Tigers' 1B Miguel Cabrera Strikes Out With His Wife

Miguel Cabrera really needs to remember that Detroit still has a playoff game, before getting himself arrested. Detroit plays Minnesota on Tuesday in a one-game playoff, and fortunately for him, he hasn't been charged after a fight with his wife, Rosangel Cabrera.

Miguel Cabrera is the Tigers' first baseman. Reports indicate he was taken into custody by police early Saturday morning, but was not charged. Police responded to the incident, an apparent altercation between he and his wife, Rosangel Cabrera, after a 911 call from her.

Rosangel Cabrera called the police, upset that Miguel Cabrera came home late, drunk, and loud, loud enough to wake up their 4-year-old daughter. She called 911 at 6:05 AM to report the two were fighting, according to reports.

Investigators noticed Rosangel had an injury to her lower lip, but at them same time they noted an injury to the left side of Miguel Cabrera's face. They could not determine who was the initial aggressor, instead labeling them as both aggressors, so they released the Tigers' 1B.

Miguel Cabrera registered a .26 blood-alcohol level when tested by police. A person is considered drunk at a .08 BAC. Ouch!

The Tigers lost 5-1 Saturday night to the Chicago White Sox, with Miguel Cabrera 0-4. On Sunday, the Tigers won 5-3 to set up the one-game playoff with the Twins. He went 0-for-3, finishing the White Sox series 0-for-11.

This season, Miguel Cabrera batted .323, with 33 HRs, and 101 RBIs. It appears Rosangel Cabrera batted 1.000, when looking at the marks on his face.

Surveillance Tape Shows Dem. NY State Senator Dragging Girlfriend Down Hallway

In an incident that occurred in a Queens apartment building last December, New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate, 42, (D-Queens) is charged with second-degree assault. He is accused of slashing the face of Karla Giraldo, 30, before dragging her down the hallway. Monserrate has pleaded not guity.

The surveillance footage released on Tuesday at first glance, appears to be damning for Monserrate. The video played in court seemed to be a montage, showing views from five different security cameras at the Queens apartment. While it doesn't show the slashing incident, it does show him grabbing Giraldo and leading her away from a neighbor's door, as well as him leading Giraldo as they head to the car on their way to the hospital.

If convicted, Monserrate would lose his senate seat and face seven years in prison. Monserrate has maintained he tripped holding a glass of water he was bringing to his intoxicated girlfriend the night of the incident.

Watch the video:

Pre-Existing Condition Craziness Highlights the Need for Health Insurance Reform

While the storm continues to circulate around proposed health care reform, it is clear it should be called health INSURANCE reform. And while "death panel" arguments make the rounds of the conservative pundits, they fail to address the "death panels" already existing in the form of, once again, insurance companies. Take a look at some reports about crazy insurance company opinions on "pre-existing conditions."

An example from earlier this week comes from HuffPo. Did you know that in eight states, and the District of Columbia, domestic violence is a pre-existing condition. Not only is it bad enough to be beaten by your spouse, this just adds insult to injury.

To be honest, it makes sense when you consider insurance companies care only about the bottom line: if you are married to someone who has beaten you in the past, you're more likely to get beaten again. Therefore, you are more expensive to insure.

While many may think that someone will leave a relationship once beaten, that's not the case. Speaking with a psychologist, many of these relationships are co-dependent, and the person taking the beating will return given reassurances by the beater that "it won't happen again." It usually does, however.

It's also clear that women are subjected to a pregnancy surcharge. Because women can get pregnant, as described in a recent Perspective series entry on NPR, they usually are charged more for health insurance. The younger (and more fertile) are charged still more. For example, women in California pay an average of 39% more than men.

That's just the start of it. More private insurance policies are being written without maternity coverage, period. As Anthem Blue Cross said:

"The point of insurance is to insure against catastrophic care costs. That's what you're trying to aggregate and pool for such things as heart attacks and cancer. "Having a child is a matter of choice. Dealing with an adult onset illness, such as diabetes, heart disease breast or prostate cancer, is not a matter of choice."

Talk to the Duggars.

C-sections are also considered pre-existing conditions. Take a look at this New York Times story from 2008. Golden Rule Insurance Company rejected Peggy Robertson's application for health coverage in 2007 because she had a prior C-section. As doctors will tell you, once you have a C-section, it is more likely any later pregnancies will require one. It's all about the bottom line.

Yesterday, a Harvard study was released linking 45,000 deaths a year to lack of insurance. Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler, from Harvard University and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program said on Democracy Now! this morning:

The way to afford Universal Health Care is to go to Medicare for All, also known as Single Payer, also known as non-profit national health insurance. That the way every other developed nation achieve universal health care. They spend less than we do; in fact, the average for other developed nations is about 1/2 the per capita cost that we have. People in Canada and Western Europe live longer, they don't have to worry about having medical bankruptcies because their health insurance din't pay for things, so the non-profit Medicare for All approach is the only affordable way to cover all Americans. Of course, the insurance industry hates it. And when you put an insurance industry vice-president in charge of writing a bill, you shouldn't be surprised to see that the insurance industry profits are protected, but American lives are sacrificed.

Liz Fowler is the person that Woolhandler was talking about. Woolhandler went further, saying that insurance companies are unnecessary, and add nothing to the equation of health care. Realistically, what do they add, besides adding cash to their execs' pockets and those of their shareholders? Readers?

Tila Tequila's Latest Shot at Love Turns Into Shot in the Face

Tila "Tequila" Nguyen's latest shot at love has ended in domestic violence. The reality TV star was hospitalized after being attacked by her boyfriend, San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, Sunday in San Diego.

Tila Tequila, 27, whose last name is actually Nguyen, is best known for the MTV reality show "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila," which ran for two seasons. The dating show revealed her bisexual tendencies to the world, as men and women vied for Tequila's affections. She has also modeled for Playboy and other men's magazines.

While Tila Tequila is really tiny, at 4'11", Shawne Merriman, 25, as an OLB for the Chargers, sure isn't. He is 6'4" and 272 pounds.

According to the police report, authorities were called at 3:45 AM Sunday morning to Shawne Merriman's house in Poway, north of San Diego, after a woman, allegedly Tila Tequila, called to say she was choked by the player and thrown to the ground when she tried to leave. Tequila, 27, signed a citizen's arrest warrant, charging Merriman with battery and false imprisonment, according to San Diego County Sheriff's Lt. Gary Steadman.

Shawne Merriman was taken into custody and booked into the central jail at about 8:30 AM. He was released shortly after 11 AM. Meanwhile, Tila Tequila was taken to a hospital. Her condition was not immediately available.

Although Shawne Merriman performed well in his first three seasons (he was the 12th overall pick out of the University of Maryland in the 2005 draft), with 39 1/2 sacks and three Pro Bowl selections, he was getting back into shape after missing nearly all of last season following knee surgery.

The NFL will likely take a good look at this. They have enough to worry about with Michael Vick re-entering the league to have still more negative publicity, as in this Shawne Merriman - Tila Tequila news.

The Chargers are scheduled to open the season next Monday at Oakland. Upon hearing the Shawne Merriman - Tila Tequila news, Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said in statement:

"It's disappointing to hear about the issue involving Shawne Merriman. We'll continue to monitor the situation and let the legal process run its course."