RANDOM CRAP ABOUT ALITO AND A NOTE TO HIS FELLOW MEN ABOUT PRO ATHLETES

DeWine lobbed the perfect softball at Alito yesterday, asking him for cases in which he sided with the individual over the institution. He cited five and then made a rare tactical blunder; Alito mentioned that he had heard 4000 cases. 5 out of 4000 is the statistical equivalent of NONE out of 4000. Here's hoping that at least one of the Democrats on the judiciary panel caught that and made the point.

The problem is that Alito is bad, but Bush probably has 10 more just like him on his list, not the least prominent of whom is the vile Luttig.

The only shot right now is a filibuster: a show of strength when Bush is weak that might force him to back down and go with Wilkinson or one of two ordinary conservative women, Sykes or Clement. Very unlikely. Kelso is sticking with a 66-34 full Senate aye, preceded by a 12-6 or 11-7 recommendation from the committee.

Alito is a liar and a punk but there's no questioning his intelligence and there's no limit to the Republicans fighting spirit and the Democrats' lack thereof.

Even with the inevitable promotion of Alito to the Supreme Court, Kelso still says Roe V Wade will be upheld 5-4 with either Roberts or Kennedy in favor. Roberts, Kelso believes, got put up with strict orders to make sure Roe is upheld, because if it's overturned, a Republican will not be able to get elected to a neighborhood watch patrol, let alone high office, and Dean would be able to outraise the RNC by 2-1 at least.

American men have this incredible love/hate relationship with professional athletes. And they believe they know what's going through an athlete's mind, who's a choker, etc. Kelso believes it derives from the fact that every man believes that but for a break here or there, THEY could play pro. It is utter bullshit. Professional athletes are special. They have effectively been playing professionally since age 6. Does anyone really believe that the World Series presents more pressure than the State High School Championship game did? If so, check yo self. Here is an analogy that works for Kelso. The average American man's athletic experience is to a professional athlete's what his composition of an e-mail is to the collected work of Norman Mailer.

NFL tomorrow.

Kelso's Nuts love you.

Put us in the game, ATHENS...
Today was a little bit aggravating. I got up at about 11. I tried to call both poker tournaments to find out the entries so I could determine which one offered the best rate of return. I was not able to reach a person in either place. My best guess was that the Gold Strike would have 1/2 the entries in their 1500 NL that the Grand would have in their 500 NL and a bigger 1st prize. I decided to play the Gold Strike Tourney. This was because of a few reasons. I am not crazy about the way the WSOP and Harrah's is trying to monopolize the poker world and squeeze every last penny out of the players. I have had a lot of nice experiences at the Gold Strike ( 50k for 2nd place in 2003 and 13k for a 10th place last year ) and they always treat their players well. I entered at 11;55. They only had 130 entries so I was questioning my decision to play at the Gold Strike. I was forced to miss the first 10 minutes of the tournament because our table only had 4 people and they require 5 to start dealing. We were moved one at a time to fill other tables. So, finally seated and a little frustrated I told myself to relax and play poker. I did not get involved for 20 minutes or so. I limped for 50 in the small blind with KQ and one other player. Flop K99. I bet out 100 big blind in seat 2 made it 200 and I called thinking I had him outkicked. J on turn and I checked and was considering a check raise based on my read. He checked. A or river and I wanted to make a small value bet and prevent a bluff. I bet 100 and was quickly called. He had AK and played it very weakly There was an older gentelmen in the 4 seat who seemed to be controlling the action and he had taken 1/2 the chips of the 3 seat who seemed very weak. I raised a pot with AT and the seat 4 called. I flopped nothing and bet 200. He called again. A third Diamond came on the turn and I had the Td. I bet 300 becused I sensed he had called the flop just to see if I'd fire the second bullet. He folded. He asked me a few questions about my sunglasses and chip protector ( A turtle I got in Aruba this year, If you have read Stephen King's Gunslinger Novels you will recognize the Turtle's significance). I knew he was probing for my playing experience and I joked with him and found the interplay interesting. The nexthand I played turned out to be key. I raised to 200 one off the button with AJ. Both blinds called in seats 2 and 3. I had about 3000 the small blind 2700 and the big blind who was frustrated and weak had 1700. Flop Jh7d5h. Seat 2 checked and seat 3 went all-in 1575 into a 600 pot. I was almost sure I had him beat but I took 30 seconds or so to think it through. I had no read on seat 2 becuse I was in the 10 seat and the dealer was in the way. I figured seat 3 for a worse Jack and by just calling seat 2 would not have the odds for a flush draw. So I called. Seat 2 quickly went allin for 1300 more. I first looked at the pot odds which were 5100 to 1300 or about 4-1. Then I figured that I would have 6500 ( a nice stack ) if I won or 200 if I lost. I thought I might be in bad shape to seat 2 but with those odds I'd have to be sure he flopped a set to fold. He could have a J also, a slowplayed QQ or KK, or even a flush draw. I was not crazy about it but I called. He had 55 =(. Now I'm thinking was its only 12:35 and If I went busted quick I could go to the Grand and enter the 500 NL by the 1PM deadline. So 2 hands later I went all-in for 275 with QT and was called by seat 4 with A7. I made three Q's and had 625. Then I had A2 in the small blind and seat 4 limped and the button limped. I was going to try and pick up the dead money and thought about what raise I should put in. I decided all-in for 500 more was the best play and they both folded and I had 800. Now I knew I was committed to this event and was probably going to get action on my next big play. I settled in and limped for 50 on the button 5 way. No Flop. Now the blinds went to 50-100. Seat 9 limped 3rd in. I had AcQc and I raised to 600 leaving me with 125. I do this often because some players don't know you are almost allin and may be more likely to fold and I was okay with adding 250 to my stack. He thought for a while and I knew I had the best hand and a call or fold was okay. Flop Kc 3h 7s. He bet my last 125 and of course I called. He had KhQh. I had gotten most of the money in as a nice favorite. Turn 6c for a lot of outs. Blank on the river and I'm out. I am probably going to play the 2nd chance event at the Gold Strike 7:15 tonight. 540 buy-in with 40 minute levels and 2000 starting chips. Tomorrow is a choice between 2000 NL at the Gold Strike ( too small a field I think ) and 550 Omaha/8 at the Grand. While I am certainly not the best Omaha/8 player around I have a fair amount of experience with it from home games and have cashed a couple times in tournaments. I will probably choose the Omaha/8 but If I play late tonight or feel like sleeping in tomorrow, no big deal.