Well Dodger fans, its that time of the season. The time when the Dodgers begin to show their true colors. And what would that be, choke artists blue.

Since the All Star Break, the Dodgers are 13-17. Their ranking as number one team in baseball has slipped. Game by game, day by day, the blue crew just seems to be getting worse.

If you watch the Dodgers at all, you would know this is a yearly occurence. They start out hot and then after the All Star Game they begin their spiral downward. So should us Dodgers fans really expect anything more?

Yes we should. With Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre, I expected the second half season curse to be gone. Last year, the Dodgers played mediocre all season and then somehow made the playoffs. It seemed to work last year. Well this year was totally different. The Dodgers started out as the hottest team in baseball. On Opening Day of Dodger Stadium, Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle and it looked like it was going to be a great season. Well it turned out to be a great first half. The second half is becoming quite a disapointment.

Truthfully, I was expecting this. I see the Dodgers continuing to fight to keep their lead in the NL West. Maybe they will hold it, most likely they won't. Its going to be a tough one. At the rate they are going , even if they make the playoffs, it will be a short post season.

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On a side note, our favorite quarterback, Brett Favre, is back. Tuesday it was announced he had signed with the Minnesota Vikings. This NFL season is going to be a good one.

Well its our favorite time of the year. No not the 4th of July. Its time to pass the budget in California. Maybe it's just my favorite time of the year.

Well any-who. The budget was due June 30. I don't see it being passed anytime soon. Last year's budget took almost the whole year and then what was passed, was rejected on the May 19 by the voters. Democrats are trying to pass taxes in the form of fees and Governor Schwarzenegger says he won't sign anything that resembles a tax. We will see about that. Republicans again stand strong on their call for no new taxes. We will see about that too.

Not to fear though, there are about a dozen other states that are having problems solving their own issues. Unfortunately, California is the one with the worst cases.

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On the sports front, Dodger's all-star Manny Ramirez returns to the line up Friday night against the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers did pretty well in the two month stretch with Juan Pierre filling in for the suspended Ramirez. Pierre excelled and hopes to continue seeing playing time.

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Finfally, if you are in the mood for some fun, here is an article with a lot of events happening around the county this weekend.

Looks like Juan Pierre is going to get that playing time he was looking for. With the recent suspension of Manny Ramirez, Pierre has already seen more action and is currently batting .400.  

The roller coaster doesn't seem to want to end for Lakers. On Sunday they got beat by 12 in Houston. Then Tuesday they win by 40. Game 6 is going to be in Houston. Will the Lakers show up?

President Barack Obama has backed out of releasing photos of detainees being tortured. Sky News reports that the Pentagon was going to release 43 pictures. President Obama said the photos would cause anti-American sentiment which would not be good for troops abroad. Looks like President Obama isn't too different after old Bushy after all. He even has his own war to fight.

The Lakers and Dodgers have each made this week one big roller coaster ride. On Monday the Lakers get beat at Staples Center by 8 points. The loss put a lot of fans on the edge of their seat. Wednesday they redeemed themselves winning by 11. We will see how they play in Houston on Friday in game 3.

And then we have the Dodgers. Off to the hottest start since who knows when. Wednesday they won their 13 straight home game setting the record. By the time you read this, it might be 14. If it is though, it will be without superstar Manny Ramirez who on Thursday monring gots slapped with a 50 game suspension. He won't be back until July. The LA Times is reporting that Ramirez tested positive for a fertility drug for woman. Either way it was on the MLB's banned substance list. Looks like Juan Pierre might be getting some more playing time.

Juan Pierre has patiently been waiting to get some playing time. Most of last season he was on the bench. Things did not get better when the club signed Manny Ramirez. Pierre played his part though and rode out the bench. Since then he has been working hard to regain a position in the starting lineup. So far this season, it has been more of the same. Pierre has only played in a few games in a very limited role; pinch hitting, coming into the game late, and like last night, an occasional start.

Last night was not one of Pierre's better nights. In the first inning, he missed a shot to center hit by Bengie Molina. The ball bounced off the wall and scored two runs to begin the Giants win over the Dodgers. We will see when Pierre gets his next start.

Monday's news reports were mainly filled with stories about the pirate standoff that ended with NAVY seal snipers. In case you had not heard, last week some Somali Pirates took over an American ship. The crew fought off the pirates, but when they left the ship they left with the captain as a hostage. For a few days three pirates and their hostage floated along in a small lifeboat. Then some NAVY Seal snipers were dropped in. It was said that they parachuted into the ocean and were plucked from the water by a Navy warship. It was some real be all you can be stuff. So once the snipers arrived, they assumed the position and waited until the shot was clear. All three pirates were taken out simultaneously saving the captain.

It is great to hear the captain was rescued. The issue of piracy is really starting to take off. Reports began late last year when pirates siezed a ship carrying Russian weapons and tanks. Reports are that the U.S. is planning to send money and weapons(including military trainers) to Somalia so that they can train their own Coast Guard who can battle/contain the pirates. There are even talks of taking military actions against pirate bases in Africa. The first sounds plausible while the latter not. A bombing would only be a sign of war mongering. Similar attacks by former President Bill Clinton led to the 9/11 attacks. An attack on Somali soil by the American Empire would only give Al Qaeda more room to grow.

Back to our first option. Sending more aid to Somalia to train them. Now I know everyone's first reaction is going to be, why send more aid to a county we were once fighting in. I am not going to tell you why. I am going to tell you what form we should send the aid in. We should send them trainers from our Navy and Coast Guard to help them and show them. By way of equipment, I would send little to none. Work with what they have. Lets just show them how to work with it.

In further news, the brand new New York Mets Stadium opened on Monday night. And who better to sponsor the new stadium than Citi Bank. CNN value's the deal at $400 million. Of course, Citi Group has been the recipient of bail out funds. So since we the taxpayer are partially paying for this, I think they should have a free ticket night. And to end on the best note of all, the Dodgers smashed the Giants in their home opener. Newly acquired Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle in the 11-1 trouncing. Go Dodgers!