Sadly serious

Wait...

I mean, seriously...

Some things just strike you as, "No freakin' way this is for real."

The pop duo Prussian Blue falls into this category.

I didn't really think they existed, but according to Wikipedia, and their website, they are apparently very real.

And so are their fans.

Prussian Blue is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl duo that apparently spews racism, Holocaust denial, and in general, the eradication of black people from the Earth.

Oh, and they think that Hitler had some good ideas.

Unless this is the greatest hoax ever unleashed upon mankind, I could not make this stuff up.

They have received death threats. According to the Facebook Group "Please Join In Protest Against Prussian Blue," their father has been shot and the girls were sent into hiding.

I haven't been able to confirm statements that the group has made it onto the Billboard charts.

In any case, it is unbelievable that there are still people out there who teach their kids this shit.

I don't even know what to say about people who still believe that Hitler had the right idea and that blacks should be eliminated as a race. I don't know what to say to those people who believe that the white race is in danger.

Except, maybe, "get help."

But I'm not even sure why Prussian Blue bothers me.

Maybe it bothers me because I see a young duo like Prussian Blue, and I lose hope for the future. Prussian Blue means one more generation will be around to spew hatred and bigotry. Prussian Blue means that any advancements that might have been made to eliminate hate are marginalized, if not outright forgotten.

I don't have a fix-all cure for racism. I do know, however, that groups like Prussian Blue mess things up even more. So do rioters.

It is naive to think that racism doesn't exist anymore, and that differences are not apparent. However, society will only advance once people work together in spite of those differences. Hate groups, on either side of the racial equation, accomplish nothing. There are problems between these groups, and with that comes inherent mistrust. Solutions are needed, and none are clearly in sight.

I think it's legitimate to point out that the numbers of these hate groups seem to grow when domestic problems are ignored. I realize that it is impossible to address every domestic political problem that exists, but the growth of hate groups underscores the fact that not enough attention is being paid to these people and their problems, and these people are generally afraid. Fear helps them grow, and this fear needs to be addressed.

As it is, our government tends to address issues that don't need attention. The citizenry appeared to speak loudly against such tactics in the past election. This gives me hope for the future because it shows that our nation as a whole does care about problematic issues and will move to address them.

So maybe, in the long term, hate groups will see their numbers decline as time moves on.

The appearance of Prussian Blue doesn't give much hope though. They're just one more setback.

Is it possible to go below square one?

I admire good sportswriting.

That said, Scott Burnside is the man.

Today, the Chicago Blackhawks finally admitted that their season is going into the tank and fired coach Trent Yawney. As the Miller Lite Men of the Square Table would say, "Good Call."

I was hoping, however, that assistant coach Denis Savard, whom I have never liked behind the bench for his terrible offensive coaching, would be fired.

Too much to ask for, and then some.

I have long felt that Savard was a driving force behind the Blackhawks' suffering. For those who don't recall, Savard did take over the Blackhawks for the final six games of the 2000-2001 campaign.

He didn't win a single game.

And I wouldn't be surprised if Savard didn't win a single game again. No, it's too much to ask of the Blackhawks to hire a proven winner, like Pat Quinn, who happens to have a gold medal under his belt, and plenty of playoff appearances with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and who is available to hire at the moment.

At least Burnside FINALLY calls out Savard for what he is: a bad offensive coach. He also calls out GM Dale Tallon for signing constantly injured (or just plain bad) players, and he calls out the organization in general for consistently hiring and firing bad coaches.

Thank you, Scott Burnside, for saying what loyal Blackhawk fans have been thinking for years now. We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Hopefully this isn't the last of the firings for what has become a sad organization. Hopefully Savard will eventually join the unemployment line. Hopefully Tallon will follow him. Hopefully some new leadership and fresh blood will be placed in the organization.

In other words, hopefully, Burnside's message doesn't fall on deaf ears.

But when you're a Blackhawk fan, you have to know that no one inside the Chicago Blackhawks will get the message. As a Hawks fan, you grow accustomed to cynicism and disappointment, especially these days...

...where even a step in the right direction turns out to be wrong.

Tom Hanks isn't dead either

So I just randomly heard that this rumor was false.

And I decided to investigate the website where it allegedly came from. The site is FakeAWish.com

So, apparently, you can do this with any celebrity or athlete. For an example, I'll use the player recently signed to the Cubs for a lot of money, Alfonso Soriano.

I can say that he died in a plane crash.

Personally, I think it looks fake, and kinda stupid, but apparently, it fools people. Hence the belief that Tom Hanks was dead in New Zealand, even though he wasn't anywhere near New Zealand.

I do not know what's more sad...the fact that people actually fall for these goofy things, or that there's actually a "market" for them. It's not even limited to celebrities or athletes either. You can also make someone "Masturbation World Champ." Classy.

I don't know why I'm posting this. Perhaps I'm merely crying out for society to do better...much better. It is indicative, I think, of my own level of intellectualism (or boredom), that I actually chuckled a bit at some of the headlines.

Regardless, the kind of havoc this site could wreck is a bit frightening. It hasn't happened, and it probably won't happen, but for the sake of argument, what if someone eventually makes an article saying that a plane has crashed into the Sears Tower or something? Then a number of people are in legal trouble, including the site's creators, probably.

I guess I'll just end by saying, be aware of this goofy site and don't be drawn in by articles that come from it. This is how ridiculous hoaxes get started.

On the bright side, at least that keeps snopes.com in business.

A letter to Juice

Dear O.J.,

If it makes any difference to you, we really didn't need a book or a television series to know that you're still guilty as hell.

I don't know how many jokes I can take hearing that end with the punchline, "How's O.J. coming along with that 'finding the real killer' thing?"

Sometimes I wonder what it's like to be a walking punchline.

Then I figure that somebody out there has probably already made it as such.

See the Michigan-Ohio State Wikipedia entry while you can...

...here's the link.

And here's a phrase in the Trivia section of the article that will undoubtedly be gone soon:

"The Ohio State University is contemplating a switch to artificial turf due to OSU cheerleaders grazing on the field during halftime."

UPDATE: And now it's gone. It was funny while it lasted though. I guess it goes to show that nothing is sacred between these two teams, as they meet for a spot in the National Championship next weekend.

I will withhold endorsements for luck purposes this year though.

Kinda makes me want to see this Borat movie...

This link is funny for the following reasons:

1) Frat boys were humiliated

2) A lawsuit has been filed

3) The South was shamed

4) An RV was involved

5) Two guys randomly trusted another guy in a bar who talks with a Russian accent while berating women and minorities.

Just...funny.

On July 29, 2006, I posted these words:

"So why, Donny Rumsfeld, would you want to stick around to see the end of this? Why would you want to keep being called a liar, a murderer, a scoundrel? (I'm thinking British insults here, forgive me.)

Dude, look around you. There's like, you, Cheney, and Condi Rice still around from the first administration. The rest saw a sinking ship and jumped off before their lives got any harder. The only reason Cheney's still around is because he feasts on human flesh to keep himself fit. The only reason Condi has stuck it out is because...well, probably because she's the only high-ranking woman in the Bush administration and MIGHT be subject to less heat. But those days are numbered too.

So, with the casualties rising, the whole administration facing 1000 attacks from 100 different directions every day, and Iraqi, Iranian, and Afghanistani citizens making our nation look foolish, as well as money and oil-hungry, why do you want to stick around, Mr. Rumsfeld? I admire your loyalty, but come on! Don't you have pride? Don't you have dignity? Don't you have some hunting to do or something?"

Today is November 8, 2006. Lookie here

Finally

Thank you, Ohio.

I always knew you had the potential to do the right thing.

Projected winner - *

Governor
Ted Strickland (D) -- 2, 253,757*
Ken Blackwell (R) -- 1,382,644

U.S. Senator
Sherrod Brown (D) -- 2,086,784*
Mike DeWine (R) -- 1,648,165
(from toledoblade.com)

And though I know that you STILL won't get the message, here's the message anyway, President Bush.