Rays win! Rays win!
Another giant hurdle crossed as the Rays make it to the American League Championship Series against the Red Sox. They used to be intimidated by Boston and by the Yankees, but no longer. Still, it should be a very close series. I predict the Rays will take it 4-3.

It is bitter irony that Obama will probably end up being elected Messiah President of the United States due, in part, to his support of the corrupt ACORN organization, ACORN's and Obama's intimidation of banks to make high-risk loans, the mismanagement of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by Democrat Harold Raines, and the Dems' (especially Chris Dodd's and Barney Frank's) success in blocking Republican efforts to reign in those organizations a few years ago -- all of which helped created the mess in the financial markets, which a large, ignorant portion of the electorate blames on... wait for it... Republicans. Having the mainstream media totally and completely in your pocket sure has it benefits.

Speaking of the economy, while the market is alarmingly volatile these days, there are three strong developments: oil prices, which had been the cause of so much angst, have plunged to well under $100; the dollar has strengthed dramatically; and real estate inventories, at least in the Sarasota area, have plunged, a sign of increasing residential recovery. But if good news trees fall in a forest and there is no one there to hear them, do they still make a sound?