Hot Heat and Some World Cup Thoughts

I am in a fairly bad mood today. Not sure why exactly, but I am pretty sure I woke up this way. Not sure if it is job/pay dissatisfaction or something else, but not even an ice tray full of auto-made cubes could cheer me. The U.S. ouster from the World Cup today did not help matters at all.

The Americans 1-1 draw with Italy and their 2-1 loss to Ghana have reinforced my belief that the widespread revulsion of Americans worldwide is not limited to political circles, it has found its way onto the futbol pitch as well. Both matches were marred by TERRIBLE calls against the U.S. side, a highly questionable red card on Saturday (a clear make-up call by an obviously intimidated and in-over-his-head referee) and an even-more-ridiculous penalty that was called in today's match, which gift-wrapped a goal for Ghana.

Anyone who believes the U.S. failure to score a second goal makes this a moot point are sorely mistaken. If the match is 1-1, the entire second half would have played out differently. Ghana had no way of knowing if a tie would have gotten them through to the knockout round of 16. Thus, they would have been pressing for a go-ahead goal - which would have created chances for the Americans to counter. The awarding of the penalty shot doomed the Americans (not that their collective failure to show up for their opening match against the Czechs wasn't a huge contributor to their fate, mind you), and Ghana was given a free pass to advance. The officiating of the final two matches involving the U.S. was disgraceful. The Americans are viewed as gate-crashers on the world football stage. I am already hyped up for 2010 in South Africa - that is, if there is a World Cup in four years...

A widely-published report released today by The National Academy of Sciences, one that will no doubt be ignored by the Republicans and their Big Business cronies, states that global warming has made the Earth hotter than it has been in at least four centuries - and very likely warmer than it has been in millennia. The four centuries figure has to be thrown out there as it is doubtful that scientists were concerned with this sort of thing before the year 1606. Ranting and raving about this on my blog is probably pointless - but I wonder - at what point will this administration be made to take steps to better ensure the future of our planet and species? The days of Republican abject dismissal of the scientific world's findings should be well over...shouldn't they?

[Currently Listening: Sick of It All - "Uprising Nation"]