Due to lack of interest (and apparent lack of appreciation), I am going to stop making posts. It's been fun and even good for me to sharpen my writing, but the only comments I get are from Skip and Skip and I can just rant to each other on our own.
However, if I have underestimated the size of my modest audience, then I will continue. But you're going to have to beg. Comments from people other than Skip will help me know that this Blog is something more than vanity and insanity (vinsanity?).
-- Laz
Monday, October 31, 2005
Friday, October 28, 2005
Gate Gate
There needs to be a cooling off period in which elected officials can enact laws following tragic or seminal events. In almost every instance, overreaction by those we elect to run our lives has ruled the day. During times of turmoil, Congress has not been the deliberative body as designed by our Fore Fathers.
Witness the law that created the independent prosecutor that sprang out of Watergate. That’s one ineffective piece of legislation.
If you’re over 30, you’ve been through a number of gates: Pardongate, Billygate, Iran/Contragate (twice), Travelgate, Whitewatergate, Monicagate, Electiongate, and now Leakgate. The Canadian Mounties, who always got their man, would find little to be proud of with the investigations that followed. A lot of investigating and very little getting of anyone. At least for the underlying crimes, that is.
Today Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald handed down a five-count indictment for lying to investigators on I. “Scooter” Libby, the Vice President’s chief of staff. First off, anyone named Scooter should be indicted for bad taste in nicknames. But is that what Fitzgerald was asked to do, catch someone for lying to the Feds? I thought the greater national interest was finding out who supposedly leaked the name of a poorly-covered undercover CIA agent. On that score, we don’t know. The only people who know are the reporters who wrote about it and they’re too busy lecturing on journalistic integrity to take the time to fill us in.
The history on this is bizarre. Robert Novak writes a column in which he unknowingly identifies the name of former NOC (non-official cover), Valerie Plame. Novak, apparently, was told her identity by someone who he says was not high up in the White House – which leaves all of those under fire out of the picture. Now Novak knows who told him about Plame, but as far as we know, he has never told the Grand Jury who outed her. Presumably the same is true for the other reporters who carried the story, including New York Times reporter Judith Miller who spent 85 days in jail for refusing to tell the Grand Jury what she knew and when she stopped knowing it. It's difficult to believe she stayed there to protect Libby.
One thing is certain, Novak and the others didn’t have to go far to learn about Valerie Plame and her secret agent past. Her husband, Joe Wilson, was so proud of her that he wrote in his official State Department biography, years before the outing, that he was married to the former “Valerie Plame who works at the Central Intelligence Agency.” Even French intelligence could have connected the dots on that one.
I don’t know if Scooter Libby or others are guilty of anything, or if this will hurt the president, or even if it will hurt the war effort. I do know a lot of sound and fury was wasted to find out nothing that we wanted to know. While it’s certainly a rough day for the Libby family, it should be a day of shame for the reporters who have eagerly covered a story that only they know the truth about. And they’re not telling.
Witness the law that created the independent prosecutor that sprang out of Watergate. That’s one ineffective piece of legislation.
If you’re over 30, you’ve been through a number of gates: Pardongate, Billygate, Iran/Contragate (twice), Travelgate, Whitewatergate, Monicagate, Electiongate, and now Leakgate. The Canadian Mounties, who always got their man, would find little to be proud of with the investigations that followed. A lot of investigating and very little getting of anyone. At least for the underlying crimes, that is.
Today Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald handed down a five-count indictment for lying to investigators on I. “Scooter” Libby, the Vice President’s chief of staff. First off, anyone named Scooter should be indicted for bad taste in nicknames. But is that what Fitzgerald was asked to do, catch someone for lying to the Feds? I thought the greater national interest was finding out who supposedly leaked the name of a poorly-covered undercover CIA agent. On that score, we don’t know. The only people who know are the reporters who wrote about it and they’re too busy lecturing on journalistic integrity to take the time to fill us in.
The history on this is bizarre. Robert Novak writes a column in which he unknowingly identifies the name of former NOC (non-official cover), Valerie Plame. Novak, apparently, was told her identity by someone who he says was not high up in the White House – which leaves all of those under fire out of the picture. Now Novak knows who told him about Plame, but as far as we know, he has never told the Grand Jury who outed her. Presumably the same is true for the other reporters who carried the story, including New York Times reporter Judith Miller who spent 85 days in jail for refusing to tell the Grand Jury what she knew and when she stopped knowing it. It's difficult to believe she stayed there to protect Libby.
One thing is certain, Novak and the others didn’t have to go far to learn about Valerie Plame and her secret agent past. Her husband, Joe Wilson, was so proud of her that he wrote in his official State Department biography, years before the outing, that he was married to the former “Valerie Plame who works at the Central Intelligence Agency.” Even French intelligence could have connected the dots on that one.
I don’t know if Scooter Libby or others are guilty of anything, or if this will hurt the president, or even if it will hurt the war effort. I do know a lot of sound and fury was wasted to find out nothing that we wanted to know. While it’s certainly a rough day for the Libby family, it should be a day of shame for the reporters who have eagerly covered a story that only they know the truth about. And they’re not telling.
Political Fatigue
Madeline Kahn had a great song and dance routine from Blazing Saddles in which she gives the impression she has had to satisfy the entire army of the Third Reich. At the end of the song she collapses in a chair and says, “Let’s face it, I’m tired.”
For a slightly different reason (and in deference to Mrs. Sladed who has scolded me for risqué Blogging), I also feel tired.
Since about 1991, we have lived in the most polarized political country in the history of polarized political countries. During the Nineties, Bill Clinton and his “War Room” ran every policy objective as if it was an extension of his presidential campaign. Messages were honed with constant polling and, as in all campaigns, villains were created and solutions/heroes were the savior.
During that time the “politics of personal destruction” – a term coined by the Clinton Administration to describe republican counter-tactics, but practiced to perfection by the Clintons – became a part of every day political life. Republicans fired back through a series of independent prosecutors and constant demonizing of Clinton and the left. Talk radio – still largely right wing – carried the ball for the republicans, who have always been less adept at return fire, and stoked the fire of rage in what was described in 1994 as the “Angry White Man.”
It was easy to get sucked in for a while. It was difficult to watch Clinton on TV without throwing loose objects at his smug face as he was opening his mouth and, hence, lying. A few years and TVs later, he just became a sad political caricature. He and his helpers wasted his last term on defending the mostly indefensible rather than attempting to achieve any policy goals. Every night, it seemed, there was somebody new explaining why Linda Tripp was evil and Clinton was a victim of a “vast right-wing conspiracy” rather than the truth about him: that he was a misogynistic spoiled child who cared very little for those who had to pay the heavy price for his transgressions. I don’t think I have seen that much water carried for anyone since Gunga Din.
Fast forward to today, and we’re engaged in the same rough and tumble battle of bare-knuckled politics. It’s dragged on so long it almost makes the 100 Years War seem like a fast game of tennis. The game plan is basically the same; it’s just that the sides have changed. Now my democrat friends (yes, some of my best friends are democrats) are spending their weekends buying new television sets and, for the first time, I understand their anger, because I had the same rage in me during the last presidency.
I guess the reason these political battles are waged is because they work. Clinton was, for the most part, marginalized for the last four years of his presidency and it seems Bush, a lame duck with some lame political moves, is headed for the same trash heap of irrelevant political leaders. And the country is lesser for both sets of lost years of leadership.
So both sides have had their pound of flesh and now let’s endeavor to do what’s right for the country. The next presidential election is a mere three years away so that means we have to decide who we want now. I can’t tell you the person I will support, but he or she will have the qualities of someone who will unite the country rather than divide it. I just don’t believe the republic can survive another eight years of politics as usual. Pray we lose the cynicism and have the sense to stop the division in our government.
For a slightly different reason (and in deference to Mrs. Sladed who has scolded me for risqué Blogging), I also feel tired.
Since about 1991, we have lived in the most polarized political country in the history of polarized political countries. During the Nineties, Bill Clinton and his “War Room” ran every policy objective as if it was an extension of his presidential campaign. Messages were honed with constant polling and, as in all campaigns, villains were created and solutions/heroes were the savior.
During that time the “politics of personal destruction” – a term coined by the Clinton Administration to describe republican counter-tactics, but practiced to perfection by the Clintons – became a part of every day political life. Republicans fired back through a series of independent prosecutors and constant demonizing of Clinton and the left. Talk radio – still largely right wing – carried the ball for the republicans, who have always been less adept at return fire, and stoked the fire of rage in what was described in 1994 as the “Angry White Man.”
It was easy to get sucked in for a while. It was difficult to watch Clinton on TV without throwing loose objects at his smug face as he was opening his mouth and, hence, lying. A few years and TVs later, he just became a sad political caricature. He and his helpers wasted his last term on defending the mostly indefensible rather than attempting to achieve any policy goals. Every night, it seemed, there was somebody new explaining why Linda Tripp was evil and Clinton was a victim of a “vast right-wing conspiracy” rather than the truth about him: that he was a misogynistic spoiled child who cared very little for those who had to pay the heavy price for his transgressions. I don’t think I have seen that much water carried for anyone since Gunga Din.
Fast forward to today, and we’re engaged in the same rough and tumble battle of bare-knuckled politics. It’s dragged on so long it almost makes the 100 Years War seem like a fast game of tennis. The game plan is basically the same; it’s just that the sides have changed. Now my democrat friends (yes, some of my best friends are democrats) are spending their weekends buying new television sets and, for the first time, I understand their anger, because I had the same rage in me during the last presidency.
I guess the reason these political battles are waged is because they work. Clinton was, for the most part, marginalized for the last four years of his presidency and it seems Bush, a lame duck with some lame political moves, is headed for the same trash heap of irrelevant political leaders. And the country is lesser for both sets of lost years of leadership.
So both sides have had their pound of flesh and now let’s endeavor to do what’s right for the country. The next presidential election is a mere three years away so that means we have to decide who we want now. I can’t tell you the person I will support, but he or she will have the qualities of someone who will unite the country rather than divide it. I just don’t believe the republic can survive another eight years of politics as usual. Pray we lose the cynicism and have the sense to stop the division in our government.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
On "Magic" Numbers
My car passed a mileage milestone today; 5,251 miles. Unlike a lot of people, I don’t get excited when my odometer slips pass a “magic” number such as 100,000 (in part because I don’t keep a car that long). I never understood the excitement about these zero-oriented numbers because every mile is a milestone in its own way. My car will only pass 10,000 miles once, but it will also only pass 5,251 miles once too.
And the relevance of mentioning this today is because many were at the ready to announce U.S. military deaths in Iraq has surpassed 2,000. For some reason, the headline in the Sacramento Bee-Minus yells “Iraq Deaths Surpass 2,000.” Someone please tell me the difference between 1,999 and 2,000. Why is it any more important that another person dies to make it a nice, round number? Isn’t 1,888 a nice round number too? I’m sure the family of the 999th person to die in combat in Iraq isn’t cursing the fact that their son or daughter didn’t have the forethought to wait a few more days to be the 1,000th. In war, a death is death and always tragic and always sad.
If we want to get technical, we can argue about the number. We’re the 2,000 killed all in combat or were some from accidents? There have also been some killed from friendly fire and some killed when one GI decided to murder another GI. Are they counted? And who was the 2,000th, since I think we are actually at 2,003 as five were killed in one day? If we’re going to make a big deal about these roll-over numbers, we have to have some rules, don’t we?
Well, here is how some people are celebrating this news, apart from the Bee that is always too ready to kick the Administration in the shins: Cindy Sheehan has decided to chain herself to the White House. MoveOn.org has put out an ad that asks, “How many more have to die in vain?” and then with incongruous Chutzpah that can only come from the left, announces candlelight vigils in numerous cities for our fallen soldiers. Editorials in numerous papers – likely written at or about the time 1,883 soldiers were killed – have all somberly written about this sad milestone as if there was any significant difference between today and yesterday. It makes one feel sorry about the next death as that poor bastard is going to be ignored by everyone.
If you’re playing for the Al Qaeda team or you’ve just sent away for your junior strap-on bomb making kit from your uncle who runs Hezbollah, the attention paid to the Big Round Number must warm the cockles. If Cindy Sheehan wasn’t starting to look more and more like Dorian Gray she could be a poster child for terrorist recruitment. The fact is that our free press and free speech laws – something that doesn’t exist in any Islamic country – have been very helpful to terrorists and their goals. They know that if enough Americans believe what Mama Sheehan and MoveOn.org believes, there will be enough public pressure to pull all of our troops out of all “occupied Arab lands.” Anyone who doesn’t see a pullout as a victory for terrorism and a demonstration of weakness to an enemy that has preyed on our past weaknesses just doesn’t know what we’re dealing with.
But I do have a solution for Ms. Sheehan who has to be somewhat miffed that Katrina took her off the front pages. I say let her stay chained to the White House. People can walk by and tell her what they think of her; both good and bad. Perhaps, if one had the inclination and happened to be carrying face paint around DC, passersby could paint her face with clown features or make their own statement on her forehead. There used to be a day we chained people in the town square as punishment and upstanding members of the community would offer friendly comments on proper decorum for their citizens’ behavior. Mother Sheehan is indeed an inspiration to bring back those days. Wait, we don’t have to bring them back, she just needs to chain herself to a different venue as this is a common form of punishment in Islamic states!
And I guess that’s where all this debate gets a bit confusing for me. Sheehan and her friends feign sorrow over the loss of lives but help create a situation that will prolong our involvement in the region, leaving more to die as Jane Fonda did by offering comfort to the NVA in 1966. To make it more puzzling, by publicly denouncing U.S. military policy, they de facto place themselves in the camp of the people who are not only killing soldiers like Sheehan’s son, but their belief system wouldn’t stand for a second the kind of camera hogging that Sheehan has indulged in.
Those who know me understand that I am all for public debate. I think it is what has made this country special and plays an important role as a check and balance to our elected officials. Just the same, free speech carries responsibilities for the speakers. If you don’t agree, let’s have a loud debate about fires in a crowded theater.
And the relevance of mentioning this today is because many were at the ready to announce U.S. military deaths in Iraq has surpassed 2,000. For some reason, the headline in the Sacramento Bee-Minus yells “Iraq Deaths Surpass 2,000.” Someone please tell me the difference between 1,999 and 2,000. Why is it any more important that another person dies to make it a nice, round number? Isn’t 1,888 a nice round number too? I’m sure the family of the 999th person to die in combat in Iraq isn’t cursing the fact that their son or daughter didn’t have the forethought to wait a few more days to be the 1,000th. In war, a death is death and always tragic and always sad.
If we want to get technical, we can argue about the number. We’re the 2,000 killed all in combat or were some from accidents? There have also been some killed from friendly fire and some killed when one GI decided to murder another GI. Are they counted? And who was the 2,000th, since I think we are actually at 2,003 as five were killed in one day? If we’re going to make a big deal about these roll-over numbers, we have to have some rules, don’t we?
Well, here is how some people are celebrating this news, apart from the Bee that is always too ready to kick the Administration in the shins: Cindy Sheehan has decided to chain herself to the White House. MoveOn.org has put out an ad that asks, “How many more have to die in vain?” and then with incongruous Chutzpah that can only come from the left, announces candlelight vigils in numerous cities for our fallen soldiers. Editorials in numerous papers – likely written at or about the time 1,883 soldiers were killed – have all somberly written about this sad milestone as if there was any significant difference between today and yesterday. It makes one feel sorry about the next death as that poor bastard is going to be ignored by everyone.
If you’re playing for the Al Qaeda team or you’ve just sent away for your junior strap-on bomb making kit from your uncle who runs Hezbollah, the attention paid to the Big Round Number must warm the cockles. If Cindy Sheehan wasn’t starting to look more and more like Dorian Gray she could be a poster child for terrorist recruitment. The fact is that our free press and free speech laws – something that doesn’t exist in any Islamic country – have been very helpful to terrorists and their goals. They know that if enough Americans believe what Mama Sheehan and MoveOn.org believes, there will be enough public pressure to pull all of our troops out of all “occupied Arab lands.” Anyone who doesn’t see a pullout as a victory for terrorism and a demonstration of weakness to an enemy that has preyed on our past weaknesses just doesn’t know what we’re dealing with.
But I do have a solution for Ms. Sheehan who has to be somewhat miffed that Katrina took her off the front pages. I say let her stay chained to the White House. People can walk by and tell her what they think of her; both good and bad. Perhaps, if one had the inclination and happened to be carrying face paint around DC, passersby could paint her face with clown features or make their own statement on her forehead. There used to be a day we chained people in the town square as punishment and upstanding members of the community would offer friendly comments on proper decorum for their citizens’ behavior. Mother Sheehan is indeed an inspiration to bring back those days. Wait, we don’t have to bring them back, she just needs to chain herself to a different venue as this is a common form of punishment in Islamic states!
And I guess that’s where all this debate gets a bit confusing for me. Sheehan and her friends feign sorrow over the loss of lives but help create a situation that will prolong our involvement in the region, leaving more to die as Jane Fonda did by offering comfort to the NVA in 1966. To make it more puzzling, by publicly denouncing U.S. military policy, they de facto place themselves in the camp of the people who are not only killing soldiers like Sheehan’s son, but their belief system wouldn’t stand for a second the kind of camera hogging that Sheehan has indulged in.
Those who know me understand that I am all for public debate. I think it is what has made this country special and plays an important role as a check and balance to our elected officials. Just the same, free speech carries responsibilities for the speakers. If you don’t agree, let’s have a loud debate about fires in a crowded theater.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Crazy Pacers Lead the East
It’s no longer the “Leasts of the East.” The East is back on the rise in the NBA with talent shifting via free agency, trades and draft picks to create a few powerhouse teams. Of course most of the worst teams are in the East too so, while there is a rarely a soft schedule in the West, East teams will be able to toy with a few of the weaker franchises.
The Atlantic Division may not have a team finishing above .500 and Atlanta, bless their hearts, may not win 15 games this year and New Jersey, reeling from the loss of Brian Scalabrine to free agency, just looks awful.
Still, Miami, Detroit, Indiana, and up and coming teams in Chicago, Cleveland and Washington should make for an interesting season. A key injury here and there – or more suspensions in Indiana – will make the difference.
Most people think Miami has all the guns they need this year. While it’s true that any team with Shaq in the middle has a chance, the Heat still seem to be missing a few pieces. They also made a lot of strange off-season moves to a team that took Detroit to seven games in the Conference Championship. I’m not sure I would have tinkered with the team that was really playing its first season together. The Heat added Antoine Walker who needs 25 shots per game at the same time Shaq is demanding the ball more, and they traded steady Eddie Jones for James Posey and Jason Williams. Williams and Dwayne Wade will make a decent backcourt but both will want to push the ball at every opportunity; meaning they will be at one basket while Shaq is at the other. In other words, every move the Heat made gives Shaq the ball less. We’ll see a lot of two on four fast breaks, three-point shots by Walker and Williams before Shaq gets set, and very little half-court offense because, with the exception of Shaq, this isn’t a half-court team. They should win the Southeast quite easily, though, and get a high playoff seed.
The Pistons have essentially the same team that has been in the NBA Championship the past two years. They only have one key missing component and that is coach Larry Brown. They players said quietly they hated Brown and wanted him to leave. Now that they have gotten their way, I suspect they will realize two things: Flip Saunders can’t coach, and Larry Brown can. Still look for good years from Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton, but age may start to get to Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, and Antonio McDyess. I think we’ll see more of Darko this year as he crawls out of the Brown Doghouse and I like the athleticism of Maurice Evans but not sure he’ll see much playing time.
The only other team that has a chance is Indiana. After the injuries and suspensions last year, the Pacers are back in full and have a simmering anger over the events of last year that may give them purpose behind their talent; something they have never had. Ron Artest has come back with a vengeance during pre-season and the Pacers have a strong starting five to go with him in Jermaine O’Neal (assuming he stays healthy), Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley, and a couple of stiffs to play center in Jeff Foster or Scot Pollard. Depth will be a bit of problem if injuries strike again as only Fred Jones and Jonathan Bender are any good. Lithuanian Sarunas Jasikevicius may surprise a few people and is someone to watch.
Of the remaining teams, Washington looks pretty strong despite losing Larry Hughes (who will be aptly replaced by Caron Butler giving the Wizards the tallest backcourt in the League). Cleveland could also surprise this year just because it has LeBron James. But the Cavs have also added the aforementioned Hughes and three-point specialist Damon Jones an
d have one of the most underrated players in the League in 7-3 center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. They also have a bit of depth they didn’t have last year.
I also have to mention the 76ers or Emily will hate me. I think they will win a very weak division but AI has to give the ball up more and trust his teammates -- as long as he doesn't give it up to C-Webb who just doesn't flow well in an offense in which he is not the central figure. He also broke up with Tyra Banks and that has to hurt his self-esteem.
A lot of pundits think the Chicago Bulls are back near the top this year. Essentially, they’re three best players are point guards, Tyson Chandler is looking more like Michael Olowokandi than Yao Ming, and they traded away their only power players in Eddie Curry and Antonio Davis for a loaf of day old bread. Figure the Bulls to finish behind Indiana, Detroit and Cleveland in their own division making them a low playoff team at best.
Predictions:
Atlantic
Philadelphia*
Boston*
New York
Toronto
New Jersey
Central
Indiana*
Detroit*
Cleveland*
Chicago*
Milwaukee
Southeast
Miami*
Washington*
Orlando
Charlotte
Atlanta
* Playoff team
Round 1
Indiana vs. Boston
Miami vs. Chicago
Detroit vs. Cleveland
Philadelphia vs. Washington
Round 2
Indiana vs. Detroit
Miami vs. Philly
Championship:
Indiana vs. Miami
Winner
Indiana
The Atlantic Division may not have a team finishing above .500 and Atlanta, bless their hearts, may not win 15 games this year and New Jersey, reeling from the loss of Brian Scalabrine to free agency, just looks awful.
Still, Miami, Detroit, Indiana, and up and coming teams in Chicago, Cleveland and Washington should make for an interesting season. A key injury here and there – or more suspensions in Indiana – will make the difference.
Most people think Miami has all the guns they need this year. While it’s true that any team with Shaq in the middle has a chance, the Heat still seem to be missing a few pieces. They also made a lot of strange off-season moves to a team that took Detroit to seven games in the Conference Championship. I’m not sure I would have tinkered with the team that was really playing its first season together. The Heat added Antoine Walker who needs 25 shots per game at the same time Shaq is demanding the ball more, and they traded steady Eddie Jones for James Posey and Jason Williams. Williams and Dwayne Wade will make a decent backcourt but both will want to push the ball at every opportunity; meaning they will be at one basket while Shaq is at the other. In other words, every move the Heat made gives Shaq the ball less. We’ll see a lot of two on four fast breaks, three-point shots by Walker and Williams before Shaq gets set, and very little half-court offense because, with the exception of Shaq, this isn’t a half-court team. They should win the Southeast quite easily, though, and get a high playoff seed.
The Pistons have essentially the same team that has been in the NBA Championship the past two years. They only have one key missing component and that is coach Larry Brown. They players said quietly they hated Brown and wanted him to leave. Now that they have gotten their way, I suspect they will realize two things: Flip Saunders can’t coach, and Larry Brown can. Still look for good years from Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton, but age may start to get to Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, and Antonio McDyess. I think we’ll see more of Darko this year as he crawls out of the Brown Doghouse and I like the athleticism of Maurice Evans but not sure he’ll see much playing time.
The only other team that has a chance is Indiana. After the injuries and suspensions last year, the Pacers are back in full and have a simmering anger over the events of last year that may give them purpose behind their talent; something they have never had. Ron Artest has come back with a vengeance during pre-season and the Pacers have a strong starting five to go with him in Jermaine O’Neal (assuming he stays healthy), Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley, and a couple of stiffs to play center in Jeff Foster or Scot Pollard. Depth will be a bit of problem if injuries strike again as only Fred Jones and Jonathan Bender are any good. Lithuanian Sarunas Jasikevicius may surprise a few people and is someone to watch.
Of the remaining teams, Washington looks pretty strong despite losing Larry Hughes (who will be aptly replaced by Caron Butler giving the Wizards the tallest backcourt in the League). Cleveland could also surprise this year just because it has LeBron James. But the Cavs have also added the aforementioned Hughes and three-point specialist Damon Jones an
d have one of the most underrated players in the League in 7-3 center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. They also have a bit of depth they didn’t have last year.I also have to mention the 76ers or Emily will hate me. I think they will win a very weak division but AI has to give the ball up more and trust his teammates -- as long as he doesn't give it up to C-Webb who just doesn't flow well in an offense in which he is not the central figure. He also broke up with Tyra Banks and that has to hurt his self-esteem.
A lot of pundits think the Chicago Bulls are back near the top this year. Essentially, they’re three best players are point guards, Tyson Chandler is looking more like Michael Olowokandi than Yao Ming, and they traded away their only power players in Eddie Curry and Antonio Davis for a loaf of day old bread. Figure the Bulls to finish behind Indiana, Detroit and Cleveland in their own division making them a low playoff team at best.
Predictions:
Atlantic
Philadelphia*
Boston*
New York
Toronto
New Jersey
Central
Indiana*
Detroit*
Cleveland*
Chicago*
Milwaukee
Southeast
Miami*
Washington*
Orlando
Charlotte
Atlanta
* Playoff team
Round 1
Indiana vs. Boston
Miami vs. Chicago
Detroit vs. Cleveland
Philadelphia vs. Washington
Round 2
Indiana vs. Detroit
Miami vs. Philly
Championship:
Indiana vs. Miami
Winner
Indiana
Sunday, October 16, 2005
The Kings in Seven!
You can skip the following post about disease and pestilence if you’re not into ruining your day. On the eve of beginning of the 2005-2006 NBA season, it’s important that I state my predictions for the upcoming year and add a little expert insight. Of course you may disagree, but you’d be wrong.
The most important question on everyone’s mind is; is this the year for the Sacramento Kings? Yes, of course it is – every year is. It’s just that it may be more probable this year. They have a lot going for them this year with the additions of Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Wells gives them a new head case AND a two-guard who can post up most opponents. Abdur-Rahim, while always being on a losing team (including Cal), is a legitimate 20 and 10 power forward without being the “Born Under a Bad Star” Chris Webber.
Mike Bibby is one of the steadiest point guards in the league, Brad Miller, although you can’t stick a newspaper under his feet when he jumps, adds shooting and passing skills at the center position, and this had better be the best season for Peja Stojakovic as he is entering into a free agent year. Coupled with a stronger bench of Kenny Thomas, Brian Skinner, Corliss Williamson, and Jason Hart and the Kings look to have the depth they didn’t have last year. They also have a full training camp together that won’t be as disruptive as last year when they made two major personnel changes.
I suppose you’ll year a lot about the Spurs in the coming months. Just because they are a better team than last year’s NBA Championship team doesn’t necessarily make them the odds on favorite to repeat this year. Just because they’ve added the steady Michael Finley, King-killer Nick Van Exel and Argentinean stud Fabricio Oberto to their already star-studded lineup means nothing. It’s chemistry that’s important and enough basketballs to go around. Just because they have the best coach in the NBA who also happens to be the best at managing his team’s minutes is less meaningful than Tony Parker ending up on the cover of US Magazine in a publicized spat with Eva Longoria. Why think of basketball when you have her to come home to anyway?
Of the other contenders in the West last year, only Houston has improved while Dallas has fallen a bit, Seattle lost a few key players to free agency, Minnesota only has Wally and Garnett left, and Phoenix has lost its best player for at least two-thirds of the season as well as making a few weird off-season trades. Memphis made some good and bad moves in the off season and I wonder if they have the stuff to make the playoffs. As for the Lakers, who knows? A certain somebody who thinks they know a lot about basketball says Phil Jackson will be the X-factor. I think we’ll find out if he’s a good coach or just a lucky coach who has had the best four or five players in NBA history. Nine championships are meaningless unless you coach a team like the Clippers and take them to the Promised Land.
If you’re looking for rising teams, the Warriors look loaded this year and so do the Clippers, but everyone says it’s the Clippers year every year and they never make the playoffs. This year really could be the year for them, though.
Here’s my prediction for the West:
Southwest
San Antonio*
Houston*
Dallas*
Memphis
New Orleans
Northwest
Denver*
Seattle*
Minnesota
Portland
Utah
Pacific
Sacramento*
Phoenix*
Golden State*
Clippers
Lakers
* Playoff teams
After the first round, the four remaining survivors will be San Antonio, Houston, Sacramento and Dallas. Sacramento will defeat Houston and San Antonio will beat Dallas. In the West final, San Antonio will defeat the Kings in seven games but the West championship will be given to the Kings because it will be determined that Robert Horry’s foot was on the line for a game-winning three in the final game. Well, it’s about time something good happened to the Kings, isn’t it?
Later I will make my predictions on the East.
The most important question on everyone’s mind is; is this the year for the Sacramento Kings? Yes, of course it is – every year is. It’s just that it may be more probable this year. They have a lot going for them this year with the additions of Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Wells gives them a new head case AND a two-guard who can post up most opponents. Abdur-Rahim, while always being on a losing team (including Cal), is a legitimate 20 and 10 power forward without being the “Born Under a Bad Star” Chris Webber.
Mike Bibby is one of the steadiest point guards in the league, Brad Miller, although you can’t stick a newspaper under his feet when he jumps, adds shooting and passing skills at the center position, and this had better be the best season for Peja Stojakovic as he is entering into a free agent year. Coupled with a stronger bench of Kenny Thomas, Brian Skinner, Corliss Williamson, and Jason Hart and the Kings look to have the depth they didn’t have last year. They also have a full training camp together that won’t be as disruptive as last year when they made two major personnel changes.
I suppose you’ll year a lot about the Spurs in the coming months. Just because they are a better team than last year’s NBA Championship team doesn’t necessarily make them the odds on favorite to repeat this year. Just because they’ve added the steady Michael Finley, King-killer Nick Van Exel and Argentinean stud Fabricio Oberto to their already star-studded lineup means nothing. It’s chemistry that’s important and enough basketballs to go around. Just because they have the best coach in the NBA who also happens to be the best at managing his team’s minutes is less meaningful than Tony Parker ending up on the cover of US Magazine in a publicized spat with Eva Longoria. Why think of basketball when you have her to come home to anyway?
Of the other contenders in the West last year, only Houston has improved while Dallas has fallen a bit, Seattle lost a few key players to free agency, Minnesota only has Wally and Garnett left, and Phoenix has lost its best player for at least two-thirds of the season as well as making a few weird off-season trades. Memphis made some good and bad moves in the off season and I wonder if they have the stuff to make the playoffs. As for the Lakers, who knows? A certain somebody who thinks they know a lot about basketball says Phil Jackson will be the X-factor. I think we’ll find out if he’s a good coach or just a lucky coach who has had the best four or five players in NBA history. Nine championships are meaningless unless you coach a team like the Clippers and take them to the Promised Land.
If you’re looking for rising teams, the Warriors look loaded this year and so do the Clippers, but everyone says it’s the Clippers year every year and they never make the playoffs. This year really could be the year for them, though.
Here’s my prediction for the West:
Southwest
San Antonio*
Houston*
Dallas*
Memphis
New Orleans
Northwest
Denver*
Seattle*
Minnesota
Portland
Utah
Pacific
Sacramento*
Phoenix*
Golden State*
Clippers
Lakers
* Playoff teams
After the first round, the four remaining survivors will be San Antonio, Houston, Sacramento and Dallas. Sacramento will defeat Houston and San Antonio will beat Dallas. In the West final, San Antonio will defeat the Kings in seven games but the West championship will be given to the Kings because it will be determined that Robert Horry’s foot was on the line for a game-winning three in the final game. Well, it’s about time something good happened to the Kings, isn’t it?
Later I will make my predictions on the East.
The Sistine Chapel in My Living Room
We’re now in the last quarter of the forgettable year 2005 and, with one eye to the end of the year and the other on the lookout for a sky filled with locust, we make our way onward. Really, outside of the locust, are there any other signs remaining before the Rapture? I’m looking up at my ceiling and with, the right kind of eyes, I swear I see Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment Fresco.
Outside of my personal strife, look at all the other happenings if you want proof that this has been one shitty year. Bombings and murders in Iraq have killed more than 3,000 Iraqis and about 600 U.S. troops so far this year, and one still gets the uneasy feeling that we haven’t seen the bad guys’ best shot yet. Iran is quickly building its way into the nuclear club without a primer on appropriate manners and, apparently with the help of the Russians, they now have a missile to reach Europe which may cause a mass surrender among the mighty Euros at any moment.
Despite what anyone believes, there are still WMD tucked nicely into hidden shelters and valleys in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Lord knows where else, and there may possibly be truth to the urban legend of “suitcase” nukes in the U.S. now. The relatively unknown but power hungry gang MS13 out of El Salvador has a well-paid gig with international terrorists to smuggle them through San Salvador, into Mexico and through its porous border with the U.S. Some estimate as many as 14,000 have been smuggled across.
On the disease front, we’re facing a myriad of new and improved viruses; from the bird flu to a new strain of the Spanish Flu, to old diseases that were once thought manageable like rickets, smallpox, typhus, and measles.
A series of hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast killing more than 1,000 which is said by many Islamists as a payback from God. Shortly after, a massive earthquake in Pakistan kills more than 50,000 mostly followers of Islam as if to prove that God, no matter whose side He’s on, is in a foul mood.
So I feel the general unease that I think most people feel and wonder why this is all piling up this year. Like most I also wonder when positive thoughts of the future will return and we’ll have that confident swagger back and can concentrate on the important things in life like Kings Basketball. It turns out that it isn’t likely to come soon enough for some. In the past few weeks, I have been listening to stories from a friend about her friend. He’s gone through it all – been the caretaker of a father with Parkinson’s since he was 13, got married and a bit more than a year later his wife discovered she had MS. He cared for her for nearly 23 years and in May of this year, one month after his mother died of Alzheimer's, his wife succumbed to an infection. He was just starting to get his sea legs back when his twin sister, who had been a rock for him during his wife’s illness, discovered she had an inoperable brain tumor and the prognosis isn’t good.
Having been through a bit of what he’s going through, the often-asked question becomes, why do bad things happen to good people? I asked a minister about this once and he suggested the answer was in the return of the Prodigal Son. Until recently -- like today -- I didn't know the relevance of this parable. I guess it's supposed to mean we should be happy with the good things in life that are around us; our own health and that of our family, a warm puppy, and a big glass of scotch. I'm not sure it makes up for the pain that living a life brings, but I guess you can always drink to your health and get your face licked by a schnauzer to pass the day.
Yeah, I know this isn’t light reading, but short of the Miracle in South Bend, we need some good news. I also don’t agree with Tina Turner; we could use another hero.
Outside of my personal strife, look at all the other happenings if you want proof that this has been one shitty year. Bombings and murders in Iraq have killed more than 3,000 Iraqis and about 600 U.S. troops so far this year, and one still gets the uneasy feeling that we haven’t seen the bad guys’ best shot yet. Iran is quickly building its way into the nuclear club without a primer on appropriate manners and, apparently with the help of the Russians, they now have a missile to reach Europe which may cause a mass surrender among the mighty Euros at any moment.
Despite what anyone believes, there are still WMD tucked nicely into hidden shelters and valleys in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Lord knows where else, and there may possibly be truth to the urban legend of “suitcase” nukes in the U.S. now. The relatively unknown but power hungry gang MS13 out of El Salvador has a well-paid gig with international terrorists to smuggle them through San Salvador, into Mexico and through its porous border with the U.S. Some estimate as many as 14,000 have been smuggled across.
On the disease front, we’re facing a myriad of new and improved viruses; from the bird flu to a new strain of the Spanish Flu, to old diseases that were once thought manageable like rickets, smallpox, typhus, and measles.
A series of hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast killing more than 1,000 which is said by many Islamists as a payback from God. Shortly after, a massive earthquake in Pakistan kills more than 50,000 mostly followers of Islam as if to prove that God, no matter whose side He’s on, is in a foul mood.
So I feel the general unease that I think most people feel and wonder why this is all piling up this year. Like most I also wonder when positive thoughts of the future will return and we’ll have that confident swagger back and can concentrate on the important things in life like Kings Basketball. It turns out that it isn’t likely to come soon enough for some. In the past few weeks, I have been listening to stories from a friend about her friend. He’s gone through it all – been the caretaker of a father with Parkinson’s since he was 13, got married and a bit more than a year later his wife discovered she had MS. He cared for her for nearly 23 years and in May of this year, one month after his mother died of Alzheimer's, his wife succumbed to an infection. He was just starting to get his sea legs back when his twin sister, who had been a rock for him during his wife’s illness, discovered she had an inoperable brain tumor and the prognosis isn’t good.
Having been through a bit of what he’s going through, the often-asked question becomes, why do bad things happen to good people? I asked a minister about this once and he suggested the answer was in the return of the Prodigal Son. Until recently -- like today -- I didn't know the relevance of this parable. I guess it's supposed to mean we should be happy with the good things in life that are around us; our own health and that of our family, a warm puppy, and a big glass of scotch. I'm not sure it makes up for the pain that living a life brings, but I guess you can always drink to your health and get your face licked by a schnauzer to pass the day.
Yeah, I know this isn’t light reading, but short of the Miracle in South Bend, we need some good news. I also don’t agree with Tina Turner; we could use another hero.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
In Which I Will be Called a Kremlin Apologist
This has been an interesting, educational, and sometimes complicated week being in Moscow.
First, to deal with Russian complexities: The one thing I never quite got when I worked here was to understand the unspoken nature of doing business. You never knew who you were really dealing with; their backgrounds, loyalties, and connections. Quite easily you could be speaking with someone you thought was friendly with this government, or the last government, or the government that almost was, and the truth was always a bit fuzzy. The point is you could never be sure what was going on and you never knew what hidden agenda was in play.
There are always the survivors, the ones who found a home in business or government during Soviet times, the Yeltsin years, and yet remain friendly with the present government. I think only Alan Greenspan has managed such a feat in the U.S. and you can’t help but bump into Russians who have managed to remain friendly with them all.
In Russian business, there is a maze of interconnected companies that act like competitors most days but often make larger deals with each other for the grander good. It’s a bit like a Japanese Keiretsu. Technically they’re called Oligarchs and at one time or another all are either attacking or defending an attack. But most are not any less bottom-line oriented than any other corporate CEO. Yes, some conduct business like Martin Blank, with lead-pipe cruelty, and I wish it wasn’t the system because ultimately it gives Russia a dubious appearance and hurts foreign investment, the one thing that would lessen the roll of the bad guys.
Just the same the Fortune 500 companies doing business here are rarely affected by anything more than monstrous red tape. Mafia shootouts are always Russian on Russian or on foreigners who want to play in their world, their way; which makes it comparable to drug battles in the inner city or among Tony Soprano followers. It may take a generation to breed out this nasty business, but already in the span of a decade it’s become a kinder, gentler brand of Oligarchy.
As for educational, I have come to realize the people here are more optimistic about the future than I think Americans are. Maybe it’s because they have come from so far behind, but most believe there is personal opportunity in Russia. Many work for foreign companies now and are paid enough to have sparked a huge real estate boom all over Russia, with prices for 900 square foot apartments in the center of Moscow going for $500,000 and up. I briefly visited a friend of my partner who had just purchased a flat for $175,000 that was not refurbished and only 600 square feet. She took great satisfaction in showing the ways she was going to bring her apartment up to modern standards, doubling the value. Out of one of her rooms, she had a view of the Kremlin and out of another, a beautiful park where she could walk her loathsome little dog.
This story is not uncommon here. She works for 3M and they are happy to pay her half what they would pay any American who is less educated and probably doesn’t speak English as well. In other words, the level of sophistication in the under-40 worker in Moscow rivals anywhere else in the West. The cause of this isn’t organized crime but organized education that is now teaching their students to compete. We should be studying what they are doing – as should the Europeans – because Russia will leap past us and Khrushchev may end up being correct in his assessment that the Russians will sell the Americans the rope to hang themselves – if the Chinese don’t do it first.
As for politics in Russia, it’s never a dull moment. While I was here, there were a number of policy makers who were supposed to attend our event, but they were asked to go to London to be taken into the woodshed by the Europeans over their human rights abuses. Of course human rights ended up getting trumped by the need for Russia’s cheap oil, so whatever whipping Mr. Putin got in London was done in the basement of 10 Downing because there was no official rebuke. Except by the press, which never fails to miss the chance to miss the point. In a Kafkaesque moment, the European press bitterly complained that Russia was being heavy-handed with the former republics (Belarus, Uzbekistan, Georgia, etc.) while giving high-fives to great bastions of Democracy that paid for and organized popular uprisings in Russia’s sphere of influence. I’m all for Democracy, but Democracy earned, not paid (except in the U.S., because I’m paid to engage in it).
Propping up leaders like Viktor Yuschenko in Ukraine and some dude names Saakashvili in the Republic of Georgia is not the same as promoting Democracy. Since both are failing, I hope we got a receipt so we can get a refund. Near as I can tell, all the two have done for Democracy is exchange black S430s with the old regimes.
I remember in 2000 I went to a World Economic Forum event and Russia was the subject on the agenda. The Russian government sent a number of people to explain themselves and offer excuses. I remember all the bashing that went on in front of these once proud people. At one point, I asked the leader of the Duma at the time (like a Speaker of the House) how he could accept all that was being said. He told me it was okay to hear it, that they (the Russians) deserved it. But he also pointed out that there would come a day in which they wouldn’t deserve it, so all the do-gooders should get their licks in while they could.
Russia is far from perfect, but watching Putin standing with the European brethren, it made me wonder if the time had come to put an end to openly criticizing Russia and start to look within. As much as he’s been nicknamed the “Little Tyrant” here, I’ll take Putin over Chirac, Schroeder, Zapatero and the Euro-Weenies at the EU any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
In the end, the only event that occurred at the European/Russian summit (besides keeping me from meeting an old friend or two) was to ease restrictions on visas. It is now slightly easier for a Russian to travel to Europe. The interesting twist to this is I mentioned this as a positive development to a Russian woman. She slapped me around a bit and told me the Iron Curtain is no longer the property of the Soviet Union, but of the West because Russians are forbidden to travel to most places in the world, while I can waltz in to Moscow and buy a Versace purse in the shadow of Lenin’s Tomb (don’t worry, Gail, I didn’t buy one, I couldn’t afford it, although I considered one that cost $100,000). I have to admit she has a point.
First, to deal with Russian complexities: The one thing I never quite got when I worked here was to understand the unspoken nature of doing business. You never knew who you were really dealing with; their backgrounds, loyalties, and connections. Quite easily you could be speaking with someone you thought was friendly with this government, or the last government, or the government that almost was, and the truth was always a bit fuzzy. The point is you could never be sure what was going on and you never knew what hidden agenda was in play.
There are always the survivors, the ones who found a home in business or government during Soviet times, the Yeltsin years, and yet remain friendly with the present government. I think only Alan Greenspan has managed such a feat in the U.S. and you can’t help but bump into Russians who have managed to remain friendly with them all.
In Russian business, there is a maze of interconnected companies that act like competitors most days but often make larger deals with each other for the grander good. It’s a bit like a Japanese Keiretsu. Technically they’re called Oligarchs and at one time or another all are either attacking or defending an attack. But most are not any less bottom-line oriented than any other corporate CEO. Yes, some conduct business like Martin Blank, with lead-pipe cruelty, and I wish it wasn’t the system because ultimately it gives Russia a dubious appearance and hurts foreign investment, the one thing that would lessen the roll of the bad guys.
Just the same the Fortune 500 companies doing business here are rarely affected by anything more than monstrous red tape. Mafia shootouts are always Russian on Russian or on foreigners who want to play in their world, their way; which makes it comparable to drug battles in the inner city or among Tony Soprano followers. It may take a generation to breed out this nasty business, but already in the span of a decade it’s become a kinder, gentler brand of Oligarchy.
As for educational, I have come to realize the people here are more optimistic about the future than I think Americans are. Maybe it’s because they have come from so far behind, but most believe there is personal opportunity in Russia. Many work for foreign companies now and are paid enough to have sparked a huge real estate boom all over Russia, with prices for 900 square foot apartments in the center of Moscow going for $500,000 and up. I briefly visited a friend of my partner who had just purchased a flat for $175,000 that was not refurbished and only 600 square feet. She took great satisfaction in showing the ways she was going to bring her apartment up to modern standards, doubling the value. Out of one of her rooms, she had a view of the Kremlin and out of another, a beautiful park where she could walk her loathsome little dog.
This story is not uncommon here. She works for 3M and they are happy to pay her half what they would pay any American who is less educated and probably doesn’t speak English as well. In other words, the level of sophistication in the under-40 worker in Moscow rivals anywhere else in the West. The cause of this isn’t organized crime but organized education that is now teaching their students to compete. We should be studying what they are doing – as should the Europeans – because Russia will leap past us and Khrushchev may end up being correct in his assessment that the Russians will sell the Americans the rope to hang themselves – if the Chinese don’t do it first.
As for politics in Russia, it’s never a dull moment. While I was here, there were a number of policy makers who were supposed to attend our event, but they were asked to go to London to be taken into the woodshed by the Europeans over their human rights abuses. Of course human rights ended up getting trumped by the need for Russia’s cheap oil, so whatever whipping Mr. Putin got in London was done in the basement of 10 Downing because there was no official rebuke. Except by the press, which never fails to miss the chance to miss the point. In a Kafkaesque moment, the European press bitterly complained that Russia was being heavy-handed with the former republics (Belarus, Uzbekistan, Georgia, etc.) while giving high-fives to great bastions of Democracy that paid for and organized popular uprisings in Russia’s sphere of influence. I’m all for Democracy, but Democracy earned, not paid (except in the U.S., because I’m paid to engage in it).
Propping up leaders like Viktor Yuschenko in Ukraine and some dude names Saakashvili in the Republic of Georgia is not the same as promoting Democracy. Since both are failing, I hope we got a receipt so we can get a refund. Near as I can tell, all the two have done for Democracy is exchange black S430s with the old regimes.
I remember in 2000 I went to a World Economic Forum event and Russia was the subject on the agenda. The Russian government sent a number of people to explain themselves and offer excuses. I remember all the bashing that went on in front of these once proud people. At one point, I asked the leader of the Duma at the time (like a Speaker of the House) how he could accept all that was being said. He told me it was okay to hear it, that they (the Russians) deserved it. But he also pointed out that there would come a day in which they wouldn’t deserve it, so all the do-gooders should get their licks in while they could.
Russia is far from perfect, but watching Putin standing with the European brethren, it made me wonder if the time had come to put an end to openly criticizing Russia and start to look within. As much as he’s been nicknamed the “Little Tyrant” here, I’ll take Putin over Chirac, Schroeder, Zapatero and the Euro-Weenies at the EU any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
In the end, the only event that occurred at the European/Russian summit (besides keeping me from meeting an old friend or two) was to ease restrictions on visas. It is now slightly easier for a Russian to travel to Europe. The interesting twist to this is I mentioned this as a positive development to a Russian woman. She slapped me around a bit and told me the Iron Curtain is no longer the property of the Soviet Union, but of the West because Russians are forbidden to travel to most places in the world, while I can waltz in to Moscow and buy a Versace purse in the shadow of Lenin’s Tomb (don’t worry, Gail, I didn’t buy one, I couldn’t afford it, although I considered one that cost $100,000). I have to admit she has a point.
Brotherly Bond
I have developed this friendship with a person who shall remain nameless on the Blog, if for no other reason than word getting out of our friendship could endanger his professional future. Suffice to say he is well-connected to the president on both a policy and friendship basis. My initial reaction to meeting people on this level is to trust but verify, even though I tend to idolize them too much at first. Usually I am wrong and they turn out to be a big of a jerk with no redeeming qualities. Like Schwarzenegger turned out to be. Whoops, I mentioned him – how indiscreet I am. Oh well.
On the flip side to my state’s governor is my friend. He shows no sign of being anything other than decent, caring, modest, and accessible. The reason I bring him up is twofold: To disprove the myth peddled by my democrat friends that all those working for the president are evil neo-cons focused on taking over the world and stealing the last nickel from the working poor. And, to make it worse for my dem friends – and you know who you are – is that he tells me there are some other good people working within the inner-circle of the presidency, including those who are considered by many as evil-incarnate. If my friend continues to stand on the pedestal where I have planted him, I’ll take his judgment over others in the Fourth Estate and those with a dubious agenda. My friend was also honest about others he doesn’t feel so charitable about and I suspect it wouldn’t take Kellen long to figure out who he was talking about as you can just follow the trail of bodies. At least he didn’t kill his wife at the convention.
The second reason for bringing this up is to mention the very kind thing my friend does for his brother who has been a paraplegic or quadriplegic for 30 years due to a trampoline accident (yes, Em, it can happen). We were together on the trip to Moscow and he was supposed to keep a tradition going of collecting a piece of the Earth he travels on for the brother who can’t. It turns out my friend is quite forgetful having left his ATM card at a teller machine in Moscow (and failing to cancel it so now some Russian has just bought a car and a year’s supply of vodka), and also left behind his hat and gloves. And he forgot to pick up the dirt. So he wrote me and asked if I would rummage around and liberate a rock or two and send it to him so he could keep his tradition going.
After what happened to Bill, who am to refuse keeping alive a brother-to-brother bond? So I decided I would walk to the Kremlin wall and, once there, figure out how to chisel off a piece without being arrested. I was just about to give the wall a few well-placed kicks when I noticed two chips of the wall resting on the ground. Now I don’t know if this qualifies as a rock, so I picked up some of them too, but I hope his brother will be able to appreciate the feel of something that he will never be able to see.
Perhaps this is a victory for the good guys. I’ll keep you posted.
On the flip side to my state’s governor is my friend. He shows no sign of being anything other than decent, caring, modest, and accessible. The reason I bring him up is twofold: To disprove the myth peddled by my democrat friends that all those working for the president are evil neo-cons focused on taking over the world and stealing the last nickel from the working poor. And, to make it worse for my dem friends – and you know who you are – is that he tells me there are some other good people working within the inner-circle of the presidency, including those who are considered by many as evil-incarnate. If my friend continues to stand on the pedestal where I have planted him, I’ll take his judgment over others in the Fourth Estate and those with a dubious agenda. My friend was also honest about others he doesn’t feel so charitable about and I suspect it wouldn’t take Kellen long to figure out who he was talking about as you can just follow the trail of bodies. At least he didn’t kill his wife at the convention.
The second reason for bringing this up is to mention the very kind thing my friend does for his brother who has been a paraplegic or quadriplegic for 30 years due to a trampoline accident (yes, Em, it can happen). We were together on the trip to Moscow and he was supposed to keep a tradition going of collecting a piece of the Earth he travels on for the brother who can’t. It turns out my friend is quite forgetful having left his ATM card at a teller machine in Moscow (and failing to cancel it so now some Russian has just bought a car and a year’s supply of vodka), and also left behind his hat and gloves. And he forgot to pick up the dirt. So he wrote me and asked if I would rummage around and liberate a rock or two and send it to him so he could keep his tradition going.
After what happened to Bill, who am to refuse keeping alive a brother-to-brother bond? So I decided I would walk to the Kremlin wall and, once there, figure out how to chisel off a piece without being arrested. I was just about to give the wall a few well-placed kicks when I noticed two chips of the wall resting on the ground. Now I don’t know if this qualifies as a rock, so I picked up some of them too, but I hope his brother will be able to appreciate the feel of something that he will never be able to see.
Perhaps this is a victory for the good guys. I’ll keep you posted.
Lord of the Rings
I have some proud news about Emily. No, I’m not going to be a grandfather. At least I don’t think so. For those who are ardent followers of the WNBA, you know that the Sacramento Monarchs won the championship this year, surprising a few and doing it with a tenacity that was Jordan-esque.
When a team wins a championship, the players and personnel vote on who is deserving of the championship ring. Well, Emily was voted a ring and she gets it in May (who knows why it takes so long.)
I always knew Emily was a champion but now she has the ring to prove it and the ability to bruise and batter anyone who has ideas on making me a grandfather. She never ceases to amaze me.
When a team wins a championship, the players and personnel vote on who is deserving of the championship ring. Well, Emily was voted a ring and she gets it in May (who knows why it takes so long.)
I always knew Emily was a champion but now she has the ring to prove it and the ability to bruise and batter anyone who has ideas on making me a grandfather. She never ceases to amaze me.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Back in the USSR
Actually, an entire generation has neither heard of that song nor of the USSR. The name of the country disappeared 15 years ago along with other Cold War relics like practicing hiding under your desk to survive a direct nuclear hit (those desks were pretty strong in those days!), and Commie propaganda which has shifted from Pravda to the pages of the New York Times.When I first slipped in behind the Iron Curtain in 1989, it was called the USSR and a few years later, following too much Perestroika, Glasnost, and cheap vodka, the union splintered into several free floating semi-countries and the place was renamed the Newly Independent States – or, the Empire Formally Known as the USSR. Then some weighty thinkers thought it would be better to call it the Commonwealth of Independent States, but there was too much independence in the states so they, whoever “they” are, agreed to call themselves whatever the hell they wanted. So up popped Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and maybe even Trashministan. For the moment, though, I am officially in what is now called Russia. Again.
I haven’t been to Russia since 1999 and Moscow since 1996. To say things haven’t changed would be to say that I haven’t eaten too many pizzas in my life.
When I first landed in Moscow lo those many years ago, I essentially landed in the dark. There were few lights on the runway, even fewer in the bowels of an empty terminal, and fewer still along the streets headed into town. The storefronts were dingy and dark, most of them selling nothing because nothing was available. The only “Western” hotel was an oasis built by Armand Hammer which was there mostly to cater to Japanese businessmen who needed a $400 per night hotel and $15 cup of coffee to feel at home. Now I wish I could find a $400 per night hotel; it would be a bargain.
The airport has a new terminal and lights. So do the streets and shops. Once crumbling apartments with falling chunks of cheap concrete are now dwarfed by new high rise apartments with foreign concrete. They also run about $2,500 per month and up or, i.e. Manhattan prices.
The people have changed too. Twenty years ago people dressed in drab, gray clothing and sulked along without expression on the city streets with what was called a “perhaps bag,” aptly named because as they walked, perhaps there would be bread or shoes in the stores to buy. Now even the middle class dresses like a typical American; full of color, well-coiffed hairdos, and fancy footwear. The rich are a different matter. The men look as if they just walked out of a Guys and Dolls rehearsal, donned in hats and zoot suits, and the women apparently go shopping after bathing in a tub of Elmer’s Glue and then run through various designer shops and wear what ever sticks to them.
Tonight I went on the main ring road which I can’t pronounce and neither can the taxi drivers, who find it more convenient to drive me all over town and watch the meter spin, pretending to be lost. I met up with an old friend named Joe who is running a taxpayer funded boondoggle to ensure Russia wants to run politics like we do; which is a scary thought. Just to cover the cost of food and lodging in this town, he gets a per diem of $256 per day which works out to ummm….something like ….. ummmmm well, a lot per month. I’d eat at McDonalds every day and pocket the balance.
Despite the fact the city is lit up like a Christmas tree and has a casino on every block, there remain some obvious charms about Russia. Fall has fallen and the trees are a mélange of brown, yellow, orange, red and green, punctuated by long wispy birch trees that look like the long-legged blonde who keeps knocking on my door at midnight looking for a match (just kidding Gail). Oh, hey, Michigan just beat Michigan State 34-31! Anyway, the natural beauty of the place is worth the trip alone and always has been. One thing about nature: it cares very little about political systems, it only knows to be. And on this crisp fall day, what it is, is very beautiful.
Internships On Offer
There's a keen observer of modern culture who writes for www.espn.com named Bill Simmons, AKA The Sports Guy. Under the guise of writing about sports, he sprinkles in the impact the NBA, NFL, and MLB, among others, has on modern culture and sometimes the other way around. How else can one explain the tortuous route he took to find the best quotes of the movie Anchorman and squeeze comparisons about NBA teams and players out of it?
One of the best intern jobs in the history of non White House-related internships, is the Sports Guy’s internship. His job is to scan the internet and look for funny or sometimes odd internet sites. Here’s a sample of a few sites:
http://saabbumper.blogspot.com/ (read from the bottom up.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/links/050901
The Sports Guy’s favorite is unintentional humor, which can best be described as someone acting as they normally do (usually a celebrity) and being funny. Unintentionally. Does that make sense? Better still, here’s a good example: A few days ago I read a story about Cindy Sheehan and rather than the story quoting her, it’s quoted her spokesperson. The unintended humor of this is that she started out as a lone voice in the wilderness carrying the “absolute moral authority,” as per Maureen Dowd, of a mother who lost a son in battle, and now she has a PR team to help her convey her simple story in a more complicated way. That’s funny. And unintentionally so.
So I have a job offer for anyone out there other than Skip (who has too much on his plate – Sorry Skip, but you need to give full effort to your family and other projects). Lazlo’s Lament is looking for an intern to supply this site with funny and weird websites that may classify as unintentional humor. Now’s the chance to break into Big Time journalism – or at least have an excuse to search the internet instead of doing your homework. Applicants will be screened on their dedication and family lineage.
One of the best intern jobs in the history of non White House-related internships, is the Sports Guy’s internship. His job is to scan the internet and look for funny or sometimes odd internet sites. Here’s a sample of a few sites:
http://saabbumper.blogspot.com/ (read from the bottom up.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/links/050901
The Sports Guy’s favorite is unintentional humor, which can best be described as someone acting as they normally do (usually a celebrity) and being funny. Unintentionally. Does that make sense? Better still, here’s a good example: A few days ago I read a story about Cindy Sheehan and rather than the story quoting her, it’s quoted her spokesperson. The unintended humor of this is that she started out as a lone voice in the wilderness carrying the “absolute moral authority,” as per Maureen Dowd, of a mother who lost a son in battle, and now she has a PR team to help her convey her simple story in a more complicated way. That’s funny. And unintentionally so.
So I have a job offer for anyone out there other than Skip (who has too much on his plate – Sorry Skip, but you need to give full effort to your family and other projects). Lazlo’s Lament is looking for an intern to supply this site with funny and weird websites that may classify as unintentional humor. Now’s the chance to break into Big Time journalism – or at least have an excuse to search the internet instead of doing your homework. Applicants will be screened on their dedication and family lineage.
Losing Down Under
OK, here’s the best spin I can put on the election in NZ. We lost but we won. How’s that for spinmeistering?
Three years ago, the party I was working with (The National Party of New Zealand) was in shambles, barely getting 20 percent of the overall vote. This election was considered a “throw-away” to help them gain respectability for the 2008 election. The candidate and party infrastructure was considered more of caretaker than a winning combination.
Earlier in the year, nobody thought they had a realistic chance of winning and all hopes rested on looking good while losing. Then the candidate delivered a speech on race relations that had just enough red meat for the true believers but contained enough positive messages about building one nation that he was giving great kudos throughout the country. The speech, along with a stingy budget by the party in power, catapulted National into strong consideration of winning the election.
We climbed in the polls all summer and overtook the other party in several polls early in the summer, dropped down for a while, and rose again once they released their tax policy. We even had leads in a few polls down the stretch.
In the end we came up about 20,000 votes shy out of 2.4 million cast.
There is this funny story about people’s outlook (and maybe this is a bit off subject). An optimist looks at a glass filled halfway and says the glass is half-full; a pessimist looks at the same glass and says it’s half empty; an engineer looks at the glass and says the glass is the wrong size). Well, that’s kind of how I felt. We had the wrong size glass.
It is difficult to feel optimistic because we could taste a win all though the day on Election Day. Even when the results were coming in, we took an early 10-point lead. The graybeards around the party said don’t get too excited because these votes were coming from rural areas that tended to vote National. The commentators on the news were saying the same thing but also saying the lead in the rural areas may be too tough to overcome for the existing government.
The rest of the night I watched as the polls sunk, first to a nine percent lead, then 8.5 then 8, then back up to 8.5 and even back to 9.5 before moving quite rapidly down to 4 then 3 then 2 then 1 and then we’re behind. If I had gone home at midnight and never again checked the newspapers, I would have walked away thinking we’d won.
The upside of it all is that each of us thought the results were better than we could hope for and so, while there was disappointment, there was also a good deal of happiness. We nearly doubled the vote from three years ago, elected 22 more Members of Parliament than three years ago, and generally set the agenda for a strong shift to the center-right.
And the most interesting news, for quite a while National had an outside chance of being able to form a government, albeit small and requiring some fancy footwork. Today all hopes ended as the existing government was able to cobble together a five-party coalition that may hang on for at least 18 months. National will be a strong backbencher, sniping where they can.
Now for the truth: I am so pissed that we lost. I think I am more pissed than just about everyone save the campaign manager and the party chairwoman. We were in a position to win and we should have won. Kellen and I can come up with 100 things we could have done differently that all would have given us more votes. In the end, too many mistakes were made in the field and the party board got timid down the stretch. Dirty politics and vote buying was going on by the other side and we just watched, believing people would see the morality in our party not responding in kind. As they say there; that’s bullocks. Dirty politics is done precisely because it works, meaning we were a couple of brass knuckle kidney punches from winning.
As they also say: almost is good enough in horseshoes and hand grenades. In politics, there are no awards for most congenial political party. Only one prize is given and it’s strictly for the winners. To put it plainly, we just lost. $^&(*&#%*(@$*($#!!!!
Three years ago, the party I was working with (The National Party of New Zealand) was in shambles, barely getting 20 percent of the overall vote. This election was considered a “throw-away” to help them gain respectability for the 2008 election. The candidate and party infrastructure was considered more of caretaker than a winning combination.
Earlier in the year, nobody thought they had a realistic chance of winning and all hopes rested on looking good while losing. Then the candidate delivered a speech on race relations that had just enough red meat for the true believers but contained enough positive messages about building one nation that he was giving great kudos throughout the country. The speech, along with a stingy budget by the party in power, catapulted National into strong consideration of winning the election.
We climbed in the polls all summer and overtook the other party in several polls early in the summer, dropped down for a while, and rose again once they released their tax policy. We even had leads in a few polls down the stretch.
In the end we came up about 20,000 votes shy out of 2.4 million cast.
There is this funny story about people’s outlook (and maybe this is a bit off subject). An optimist looks at a glass filled halfway and says the glass is half-full; a pessimist looks at the same glass and says it’s half empty; an engineer looks at the glass and says the glass is the wrong size). Well, that’s kind of how I felt. We had the wrong size glass.
It is difficult to feel optimistic because we could taste a win all though the day on Election Day. Even when the results were coming in, we took an early 10-point lead. The graybeards around the party said don’t get too excited because these votes were coming from rural areas that tended to vote National. The commentators on the news were saying the same thing but also saying the lead in the rural areas may be too tough to overcome for the existing government.
The rest of the night I watched as the polls sunk, first to a nine percent lead, then 8.5 then 8, then back up to 8.5 and even back to 9.5 before moving quite rapidly down to 4 then 3 then 2 then 1 and then we’re behind. If I had gone home at midnight and never again checked the newspapers, I would have walked away thinking we’d won.
The upside of it all is that each of us thought the results were better than we could hope for and so, while there was disappointment, there was also a good deal of happiness. We nearly doubled the vote from three years ago, elected 22 more Members of Parliament than three years ago, and generally set the agenda for a strong shift to the center-right.
And the most interesting news, for quite a while National had an outside chance of being able to form a government, albeit small and requiring some fancy footwork. Today all hopes ended as the existing government was able to cobble together a five-party coalition that may hang on for at least 18 months. National will be a strong backbencher, sniping where they can.
Now for the truth: I am so pissed that we lost. I think I am more pissed than just about everyone save the campaign manager and the party chairwoman. We were in a position to win and we should have won. Kellen and I can come up with 100 things we could have done differently that all would have given us more votes. In the end, too many mistakes were made in the field and the party board got timid down the stretch. Dirty politics and vote buying was going on by the other side and we just watched, believing people would see the morality in our party not responding in kind. As they say there; that’s bullocks. Dirty politics is done precisely because it works, meaning we were a couple of brass knuckle kidney punches from winning.
As they also say: almost is good enough in horseshoes and hand grenades. In politics, there are no awards for most congenial political party. Only one prize is given and it’s strictly for the winners. To put it plainly, we just lost. $^&(*&#%*(@$*($#!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)