Below The Beltway http://belowthebeltway.com I believe in the free speech that liberals used to believe in, the economic freedom that conservatives used to believe in, and the personal freedom that America used to believe in. Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:51:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Maintenance Note http://belowthebeltway.com/2011/12/04/maintenance-note/ http://belowthebeltway.com/2011/12/04/maintenance-note/#comments Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:51:41 +0000 Doug Mataconis http://belowthebeltway.com/?p=29837 One of the files in the template that I’ve been using here seems to have been corrupted.

The site is going to look a little odd for awhile until I figure out what happened.

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He was a good man, with a loving family, and children and Grandchildren who will miss him terribly.

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Nonetheless, I feel it necessary to say something about the news at OTB today from its founder, James Joyner, that his wife had passed away in her sleep at the far too young age of 41. She leaves behind a husband and two daughters, one a month shy of three and another who was born in only June of this year. It’s all tremendously sad, and inexplicable. I cannot imagine how I would react in a similar situation, or how I’d even be able to contemplate the future. But, contemplate we must. I cannot imagine what James is going through. It’s something nobody should ever have to go through.

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It’s been an interesting little journey, with traffic hits coming from everyone from Michelle Malkin to Glenn Reynolds. I’ve met a number of good people since I started this and, while  I’m not doing most of my political blogging over at Outside The Beltway these days, I haven’t forgotten about this place. I’ve been neglectful about posting here, but I’m going to work on changing that.

And, oh yea, Happy Fourth Of July too !

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For those of you arriving here from the link in that article, you can find most of my current political writing over at Outside The Beltway.

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After a season that was wracked by a hamstring injury, Yankees ace Andy Pettitte has decided to retire:

The Yankees’ frustrating off-season took another discouraging turn with the news Thursday that Andy Pettitte would retire. Pettitte called Hal Steinbrenner, the team’s managing general partner, to tell him his plans. The Yankees confirmed in a news release that Pettitte would make a formal announcement on Friday at 10:30 a.m. at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees had hoped that Pettitte, 38, would continue pitching, and they were prepared to pay him $12 million or more to come back. But after missing two months last summer with a groin injury, Pettitte has decided to end his 16-year career.

After failing to sign the free-agent Cliff Lee, the Yankees badly wanted Pettitte back to solidify a rotation that is shaky beyond C. C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes and the erratic A. J. Burnett. Pettitte was an All-Star last season, when he was 11-3 with a 3.28 earned run average, and like Mike Mussina in 2008, he retires near the top of his game.

Pettitte is married with four children and lives in Deer Park, Tex. But he often said his family enjoyed spending summers in Westchester County, and Manager Joe Girardi recently said that Pettitte had been throwing this off-season.

But General Manager Brian Cashman has been doubtful all along. Cashman said Pettitte had told him not to count on him for 2011, and he proceeded under that assumption.

Pettitte was a part of every Yankees World Series win from 1996 on, and he’s going to be missed.

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An interesting speech, especially the part about the legacy of Henry Clay.

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