-This from Dan Gross’s column yesterday: “Don’t ever apologize for being patriotic. F— ’em,” advised country star Toby Keith to fans at his sold-out show at the Tweeter Center Sunday night after closing with the song “Angry American,” complete with pyrotechnics. No, Toby, please. F— you. Patriotism is not overzealous zeal to kill random Middle Easterners in retaliation for a completely different group of Middle Easterners attacking our country. You’re an idiot. Here’s a spoof of that moronic song by Bill Maher.

-Don’t look now, but the Phils pitching staff is starting to come together, and if Durbin can pitch decently and Kendrick can continue to pitch like he is, and Myers returns, and Gordon stays healthy…etc. Anyways, I really hope we don’t deal Rowand for some mid-level pitcher (which is all we’ll get for him). But what do you guys think of Bourne for Bronson Arroyo? To be honest, unless it involves Barajas, Helms, or Nunez, I hope Gillick stands Pat.
RELATED: Salisbury’s column about the Phils and the deadline.

-Did the Founding Fathers write the Constitution to defend us from Presidents like George Bush?

-And finally, some sad news. The Weekly World News, who printed what the mainstream publications were scared to print, is going out of business. To be honest, the quality of the rag had gone way down in recent ears. I was a huge fan in the late 80s and early 90s, but the beauty of it was it’s subtlety. It wasn’t yet a spoof of itself, so you felt like the reporters really thought that aliens had captured a 42 pound newborn. But lately it had just gotten silly (and expensive). Godspeed, once proud publication. Godspeed.

Well, we made the CBS Evening News for being the murder capital of America last night. 236 murders thus far this year. While Mayor “I-phone” Doolittle certainly deserves some of the blame, it is up to the citizens of Philadelphia to quit waiting on the government to do something and get involved themselves. The reason many of these kids kill is because they have no hope and no mentors. There are a number of programs you can get involved in to help curb the violence. As I have been suggesting all year, the Big Brothers Big Big Sisters Program is an excellent way to mentor a child who has no male role model. The men of Philadelphia are dropping the ball on this (there is a wait list of 1,000 boys), and it has nothing to do with Mayor Street. Some other worthwhile projects include: Reading STARS, where you can help a child improve their literacy. 85% of the children who appear in juvenile court lack reading skills. If you’re looking more to donate money than time, how about the Digital Divide Program, which tries to get home computers for low income children. Or you could get involved in the Byron Story Foundation, which helps at-risk youth get their GEDs. If you would like to find other worthwhile causes to help make Philadelphia a better city, please go to Philacares.com. This is not a white problem or a black problem, a rich problem or a poor problem. This is a Philadelphia problem, and if you love this city, then you owe it to Philly to do your part to help solve it. And remember, ALMOST doing something about the problem is the exact same thing as doing nothing about the problem. Get involved!
RELATED: Attytood on how Street was quiet about problem ’til Katie Couric showed up.

-Today is Simon Bolivars birthday. Learn more about South America’s biggest hero. Celebrate it by having a Corona tonight at O’Neals quizzo. Oh wait, what? Mexico’s not in South…Oh, uh, nevermind about that Corona thing. But still play quizzo.

-Think that all athletes are dog-fighting drug addicts who cheat and lie? They are. We kid, we kid. Actually, a couple of Texans just made a pretty cool deal. When Ahman Green went to the Texans, he wanted #30. The guy wearing #30, Jason Simmons, said that he could have the number…as long as he made a down payment on a house for a single parent. Deal.

-Joe Sixpack is the bearer of some interesting news: Yards Brewery is breaking up. Founder and co-owner Tom Kehoe is splitting with his partners, Bill and Nancy Barton, and will move the 13-year-old brewery to a new, to-be-chosen location…The Bartons will keep Yards’ hulking brewing facility in Kensington and begin producing a new brand. The new brand? Gonna be called Meters. God, that was awful. I just don’t got it this morning.

–Lindsay Lohan arrested for a DUI, possession of cocaine, and skyjacking a plane and then jumping out over Oregon. Just kidding about the last one…but would you really be THAT shocked if I wasn’t?