WHEREAS, Tigers centerfielder Austin Jackson made a tremendous, over-the-shoulder running catch off Indians second baseman Mark Grudzielanek for the first out of the ninth inning; and

WHEREAS, with two outs in the top of the 9th inning, the 27th batter, Cleveland Indians shortstop Jason Donald, grounded the ball to Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who in turn flipped the ball to Galarraga, who clearly touched the bag with his foot before Donald did; and

WHEREAS, veteran first base umpire Jim Joyce incorrectly ruled the runner safe at first; and

WHEREAS, thousands of the paying customers at Comerica Park could see immediately that the umpire blew the call at first; and

WHEREAS, even Donald himself appeared shocked and surprised that he had been called safe; and

WHEREAS, Galarraga demonstrated the utmost class and sportsmanship in both his immediate and post-game responses to the tremendous disappointment that would have rattled almost anyone, professional athlete or not; and

WHEREAS, Galarraga routinely retired the next and 28th batter, Indians centerfielder Trevor Crowe, on a weak groundball to Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge to preserve a 3-0 complete game shutout victory for Detroit; and

WHEREAS, umpire Jim Joyce acknowledged immediately after watching the replay that “I just cost that kid a perfect game”; and

WHEREAS, ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian correctly noted that professional umpires like Joyce get the first base call on Donald correct 100,000 out of 100,001 times; and

WHEREAS, both sides of the political spectrum of mainstream journalism concur in their analysis — with New York Times sportswriter Tyler Kepner observing that “Joyce’s decision is easily the most egregious blown call in baseball over the last 25 years” and Fox News sportswriter Bob Klapisch noting that “Millions of fans were able to see that Galarraga, covering first base, took Miguel Cabrera’s toss and beat Jason Donald by a step”; and

WHEREAS, only 20 perfect games have been thrown in more than 130 years of Major League Baseball, amazingly including two others in the past month (Dallas Braden, Oakland As, and Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies); and

WHEREAS, no Detroit Tigers pitcher before June 2, 2010, in more than 100 years of franchise history had ever thrown a perfect game; and

WHEREAS, Armando Galarraga was robbed of his special moment and ended up walking off the field to a parade of boos directed at the umpire rather than the resounding cheers that should welcome such a rare and difficult pitching feat; and

WHEREAS, the result as it stands is a stain on the credibility of baseball and on the respectable career of umpire Jim Joyce; and

WHEREAS, a public outcry for justice has begun in the form of the Facebook group “Petition for MLB to score Armando Galarraga’s game as a perfect game,” which has attracted more than 8,000 fans (including me) within 6 hours of the game’s conclusion; and

WHEREAS, correcting the result and officially recognizing Armando Galarraga’s performance as the 21st perfect game in Major League history — a game in early June in which the outcome for the respective teams does not change in the least — does not set a dangerous precedent, open up a Pandora’s Box of random protests or threaten the integrity of the game in any real way;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan Huber “Bud” Selig should fulfill his duty to the game, its umpires, players and fans by overruling Jim Joyce’s blown call at first base and officially recognizing Armando Galarraga’s June 2, 2010, perfect game; and

BE IT RESOLVED, that baseball fans should express their strong displeasure with the outcome of the play as it stands by writing letters to the Commissioner’s office (The Office of The Commissioner Of Baseball, Allan H. Selig, 245 Park Ave, 31st Floor New York,New York 10167) until Major League Baseball’s official recognition of Galarraga’s perfect game occurs; and

FURTHERMORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Commissioner Selig and Major League Baseball officials at least should give formal consideration to the proposal brought forward by ESPN columnist Jayson Stark that managers should be given one formal umpire replay challenge per game on all plays except balls and strikes.

You can’t make this stuff up, folks. Yet somehow it escaped even the watchful eye of the Denver Post‘s “The Spot” blog. Oh, well….

• David Freddoso at the Washington Examiner points out that Senate Democrats very quickly have killed President Obama’s very modest “spending freeze” proposal before it barely had a chance to get going.
• Speaking of Obama, my PPC friends are licking their chops at the prospect of The One coming to Denver to stump for our appointed junior U.S. Senator Michael Bennet.
• Speaking of arrogance, guest writer Don Rodgers at Reclaim the Blue calls out Democrats in our state legislature for their hubris, after shoving through four of the Dirty Dozen tax bills on Wednesday (and are scheduled to hear the rest starting this morning) as a prelude to their dying political majority.
• Speaking of death, the New Ledger‘s Benjamin Kerstein gives Howard Zinn, the very recently deceased Marxist historian of A People’s History infamy, a harsh critique more grounded in reality than the one Zinn gave to the United States to manufacture his own career.
• Speaking of harshness — yes, as Lynn Bartels blogs for the Denver Post‘s The Spot, the Independence Institute is having its own “Biggest Loser” weight-loss competition — no, I’m participating in the “Biggest Gainer” competition instead.

Have a great Friday!

First of all, I have to commend to you the Secretary of State’s work in creating the new TRACER campaign finance website, which is a more user-friendly, valuable tool than its predecessor. On the lighter side, while it’s imperative for candidates and committees filling out important disclosures to cross their t’s and dot their i’s, someone should have checked on TRACER’s main page to ensure the same level of accuracy:

Yes, I did send a note through the Secretary of State’s automated form to notify them of the error:

FYI – On your web page http://tracer.sos.colorado.gov/PublicSite/HomePage.aspx, the word Transparency as the title of the acronym TRACER is misspelled as “Transparancy.”

Look, I’m going to be “transparant” with you, too. I have an obsessive proofreading gene — if it ever gets out of hand, I may have to seek professional help. Anyway, now back to more serious business.

Thanks to everyone who participated. With 714 participants, this is the most popular edition yet. Come back and make your voice heard again in February … Onward and upward for 2010!

Like liberal Denver Democrat Congresswoman Diana DeGette — who has a lifetime American Conservative Union rating of 3.64 out of 100, lower than Barack Obama. In December 2008 she told the Denver Post that mayor and prospective gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper is “probably at least as liberal as me”:

DeGette also said it’s about time Colorado elected a governor or U.S. Senator who was a woman. But a year can change so much. Here’s guessing she isn’t supporting Jane Norton, however.

(H/T Complete Colorado)

Using a not-so-highly scientific formula (and not necessarily my own personal preferences), the result is the 25 most highly rated Christmas movies:

1. A Christmas Story (1983)
2. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
3. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
4. White Christmas (1954)
5. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
6. Scrooge, aka A Christmas Carol (1951)
7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
8. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
9. Scrooged (1988)
10. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
11. Love Actually (2003)
12. Christmas in Connecticut (1942)
13. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
14. Home Alone (1990)
15. Elf (2003)
16. The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
17. Die Hard (1988)
18. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
19. The Santa Clause (1994)
20. Gremlins (1984)
21. Scrooge (1970)
22. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970)
23. Bad Santa (2003)
24. Holiday Inn (1942)
25. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Okay then … What’s missing? What’s overrated? What’s out of place? What do you think should be number one?

Let me begin the debate by suggesting that one of my new favorite Christmas movies The Nativity Story belongs somewhere on the list. I mean, would it hurt to have one film depiction of the original reason for Christmas? The 2006 picture is a fine production in its own right, and in my mind at least should break the top 15.

What’s sad is that one of the prominent lists I surveyed passed up The Nativity Story to feature instead the mediocre 1985 Dudley Moore Santa Claus: The Movie. There’s no accounting for taste. But the fun of course is in the never-ending debate. Happy Christmas Eve!

Appearing at a recent coffee-shop event with Colorado voters, Norton sat silently while a female attendee declared twice that President Barack Obama is a Muslim and while a male attendee insisted that the president — who he deemed “an idiot” — wanted to let babies die on the side of the road “with the garbage.”

“Well as you can tell there is a lot of passion around what is happening in our own country,” Norton responded to the crowd, rather than correcting either individual. “And how we can channel that into positive constructive ways that will get our vote out it is going to be absolutely critical.”

Also at the event, Norton praised the “tea-party movement and the 9/12 groups” for pushing a right-wing populist, anti-Washington agenda….

Whoa. Scandalous… Not. Doesn’t the whole HuffPo piece remind you of CMM’s infamous “Talk show host allowed guest to say…” headlines filled with vastly more breathless prose than substance or logic?

The headline reads: “Jane Norton, GOP Candidate, Sits Silently as Obama Called a Muslim.” How dare she not excoriate a citizen who bothered to come hear her speak for insinuating that the President is an adherent of one of the world’s major religions! And how dare she not meticulously deconstruct the crudely articulated views of someone disgusted with Barack Obama’s pro-abortion voting record! How dare she try to channel their energies “into positive constructive ways”!

But perhaps if Jane Norton had closely studied Mark Udall’s approach during the 2008 statewide campaign when confronted by angry Lefties calling George Bush a Nazi and accusing him of killing babies:

“Now, first of all, I want to clear the air about something you mentioned in your comment,” Udall said. “It technically isn’t true that President Bush is a Nazi. He doesn’t wear militaristic uniforms, speak German, goose-step or make that corny salute. Not to mention he’s several inches taller than Hitler was. And look, as tempting as it might be to do, I don’t really think we can say definitively that the President decided to make the illegal invasion of Iraq for the purpose of killing babies. Many civilians have died, but it’s not our place to judge Bush’s motives….”

Of course, that’s a fictional quote. And of course, mistakenly calling the President a Muslim is not comparable to slandering the President as a Nazi sympathizer. Do we have any record of how Mark Udall responded in friendly Lefty audiences when people would throw out random slurs against then-President Bush? What would you expect him to do? Maybe the comparison will help illuminate the absurdity.

Anywa, I glean at least a couple observations from the HuffPo piece:

1. Some Lefties don’t realize how desperate, pathetic and out-of-touch they sound
2. Far more than any comments from Norton supporters might convince me, I’m now more persuaded of her perceived frontrunner status … can you imagine one of the big Lefty online sites going out of its way to make such baseless, petty attacks on Ken Buck, Tom Wiens, or even Cleve Tidwell?

Well, maybe Buck. Nevertheless, you have to admit the piece is quite amusing.

In honor of the great Ludwig von Beethoven‘s 239th birthday, why not pop in a CD or MP3 and take in one of his symphonies: maybe the overlooked 1st, the mighty 3rd, the classic 5th, the serene 6th, the passionate 7th … or if you have a lot of time on your hands, the transcendent 9th?

Blasts from the past:
- Happy Birthday, Ludwig (2004) … in case you want to know why Beethoven is such a big deal
- 2nd Annual Beethoven’s Birthday Blog (2005) … including the famous Lucy / Schroeder exchange
- Happy Chanukah / Beethoven’s Birthday (2006) … with a few interesting ideas for musical blends

Now if someone could help with the AP’s whole ideologically-driven, selectively sloppy investigation problem.

“Doesn’t the USDA care about the children?” Harsanyi asks with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Seeing his thoughts in writing made me think: Perhaps we should be giving poorer students vouchers to buy Happy Meals for school lunches? I don’t know about the value of such an idea as a practical policy prescription. However, the mere fact I’m bringing it up might make some heads spin in the USDA office on the floor below the Independence Institute where I work.

Let’s see if anyone comes storming upstairs after this is posted ….

As board member Michelle Moss walked up to take her seat for what was to be her last meeting in eight years representing southwest Denver, her newly elected replacement Andrea Merida told her that she would be sitting on the dais instead.

Merida, rather than waiting to take the oath of office with two other new members after the meeting, had instead been sworn in hours earlier so she could cast a vote on the controversial reforms.

A shocked Moss reacted with tears and anger.

“I worked very hard to get Andrea elected … and I cannot imagine someone going behind my back and doing what she did today,” she told the standing-room-only audience before leaving.

Merida later offered apologies to Moss but said, “This is about the people’s wishes being heard.”

You can listen to Alan (who was eyewitness to the bizarre, dramatic scene) and I discuss what unfolded and what lies ahead for education reform in Denver on this new iVoices podcast:

But seriously … A therapist? At the ritzy Broadmoor? Getting treated pretty well at taxpayer expense, I guess.

Let’s just say it’s a good thing they didn’t call in Germany’s Gerri Rober for their group therapy sessions. Ingesting cocktail drugs would be one of a few things that would make this scenario even weirder and sadder than it already has been.

The synopsis will give you the flavor:

In the early 1960s, a tiny Midwestern farm community has been transformed into a Marxist workers’ paradise upon the return of a charismatic native son and his Russian KGB companion. Now leading a Socialist Union that bears his name, Chief Comrade Al Gansee confronts the desire for territorial expansion and transmission of his ideals. Gansee, his wife Mary Beth, his KGB “left-hand man”, a 10-year-old Amish pyromaniac girl and the rest of the eccentric band of modern-day utopians march off to the Battle of Cambria and an infamous gunshot that promises to transform the lives of its participants and the once sleepy community for years to come.

So without further ado, here is Al Gansee: The Shot Heard ‘Round Cambria in its entirety (as always, for easy reading, click “Fullscreen” to begin):

Al Gansee: The Shot Heard ‘Round Cambria

If you enjoy it, please consider joining the Cambria Tours Fan Club Facebook group, and “walk where Al Gansee walked.”

Meanwhile, some in the grassroots remain thoroughly unconvinced and stand behind hard-working longshot Dan Maes. The issue is not the rhetoric or the substance of the 20 governing principles that has earned skepticism or even ire. It’s some of the cast of characters involved that many understandably still have a hard time trusting. I’m not all the way there yet myself.

What might help make the Prosperity Platform more palatable is an escape clause — and by that I mean not for McInnis, but for us. So the issue is an agreement to fulfill the 20 principles. What happens if he is elected and then reneges, works actively against one of the 20, or simply delays any serious effort to implement one or more particular actions? What then? Where does that leave the grassroots who are expected to work hard on his behalf?

Perhaps an “escape clause” like this one added to the original 20-point platform might help win over some genuine trust (with apologies to Thomas Jefferson):

…And that if the appointed candidate should become destructive (or obstructive) of these ends, it is the sacred duty of the people and the party who support him to work to abolish his candidacy or his term in office, and to institute full support for a new candidate for governor who shall seem to them far more likely to effect their safety and happiness….

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that politicians and officials should be changed regularly for the health of the Republic and of the State of Colorado; even so, all experience has shown that Republicans have been more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by turning over the party leadership to which they are accustomed. But should even a small train of abuses and usurpations of one or more of these 20 principles occur, it is the right of the grassroots, it is their duty, to throw off such a candidate, official or Party, and to provide a new political home for their future security….

And for the support of this escape clause, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

I believe that many of the signatories onto the original platform acted in the utmost good faith. But all involved are wise to understand that they cannot and they should not, in the least way, take any of the trust or confidence or hard work or good will of the grassroots for granted. Or else this most recent success may prove to be a mirage, and a painful one at that.

I’m not done writing about this topic yet, by any means. Nor is my suggested addendum anything more than a possibly bright idea I had yesterday afternoon. Indeed, I wonder what readers think of the “escape clause” idea? Because, after all, there’s party unity, then there’s … party unity.