Well, DO SOMETHING already!

by iGanja 30. May 2008 06:18

I’ve seen a couple stories about the "maple bat problem" in recent days (both from my favorite Yahoo sports reporter extraordinaire, Jeff Passan,) stemming from the two latest incidents at Dodger stadiumDanger Will Robinson!To be honest, I don't know much about wood bats other than they break, a lot, or the issues that ball players have with each variety.  I do know that players absolutely develop preferences and with the level of superstition already in the game, I doubt it will be an easy task eliminating the maple variety without a huge fight with the players union.  However, one thing that MLB can do RIGHT NOW, as in IMMEDIATELY, is require that bat handles be taped.  In looking at the picture of the bat used by Todd Helton, a tape job would have severely reduced the distance the resulting projectile traveled if not kept the entire bat whole after breaking.  Even standard stick tape used by hockey players would suffice as an interim fix until a policy is formulated, or an engineered tape solution is developed. (e.g. A Kevlar string with a tape binder?)  I doubt that tape will completely eliminate the danger, but in this case I truly feel the injury to Susan Rhodes would have been avoided.  MLB owes its fans (the people without whom you wouldn’t have a business,) better than “too bad, so sad, you need to be alert” as a response to this.  Is it really going to take a death of a fan (ala Brittanie Cecil) to get Bud Selig to do something?  Just another perfect example of why he is the worst commissioner of any sports league anywhere.  I wouldn't even trust him to clean my toilet!


oh, i Ganja!


Damn! Damn!

by iGanja 1. May 2008 06:16





i so totally ganja!


Dude! Come clean, or shut the fuck up!

by iGanja 28. April 2008 06:14




To Roger and all the others:

To the players union:



Sex | Shut The Fuck Up!

The squeaky wheel gets the grease...

by iGanja 31. August 2007 06:12

Whoa!  That was some good shit!  Apparently I take 4/20 to be some sort of national fucking holiday or something, because I just fell off the face of the earth after that last post.

The truth is, I just ran out of motivation and creative juices.  I am amazed that the whole blog mania still seems strong, and that some of us really do find time and energy to write something nearly every day.  Unfortunately, I am not one of them, and may never be.  So, when something moves me, I may write a little rant about it.

Today, I just can’t help myself, as I am overwhelmed (yet again,) by the over-zealous nature of politicians to legislate to “fix” a problem that doesn’t exist to appease a miniscule sector of our population in an effort to “appear” to be earning there fucking paychecks by making the public safer.  What a crock of shit!

Case in point, the New York City council has successfully banned the use of metal bats by high-schools in the city of New York.  And get this, for the sole reason that they “might” be more dangerous than wood bats.  Even the federal judge upholding the injunction himself admitted in his ruling that zero empirical evidence exists to show that such bats are dangerous.  What the fuck, over!  These are elected officials making law for the sole purpose of making law.  Spending literally hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to fight for this ban in the courts instead of wisely spending that money toward a study to find out if the original premise behind the idiocy is actually true!  What a concept!  So instead of spending $50,000 to have a totally impartial, un-biased group study the issue, we’ll spend (god, only knows, just input a grossly disgusting amount of money here,) to fight the bat industry in court, so in the end, the bat companies will spend the 50k on their own study that will spin the facts in just the right way so to prove once and for all that metal bats are no more dangerous than wood.  This is the royal blue political machine hard at work.

Okay, as I have said many times before, I’m not a big fan of Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, but he brings this issue to light and generally feels this is just as idiotic as I do, even if he doesn’t have even the minimal knowledge of bat performance, he does logically come to the conclusion that banning something solely on the perception that it “might” be dangerous is just plain stupid.  What I can say, from many years of personal experience using high-performance metal (should read, man-made) bats, is that they are certainly better performing than any wood bat ever turned on a lathe.  Hands down, they do hit the ball farther and with more velocity, and I don’t need a radar gun or chronometer to see this with my own eyes.  But does that mean they are more dangerous than wood?  The answer is still “maybe” and without studying this any further, I still hold the notion that creating law based on one incident is over-reactive at best and a down right misuse of power.

But, what prompted me to write this diatribe was not so much Jeff’s argument against banning metal bats based on conjecture and hyperbole, but in a single quote he wrote as his closing remark, and if true, makes the whole premise of this argument concerning high school bat safety completely laughable.  Jeff quotes Dr. Crisco, of Brown University as saying, “If you're concerned about injury, what about cheerleading?  It has 10 times more catastrophic injuries than baseball.”  To which I say, no shit?  We should ban it!

So, banning the use of metal bats will reduce the number of baseball related deaths in the five boroughs from one ever five years to one every six or even seven! Wow! All the while the number of deaths and quadriplegics from cheerleading accidents will remain at ten times that. Way to go guys! Way to go.

Oh, I ganja!


Controlled by the promises made by men…

by iGanja 20. April 2007 06:08

I have often stated, upon being asked of my religion, that I am “an agnostic theist.” In other words, I choose to believe there is a god, but also accept that I will never know for sure, and that there is no way to know for sure. Some would merely say that I am hedging my bet; sitting on the fence of theology, waiting for the outcome and positioning myself for the many possibilities. Okay. So? Is that any worse than choosing to believe on absolute blind faith, that God does exist and that he (or she or it) “commands” us to live a certain way and that the portal for his commands is some other human, different in no way to ourselves? Truth is I have much better odds of being right, that god does exist, that there is no way to know for sure, and that is exactly the way he intended it.

I have but one commandment. “Live and let live” I used to quote the golden rule as it seemed to sum up my views rather nicely, but after thinking about it, I decided that “doing” unto others was also not quite the right rule to live by. Considering that since everyone has different likes and dislikes, doing unto others as you would have done upon yourself just has too many failing interpretations.

There are hundreds of established religions in this world. Which one is correct? Place your bets everyone, the gate is about to open. The fact is I enjoy not knowing. The journey is indeed the point. The destination is inevitable. We will all reach it, and we will, only then, know the answer, and in death as in life there will certainly be more losers than winners. Those betting on the 72 virgins are gonna be rather disappointed. But hey, it was a long shot, and sometimes long shots come in, but in the realm of eternal existence, the concepts of “virgins,” “green pillows” and “red carpets” is distinctly different than what we believe. Just live and let live.

Yet we base our beliefs, we live our lives, we judge others, condemn others, kill others all over these promises of the afterlife. Why? These promises were made by men. Plain and simple, prophet or not, men; guessing (betting) just like the rest of us. Chances are they are wrong. And the proof is in the purgatory, or in this case, limbo. (It would have worked so much better had limbo started with a ‘P’ but alas it just didn’t.)

Now, all of the sudden, a belief held by the catholic faithful has been buried *. Where the idea came from in the first place is a topic of debate as it was never an “official” church doctrine, but still believed by a great number of people, and lives were controlled by the idea, doctrine or not. Holy shit batman! Did god himself speak to the faithful and ‘splain it in clear, easy to understand god speak? No. The ‘men’ in charge of things, declared that limbo was an "unduly restrictive view of salvation," Yeah? No fucking way? Well, of course I’ve been saying that for years. Of course, I’m not the pope, so nobody takes my word for it. But here is where I say “See, I told you so!” Just more proof that we don’t know, and we will never know and a plea to all, just live and let live.

Oh, I ganja!

* link changed because Yahoo News doesn't have the balls to keep a story for more than 3 months it seems.


Point of Order, Madam Speaker!

by iGanja 10. April 2007 06:06



yep, I Ganja!



Save the Rain Forest Now!

by iGanja 13. March 2007 06:04

Okay, this was too green for me to pass up. Instead of being a simple lemming or as Penn Jillette would say a "joiner" for the sake of joining a cause that really does sound good and noble and right, I have decided that before I sign that petition that proposes to ban di-hydrogen-monoxide, I might actually want to learn for myself what it is really all about, then make a decision on where I stand based on reality, and not just what "sounds" good.

Of course recycling "sounds" good. Why wouldn’t it?  Does anyone really believe we should just throw everything away and start over every time? Even a five year old can see the flaw in that logic.  Problem is, five year olds don’t understand the many variables concerning the issue of recycling, but it sure "sounds" like a great idea.

Now, before you start with the hating, put your recyclable container of Hateraid away for a moment and just entertain the idea that recycling may not be as wonderful as it "sounds."  Now we have all heard the "myths" as some would put them, that recycling paper, for example, is actually more damaging to the environment than just cutting down a "virgin" tree (don’t we just love that word – virgin,) and making paper from all new tree stuff.

First off, most, if not all of the "myth" busting that I can find is produced by wildly conservation minded, green as the grass they are smoking, whacko environmentalist groups, federally funded conservation think tanks and those that have a real vested interest in recycling (those receiving money in the form of your tax dollars to promote recycling.)  Take for example the three links provided by my very good friend at myths and facts about recycled paper.  These links take you to three totally separate websites that cite these "myths" and then go on to dispel them conclusively.  If one looks closely, the "myths" are all the same and the arguments against are also exactly the same.  So, no new information here – one link would have certainly sufficed.  Providing three with the exact same information does not make the argument stronger.  But wait, after further review, we find that the "facts" are all provided by two very important and legitimate sounding groups called the Recycled Paper Coalition and the Buy Recycled Business Alliance.  Alright then, the search is on to find the science or data behind the "facts!"  An Internet search on the Recycled Paper Coalition results in a link to Papercoalition.org – a single page with links to links to links to more sites dealing with recycling, and to (woops) conservatree.com, which just so happens to be one of the three links previously mentioned.  Now why would this site want to dispel the "myths" about paper recycling?  It looks like self serving loop of propaganda to me, and Rutgers University should be ashamed, citing a "source" that simply does not exist.  Now what about the other one - the Buy Recycled Business Alliance?  Hey, actually a real organization – based in Australia – its sole purpose is to get businesses to "close the recycling loop" by purchasing recycled products.  In visiting their website I could find not a single shred of information providing "facts" about recycling paper and dispelling myths.  It is primarily a marketing website designed to get people to buy more products.  Alright, yes, recycled products, but with very little, if no actual data regarding the environmental benefits.  We are again left with our innate understanding that recycling is a good thing.  Only because it "sounds" like a good thing, but is it really?

Well, turns out, the answer is an emphatic yes, but for reasons that are a lot easier to understand, which is why there weren’t any government programs or subsides or environmental groups screaming for it.  America and the rest of the industrialized world have been recycling for scores.  Well before the 1970’s whacko-do recycling craze.  But the reasons we recycled were because they actually made fiscal and environmental sense, not just because it "sounded" like a good idea.  Take, for example, steel and aluminum et. al.  Without any government studies, or environmental impact reports, those businesses engaged in the production of steel and other metals figured out that manufacturing those materials was significantly cheaper using recycled material than extracting raw material from the ground.  It also turns out that there is a direct correlation with cost of manufacturing and amount of energy used and pollution produced in the process.  And I’ll bet, using small words, I could get a five year old to see the logic in that.  And so it is for aluminum, and brass, and copper, and glass, and yes, even plastic and other petroleum based products.  Industries manufacturing these products have figured out how to increase profits by cutting waste, improving manufacturing processes and recycling spent materials.  And who ever said that capitalism breeds environmental genocide?  Okay, I’m not talking about the pollution spewing manufacturing processes; I’m just talking about the "logic" of recycling and almost everything else for that matter being something that entrepreneurial folks will somehow figure out on their own, if it’s a good thing, without the government stepping in.  We really don’t need government telling us to cut costs and maximize profits, do we?

Problem is those that would have us recycle everything on God’s green earth base their assertions mainly on emotions and what "sounds" good than on reality and logic.  And here is the "reality," at least as far as paper goes.  Turns out, big business consumes over 80% of the paper in the US.  So why are recycling programs directed at the public consumer?  Of that 20% that we, the horrid paper wasters, "consume," nearly all of it is in the form of manufactured goods rather than simply writing/printing paper.  We’re talking newspapers, magazines, packaging materials, and direct mail.  In fact, we "consumers" are literally force fed waste in the form of paper products that could be easily replaced by electronic means or simply eliminated (junk mail anyone?)  So, why are "we" the ones shouldering the burden of paper recycling?  Well, because "we" are all lemmings and will believe just about anything, do almost anything we are told and sign almost any fucking petition that "sounds" good, even that one banning di-hydrogen-monoxide.

Most of our recycling policies put the burden of curbing waste on the smallest waster.  So we all feel like we are doing our part to "save the rainforest" when, in fact, the god dam is breaking people, but instead of getting the dam owner to fix it, we’ll employ all the townspeople to each stick a finger in the dam thing, thereby relieving the dam owner from his responsibility.  This is just plain stupid!  You want to save the trees?  Get the biggest wasters of paper to stop packaging a pinky sized stick of lib balm in a package the size of Vermont; ban the practice of direct mailing consumers, and stop selling magazines and newspapers all together.  Do this, and the 20% is now down to virtually zero, and us "consumers" didn't do a dam(sic) thing!  Hopefully by then the true "wasters" will be exposed and we can go after them, and the hippie, granola eating, hemp wearing, PETA members can stop shaming us "consumers" into spending all our waking hours jumping through inconsequential environmental hoops.

It’s time to wise up people. Just because something "sounds" good, doesn’t mean it is the answer.  Just because we can actually do something doesn’t mean what we do will have any effectual benefit.  What these silly recycling programs really do is keep us (the public) chasing our tails while the big wasters keep on wasting.

Would you sign a petition banning the use of di-hydrogen-monoxide?  Did you know that this chemical can be found in nearly everything we eat and drink?  Did you know that in sufficient quantity, this chemical can cause death in mere hours?  In fact, thousands of people die every year due to over exposure.  Did you know that this substance has such powerful affect that even a small amount, over time, can destroy almost anything it touches.  Did you know that this substance can, in fact, render paper worthless on contact?  Would you sign such a petition?  I bet you would.  It sure "sounds" like a good idea, doesn’t it?  In fact, when presented with this petition, the average person on the streets of America will sign this petition at a rate of 3 to 1, and if we got enough people to sign this petition, we could put an end to the use of water once and for all.

Water = H2O = di-hydrogen-monoxide.

Oh, I ganja


Oh, how I love Americans for Safe Access!

by iGanja 21. February 2007 06:03

Too long has our Federal Government held its position that Marijuana has no medical benefit, when there exists literally tons of evidence to the contrary. To continue to perpetuate out-and-out lies to the public which it serves and rapes for tax dollars used to pay for scientific studies to find the fucking truth is criminal. And now the ASA has decided enough is enough. It is in fact a violation of the law for our government to distribute untruths and misinformation when the evidence shows otherwise. How many more people must suffer or die while the feds fight this un-winnable war on drugs? The amount of money our country spends on this war in a single year is just plain unconscionable! See, Paying for the war on drugs...

oh, i ganja!



The frog is boiling

by iGanja 6. December 2006 06:01







Oh, I ganja


You don't have a say, so shut the fuck up!

by iGanja 29. November 2006 06:00

Oh, what I would give to be a fly on the wall at some Baseball Writers of America conference.  Late at nite, when the meetings are over, after the four cocktail dinners are completed, back in the hotel rooms that the escorts and drug dealers frequent…  I’m not calling them all out, but then again, I don’t have to.  I doubt anyone would have to do much more than hang around for a spell to catch one of these self-proclaimed protectors of baseball purity doing something, anything, illegal, or at the very least, morally reprehensible.  Please!  Get any group of self-righteous spin doctors together, and it’s a recipe for hypocrisy!

Major League Baseball gives these windbags, most of who, never played a single inning of baseball, even in little league, the honor of choosing the players to be enshrined in Cooperstown for their accomplishments on the field, and I have to ask, why?  Why on earth do these guys get the honor?

We fans wait with great anticipation every year as these idiots debate the merits of each prospective inductee to the consternation of all of us.  Again, many of these imbeciles never donned a uniform; in fact many are such huge tubs-of-shit, they’re lucky if they can find a belt off the rack that can encircle their massive affirmation of athletic ineptitude.  Yet, we allow them to judge that which, for all intents and purposes, they have no business judging!  And it get’s worse!

If it isn’t enough to try to label an athlete’s accomplishments as "hall worthy" by themselves, most of these overzealous pundits choose to bring into the debate practically every non-field related issue they can drum up.  Perhaps this is to somehow judge them on something they actually have some knowledge of; because hitting a baseball going 95 mph with a 34 inch piece of lumber is something they actually know nothing about!

And if all that wasn’t bad enough, every sports writer in the country, most of which do not have a vote in the matter, feel compelled to give their two cents worth also!  Who gives a rat’s ass "how you would vote," if only you had a ballot!  You don’t!  So, go fuck yourself already, ‘cause it’s obvious you don’t get it either!

This last idiot, John Donovan (non-voter extraordinaire,) actually spent time writing why Mark McGuire doesn’t deserve to be in the Hall, in his own narcissistic opinion.  Dude!  Here’s a reminder for you; you don’t have a say in the matter, and for good reason, thankfully.  You don’t understand the whole concept in the first place!  Donovan actually does say that in looking at Big Mac’s numbers, he fully warrants consideration nay induction for what he did on the field.  Okay, stop right there big boy!  That is all you need to consider, period!  Not every Hall-of-Famer prior was a poster child for "role model of the year" or even shining examples of law abiding citizens, but they were all freakishly good baseball players.  Must every inductee now be held to some Roberto Clemente standard of conduct?  And again, who the fuck are you to judge such things anyway?  You are barely qualified to judge their on-field accomplishments.

Donovan writes in his article: "Writers, unfairly drafted into the ranks of the Morality Police and forced to guard the gates of the Hall in this hormone-injected baseball era…"

What a fucking crock of shit!  "…unfairly drafted?"  Bullshit!  You took on that role on your own.  Nobody is asking you to be the moral compass of baseball, and, god forbid, we as fans would accept you as such!  "…forced to guard the gates?"  What the fuck?  Is it such a heavy burden, simply looking at a guy’s career and deciding whether he deserves to be enshrined for his accomplishments?

The problem really is that there is no set of standards to be considered when deciding who’s in and who’s not.  I as a fan would say, consider only what the player did on the field, his impact on the game during the time he played, and lastly, possibly give some extra credit for being a good human being, but in no way should a player be penalized for being an asshole or otherwise generally unpopular.  And certainly no way should a player be dinged because he wasn’t a media favorite.  This is not a popularity contest regardless how much some baseball writers would like to make it so.  Swallow your fragile egos and show us the standard of integrity by which you obviously hold everyone else to, but are seemingly unable to abide by yourselves!

Many of the actual voting members of the Baseball Writers of America will no doubt agree with Mr. Donovan and choose not to vote for Mark McGuire even though his numbers and his impact on the game clearly warrant induction.  Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa saved baseball, and anyone who does not accept that is simply not paying attention.  Major League Baseball should be "kissing their hairy bean bags."

The bottom line is; you are not judge and jury over whether or not Big Mac or Sammy Sosa, or even Barry Bonds took steroids in an era where, even though illegal, was not against the rules.  I commend Mark for his reluctance to submit to the pressures of the political machine looking to bolster their next bid for office.  If there was a problem, and I think everyone agrees there was, then fix it!  But don’t go after those that found a loophole and exploited it to the absolute delight and benefit of everyone associated with the game.  Everyone "knew" what was going on, and nobody did a damn thing about it!  Don’t go after the saviors of baseball now that what they did for you is not so politically correct.  You must now live with your decision to look the other way.

In all fairness to Mr. Donovan, he’s not alone, even at SI.  This guy Phil Taylor (another non-voter) also feels he must take a shot at Big Mac’s expense.  All I can say is thank god we don’t build houses out of glass anymore…

Oh, I ganja!


Shut The Fuck Up!

Oh, I Ganja



Oh, I Ganja!

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