Someone needs to tell the NASCAR folks that it never rains in Southern California. They will try yet again today, Monday, to get the weekend races in. For the Nationwide Series, I’m sure they’re hoping the third time is a charm. The only race that took place over the weekend was the Craftsman Truck Series. But even in that race, a Sprint NASCAR Series driver won the race! That of course is another whole story that I won’t go in to here right now. But, suffice it to say, I am not a fan of the Sprint Series drivers, which is the top series on the NASCAR circuit, double-dipping, or sometimes triple-dipping in races through the weekend. If you’re racing in the top circuit, then that’s where you need to stay. I wonder what would happen if suddenly a New York Yankee player said, “Hmmm…I have some time off, I think I’ll go play a game in the minor leagues.” It just wouldn’t happen, nor should it happen.

But once again, I digress…

NASCAR officials will always do their best to get a race in on the scheduled day. But in the case of the race yesterday in California, they really blew it. Not only did they blow the call, but they also cost a number of drivers, top drivers, the race. Rain was falling pretty much all weekend in California, and by the time the green flag dropped for the Sunday race, the track wasn’t even totally dry. Many drivers told NASCAR officials the track was wet on corner three and four with water “weeping” out of cracks on the track! In other words, the track was wet, very wet, with running water on the track. These cars run slicks. So, as you can well imagine, slick tires on water don’t stick. As a result Casey Mears, Sam Hornish Junior, Reed Sorenson and Dale Earnhardt Junior are all in the garage with wrecked cars! Simply because NASCAR ignored the drivers.

Now lets talk about another irresponsible move by NASCAR.

In a time when gas prices are at an all-time high, Sunoco, the official gas of NASCAR, must be loving them! It rained all weekend, and even rained up to the weekend event. In an attempt to keep the track dry, NASCAR kept the jet dryers on the track pretty much the entire time in effort to keep the track warm so it wouldn’t get wet. I’m afraid to even think how many thousands of gallons of gas NASCAR wasted on their attempts to keep the track dry. In the end, this did nothing. All it did was waste gas, and eliminate drivers from the race.

Come on NASCAR, maybe it’s time to re-think some of your policies.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie!

NASA is waiting for the space shuttle Atlantis to return to earth Wednesday, so they can then start shooting down some space junk that’s in a degrading orbit and getting ready to plummet to earth. They do have some concerns about shooting down the junk though. Some NASA experts fear the debris from the junk could hit the space station.

The whole scenario reminds me of an old Star Trek movie where the Klingons are flying around looking for space junk to use as target practice. The feared warriors of the Klingon Empire shooting at space junk. How degrading is that for a Klingon! There’s no honor there. In the movie, boredom turns to excitement when the Klingons see another ship drifting aimlessly in space, and it turns out to be the Enterprise, captained by non other than James T. Kirk! Wow! What a find for the Klingon warrior in charge of the photon torpedoes.

Maybe NASA should look for some Klingons to help them with the space junk. But then again, maybe NASA should have thought about this earlier. Years ago, during the days of Skylab falling to earth, I remember discussions about all the junk floating around in space and what might happen if it re-entered the atmosphere and didn’t totally burn up. The thought back then was the junk will either burn up, or fall into the ocean. Apparently someone has changed their mind about the satellite ready to come down because they’re talking of shooting it down.

Our friend Al Gore generates fear about global warming saying it’s a “planetary emergency.” Reality is, if Gore checked his history books, he would discover that 30 to 35 years ago the concern was about “global cooling.” In other words, everyone thought by this time we’d be covered in ice with no food. I guess that didn’t quite pan out, or should I say freeze out, like planned.

Talk about a “planetary emergency” Mr. Gore - lets look at all the space junk that’s going ’round and ’round the earth just waiting to fall to the ground. Now there’s something to be concerned about. Especially in light of the fact NASA is talking about shooting at the pieces of junk!

Hmmm…I have an idea, maybe I should apply for a job at NASA. I hear they’re looking for some photon torpedo specialists.

Quick Scotty, give me full warp speed and all remaining power to the photon torpedo banks!

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

The bad boys of NASCAR are on the track going fast and turning left. So far this year, and the first points race isn’t until Sunday, there are three key stories taking place.

1) Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Apparently Junior likes his new digs in the Hendrick camp. He hadn’t been able to win for about two years with DEI and it seemed every time he was doing well in a DEI car, something would go wrong. Not so this year as he’s batting two for two! Junior won the Bud Shootout last weekend and he won the first Duel race on Thursday.

2) Michael Waltrip Racing - Last year Mikey couldn’t catch a break. At Daytona he was accused of putting jet fuel in his brand new Toyota, then it took him all year to dig out of a whole that many times saw one or more of this three car team going home on a weekly basis not making the race. Not so this year, all three cars in the race for Sunday and Mikey is on the outside pole!

3) It’s Time To Send Some Boys Home - During practice last week, and I blogged about this earlier, Tony Stewart decided to wreck Kurt Busch because of a long-standing fued the two have been embroiled in. Not only did Stewart wreck his car, but he wreck Busch, his own teammates and the Johnson and Gordon cars!

Both Stewart and Busch were called into the NASCAR trailer, which is like going to the office when you’ve been bad in school, and scolded. In the end, NASCAR decided to put them on a 6 race probation period. Give me a break. This will accomplish nothing. It’s like a slap on the hand. Don’t do that anymore boys. Now go back out and play nicely.

If NASCAR is serious about making sure such childish actions don’t happen they should have parked both drivers and said — “See you next week boys. You’re not racing in the Daytona 500.” Now that would send a loud and clear message. But, NASCAR is afraid of the drivers, and figure that would hurt ticket sales. After all, what would happen if their stars weren’t racing? Well, maybe it would send a message that says when you put someones life in danger, we won’t put up with it.

If the drivers can’t play nice, send him home for a weekend.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Life in conservative talk radio must be going nuts today. What will the likes of Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity do now. I’m sure they will come up with lots of excuses, but in the end, the bottom line is this - their sweetheart Republican Delegate they thought would save the world, has shown his true colors. Former Governor Mitt Romney has decided to throw his support behind Senator McCain. What will Laura and Sean do now? After all, if you listen to their shows you know they really hate McCain! So with the one they crowned as the new messiah jumping on board with the one they hate, how will they explain that?

While this doesn’t make sense on the surface, when you scratch the surface and look to the roots of Romney’s mormon background, it makes all the sense in the world. The conservative pundits called for former Governor Huckabee to put his support behind Romeny because those who really have no clue about religion, figured it was a smart move. After-all, they said, mormonism is the same as Christianity. Well folks, it’s not. And now, with Romney, who said his religion is just like Christianity, throwing his support behind McCain, all the world has truly seen Romney’s true colors.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

A new study just came out looking at how Congress is spending taxpayer money. The funny thing is, the study looks at pork spending. While I must admit, sometimes pork spending is crazy, right now however I’m more concerned about what Congress is doing to fill their time while on Capital Hill.

Why are they spending so much time talking with athletes about steroids and HGH use? I don’t get this at all. While I am personally appauld at the use of such drugs in baseball, or any other sport, I’m amazed at how much time Congress is spending talking about this. What can they do? Are they a court of law? Will the athletes be brought up on charges because of some silly Congressional hearing? I don’t think so. If there’s an issue here of perjury, send the whole thing to the court system, not the political system. To me this seems like nothing more than political grandstanding as politicians line up on either side of the aisle trying to flex their muscles all in the interest of making sure they garner the all important high ratings in the public opinion polls so they can find themselves re-elected.

I ask you this simply question — Did you elect your politicians to office so they can get autographs of famous sports figures?

Give me a break guys. Do you have nothing better to do with your time? Lets see, we have a shakey economy, terrorists trying to figure out how to bomb us and a wealth of many other more pressing issues than getting caught up in a “he said, no he said” discussion about who’s telling a lie and who’s telling the truth.

Maybe it’s time to put some of our politicians in the hot seat and ask them to explain why they’re wasting our money, and valuable time talking about steroids use.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

The new NASCAR season is underway and it seems some have picked up right where they left off. Bad boy Tony Stewart decided to punt Kurt Busch, whom he’s had a long standing feud with for a number of years, out of the way during practice for the Bud Shootout Friday afternoon. Apparently Stewart still has a score to settle for some bumps along the way from Busch during some races last year. After being punted out of the way, Kurt Busch decided to come alongside Stewart heading into the garage area and body slam him a few times with his car! Come on guys, is this really smart when there are other cars and people around?

Of course Tony’s little stunt not only took out the 2 car of Busch, but along the way the wreck took out Tony’s teammate Denny Hamlin, along with Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson. Way to go Tony! Way to be an adult here and show just how much of a baby you really are.

Now, I’m not sure what’s more disturbing. The fact that drivers are using their cars as weapons, or the fact that NASCAR officials seem to enjoy this type of thing. While NASCAR did call the drivers to what’s known as the penalty box for a stern talking to, some of the comments from NASCAR officials are very disturbing. After the incident NASCAR official Jim Hunter said, “in the past we’ve cracked down on misbehavior of the drivers. But this year, we’re more receptive to drivers showing their emotions.” Hunter went on to say, “this is the NASCAR we fell in love with.”

What!? That just doesn’t make sense. Then, just in case someone didn’t fully understand what NASCAR is looking for this year, Hunter concluded by saying, “We want the drivers to get out and show their emotions. We want them to get mad and get upset with one another and vent their frustation.”

This is crazy. These are professional drivers and they need to grow up and learn how to react. Using their cars as weapons, running onto the track and throwing helmets, and whatever else some half-witted-angry-driver might decide to do, not only puts themselves in harms way, but endangers the lives of other drivers and fans alike. NASCAR might think this is s a good idea now, but what will they do when someone dies because they’ve encouraged the drivers to “show their emotions”?

I can see it now, it’s NASCAR WWF style — In this corner we have Tony “Bad Boy” Stewart who will physically abuse you on the track and then verbally abuse you on his radio show. And in the next corner we have Kurt “Pretty Boy” Busch who always tosses up his hands saying - Who me? I didn’t do anything.

Not only do some of the drivers need to grow up, but it appears NASCAR needs to grow up too.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Former Governor Mitt Romney announced he is dropping out of the race for the presidential nomination from the Republican party. It’s been a hotly contested race, across the board, as both the Republican and Democrat races have been very close. However, this latest development in the GOP arena is very interesting.

Former Governor Mike Huckabee has been making great strides, and garnering a number of votes, while working on a shoe string budget. While it’s true Huckabee trails in the result category, we must remember both Romney and Senator McCain have spent millions of dollars. While many on the conservative side say they’re looking for the common-man candidate, I can’t figure out why they ignore Mike Huckabee. He’s not a professional politician, he’s moving forward with a grassroots campaign, working with limited money. The same people who held Romney up as the candidate to vote for, are the same ones who say there’s too much money behind the rich politicians who buy all their votes. Hello, lets take a look at what’s going on here. Romney spent $40 million dollars, of his own money, for his unsuccessful bid. Does that sound like the common-man candidate?

But, I digress here. The title of this blog entry is James Dobson - A Day Late & A Dollar Short, and I’m sure some are wondering what that means. A few days ago I wrote a blog entry entitled When A Non-Endorsement, Is An Endorsement. In that entry I pointed out the political double-speak Dr. Dobson seems to have discovered. While he says he’s not endorsing anyone, he did say he would vote for Mitt Romney. While it’s a non-endorsement, it is an endorsement. But, Dobson does the non-endorsement two-step dance because he’s protecting the 501c3 status of Focus on the Family. When he did that two-step, I pointed out the fact that it was interesting to hear Dobson throwing his support behind a mormon.

Now, in light of Romney pulling out, Dobson is back at it again. This time he says he’s throwing his support behind Mike Huckabee. What’s up with that? Reality is, this is where his support should have been in the first place. Especially in light of the fact that Dr. Dobson is an influencial leader in the evangelical movement. Now he decides to back the evanglical preacher who’s running for President?

Sorry Dr. Dobson but this is like showing up for a party a day late and a dollar short without a present. You’re attempting to save face here. Reality is, if you really don’t want to be involved in politics, then you should keep your opinions to yourself.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

We find ourselves in the midst of a very tight political race as candidates are working hard to get the nod from their particular political party to run for President in the upcoming election. We just made it through Super Tuesday and while some candidates won what they call key states, the race is still tight. Another thing taking place are all the endorsements, and even what I’m calling non-endorsements.

The Republicans are looking for the so-called perfect conservative candidate. This of course leads to much name calling. Just what does the perfect conservative candidate look like? That all depends on which side of conservative you happen to fall on. Whatever the case may be, there is a very disturbing, for me anyway, trend taking place. The noise of talk radio is trying to crown the best conservative candidate, and they’re really pig-piling on some, while others are held up as the next messiah.

But even more amazing, are two recent developments in the GOP race. I was surprised when former Senator Rick Santorim came out and very vocally endorsed former Governor Mitt Romney. I’m surprised because Santorim is a conservative evangelical Christian, who’s decided a mormon is the man for the job.

However, when James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family came out yesterday backing Mitt Romney, I was even more suprised. Of course Dobson seems to have discovered how to use political double-speak very well all in the hopes of protecting his 501C-3 status. Whatever political gobbledegoop Dobson wants to use, the bottom line is, he’s endorsing Romney.

A letter from Dr. Dobson was read on the Laura Ingraham show yesterday in which he listed the reasons he would not vote for Senator McCain if he receives the nomination from the GOP’s to run for President. The letter went as far as to say if McCain wins the nomination, Dobson will “sit out” the election and not vote for anyone. That is very sad and if he does such a thing, then he has no right to talk about the government because he decided to not be involved in the process. After the letter was read, Ingraham, who’s having a love-fest over Romney these days, says every conservative in the United States should vote for Romney. Of course she too says she’s not trying to sway votes, she’s just putting out the information. Yeah, sure, right. Laura spends most of her show trashing all the other candidates and loving on Romney.

Even more disturbing is the fact that after she read the Dobson letter she went on to say, “Okay all you evangelicals out there. A major evangelical voice, James Dobson, has just endorsed Mitt Romney. That means you need to dump former Governor Huckabee, line up and vote for Romney.” Wait a minute, I thought she was just putting out the information, not telling people how to vote.

Now I was once again surprised that James Dobson would endorse Mitt Romney. So, I called Focus on the Family. Of course they told me he’s not endorsing anyone, but they did go on to say James Dobson did another radio interview yesterday where he said he would vote for Mitt Romney.

Call it what you want Dr. Dobson, your non-endorsement, just turned into an endorsement for Mitt Romney.

Yesterday everyone was saying Huckabee should drop out of the race because he’s holding back Romney’s chances to beat McCain. Reality is, the vote is still split three ways, and in some cases Huckabee is running ahead of Romney. So, maybe the call should be for Romney to quit because he’s splitting the vote. Funny thing is, the love-fest continues over Romney, from those who say they’re not endorsing him, and the thought of him holding back Huckabee will never cross their minds.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

It’s arrived - today is Super Tuesday.

In the words of that great political pundit - Homer Simpson…

“Is everyone here as sick of those stupid politicians as I am?”

Just my two cents;
Dr Rus

Okay, so I know the New York Giants are pumped about beating the Patriots in Super Bowl 42. Now I must admit I’m not much of a football fan, but there is one thing that tweaks my interest every year.

Why are the teams who win the Super Bowl referred to as world champions?

I don’t get this at all. When did the National Football League turn into the International Football League? Yes, the New York Giants are the NFL Championship team, but they are by no means the world champions. Are teams from the CFL allowed to play in the Super Bowl? No. Are teams from other football leagues around the world allowed to play in the Super Bowl? No.

So lets stop referring to them as world champions. They’re not world champions. To be a world champion the competition needs to be opened up to, well you guessed it, the world. Such is not the case with the NFL’s Super Bowl. It’s a National Football League Championship game. Let’s call it what it is, and stop thinking the world revolves around the NFL Super Bowl game.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus