My Name Is Dan and I Am A Jets Fan...

And no, that's not intended to sound like the beginning of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting....! I just wanted to reaffirm my membership in Jets Nation prior to the AFC Championship game this Sunday! As a rabid Red Sox, Celtics and (when I care about hockey) Bruins fan, I am somewhat of an odd duck in rooting for the Jets (and New York Football Giants as well). The Jets are pretty much anathema to a real New Englander. But I haven't been a Patriots fan since Steve Grogan retired, and the latest Bill Bellichick era has really turned me off to them. And not just because of the cheating ;-) (Had to get that in there!)

There is actually a lot of similarity between being a Jets fan and being a Red Sox fan (at least, prior to 2004). Like most Jets fans, I always have doubts and expect the 'same old Jets' will show up, and it's the same thing with the Sox, although certainly to a much lesser extant since 2004 and 2007. And the Jets have had the same flashes of good play, just like the Sox in '86, '88, etc. But something has always gone wrong (see Testaverde, Vinny, 1999, when the Jets were expected to contend for the championship).

So I will be watching the game on Sunday, with my Jets hoodie and Jets hat and green turtle neck!

J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!

MA Senate Election

So the big election in Massachusetts is over, and the Democrats have again been shown (for the third time in as many months - see also governor elections in VA and NJ) that they have completely lost touch with the people. And President Obama has put his political capitol on the line in all three races, and lost each one. If that's not a repudiation of his policies, in sections of the country that SHOULD support them, I don't know what is. The Democrats can blame Martha Coakley for a lackluster campaign, but I think they all - all the way up to the White House, which coordinated this campaign - felt it was a slam dunk once the primaries were over. So by blaming Coakley, they are really blaming themselves for complacency in the face of massive dissatisfaction - with the economy, with the bloated health care bills now being negotiated behind closed doors, with the costs of these bailouts for various industries but not Main Street, and mainly by the arrogance shown by the Democrats in the last year. Unfortunately, I doubt there will be major changes (except, of course, those brought on by the fact that the Democrats no longer have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate) in their approach and, most importantly, attitude. While I'm not a big fan of the tea-partiers, I do think that some sort of protest in that vein certainly reflects the larger sentiments of the population, if not so verbose or radical.

At the same time, the Republicans should not necessarily take this as a validation of their party or ideals. Brown ran more as an independent than a Republican, and frankly, the Republicans have been complaining about many of the same tactics used by the Democrats, they they have used in the past, and would use again if in the same position the Democrats are today. So, the Republicans should not be crowing about this election either, but take a sober look at where they are as a party (too far right, IMHO) and correct course.

I'm interested to see how Brown fares in 2012, when he is up for re-election on the regular cycle. Only thing I am sure of is that Martha Coakley won't be his opponent!

I am going to try to post at least 4 times a week, from this point on. I need to start writing more, and think I can come up with enough topics on which to comment!