They did it! 5 times in the last 6 seasons, the BoSox are going to the ALDS, this time on a wild card, just like in 2004, the first time they went all the way.

So here are my predictions, AL West was secured by the Angles a while ago, AL Central will be the White Sox, AL East will be the Devil Rays (sue me Tampa). The AL Pennant will go to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, USA.

On the National League front, you have the Cubs, who clinched the NL Central a few days back, I’m pulling for the Mets in the NL east, Joe Torre and the Dodgers in the West, with the Phillies getting the wild card slot. The NL Pennant will go to the Chicago Cubs, the first time since 1945.

The Fall Classic will be Angels verses the Cubs, with the Angels winning in 6. I’m rooting for the Cubs, because they are due, but I still think Anaheim will take it. Sorry Cubs, the Angels are on fire.

On a sad note, Monday was the last game at Yankee stadium. I still cannot believe that NY is tearing it down. What a waste. I’m not a Yankee fan, but there is something to be said about the tradition of baseball. This is a sport that heritage and history are important, and to just throw away a perfect stadium steeped in tradition is very sad.

It also stinks that this is the first year in 13 that the Yankees won’t be in the playoffs. Shouldn’t have let Torre go, George Steinbrenner.

Well see how good of a prediction this is in the coming weeks.

I love the Bedford Virginia Walmart. Normally, we shop at the Walmart in Lynchburg for our main groceries. Hate on Walmart all you want, they have great prices, they price match competitors, and I love being able to buy wall spackle, windshield wipers and milk and eggs in one trip.

The problem with Lynchburg Walmart is 1) College Kids and 2) the first of the month crowd. So we opt to go to Bedford, which is only 10 minutes further away.

I love the Bedford Walmart for one simple reason, it has the most amazing mix of poor white trash, hillbilly ghetto and redneck hispanics I have ever seen in one place. It’s like a department store of stereotypes. It is great. It makes me proud to live in rural central Virginia.

I know not too many people will be interested in this, but Ron Paul was on Fox News recently. The host of the show, Neil Cavuto talked about the RNC and Paul’s Rally for the Republic, which had an attendance of 10,000 supports, and was paid for solely by donations, unlike the DNC and RNC. Cavuto asked Ron Paul about the real difference between the two paries, and this is the exchange:

CAVUTO: Let me ask you, though, Congressman, I mean, if you had your druthers — because you know what people say about you and third parties, extended parties, Libertarians, right? They just rain on the parade of the two parties. You have heard that rap. I know you’re against that.

But do you think that there’s a difference between Democrats and Republicans? And, at the margin, do you favor one over the other?

PAUL: No.

I’m much closer to saying there’s no difference, because I look at foreign policy. There’s only [the current] foreign policy, foreign policy of intervention and world empire. Monetary policy, neither ones even talk about it. Protection of private liberties here at home, Obama pretends to be better, but he isn’t any better. Balanced budgets, Republicans didn’t do a better job.

So, I come up — these are the important issues for me. And there is no difference [for them]. You know, [they’re] not going to have a change in foreign policy. They’re not going to address the subject of where the financial bubbles come from and why we have housing bubble collapses. They’re not going to address this, because they’re not interested. And, sometimes, I don’t think they even understand how bubbles form.

So, I wouldn’t expect any change in — in policy with either one. The difference is between the two vs. the other. So, many of us have come to the conclusion that the two parties have been blended together, and that the political election of presidents over the years have turned into a charade.

I mean, just think of the conventions going on. Thirty-three million dollars of taxpayers’ money to propagate, you know, this propaganda that they have, and they’re not deciding on the nominee. It’s already been done.

I mean, we had a pretty nice rally here and spent several millions of dollars, but no taxpayers had to pay any money for that.

CAVUTO: But that they thought, “All right, he’s a fringe guy,” and then they saw how much money you were raising on the Internet, and how much appeal you had, and particularly with young people, and they just said, “Well, he’s not so crazy, and he’s not so fringe. Now what do we do?”

PAUL: I think that’s pretty well put.

And I think that’s a common practice, to take what our group talks about and say “kooks” or “fringe” or “extreme” or something like that. But isn’t it unusual, or sort of weird, to say that somebody who says we ought to obey the Constitution, we ought to balance our budget, we shouldn’t [just] print money when we need it, and we should live within our means, we shouldn’t double the size of the Department of Education, things that [traditional] Republicans have talked about for a long time?

There is an interesting article from Michael D. Tanner of the CATO Institute from yesterday regarding the youth vote and Obama. Below are some highlights, and you can read the whole article here.

The sea of young people we’ll see cheering Barack Obama’s speech in Denver Thursday night is just a tiny slice of a nationwide movement. According to a recent poll… Obama leads John McCain by an astonishing 23 points… among voters younger than 25.

It is easy to see why. Obama is young. He seems to brim with hope and optimism. He “gets” 21st century culture. In contrast, John McCain is old, very old, and more than a little bit cranky.

Yet if you look at the policies advocated by the two candidates, Obama’s appear almost perversely designed to hit those young supporters in the pocketbook.

…

With respect to young voters and Obama, we might pose this question: “What’s the matter with kids today?”

Take health care, for example. Obama supports an idea known as “community rating,” a requirement that insurers must charge everyone the same premium regardless of their health status. That means young and healthy people will pay the same premium as older and sicker people. Essentially, those high premiums on young people will be subsidizing the premiums for older people.

…

According to the Congressional Budget Office, unless spending is brought under control, the federal government will eventually consume as much as 35% of our GDP. Paying for a government that size would require raising both the corporate tax rate and top income tax rate from their current 35% to 88%, the current 25% tax rate for middle-income workers to 63%, and the 10% tax bracket for low-income workers to 25%. The impact on workers, businesses and the economy at large would be catastrophic.

…

Barack Obama has brought millions of young people into the political process. He has given them belief in a better tomorrow. He owes them something more: policies that will actually make our fiscal future more secure.

Obama’s speech last night was moving, but there is still a lot to consider when it comes to voting.

While I am on a CATO Institute kick, there is another interesting article on what constitutes wealth under Obama’s plan to tax the wealthy.

Here is the new ad for The Pickens Plan. America needs to get behind this plan. We no longer can rely solely on other countries for our electricity and fuel. McCain’s plan to drill off the coast and in Alaska is like a bucket for the Mississippi River… it won’t make a dent. Obama is out of touch for not getting behind clean nuclear. We need a positive energy plan, and this is it.

If the video doesn’t play, click on this link.