Quick Hits: Volume IV

Yes, I still recall fondly the days of when dissent was considered the highest form or patriotism, especially from 2001-2008. And said dissent was never exercised more fervently than in song. Musicians such as The Rolling Stones, Neil Young and Pink even penned tunes specifically to savage the Bush administration. Naturally they were heavily lauded by the entertainment industry for speaking "truth to power" (we really need to retire that moronic phrase).

But if one is a lesser known musician who dares to tug on the cape of the proverbial liberal Superman.......?

American beauty Ash Soular recorded “Obamanation” in 2008 as a protest song. She warned Americans about slick media sensation Barack Obama.

The upside was that she got over 4,000,000 hits on the song she posted on YouTube. The downside was that she was harassed and received death threats for posting the song on YouTube.

"I wanted to express how I felt about this past election, but I’m not very good at writing political blogs or particularly fond of debating" Soular said. "So I figured, how better to express my opinion than to write a song."

Check out the rather prophetic lyrics for yourself. I'll say this: If I were a bettin' man, I'd ask Ms. Soular to accompany me to Churchill Downs the first Saturday in May.









-As we approach the Major League Baseball All-Star break, the talk of baseball trades begins to heat up. Perhaps the most coveted player this year is Seattle Mariners' starting pitcher Cliff Lee. It is rumored that four teams are currently in the hunt for Lee, including my favorite squad.

If this move is made, it would send yet another signal to Twins fans that the club's front office is serious about utilizing the new revenue streams brought on by Target Field. And it also would send a clear message that it is "World Series or bust", since there is zero chance the Twins will pursue Lee when he becomes a free agent after this season.

Such a trade might actually help the Twins scale that proverbial postseason mountain known as the New York Yankees. In their past four postseason appearances, my favorite club has been eliminated by the Yanks on three occasions. And lest we forget, Lee was the winning pitcher in the two games the Philadelphia Phillies won in last year's World Series versus the Yankees.

Let get this done, Mr. Smith.

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