Spen

1 game back in September! Amazing.

Ah Labor Day. A day we can hear politicians tout how great American industry and workers are and the listeners will largely forget how a lot of the speakers have profited from abandoning the American worker. I would never want to force anyone to manufacture things in the US. I just don't want to wholly reward companies for moving their headquarters or production facilities overseas. That's not fair to the companies that don't do that. Hey not only did your competitor avoid paying a lot of taxes or salaries - but now they can sell their product a lot less than you can! Happy Labor Day! A tariff probably would raise prices but should it? How much does a company save by making a fake headquarters in a foreign country? Or by moving production overseas? I don't know for sure but I bet its a lot more than the 5 or 10% tariff fees would equal. But yeah I know the cost would be passed along to the consumer, that would not be good.

Great series win!

Does Bobby mean that the Orioles are lucky he passed on the managerial job and they then hired Buck? If so he may have a point.

Well its as simple as getting any fee or tax increased on corporations. So in essence not very easy. Plus a tariff would probably drive up the cost of the goods for the consumer. I wouldn't expect the company to eat the cost out of the money they are saving from pretending to be offshore. I say its fair because if you are going to pretend to be a foreign company in order to avoid taxes then you should be treated like one.

That was a great performance. The crowd is sad but mid week day games often are, plus traffic is supposed to be a mess. I am not completely excusing it, hopefully next home stand gets some bigger crowds. Three out of four against the White Sox is nice. Big weekend coming.

Its an election year, I am amazed we havent had a big 'flag burning' debate yet. Thats usually a big election year 'non issue'. I agree, Its a simple and fair solution.

Tillman with a gem tonight. As they get closer to assuring a 500 finish i get happier and happier.

You did not in the least. No worries. I was just wondering if I came off as demonizing the rich. I do not mean to.

Cleetz, I do not really disagree with anything you have posted. The only thing I disagree with and I do not know if you mean me, but either way I do not think I am demonizing the rich. I just tire of hearing how little some pay tax wise and I do not think that is right. I do not even care if we had flat tax if it closed all the loopholes that some people exploit but I think we know that's not going to happen. Some of the demonizing could be backlash from the new label some use for the wealthy, the 'job creators' one. Again, it might not have come off that way, but I am not against the rich in general just some who are condescending or glib about the financial difficulties of the working class. Health care. Dont get me started on health care. For 25 years that has been an election year topic and for 25 years my premium costs have gone way up. In the early 2000s they were doubling every year for a few years. I do not ever thing that will improve, and nor do I ever think it will stop being a political topic.

I am really frustrated of late. I go in phases but right now I feel we are living in a plutocracy and our votes mean little. I think both parties are similar and no matter who win partisan politics will ensure nothing will really change. Romney may not have done anything illegal with his taxes but I bet he knows some people wont like some of the things he has done or else he would be more forthcoming with his returns. The blind trust stuff bugs me and the Italian Telecom deal he funneled through Luxemborg bugs me. Not that I am saying they are illegal but I think they are unsavory. Its always bothered me that an anecdotal story about someone abusing the welfare system pisses some people off to no end yet when people dodge taxes and hide income the same people view that as part of a game. For sheer dollar amount alone the latter is a much bigger problem. Isn't it great that in such a bad economic time someone who may be worth 300 million (its hard to tell) is able to deduct 77,000 from their taxes because they lost money on their Dressage horse. Are we really supposed to believe that corporate deregulation and private enterprise are going to help us get out of this mess? Arent those some of the factors that got us into the problems we are in? Are these the same corporations who moved huge number of jobs overseas in the past 25 years? Are these the same corporations who open storefront 'headquarters' in Bermuda, Sweden, or Ireland to avoid paying corporate taxes? And we are going to talk corporate tax cuts? For the companies that have fucked us and the country? I work hard, I pay the taxes I am supposed to (and thats not small in Maryland) and every year they seem to go up. So it pisses me off when someone who is super rich pays a lot less than I do whether counting in % or actual dollar amount. And if they are glib about that, that will stick with me and they will not get my vote. I think the middle class has shrunk to dangerously small numbers and frankly I do not see it getting any better. I cannot see manufacturers moving jobs back when they can pay foreign workers a fraction of the income as American ones. I cannot see the government levying serious import tariffs on companies who move manufacturing jobs overseas and therefore have to import the goods. Campaign donations will stop that. So I think the bottom will fall out even more. I long have thought (and stated here) that I thought the US would fall apart (and break apart) sometime in the first quarter of the century. I still feel that way, its a system of haves and have nots with a upside down house of cards economy. I don't think it can last. What has changed is that the idea used to make me sad. Not so much anymore. If it happens, the country and its people have brought it on ourselves.

McLouth with a big homer to win it!

Steve Johnson with another nice game. The Oriole took advantage of some Blue Jay mistakes early and now have a good lead. Wieters arm has been great tonight.

At this point with the number of games left I will admit to being dissapointed if they do not finish 500. While I love the fact they have a chance at a playoff spot I still just want them to finish strong and consistent. I may be the only one but I don't like the new wildcard. Its just a cheap way for an unbalanced league to create excitement for a few fan bases that normally wouldn't be involved in the playoff race. All for a one game playoff.

My bad guys. I turn the game on when its 1-1 just in time to see the first homer. It went downhill from there. This ones on me.

Nice series. I admit I had my doubts when I turned it on in the first and saw the score.

We deserve our fate, no matter how bad it is, for allowing scientific topics and challenges to become politicized like this subject has.

I was the right age group for Junior Oriole Club. I think it was $5 for 10 tickets when I got them. I think I got them at Roy Rogers!

Its been a fun couple weeks and a fun season. I dont care if the Red Sox are having a bad year, a series win against them is always sweet.

It was insane here too. My parents 15 miles away got nothing but for an hour or so here last night it was pouring, hailing, and lightning like crazy. At one point thunder was really loud and my smoke detectors went off for a few seconds. Not sure how that works.

Darn, should have kept raining!

I think Duquette deserves some credit for some of the moves he has made. Chen was a very solid pickup. Little moves like Quintanilla and Betemit may not be blockbusters and they may not be great players but they have contributed at key times.

I think Roberts is done and I think the Orioles should search for a long term replacement for 2b but I do not think they have to cut ties completely with Roberts. Dont expect much but if he is healthy and can contribute then its a plus. I do not really get the hate either. He has some pretty bad injuries but he has always been a team guy, hes not an ass or anything. Who cares what he makes. I certainly do not think that cutting him will have any effect on fans returning or not, and if it would those are some pretty silly fans. If the team improves the fickle fans will return. If the team falters the 'fans' will stay away and lie to themselves and others that they are good fans but they are staying away because they dont like the owner or something.

Manny Machado called up, may play Thursday.

I had a good chuckle when I read it was 23 years to the day his father got his first. I remember that, if my memory serves he had a rough start but settled down and pitched a complete game at a very important time. Steve looked good tonight. Fantastic win, they were good in all aspects of the game.