Wed. August 31, 2005
Get Real
It's late, I'm tired and I just finished watching an incredibly well done and riveting documentary on al Qaeda and 9/11 by National Geographic. And then I read this:
Bush Calls Iraq War Moral Equivalent Of Allies' WWII Fight Against the Axis. Of all the gall. Comparing the bunch of rag-tag guerillas that has the U.S. paralyzed in Iraq to the fascists and authoritarians of 1940s Germany, Japan and Italy is sophistry. "The Greatest Generation" knew what they were fighting for and knew it was right. Today, we don't know who we are fighting and we are "right" only in that we are acting as a pseudo-benevolent occupation force.
Remember that Bush vowed on 9/11 that he would hunt down those responsible and kill them. Osama bin Laden is still out there, and since 9/11 we've witnessed Madrid, London and scores of other major al Qaeda terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is growing more opium than ever before and Iraq has become a new rallying call for Islamic jihad against Western "infidels."
If Bush had any real courage, he would have nuked Islamabad when he had the chance. But then, throughout American history, it's been Democrats who fight wars, and Republicans who talk but don't walk. Get real, George; you cannot make history by wishing this were World War II. It's a different time, and a different war. The problem is, Iraq is the wrong war. We should be fighting terrorists, but instead we are just sowing the seeds for inevitably more terrorism against all of Western civilization.
Posted by glenn at Tue. August 30, 2005
Up Your Ass
Saturday's New York Times detailed the rising battle between Apple Computer and the recording industry over pricing of digital music downloads. Apple, Digital Music's Angel, Earns Record Industry's Scorn [New York Times]. Apparently, the music industry dislikes the $0.99 fixed per-song price pioneered by Apple as part of its iTunes Music Store.
Now that's quite a metaphor. Seems that Lack is saying that his revenue stream is someplace where the sun doesn't shine. Perhaps the record labels need a proctologist? I represent these guys (at the FCC), but I still can't understand their business strategy. Before iTunes, they were nowehere in the digital domain. But I guess for content in today's information economy, it's acceptable behavior to look a gift horse in the mouth. Or even some other part of the anatomy.
Thu. May 12, 2005
ET Phone Home
Microsoft's Bill Gates says the raging popularity of Apple's iPod player is "unsustainable." Gates Sees Mobile Phones Overtaking iPods [Reuters.com].
Yeah, right. Just like the "Tablet PC" was going to make laptops extinct and Microsoft's "Media PC" is going to take over the family room entertainment centers of the world. Can I have some of what he's smoking?
Sun. May 1, 2005
A Cowardly End 60 Years Ago
Yesterday marked the 60th anniversary of the death of Adolph Hitler, he of genocide, eugenics and the "Thousand Year Reich" that lasted all but a decade. On April 30, 1945, with Soviet forces just 300 meters from the underground bunker where Hitler huddled in the final months of the war and his armies decisively beaten, Hitler bade farewell to his staff and went into his private rooms. There the man who had plunged the world into conflict and sent millions of Jews to their deaths in the Holocaust poisoned a willing Eva Braun, his private mistress, and then shot himself in the head (after taking a cyanide capsule). Last Witness Remembers Hitler's Suicide [Mail & Guardian Online.za]. Hitler was a shaking, graying, sickly man who "sank into himself" in the final days before his suicide. Later, the bodies were taken into the courtyard and burned with gasoline to avoid identification.
Score of other German army and SS officers took the same way out -- like the Japanese later did at Iwo Jima and Okinawa -- offing themselves to avoid capture. For instance, Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels and his wife poisoned their six children and killed themselves in the bunker after Hitler's death. (Of course, publicly his successor announced Hitler's death on German radio, claiming that "the Fuhrer" had died a hero and not mentioning suicide.)
It's always that way with tyrants, depots and their fanatical lieutenants. I think a big reason for fascism is the same big streak of cowardice that leads people like this to end their own lives rather than face the consequences of their actions.
Goodbye, Fuhrer. We will NOT miss you.
Wed. April 27, 2005
Poignant Luddites
Between them, both Tom Boswell and George Will sing poignant tunes about what they call the "timeless" rhythms of baseball. Read the two linked columns -- one about the new Washington Nationals, the other about 39-year old Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux -- and you'll see that these otherwise smart men are living in the past. As I've said before, these guys are "throwbacks to an idyllic agrarian American past that -- as anyone from the Midwest or the Great Plains knows -- never really existed in the first place."
George Calin was right! His hilarious comparison between baseball, our former national pastime, and football -- excerpted below -- "tells us something about ourselves and our values. And maybe how those values have changed over the last 150 years."
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe. "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
Tue. April 5, 2005
Stop the 'Nats
It's only day two of the '05 baseball season and I am already sick of these luddite pundits who just can't stop talking (endless talking is really baseball epitomized) about the return of MLB and the "Nationals" to Washington, D.C. Like Tom Boswell of the Washington Post, who today described baseball lyrically as a game in which "[h]ours of incident simply set the stage for a handful of truly crucial confrontations."
Sorry, Tom, you are living in another century. Baseball is long stretches of absolutely nothing punctuated by a few, brief moments when almost everyone is looking the other way. The NFL is the official state religion of the United States. Baseball is for you, George Will and other throwbacks to an idyllic agrarian American past that -- as anyone from the Midwest or the Great Plains knows -- never really existed in the first place.
Mon. April 4, 2005
Not Again
Will this man never just LEAVE!! Please, spare us any more agony and, if you can't gracefully wither away, die. Gore TV Network to Launch in August, Google Tie-In.
Tue. March 15, 2005
You Can't Hide
As predicted here, this afternoon a federal jury in New York, on its eighth day of deliberations, convicted Bernie Ebbers on the criminal charges that he helped mastermind an $11 billion accounting fraud at WorldCom, now known as MCI. Ex-WorldCom CEO Ebbers Found Guilty on All Counts [CNNMoney.com]. The conviction completes a staggering fall for Ebbers, who took a small long-distance company in Mississippi and merged with or acquired ever-larger companies, earning him accolades and the nickname Telecom Cowboy. "He was WorldCom, and WorldCom was Ebbers," the prosecutor told jurors. "He built the company. He ran it. Of course he directed this fraud."
Six senior WorldCom executives were indicted for fraud and the company was forced to file for bankruptcy protection in 2002. But Bernie was the only one of those executives to plead not guilty. He gambled again, and this time lost big. Way big. Up to 85 years in prison. And it could not have happened to a more contemptible human being.
A charismatic businessman who went from Wall Street superstar to untouchable almost overnight, Ebbers turned a folksy demeanor and by-the-bootstraps biography into central exhibits in his unsuccessful defense against the charge that he inflated WorldCom's books when his personal fortune ($400 million in WorldCom stock used as collateral for extravagant loans) was tanking during the dot.com and telecom bust of 2002. It is refreshing to realize that juries usually see through smokscreen defenses and get things right. Have a nice stay in Leavenworth, Bernie!!
Thu. March 10, 2005
Pajamas In Court
I am away due to a death in the family, but even so had time to watch the riveting drama of this morning's fiaso in California when Michael Jackson failed to show up for court on the day his teenage accuser was due to testify to the sexual abuse perpetrated by the rock star. The presiding California state court judge revoked bail and issued a bench warrant for Jackson's arrest, but stayed it for 60 minutes (until 9:35 PST), during which MSNBC was live with an "arrest countdown clock." Jackson eventually arrived, 10 minutes after the deadline, wearing pajamas, slippers, a T-shirt and looking like he'd been drugged. As Dan Abrams latrer described:
The excuse was (once again) a medical one, this time that Jacko had back pain and went to the emergency room. As if someone who makes tens of millions of dollars a year doesn't have a personal physician to prescribe medication for back pain!! But unlike last time, when the judge told the jury Jackson was "really sick" with the flu, this time he just informed them that trial was delayed due to Jackson's medical condition and urged the jury not to infer Jackson's guilt from his behavior. A very clever -- and completely legally correct -- instruction, which the jury will and should promptly ignore. Because getting (or pretending to be) sick on the day a criminal defendant is to confront the main witness against him is too incriminating -- like fleeing a crime scene is evidence of consciousness of guilt -- to be ignored. Jacko is his own worst enemy. His own frail psyche is now the chief evidence that he is actually the pedophile Peter Pana wannabe the prosecution claims he has been for years.
Now the only really sad part is that, at the end of the day, the judge did not, as he had threatened and was fully empowered to do, put Jackson in the slammer for the duration of the trial. That may be a smart judicial move, in order to demonstrate no bias against the defendant, but it is not very satisfying. Put this wierdo in a cell for months and when he does take the stand, he'll crack like a nut in public!!
Thu. March 3, 2005
No More Gonzo, No More News
Frank Rich has a wonderful article in the New York Times lamenting the death of Hunter S. Thompson. Gonzo Gone, Rather Going, Watergate Still Here. It captures perfectly why I liked Hunter Thompson (but not Dan Rather) so much as a journalist that I named this blog after him.
Thompson was out to break the mainstream media's rules. His unruly mix of fact, opinion and masturbatory self-regard may have made him a blogger before there was an Internet, but he was a blogger who had the zeal to leave home and report firsthand and who could write great sentences that made you want to savor what he found out rather than just scroll quickly through screen after screen of minutiae and rant.
Even better is Rich's lead, namely that "memories of that best work ... only accentuate the vacuum in that cultural category we stubbornly insist on calling News. What's missing from News [today] is the news." Hunter would be proud.
Sat. February 19, 2005
The Great Flip-Flopper
In a Newsweek opinion essay titled Hail to the Flip-Flopper, Fareed Zakaria writes that George W. Bush should be commended for not "staying the course" in Iraq.
Well Zakaria's right, of course. But it would be very helpful -- and certainly honest -- for the President to admit that the original Iraq war plan was a failure and that he's been forced to change his tune to accomodate reality on the ground. That's a sure sign of leadership. Pretending nothing's changed, when everything has, is just flip-flopping. Bush does it as good as any other cynical politician; his vaunted religious pieties and cowboy determination are all just for show.
Wed. February 16, 2005
Brain Dead and Starving
Last month the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush of a decision overturning his efforts to force the husband of a comatose woman -- who has been in a vegitative state for 15 years -- to continue intravenous feeding. The Christian right has taken up the case of Terry Schiavo as a cause celeb, arguing that medical miracles cannot be discounted and that removing the feeding tube would be euthanasia -- murder.
What a stupid and tragic case in which to decide the rights of individuals to die. There's no dispute that this woman expressed a clear desire not to be a vegetable. There is also no question that is what she is today, unable to move any limbs, speak, respond, acknowledge vistors, register emotions, etc. Her husband, for God's sake, is the one who after 15 years wants to end her suffering, but her evangelist parents -- backed by the state -- want to take that decision away from him.
You know, the United States has prosecuted Christian Scientists for felonies when they refused medical care, on religious grounds, for children who needed emergency treatment. That's a classic instance of the right to life and the right to freedom of religion clashing. But it's been settled for decades that the right to life includes the right to end one's life -- at least by refusing "extraordinary measures" and imposing a "do not resusicate" requirement on doctors -- if done knowingly. That's what living wills ("advance medical directives") are all about.
Too bad that Terry Schiavo was not up-to-speed on that concept on Feb. 25, 1990, when a chemical imbalance possibly triggered by an eating disorder caused her heart to stop beating and cut off oxygen to her brain. She's been brain-dead ever since and is now a pawn of religious zealots trying to impose their own view of miracles on a (rightly) reluctant husband and court system.
Sat. February 12, 2005
Accounting Fluff
So the trial of Bernie Ebbers, former WorldCom CEO, for fraud is beginnning, and the chief witness against him is the company's former CFO. Scott Sullivan testified this week that Ebbers was told quarterly that in order to "make the numbers" demanded by Wall Street, the green eyeshade accountants had to add "fluff" to WorldCom's revenues and understate expenses. Ebbers Told of 'Accounting Fluff' [USAToday.com].
This is very damning evidence and (as in Martha Stewart) more than enough to convict the slimebag Ebbers. WorldCom went down in an $11 billion accounting scandal because someone booked expenses as assets, thus artifically inflating revenues and understating costs in order to maintain false EPS reports. Bernie either knew about it or directed it -- matters not. He's going down, and it could not happen to a more rotten guy.
Thu. February 10, 2005
This is Torture?
Like many Americans, I was shocked and revolted by last Spring's revelations that detainees at the US-run prison in Abu Ghraib, Iraq were subjected to attacks by dogs, naked human pyramids and other degradations. But this takes things too far, the wrong way. The Washington Post, in a front-page article titled Detainees Accuse Female Interrogators, reported yesterday that some detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba were "abused" because "women rubbed their bodies against the men, wore skimpy clothes in front of them, made sexually explicit remarks and touched them provocatively." That's not torture and it's not anything like the sort of brutality outlawed by the Geneva Convention (which the Administration refuses to apply to Iraq).
Now we all know that sexual values and mores in Muslim countries are more restrictive than in America and most Western democracies. But still, using sex to entice men to talk is the oldest game in the book of espionage. And any man, Muslim or not, who would complain that some women rubbed their bodies provocatively while wearing skimpy clothing is just out of his mind. (We can leave aside the 72 virgins that Muslim martyrs are supposed to receive in heaven -- what are they for if not sex?) I mean, this is something for which most men would LOVE to be on the receiving end. Reminds me more of the way in which the Army won the Iraq war in the first three weeks. They used bullhorns to announce loudly in contested areas that Iraqi men had small penises and could not satisfy their women. So the stupid Iraqi soildiers were so angry they stormed out of their foxholes and got machine-gunned to death instantly.
They can't have it both ways. Either Muslim men are defiantly proud of their sexual prowess, in which case provocative body rubbing by sexy girls should be no big deal, or they are sexually deficient, in which case the provocation here was as offensive as Ginger Lynn accosting a bunch of gay men. Whatever, but if this is torture, send me to Iraq!!
Sat. January 29, 2005
Fair & Balanced?
Carl Frank at No Oil for Pacifists has, once again, used me as his whipping boy, this time suggesting that I am some sort of lefty pacifist who is opposed to the U.S. using military force against terrorists.
Frank says I wrote him that "I don't 'resent' Bush, I just think it's ironic that a war started to stop an imminent threat that turned out not to be imminent." NO! Carl has disingenuously ommitted the most important part of my emailed comment, without even including an elipses.... Here's what I actually wrote:
Anyone who could just edit out all the stuff after the first dash is obviously not interested in a balanced or fair discussion of the issue. And any conservative who doesn't face up to the fact that the present rationale for the Iraq war -- making Iraq safe for democracy and to save Iraqis from Saddam's oppression -- is an ultra-liberal, leftist justification (Wilsonian foreign policy at its worst) is either self-deluding or just hypocritical. Without WMDs, the only reason for this war is "human rights," Jimmy Carter's albatross. Running away from accountability while presenting a shifting, neo-Wilsonian idealization of a war that started as a way to disarm a dictator who was said to have nukes pointed at Jerusalem and dirty bombs ready for explosion in New York is worse flip-flopping even than the greatest flip-flopper of them all, John Kerry.
Lest one think this is just another liberal or elitist Democrat talking (I am neither by the way), here's what George F. Will -- certainly not a liberal, leftist or even a Democrat -- says:
Duh. Will characterized the Bush doctrine of democratic nation-building as "the stunningly anticonservative idea animating the administration's foreign policy." Bush won't say "human rights" because it would expose him as a foreign policy liberal. His inauguration address was straight from John Kennedy in 1961, i.e., "bear any burden, pay any price . . . to ensure the survival of liberty" around the world. And to make matters worse, the day after the inauguration, the Administration immediately backtracked, using anonymous "sources" to announce that the speech did not mean what it said, that America would not intervene militarily in other nations to free people from tyranny and oppression.
Bush wants it both ways and so does his lapdog Frank. But reality has a way of intruding on idealism, which is what we have here. There needs to be an asterisk after the inauguration speech's stirring rehtoric about defense of freedom and liberty, namely "unless your country has lots of oil (e.g., Saudi Arabia) or supports the U.S. in the war on terrorism (e.g., Russia, Pakistan)." The rest of the world has long thought that American foreign policy was hypocritical because for decades this country supported dictators and repressive regimes out of Kissingerian realpolitik concerns. That caused the Iranian revolution in 1978 which started the whole Shiite Muslim backlash against America and the West.
Now we're finally at least fighting one war on the side of the oppressed, but our government is still caught in the same hypocritical trap. Putin and Musharef are oppressive, anti-democratic depots -- no need even to mention the House of Saud -- yet we support them without even a word of criticism. Oppressed people in other nations will rightly look at this, once again, as cynical, in turn devaluaing American ideals and the strength of our foreign policy. As Jonathan Alter observed, calling the liberty justification "a suspiciously convenient, third-string rationale for war:"
But Bush prefers Ronald Reagan to Wilson as an exemplar, which begins to explain where his vision falls short. Reagan wasn't much interested in promoting democracy except as a weapon to destroy the Soviet Union from within. All over the world, dictators like Saddam Hussein cheered his election. Reaganism was effective and inspiring but also hypocritical -- the kind of ersatz idealism that apparently allows Bush to press for democracy in every Middle Eastern country except the ones that sell us oil or help us fight terrorism. That's a rather long list.
Two more things. First, Frank implies that I am opposed to preemptive war and American unilateralism. Not true. As I blogged 18 months ago, well before the 2004 presidential race even really began, "Unilateralism is one thing -- something I most definitely can approve of -- but ginning up fake rationales is quite another." Second, Frank ends his ranting post with this admonition to me: "My recommendation, Glenn: courage" (which he links to a Wikipedia entry on Dan Rather, whom I have always detested). Well, that was also the name of Walter Cronkite's sailboat (his old one, before retirement). The same Cronkite, liberal and all, who by coming out against Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam war changed the course of history. And it's the heart of JFK's book Profiles in Courage, from another liberal Democrat. So yes, Carl, "courage" indeed. Like the president you admire so much, you too are a closet liberal.
Oh, and my 13-year old son says "Don't mess with my dad." He's bigger than you, Carl (in so many ways, including character), so watch out!
Tue. January 25, 2005
Privacy of Consenting Adults
Supreme Court Justice Scalia warned of it in 2003 year when the court ruled sodomy laws unconstitutional, and now it has happened. A federal judge in Western Pennsylavnia has decided that the government has no right to outlaw the private consumption of obscene materials in the privacy of one's home. Handed down last week, but only highlighted on Nightline last evening, this decision could be an historic change in the status of "morality" legislation in the United States.
That is, as the court held, "the federal obscenity statutes burden an individual's fundamental right to possess, read, observe and think about what he chooses in the privacy of his own home by completely banning the distribution of obscene materials."
Ah, I am sure those red-state social conservatives are just pining away for the days of "Reefer Madness." Well, we've come a long way baby.
Sun. November 28, 2004
What Is a Conservative?
Carl Frank, blogging under the pseudonym No Oil for Pacifists, says that liberals are "unable to understand" conservatives. Liberals "view Pat Buchanan as 'pillar' of the right rather than a pro-union, almost leftist, nativist," Frank opines.
This is just hogwash. First, smart liberals understand conservatives all too well; they just loathe them and yet cannot match their pragmatic, unprincipled approach to electoral politics. Second, Pat Buchanan -- he of the "culture war" in America -- is plainly even more conservative than most conservatives on the "moral values" questions that have dominated post-election debate in the U.S. Third, in 2000 Buchanan attacked George W. Bush, in a Blue Book his campaign published, arguing that Dubya was a closet liberal on such issues as abortion, muiltilateralism, and the like.
Indeed, just a glance at Buchanan's new book, titled Where the Right Went Wrong: How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency, is enough to show that he's way to the right of the folks in the White House today. To say that Buchanan is "almost leftist" is precisely what Frank insists the left does -- "abandon[ing] politics and morality. They're just a sick and sinister mob." Take your own medicine, Carl.
Update: I've turned off HTML entries in comments on this blog, so you can read Carl's responses at Letter to Blogger Turning Blue and You Can Have Him. And I view this characterization as the ultimate compliment a conservative can laud on one who does not share their politicial religiosity -- "Glenn's no far-left extremist." Backhanded, but I'll take it. Thanks, Carl!
Thu. November 18, 2004
Top 500 Rock Classics
OK, so what sort of an insane "top 500" list for rock and roll would put The Eagles' Hotel California at number 49 and place The Who's My Generation -- admittedly, a masterful early rock anthem of youthful rebellion -- above their classic, powerful and clearly best piece, Baba O'Reilly? Rolling Stone Names "Top 500 Songs". And to top it all off, you can read about the list in news reports, but there's absolutely nothing on the Rolling Stone web site at all.
Rolling Stone used to be a great magazine. Since they started putting provocative sex kitten photos on the cover, however, I think Jan Weiner and company have just lost it. This list proves they're living so far in the past they don't even remember the '70s. A sad end to a once-proud legacy.
Thu. November 11, 2004
I Wasn't Kidding
Yesterday I warned that the FCC's outrageously political "indecency" campaign would result in self-censorship by broadcast networks afraid of a mercurial and unpredictable regulatory response. Well, today that fear became a reality. ABC is airing Stephen Speilberg's Oscar-winning film, Saving Private Ryan, but nearly 65 local affilates -- including in such metropolitan areas as Boston -- have refused to broadcast the film, citing the FCC. The network has shown the movie on Veterans' Day for two years, without incident, but now it's being replaced by re-runs of The Andy Griffith Show.
So the lesson is that to comply with the FCC's views on "community standards," we're now retreating to the social standards of the 1950s. Booyah, what a step backwards. It's not even "Father Knows Best," but "Washington Knows Best." Veterans groups, Sen. John McCain and even the parental organizations that complained about Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" are up in arms, but once unleashed the scourge of censorship is damn hard to stop. Way to go, Mike!@!
Fri. November 5, 2004
Reliving the '60s
I've been convinced for a while that the neocons who dreamed up what has turned into a fiasco in Iraq -- Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rice and that entire crowd -- really want to refight the Vietnam War and the counterculture of the 1960s. Well, they lost then and simply can't turn back the clock. While Hugh Hewitt of the Weekly Standard essentially concedes that the real fight in this election was about the '60s, his contention that Kerry's defeat "ends" the '60s is just whacko.
The End of the Sixties. Sorry, Hugh. The '60s ended with Watergate and Nixon's resignation. Those "mistakes" of 1974 and 1975 were the very victory of the left that you still can't accept. The mistakes made then were by the establishment, not the anti-war movement. The counterculture won and Cheney, Wolfowitz and Rice missed out. They never grew their hair long, supported one president (Nixon) who broke the constitution and another (Ford) who couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time, and now are doing it again.
So for 150,000 votes in a few counties in Ohio we've got to put up with this pious, contemptuous revisiontist history? Bullshit! To all those conservatives who still refuse to admit defeat in the '60s, I say get over it. You won Tuesday, fair and square, but only Chairman Mao could change history. America ain't Red China and thank God for that!!
Wed. November 3, 2004
Dirty Dean Dozen
Apparently the most important character trait for being a politician is having the ability to look into the camera (or in this case, the blog) and lie through your teeth. Howard Dean's Democracy for America blog this afternoon carried a statement saying:
Ah, Howard, the Dems got trounced for the exact reasons you said in November they would. If there's a choice between two Republicans, this country goes for the real one every time. That was true even during the "liberal" years of Adlai Stevenson (i.e., President Eisenhower). And in my own backyard -- where Kerry carried Fairfax County, VA by 53%-47% -- the Democratic congressional candidate lost to a hugely unpopular incumbent by a whopping 64%-36%. That's not even a dent into the traditional incumbent winning margin and was almost the largest losing margin in the entire state.
Nothing has changed. Democractic politics are as bankrupt of ideas and principles as ever. One cannot lead this vast and diverse country just by being against things. Kerry and the Democratic ticket only made the case for why Bush was flawed, but provided little or no positive reasons to vote for them. They got exactly what they deserved.
Even worse, they won't even fight about it. Kerry's pablum position that he was conceding to "bring the country together" is hogwash. We're about to enter into a real culture war in America -- not the trumped-up one Pat Buchanan warned of in 1992 -- and it's not going to be pretty. So Kerry won't fight, while Bush is coming out swinging. Deja vue all over again.
Mon. November 1, 2004
Blaming the Officials
It's appropriate that the Washington Post column by Mike Wise reporting on Sunday's loss by the Redskins -- now with a paltry 2-5 record seven games after the return of of legendary coach Joe Gibbs -- is named after this blog. Fear and Loathing in Landover [washingtonpost.com]. That's because I simply cannot stand the whining, mercurial fans that populate FedEx Field, with their constant booing of quarterbacks, fervent conviction that the Skins are cheated out of winning only by the officials, The Washington Redskins have been a bad football team for the last 10 years! The gonzo faithful who battle through the interminable traffic to take in the games cannot admit that because it would make their whole religious infatuation with this team transparently quixotic.
Mike Wilbon remarks that:
That's not right. This city has thrown more all-star QBs out of town than any other place in the NFL, at last three of which -- Stan Humphries, Brad Johnson and Trent Green -- have proven their worth by leading teams elsewhere to glory (and twice to the SuperBowl itsellf). In the just over 10-year season period starting with Norv Turner's 1994 coaching debut, the Redskins have used 16 different starting quarterbacks (actually, 23 in total, counting mid-season substitutions and roster reversals) playing for five different head coaches. Read 'em and weep:
- John Friesz
- Heath Shuler
- Gus Frerottte
- Jeff Hostetler
- Trent Green
- Brad Johnson
- Rodney Peete
- Jeff George
- Tony Banks
- Kent Graham
- Shane Matthews
- Danny Wuerffel
- Patrick Ramsay
- Tim Hasselback
- Mark Brunnell
Oh, and in the game itself this weekend, Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers played masterfully in the first half, softly dropping two long passes -- a skinny post and a go route -- into the arms of his sprinting wideouts right in front of our seats at the 20 yard line. In his first, and perhaps only appearance in DC, Brett showed why he is a lock for the Hall of Fame.
Tue. October 12, 2004
Disrespect This
So Michael Jackson is "irked" by a new Eminem music video, "Just Lose It," calling for it to be banned from MTV and such. The stinging Eminem clip shows the mischievous rapper, dressed as Jackson, sitting on a large bed as young boys play behind him. The Gloved One was furious when he got wind of the offending video, calling Eminem's latest work "outrageous and disrespectful."
Hey, if you want respect stop molesting young boys, Michael. Neverland is a fantasy, not a place to live out one's repressed sexual fantasies. Who gives a shit what this warped (and formerly talented) soul thinks anyway. Go get him, Em!
Sun. October 3, 2004
Silverstone No More at 54
Bernie Ecclestone, impresario of Formula One, has had the audacity to drop the British Grand Prix at venerable Silverstone from the Grand Prix calendar for the 2005 season. Weep for the British Grand Prix [GrandPrix.com]. Nigel Mansell called this move "an absolute disgrace."
I agree wholeheartedly. Silverstone was the home of the very first F1 world championship race in 1950 and has been the scene of some of the most famous races of all time. Ecclestone says that the race could still be restored to the schedule if the British Racing Drivers Club, owner of the circuit. can come up with an extra £1.5m. Just another slick, money-grabbing move by Bernie with complete disregard for the history and traditions of the sport.
Fri. October 1, 2004
Legal Morons
This is my kind of law. Calling Lawyer a "Moron" Not Defamatory, Pa. Judge Rules [Law.com]. Judge Gene Cohen of a court of common pleas -- the lowest state trial court in Phildelphia -- said that when one party "blew his stack and called [the defendant] names . . . this conduct alone is legally undifferentiated from any common outburst of anger directed by one person at another person." Amen. It's one of my favorite phrases and now I know I can call any of the lawyers I oppose morons without slandering them. Not that the idiots (TFIs, which smart readers can decipher) would have the cohones to sue me, anyway!
Tue. September 14, 2004
Russian Democrat or Autocrat?
Today the Christian Science Monitor's lead editorial, titled Back To The USSR, cautions that "Vladimir Putin's announced changes to better secure Russia in the wake of the Beslan hostage tragedy work more to secure his own power than his country." Well, nothing new here, except the sophistry that Putin is a democrat (small "d").
Fact is that this is an ex-KGB fellow who longs for the good old days of the Politburo, has had his political opponents kidnapped and executed, and otherwise sought to subvert direct presidential and legislative elections in Russia. So the sad irony is that Mikhael Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin -- both graduates of the hard-line Soviet school -- were better democrats in the old USSR than the only democratically elected president in the new Russian Federation. As Yeltsin prophectically said in 1995, "We don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. Freedom is like that. It's like air. When you have it, you don't notice it."
Putin came to power on a specific pledge to destroy the power of the "oligarch," the mafia gangs that control most Russian business. Yet four years later, behind the smooth facade of a president firmly in control, oligarchs, obstinate regional leaders and corrupt ministers still obstruct efforts at modernization and reform. Now Putin is reversing course on the democratic reforms, first unleashed when Yeltsin stood on that tank in front of the Kremlin in 1991, by which he took power in the first place. Much more like Lenin than Lennon. National Public Radio asks whether Putin is "using incidents of terrorism as a pretext to finish what his opponents say has long been his plan, to become a dictator even as he claims Russia is building a new democracy?" The answer is obvious.
Sat. August 28, 2004
No "I" in Team
Now that the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team has lost three games, poorly -- when America had won the gold medal in almost every Olympics and had not lost even a single game since NBA players first qualified in 1992 -- the dirty secret is out. They just can't play the game. Basically, It's Fundamentals [washingtonpost.com]. From basketball's inclusion in the Olympics in 1936 until this summer, the United States had won every gold medal save three -- in 1972, in a controversial loss to the Soviet Union, 1980, the year of the boycott, and 1988, in Seoul.
That's now well and truly over. As yesterday's Argentinian winner summarized:
That emphasis on individual talent and endorsement deals has turned NBA players into a morass of poor shooting and inept passing, punctuated by an occasional highlight-reel dunk. Even NBA commissioner David Stern agrees, saying "We have a great, great team here," but adding, "I shouldn't say that. We have 12 great basketball players."
And it's not a question of race. American's won't cheer for this team because it is not a team, rather a loose collection of overpaid, pampered one-on-one players. As Mike Wilbon cogently observes, Americans:
The NBA likes to ask if "you've got game." The real question is, does the team have skill. This sad assemblage of trash-talking U.S. basketball jammers is neither skilled nor a team.
Thu. August 26, 2004
Sportsmanship or Incompetence?
Once again, the Olympics have been tainted by a judging scandal. Paul Hamm, who won the gold medal in the men's all-around gymnastics competition with an inspiring comeback after falling during a vaulting routine, is now being pressured to give back the medal. Hamm Asked to Give Gold Medal to Korean Rival [Guardian Unlimited]. It is clear that the judges screwed up, incorrectly calculating the score of a Korean gymnast, giving him the bronze. But the Korean team waited 48 hours before protesting, and the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) refused to change the scoring, since their rules have no provisions to alter results once completed.
Case closed. Or one would think. Today, that same FIG body wrote to the US Olympic Committee, saying that returning the medal voluntarily "would be recognised as the ultimate demonstration of fair play by the whole world." Well, they make the rules, and everyone knows them. Do we change a SuperBowl result if the head coach doesn't ask for a replay? No. Do we change a World Series if the umpire blows a disputed third-strike call? No. I think the USOC response was perfectly appropriate, calling the request to give back Hamm's gold medal "improper, outrageous and so far beyond the bounds of what is acceptable that it refuses to transmit the letter to Mr Hamm." Peter Uberroth, USOC chairman, rightly said that the whole affair "reflects the International Federation's own incompetence." And then FIG president Bruno Grandi, who wrote the letter, was quoted as replying:
What a bunch of inconsistent boobs. Now, even worse is that during this mini-firestorm, no one seems to be focusing on the real tragedy in the gymnastics competition. Russian Alexsei Nemov, winner of 12 Olympic medals (4 gold, 2 silver and 6 bronze) over the years, had been shut out in Athens so far and steeled himself to perform perhaps the most spectacular high-bar routine in history -- what television commentators called "phenomenal," "unreal" and "a very special Olympics moment" -- that included a total of six release moves (more than any other competitor). But the judges gave him a mark of just 9.725, below all the other athletes, so obviously warped that the crowd loudly jeered for 10 minutes, forcing the IOC to intervene and orchestrate a correction. But even then, the score was adjusted so little (.037) that Nemov still finished out of the medals.
Nemov didn't protest, but instead rose to ask the crowd to quiet down, clasping his hands in tribute. A truly class act. That one finger to the lips by the Russian did more to illustrate the real meaning of sportsmanship than the transparently disingenuous morality of the FIG. Nemov was followed by Hamm, who amazingly performed extremely well with the crowd still jeering and whistling, and got a silver medal. He lost the gold under an arcane tie-breaker system after sharing the top score with an Italian gymnast. Hamm didn't protest. And the still-complaining Korean athlete? He folded under the pressure, botching his single release move, breaking the routine and stumbling badly on his dismount. This from someone who claims he should be considered the best all-around gymnast in the world! As the NBC color analysts observed, "Hamm has never messed up a high bar routine that badly in his life."
Champions and sportsmen don't complain. They perform in real-time and accept the results. Hamm and Nemov epitomize that ideal, which should be the Olympic ideal as well. It's the incomptent judges and the sporting bureaucrats who are diminishing sportsmanship here with their bumbling. And the Korean team wants to change the rules after the game has been played. Nemov and Hamm should be treasured, not criticized, and the Koreans can go fuck themselves.
Wed. August 18, 2004
24/7 Reality
David Meier writes in Fool.com about News Corp.'s announcement that it is launching a 24/7 all-reality televsion network, "I abhor the whole reality-TV concept." I just don't get it. TV is about entertainment, and reality television is about as entertaining as web-cams. Who gives a shit about a naked Richard and other losers getting "voted off the island"?
This is sick stuff. If reality TV is America, then we're all Neros watching Rome burn around us. It's a sure sign of a bankrupt society. Just that instead of barbarians at the gate, 1,600 years later we've got them on the tube.
Thu. August 5, 2004
Gag the Courts
I for one am getting sick and tired of courts in this country issuing "gag orders" that prevent parties, witnesses and lawyers from talking to the press. The judge in the Kobe Bryant rape case widened his gag order yesterday to cover the victim's lawyers and colleagues of the trial lawyers. What this means is that, once again, the media will not be permitted to talk to the folks who know best what's going on in the case.
The rationale always given for these kinds of restrictions is that they are necessary to a "fair trial." Yes, trials must be fair. But if there really are people who would decide a case based on TV and media reports, then they should be kept off the jury in the first place. Every survey I have seen says that juries are extremely conscientious and almost always come up with the right result, regardless of what the media circus reports.
There's no conflict between fair trial and the First Amendment. Only between luddite judges and the First Amendment.
Fri. July 30, 2004
Homeland Security, DC-Style
"Why don't you go and take care of some real crime?" This was the quizzical response by a middle-aged woman who was arrested this week for eating in the Washington, DC metro. She was searched, handcuffed and locked up for chewing the last bite of her candy bar after passing through the fare gates -- and released several hours later after paying a $10 fine, pending a hearing.
Silly me. Here I thought that the security and police forces of the nation's capitol were all geared up to protect us from bio-chem and other terrorist attacks. But no crime is too small for ever-vigilant law enforcement, now protecting subway riders from the hateful scourge of smacking lips and jihadist saliva.
Tue. July 27, 2004
Throws Like a Girl
It's just hard to understand what John Kerry is thinking sometimes. He detours his plane to watch the Red Sox play the Yankees at Fenway Park on Sunday night, and then volunteers to throw the ceremonial first pitch. But instead of doing so from the box seats, he takes to the pitcher's mound and bounces the ball off the ground, never making it all the way.
Most people don't know Kerry had shoulder surgery (rotator cuff) on his right arm a few months back, so they will conclude -- as did the folks at ESPN's Pardon The Interruption -- that Kerry just "throws like a girl." That's a terrible way for a politician to introduce himself to the American public. (Of course, the vast right-wing conspiracy has long believed that Kerry throws like a girl, witness this excerpt from a GMA interview about his throwing war medals 30 years ago.)
Is Kerry really like the "girlie men" the Governator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is in trouble for mocking in California? Probably not, but the photo op makes him look like one. Just plain stupid.
Mon. July 26, 2004
Games for Girls
A New Player at The Video Screen [TechNews.com]. Another in a long series of pesudo-exposes about why there are so few video and computer games oriented towards girls. Well, since 61% of all gamers are boys and young men, like Willie Sutton, that's "where the money is." No different than network TV advertisers going after the 18-34 male demographic. They may not like it, but chicks don't count very much in the computer gaming market. That's capitlailsm. Get over it.
Thu. July 22, 2004
"We Have Some Planes"
It's the title of the first chapter of the 9/11 Commission Report, released today, as well as a quote from the terrorists who hijacked American Airlines flight 11 and, after struggling with some brave passengers, crashed into a field in Pennsylvania instead of the White House:
The Commission says it is not attempting to assess blame and is "looking backwards to look forward." I sure wish someone would try and assess blame. The reality that a bunch of two-bit, box-cutter armed idealogs could bring this country to its knees, without a real defense -- and without the scrambled jet fighter pilots even receiving the President's orders to shoot down hostile civilian aircraft used as weapons -- is absurd.
Yes, al Qaeda was ingenious, and as the Commission concluded there was a "failure of imagination," but the dots were there and had been connected by the analysts. The lack of responsibility, and revulsion, about this horrific failure of the country's vital national defense system is just shocking.
Tue. July 20, 2004
You're No Good
Reacting to news stories that Linda Ronstadt was roundly booed off-stage and then fired by the Alladin Casino for making nice comments about Michael Moore during her show, morons.org observes ironically "we all know that True American Patriots go completely batshit insane and start angry mobs whenever somebody says something they don't like." Ah, tolerance is something special, but just something some Americans forget about from time to time.
Sun. July 18, 2004
Swatting Flies
Now the ultra-paranoiod medical establishment says that folks shouldn't squash mosquitos because one elderly woman developed an infection by doing so. Flick Mosquitoes Away Say Doctors [BBC.co.uk]. Don't these morons have something more important to worry about, like curing cancer or AIDS? What a bunch of crap.
Tue. July 13, 2004
Phishing For Bandaids
Last year the U.S. Congress outlawed spam. Of course, the actual legislation was so weak, and covered only American firms, that it was doomed from the start and has done nothing to stop the torrent of unsolicited commercial email.
Now legislators want to make it a crime to engage in "phishing." This is the use of chameleon-like emails, typically made to look as if they originate from a bank, PayPal, eBay or some other financial-related institution, to entice folks to part with sensitive personally identifiable information, like passwords and account numbers. Senate Bill Targets "Phishers" [TechNews.com].
The new bill is a charade. Pfishing is fraud, which is already a civil tort and a crime under both federal and state law. Adding a specific statute ciminalizing this behavior will do nothing to stop it and will not protect consumers who are too stupid to protect themselves. It's grandstanding of the worst sort, because it won't stop the abuses one iota. And don't even get me started on the United Nations' recent declaration of a two-year "war against spam." Worse than empty words.
Mon. June 28, 2004
Cheney's F-Bomb
Vice President Dick Cheney used the "F-word" against Democratic Sen. Pat Leahy at a photo-op session last week, with conservatives now defending his unsolicited vulgarities as "long overdue." (Check out this great political cartoon by Tom Toles.) Well, trash-talking is nothing new for Republicans, except that as Maureen Dowd points out
But some are noting that in an interview with Fox News on Friday, Cheney described his response to Mr. Leahy's attack on his integrity as "appropriate," and said he "felt better" after uttering it. As that paragon of liberalism, the Christian Science Monitor, opined, "[s]uch defensiveness only sets the bar of civil discourse lower." In Dubya's America, one cannot critize the Administration without being told where to shove it. Well, fuck them, too.
Wed. June 16, 2004
Technology and Terrorists
As if the USA PATRIOT Act and calls for a "Patriot Act II" are not bad enough, the Justice Department again demanded today that emerging Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services -- essentially telephone calling via the Internet -- be postponed until they are made compatible with digital wiretapping by the government.
This reminds me of the political debate over gun control, except backwards. Just as "guns don't kill people, criminals do," VoIP doesn't cause terrorism, terrorists do. The government should not take out its paranoia over over the inability of the CIA to get good intelligence on Al Qaeda by restricting the development of technology. Law enforcement has been trying to hamstring the Internet since the days of the "Clipper Chip" and encryption in the Clinton Administration. They were rebuffed then and these new calls to reign-in nascent techologies until law enforcement catches up adopt the same luddite approach. It should go into the dustbin of bad ideas.
Sat. April 24, 2004
JPEGs and Laches
Yesterday a small computer company said that it holds a patent on the JPEG compression format used widely for Web-based images. Forgent Networks, which acquired Compression Labs in 1997, sued 31 major computer manuacturers for patent infringement, claiming they all violate a 1987 patent issued to Compression.
This is absurd. Neither Forgent nor Compression invented the JPEG image compression format. The technology (short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the group which developed it) is in the public domain and is one of two standards for Web graphics. Having waited seven years -- and a full 17 years after the patent was issued -- before asserting any claim of infringement, it seems ludicrous that Forgent should be able to step in at the last moment to muck everything up.
Under U.S. law, the equitable doctrine of laches holds that rights can be waived if not asserted promptly. (Defined as "neglecting to do what should or could have been done to assert a claim or right for an unreasonable and unjustified time causing disadvantage to another.") Simply put, if you "sit on your rights," you lose them. It' also possible that the Federal Trade Commission may find that Compression misled the Intenet task force that originally standardized JPEG by not revealing its patent claims, which could force open licensing as a remedy for anticompeitive patent misuse in the standards process.
But of course, it will probably turn out to be less expensive for Apple, Adobe, Dell and the other defendants to settle than to take this case to its logical conclusion. Sony has already paid $16 million in licensing fees. So little Forgent will profit handsomely from an old patent they inadvertently discovered lying around, and everyone who uses the Web will pay a little more as a result.
Tue. April 20, 2004
Conning London
Kevin Spacey, who in my opinion is absolutely one of the best actors of the last decade, has recanted his claim of being mugged in a London park, admitting he was conned by a teenager into giving up his wireless phone. [SunTimes.com].
So Kevin, what in heaven's name are you doing walking a dog at 4:30 a.m. in Kensington Park? And how can you injure yourself by "tripping over Mini, [your] Jack Russell terrier"? Even the London tabloids are being somewhat restrained in lambasting this incredible story, saying that visting Kensington in the wee hours is a "slightly eccentric thing to do." Others point out that Spacey, who won Oscars for his work in The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, has always denied rumours that he is gay.
Frankly, I don't care either way. Just get your butt back to bed until the sun comes up, Kevin, and no more cavorting with the London pigeons in the middle of the night.
Mon. April 12, 2004
Imminence Defined
Imminence is everything in American politics. President Bush dismissed the August 2001 PDB from his ranch in Crawford, Texas today because "[t]here was nothing there that said, you know, 'There's an imminent attack.'" [CNN.com]. Likewise, six weeks ago CIA director George Tenet defended his agency against charges that its intelligence on Iraqi WMDs was faulty by saying that the CIA never concluded the threat from Saddam Hussein was "imminent."
Of course, most people assume that imminent, as used in these quotes, means "immediate." But the dictionary says that the word has a secondary meaning, namely "full of danger; threatening; menacing; perilous." Both Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein surely meet that definition. So any way one cuts it, the sad fact is that politicians are playing word games with the security of America.
Nothing new there, unfortunately.
Wed. April 7, 2004
Dissent and Regime Change
A top U.S. general in Iraq vowed on Wednesday to "destroy" a Shiite militia led by wanted radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr that has launched a wave of attacks against coalition forces in southern cities. "We will attack to destroy the al-Mahdi Army," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told reporters. "Those attacks will be deliberate, precise and they will be successful." [USAToday.com].
This could be a very serious escalation of the occupation resistance and a terrible long-term blunder. How is it possible to foster democracy in Iraq if the U.S. "destroys" dissenters, especially those who oppose the occupation itself? This is the kind of stuff that gives guerrillas the political advantage. And since insurgents don't need to defeat the occupiers in order to win, how America responds to al-Sadr may well dictate whether we get out of Iraq as scheduled on June 30 and whether the whole thing turns into the sort of quagmire that some have predicted.
Now Rush Limbaugh replies that
Calling an indigenous resistance to foreign occupation -- which is what al-Sadr, a leading Shia cleric, represents -- "terrorists of the world" is precisely the problem. We're lumping all Muslims together and fomenting the very sort of hatred that began so long ago with America's installation by coup d'etat, and long support for, the brutal dictatorship of the Shah of Iran. That blunder, termed by Business Week "regime change that backfired," launched the Iranian revolution of 1979, defeated Jimmy Carter and undermined American international prestige for a decade or more. We're still suffering the consequences.
George Will actually got it right.
So America is the new Napoleonic empire? That's not what I want our country to be, and certainly not how Jefferson, Wilson, Roosevelt (T.R. or Franklin) or even Ronald Reagan believed the U.S. should lead the world.
Sun. April 4, 2004
Hey Einstein!
I've been reading The Fabric of the Cosmos, by Brian Greene, an excellent overview of the advances made in modern theoretical physics over the past 50 years. All of which actually started earlier, when Einstein proved that gravity travels at the speed of light by warping the spacetime continuum, debunking Newton. (Both of whom had autism, interestingly.)
And thus my amazement at a story in today's BBC News about a long-delayed gravity probe to be deployed by NASA with the caption: "Einstein's theories about space have not been proved." Now, if that's not bad enough -- experiments decades ago proved Einstein right by measuring warping of light by the sun during solar eclipses -- but the story ran right next to a sidebar that listed other BBC articles about Einstein. And the most recent one, titled "Einstein Proved Right on Gravity," reports that "The speed of gravity has been measured for the first time, revealing that it does indeed travel at the speed of light. It means that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity has passed yet another test with flying colours."
This is far worse than an inability to master fact checking, it's plain idiotic. A writer at least has to have a basic understanding of the subject in order to write an intelligent story. The lesson must be never to accept scientific stories in the general media. But since we get political, international and business news from these same, highly respected but plainly disfunctional journalistic yo-yos, perish the thought how they are probably screwing that up blood well too.
Sat. April 3, 2004
Oddly Inept
The Bush Administration's handling of the bipartisan Commission investigating the 9/11 tragedy grows worse -- and more strangely self-destructive -- with each passing day. Following its earlier attempts to withhold documents from the panel and then to deny its members vital testimony, it has now been reported that President Bush's staff has been withholding thousands of pages of Clinton Administration papers as well.
Why the Bush team would care about protecting Bill Clinton's views on terrorism is mysterious. Unless, of course, the Bushies were indeed asleep at the switch during the first nine months of 2001. After all, Donald Rumsfeld was actually on Capitol Hill on Sept. 9, threatening a veto of a $600 million diversion from star wars to counter-terrorism.
This latest distressing episode followed the White House's pattern of resisting the Commission in private and then, once the dispute becomes public, as with National Security Advisor Condi Rice, reluctantly giving up. At a time when the American people desperately need reassurance that the government was functional (at the very least), Bush clenched his jaw, threw Rice to the lions and walked away without taking responsibility.
As Bill Press observed yesterday, this is "one of the biggest screw-ups in White House history."
It's bizzare almost beyond belief.
Fri. March 26, 2004
Who's Ridiculous?
After failing miserably in last week's stand-off against al Qaeda's number 2 commander Ayman al-Zawahri, Pakistan called a tape recording released yesterday by the former Egytpian doctor (calling for overthrow of the government of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf) "absolutely ridiculous." [Reuters.com].
Hello? Musharraf ain't got crap except for nuclear bombs -- which he's afraid to use against India, let alone crafty and resourceful guerrillas hiding in mountain tunnels -- and these bin Laden folks have shown a masterful ability to play on public sentiments in the Muslim world. What's is ridiculous is that even now, a good 2 1/2 years after 9/11, neither the U.S. nor its purported allies can lay a feather on al Qaeda's leadership. President Bush promised the nation in September 2001 that he would "root out" the terrorists, but so far all we've got is a bunch of journeyman teenagers in Guantanamo and a 20th highjacker the federal government is afraid to put on trial because he wants to introduce testimony from the few real terrorists in U.S. custody. Someone needs to do a root canal on al Qaeda.
Mon. March 15, 2004
Rebuild On Someone Else's Dime
Having spent a month trading nearly nearly every veteran player on their roster, the Washington Capitals now face the challenge of embarking on a "rebuilding" phase led by a bunch of minor-leaguers and teenagers. Wrong Turns, Long Road Back [washingtonpost.com]. This may have been a good financial decision for a franchise that was losing $20 million per season, but it makes no sense for someone like me who was paying top dollar for season tickets. There's no way I can justify $100+ per ticket for 42 home games when the talent isn't there and the team is mired in the cellar, next-to-last in the National Hockey League.
And things are just not going to improve any time soon.
Well, they should have thought about what the team will look like before they scattered it to the wind. You've lost my business, Ted. Of course, I told you that a year ago. And if you keep peddling a second-rate product played by a bunch of rank amateurs, there's going to be a line following me out the doors of MCI Center -- forever.
Fri. March 12, 2004
Too Damn Fat
This week the House of Representatives passed a bill limiting consumers' ability to sue the food industry over obesity. It's usually a bad sign when Congress legislates in the tort area -- meaning that special interests typically want to protect themselves at the expense of the rest of us -- but here they're got a good point. Since when should or can it be unlawful for firms to sell food to folks who lack the self-control to stop eating or who load up on calories to the point they get obese?
Restaurants don't overeat, people do. If you're fat, you're fat. There's only one person to blame, and it ain't Ray Kroc. Stop complaining, get out of court and start up the treadmill. Just another sign of America's obession with making everyone into a victim. Our society needs to accept some personal responsibilty and stop blaming others. As Wisconsin Republican Jim Sensenbrenner remarked, "Look in the mirror because you're the one to blame."
Tue. March 9, 2004
Death To Muhammad
This is NOT an entry directed to Muslims, but rather one about a depraved murderer -- the "Washington sniper" of two years ago -- who unfortunately shares a name with the revered Islamic prophet. Today, John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death in a Northern Virginia courtroom for his role in the October 2002 killing spree that left 10 innocent people randomly dead and terrorized the Washington region for more than a month. The sentencing judge concluded that "These cases were so vile that they were almost beyond comprehension."
I am no fan of the death penalty generally, and find it sad that America shares with North Korea and South Africa the sordid distinction of maintaining the "ultimate penalty" that has been discarded in every other civilzed Western nation. But if there ever is a criminal case in which death is the right answer, this is it. Good riddance, John Allen.
Sun. March 7, 2004
Martha's Web of Deceit
As predicted here last Thursday, Martha Stewart was convicted for fraud and obstruction of justice as a result of lying about her stock sales of ImClone. The jury reported that the queen of home decorating was done in by a "self-spun web of deceit." And in an interesting note, one juror added that "[i]f they can introduce something new at the appeal, I would be very surprised. I don't see how an appeal will work." Martha, you've been nailed, solidly. Close the books on this one.
Thu. March 4, 2004
"Martha Stewart Living," Behind Bars?
Yessiree, looks like Martha is going down. Martha Stewart Jurors Focus on Testimony of SEC Attorney [sfgate.com]. I don't like the fact that the government sued her for perjury instead of directly for securities fraud (insider trading), but lying is lying. She and her broker pal Bacanovic seem to have made up an incredible story, a whopper the jury is set to disbelieve. We should know by the end of the week.
Mon. January 26, 2004
Yes, We Have No WMDs
The chief U.S. weapons-hunter in occupied Iraq, David Kay, now says that "we are very unlikely to find large stockpiles of weapons. I don't think they exist." Ex-Iraq Arms Hunter Blames Data for Failure [LATimes.com]. So White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan announced in reaction that "Saddam Hussein's regime was a gathering threat, and in a post-Sept. 11 world, we must confront gathering threats before it is too late."
That's well and true. But is it necessary to lie to your own people, and the world, in order to do so? The sad part is that the Bushies would have had the same overwhelming support of Americans -- and the same opposition from the goodie-goodies and pacificsts at the UN and the EU -- had they come straight and not manufactured stories about Saddam's WMD stockpiles. Now, in hindsight, the whole thing is looking very much silly.
It's way too late to argue that imminent threat of WMDs was not the principal justification for the war. That the Bush Administration's continued efforts to try to deny and deflect reality shows only their disdain for real democracy or their underlying hubris -- or maybe both.
Fri. January 23, 2004
The Angry Man
Political commentators and late-night comedians are just tickled to death over Howard Dean's rant last Monday night -- to a bunch of college supporters -- in which, after losing the Iowa caucuses, he screamed, shreaked and overall acted just plain old pissed off. A Dean Roar is Echoing Far [ Philadelphia Inquirer].
I for one do not understand what's at all wrong with an outside-the-beltway candidate being angry at the sorry state of affairs that American national politics has come to be in Washington. After all, Ronald Reagan got mad a George Bush 41 in New Hampshire in 1980, shouting "I paid for this microphone" when Bush wanted to duck a debate. I still believe Peter Finch was right in the 1976 Acadamy Award winning film Network. "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore."
So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!!"
We could use some more anger in America these days.
Thu. January 15, 2004
You Can't Handle the Truth
Conservatives have had a field day with Ted Kennedy's speech of yesterday, calling him a "gassbag" who cannot handle the truth. "The truth is," according to Angela Phelps of Human Events, that "if any American lived a single day under the former dictator of Iraq, they too would have been screaming for regime change in Iraq."
Duh! No one disagrees with that. But this country has long ago -- read nearly 100 years -- given up on the Wilsonian notion that America can or should remake the world politically in her own image. When the Right argues such blatantly liberal notions as human rights as the basis for new war policies, something really weird is going on. And almost no one seems to notice or care how backwards this all is.
Some have called the Bush Administration's philosophy "democratic imperialism," with a small "d" and an emphasis on the second word. That's the truth. But neo-conservatives can't handle the fact that they have been spouting flamingly liberal doctrine in support of their imperialistic aims, so they just made up the imminent threat of WMDs. That's the truth.
Fri. January 9, 2004
A Trial For Osama
Conservatives have had a great time the past month lambasting Howard Dean for suggesting that Osama bin Laden, if captured, should be put on trial and that his guilt should not be presumed. Well, just so happens that President Bush himself said the same thing -- about the tyrant Saddam Hussein -- in a December 15 news conference:
You're not supposed to pre-judge.
QUESTION: Yes. I'm just counting the years.
OK, good.
QUESTION: Do you believe that the