Random Patterns: Thursday

Manny Ramirez is busted for cheating and gets a 50 game suspension from MLB. Not strong enough punishment in my book. MLB needs to at least adopt the Olympic drug policy - a 2 year ban on the first offense, lifetime ban on the second. And I've campaigned for years that any first offense should also include a lifetime ban from the Hall of Fame. That second part might serve as a strong enough deterrent for ego-inflated goons like Manny Ramirez, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Rafeal Palmeiro. My preference would be a lifetime ban for the first failed drug test for performance enhancing drugs....And if Dodgers fans boo Manny upon his return they will be hypocrites. L.A. is the land of botox, plastic surgery, and airbrushed movie stars. Have they already forgotten Sylvester Stallone was busted with 48 vials of this junk? Dodgers fans got what they deserved, a player as phony as the fans.

Britney Spears latest tour just wrapped up, the one where she charged people $150 and up to watch her lip sync. They need to pass a law to stop letting these lip syncers claim they are giving a concert. We need a better word to describe the phoniness. Mockcert?

Here in Chicago a Catholic Priest raised an American flag upside down over his church as a signal of distress. It's created an uproar by idiots who think it's an insult to them, or veterans, or their dead family members, etc. Most of those idiots watch Fox news. Father Pfleger is trying to call attention to violence against American children, much of it is gang-related, most of it involves illegal guns. 35 children have died violent deaths in recent months. As Pfleger said this afternoon on WGN radio, "We've given all this attention to Swine Flu but only 1 American (possibly) died from it, and 35 of our children have died without any attention." Pfleger wants assault weapons banned and says America is the number one exporter of guns in the world. He also said the President of Mexico has asked the U.S. to stop exporting assault weapons, which are winding up in the arms of drug cartels in Mexico. The only people who want assault weapons produced are the gun makers, the criminals, brainwashed NRA members who think taking assault weapons off the streets means we're taking away all guns, and corrupt politicians who are eager to take donations from all of the above...And that upside down U.S. flag? It was cut down by vandals this morning. Pfleger says he is replacing it later today.