It's Palin! :)

My gripes with erstwhile GOP presidential nominee John McCain are well-known and well-documented on this blog. I anticipated having to hold my nose with an industrial size clothespin due to his positions on the issues (especially immigration), and because his reaching across the aisle to work with Democrats led to the same result as any past "bipartisanship" in American history (namely, the American people getting screwed). I figured the stench would get worse when he selected his VP, most like another boring old white guy with tons of baggage. Romney would have brought a wealth of economic and private-sector experience, but his own pointed criticisms of McCain in the primaries would have filled up a thousand Dem-cong attack ads. Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman would have caused an outright conservative revolt due to their pro-choice beliefs, and would likely have led to an Obama win in a landslide similar to the one Reagan won in 1980. Mike Huckabee might have placated the evangelical wing of the party, but he has an almost Democrat-esque smarmy attitude and righteous indignation should anyone question the great Huck-ster. Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty would have been the next best choice, as he is a solid conservative governor with high approval ratings in a purple state that he might have swung to the GOP, but he strikes me as someone not quite ready for prime-time. I think that, in a few more years, he might make a good top of the ticket candidate, or failing that, a good Senator.

In sum, most conservatives, present company included, had given up any hope of having a conservative to vote for from either party in either the top or second spot on the ticket. So imagine my surprise when John McCain picked Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. At the ripe old age of 44, she is an extremely attractive and telegenic mother of 5, a staunch conservative, and someone who has more executive experience than the Obamessiah. Even more than that, Palin has a record of actual reform working in the best interests of the people that does NOT include sticking her finger in the eye of conservatives at every opportunity...so what's not to like? Judging from the initial reactions throughout the blogosphere, conservatives love the pick, the Dem-cong all have a serious case of heartburn, and this election just got substantially more interesting. While Palin isn't perfect, I think and hope that Palin will do very well on the campaign trail, and will provide a stark contrast to angry ol' Joe Biden from Delaware, and I will feel much better pulling the lever for McCain in the fall with her on the ticket.

UPDATE: To quote Rush Limbaugh, it looks like this pick was, indeed, a home run. Since McCain has elected to accept public financing for the general election, his last day to raise money from private donors in Sunday. Since selecting Palin, McCain reports fundraising of over $7 million and counting and an increae in volunteerism for the campaign. Home run indeed. :)

Brock Lesnar Dominates Heath Herring at UFC 87

Even though all three of the main card fights went to a decision, UFC 87 was one of the better pay-per-view events put on by the UFC. Kenny Florian smartly refused to get into a brawl with Roger Huerta, and used superior technique to win a unanimous decision. In the main event, Georges St. Pierre clearly showed that there is a substantial talent gap between him and everyone else in the welterweight division. He went all 5 rounds against #1 contender Jon Fitch (who I met in person out in Vegas, and who looks to be a beast in great shape), and administered one of the worst beatings I have ever seen that didn't result in a knockout. The scores were 50-44, and one 50-43, and at the post-fight press conference, Fitch's face looked like he'd gone ten rounds with a sledgehammer and lost. I think this is Exhibit A in support of my theory that every person has a maximum talent level that they can reach through heart, hard work, and toughness, but that, beyond that, there are just some people who have more God-given talent than everyone else. And if those people (like GSP) reach their maximum potential at the peak of their physical ability, everyone else should watch out.

Turning to Brock Lesnar, one of my favorite athletes in all of MMA, he served still more notice to the heavyweight division that he is for real. Among the reasons I have been a big fan of his are: a.) the fact that he's a family man first; b.) that he told Vince McMahon and the WWE to shove a long-term and very lucrative contract at the peak of his popularity because he wanted real competition; and c.) he is a legitimate athlete with an outstanding wrestling pedigree.

In the fight itself, it was widely thought that Lesnar would try to take down Herring like Jake O'Brien did a couple of fights back for Herring. He certainly did so, but not before faking out Herring masterfully in the opening moments of the fight. Right after the opening bell, Lesnar faked a shot on Herring, then uncorked one of the most vicious right hands I have ever seen. It connected so hard with Herring's face, it sent the 245 pound plus fighter sprawling and back flipping onto the canvas. Lesnar followed it up with three rounds of good ground and pound, and pounded out a unanimous decision victory. Lesnar had several opportunities to finish Herring if he even had rudimentary jiu-jitsu skills, but according to his camp, they didn't want him to get caught in a stupid submission if he was dominating the fight. That is certainly understandable for this fight, but it is something he will need to work on if he intends to be a champion one day.

At the end of and after the fight, unfortunately, he acted like he was still in the WWE. Not only did he treat Heath Herring like a mock steer and pretend to ride him rodeo style, he also did a mock lasso routine, and talked an unnecessary amount of smack after the fight. MMA is a different game than the WWE, and I don't think the sport needs "heels" and bad guys to survive. Brock needs to show more class in future victories than he did this time if he expects to gain any respect at all from the fans. He needs to understand that most of the self-promoting thugs and "bad asses" who have come into the UFC have flamed out in spectacular fashion. Even more than that, he has enough talent that he doesn't have to do that, and it isn't his personality anyway. All he has to do is be himself, keep learning the game, and I think he will be heavyweight champion one day in the near future. Let's go Brock, time to grow up and man up!

August Resolutions Update and Notice

Well, the great news is that my annual review at my job went even better than expected. In addition to having our bonus structure revamped in a way that is much more favorable to me and rewarding of the efforts of individual attorneys, I did receive an increase in my base pay on top of that. Assuming I bring in the same fees I did last year in the upcoming year, the combined pre-tax salary increase should be in the neighborhood of an additional $17K per year. That will be extremely helpful in terms of defraying wedding expenses and paying down bills in married life afterward.

On another note, it looks like our wedding will be moved from the place we were planning to have it (a chapel in Adams, TN that included everything except for the photographer) to a private residence here in Nashville (which, while closer geographically, means that we will have to come up with catering, a DJ, decorations, and other wedding-related things, and all with about 60 days to go until the wedding). In light of this, I am going to be discontinuing my monthly resolutions (on this blog and in real life) until further notice to make sure I get through the wedding with my sanity. I am just hopeful that my workouts don't suffer too badly so that I am in acceptable shape on the beach and the cruise ship during my honeymoon. Pray for me, and wish me luck...I will need it.