Update 4 – A Rough Pitch
The Pirates did the unthinkable in July and actually sat atop of the National League Central Division…for about a day. There was actually a buzz in Pittsburgh with our baseball team doing good things this late in the season. They promptly went on a 10 game losing streak. I had the pleasure of attended when they got blown out by the lowly San Diego Padres 13-2. Not a great game to watch, but it was really hot and humid too. The organization did, however, provide some entertainment as the group Train played a set and we were treated to Zambelli fireworks.
One of the typical accusations about labor union leaders is that they no longer really represent their members and pursue their own agendas…agendas that most of their members do not support even to the extreme of advocating a socialist or even communist viewpoint regarding collective bargaining. There can be no denying that labor unions spend hundreds of millions of dollars collected from members to support Democrat candidates that push for stronger union control of labor markets. When union members voluntarily give their pay to union bosses that is free choice. However when workers, like myself, are force to pay a “fair share” to unions to which we do not wish to belong that should be illegal. My earnings are taken from my pay, given to unions, and often given to the very politicians who forced me to pay the unions. They didn’t make me join, but they take a percentage of my pay without my approval. 
I had not planned for this to be a series, but somehow this story, like the Pirates themselves, just won’t go away. First of all congratulations to the Pirates for a great series against the powerful Boston Red Sox as they won two out of three games, taking the series. They are now one game over 0.500 after playing 77 games which is by far their best showing in years. There are actually 15 teams with worse winning percentages than the Pirates. I cannot say that Pittsburgh has caught Pirate fever, but even some local broadcasters have begun speaking about them in more positive terms. After 18 losing seasons in a row we are getting excited, somewhat, to have a “winning” team this late in the season. Oh and the Pirates are only four games back from the division leading Milwaukee.
A little over two weeks ago I wrote, excitedly, about a potential Republican candidate for president in 2012. Jon Huntsman had resigned as Ambassador to China and started an exploratory committee to seek the GOP nomination. Huntsman seems to have the right credentials for a Republican nod, but a few on the right are already criticizing both his cozy ties with Obama and China. I have pretty much given up on having another Ronald Reagan at the helm of the Republican Party and because I live in Pennsylvania with its late primary election date, the candidates are usually chosen. Huntsman or perhaps more for me his father seemed a likely middle ground.
A few months ago I wrote about 
