats have been running congress.

The worst is yet to come: We will need to heat our homes this winter. Chances are the Democrats will come back for a few days after the August vacation and then take another vacation through most of October all the way until January 20, 2009. That’s spineless.

Watermelons, Post Offices, and Dirt

The democrats, who control the majority in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, went on a five week vacation starting last week without addressing the most pressing issue facing the United States: Energy. They return September 8.

According to Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins:

Of the 290 laws passed this Congress (which comes dangerously close to the lowest number ever), 30 percent of them just name post offices. Congress also took the time to recognize July as "National Watermelon Month" and officially classify dirt as a natural resource. It is little wonder that Congress's approval rating is in the single digits-nine percent-for the first time ever.

So true. Given the chance to lead, the Democrats fumbled the ball.

Big Guns

Many politicians crave the media spotlight. When there’s a camera or reporter around, they will do just about anything to get their name in the newspapers or their photo on TV for a minute or two.

With several fires burning around the state, it was not long before a politician or two showed up to take a look and get that helicopter ride so they can check off the box on their “To Do” publicity list to show people “I care.”

Recently, the Billings Gazette Blog “On the Margins” carried these comments filed under the headline, “The big guns arrive” about two of our more “esteemed” politicians, Brian Schweitzer and Max Baucus, making the rounds at the Cascade Fire.

It’s a great read. I imagine the real firefighters saw the visit from Schweitzer and Baucus even more comical. Here are some of the funnier observations:

Seeing these guys show up was quite a hoot, though. Schweitzer was first. He came in dressed in his personal fire clothing, carrying a worn red fire helmet. But something tells me that helmet has never been near fire or near the governor’s head at the same time. In fact, he never put it on. He just carried it.

Then Baucus showed up. He too was wearing standard-issue fire clothes. But his pants were a little too tight and a little too short, exposing his socks and ankles. He also had his shirt buttoned to the very top on a 95 degree day.

Before they flew towards the fire area in a helicopter, both men had to prepare for the flight. The group gathered around a pile of equipment. Baucus put on his flight helmet, which immediately brought back images of Michael Dukakis in that tank in 1988.

These are my favorite observations:

Nothing against Baucus, but he looked like an alien with that giant flight helmet.

Strangely enough, Baucus was wearing a microphone and was being tape-recorded by one of his staffers. I don’t know why.

And finally, more Montana reporters should take note of this:

Baucus even asked and answered his own questions. It was kind of surreal.

I’ve heard that Baucus holds his own press conferences almost every day in Washington DC and the only people attending are HIS press people with their cameras. Then they feed it to the Montana television stations and they eat it up.

Now, if we can just see some photos from the visit!