Swine Flu, Souter and Silliness

I went on a brief trip to the Bay to visit some friends and partake in some Bacchanalian activities, but was instead forced to stay inside all weekend due to the flu. I still don't know if what I had was the infamous H1N1 virus or not, nor do I really care, because either way it was the flu which meant I had to drink lots of liquids, eat clear food and rest. Plus, seeing as the symptoms of swine flu and regular old fashioned flu are the same I don't know how one would go about determining which one they have. Unless of course everyone visits this gem of a site. There's just something about pandemic flu, that really gets my snarky, sarcastic juices flowing, or is it just that I realize how much the human race loves to blow things out of proportion? We manage to gloss over such real problems like HIV/AIDS, homelessness, or world hunger, because those are just not sexy enough and don't have such easy fixes as washing your hands, and not blatantly sneezing on people in confined spaces.

The other big piece of news is that Justice Souter is planning on retiring. He's staring down at 70 and realized he doesn't want to spend his "golden years" stuck in a stuffy black robe in D.C. And who can blame him? 19 years is a long time to spend at any job, especially one as intellectually taxing as being a Supreme. I applaud him for wanting to hangout in nature in New Hampshire. But what does this mean for the President? He has to appoint a new Justice and so early in his term. It's not a big surprise, there's been a short list floating around since the campaign and considering Specter just made the big leap to the Dems, it doesn't seem like confirmation will be difficult. But on the other hand, Obama should be careful what he wishes for, Souter was appointed by Bush the First and has been a thorn in the conservatives' side ever since. Who knew these amazing legal minds would have the nerve to think for themselves and not be swayed to party politics? Awww...how I love the system of checks and balances.

Finally, just some general silliness that has been bothering me. First, the Dodgers' catcher Russell Martin has changed his jersey to read J. Martin in some sort of ridiculous homage to his Canadian roots. He has not been hitting like he used to and I'm starting to think there's some kind of bad Canadian mojo on him. If this is what happens when MLB players play in the World Baseball Classic then I say cancel it! Also, in addition to the traditional Take Me Out to the Ball game at the 7th inning stretch, there is a mandatory singing of God Bless America. I really hope this is gone soon, otherwise I'm definitely utilizing the facilities during this time. Don't mess with the 7th inning stretch, it's like apple pie and well, uh, baseball. Finally, the McCourts need to buy another two houses in Malibu, so they've shamelessly named a section of the Stadium, Mannywood which includes two tee shirts with the name splashed across it and two tickets for $99. Eee-gads, isn't it bad enough that you're insisting on calling the Stadium, Dodgertown?!