America lost the Ryder Cup again, why am I not surprised.

For the first time in Ryder Cup history, the United States lost the Ryder Cup three straight times, but the Europeans did not win the Cup legitimately. They, in pointed fact, cheated. Under the current rules for the Europeans, the players can qualify through two separate and different ways. Also, the Ryder Cup points for the Europeans players begins at the start of the golf season in the year that the Ryder Cup is being played. Furthermore, the cut off deadline is two whole weeks after the Americans. Excuse me, but the Europeans are effectively picking a team that is custom designed to defeat the American squad. That is known as cheating. And they know it, especially when one considers that the European Captain already know the members of the American squad. If you ask me, the opponents are holding all the aces and I say it's time to kick over the table.

Think about the various ways the Europeans are cheating right now, not only are they working from two separate qualification points systems and enjoy an extra two weeks, their players now can play full time on the PGA and qualify for the squad. As a result, the Europeans now know the Americans far better than the Americans know their opposing counterparts. On top of all this, they enjoy a huge advantage in team play against the Americans, and now they want to rob the Americans of their only remaining advantage in singles. Also keep in mind, the Americans are strictly limited to picking players from the American players from the PGA. How is any of this fair?

Here is my suggestion to rectify the situation, either the Europeans follow the President's Cup rules regarding cut-off deadlines and simultaneous announcement of captain picks or give the Americans special dispensation for the difference in the qualification process. Firstly, the American Captain should be permitted to bring three surprise pinch players to be used once per day at his discretion. In order to permit the American Captain time to consider the use of the pinch players for any given round, the European Captain must announce the lineup for the all the matches before the Americans need to deliver his reply. Currently, the draw is announced simultaneously. What I am effectively suggesting is that the American captain should be allowed to deliver his reply to an official and the starter on the first tee box.

Remember, this is not really all that new. In the 2004 American League Championship series between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, the Boston manager kept changing pitchers towards the end of the 7th and final game in order to prevent the Yankees from scoring a hit, since the Boston manager knows who is on deck for the Yankees.

The European Ryder Cup Qualification System

The American Ryder Cup Qualification System

Why Florida should not elect Katherine Harris for US Senator

If the most recent reports are true concerning a comment made by Republican Florida Congresswoman and Senate hopeful, Katherine Harris, about the election of non-Christians to political office, Florida needs to send a message that religious intolerance is unacceptable.

I should say that I am a staunch believer of Reagan and Lincoln. Both Presidents advocated for common sense approach to critical issues of their days. Reagan believed that tax dollars needed to be spent on legitimate government expenditure, like missile defense, than on pork barrel projects, like the Big Dig in Boston. Lincoln believed in tolerance of all things from race to religion to homosexuality and that intolerance was not to the American way of life.

There are Republicans that deserves re-election no matter what, like Senator Arlen Specter of PA, and than there are Republicans who should be drafted into the military and sent to Iraq for the remainder of their natural lives, like Katherine Harris.

In the 2000 election I believe that Harris had the right stuff to be in national politics. Six years later, Harris proved that she and the current Republican Party is the most dangerous threat to the freedoms and civil liberties that many Americans fought and died for in centuries past. Frankly I am amazed that the six years of this Administration, candidates for Republican Party now openly advocates religious intolerance and a return to 16th and 17th Century Inquisitions. She said that, "If you are not electing Christians, than you are legislating sin." Her words are not just offensive, her words invoke the memory of the Inquisitions and a call for another St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Unfortunately, if Harris is elected to a position of any substantial power, she will make the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572 and the Spanish Inquisitions look like a picnic.

In her opinion, electing Christians is not nearly enough, she wants to elect Christians from the religious right and people who are willing to sacrifice civil liberties in the name of Christianity. This is not just Protestants against Catholics. This is about belonging to the right Christian sect that advocates her political beliefs. Anti-abortion. Anti-Darwinism. With politicians like her in office, America will witness the greatest threat in history - the repression of knowledge. Remember the Catholic Church has made this mistake when it denounced the findings of Galileo; I urge all Americans to embrace the belief that knowledge is power and that only knowledge will ensure the freedom of humanity.