The Guild 4-19-2004 Spirit of America

Spirit of America ^

[BigWaveBetty]

Help Americans serving abroad assist people in need.

100% of your tax-deductible donation goes to these requests made by Americans serving abroad.

Read the story that inspired Spirit of America.

With bats, balls and gloves donated by their families and friends in the United States, American troops brought baseball to the children of Orgun-e, Afghanistan. Nazim, one of the local players, said, “I like to be a player, not a fighter.” Seeing the difference this made for the local kids Sergeant Jay Smith said, “It’s made me feel the best I ever felt in my life.” Smith also says that baseball and his unit’s other humanitarian activities “literally saved lives.”
Read why.

U.S. Marines Seek to Help Iraqi Children

The 1st Marine Division seeks school supplies, frisbees and soccer balls for Iraqi Kids.

The Marines want to help children like these and improve relations with Iraqis in the 'Sunni Triangle.'
Your donation will have an immediate impact.

$325 provides a supply kit for a classroom and its students.
$100 buys 110 flying discs ("Frisbees").

Any amount helps! Your donation is tax deductible.

[Timeout]

I guess once the calls come in they don't feel they can ignore them.

The PGA itself will have to clear this up. There are waste areas on other tournament courses, so players will want this better defined.

[Timeout]

From Rob Long at National Reveiw...

If Ted Koppel could interview Mohammed Atta:

TED KOPPEL: "And so then what happened?"

MOHAMED ATTA: "Well, Mr. Koppel, as I was boarding the plane, or should I say, trying to board the plane, a uniformed officer took me aside . . ."

TED KOPPEL: "Just you?"

MOHAMED ATTA: "No, no. That's the thing. It wasn't just me. It was me and a guy named Abdulaziz Alomari, a guy named al-Shehri . . . and a couple of other guys. I mean, do you get it? Do you see what's going on here?"

TED KOPPEL: "Mr. Atta, if I may, it seems that what you're saying here . . ."

MOHAMED ATTA: "It's all in our lawsuit."

TED KOPPEL: "If I may, sir, it seems that what you're saying here is that the government systematically profiled you and your associates . . ."

MOHAMED ATTA: "My associates? Mr. Koppel, I didn't know all of the gentlemen they detained. Oh, one or two I knew from around, you know, Hamburg and Kabul and flight school. But we were nodding, hey-how-are-you friends. Not close. I wouldn't say close."

TED KOPPEL: "In any case, sir, the essence, if I may, of your complaint, if I may call it that, is that the FAA, acting on a directive from the intelligence branch of the federal government, detained several Arab men and prevented them from boarding their flights?"

MOHAMED ATTA: "Yes. That is correct, Mr. Koppel. And that's racism. Racism and racial profiling and it's illegal and we're suing for damages."

TED KOPPEL: "You and . . ."

MOHAMED ATTA: "The other gentlemen who were detained for racial reasons. We were pulled out of line, searched, our possessions were confiscated . . ."

TED KOPPEL: "These would be the famous box cutters?"

MOHAMED ATTA: "We're not allowed to cut boxes, I guess. Not in Bush's America, I guess. Not with Bushitler in charge!"

TED KOPPEL: "Sir . . ."
_________________________________________

The rest requires a subscription.
I may have to visit the library and read the whole thing.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I am not a golfer, so could you please clarify what a 'waste area' is?

[Endeavor]

I don't see what all the ruckus is about - the official made the ruling as to what was appropriate before Stewart did anything to the lie, so what else is a player to do but do what the official allows? It'd been the same ruling if it had been Purdy's ball. What purpose is served re-hashing this? They aren't going to go back and play another play-off.

Facts are he hit a terrific ball out of the waste area and won the tournament. Game, Set, Match. (er, rather, tee, fairway, green)

[Endeavor]

When you start making movies with Cary Grant and Mel Gibson, call me.

[Endeavor]

I'm not a golfer either, but the announcers said that this "waste area" was literally a "waste area" - in that years ago somehow there was a need to bury some literal human waste and they buried it in this area and then covered it over with stuff, topping it with sand. It looks like a flat sand trap but it isn't a sand trap and therefore the rules of not touching the sand with the club and not moving any debris from behind the ball don't apply - according to the announcers and the ruling made by the official at the time. I don't know about "waste areas" on other courses.

[Timeout]

I'm no expert, but I'll give it a try. This may be more than you never wanted to know about golf rules. (Mountaineer---help me out if I get this wrong.)

First, consider the routine "sand trap". A sand trap is more intricately designed and maintained than most people realize. Drainage, slope, good quality sand are all important...because the rules are so specific regarding play out of the trap. Suppose there's a rock in the sand trap, lying right up against your ball. Tough...you can't move it. (You COULD move a cigarette butt because it's a "man-made" obstruction...as long as you don't move any sand.) Further, you are not allowed to ground your club on the sand prior to your shot. The intricacy of the rules explains why you see caddies carefully raking the sand after their player hits out of a trap...it's a courtesy to leave the trap as immaculate as you found it.

Now. A waste area looks exactly like a sand trap....it's white. But it's NOT sand and it's not subject to sand trap rules. The very reason for calling it a waste area is because it usually can't be designed or maintained up to sand-trap standards. At Hilton Head it runs the entire length of the course. It's swampy ground. The golf course brought in crushed oyster shells and pebbles to fill the area...not sand, because there's no way they could drain and maintain it as a "sand trap". Unlike a sand trap, carts drive and spectators walk right on the waste areas, leaving them a mess. The course makes no effort to remove "impediments" (small pebbles and shells). Thus the sand trap rules don't apply.

Before he hit his shot, the PGA rules official confirmed to Stewart that, unlike a sand trap, he could remove any and all impediments and he could ground his club. Stewart considered EVERYTHING (pebbles, ground shells) as impediments...as he carefully removed them he didn't worry about leaving depressions in the surface. The "depression" behind his ball is now the controversy because it left the ball kind of "teed up". Many critics think they saw him move "sand" and are, therefore, judging Stewart by rules which govern sand traps.

As for the rules:
1) legally removing an impediment
versus
2) not being allowed to improve one's lie.
Think of it this way. If your golf ball lands on a pile of pine straw you are allowed to remove the impediment...as long as your ball doesn't move. A player will get down on his knees and carefully remove needle after needle in order to remove anything which might come between his ball and the club face. The result may leave his ball "teed up" on the remaining pine straw. Result: It's legal AND it improves the lie of the ball.

Likewise, what Stewart did improved the lie of his ball AND it was legal under the rule allowing him to remove impediments. I hope the PGA official can explain it a lot better than I did on tonight's Golf Central.

[Timeout]

Cary Grant and Mel Gibson...

Ain't it the truth. Emilio Esteves was OK. At least he seemed to work hard and was nice to talk to.

Sheen, OTH, was as bad as I'd expected. He stayed holed up in his trailer with the sluttiest looking girl I'd ever seen. When he DID come out to shoot a scene, she would sit on his lap in his "star chair" making out with him until they finally MADE HIM get up and do the scene. This went on for two weeks! And he was drunk or stoned the entire time. I kept wanting to empty my Sarasota Springs water bottle over them.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Thank you for the explanation.

Of course I was thinking that it was in some kind of septic system.

[mountaineer]

I'm sure your explanation is correct. Curiously, I don't recall any such hubbub a few years back when a group of fans moved a giant boulder out of Tiger's way.

[BigWaveBetty]

Noooo! You call those Hilton Head people and tell them BWB's hubby will turn off their deep water injection well (designed by Mr. B and they really like it since it provides more than enough water cheaply for HH) if they change the ruling. Grrrrrr.

[Timeout]

I don't believe there's any question of changing the ruling. It's the challenge to Stewart's integrity that bothers me. As I said earlier, Purdy is making a PUBLIC RELATIONS challenge, not an official one.

[Timeout]

Not only moved the boulder, but in the process of moving it they trampled down the grass leaving him a perfectly "teed up" ball. Good example.

[BigWaveBetty]

Today their lead editorial is a scathing response to Kerry's equivocating on our goals in Iraq:

It's not bad enough that Woodward writes a book reporters spin into stories that have no basis in fact that I then use in stump speeches, now the Washington Post skewers me!

CBS’s “60 Minutes” reported Sunday night that Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward said Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, promised Bush that Saudi Arabia will lower oil prices in the months before the election to ensure the U.S. economy is strong on Election Day.

“If it is true that gas supplies and prices in America are tied to the American election, tied to a secret White House deal, that is outrageous and unacceptable to the American people,” Kerry said. Kerry was still saying this on Tuesday!

"'I don't say there's a secret deal or any collaboration on this,' Woodward told CNN's Larry King Live Monday. 'What I say in the book is that the Saudis...hoped to keep oil prices low during the period before the election because of its impact on the economy. That's what I say.'" Well, let's go to the audiotape. Last night on Larry King Alive Bob Woodward is on and via phone is Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan and Larry King says, "All right, Bob. The story that you have about the promise to lower the oil prices by the election. Your government's denied this."

...And this is not -- nothing unusual. President Clinton asked us to keep the prices down, in year 2000. In fact, I can go back to 1979. President Carter asked us to keep the prices down to avoid the malaise. So yes, it's in our interests and in America's interests to keep the prices down. Link

LOL! I knew a Kerry nom would be fun.

[BigWaveBetty]

Speaking of septic systems...

Teresa, dressing up the drab with a big splash of gray.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I heard that Teresa Heinz had money, so why is she wearing her old maternity tops?

[daisyscarlett]

Purdy is making a mistake...Americans hate sore losers (think SoreLoserman, hee hee)and that is what he is beginning to sound like...I recall reading that he told Stewart that he was not upset (while they were awaiting the ruling).

Timeout, refresh my memory of when the Buick Open in SD was...I am going to search for some very nice comments made by our sports writers about Stewart during the tournament...I think a fan or someone did something that affected his game and he took it with grace and humility...and it was duly noted in our press. Do you recall what I am referring to?

[BigWaveBetty]

At this point, I dare that witch to run. If hilly thinks she can spew this kind of verbal ipecac with impunity, she will get a rude awakening.

"It's difficult for editors and publishers here to get to the bottom of stories," Clinton said in Editor & Publisher. "This administration, to an extent I haven't seen before, tells the press to go away -- and they do, like most people do when told that more than once."

Clinton said Bush has made "stunning mistakes" in regards to Iraq and blamed Bush for failing to capture the leader of the terrorist group responsible for September 11.

"[It is] insulting that Usama bin Laden is still around to taunt us," Clinton expressed.

[daisyscarlett]

I saw this photo yesterday and my first thoughts were, my goodness that does not look like her, have they brought in a ringer for her? hee hee. My next thought was, no way, not too many folks have that figure and her "glamour", lol.

BWB I am reposting this photo of Kerry in Church that you posted on the last thread. And here is an article that explains why he is not thrilled about the collection plate heading his way....

JOHN FRUGAL KERRY

How could one have no contributions? Does that mean one did not go to church at all during the year or did one stiff the collection plate each Sunday?

"During the early 1990s, with no apparent presidential aspirations, Kerry contributed the following amounts: $0 in 1991; $820, 1992; $175, 1993; $2,039, 1994; and $0, 1995. Last year, however, after media attention, he gave $43,735."

"However, it was painless giving. Kerry published a book -- still available in discount bins -- spelling out his positions on public policy issues. He is drawing from the proceeds to pay his taxes and giving the rest to charity."

"In other words, he's polishing his image with proceeds from a book written to further his political career. "

[Endeavor]

Purdy is being a spoiled brat and this will not make him any friends on the tour. He's lucky there's no defensive lineman waiting to "welcome" to the next tee box.