...our skies...

This is really interesting.

Since 9/11, there has obviously been a renewed focus on airport security, we all know the drill, and the current news, etc.

Probably about 90% of my flying experience, if not more, has been post 9/11. I flew maybe 1 or 2 times a year, at most, from 1977-2001, then since 2001 I have been on maybe 25 flights a year for work, etc, at a minimum. I say that just to say my flying experience has been primarily with all these regulations in place, so I don't have much to mentally compare it against.

Every single time I have walked through security, I believe my mindset has been, "this is a cute exercise, but really, what is being done?"

I follow the rules they lay out, for the most part. I do everything they ask, laptop out, no sharp stuff, liquids in a bag, etc. But sometimes I forget, for example, to put my contact solution in a baggie, and then it goes through with everything else and nobody stops me.

I always, ALWAYS, think, "how do they know the liquid in my contact bottle is water. How do they know the liquid in some other person's bottle isn't lighter fluid, or liquid kryptonite, or whatever the hell it may be.

How do they know that joe ordinary doesn't have 130 pounds of organic hashish in their underpants? How do they know?

I have always answered that with, "They have no idea. Period."

I guess that is why I am literally shocked that people are shocked that this clown got on a plane bound for Detroit with explosives. How can you be shocked? Have you not ever gone through security? I don't know what kind of training they all received with the TSA in terms of security, but they all look, to me, like they are going through the motions.

I always get a kick out of the fact that 99% of the people I know simply go to work to get work done and earn a paycheck, and they just go through the motions, yet we all expect employees that service us to be 100% into their jobs, at all times, and go above and beyond, at all times. Not true. They are just working. Then they go home and eat pizza and watch football like everyone else. And they dream about retirement and days off and call in sick when they aren't and hate their bosses, like the population at large.

At TSA, they aren't magicians - and we want them to be. Better than that, we expect all nations, every airport employee in every country, to feel the same sense of "Red/Orange/Green" paranoia that we feel. We are now flummoxed by the fact, which is dangerously obvious, that the Netherlands doesn't care (as much) about who enters the US (or with what strapped to their underpants).

My point is that there is no way that anyone is really surprised, right?

9/11 was an organized attack on the US, it took years of planning, training, etc. They were very careful to review the policies that were in place in terms of security, and they chose to avoid the dangers, act calmly, and murder thousands of people in the process. These guys weren't ninjas, they weren't invisible and able to sneak by security by using spidey-sense. They were just people who planned.

Nobody can really walk through an airport and board an airplane without thinking, "i sure hope this isn't the flight where the planning and preparation for the next 9/11 comes to life..." Cuz thats all we are doing, is we are waiting.

Its a horrible, horrible thing, but all the security in the universe cannot stop people who want to do horrible things from doing horrible things. We are always going to continue to play this game - we will change terror threat levels, we will add new machines to check for devices in your shoes and undergarments, and we will change the rules about when you can and cannot stand up in a plane, but we all have to know that we are simply weeding out the worst of the worst, the lamest of the lame, the poorest planners, the chaotic...we aren't weeding out the prepared. Because we cannot.

I literally don't have a solution, and I am not advocating stopping security at airports. I do think it is literally criminal that the dude going to Detroit didn't have a passport and he was allowed to board. It is borderline criminal, certainly embarrassing, that he was on watch list A, but not on watch list B, so he was able to board. I think about how the lives of thousands are on the line because someone probably didn't input the right data into a spreadsheet...

I do think that weeding out the most unprepared and/or stupid of the potential terror threats is fantastic, and that occurs through what TSA has in place, but to think they are capable of stopping the next 9/11 is really, honestly, tired and shameful.

I don't think we are all in trouble in a daily basis getting on planes, but I do think we are living a life that, unfortunately, millions of people every day in other countries have to live - one of subtle (and at times, overt) fear. We are, to some extent, under attack and should be focused on tragedy preparedness, rather than tragedy prevention solely. Lets balance out that equation a bit. I'd feel better, at least.

...Brian Scalabrine...

Brian Scalabrine is the most confusing player on a local team I can remember. I was at the game the other night v. Minnesota, and his appearance on the floor created such a circus environment, it was really beyond belief.

The arena erupted, like a court jester had just spun a loaf of bread on his pointy-hatted head...they were "oohing" and "aahing" his every move, every attempt, and every touch.

Now I realize the crowd on a Sunday afternoon at the Celtics is far different than a weeknight crowd. The weeknight crowd isn't quite as enamored by Scals in a mocking sense as the weekend crowd is, b/c, honestly, the weekend crowd doesn't know that Scals actually gets pretty solid minutes in most games. They think his appearance is enough to laugh at, and they do.

It is no secret that I am not a fan of Scalabrine. First of all, he is overpaid - which isn't his fault at all. I usually don't complain too much about salaries but he has been a bit of albatross for this team. But beyond that, I think that on the offensive end he puts the team in very bad situations. He has trouble getting space, doesn't have a great shooting %, and frequently puts passes on players off hips, shins, necks, etc.

But I don't think he deserves the treatment he gets by fans, and I think fans think they are doing him a favor by making him a favorite, when in reality he is just another guy on the team. I won't get into it, because people I respect will roll their eyes when I mention this, but it's a huge function of race - the crazy white guy has no business on the floor - and those implications make me feel real weird.

But in reality, he is a very hard worker who, for some reason, has all the respect of his teammates, and for some reason, is honestly a constant energy boost when he is on the floor. If I mock his offense, I have to respect his defensive skills. A guy like Troy Murphy, tonight for the Pacers, gives MUCH better athletes a ton of trouble on a nightly basis, but Scal always seems to neutralize those types of guys. Scals is heavy enough (yes, a veiled criticism) to push people around, but also smart enough to get in the way.

I am confused by him mostly b/c I don't know why otherwise educated Celtics fans have this spot of insanity in their heads for Scalabrine. He gets on the floor and the crowd loses their minds - it makes no sense to me. He's just a 8th or 9th player on a strong 12 man roster. That's it.

...Coach James...

It has been too long since I posted anything on this blog, and I don't think this new post is going to the start of some big major re-birth of my involvement. However, I do think that I have realized, based on ESPN.Com's article that quotes Shaq in saying that Lebron's BBall IQ is amazingly high, that Lebron could be the coach of the Cavaliers right now.

I don't think that Lebron could coach the Celtics, Lakers, Suns, Bulls, Pistons, anyone else, but I do think he can coach this Cavs team, as a player. This is not a new concept, Bill Russell won championships as player/coach, at least 1. Some of the best baseball and basketball players in the history of man had double duties.

The Cavs are a team whose roster doesn't need a ton of messing with. There isn't going to be a 4 or 5 player shift come the offseason. This is the squad that is going to win or lose it, with 1 or 2 exceptions. Danny Ferry can take care of the personnel decisions, but I do think that Lebron could be their leader.

It is no secret that I think Mike Brown may be one of the least educated coaches in basketball, I cannot wait til the playoffs when his poor decision making costs the Cavs game after game. The Cavs are lacking here.

I can't take myself away from Lebron a few years ago against the Pistons when Lebron scored 29 of the last 30 points (in a conference championship game!!) and led the Cavs to a crazy (i think on the road) victory in overtime against a very strong Pistons squad. It was basketball at its best, and it was strategy at its most simple. Give the best player the ball, and make the opposing team stop him. Go at the basket, pass when it makes sense...but Score. Score Score Score.

Mike Brown has no real coaching philosophy. He simply demands that Lebron invent at all times, but with the mirage that he is part of a program, an organization bigger than him. It's a mirage. The PGA is going to see what life is really like without Tiger this year, and the Cavs are going to have to realize, at some point, what life is like without Lebron.

Unless they give him complete control.

It is the next step, I'd say its the logical step, and its something I would love to see, if only to increase the mythology of who I think is the most talented athlete on the planet.

...Ron Paul...

The most terrifying thing about Ron Paul, and his ideas, is how much I actually agree with them. If I were to self-identify myself on a political spectrum, I feel like I'd be so far from where Ron Paul would self-identify himself. But then if I were to sit down with Ron Paul, and if I could remove all of baggage and talk to him 1 on 1 as if we were just 2 people, I feel like I'd agree with him on most everything. Or at least completely understand where he is coming from.

First, his biggest thing over the past few years where he has been vaulted to the forefront, he really has been a staunch anti-war guy. Sorta. He isn't completely anti-war. He is anti-THESE wars. He simply is demanding answers, he is simply recognizing that the label "terrorist" is really too simple and sorta embarrassing at this point to even use. He sees war as a cycle that has no beginning, no end, and cannot be slowed down.

He has a big issue with Gov't overall, and generally I think that is right wing rhetoric. Which, he would probably agree, usually is. But Paul decides to take it to another level, and actually speak to that rhetoric. If you take the H1N1 anti-virus fiasco the Gov't is wrapped up in, and he makes you feel like an idiot for not connecting the dots. For example, Democrats and Left-leaners want the Gov't to take over large portions of Health Care...during the same few weeks and months in which the Gov't tells people to get an H1N1 Flu Shot - and can't deliver the shot.

He also takes people on, head first. It has probably stopped him from advancing further than he wants to, but it is so refreshing. He took on Geithner, he takes on Obama regularly, but also went after McCain and nearly everyone else.

He just wants to treat the cause, not the symptoms, and Gov't is the ultimate show of treating symptoms. It's honestly just a refreshing point of view, that everyone in Gov't should have. Every time I read anything he says or writes, I feel this way.

Anyway, I know me, and I know I'll never vote for Ron Paul, and I don't know why. At this point, I am afraid to vote for someone with an "R" next to their name, and that's a fault. I don't know why Paul cannot get more momentum from both the left and the right, especially at this time when we are all just so fed up with nearly everything political.

I think the left equates the Right with a thinking that the Right is a negative, an emptiness of hope and certainly a political ideology that turns away compassion. Ron Paul, on the spectrum, is as far away from Left as possible, and he is one of the most optimistic Politicians I've heard/read.

...Portrait of an American (Hula Hooping) Family...

I saw that Annie Liebowitz took this photo of the president and his family, and at first I sorta was wondering why you had to have someone of such huge stature, and possibly of such a huge financial cost, to take what looks like, at first glance, a normal photograph of a family.

But I'm trying to have a new perspective on things like this, and I am going to assume that the Obama family and the administration didn't have to pay for Leibowitz's time...and that she, out of the goodness of her heart, paid for her own travel, food and room service. That kind of "in good faith" thinking takes all of my will to muster up - it really does.

So let's remove that aspect from the equation and look at this as a photograph, which I am clearly not trained to do, but I guess I am allowed to have an opinion of it, right?  

The picture really is incredible. My first thought was that his 2 kids are really cute kids. I don't think that very often - I mean, I recognize why people think their own children are astounding, and at times all children, some more than others, have moments of unbearable cuteness, but these kids are past that age. They are both at the age where things could get real dicey from "how cute are you" standpoint, and they both look very well put together, confident and exhuberant, but not showstealers. I really hope this is coming off as a compliment to them, b/c it is.

I love how they are all connected, through holding hands or draping arms over each other - sends a really cool message. And they are all fit, they are all healthy and fit people. The idea that the leading family of our country exemplifies health and fitness, I think it's pretty cool.  And keep in mind, this is going to be a "thing" going forward...this isn't going to go away. This type of activity, and activism, could be the next big movement this administration pushes for.

I think of Hilary Clinton during the 1990's, and she is, in my mind, synonymous with the Health Care debate.  I don't think its outside of the realm of possibility to look back at the 2008-2012 (?) Michelle Obama years as the time where she brought physical fitness and overall health, explicitly for children, to the forefront.  

But the real symbolism comes from the fact that you cannot help but be completely overwhelmed by the fact that this is the First Family.  The background doesn't suggest royalty.  It may suggest opulence sure, but there isn't an ounce of regality and/or pretension in the background. Pictures, chairs, fireplace, vase...its not like there is a big dumb golden eagle with firecrackers up its nostrils or anything, its just a big house, which we all know they live in. No need to hide it.

There were recent articles about Michelle Obama's lineage, her roots to slavery and also slave owners being in her blood, and you have to get some kind of chill when you think back, to right around 200 bones ago when DC was a swampy mudpit that slaves turned into our Nation's Capital. You gotta think back to when Adams first arrived at the White House with Abigail and how torn they were that slavery literally put the bricks in place for the building that would serve as the epicenter of decision-making and legislation in this Country.

And here they are...the Obamas.  The picture is powerful, it is compelling, and I go back to thinking about how maybe if this image did cost the taxpayers some dollars it may have been worth it. 

...as frozen as Ted's head...

September 29, 1954:

For any baseball fan, the 1954 World Series is known for 1 thing.  The series was a bit of a shocker - a 4 game sweep by the New York Giants over the Cleveland Indians, who had won 111 games that year for the league's best record and one of the highest win totals of all time (especially for 154 game season).

The one thing that everyone remembers is "The Catch", an over-the-shoulder full sprint marvel by Willie Mays off of a long drive by the Indians Vic Wertz.  The game was played at the Polo Grounds, an amazing spectacle of a park, nearly 500 feet to the center field wall and less than 300 down it's lines - the horseshoe shaped stadium will never have an equal, and it probably shouldn't given the ease by which the current batch of over-roided, over-lifted, over-blown ballplayers that exist now.

For a baseball fan, and speaking personally as someone who grew up watching every minute of baseball I could get my eyes on (yes, the Atlanta Braves on TBS provided a special treat for me, despite the fact that Ozzie Virgil and Co. could never produce runs the way their lone star, Dale Murphy, could), the amazing catch by Mays is something I can picture in my head with ease.

By memory, I can picture the 24 on Mays' back being the only thing that remains in focus as he is in a full sprint, and seeing the ball drop down from the top of the screen into his glove, as he turns and throws a mammoth cannon back into the infield, he falls, his hat hits the ground - and the crowd is amazed. I can also picture the 15 foot high wall with the fans leaning over it, and I remember the time of day. I can see the shadows in my minds eye, the late afternoon, late summer/early fall shadows that tell you that the season is winding down.

And that's where I get derailed.  My romanticism for baseball crashes headfirst into the reality of what the game has become - it is almost as if Mays didn't catch it, and in true Canseco fashion, the ball bounced off his head and caromed up over the wall for a Vic Wertz HR.   The World Series, an afternoon/early evening game played in a packed ballpark, broadcast over NBC TV and radio, in late September.  

We are a full month away from that at this point - the delay between the Divisional Series (Why, WHY IN THE WORLD, is it called the Divisional Series...by tne nature of the rules, you cannot play someone in your Division in this series. Can you imagine being in the room for this naming decision?) and the League Championship Series (Now that's a name, that's what I'm talking about!) is eternal. The Sox were swept on Sunday, the Yankees won on Monday - and game 1 isn't until Friday.

We aren't talking semantics here, think back to last weekend and how cold it was, and how cold it felt, and how new that cold felt, how we all felt ourselves cross the tipping point from summer to fall - we all know we aren't looking back at this point, the short sleeves and mesh shorts are long gone.  But for baseball, a sport meant to be played in fair, if not good, conditions, is putting the most important 8-14 games into a deep freeze.  A sport that plays nearly all of its games in cool to hot conditions, but mostly during amazing summer nights across this country, has chosen to refrigerate itself - games played into the wee hours of the morning on a frigid November night. Is that baseball? 

Sadly, to a new generation of fans, it is.  There is no romanticism in the cold, and without romanticism, baseball is just a bunch of frat boys playing the world's laziest sport.  World Series games during the day, in the shadows, are no more.  Mays may as well have let that thing drop.

...College Football is Backwards...

I have a big time problem with college football, and it came into focus for me yesterday.  I was on my drive home and I was listening to a sports talk radio station on Sirius XM, and it was a conversation with a Univ. of Florida beat writer about Tim Tebow, and whether or not he would play.  Let me be very clear, first and foremost, that guys like Tim Tebow are people who make sports bearable. If it was all Terrell Owens and Jerry Jones, sports wouldn't be fun. A "good guy" like Tebow is what makes sports interesting, and his dominance (and commitment) to College Football is really awesome.

But much like every mega-business in this country, that street is so one way it is insane.  We hear stories about how much Urban Meyer (Florida's Head Coach) loves Tebow, and I don't doubt it given Tebow's remarkable track record as a person, but you have to think that it really ends there.  The University of Florida, for example, would not stick their neck out for Tebow, neither would the Conference, the SEC, or the League in which they play, the NCAA.  Why do I say this? Well, they already show their true colors, all of those organizations, by the way the players are compensated.

I understand the theory behind not paying college athletes, but it is just a theory. It is also like the theory that children should be smacked by parents when they do something wrong - I can see why, on the surface, that sorta makes sense. i wouldn't do it, and I think science and study has shown it doesn't work, but I understand how someone can postulate that it would work. Bad behavior followed by negative reinforcement could end the behavior. Check. Well, again, Psychological studies have shown that to be wrong, and improper.  So back to college athletes, I can understand the notion that they should not be paid, that they are just college Amateurs, but the reality is, they are professional athletes being dragged along by their school.

Now the argument is that they recieve an eduction, which, I suppose is true. But the reality is, if Tim Tebow wanted to graduate with a degree in Psychology, his commitment to football would preclude him from a Research Assistant position, or a Teaching Assistant position - it would make his involvement in Social and Academic clubs, all integral parts to a Bachelor's Degree, nearly impossible.  Tebow cannot be a student and an athlete, the setup is impossible.  That is becoming even more true when we realize that most coaches flaunt and violate the rules around time allowed for practice each week, etc.

None of this is a revelation, and that isn't why I have a problem with college football.  They are a lead-in, however. 

College Sports have taken over colleges. Period.  I think back to when colleges meant something, academically.  John Quincy Adams was a hero at Harvard because he studied hard, made the most of his education, stayed out of trouble, and became an Academic, a Leader, and ultimately a President. Those were the standards.  The reason a lot of these major schools exist now is to function as a Home Field for their sports teams.  Much like every other ill we have in this country, we have elevated the Athletic over the Academic. Trust me, I love sports so much, and Sports were a huge part of my experience at UMass, but at the same time, I wish it lived side-by-side with Academics.

There is no interest by colleges like Florida to be known as an academic school - they may boast from time to time about a graduate who becomes an astronaut, but they are clearly an Athletic school, who hangs their hat, and their checkbook, by the wins and losses of their Football team.  

Again, none of that is a revelation - but I got a bit queezy in my car yesterday when I heard this reporter, whose only job was follow around college kids, critique their on-field play, dismantle their skills and talents and flaws, and try to predict how their 19 year old minds would be working this upcoming Saturday.  That kind of disection, I believe, should be compensated with pay. The fact that so many people (myself included, while at adidas), benefitted financially from the ups and downs of these kids, is what I really am starting to feel uneasy about. 

But, the real issue, the thing that drives me the craziest, is that all of this success, all of this money, all of this greed, all of this excess, all of the things I mentioned above, is dictated by an insanely uneducated, and unprepared mass, known as "the writers."

The reality is, you are nothing in college Football and Basketball unless you are a ranked team. Your ranking is all that matters, it rules all.  A writer in Louisville, KY, whose job is to critique kids just out of high school on their athletic prowess, will be part of the machinery that sits down and analyzes how good their hometown team is, but also is tasked to look at the macro level of things and determine how good the whole country is.  This process is copied hundreds of times around the country, where people culminate in a Pre-Season poll, based purely on conjecture.  "I think Univ. of Washington has a bad backfield, so they will be terrible. Notre Dame is on TV a lot, so they must be pretty good.  Florida has Tebow, he is the best, they are the best," etc.  

There is a science, in part, to this. But clearly, based on the number of "upsets" we have seen in College Football this far, with teams ranked in the top 5 losing to unranked opponents, the science of this all must be questioned.  BUT NOBODY IS QUESTIONING IT!!!! People are just saying, "wow, #5 Georgia lost to unranked Valdosta State, what an amazing upset!" as if the ranking is set in stone, or if it is based on any kind of scientific/numerical reasoning. It isn't. It is based on a windbag who sits in his house in Seattle, WA, spending one day writing about the Seahawks, the next talking to Ichiro about 250 hits, and then the next maybe heading over to the "U" to talk to the head football coach about the health of a 3rd string 18 year old Tight End from Lincoln, NE.

Writers cannot possibly be asked to understand, nor sift through, the vast fields of data that are required to accurately predict the outcome of a college football season.  Try to put this in Professional terms.  If there were rankings, the Denver Broncos would have entered this season in the low to mid 20's in the NFL. As of now, they are 4-0, and if the season ended today, they would not have a shot at the Championship by the college model. They'd be on the outside looking in, wondering what they did wrong.  The Championship would be the Giants and the Colts, which may be the right 2 teams, but don't we love sports because teams are allowed a shot at truly upsetting a team once or twice?

In the NFL, a 16 game season dictates seed, seed dictates home field or placement in the playoffs, the playoffs determine a winner.  It is a normal trajectory, a fair and accurate determination of a winner.  It is all backwards in College Football, specifically.  Before the season starts, teams are seeded. They play out the year, attempting to hold their seed or move up.  Seeds are based on speculation to start, then people have to negotiate the minefield of speculation v. actuality.  What do you do when the #3 team loses by 10 to an unranked opponent? What takes precedence? The unranked opponent or the #3 seed? Which part is more remarkable?

The fact that the system is so screwed up is one thing, but the fact that millions of dollars in Apparel, Tickets, Network contracts, Television, etc are based on this monumental flaw really gets at me. It irks me.  And what's worse, nobody cares. At all. This kind of thing effects me, it makes it hard for me to sit back and enjoy a game. I need context in sports. I cannot sit back and watch an individual event with pure enjoyment if I don't have a context.  I cannot turn on the TV and enjoy a ping pong championship without googling the players and seeing what their story is. I can't watch the Olympics and think, "Bolt, cool, don't care about him at all, next event, please."  I need a context, and when I dig deeper into the context of College Football, I am monumentally disappointed.

The best team in Sports, as measured by every kind of acceptable test, is the one that performs the best at the most critical moments.  That is not the case in College Football, the reality is the team that wins the championship is a 3 fold process, 2 of which are remarkably stupid:

1. Which team Markets itself the best to recieve a high pre-season ranking. Without a high preseason ranking, you may kiss your season goodbye

2. Maintain the rank, at all costs.  Only schedule a few hard games a year, tip the scales way in the favor of winnable games v. possible losses.  Remember, a 1 day mistake against a team that writers have deemed as bad, even if they aren't, may ruin your chances.

3. Win the last game of the year, whichever it may be. (This one makes sense). But the reality is, there is no playoff, and all a team like USC needs to do, based on the fact that they have the Marketing taken care of, is beat cupcakes all year, and win a few, not many, a few, hard(ish) games during the season. They will then get 45 days to prepare for the only game that counts, the BCS Championship, and if they win it they are done for the year.

So, what I am trying to say is when I think about it like this, it makes me not want to watch college - but I will, because I care how these guys will impact some of the NFL teams they will play on. That really is all that keeps me interested at this point.

...Save Brandeis Swimming...

Everyone loves sweatpants, right?

This is from Alison's cousin, who is a Junior at Brandeis and on the swimming team. He sent this to his family and friends, I am doing the same:

Dear friends and family,

I hope you are all well. I apologize for sending out this mass-letter, but this is a certain case in which I need your help. As you know, I am very involved on my swim team at Brandeis. Swimming has been a major passion of mine throughout my life, and the Brandeis team has been like a family to me for the past 4 years. I owe a great deal of who I am today to what I have learned from my coaches and teammates.

However, you are probably also aware that the team is in serious trouble. We don't have a working pool to train in and we are slated for suspension at the end of the 09-10 season. We have been working hard to raise money so that the team can continue. We recently got a deal with a fundraising company in which we could buy great quality clothes and sell them at an inexpensive price. If you take a look at the attachment, you'll probably find something you'll like, or can give as a gift to someone else. The directions to order are on the form, and the whole process takes about 2 minutes. The clothes will ship to you for free in about 3 weeks.

I am only asking this of you because I truly believe the Brandeis program is more than a college sport; it teaches student-athletes important values and produces outstanding citizens. It has been a tradition that has lived on for 42 years and affected the lives of hundreds.

After you do purchase something, please send me a quick email so I can write you a more personal thank-you. I really appreciate all of your help,

Jesse

That sounds like something I can get behind...doesn't it sound that way to you?
How do you help?

1. Go straight to this link to buy gear.
2. Once you are there, type in BRANUNSDMA into the organization code
3. Buy the gear.

Site is easy, for a good cause, and nobody hates sweatpants!

...broken link..

sorry, the NYTimes won't let me post the link about why China is creepy. Trust me, they are. They are forcing their citizens into weird positions for this 60th birthday, and making them all do funny things. Plus, its another excuse for them to demolish Tibetans, which they always revel in.

...i'm getting there...

I wrote the below post yesterday afternoon between 2 meetings. I wish I had time to really go over my thoughts and clean it up, but I don't.  I am writing this pre-note b/c I am proud of myself. After reading today's NYTimes at lunch, I realized how close I am to thinking, in this case, along the lines of an intelligent critical thinker.  Although I think it can be argued that most writers for major papers are drowning in political ideology to the point where they can't separate the truth and honesty from their own ideals. However, I can't either I guess.  My point is that I am close to what was written in today's OpEd. Read that first, or this first, doesn't matter.

Obama is coming under fairly heavy fire for his decision to go to Copehagen to lobby for the Olympics. Republicans cite that he is "wasting time" and has "More important" things to worry about, which is obviously fake and stupid and meaningless. Time doesn't exist to the President, at least not in the sense we think of time. If we go to Florida for 2 days, things will pile up, but we will recover. We spend 6-7 hours on an airplane away from most communication, we have to worry about luggage, bags, transportation, then we take part in whatever activity we do and those days are essentially lost.

But let's get real, the President travels on a flying skyscraper - he doesn't lose time in the floating office, he probably can be more productive without having to field constant visitors and phone calls in the Oval office. The fact that Obama is flying 1/4 way across the earth to lobby for the Chicago Olympics shouldn't offend people in the, "I can't believe he is doing this now" type of way. The offense comes in the waste of it all, the grandeur and arrogance of it.

Let's get completely real and honest, the Olympics are not what they used to be. They are a television event now, really nothing more. Especially one that would take place in the United States, the coverage of US Athletes would feel compelling for 2 weeks, then it would pass. 3 things will be remembered in the 2008 Olympic games from China.

1. The Opening ceremonies were incredible, unstoppable, and now we are learning, a bit friggen creepy.

2. Usain Bolt was an incredible athlete, whose dominance seems to just be starting. He was a pleasure to watch, a once-in-a-lifetime athlete whose records may be broken, but they were remarkable when they took place. 

3. Like every other Olympics since the dawn of man, they are a complete financial drain, and this is the part that should offend us.

These are not the times to be trying to recover confidence, recover votes, or build American momentum by dragging in a behemoth of an event like the Olympics. Nobody is considering that this is a lose-lose situation, and possibly lose-lose-lose.

Lose 1: If we get the Olympics, we waste millions, scar the city of Chicago forever in the aesthetic sense by tearing down buildings and building up new useless ones, and bring an undue financial stress to the whole state of Illinois. Who, by the way, is still recovering from the Blagojevich scandal as well as the fact that their State University is in the middle of a financial scandal of its own, nevermind the fact that they are one of the states that simply refuses to admit that Native American logo usage for sports teams is something you just need to walk away from, end of story.

Lose 2: If we don't get the Olympics, Obama's trip will truly be a monumental waste of time, and the entire international community can take a look at the power/pull that Obama has. If this won't be a sign of the draining of the power of the American Brand, I don't know what would be.

Lose 3: This one is just political bullcrap, but it holds water...the GOP will honestly be able to demolish him during the 2012 election as the President who stood in the face of the Olympic Committee and couldn't even get the games over the likes of Madrid, Tokyo and Rio. Do we really need Obama with a chink this significant in his armor? Is it worth that risk? Do we really want to set the GOP up?

...First Class to Barbados, now boarding...

My stomach turns every time I think about this Senator appointment nonsense. This is honestly one of those instances where you look at this and think, "The Democrats really are 100% entirely wrong about this. There is no wiggle room." The Republicans are up in arms, but if you read quotes and look at their actions, they are more disheartened by the partisan nature of this whole episode. They are correct in so many things, primarily that this is a Golden Parachute for Deval Patrick. He is lining his pockets with this move.

If the people of this state vote to have him removed from office, he has earned himself a cushiony seat in Washington, Ambassador to Barbados, or wherever his heart desires. He is playing a game, and it all comes back to why we are in this position. Why are we in a spot where we need a Legislative body to change the rules in a way that is so disheartening? Because of the state's unrelenting and unreasonable love for all things Kennedy, that is why.

I am so tired of people who make their own beds refusing to lie in them. This has been a long battle, a 6 year long battle essentially, on this one issue. The details have been beaten over and over again, but Kennedy really kept himself in that seat as Senator, missing 97% of the votes, because he knew it would all work out in the end. And why wouldn't it? We have created safety nets for that family for as long as I can think, and as long as my parents could think, and so on. Kennedy's can do no wrong, it isn't Politics, its a way of life.

You know what it is? It's sickening. It's the way Texas adores Bush. It's the way the GOP talks about Reagan. It's nonsense, its childish, and it's unfair.

People don't understand when I talk like this that I am actually a Democrat. I was Independent for a while, but the way things are set up, you are removed from some processes as an Independent, as in the Primary, and I don't want to play by that rule, so I moved myself back to the D side. I am a Democrat. But now, as I get more entrenched in knowing and understanding politics, I realize I am more on the side of being honest, fair, and making sense.

This move by Dems is none of those things. It is dishonest b/c they are not coming out and saying, "We are purely doing this for the vote, period." They are disguising it by saying, "it's the most crucial time in history," or, "Kennedy would have wanted it this way," or "It was Kennedy's precious bill to begin with, it's wrong to take his voice away now." All of those things may have a grain of truth to them, but I cannot for the life of my understand why that would make it right what they are doing.

This isn't fair at all - it's actually the opposite. They are taking a power we have given them as an electorate and going in a direction we didn't even realize they could go. Do you realize what precedent this sets? Essentially, in order to play this game, you have to remain in power, and once there, you write the rules. It doesn't matter what the other side thinks, the other side of the aisle may as well just not exist, because they need to be avoided, ridiculed and lied to. As long as it's all in the name of maintaining your numbers, your lead. Win at all costs, period.

And it certainly doesn't make sense. Look at this from a wide lens - they made a rule, the rule isn't working for them now, so they want to change it. It is that simple. There are no other ins and outs, there are no caveats or explanations, it's that simple. The reality is, this Health Care bill is days away from becoming a joke, a bill that wouldn't require that 60th Democratic signature, b/c there are going to be a handful of Republicans who will be proud to sign the piece of filth. We didn't need to do this. There is no need, except to somehow elevate Kennedy's place in history, rub the GOP's noses in our power, and get people angry.

Oh, and to ensure that Deval gets a First-Class ticket to Barbados.

...Lunch Break...

Where I work now is great. New Balance is a fantastic place. I can't describe it, because it makes it sound boring. But I guess if you know me, you know I am boring in the best way possible. People go in, they work, they are nice to each other, they are competent, efficient, and intelligent. It's a wonderful thing.

One of the things I miss about my old job was hanging out at lunch with a few folks. I developed a good crew of lunchmates my last few months at adidas, and it was fun. But I am enjoying equally my new lunch experience. I basically take my paper, find an empty table, and read the paper at lunch. It's really awesome. I am taking a favorite pasttime from this past year, and I don't feel the same guilt/awkwardness because I am actually in the middle of a full work-day.

Today's paper was interesting. This Afghanistan stuff is so interesting. Today's paper revealed one thing, pretty much without argument, we have absolutely no strategy or main goal that defines our "experience" in Afghanistan right now. I can't think of a good analogy for this whole thing, but for them to say, this many years in, "we need more troops, lots more troops, in order to be successful." (at this point I should describe that we still cannot get a definition of success, although Clinton did allude to what that may mean, and at the risk of making every American, on either side of the aisle, furious, I'll leave out what she said)

They need more troops. I have realized that this is just like any other workplace. The division that is responsible for kickin' Global Ass isn't talking, at all, to the division that is responsible for being responsible. Or, at least they aren't on speaking terms now. On the same page in the Times, you read an article about a country that is completely unstable, voter fraud to a completely hilarious degree. And right next to that, we have a military that is asking our President to send in more troops, and you get a feeling that nobody cares that those two things are connected.

Of course, just a few months ago, I think it was late August even, Hilary was saying they needed to stay out of the election business in Afghanistan, see where it all netted out, then we'd make our move. She didn't allude to possible voter fraud, she was speaking about it more like a proud parent waiting for their child to choose a college. But guess what, they chose chaos.

Someone on Bill Maher pointed out that we are constantly talking about these nations like they are on the verge of something great. Only if they could just do this, or do that, this one small thing and this one tiny change, then we could leave, Al Qaeda would evaporate, and we'd be a superpower. But the thing we always forget is that they cannot do the humane thing. Women don't have a say in any of this. The inhumanity of that. They are basically a 100 years behind us in that aspect. And this isn't a debatable aspect. This is 1/2 of the population having a voice. Half.

So the thing that makes me so sad is that 1.5 months ago we stayed out of the election, and that wasn't related to our military presence. But now, how many deaths later? How many 20 year olds had to see something so horrendous PTSD is the only thing they have to look forward to? So we've decided that the elections results and the presence of a freely-elected leader is completely tied to, and essentially the only factor in, whether or not we send troops?

Why do all these Presidents do this? Why can't we just get out of Afghanistan? Why do they think that this is increasing or decreasing the chances of a small group of horrifying terrorists from doing something horrible to this country? It doesn't take an entire nation or an entire border filled with angry Pakistani and Afghan people to kill thousands. It takes a few dozen, tops.

We are just in a black hole. No way out. No leadership on this one.

However, Obama has a chance. He has a chance right now, no matter what the results of the election follow-up may be, he can say, "no more troops, period." I cannot imagine the set of circumstances that would lead to that, especially when his Sec. of State is painting a picture that if we don't monitor hte borders of Afgh/Pak we are all going to die the very next day. I'll leave everyone with this thought.

We are dangerously close to Obama's legacy being the 3 following "things":
1. Grant Park, election night
2. The collapse of the economy and the Stimulus package
3. The deepening of our involvement and failure in Afghanistan

That could be it for this 1 termer...

...I am basically sick about this...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/us/politics/18massachusetts.html?_r=1&ref=us 

Here are the lessons the Massachusetts legislature is teaching the entire state.  Be ready, because they are not lessons that you should want to learn. They are embarrassing lessons that should not be taught.

1. The Kennedy name in this state is of more importance than any kind of political or legal justice.  I used to hang a poster of JFK in my bedroom for a while when I was younger, and I had no idea why. I voted for Ted Kennedy more than once, and I have no idea why.  The result may have been correct - Ted Kennedy as my Senator may have been something I personally benefitted from, as well as the entire state, and maybe the country, but the problem is that nobody ever asked for proof.  We can only hope Ted is the last of the Free-Ride Kennedy's. The best thing to happen to this state is that no Kennedy is running for his seat. They would be underqualified, overhyped, and ultimately elected into what is arguably one of the 100 most important jobs in the country.  Being a Kennedy in Massachusetts writes the type of free pass that we all dislike in every other instance. 

2. When our morals are challenged, and we have to stand up for either what we believe in our heart is right, OR what we think will selfishly serve us the best, in this state, we will choose the one that serves own our selfish purposes, rather than the one that is right.  When things get hard, we go the easy route.   In 2004, we defiled justice by stealing the right of the Gov. to appoint a Senator away from Romney.  Dems. talk now as if in 2004 there were no big choices to be made, they act as if it were an easier time, which it may have been, where any old fool could be a Senator, and, if the situation arose, we could go Senator-less for an extended period of time. No biggie, only in a few wars around the globe and we only were developing a one-of-a-kind State Health Care Law. But again, no biggie, we can go without. As long as a Republican isn't Senator.

Fast Forward to 2009, and it is clear that nobody really believed that.  Bravo for them, right? Wrong. This is partisan bullshit at it's most pure and disgusting form.  They were wrong in 2004, and they are wrong in 2009. How can they be wrong both times, you ask? Well, because you are stuck in the mentality that the result is what is important, rather than the process.  It all comes down to honesty, and being real.  The Dem. majority lied to themselves in 2004, and they lied to us.  They put us all in a bad situation that could have resulted in Massachusetts having 1/2 a voice in the Senate.  And now, here we are.  We let Kennedy stay in office until his death, nearly a full year after he was basically incapable of sipping soup, never mind battle through Health Care debates, Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a financial collapse and the election of a (potentially) Life-Changing President. 

Kennedy died, and our morals were challenged.  Do we stick to the laws that we selfishly allowed our legislators to change?  Or do we change the laws, again, to serve our selfish needs?  Well, that one is easy, we do what is wrong, and we change the law.  Again, the result is a positive one, I think. Having 2 voices is what we need the most. But I believe we have needed 2 voices for a long time, and Kennedy hasn't been able to give a voice in his state for months.

3. Above all else, your party is all that matters, and do not question it's authority. Mike Dukakis is our solution?  He may be a great man, and he may have been a great President (21 years ago!), but how could he be the most qualified person to be Senator? You are telling me there isn't a Selectman or State Senator that isn't prepared, willing, hungry and altogether fired up to do work for the people of Massachusetts?  The "authority" of the state of Massachusetts not only wants to defile the laws our State, playing Gipetto the public's Pinocchio, but they also want to appoint a figurehead.  They want to appoint a false dignitary, Harshbarger, another Kennedy, Dukakis?! What!?!?

The greatest thing that has happened to me, in the section of my life that is political, is to see this Health Care debate unfold in this country.  The Democrats entered this debate like the 2001/2002 St. Louis Rams.  They had all the weapons, the House, the Senate, the President.  The Rams were a juggernaut, so fired up and prepared to do damage in the Super Bowl to the lowly Patriots.  But the Patriots rallied and battled. By any means necessary.  The Republicans are reminding me a lot of the Patriots in that Super Bowl.  All of a sudden the game was over, and the world was shocked. How did they do it? How did they win?  Well, they organized and streamlined. They fought together, they probably even cheated, but they won.

This debate on Health Care didn't need to be a debate. The Dems. lacked a game plan. Confusing vocabulary, the inability to even win over their own party, and an altogether too-tight time line put Obama in a situation where, before he knew it, he was on his heels.  From the start this was a moral argument, and that right there, is where we lost.  There is no bravery in politics anymore - the idea of putting out a moral argument for a large-scale social program is so foreign to the public, and especially those who vote, that our leaders aren't expected to be brave anymore.

All it would have taken was a passionate speech that would have rallied the People.  The Blue Dogs were able to be Blue Dogs because their constituents weren't motivated to care.  Obama was able to get the majority of this country to see him as a Rock Star, as a motivational genius who also was capable of leading our country out of war, into greatness, and ultimately to a place where, morally, we could feel like we had returned as a Global Power.  But then he flat out chickened out.

He needed to stand in front of America and tell them, "This is our country, people. We talk every day about defending ourselves from terrorists, keeping ourselves safe at home, yet we deny millions of people around this country the ability to lead healthy lives. We demolish families with the precision of nuclear weapons by allowing a sick mother with cancer to die because she doesn't have the 'right' kind of job, and the 'right' kind of coverage. This isn't the America I was born into, and this isn't the America our children should grow up in.  We need to offer stronger leadership than that, this will not stand."

And then, THEN, he needed to back that up, and keep forcing it down people's throats.  But that isn't what happened. They went into prevent Defense, they let the Republicans lead the moral argument - of which there is really none besides greed - and even Dems. started believing in the rhetoric. The court of public opinion drove this debate, and ultimately put us where we are, on the verge of a Health Care bill that will not change the lives of a statistically significant % of the people, and out those it will effect, there is argument as to whether or not it will even effect them positively.

Obama quit on us, he simply didn't treat the opposition with the respect it deserved, and he let them jam rhetoric down our throats. He made the argument confusing, and unclear.  But what he really did was he allowed the public - the people of America - to stand up and be heard in opposition of his plan.  He is smarter than us, as a collective. He needed to hear our concerns, and then squash them. He needed to take into account what Blue Dogs and Doubters and Birthers, and those who interrupted town halls had to say, and then outsmart them. He didn't. He quit on us.

And now here we are, a defeated Party in the Majority, have you ever seen that before? The Democrats are lacking the ability to speak from a place of morality on the Health Care debate, and lacking morality in practice on the Massachusetts "Pick-A-Senator" debate.  

...Sonic...

Sonic, the Experience

Sunday morning, Grum, Wizzy and myself went out for an entire day of golf. 9 holes at Atkinson Resort & Country Club's Par-3 course, followed immediately by 18 holes on their big boy course - which provided me with the worst of round golf I have played in years. I wasn't that horrible off the tee, I was bad, but not that horrible. I just couldn't hit a solid iron shot. 8 out of 10 of my iron's were pulled left, the other 2 were pushed right. I didn't hit a green in regulation all day, despite the fact that I was on the fairway 6 out of 14 holes, and only 1 or 2 penalties.

After we played Atkinson, which I highly recommend, we moved on over to Crystal Springs in Haverhill, which literally may be the worst course I have ever played. In all fairness, we only played the front 9 of the course, which was quite possibly the worst layout I've ever played, for the first 5 holes, specifically. By the end of 5 holes, the 3 of us were completely screwing around, which resulted in highlights, lowlights, and, of course, a lot of fun. Overall, it was a great day of golf, beautiful weather, and nothing bad to say about the day.

Aftter golf, we were all extremely starving. Golf finshed at around 6:45pm for us, and we knew exactly where we wanted to go - directly into the disaster known as Sonic Burger on Rt. 1 in Peabody. We had heard horror stories, such as this one as told by my friend Roy. In large portion, the 3 of us wanted this kind of horror story as our own, so we drove out to Peabody. After a small GPS snafu, we ended up at Sonic at around 7:30pm.

When I say, "at Sonic," I should explain that we weren't quite there yet. We were in the line, about a 1/4 mile away, on the shoulder of Rt. 1 North, with the bright lights of Sonic clearly in view. There were directional signs, navigational police, horns, lights, blinkers...it was a great experience. After about 25 minutes of waiting, moving ever so slowly up the line of cars, Grum noticed a sign we hadn't seen before, which essentially stated we were in line for the Drive-Thru only. If you've ever been to Sonic, you know that you can't go to the drive-thru. It is a place where waitresses (almost exclusively) bring you your food on rollerskates out to your car if you are parked at a dock. If you go through the drive-thru, you may as well go to Wendy's.

So after about a 1/2 hour of waiting in the drive-thru line, we pull the chute and head over to the back entrance, which we learn from signs is actually where you will be put into a new line to get a rollerskater, which is what we wanted. Again, another 1/2 hour or so passes, and we have moved up only a few car lengths. Having no idea what the geography of this whole experience will be like, we send Merriweather Grum out to navigate the landscape, and he tells us we are way, way, back in line.

I then instruct Grum and Wizzy to go stand in the "take out" line, which at least allows you the experience of Sonic, you can see the excitement around you, and you can take it all in. I will sit in my car, as there is no place to park, and wait in the long line - whoever gets to the front of the line first alerts the other via bluetooth/cell phone. I think all in all, a few phone calls later and almost a 1/2 Stern Show broadcast, maybe just under 2 1/4 hours, Grum and Wizzy got to the front of the line.

I had to pull the chute and get out of line, as I was about to get stuck in the Sonic parking lot, so by the time food was recieved, I was in the back of a Wendy's, which I had gone into to buy a water and use the restroom, and finally Grum and Wizzy came to the car, with multiple bags, drink holders, and $51.00 lighter in the wallet.

We sped out of the Wendy's lot as fast as we could, and found ourselves a few miles down the road behind a TGI Friday's in the parking lot eating fast food at 10:00pm, trying not to get the interior of my new car dirty and trying even harder to make ourselves sick. Bacon Burgers, Chicken Burgers, Popcorn chicken, mozzerella sticks, tater tots, oreo blasts, diet coke, onion rings...we had it all.

Sonic, the Corporation

We had a blast, and it was fun, but it was completely a time-killer and something to do to tell a funny story. It had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with being reasonable or actually desiring the food itself so badly that we'd wait two hours. But you have to ask yourself, were we the exception, or the rule, in this cluster of vehicles? Were most people there acting as if they were just in line for regular food? Were they intermittently cursing out Sonic Burger for the long lines, or were they there understanding they were part of an odd experience?

I mean, there are hundreds of Sonic burgers in the country with no wait, at all times of the day. People in the Carolina's or Florida would read the story above and think, "are you nuts?" Yes, well, in this case we openly admit a streak of psychosis. But again, it was funny.

The proper direction to aim the "are you nuts" question is Oklahoma City and the Sonic headquarters. There very well may be a great reason why Sonic isn't up in New England yet, but for the purpose of this post I am going to elect to believe there is no good reason at all, and I am going to continue with that until I hear otherwise.

Sonic has had a compelling National TV campaign for years now, the "Two Guys" commercials as they are known, which feature the 2 Improv actors talking about the offerings of Sonic and how unique they are, and they have garnered a good response, in general, people seem interested in what the commercials have to say. The Sonic hysteria had reached New England before a Sonic had actually opened, so it is no surprise that there are long lines, consistently, for nearly a week at it's first opening.

However, I am of the opinion that this hysteria, in some form or another, will not calm down. When I say "hysteria," I obviously mean this in a relative term. I mean, Sonic in Peabody isn't like The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, but it certainly is interesting when a fast food chain can open on a major public road and require a 3 to 4 cop detail each day/night in order to ensure safety and civility.

But the question is, "What is Sonic doing?" If I were a shareholder, and I believe in the next few weeks I will be one, given what seems to me to be the obvious need, desire, and public outcry for more New England, specifically Boston-based rooftops, I'd be screaming at the top of my lungs to upper management. What has taken them so long? What were they thinking? Were they so wrapped up in what is going on in the South/Midwest to realize that there are, in fact, fast food eaters in the Northeast?

If people were willing to sit in their car, not moving, for 2+ hours on a Sunday night to eat Tater Tots, doesn't that indicate to you that you have a product worth selling? There should be Sonic chains in Framingham, S. Attleboro, Burlington, and a few scattered along 495 as well, and then quickly expanding out to Worcester and Springfield. I-84 in and around Hartford should be littered with Sonic's and Portland, ME should get one as well.

I personally don't care, my life would be a "10" without Sonic in it anyway, I am speaking purely from a business model perspective, and if these guys were just sitting on their hands, patting each other on the back because a few improv comedians got the South & Midwest interested in Lime Rickey's, well, shame on them. They should have been growing prior to this economic bust, because from what I saw on Sunday night, the economy, in the land of Fast Food and Sonic Burger, is doing just fine.

...Books...

An article posted in today's Boston.com, and most likely the in the Globes paper edition, drove me a bit batty, momentarily. The article is here:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/04/a_library_without_the_books/?page=1 

Personally, I think this kind of model is ground-breaking, completely revolutionary and the way things ought to be. I think the Cappucino machine for $12k is insane, but I think the idea of buying dozens, rather than a dozen, Kindles or Sony Digital readers would be a good idea for students. One quick note, if you are reading this and you don't know what a Kindle or Sony Reader is, than you should recognize that, on this particular topic, you aren't quite prepared to have an opinion. It is people like Liz Vezina, the Librarian at Cushing, who sorta send me reeling. I have no problem with her, and I am sure she is a wonderful person who really has nothing but the best interest of students in mind, but it is possible that we need to recognize her comments as insanity, rather than romantic. 

"'It makes me sad,'' said Vezina, who hosts a book club on campus dubbed the Off-line Readers and has made a career of introducing students to books. 'I'm going to miss them. I love books. I've grown up with them, and there's something lost when they're virtual. There's a sensual side to them - the smell, the feel, the physicality of a book is something really special.'"

I understand her personal perspective, but when things like this are put in an article, we, as readers, are expected to look at these lines and sigh, and think, "geez, she's right...they are putting together a strong argument. Books sure do smell great." She represents the opposition opinion, which really in this case is romanticism v. science. Guess which side I'll fall on every time...

Smell? Can people stop talking about the smell of books? Put this in some context, please. We live in an era where we do not have to wonder things anymore. We can get everything we want answered, at any moment, by the internet. The argument can be made that our direction is off - we often ask ourselves questions about Alec Baldwin's marital status, rather than what drove a spike between King George and John Adams. But the point is that we have tools at our fingertips that we have to embrace, especially on the educational level, and to avoid that is, to me, very backwards.

I am trying to think of something, 40 years ago, that people spoke romantically about that now we realize is completely insane. Like radio, for instance...people can find the idea of 30's and 40's radio really romantic. The muffled sound of the radio shows, bad acting, silly commercials...how wonderful. But how about the alternative? How about HD televisions, still bad acting, still silly commercials...My point is that we cannot rely on the testimony of those with the biggest vested interest, Librarians, to give us the opposing viewpoint. It is too skewed, too crazy. And we cannot speak in romantic terms about technology that is so outdated, that it isn't even technology. What a waste of space a library is when digital readers exist!

If there is a psychologist, or a series of psychological studies, that can prove to me, that beyond reason, people are incapable of reading a Kindle and computing the information, then I'm all for old, smelly, space-taking-up-books...but to deny this revolution of technology - potentially every book you ever wanted packed into a Kindle thats smaller than your copy of The Goblet of Fire, that's just fighting progress...

...Iraq reminds me of something...

I flat out don't have time to post to this as much as I used to, obviously, but I also don't have as much time as I want to to post either. I am going to do quick things from now on I guess, and maybe on weekends or whatever I'll have more time. Or when I am watching Celtics games.

I read this article about backwards/wacky justice in Iraq. My first thought, in combination with the news out of Afghanistan that the elections were completely fixed, was to think back on an interview with Hilary who proudly boasted that we are going to stay out of it in Afghanistan, as far as the election - then we'll get back to killing a mixture of civilians and terrorists haphazardly, like we have basically perfected.

So we are mixed up completely in Iraq and Afghanistan, with no end in sight to either, for completely nonsensical goals of leaving the countries better off than we found them, and the "better" means completely, and almost exclusively, "Free, Democratic elections." We know, without question, both countries are incapable of doing this, at least right now. So we will stay there til when? Til the next election cycle, I guess. What is our choice? I mean, our idiotic political choice, not the logical, get-the-hell-out-of-dodge, choice.

But I am straying from my initial point of writing this, and that was to compare what is going on in Iraq and how the Times treated it, as compared to one of our major political snafu's and horrendous abuses of Prisoner's of War, which is Abu Ghraib. This line: "In this case, the henchmen will be hanged. But the suspected ringleaders, with well-known ties to the Shiite political elite, have escaped," reminded me of Erroll Morris' amazing documentary, Standard Operating Procedure.

It struck me so clearly that the Times writer, and all of us reading this, look at the article and think, amongst other things, "what a joke of a country - even the most basic elements are justice are corrupted and corruptable, and nothing can be done to change that, ever."

Well, guess what, our country operates on that same process on a minute-by-minute basis, with literally the most powerful and most in-charge actively taking place on a daily basis. This is from an article I found regarding the sentencing of only low-ranking officials in the US Army for the atrocities of Abu Ghraib.

I should say this, and I feel like I have wanted to say it forever, but I can't stand when people downplay what went on there. You hear so frequently, "oh who cares, so what we made a guy get naked, he was trying to kill Americans!" There are a few responses to that, but mainly a lot of guys abused at Abu Ghraib weren't ever terrorists, and 100% of them were not convicted as terrorists - the people who defend the horrors of that prison are the same ones who think our actions in Iraq are justified because they don't have axioms like "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" in place. We fight for things we don't believe in. Our soldiers go to jail, and die for, things they don't really believe in. It's so baffling.

But back to the article I read regarding the sentencing of low-ranking officers getting all the blame, I found this excerpt I loved. This is old, so "yesterday" doesn't mean early September '09.

"Also yesterday, an Army officer who has told members of Congress and a human rights group that vague policies from military leaders fomented abuse spoke publicly for the first time. Capt. Ian Fishback, 26, said in an interview that he believes the Army is examining his claims of command failures and unclear treatment guidelines mainly to punish low-ranking soldiers and not to explore whether top commanders bear responsibility.

Fishback, assigned to Fort Bragg, N.C., expressed frustration that Army investigators who have talked to him in the past week have focused almost entirely on identifying soldiers who spoke anonymously to Human Rights Watch. Fishback and two unidentified soldiers spoke of detainee abuse at bases in Afghanistan and Iraq, including instances in which detainees were severely beaten, pushed to exhaustion or humiliated.

"The way we have been treating detainees is immoral," Fishback said. "We had a serious command climate problem, across the board. One of the things that infuriates me is that the leaders are not accepting responsibility."

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at a news briefing yesterday that the Army is taking the allegations seriously. "And to the extent somebody's done something that they shouldn't have done, they'll be punished for it," Rumsfeld said. "And in any event, we'll know the truth."

Rumsfeld is as much of a criminal as those assholes who executed Prison Guards in cold blood in Iraq. We laugh at Iraq as a country the way the British laughed at us when we fought for our freedom, as Iraq is doing as well. We are, in all respects and all historical contexts, a completely dying and declining Empire. The end in only near, it is in plain view, and I really didn't think it was going to be in my lifetime when I'd see 'the collapse', but I'm starting to change my World View.

...Housing is Medicine...

It just dawned on me, and this is a really flimsy argument with no reading up on or thinking in depth about, but I am starting to see how the Housing Crisis has predicted the outcome of our Great Medical debate.

In a nutshell, Americans were buying homes they could not afford. When push came to shove, and Adjustable Rate Mortgages adjusted the upwards way, people couldn't afford their mortgage, and everything else collapsed.

What if the Medical field is the same thing? What if we have advanced so far, on the heels of unthinkable profits by the triumverate of modern medicine (Insurance Providers, Pharmaceutical Companies and Wall Street), that the costs of operating modern medicine are exceeding what we can actually afford.

This isn't a question of who should receive the treatments, in this case I am not talking specifically about the Health Care debate, I'm talking about the notion that the High Cost surgeries, x-rays, drugs, prescriptions, plastic limbs and miniature cameras that are all inside people's bodies...what if all of those things add up to a cost that far exceeds what we can actually afford?

The Housing situation is clearly shifting, we are seeing some markets, like Massachusetts, show growth in home purchase numbers, even in places like Las Vegas and Florida as well - things are looking up. The reason, I think, is because everyone has changed their mindset, right? There was obviously relief in the form of loan leniency as well as tax breaks for first time home buyers - but the reasons are less important than the fact that there are reasons. And most certainly people aren't buying homes they cannot afford, and if they are, they are doing it on money borrowed from Mom & Dad as opposed to a bank that is charging 2% now and 18% later.

So what form would it take with modern medicine? What is the choice? We have gone too far, we cannot look back, can we? Maybe we have to. To put it in the housing terms, maybe we cannot afford the jacuzzi and the 4th bedroom, and we have to live in a 2-Bedroom ranch in a town we don't want to live in.

The trail my brain is going down is terrifying. Imagine the Gov't decision-making that would have to take place on where we'd have to sacrifice? Would it be no more MRI's? Would it be no more anti-depressant or other psychological drugs? What if we cannot afford all this stuff?

Now, the thing you're probably thinking is, "of course we can afford it, but the price has just been gouged so high by Pharmas and HMO's, and that is fixable..." Is it? Does a house really have to cost a 1/2 million? You do realize that we are equating "health" in the Housing Market with a return to "normal" prices and a return to acceptable level of people willing to pay those prices. What makes you think it'd be any different for a 2 week supply of Prozac?

...Patriots and Sports...

It is so nice to be watching football again - the NBA season was strong, but this lack of sports-watching since June has hurt me pretty badly. I suppose I've filled it with Golf and other things, but I do miss following the ins and outs of an entire league.

The Patriots are playing the Redskins in a preseason game tonight, and it has been more fun to watch than I had anticipated. Here are some of the reasons why:

> First incompletion of the game by Brady was a flare pass out to Fred Taylor, which to the viewer was easily seen as an incomplete forward pass, but you can easily understand why Taylor, the Pats RB, may have not seen that so clearly. It was so refreshing to see him chase the ball down, as if it may have been a lateral or backwards pass, and to see a genuine kind of hustle that helps teams win championships.

> The Redskins are exactly, exactly, what I think they are. They are a fantastic roster of athletes, who cannot contain themselves when it comes to penalties. They are individuals who think they need to make all the plays. Haynesworth jumping a snap for an encroachment, Smoot dancing like a moron after each tackle, D. Hall with a facemask on a tackle that stopped Moss for fourth down, and also Hall getting beat b/c he bit too hard on a pumpfake. All these are examples of individuals thinking they need to to the extraordinary thing, rather than doing their job.

> Brady has the best combination of arm strength and accuracy I have ever seen. Maybe, and I hate to say it, Marino may have bested him. Montana had lots of things going on, as did Steve Young, but Brady has managed to package it all up into something remarkable. Which leads me to my next point...

> Belichick has mastered the thought process of, "Why Run?" He has decided, "While most teams have to run to keep defenses honest, I have Moss and Brady, so I don't need to think like that. I am going to run only when I have to, try to stop me."

> I decided the worst sports moments of my life are as follows, from 5th most painful to most painful:

5. The moment when I missed a penalty kick in a soccer game that would have sent us to "States". To this day I don't even know what that means. But I know I felt pain and my parents bought me Dairy Queen. That Dairy Queen is now a bank, and I don't like soccer, but it stuck with me as exceptionally painful.

4. Coming in 3rd in my league championship in Javelin my Sr. Year, after having gone completely undefeated in the league during the entire Spring Season. I went into the event as the #1 seed, so to speak, and knew, knew, with barely above average throws I could squeak it out. I was right, but I threw below average all day. I faulted on my best throw, and the championship slipped through my fingers. That had no silver lining, I learned no lesson. The next week I came in 2nd in Eastern Massachusetts to qualify for states, so it felt more like a nuisance to lose than a life lesson. That still really irks me.

3. Twisted Metal Ultimate losing to GOAT in the Game to go to Nationals in '04. The most painful personal sports moment of my life, but it really had so many silver linings:
a) I used this a big time motivational tool for myself personally in my career, and even developed a presentation based on this weekend to get myself a job in the Spring of '05
b) The Boston Ultimate landscape was changed forever by Metal, and I am proud to say I had something to do with that. This game was so entirely huge for everyone who played in it, and it really was an important game for dozens of close friends.
c) The game itself was so remarkable I was so proud to be a part of it. Tons of fans, tons of spectators, those who were watching and playing got a clear understanding of what Ultimate meant to all of us, and the comraderie I felt with my team and the opposing team during and after this loss was second to none.

2. Red Sox lose to the Yankees in the '03 ALCS on a walk off homer by Boone. This feels like light years away, and I know I was blown away so completely by this loss. I didn't speak for I think almost 24 hours aside from a "goodbye" to my parents as I left their house. I was damaged to a point where I just stopped letting sports on a professional level get to me that much. I realized I didn't have it in me to feel that way for the rest of my life. Wow, I used to really care about baseball.

1. Patriots lose to the Giants in the Super Bowl. At the time I didn't let it kill me, and I remember laughing about it and not being disheartened to the point where I was upset. I think that I can't get that feeling anymore for sports, that time of my life is past, which is fine by me. But it is criminal that they lost, the "what if's" about that game extend far beyond the game itself - the perfect season lost, the blemish on Bill and Brady's records in the playoffs, and just the incongruity of it all. It makes no sense to this day, and it never will. A blight on our sports life that is unreasonable.

> Laurence Maroney is doing everything he can to separate himself from the likes of Taylor, Green-Ellis and Morris. Wow, this Pats team is so stacked.

> Another heady play, Derrick Burgess stayed home, didn't rush into the backfield, and chased Jason Campbell back about 25 yards before he had to throw it away. All these guys do is their job, over and over and over again.

I can't gush anymore over this team, that'll have to wait for week 1.

...Juvie Hall; Calm Health Care Debate; Jefferson; CIA Interrogation; Kennedy;

Tuesday, 8/25

4 New York Prisons In New York Used Excessive Force
I think I am completely tired of stories like this - although the story of the Investigations into CIA abuse don't bore me...but I think it's more of a matter that we all know, know, not think, that this type of abuse happens at every prison in this country, on every level.

The line that jumped out at me was, "Investigators found that physical force was often the first response to any act of insubordination by residents, who are all under 16, despite rules allowing force only as a last resort." This just gets to me on so many levels, especially the level that understands that kids who are 16 or under, already screwed up enough to have found themselves in Youth Prison, do everything they can to illicit this type of reaction from any kind of superior. It's such a played out and tired story, and the reality is, the laziness of everyone in these kid's lives, starting with parents and moving on to probably 95% of those who have touched their lives, lead them into a place where they get demolished by some 22 year old college-dropout semi-alcoholic prison guard. Yuk.

Calm, but Moved to Be Heard In the Debate Over Health Care
I think this was the single best article I have read regarding anything to do with health care. It was able to look at the reality of what many American's think about the whole deal, and it was the Times going as far Right as they possibly could, which is I think still a little bit Left of center. I urge you to read the article with an open mind and really try to think like it's subject, the Collier family.

From the article, "What prompted the Colliers to attend a Congressional district meeting for the first time was an almost solemn sense of the magnitude of the health care issue, and its place in determining the scope of American government." That really is a powerful line if you stop and think about it - this really is one of those moments in our History that will shape a great deal of policy in the future, and I think the Left maybe has been a little dismissive of that fact, myself included. I am starting to turn a corner, mostly because as news trickles out, the reality is this Health Care plan is going to look nothing like what Obama campaigned on, and it looks more and more like it won't fix anything, nothing at all.

The article continues, "The Colliers are committed conservatives who have voted Republican in presidential elections since 1980. They receive much of their news from Fox News, Rush Limbaugh's radio program, and Matt Druge's Web Site." Am I the only person who votes Democrat, and watches Fox News and listens to Rush as much as he listens/watches any other news outlet? Is that not the only way to start to engage in an intelligent discussion on any issue?

If I was going to debate who was History would say is a better QB, Favre or Brady, would I not go into detailed research on each QB? Would I not study what the possible arguments are, both for and against each particular QB? Listening to Rush over the past few months, in particular, has been completely eye-opening. I don't mean that purely in the, "What the F#$* did he just say?" sense. I mean it in the, "Well, that sorta does make sense, and it sorta does weaken my position - I need to think about that a bit more..."

I am not married to my ideals in relation to Politics, I am married to being honest with myself and other people. I am okay attacking Obama on things like this stupid double-war we have found ourselves in, that he isn't any different than GW in this thing besides the fact that he isn't waterboarding anyone...My point is that getting your news from one place is stupid, its childish and short-sighted and isn't what will prepare you to understand anything. Sorry to preach, but this is one thing where I don't mind preaching.

I am reading this book right now, and there couldn't be a President more amazingly interesting to read about right now, in our political climate, than this guy. Of course, I don't know what I am talking about, but this guy was a "Small Government" guy to the extreme, to a point where he could never operate in our public sphere. As a matter of fact, guys like Ron Paul take a cue from Jefferson, but tone it down a notch, and look at how laughed at he is right now?

The thing that completely kills me is that the US public, particularly the right, is so Jingoistically Pro-America to the point where you cannot criticize any of this countries practices in regards to our choices...we can do no wrong in their eyes. Yet, when those same people elect leaders to the Senate, Congress, the Oval Office, etc, it is okay to dismantle everything the politicians think. In other words, their thinking is: Americans are the greatest, they are never wrong. Except when voting in our leaders, then we are wrong most of the time.

Jefferson felt that the role of the US President was so minimal to the point that he didn't even think the President should have a title that ornate. The reasons why he would be rolling over in his grave about the powers that Obama is taking on are explained nearly on every page of the book, but the most interesting thing was how quickly Jefferson, a completely Small-Government guy, changed his tune when it came to expanding the country and essentially buying the Louisiana Territory (aka, most of this country), without consulting the people, the elected officials, or anyone but his own ego.

There are times when the leader of the Nation has to do something that may be unpopular, unliked and unprecedented. This is clearly one of those times. More power to Obama. Just fix it, cuz I don't mind saying you were wrong if all this doesn't work out.

Wednesday, 8/26

Records Show Strict Rules For C.I.A. Interrogations
The record needs to be set straight. War=Torture. The two cannot coexist without each other, and the two cannot exist on their own. It is so naive and ignorant to imagine this country in multiple wars in dozens of countries and not think that we are completely kicking someone's ass in a way that doesn't demolish all "rules of war". Rules of war, don't get me started, could anything be more childlike? Literally, like when you played war in the backyard and you couldn't drink your Mom's Iced Tea until you were "dead", those kinds of things. Don't shoot the medic. What? Don't do the thing that may effectively wipe out your opponent, ultimately ending the war. How many medics did we "shoot" when we bombed Hiroshima? How does this rule work, exactly?

The article speaks about how "'The detainee finds himself in the complete control of Americans; the procedures he is subjected to are precise, quiet and almost clinical,' noted one document." I love the use of "almost" in there, it really is just so they can stop short of accusing Cheney's highest ranking torture official of being Josef Mengele.

Again, if you are pro this war, or any war, you have to accept the fact that you are pro torture. Torture of all unimaginable kinds. Pulling toenails is child's play compared to what these monsters come up with now, and all of this is with no direct proof that any reliable information is procured as a result of these processes, on a statistical scale, at least.

Obama needs to do 3 things for me to respect him on this one:
1. He needs to admit that he is Holder's boss, and he is going to tell Holder what to do and when to do it. Holder isn't operating independently on this matter, and shouldn't be. It is okay, Barack. You can hate the things that happened as a result of Bush/Cheney policies.
2. He needs to shut the hell up about how the past is the past, he needs to talk about, show pictures of, and discuss in detail these abuses by our Gov't in time of war. For someone who had everything to say about "teachable moments" when it comes to race relations in the case of a maniac on his front porch in Cambridge, he surprisingly wants to teach very little about the monstrosity of torture and the reasons why the relationship between the US and the rest of the world are so closely tied to the practices.

Thursday, 8/27

Senator Kennedy, Battle Lost, Is Hailed as a Leader
No need to link this one, Boston.com is engaging in 24 hour coverage for the next 72 days, so no need to worry. I understand he is a Kennedy, but I think the amazing thing that is happening is that those who are over 42 or so seem to forget that my generation, and the majority of those out there right now, while we may have respect for Ted, we don't have the reverence for him that news agencies think he deserves.

The real story behind this is the last few days of Kennedy's life, and the political wranglings that were attempted. My thoughts are that Kennedy was not in position to make the kinds of judgments and proposals that came from his camp in the last 10 days. His "people" clearly were behind this, and that makes it worse, not better. "Under current law, a sepcial election could not take place until at least 145 days after a Senate Seat opens." This has been covered completely by news agencies, and we all know this rule came into effect, at Kennedy's urging, when John Kerry looked like the next President of the US in '04.

As the story goes, Romney was Gov. of MA, people were afraid he'd appoint a Republican Senator, and the law was changed by a powerful Dem. legislature in the state. Yesterday's NYTimes editorial (sorta) hit the nail on the head. They spoke about the political reasons why you cannot just change the law, and they also spoke about how all Senators should be elected, stating that as much as 27% of the US Population is represented by a Senator who was appointed, not elected. Scary.

But if the Left wanted to be honest with itself, and I am suprised I am not reading more of this, if Kennedy and the MA Democratic leadership really cared about the future of the state, in a wholesome and altruistic way, Kennedy would have resigned his seat months ago. 145 days ago he could have stepped down, citing that he is "Sick, tired and hopeful the state will elect a Democratic voice to continue with the policies I was so integral in developing and enacting," or something along those lines.

The issue isn't that this state will Democratically elect a Republican to be our Senator, we won't...we will nominate Deval Patrick as Senator before we throw a Republican next to Kerry on capital hill. The issue is that we are now 1 Democrat short of 60, and short of vote-tipping power.

Kennedy and his people were selfish, plain and simple. They wanted their name on this Health Care Bill, they wanted everything associated with it to be pushed towards Ted for his final days, and now the entire Democratic voting population is paying the price.

The Left, the Democrats, in November were up by 3 Touchdowns to use a football metaphor. And since then, they have been taking a knee with the ball and playing Prevent defense, allowing big strike after big strike, which has allowed the Republicans to chip away and chip away. This lead is probably, at this point, barely more than a field goal (to continue the metaphor) and there is no sign of things slowing down. 2010 is the least of the Dems concerns, because right now we are looking like 2012 is a landslide victory for our first Mormon President.

That's enough for now.

...I bought a new car...

I have purchased a new car.

This is my first new car since 2001 when I bought a Toyota Echo. I won't go into the specifics but that was a long time ago, in a Nick galaxy far, far away.

This time around I went to a bunch of dealerships and drove a lot of cars in 2 days.
I drove the following:
Mazda 3 (2 versions)
Toyota Camry (3 versions)
Subaru Outback (1 version)
Volkswagen Jetta (1 version)

I drove the Mazda first, and I liked it the most. I went back to it after driving the Jetta and drove the Mazda again, and I loved the way it drove and handled.

I originally posted a link here with images/details on the car, but I realized that Mazda times out the link, so I'll have to repost from a different site tomorrow. See the end of this Blog post to see what the car is and you can google it to get images/detail.

Here is also a link to a video that some dude on Youtube did that shows the interior, I got all these features and I cannot be more excited. I didn't get the blackberry, however, so I am not sure how this will interact with my iPhone, but I'm still very excited.

Officially, the car I bought is the Mazda3 s Grand Touring Edition, 2.5 Cyl, 167hp, with Tech Pack included. Black leather interior, Granite Mica Exterior.

Sweet.

...The end of a Jetta...

8/16/09 will forever be remembered as the day my Jetta (probably) died. The story is unique, almost surreal, but in the end nobody was hurt, and I may end up with a new car out of the deal, so I'm not going to complain.

I drive a 2001 White VW Jetta. My dad bought this car in '00 or '01, and sometime in '05 I bought this car from him as part of a car swap. The car has treated me well, and out of all of the cars I have driven, it felt the most likely the Audi 80 my family used to own. I didn't like the color much, but beyond that, it treated me well.

On Saturday night, I was staying at Trav's house in Ayer, MA - we had our summer league tourney and our team was shacked up there. A few of us parked our cars across the street from his house on the lawn area that was outside of the white lines that marked the edge of the road. We have parked there numerous times for various gatherings, with no issue.

At about 6:20am on Sunday 8/16, the entire house was awoken by a loud crash/bang noise. At first, from my room in the back of the house, I thought for some reason something had happened within the house, but after waking myself up a bit more and looking out the front, I realized a woman had crashed her car in front of Trav's house.

At this point, in looking outside, and after 911 was called by a few other friends, it became clear that everyone was okay, which was nice. I decided to go downstairs with other teammates and see what really happened. As I looked out the window I realized my car was missing a hubcap - I was disappointed to see I had lost one, I didn't know when that had happened. As I reached the bottom of the staircase, a teammate said, "you should look at your car," or something along those lines.

Still groggy, I couldn't figure out for the life of me how my car could be involved in this - I was asleep, the car was parked in a series of 3 or 4 cars, I was not the car on the end, what kind of sense does this make? I walked out of the house still in my pajamas, and it became clear, and the story unfolded.

My car, as I said before, was parked on the side of the road - a driver who clearly lost control and/or focus, struck my car at a pretty good clip, and then swerved off the road. Her airbag deployed, I believe she had a toddler in the car with her (details on who was in which car are still fuzzy to me). There were 3 people who saw the accident - The driver, her toddler daughter, and her mom. They were in 2 seperate cars, I am not entirely sure how it all happened, and strangely, I don't really care much.

The damage is as follows:





This may not do it all justice, but I am pretty sure it's total damage. The tire sorta popped off the axis, and it clearly is turned the wrong way. I am going to take advantage of this opportunity to do some car shopping, realize how lucky everyone is that nobody was in the car and nobody was injured, and see what happens next.

To the girl who hit me: Don't stress out, thanks for making my decision to get a new car easy, and good luck with your insurance payments...