After the Scottish football (soccer) team beat Macedonia 2-0 last weekend, as is typical when Scotland prevails in any sporting contest, hope sprang up again that we might qualify for the World Cup finals next year. Yes, yes, we'd have to beat Holland (not an easy task), but we were well on our way to competing for the holy grail of sport... or such was the general sentiment among a lot of Scotland supporters worldwide.

And then, the predictable happened. Scotland lost 1-0 to Holland. This was a shock to literally no one, but now we're out of the running for the World Cup, and surprise, surprise, it looks like Scotland boss George Burley's head is on the chopping block because yet again, Scotland proved that we basically suck at football (or at least that we suck more than teams like Holland). Those who dislike our record should be asking a serious question: Why? They should also be well aware of one non-answer to the question: It ain't because of George Burley. [intro]...

From Alex Massie:

Roddy Forsyth deserves our congratulations for revealing this:

One of the unforeseen consequences of Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi's incarceration in Greenock Prison was that, by his own account, in whiling away the hours by watching live football on the now-defunct Setanta network he became a Rangers supporter.

No surprise that a man convicted of the worst terrorist atrocity in British history would forsake his local team - Morton - to support one of the Gruesome Twosome*. He and Rangers deserve one another.

I don't merely mention this to bash Rangers (though it's fun, and I could do it all day, and it's sure tempting to say "what a surprise, the convicted terrorist backs the Huns").  I mention this because after including this fun nugget:

Then again, I did like the contribution of a Rangers-minded friend:

Another telltale clue that he may have been innocent. I mean, a real terrorist would support Celtic.

Alex goes on makes an important point not about football or terrorists, but rather about Glaswegian culture:

In Glasgow, it always comes back to fitba in the end.

Indeed.  In Glasgow, football-- and football allegiances, dictated to some extent anyway by religious affiliation and/or ethnic heritage-- loom large in many aspects of life and society, something that I suspect Americans, and frankly, a lot of Scots find baffling.  But that's just how it is. [intro]

From a column in yesterday's Orlando Sentinel re: Rep. Suzanne Kosmas and her apparent touting of Obama-style health insurance reform:

Congress can't print enough money to get us out of this jam. The Chinese may have funded our housing bubble, but I doubt they'll underwrite our hip replacements.

Yet, like so many others, Kosmas says we can have more when all we can afford is less.

No, Suzanne, there is no Santa Claus.

Goodness, that had to hurt... [intro]