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Honorable Mayor Doug, writes a good summary of the changes that have been made to the TTLB Ecosystem, which ranks blogs on an evolutionary scale. I’m a bit upset that this blog was downgraded from “Large Mammal” to “Adorable Rodent”.

Essentially the MOB Blogroll that most people use no longer counts for much due to overuse of blogrolls by many link-whoring bloggers. Of course, as Doug points out within the MOB it’s certainly not link-whoring. I personally use mine as a way to quickly access other blogs that I like to read. But heh, that’s life. TTLB does good work for little thanks, and I can’t fault him on it.

However, I would like to point out to my fellow bloggers that I do not use blogrolling services. All mine are hardcoded into the site (mostly to save on load-time) so they count as a full link to your site in the new Ecosystem. I would certainly appreciate the favor returned.

At one time they were argueably the most powerful union in sports. Able to dictate terms to one of the weakest professional sports leagues. Until it came to a showdown prior to the 2004-2005 season. In the end the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) finally had to give into using a salary cap, which gave the NHL a huge victory.

That alone was a crippling loss for the player’s union. Now it has become apparent that that was just the start. Internal struggles threaten any cohesion that might have still existed following the end of the lockout.

Essentially it all stems from the rotation in union leadership directly after the end of the lockout. Former Executive Director of the union, Bob Goodenow, presided over argueably the biggest setback in union history and as a result was essentially a lame duck. Depending on who you ask determines whether he was fired or quit. As a result, Ted Saskin took over as Executive Director.

Now a sizeable number of players, some fairly prominent, have cried foul, claiming that Saskin illegally took control of the union. Former player, Trent Klatt has even set up a website to serve as a voice for the dissident faction.

What appears to have happened is that shortly after the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was finalized, the union politburo overwhelmingly decided Saskin should lead. Recently, in an effort to cement his position, a “secret vote” was taken by each team, of which Saskin received 85% of the vote. However, several teams refused to participate in the vote claiming it doesn’t meet NHLPA bylaws.

According to the dissidents, a search for candidates should have been conducted and then an open vote taken. They even claim that had the process happened that way, Saskin probably would have gotten the job.

If you are confused by this point, join the club, it’s called “Everybody”. We meet at the bars by each of the NHL arenas.

When you boil this down it appears there are a number of issues at the core of the situation here.

CBA

The pro-Saskins crowd says the players are still fighting the CBA fight. The anti-Saskins crowd says it’s not about the CBA. But certainly the intensity of this factioning stems from the CBA. The players don’t like the hand they were dealt and are understandably upset at losing the financial paradise that was the 90s. Even the anti-Saskins website dances around that….right after claiming it’s not about the CBA

This initiative is not about the CBA! It goes to trustworthiness. Do you remember the way the CBA was sold to the players and the way the escrow was explained? Do you remember being told that the escrow would likely be less than 2% when the CBA was being sold to the players to ratify in Toronto? Do the Executive Board members remember the forced August 31st conference call that ended at close to 2 AM EDT when Executive Committee members assured everyone that the escrow payment would not be more than 1.9% after a player challenged the group and said the escrow would be 25%? My, my how things have changed since August 31st, 2005. Do the players understand that the escrow of 12% that was deducted from their first paychecks could likely increase as the season progresses?

Yeah yeah yeah, you got dealt a shitty deal. Perhaps you were mislead about it, but still you don’t like the deal. Just say it and be done with it.

Money

Surprise! Surprise! Money is another bitching point. Specifically, Saskins 2.1 million dollar salary. Damn…2.1 million for doing what exactly??? Answer : Not alot. Of course this is coming from some players who earn several times that playing a game they proclaim to love. Just wanted to put that in perspective.

A rather interesting quote from Wild defenseman Willie Mitchell

“I think, to most people, it just looks like a cash grab where [Saskin] tried to chew off too much”

You’re part of a union that just tried to strongarm more than it’s worth. Now you’re surprised when your union boss tries to do the same for himself?? By the way, that’s an awfully nice house you have there. What type of siding is that? Glass???

The Politburo’s rendition of the 2000 election

The membership appears pretty peeved that the politburo selected Saskin to head the union, without allowing the membership to vote in who they wanted, which was…..Saskin. Huh.

On the other hand this is incredibly fortuanate for the anti-Saskin crowd. Because the anti-Bush crowd has already perfected some great catch phrases and quotes for them to repeat to the press. I’d suggest some of my “favorites”:

“He’s not my Executive Director”

“He was selected, not elected”

“Saskin is a Nazi!!!”

“No blood for money!!”

Then again Wild goalie trotted out this unintentionally halarious quote

“This is supposed to be a democratic union and it’s become communist”

It’s a union….what changed again???

Communication

Basically it comes down to this hypothetical conversation:

Players : Heh, what’s up with this vote?
Saskin : Piss off ya hoser eh.
Players : No seriously, we want information
Saskin : These aren’t the droids you are looking for.
Players : Huh??
Saskin : Damn…it works on TV.
Players : Seriously man, what the hell happened with the CBA. First no cap, then cap. What the puck?
Saskin : This isn’t heaven, this sucks.
Players : We’re so gonna get a lawyer
Saskin : Heh, look!!! What’s that!??! *points*
*Players turn their heads, and Saskin runs away*
Players : Damn, that’s the 5th time he’s done that eh?

In the end, the union is in shambles, which has got to make the NHL giddy as all hell. Which lends the question, why bust a union, when it’ll bust itself?

*sigh*

In an attempt to boost its stalled economy, the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans is starting the nation’s first free wireless Internet network owned and run by a major city.

Just a thought, but how about you work on building a city, before you try to build an economy for it. I mean I know you need something to buy with all those FEMA credit cards (read: my tax dollars) but how about a levee or a dam or a roof or something instead.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a blogger, I snack on bandwidth. Got a bit of a sweet tooth for it you might say. When on the road I love scanning for unprotected wireless networks I can use.

At the same time I’m not calling for a wireless network in my home town which was NOT recently washed away in a hurricane. I mean they can’t even open a textbook without raising my taxes, so wireless internet is a bit lower on the priority list than say….oh, drinkable water, for instance.

That will be slowed once the state of emergency is over - that date has not been determined - to 128 kps in accordance with state law, which restricts government-owned Internet service.

Yup, nothing improves quality like government regulation.

Alright, seriously…I need another Harriet Miers.

Ok calm down people, I’m talking metaphorically. You can put away the torches and pitchforks…but keep them close at hand. The Harriet Miers was something I was passionately against. It was something I could chew on in my head for hours, and it was nothing to come home and pound out 2-3 posts on the topic.

Lately, well, been struggling with that. There are things to write about…but never has it been as easy as it was with Harriet Miers. Part of it might have been that it was such an outrageously ridiculous move that it was an easy horse to beat with the twin sticks of rational discourse, and sarcastic ridicule. Plus it was a subject I had great passion about and was something I had no problem dedicating the necessary time to.

Nothing has really come close to that lately. I mean sure I get pissed off about stuff. But sheer anger over a bone-headed move doesn’t exactly inspire good writing….or do much to dispel the usual claim that conservatives are just hate-filled nazis, or whatever term(s) the DU is using this week.

It’s, perhaps, a bit disconcerting that after almost 4 years of this I’m still looking for my niche. Oh well, now that the new topic in the news is illegal immigration, perhaps Bush will appoint Vincent Fox as head of the INS or something. Just in case, I’m gonna go polish my pitchfork.

Fellow blogger and occasional trivia teammate Uncle Ben of Hammerswing75 has received some pretty awful news. A family friend, Norman Kember, was abducted in Iraq on Saturday along with two unnamed Canadians and an unnamed American.

Please send your prayers and/or best wishes to Kember and his family and friends. At this time they can use anything they get.

The newly selectedelected Mayor of the MOB has picked the first members of his cabinet. Yours truly was selected as Master of the Hunt. If you are scratching your head asking “What does that mean?”, you’re at the same point I am. No idea.

However, I take this appointment seriously. After all, his first order of business was to declare my arch-nemesis an illegal organization. So I’m a bit indebted to him already.

At face value, I presume the title involves owning lots of guns and killing things. So far, I’m very excited about my new post.

Doing a little research it sounds like there are two basic envisionments of Master of the Hunt, that being an uppity metro-sexual englishman with a couple pups, or else a crazed woodsman with antlers coming out of his head and bloodthirsty hounds enforcing his will. For the record, I prefer the second.

By both accounts, I am responsible for hunting in general, but most importantly the huntsman, whose responsibility is to kill stuff alot to feed and cloth the commoners. I like that. As a result I have the following declarations:

The MN Militia the offical huntsman of the MOB

The Huntsman are granted open season on every beast, bird and fish.

All firearms are legal. Period.

All MOB members in good standing are required to own at least one firearm and they must know how to use it.

The Nightwriter is hereby ordered to buy his daughter, The Mall Diva, a Desert Eagle for Christmas. No excuses.

Ammo is tax deductable

All hotels must provide facilities for the cleaning of game. Extra charges for dogs being in the hotel room are hereby prohibited.

The Extremist gets a free detailing of his truck and cleaning of his brake drums after each hunt. [Inside joke]

Wearing of camo is restricted to outdoorsman and members of the armed services.

OK we’ll see how those fly. I reserve the right to proclaim more.

But enough for now, I’m off to shoot something.

Yeah, blogging has been light…even accounting for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. I’m working on a side project right now that has consumed a fair deal of time. Probably more time that it deserves, especially considering it’s basically just a demo right now.

On the plus side I have gotten really good at creating and attempting to design new blogs in Moveable Type. Too bad I haven’t been able to come up with one I like or isn’t going to involve alot of work for me.

Former floating nuclear missile target, current irreverent blogger, Harvey scores a wonderful post on the topic of supporting the troops.

You don’t need to be firing a gun in theater to “support the troops”. In addition to men, a successful military campaign also needs supplies and good morale - the will to stay in the battle until victory.

The most you can do to “support the troops” from the homefront is to actively provide material or morale. Send them armor, send them cookies, send them a postcard. It all helps.

I’d argue it doesn’t end there. It doesn’t hurt to go a bit further. All of us know the family of an active member of our military. Most of us know the family of one serving overseas. Lend a helping hand. Mow their lawn. Shovel their driveway. Pick up the tab.

And then of course there is this

What DOESN’T support the troops is denigrating the mission. Arm-chair quarterbacking that the troops aren’t doing a good job, or that they’re doing the wrong job. It’s corrosive and eats away at morale.

The Cut&Run brigade might want to remember that before they start waving their white flags (Made In France). I mean it certainly isn’t for political purposes if 70% of the public believes criticism of the war hurts troop morale. For what reason this Vietnam-style lack of conviction continues, I don’t know. But this hyprocrisy and doublespeak is getting rather tiring. Were it for a constructive purpose or a rational reason, it would be more easily tolerated.

Most of you have already seen this clip about Democratic hypocrisy made by the RNC. I think it’s circled the blogosphere about 20 times now. However, I post it here because I know some of my readers read only this blog.

You guys know who you are.

And to head of the obvious comment I know someone is going to make. Yes, I agree. They should be reading other blogs. Yes, their taste in blogs is clearly in question. No, I have no idea why they keep coming back.

[H/T : Marcus]