Have we bypassed Gil?

During the political banter on the last post, Dave made a key observation. This raggedy blog, who's posts come nowhere near its original intent, has received more comments than Spencerblog in the last week. Is this a tribute to keeping comment moderation off the blog, is this because I try my best to keep the doors open for discussion, or is this because we're tired of the rules over at Spencerblog?

And this is why Comment Moderation Sucks...

Must be an off-day for SpencerBlog - the world could be collapsing and Gil's blog wouldn't react if he's off. We're essentially cut off from any conversation from DelcoTimes' main Op-Ed/Blogger. And yet we have so much to talk about!

• The Phillies won their series against the Brewers and will square off against the Dodgers in the NLCS starting Thursday
• The Eagles are an annual disappointment
• Sarah Palin's taking the Obama-terrorist connection approach
• There's a debate on Tuesday that I may not waste my time watching
• And my newest favorite show on the tube is quickly becoming "Sons of Anarchy" on FX.
• Oh, and it's pumpkin time at Linvilla.

Where do we start?

Trip to hell and Lipstick on pigs

Last night, I got home from a long trip to Grand Rapids, MI that involved cancelled flights in Chicago, a lost credit card somewhere in my voyage, and, to top it off, I got rear-ended in an Intersection in Michigan. To add to the mess, I got to learn that the State of Michigan employs a "no fault" policy in collisions, meaning that I'm responsible for any damages to the vehicle. While I am insured through work with my rentals, it was no fun to site an extra 90 minutes in the rain for a useless police report that still results in my need to flip a repair bill. Ugh.

I got home, put on the TV around 9pm to see who Larry King Had on for the night. Saw Joy Behar and couldn't change the channel fast enough. As I could find nothing else to pique my interest, I flipped on Hannity & Colmes (a.k.a. GOP Spokesman and and creepy bug-eyed conspiracy theorist). I rarely watch the program as I would much rather enjoy a yardstick to my head, but they caught me early on with an "Obama comment" that must have caught fire. Evidently, Obama used the "lipstick on a pig" comment to describe McCain's plans on making changes of his own as President. While, at first, I assumed that it was something contrived by Fox News only, it picked up steam everywhere else. I heard debates over the comment this morning on Smerconish's show as well as the almighty "Good Day Philadelphia".

Here's my take - While the crowd was chuckling and smiling in the background as he was saying it, I don't believe in any way Obama was relating the comment towards Sarah Palin. If he was, that I must have as well for each time I've said the same comment in the last three decades. I'm not a fan of his, but I believe he's got the class to not make such a statement. However, I believe that his advisers should have tried to coach him from such a statement, mainly to avoid the chatter we have today. It will be interesting to see how long this lingers in the public. My prediction is another 48 hours before it dies out for something new.

Despite the horrendous voyage yesterday, I had the fortune to stop by the Gerald Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, MI. The museum is a fascinating place to visit, it's also President Ford's final resting place, and a location I would happily recommend to everyone. President Ford, in my opinion, is one of our country's unsung heroes. He knowingly entered the presidency not elected on a ticket and set out to keep the nation stable through the aftermath of the Nixon Watergate scandal and resignation. He worked the aisle with individuals such as Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil to keep the ship afloat, and I believe those two years were a success because they put the country and its people ahead of party interests. In the end, Ford's Presidential Pardon of Nixon was what ultimately cost him the election of 1976, yet today, I believe that the public has grown to understand that he didn't make it for party interests, he did so to save the office of the presidency and to give the country the opportunity to move on. Ford was awarded the Profile in Courage Award in 2001 by the JFK Library Foundation for his actions.


While many of us relate Gerald Ford to Chevy Chase's antics from SNL due to his occasional clumsiness, I find the former president to be a great role model for future generations. Hard worker, selfless, honest, and dignified, Ford may be the most genuine individual to hold the office in the 20Th century (Harry Truman makes this point worth a fair argument).


By the way, its been several days since Spencerblog has been updated, has our pal Gil finally given up? Has Nostra-Steve-us predicted the end accurately? Stay tuned...

All's quiet on the Spencerblog front

Checked Spencerblog earlier, looks like the only things coming through are the notices from dave diano and myself inviting the rest of the group to our own blogs for the time being. Speaking of such, the link of the Day is David Diano's Blog at http://padelcowatch.blogspot.com/. Dave is doing the same as I am, opening the blog to the Spencerblog refugees. As I stated on his blog, it doesn't matter where we all eventually migrate to, so long as we have a place where we can continue to debate. I have no plans for moderating comments (Maybe deleting if they're too offensive) but moderating is out - it kills our flow.

I have come up with a conspiracy theory concerning this move - maybe gil is attempting to flush out the old blood and replace us with new blog readers. Similar to Lorne Michaels flushing out the Chris Farley's, Adam Sandlers and Mike Myers of SNL for the Cheri Oteri's, Will Ferrel's and Chris Kattan's.

Which one is randal?

http://whatislove.ytmnd.com/

Spencerblog - Resistance is Futile

Since I don't ever use this blog, I figured I'd post what's being censored at the Delco-Famous Spencerblog.

Today, Gil stated that all posts will be subject to comment monitoring before being added to the blog or left off. In his words, "From now on, all comments will now be monitored for civility and being on topic. " SO... staying on Top, I decided to post one as "PC POLICE" twice to see what happens:

PC POLICE said...
WE HAVE TAKEN OVER THIS BLOG.

YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED.

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.

Wouldn't you know it was censored? On topic, open expression, fair criticism of the new procedure. Gil must have enjoyed the Olympics in Beijing a little too much, he's taking on their government's mannerisms!

If anyone makes their way over to this "massively busy and on-topic" blog, feel free to comment away, we're not hiding!

To See the slow, painful death of a Blog, feel free to visit http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/delcotimes/gils/blog.html. Tell spencerblog I sent you, if you post gets through!