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Saturday, June 30, 2007
Mark Yost and son George have moved on from Milwaukee to Detroit and he brings us the next installment in his basebal blogging odyssey from Comerica Park, the scene of last nights Twins-Tigers game:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well ... I know the Fraters have been anxious to get this installment of the Baseball Blog. Earlier in the day on Friday, I had predicted a 10-run victory in the Tigers-Twins tilt Friday night. I just picked the wrong team. The Twinkies pounded the AL Central-leading Tigers at Comerica Park, 11-1. The game was all-but-decided with Joe Mauer's grand slam in the top of the fifth. The Tigers added a run in the sixth, but the Twins added five more before it was all over. It was nothing short of a dominant victory for the Twins, a decisive win for Johan Santana, who improved his record to 9-6, gave up only five hits over six innings, and dropped his ERA to 2.76. Learned Foot, who was a bit annoyed by my Miller Park post, will be happy to learn that Comerica Park finishes a distant second to his hometown field. Parking was $15 in Detroit, compared with $8 at Miller Park. In Detroit, you park in abandoned lots abutting drug-infested neighborhoods, while outside Miller Park the only danger was getting between the portly fans and the Klement's Sausage Haus. One thing that Detroit's exterior does have over Milwaukee is gypsy peanut vendors. I hate paying ballpark prices for peanuts (usually about $3.50). Outside Miller Park, there were no peanut vendors to be found. In Detroit, they were everywhere, selling bags of tasty peanuts for $1. Detroit, which opened in 2000, does have wider, more open concourses. In fact, I would advise anyone tasked with overseeing the architectural plans for the concourse area of a new baseball stadium to visit Detroit. There's a lot worth copying here. Like a lot of new ballparks, Comerica (which is a Detroit bank) has traditional concessions, as well as local restaurant outlets. For men of Sisyphinian proportions, there's a Bob's Big Boy, as well as a pretty good BBQ joint. There's also a Leo's Coney Island. One of the oddities of Detroit is that nearly every diner is called "a Coney." Their signature dish is a chili dog, which Detroiters call "Coneys." My friend Angelo Kalogiannis from Astoria used to love to visit me in Detroit, go into a Coney for breakfast, and ask the hostess and the wait staff if they knew where Coney Island was. Invariably, most of them said, "No." "Amazing!!!!" he'd say. The food at Comerica was far inferior to that in Miller Park, and more expensive. The Hebrew National kosher hot dogs, brats and Italian sausage were all priced at $5. The standard Ballpark franks were $3.50. I had the Italian sausage with peppers and onions and was mildly disappointed. It was OK, but nowhere near as good as the brats with red sauce at Miller Park. The beer was a bigger ripoff. While you could get a good microbrew at Miller Park for $4.50, drafts of swill like Bud Light and the mildly better Labatt's were $8.50. And the "gourment popcorn" was $6. George did get a fairly decent fresh lemonade that was $4, about standard for ballpark prices. And his Little Caesar's pizza was only $2.75 vs. the slightly larger dreck that was served at Miller Park for $6. I also noticed that no one on the concourse paid attention to the National Anthem. At Miller Park, all activity stopped and the countermen took off their hats. At Comerica, people continued to buy beers and brats, put mustard on their hot dogs, and walk toward their seats. Only when they emerged from the concourse did they pay tribute to the Star Spangled Banner, but most didn't take their hats off. Disappointing. On the upside, the tickets were a bargain. The series is almost a sell out. There were 42,361 there on Friday, but we were able to get $15 SRO tickets. We stood out on the centerfield concourse and by the third inning found unoccupied seats. Again, it was a bargain that would make the Nihilist blush The fans were a little more into the game, too, than the ones we saw at Miller Park. The Detroit fans seemed genuinely concerned when the Twins scored two quick runs in the first off Tigers ace Justin Verlander. And they arose to the importance of 3-2 counts without having to be prompted by the PA system, organist, or some interactive scoreboard encouraging them to "Get Loud." In short, they seemed like a much more sophisticated, baseball-savvy crowd. In general, Detroit was a good experience, but fell short of Miller Park on a number of fronts. I rated Miller Park an 8; I'd rate Comerica a 6. Up next: PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Sunday for a 1:05 game against the Washington Nationals. Labels: Baseball Friday, June 29, 2007
Usually I do all my book shopping through Amazon or better yet get books for free as part of promotional efforts. I can't remember the last time I went to a bricks and mortar store and bought a book.
Today, I remembered why I've avoided them. I strolled over to the local branch of a large national book chain during lunch and picked up a couple of books to give as gifts. The jackals fed well as I paid full price for both. Full frickin' price. I almost forget how painful that is. The idea of paying 33% more for a book just because I was picking it up at the store today rather than ordering it online was not easy to swallow. Sure, I'm paying for the convenience, but a FULL THIRD MORE seems to be approaching any reasonable definition of gouging. When are the politicians in Washington going to wake up and do something about Big Books? Labels: Books
Front page article in today's Wall Street Journal on the divisions within the leadership ranks of the Army--often following generational lines--over strategies and tactics in Iraq (sub req):
Last December, Lt. Col. Paul Yingling attended a Purple Heart ceremony for soldiers injured in Iraq. As he watched the wounded troops collect their medals, the 41-year-old officer reflected on his two combat tours in Iraq. He was frustrated at how slowly the Army had adjusted to the demands of guerrilla war, and ashamed he hadn't done more to push for change. By the end of the ceremony, he says, he could barely look the wounded troops in the eyes. Col. Yingling just had been chosen to lead a 540-soldier battalion. "I can't command like this," he recalls thinking. He poured his thoughts into a blistering critique of the Army brass, A Failure In Generalship, published last month in Armed Forces Journal, a nongovernment publication. "America's generals have been checked by a form of war that they did not prepare for and do not understand," his piece argued. The essay rocketed around the Army via email. The director of the Army's elite school for war planners scrapped his lesson plan for a day to discuss it. The commanding general at Fort Hood assembled about 200 captains in the chapel of that Texas base and delivered a speech intended to rebut it. "I think [Col. Yingling] was speaking some truths that most of us talk about over beers," says Col. Matthew Moten, a history professor at West Point who also served in Iraq. "Very few of us have the courage or foolhardiness to put them in print." We linked to Col. Yingling's piece when it appeared and I find it heartening to hear that it incited such a response among his fellow soldiers. The controversy over Col. Yingling's essay is part of a broader debate within the military over why the Army has struggled in Iraq, what it should look like going forward, and how it should be led. It's a fight being hashed out in the form of what one Pentagon official calls "failure narratives." Some of these explanations for the military's struggles in Iraq come through official channels. Others, like Col. Yingling's, are unofficial and show up in military journals and books. The conflicting theories on Iraq reflect growing divisions within the military along generational lines, pitting young officers, exhausted by multiple Iraq tours and eager for change, against more conservative generals. Army and Air Force officers are also developing their own divergent explanations for Iraq. The Air Force narratives typically suggest the military should in the future avoid manpower-intensive guerrilla wars. Army officers counter that such fights are inevitable. Unfortunately, you don't always get to choose the type of war that you fight. Part of the reason that the Army has struggled in Iraq is that their leaders decided that the lesson of Vietnam was not to get involved in wars like it again rather than learning how to fight and win a counterinsurgency struggle. The generational divide is fueling a fight over how the Army should use the extra troops it is getting. The Army wants to build five more brigades, which consist of 5,000 to 7,000 soldiers each. But some young officers, such as Lt. Col. John Nagl, an Iraq veteran who helped write the new counterinsurgency doctrine, want more radical change. He contends the extra troops should be used to build a new, 20,000-man advisory corps focused on training foreign forces. "The most important military component of the Long War [on terrorism] will not be the fighting we do ourselves, but how well we enable and empower our allies to fight with us," he wrote in an essay published by the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank. Although senior Army officials don't like Col. Nagl's idea, it has some support among Pentagon civilians in Defense Secretary Robert Gates's office. "A big question right now in the Pentagon is: How do you get the Army to begin this debate about itself and what it should look like after Iraq?" says Andrew Hoehn, a former Pentagon strategist and senior analyst at the Rand Corp., a government-funded think tank. Frustration among junior officers could drive bottom-up change, he says. We've had Lt. Col Nagl come on as a guest on the Northern Alliance Radio Network a couple of times. He's one of the new generation of Army leaders who are trying to get the military to adapt to the reality of the type of war that we are currently facing in Iraq (and will likely face elsewhere in the future). The success or failure of their efforts at reforming the military from within will have a lot to say about America's prospects for success in the Long War. Labels: Iraq
You've seen him in the pages of some of the finest publications in the country: the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the J. Peterman catalog. He also used to write for the Pioneer Press. Now he's finally made the big leagues, published right here on Fraters Libertas. Mark Yost is heading back to his ancestral homeland of Brooklyn for July 4, and on the way is hitting some big league ballparks, along with his trusty sidekick, George. And we're happy to post his exclusive reports right here. First stop, Miller Park in Milwaukee. Take it away Mark:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The National League-leading Milwaukee Brewers beat the Houston Astros, 6-3, in 11 innings at Miller Park Wednesday afternoon to complete the three-game sweep. It made for an exciting first stop for my son, George, and me as we drive from St. Paul to Brooklyn for Fourth of July. With time to spare, we decided to squeeze in some baseball along the way. The Fraters had enough extra electrons that we'll be reporting on our trip here over the next week. Mostly, this guest blog will be a review of the ballparks, the fans, and the food. Miller Park was a good place to start because it's one of a slew of new ballparks with a nod to the architectural past; it has a winning team (for the first time in eons); and, it has pretty good food. Unfortunately, it also has baseball fans. I'm pretty contemptuous of most baseball fans today. In general, they don't know much about the game, they're more interested in tracking down the sushi concession than keeping track of the pitch count. The only time they really get involved is when they're prompted by the Jumbotron. (Don't get me started on The Wave, Beach Balls and other unnecessary distractions.) George and I arrived at Miller Park about 45 minutes before the 1:05 first pitch. It was easy to get into from I-94 and general parking was $8. We quickly found a guy selling Loge tickets, the second deck, for $4 off face value and made our way toward Section 209, about halfway between first base and the foul pole. It had been raining in the morning, so the retractable roof was closed. That, combined with the 80-degree temperatures outside, made the place a real hothouse. The humidity was palpable at about 90%. I've been here before and like Miller Park. The fans like to show up early and grill in the parking lots. Inside, the brats are good, too. I took Learned Foot's suggestion and got one with the red sauce and grilled onions. Delicious, and reasonably priced at $4. Catering to the many beer-bellied cheeseheads, Miller Park has a pretty good selection of beer, too. On the downside, they have a coffee bar, something that has no business being in any major league park. The bottled water was outrageous at $3.50. While I inhaled my brat, George forced down the nasty Palermo's pizza. Six bucks for some gooey dough with ketchup and barely melted cheese. If my barber from New York, Tony Palermo, had been with us, he would have slapped the counterman. And the service was pretty poor. The guy who waited on us clearly hadn't mastered the cash register yet. Once in our seats, we found ourselves literally wedged between the drunks and the retards. Behind us were two rows of developmentally challenged adults. Many just sat there, staring blankly at the field. Unfortunately, we got the seat in front of the hyperactive one. Throughout the game, he loudly yelled cheers and encouragement that had nothing to do with the action on the field. But he's obviously a regular, because he responded appropriately to all the prompts from the sound system. He also knew the lyrics to every Heavy Metal song they played (his last name must be "Nugent.") In front of us were the aforementioned fans who were here for anything but the baseball. As best I could figure, it was the yearly outing for one of the local tire shops. They had absolutely no interest in what was happening on the field. All they cared about was the location of the beer man and taking close up photos of the thong straps of the cute 20 something in their group who was all too willing to show evermore as the game went on. When they weren't throwing things at each other -- popcorn, peanuts, Twizzlers -- they were standing up, blocking our view, loudly asking "Who wants another?" They did take notice of the sausage mascot race at the end of the sixth inning. The Polish sausage won, although the brat holds the season-long lead, having won 28% of the races. During the 7th inning stretch, our neighbors behind us sang enthusiastically during "Take Me Out to the Ballpark." The drunks cleared their pipes for the "Beer Barrel Polka" sing-along that followed. For those who were paying attention, it was a pretty good game, knotted up at 3. At the end of the 7th inning stretch, sweaty from just sitting there, I said to George, "Just two-and-a-half more innings. You can do that standing on your head." He looked at me, soaked in sweat, and said, "Dad, I can't even stand on my head." In the 8th inning, the retards got into a heated argument about the score. Most understood that it was tied up, 3-3. Our boisterous neighbor argued that the score was 7-6, which was actually the total number of hits, not runs. "It's the second set of numbers," he yelled, loud enough for Brewers right fielder Corey Hart to hear. He did, to his credit, follow the shuffling baseball caps game on the Jumbotron and guess correctly that the ball was under cap number three. At the end of nine innings, the only sober guy with the drunks decided to leave. He was wearing a T-shirt that read, "Star Wars Celebration IV." A half inning later most of the drunks left, too, "to be closer to the beer," giggled the girl showing off her thong straps all night. I doubt they knew it was a tie game. In the bottom of the 10th, the retard cheered for a grand slam, even though no one was on base. Then he sang along -- a little too knowingly for my comfort -- to AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long." George and I moved over a few sections closer to home plate. To their credit, most of the Brewers fans stuck it out through the extra innings. When Damian Miller stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 11th with two men on base, a couple in front of us stood and started cheering. A couple of old guys behind us politely asked them to sit down. The man turned around and gestured for them to stand up and then ignored their pleas. While one of the old guys went to get an usher, Miller sent the game-winning three-run homer into the Brewers' centerfield bullpen. A fitting end to our Miller Park experience. I don't want you to leave this extensive first post thinking Miller Park is a horrible place to see a game. Quite the contrary. It has good sight lines, good food, and, for the most part, good atmosphere. Furthermore, this is not meant to be a rant against Brewers fans (Learned Foot). I'm sure they're no less boorish than the fans we'll find on the rest of our trip. Sad, but true. Fans aside, I'd rate Miller Park an 8. George and I will have an off day from baseball on Thursday. We're going to the Great America amusement park just across the Illinois border. But we'll be back at it Friday night, in Detroit for Tigers-Twins. UPDATE: Learned Foot responds. Labels: Baseball Thursday, June 28, 2007
Now THIS is an honor. I didn't even know the Pope read blogs. I owe it all to clean living.
Labels: Religion
The US House of Representatives approved a salary increase for themselves yesterday, a healthy $4,400 per person. This raises their salary to an appalling 170K per year . Not bad for a group of people getting a 24% job approval rating from their alleged bosses. Stink at your job, make huge dough, and get regular raises. Good work if you can get it. Which is probably why it's so difficult to get any of these people to ever leave Washington and return to living the life of an ordinary citizen. In the real world, the compensation to performance ratio isn't nearly as good.
It is interesting to note this was a reasonably bi-partisan vote. 64% of voting Democrats supported it, as well as 50% of voting Republicans. Although the GOP is slightly less culpable, neither party can legitimately claim their hands are clean on this one. Minnesota's gang of eight representatives show a similar tendency of bi-partisan support for giving themselves a raise. 60% of our Democrats and 33% of our Republicans jumped on the automatic cost of living increase expressway. Individually, there were some surprises. Voting hell yes, I'm here to bleed taxpayers for every nickel I can get: John Kline (R) Betty McCollum (D) James Oberstar (D) Collin Peterson (D) Voting, no, we're not worthy: Michele Bachmann (R) Keith Ellison (D) Jim Ramstad (R) Tim Walz (D) It's too bad Kline went wobbly on this one. A united front for fiscal accountability among our GOP contingent might have been a powerful symbol come election time. As for the DFL'ers, I would have guessed they'd all be up for a little more government cheese, at any time. That two of them rejected it seems like a sell out of their principles. There is another variable at work that appears to be more powerful than party affiliation in predicting willingness to give yourself a raise. The same list, presented with the number of terms they have served in Congress. Voting hell yes, I'm here to bleed taxpayers for every nickel I can get: John Klein (R) - 3rd term Betty McCollum (D) - 4th term James Oberstar (D) - 17th term Collin Peterson (D) - 9th term Voting, no, we're not worthy: Michele Bachmann (R) 1st term Keith Ellison (D) - 1st term Jim Ramstad (R) - 9th term Tim Walz (D) - 1st term Only the Rammer throws a hammer into this perfect correlation of incumbency and the mindset that at 165K, you're underpaid. But, as our Congressmen would I'm sure agree, that's close enough for government work. I'm willing to accept this as another piece of powerful evidence in favor of term limits. How many of these people would have voted for the increase if they knew they'd never personally benefit from it? And with the further knowledge that they'd be back home in their districts scratching out an existence, having to pay more for some other, less qualified stooge to do the job? Under these conditions, I predict a vote somewhere in the range of 0 yea to 435 nay. Solution, all Congressmen are limited to a maximum of ONE term. If they must have multiple terms, no Congressman can ever personally benefit from a salary increase passed while they are in office. That is, your pay is FROZEN at the amount you received in your first year. For 34 year incumbent Jim Oberstar, I think that was about $2,587. Any chance he's still be doing his "public service" for us at that rate of pay? Highly unlikely. But if he was, at least we'd be paying him about what he was worth. Labels: Politics-Local (06-07)
Overheard at a local coffee shop at lunch today:
"Michael Moore says we should have the government run health care just like they do the police instead of having these insurance companies making profits on it. You wouldn't want to call a private police department would you?" Labels: Health care
The people who are now pointing at Norm Coleman and screaming "Hypocrite!" because he used to smoke weed in college and now opposes the legalization of marijuana are the same idiots who ask how they can tell their children not to do drugs when they inhaled in their own days of misspent youth. Apparently concepts such as learning the hard way, older and wiser, and maturity escape them.
Most of us did things during our days as teenagers and young adults that we now regard as reckless, unfulfilling, and yes downright stupid. Why? Because we were immature, inexperienced, and thought we knew a lot more than it turned out we really did. There's no shame in admitting that and no hypocrisy in telling your children not to make the same mistakes that you did. In fact, not passing on the lessons that you've learned or standing by and refusing to steer your children away from the pitfalls that you know all too well because of some misguided notion about integrity is a disservice bordering on negligence. Isn't it the wish of every parent that your children have a better life? Labels: Children
On Tuesday, Instapundit (and a variety of other sites) linked to a great post by David Kilcullen on how to understand the current operations in Iraq at Small Wars Journal:
On June 15th we kicked off a major series of division-sized operations in Baghdad and the surrounding provinces. As General Odierno said, we have finished the build-up phase and are now beginning the actual "surge of operations". I have often said that we need to give this time. That is still true. But this is the end of the beginning: we are now starting to put things onto a viable long-term footing. These operations are qualitatively different from what we have done before. Our concept is to knock over several insurgent safe havens simultaneously, in order to prevent terrorists relocating their infrastructure from one to another, and to create an operational synergy between what we're doing in Baghdad and what's happening outside. Unlike on previous occasions, we don't plan to leave these areas once they're secured. These ops will run over months, and the key activity is to stand up viable local security forces in partnership with Iraqi Army and Police, as well as political and economic programs, to permanently secure them. The really decisive activity will be police work, registration of the population and counterintelligence in these areas, to comb out the insurgent sleeper cells and political cells that have "gone quiet" as we moved in, but which will try to survive through the op and emerge later. This will take operational patience, and it will be intelligence-led, and Iraqi government-led. It will probably not make the news (the really important stuff rarely does) but it will be the truly decisive action. Not that you would learn any of this if your primary resource for information from Iraq is the mainstream media. Most of the reports that I've read, seen, or heard about recent operations concentrate on "rising US casualities" or write off the efforts as futile because those wily Al Qaeda chaps have "slipped away once again." Kilcullen provides a much needed corrective: When we speak of "clearing" an enemy safe haven, we are not talking about destroying the enemy in it; we are talking about rescuing the population in it from enemy intimidation. If we don't get every enemy cell in the initial operation, that's OK. The point of the operations is to lift the pall of fear from population groups that have been intimidated and exploited by terrorists to date, then win them over and work with them in partnership to clean out the cells that remain--as has happened in Al Anbar Province and can happen elsewhere in Iraq as well. The "terrain" we are clearing is human terrain, not physical terrain. It is about marginalizing al Qa'ida, Shi'a extremist militias, and the other terrorist groups from the population they prey on. This is why claims that "80% of AQ leadership have fled" don't overly disturb us: the aim is not to kill every last AQ leader, but rather to drive them off the population and keep them off, so that we can work with the community to prevent their return. Almost sounds like classic counterinsurgency, don't it? Is there a strategic risk involved in this series of operations? Absolutely. Nothing in war is risk-free. We have chosen to accept and manage this risk, primarily because a low-risk option simply will not get us the operational effects that the strategic situation demands. We have to play the hand we have been dealt as intelligently as possible, so we're doing what has to be done. It still might not work, but "it is what it is" at this point. So much for theory. The practice, as always, has been mixed. Personally, I think we are doing reasonably well and casualties have been lower so far than I feared. Every single loss is a tragedy. But so far, thank God, the loss rate has not been too terrible: casualties are up in absolute terms, but down as a proportion of troops deployed (in the fourth quarter of 2006 we had about 100,000 troops in country and casualties averaged 90 deaths a month; now we have almost 160,000 troops in country but deaths are under 120 per month, much less than a proportionate increase, which would have been around 150 a month). And last year we patrolled rarely, mainly in vehicles, and got hit almost every time we went out. Now we patrol all the time, on foot, by day and night with Iraqi units normally present as partners, and the chances of getting hit are much lower on each patrol. We are finally coming out of the "defensive crouch" with which we used to approach the environment, and it is starting to pay off. It will be a long, hard summer, with much pain and loss to come, and things could still go either way. But the population-centric approach is the beginning of a process that aims to put the overall campaign onto a sustainable long-term footing. The politics of the matter then can be decisive, provided the Iraqis use the time we have bought for them to reach the essential accommodation. The Embassy and MNF-I continue to work on these issues at the highest levels but fundamentally, this is something that only Iraqis can resolve: our role is to provide an environment in which it becomes possible This last point is a rebuke to the critics who harp "A military solution isn't possible." Of course, there isn't a purely military solution for Iraq. Military leaders, from General Petraeus on down, have acknowldged this over and over. But any potential political solution must have a military component--namely security--to have any chance at all. Labels: Iraq
In a piece on whether journalists should make political contributions, the Strib's Neil Justin sounds a common-sense call for greater diversity in the newsroom:
But instead of curtailing journalists' freedoms, we'd be better off increasing diversity in the newsroom. That means encouraging more young conservatives to join the profession, to be active members in the newsroom, to have their voices heard when important decisions are made. If as many journalists attended an antiabortion rally as an abortion-rights one, it'd be harder to accuse the media of bias. Bingo. Instead of trying pretend that journalists aren't partisan, why not work toward correcting the roughly 9 to 1 imbalance that currently exists in the media? On the subject of the pretense of objectivity, Justin includes this knee-slapper from straight-down-the-middle Don Shelby: "Under no circumstances is it ever right for a journalist to make a contribution to any politician, ever. As soon as you do, you have taken a side and you begin pulling for that person. You're going to try to do whatever for your party to win. For the longest time, I argued that we shouldn't vote, but I changed my mind in recent years after getting mad at the fact that not enough people were voting." Labels: Media-Local (05-07) Flipping around the crable channels last night I came upon Wisconsin Congressman Dave Obey prattling on about whatever. I say whatever because I was momentarily stupified by his outrageous rug! Check this thing out:
Are there ANY politicans with the stones to run for office a fresco? Labels: Insecure Baby Boomers who refuse to grow up UPDATE: What IS IT with out neighbors to the East? Here's another Congressman from WI with an equally bad piece, Dr. Steve Kagen:  Gentlemen, I implore you. Men go bald. It's part of the deal. Accept it and get on with your life of trying to force other people to do stuff.My first order of business as a Congressman would be banning toops and plugs in my district. Labels: The Rug Doctor Is In
More From Catholic Matters by Neuhaus:
Early on, Benedict took up the theme of evangelization in a way reminiscent of John Paul's statement in Redemptoris Missio (The Mission of the Redeemer) that the Church imposes nothing, she only proposes. There are those, Benedict observed, who say non-Christians should be "left in peace" out of respect for their own "authentic" beliefs, whatever they may be. "But how can this be the case," asked Benedict "If the true authenticity of every person is found in communion with Christ and not without him? Isn't it our duty to offer them this essential reality?" As Joseph Ratzinger did in his many writings, so Benedict has emphatically underscored in the unbreakable connection between freedom and truth. The truth of Christ does not restrict, never mind abolish freedom, it is the foundation of freedom. He said "If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that he might take something away from us?" He then answered "No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great...Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation." Labels: Truth, freedom--some of that stuff Labels: Religion Wednesday, June 27, 2007
I see Minnesota is soon to be graced with the intellectual byproducts of a new think tank, Minnesota 2020. It's run by by one of the most liberal politicians in the state, former DFL State Congressman Matt Enteza. But fear not, fellow citizens, when they start advocating for higher taxes and more regulation, politics will have nothing to do with it.
From their mission statement: Minnesota 2020 is a progressive, non-partisan think tank. We are focused on what really matters for the future of our state. We are tired of a state that focuses on divisive side issues while our schools, healthcare, transportation, and economic development suffer. This is the equivalent of Fred Smoot renting a party boat on Lake Minnetonka and assuring us it will be a non-hooker affair. It remains to be seen whether or not the media outlets in this town will start finding ways to work Minnesota 2020's findings and talking points into their non-partisan news accounts. But MN2020 certainly has their foot in the door already. I see one of their "Fellows" is Conrad deFiebre, a member of the brotherhood, a Star tribune reporter/editor for 30+ years. Yes, believe it or not, a Star Tribune political reporter leaves his job and steps right into a position with the former DFL House majority leader. How does that happen? Here's one possibility. From the Fraters Libertas archives, check out this post for an example of deFiebre's prior experience at keeping partisanship out of a reporting of the facts. Now that's the perfect candidate for a job working for Matt Entenza at a non-partisan think tank. Labels: Politics-Local (06-07)
On Sunday, Syl Jones was afforded his normal position on the prime real estate of the Star Tribune editorial page, this time to address the implications of the Duke non-rape case.
The pre-eminent information resource on this case, KC Johnson at Durham in Wonderland, took notice. As usual, when Syl's opinions meet with the facts, something has to give. Conclusion: And even if Nifong, Jones concludes: "deserves to be punished, he was right about one thing: Something did happen at that frat boy party at Duke University ... Too bad Nifong didn't do his job and home in on exactly what that something was."Too bad Jones didn't do the job of an op-ed columnist and explain precisely what the "something" that happened was. It's also too bad a blogger in North Carolina is forced to do the job Star Tribune editors refuse to. More freelance editing here, from a Duke student. Labels: Media-Local (05-07)
King heps me to The Sports Guy on the NHL draft:
4:22: Here's a cool wrinkle for the first round: Before every pick, each GM walks up to the stage flanked by four cronies, then stands in front of the podium and announces his pick. Imagine if the NBA did this and we could see the likes of Elgin Baylor and Kevin McHale announcing their own picks? Can we make this happen? Anyway, Chicago GM Dale Tallon is "proud" to introduce tiny Patrick Kane as his No. 1 pick. This kid looks like an altar boy. I'm not kidding -- he actually looks like an altar boy. I hope his tremendous upside potential involves puberty. More importantly, what the hell happened to the NHL? As if things weren't already bad enough, the league's No. 1 overall pick is an undersized American who looks like the third singer in a boy band? Can we start sending them FEMA money or something? It's just too bad that the best the NHL could come up with is a clean-cut youngster as their number one pick. I'm sure Simmons would have been much happier if a multi-tatted bad boy sporting shades, bling, and 'tude had strode up on the stage. Maybe we'll get lucky and learn that Kane has failed the league's drug tests or been arrested for beating up a stripper. In a time where the sports pages are filled with news of drug-enhanced home run kings, the latest perp walk of the NFL's Most Wanted, and 'roided up wrestlers committing triple murder/suicides, the NHL's #1 draft choice looking like an altar boy seems to present the league with an opportunity to differentiate itself rather than a cause for concern. At least Simmons recognizes a sweet sweater when he sees one: 5:57: Minnesota takes centre Colton Gillies at No. 16. I'm digging some of these names. Colton Gillies. Keaton Ellerby. Logan Couture. I swear, Steven Seagal played a character with one of those names. (Wait, that's a sweet Minnesota Wild jersey Colton's putting on! What a beauty! It's a blood-red sweater with green patches on the arms, a green bottom and a circular green and white logo in the middle. Very handsome. Have you seen those? That's the first NHL jersey I've liked since the Original Six.) Labels: Hockey (06-07) Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Interesting video links copped from Bill Simmons' highly entertaining online chat this afternoon at ESPN.
Ulf Samuelsson knocks out Wayne Gretzky's wife, with Swedish narration. Wendel Clark knocks out half the NHL, set to the music of Metallica. The savage beating of an old North Star at about 3:10 is particularly noteworthy. Howard Cosell calling an obstacle course race on Battle of the Network Stars, a competition sadly marred by a Cathy Lee Crosby groin injury. As I sit here flipping between MASH reruns and the BET '07 awards, I painfully remember all of that stuff was on the tube before the advent of triple digit cable bills. Labels: Hockey (06-07)
According to reports, Norm Coleman was among the Senate Republicans voting to allow the Senate Comprehensive Immigration Reform to continue to an almost certain passage.
National Review had earlier identified Coleman as one of the key players who could have stopped this bill before its future fell under the control of a simple majority vote, in a body controlled by Democrats, 51 - 49. They are Sens. Kit Bond, Sam Brownback, Richard Burr, Thad Cochran, Norm Coleman, John Ensign, and Jim Webb. If any of these senators votes to revive the bill, his professions of opposition to amnesty should no longer be taken seriously. He will have done his crucial bit, when the amnesty bill was most vulnerable, to help shepherd it to passage. The vote just occurred and Coleman hasn't been asked to comment yet. Let's just see how much his explanation for this vote matches the NR prediction: We know how senators who claim to oppose amnesty will try to explain away a vote to revive the bill. They will rely on procedural obfuscation: They didn't want to obstruct the process, they wanted to get a vote on an amendment, etc. But amnesty is staying in the bill -- no amendment to strike the bill's central features has any chance of passage -- and it deserves to be obstructed. Knowing Coleman's history of getting on both sides of an issue, a vote allowing the bill to progress, then voting against the specific bill's passage would be in character. Come election season next year, depending on his audience, he can then point to his various votes to prove he's on your side. But ultimately, today's vote was the big one and he's acted contrary to the preferences of most conservatives. This vote is going to be a bitter pill to swallow for many who fought so hard for the man in 2002. He's turning out to be no Rod Grams or Mark Kennedy, something most already knew. But he's also no Walter Mondale or Al Franken. Elections are choices not referenda. It should be noted that Coleman will have to face an election before a Democrat can officially challenge him in 2008. And there is a potential candidate out there who seems a little more reliable than Norm. Whether Joe Repya can capitalize on this issue will be an indicator of how much Minnesota Republicans really care about illegal immigration. I think Coleman is banking that the answer is 'not that much'. It's also interesting to note the timing of the Minnesota GOP releasing one of its SCREAM email press releases today, entitled: Why I Oppose Misleadingly Named 'Employee Free Choice Act' Hard for Republicans to argue with Norm about that. Now ignore that undocumented worker in the corner. UPDATE: According to sources, today's "cloture" vote was only a preliminary one. The final "cloture" vote is on Thursday. (Maybe by this time, they'll figure out they're spelling "closure" incorrectly.) This measure also needs 60 votes to pass, so the tyranny of the bare majority still has one more impediment in its way. A chance for Coleman to redeem himself? Or maybe a chance for him to stake out a third position on the issue. An abstention, a vote of "present," a cry of "yea, but," it will be interesting to watch. UPDATE: Press release from Norm Coleman's office, 'splaining his actions. According to this, he wants to give the bill one last chance to "significantly improve" before voting against it. Senator Coleman intends to vote for cloture in order to allow one last effort to significantly improve the enforcement measures in the immigration reform bill. He fully believes that the current immigration system in this country is totally broken. It remains to be seen whether this bill will be the answer to this serious problem, which is why he is reserving judgment on how he will vote on final passage. Hoping people like John McCain, Ted Kennedy, and Harry Reid are going to get it right with one more chance to fiddle with it. Now that's faith based politics, bordering on fanaticism. Labels: Politics-Local (06-07)
Web chatter vows GOP convention protests:
Anarchists and antiwar organizations preparing for the Republican National Convention are planning dozens of traffic blockades, are targeting perceived vulnerable spots in the Twin Cities metro area and are readying to spring from Internet promises to real-world action. An online posting by a group called Unconventional Action notes "the narrow on and off ramps" of Interstate Hwy. 94 and that Minneapolis and St. Paul are "12 miles apart, separated by a wide river spanned by 5 bridges and connected primarily" by I-94. "For these and other reasons, many believe that the RNC presents strategic vulnerabilities unique to any trade summit or party convention of recent years," the posting said. It also urges anarchists from across the country to gather in Minneapolis over Labor Day weekend this year to learn about the Twin Cities and prepare for protests at the 2008 convention. When you start planning to cripple the transportation infrastructure of a major metropolitan area you've moved from speech to sedition and I hope the organizers behind this effort are treated accordingly. Labels: 2008 RNC
Richard Jon Neuhaus writing in the book Catholic Matters:
There is much in what is called the religious culture of America that runs counter to the Catholic way of being Christian. America continues to be in important ways a very Protestant society. American Individualism, which is no doubt a source of economic and other strengths, turns religion, too, into a matter of consumer choice and spiritual marketing. As a result, the church (lower case) is understood in terms that are organizational rather than organic. One's church is an association of the like-minded rather than the Mystical Body of Christ gathered in wondrously catholic diversity by the Real Presence. For the Catholic, the "pilgrim Church on earth" is a distinct society of primary allegiance. For the Protestant, one's church is an associational choice based on preferences in morality, teaching, leadership style, or aesthetic taste. For the Protestant, one's church is chosen; the Catholic belongs to the Church because he is among the chosen. Labels: Religion
From the book "Murder in Minnesota" by Walter N. Trenerry:
In 1891, after being convicted of killing his neighbor Moses Lufkin, Redwood Falls, MN resident William Rose ate a hearty breakfast of eggs and oysters, mounted the scaffold imperturbably, said "Goodbye all," and hurtled through the drop. To the scandal of Minnesota, the rope broke. But Rose was hanged on the double gallows which served the Barrett brothers in 1889 and another noose dangled at the ready. Rose, unconscious, was rapidly resuspended by the other rope, which did the job. Labels: Killin', 19th century executions, oysters
Yesterday, I heard a NPR news announcer somberly intone on the Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance reform laws in these terms (roughly):
"The decision marked a change in direction for the court from support for campaign finance reform to deregulation." Deregulation? I suppose you could call it that, but we're not talking about airlines or telecommunications here. We're talking about a little something called the First Amendment and the rather well-regarded principle of "freedom of speech." Labels: Media-National (07-09)
The headline for an article in today's Wall Street Journal reads Climate Changes Are Making Poison Ivy More Potent (sub req).
But when you actually read the story you learn: New research shows the rash-inducing plant appears to be growing faster and producing more potent oil compared with earlier decades. The reason? Rising ambient carbon-dioxide levels create ideal conditions for the plant, producing bigger leaves, faster growth, hardier plants and oil that's even more irritating. Although the data on poison ivy come from controlled studies, they suggest the vexing plant is more ubiquitous than ever. And the more-potent oil produced by the plants may result in itchier rashes. "If it's producing a more virulent form of the oil, then even a small or more casual contact will result in a rash," says Lewis Ziska, a plant physiologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, Md. The latest research, led by Dr. Ziska, studied poison ivy plants in Maryland under different levels of carbon-dioxide exposure. One group of plants was exposed to about 300 parts per million of carbon dioxide -- about the same level found in the atmosphere in the 1950s. Another group was exposed to 400 parts per million of CO2 -- about the same level in the atmosphere today. The commonly accepted climate change narrative is that increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere--primarily created by human activity--have caused global temperatures to rise. There is some historical evidence that raises questions about whether higher C02 levels result in higher temperatures or whether higher temps lead to increased C02 (the data suggests that rising CO2 levels lag rising temps). But in this case, I'm sure the headline writer was operating under the conventional wisdom of the day. Which means the headline was at best misleading, at worst grossly inaccurate. The increased prevalence and potency of poison ivy appears to be the result of higher C02 levels. However, it likely has nothing to do with climate change per se. Higher C02 level could very well be impacting both poison ivy and the climate. But there are not dependencies between the two effects. Labels: Global warming Monday, June 25, 2007
Today's Supreme Court decision curtailing the ability of the Federal government to abridge the freedom of speech is a welcome development. According to the legal eagles at Power Line, it is a narrow holding which does not entirely blow up the provision that bars non-profits from naming a candidate in a broadcast ad within 60 days of an election. But hopefully the fuse has been lit for future challenges. Until then, organized groups of citizens will have to continue to watch what they say very closely, lest the politicians and bureaucrats disapprove of how they are interfering with the government's elections and drop the hammer.
The namesakes of this campaign finance legislation, McCain and Feingold, rightly get most of the discredit for imposing these laws on us. But we should note the lost Minnesota history behind this particular feature of McCain-Feingold now under scrutiny. Yes, it was sponsored by one of us. Hint, this person was short, angry, rode in a green bus, and is considered a minor prophet in certain sections of Kenwood and Mac-Grove. No, not Kathleen Soliah. It's Paul Wellstone. The facts, from March 27, 2001: By a 51-46 vote, the Senate approved Monday an amendment offered by Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minnesota, to expand McCain-Feingold's restrictions on union and corporate advertising to also include non-profit groups like the Sierra Club and the National Rifle Association -- groups with "501c4" status. Supporters of campaign finance reform say the amendment is unconstitutional and fear the amendment could result in President Bush vetoing the legislation. (Ed note - ha!) But Wellstone said the amendment was needed to prevent a proliferation of non-profit organizations from "carpet-bomb(ing) our states with all of these sham issue ads." "This is a loophole that must be plugged," said Wellstone. Senator Wellstone referring to the First Amendment as a loophole. I guess when the only tool you have is a suffocating straight-jacket, every problem looks like a loophole. BTW, I see on sale now at Wellstone Action, a new book: Politics the Wellstone Way offers a comprehensive set of strategies to help progressives channel that energy into winning issue-based and electoral campaigns. Chapter One: Making your opponents' criticism of you illegal. Labels: Politics-National (05-07)
The next official gathering of the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers is scheduled for Saturday July 14th--Bastille Day--at Keegan's Irish Pub in Minneapolis. The fun starts at 6pm and ends when Mitch Berg and David Strom start a barroom brawl over who really is Minnesota's biggest feminist.
By the way, if you want to track all the action in the local 'sphere, BlogNetNews.com now has a Minnesota page with recent posts from various Minnesota blogs. They also have a special section for MOB blogs, although it doesn't seem to be as updated as the main Minnesota page. Labels: MOB
Richard John Neuhaus in the June/July edition of FIRST THINGS:
Vatican Council II called for the "full, active, and fruitful" participation of the laity, and Benedict emphasizes, as he has before, that this does not mean all busyness all the time. One is fully, actively, and fruitfully participating also when engaged in silent contemplation. The sharing of the Sign of Peace is often a time of distracting busyness, and Benedict urges that it be done solemnly, as a liturgical act, with one or two people close at hand, rather than as a boisterous greeting of one and all as though the Eucharist is old home week. Moreover, he says in a footnote that he has authorized a study of moving the Sign of Peace to the point in the liturgy before the presentation of gifts, "taking into account ancient and venerable customs and the wishes expressed by the synod fathers." That would, I believe, be a distinct improvement. Among its benefits is that it would, as he writes, "serve as a significant reminder of the Lord's insistence that we be reconciled with others before offering our gifts to God." Amen. I've noticed how distracting the Sign of Peace can be as well. You finish the solemn "Our Father" and are preparing to receive the most holy body and blood of Christ when suddenly people start glad-handing, back-slapping, and carrying on as if we're no longer celebrating Mass but gathered around the water cooler at work. "Hey Bob, good to see you again. How about them Twins?" At times, you get the impression that the Priest would like nothing more than to clear his throat and ask, "Ahem, ahem. Are we through with the small talk yet? We'd like to move to that whole transubstantiation thing if you don't mind." There is no doubt that the Sign of Peace has a place at Mass. That place however could be at a much more appropriate place in the liturgy. Labels: Religion Friday, June 22, 2007
Are senior siblings smarter? Study says so:
The oldest children in families tend to develop higher IQs than their younger siblings, researchers report in a large study that could settle more than 50 years of scientific debate about the relationship between IQ and birth order. Was there really ever any doubt? You could also add better looking and more athletic. [Via The KAR] Labels: Family
'Simpsons' fans steal Homer:
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Two college students believed to be over-exuberant fans of "The Simpsons" stole a life-sized figurine of Homer Simpson from a cinema, but police tracked them down and forced them to return it Thursday. The fiberglass replica of Homer holding a TV remote control was part of a promotional display for the upcoming big-screen version of the U.S. TV cartoon series. The exhibit also had the rest of the Simpson family -- Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. What's with these crazy college kids today? Why in my day, we'd never even consider stealing a life-sized fiberglass Homer Simpson. A Ronald McDonald perhaps... Labels: college
Yesterday, I received an e-mail promoting the release of a new book (and trying to score an interview request for the NARN) that purports to "expose one of the best-kept secrets in political history." Daniel Estulin's The True Story of the Bilderberg Group is also described as:
This explosive publication offers readers an unblinking investigation into an elitist conclave once shrouded in total mystery and impenetrable security. Expect a fascinating account of the annual meetings of the world's most powerful people--the Bilderberg Group. Not being much of a conspiracy guy (unless you count the far-ranging plot to keep the Vikings from winning the Super Bowl), I haven't taken much of an interest in the Bilderberg Group in the past. I had heard the name bandied about and knew that it was alleged to be some sort of supra-national organization that was really running the world. The name itself probably contributed to my disinterest. It's hard to get riled about something as innocuous as the Bilderberg Group when you've got the Tri-Lateral Commission, the Free Masons, and Skull and Bones plotting to fluoridate your drinking water. In fact, I wasn't even aware of where the name came from: Since its inception in 1954 at the Bilderberg Hotel in the small Dutch town of Oosterbeek, the Bilderberg Group has been comprised of European prime ministers, American presidents, and the wealthiest CEOs of the world, coming together to discuss the economic and political future of humanity, far beyond the range of democratic expectations. Oosterbeek? I was in Oosterbeek a few years ago. Had I known that the Bilderberg Hotel was there, I would have made an effort to find it to see if I could spot any puppet masters lurking about. As it was, I had a different hotel as my destination.  The Hartenstein Hotel, now home to the Airborne Museum, which honors the British, American, and Polish paratroopers who fought in the region during WWII as part of Operation Market Garden. Not as secretive as the Bilderberg Group, but much more interesting to one concerned more with history than conspiracy. In case you were curious, we will not be having Daniel Estulin on our Northern Alliance Radio Network show. Brian and I were all for it, but for some reason Mr. Hinderaker was adamant that he not be allowed on the air. It was all very unusual. You don't suppose that John is...nah. Labels: Books Thursday, June 21, 2007
After being employed for over 30 years by the Star Tribune, reporter Eric Black recently accepted a buyout to finally leave. He's taken a job with a liberal advocacy web site called the Minnesota Monitor and has been acclaimed for bringing some journalistic integrity and credibility to the blogosphere. In his own words:
My quest for the next period of my writing life is to seek the sweet spot between traditional journalism and blogging that gets the best combination of the reporting and verification discipline of the old with the energy, immediacy, honesty and candor of the new. And how does he kick off his "quest" for the sweet spot of journalism? With a hard-hitting report, based on anonymous sources, that US Attorney for Minnesota Rachel Paulose was treated rudely at an office retirement party: When it was his turn to address the group, Sekus deflected the compliments that had been sent his way and said that those who deserved the praise were the former supervisors who had resigned their posts, because their actions had required courage. At that, the room erupted with loud, sustained applause that could not be taken as anything other than solidarity with Paulose's internal critics and appreciation for the sacrifice they had made to protest against her -- clearly a spontaneous release of the tensions within the office. According to a witness, the ovation was so loud that it had to represent the applause of 90 percent or more of those in the room. The awkwardness was further intensified by the presence of at least five federal judges, since those judges preside over the trials handled by the U.S. attorney's office. Paulose was present throughout and could not have left without calling attention to herself. One of the eyewitnesses said she had a glazed look during the ovation. Ohhh snap! Or, in the style guidelines of the Minnesota Monitor, she's been p3wnd! Breathless accounts of anonymous sources rumor mongering in order to tarnish the reputation of someone they have a personal grudge against? That's Eric Black's quest? No wonder the Star Tribune let him go, they already have that sweet spot covered. UPDATE: Mitch Berg has more: I have an anonymous witness that says that Black's anonymous witness had a glazed look on her face.  Did anyone else notice Burt Blyleven's plugs when Santana shaved his head? My finely-tuned FBM (Funny Business Meter) in regards to hair tells me that both Blyleven AND Dick Bremer are sporting Chuck Schumerian plugs. You could see them on Blyleven because he is bald behind the planted rows of hair on the front of his scalp. This is very unusual unless there is Funny Business afoot. In most cases, the hairline recedes--starting at the front of the scalp and working backwards. But Burt has hair, then no hair, then hair again. The last hair is what's left of his original mane, the first part is the surgically-enhanced pluggos and the middle is where the surgery stopped and shows his true baldness. We normally wouldn't see that middle area of no-man's land because the plugs and the existing hair work in concert to cover that small area. But after being shaved bald you could clearly see what was up. Labels: The Rug Doctor Is In
One thing that most reasonable folk can agree on when it comes to Iraq is that it would be desirable to reduce the number of US troops in Iraq, but such a reduction could very well lead to a power vacuum which could plunge the entire region into a much wider conflict. In order to avoid such a prospect a number of alternatives have been proposed from sending UN troops (heh, heh--why not ask the Pope for a couple of divisions while you're at it?) to having local Arab countries provide a security force.
Thomas P.M. Barnett has previously suggested that China and India should both pony up troops to help secure Iraq since both countries have a vested interest in stability in the region (read: keeping the oil flowing). However, the idea of opening the door for the Chicoms to come marching in is a an unsettling one and India has its own Muslim issues to deal with. India is also a democracy, which makes sending and keeping troops in Iraq for any length of time extremely complicated and unlikely. So where to turn? How about a country with the 10th largest active military (2nd largest if you include reserves and paramilitary), a desire to be more accepted into the world community, and none of that pesky democracy nonsense to deal with? Throw in that fact that they understand the concept of the long war, know what an insurgency is all about, and have a history that proves their resiliency in military affairs and the answer is obvious: Vietnam. I hatched this wild-arsed notion last night while reading an excellent book on the air war over Vietnam: It's a loaner from JB and is a small step forward in reducing his book trade deficit with me. Some of the stories of what the Vietnamese were willing and able to do to keep the Ho Chi Minh Trail open despite a concentrated American effort to shut it down (at least from the air) made me realize that if they had the ingenuity, guts, and willpower to outlast the United States, then dealing with the insurgency in Iraq should be child's play. And no worries about the domestic front in Hanoi either. Consider it the next frontier in outsourcing. They provide 100,000 troops or so. We take care of any supply, equipment, or transportation issues they may have. And foot the bill. We also sign a far-reaching free preferred nation trade agreement with Vietnam (much better than any we have now), give American companies tax breaks to invest there (better Vietnam than China), dramatically increase our aid efforts, work out energy agreements, provide them security guarantees, and do whatever else the Vietnamese feel they need to be warmly welcomed and better integrated into the international economic community. They essentially become one of our key allies in the world. Some may balk because the Vietnamese government is still a Communist run tyranny. But we're talking big-picture, geo-strategic realpolitik here. If getting us out of Iraq without plunging the Mideast into complete chaos means playing a little footsie with the Politburo in Hanoi, I think most Americans would say lets start the flirting. Of course it's a crazy and completely unrealistic proposition. But you gotta admit its got a certain wacky logic and appeal. SP ADDS: This is the best idea I've heard since Vox Day suggested solving our country's two biggest problems by colonizing Iraq with 12 million illegal immigrants from Mexico. Labels: Iraq Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Aborter, Marxist and general human goof Dorothy Day...
 ...and ape goof Cornelius?  Labels: Separated At Birth
I'm not much of a Mitt Romney guy, but I appreciate the insight in this entry in The Encyclopedia Mittanica.
UPDATE-- JB calls for attribution: I was the first one to compare Hugh to Ralphie was I not? Now people are doing it willy-nilly and pell-mell with nary a word of recognition. At least he's not calling for retribution as is his wont. Labels: Ralphie
Dan Akman chats with baseball stats legend (and former NARN guest) Bill James at OpinionJournal (free for all!):
Now age 57, Mr. James says he does better working in an organization than he suspected. Still, even after moving to Boston two years ago, he spends a lot of time alone. "A lot of my friends think that I don't like people. The reality is I do like people--I just need time to myself to work. So I tend to turn off my cellphone," he says. With the success of the Athletics and of "Moneyball," baseball analysts like Mr. James were given more credit for helping teams draft and trade players more intelligently. In 2006, Time magazine named Mr. James one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Inexplicably, Time dropped him from this year's list even as the Red Sox moved from third place to first. Go figure. Mr. James is known for claiming that some statistics (such as runs batted in) are less important than was commonly believed, while others (like on-base percentage) are more important. Both are now conventional wisdom. Is there some wrongheadedness still in vogue? "I do have an answer, but I can't tell you what it is...I do think we know at least some small things that not everybody in the world knows." Even if the analytical tools he helped create are now widely employed, Mr. James says that just as some teams stay richer, others can stay smarter. "In reality, knowledge is a very dynamic universe--and what is most valuable is not the body of knowledge, but the leading edge of it." UPDATE-- King on how Bill James made him a stat geek: I went back to Claremont a couple of days later. I found a copy of the Abstract, and bought it that year and every year thereafter. I still have nearly all of them (a second set, as my first set was water-damaged in storage years ago. I'm still missing a couple of issues.) At that moment, my understanding of baseball changed. A shift in how one looked at the world of baseball. And in passing, a realization that the statistics we focus on sometimes in other areas, like economics, do not say what we think they say. It's motivated much of my work, including some writing I'm doing this summer. (As they say, watch this space.) Labels: Baseball Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Am I the only one in the world who didn't know that Sir Salman Rushdie was married to the hostess from Bravo's Top Chef? Not bad for a guy with a fatwa on his head. Guess she digs the bad boy.
Oh, and that scar on her right arm? Apparently it's from a childhood car accident. She regards it as a good luck charm and when you're married to Sir Salman, you can never have enough luck. Labels: Television
I have mentioned many times how much I enjoy reading First Things. It's an incomparable journal of religion, culture, and politics and its contributors include many of the best and brightest thinkers from those realms. However, every once in a while the magazine has a way of losing you in the deep theological weeds. Here's an example from the May 2007 issue (sub req):
Whether or not they are interested in Karl Barth, students of Catholic theology should read "The Theology of Karl Barth" to gain a more complete understanding of the relentlessly soteriological structure and latent Christocentrism of the post-Reformation Catholic tradition that we ignore today. It's funny because just the other day JB was recommending almost exactly the same thing. Labels: Religion
State expects Guard homecoming soon:
The first wave of Minnesota National Guard members whose tour of duty in Iraq was extended by several months is expected to return home within the next several weeks. Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Maj. Gen. Larry Shellito, Minnesota's adjutant general, are expected to announce details of the return at a briefing at 3:45 p.m. today at the State Capitol. The 2,600 Minnesota Guard members, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division, were mobilized for training in October 2005 and left for Iraq in March 2006. They were scheduled to return home beginning this spring. And even though she's recently had a sad event to deal with, Liz is ready to celebrate. UPDATE: Rumor has it that the homecoming will begin Saturday. Labels: Military Monday, June 18, 2007
Sally Thomas looks at whether Christians really have an obligation to send their kids to public school in a piece at FIRST THINGS:
The idea of sending a child daily into a hostile environment--if not actively hostile, as in bullying, then certainly philosophically hostile--expecting him not only to withstand assaults on everything his parents have told him is true but also to transform the entire system by his presence, seems sadly misguided to me. There may be many valid arguments for sending a child to school, but that one doesn't wash. In the Sermon on the Mount, in addition to the salt-and-light business, Jesus also tells the multitude, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." A child's greatest treasure, to my mind, is his childhood itself. He has only one, and it's over quickly enough. If we as parents invest that treasure in sex education that makes us cringe, history we know to be a lie, and busy work we recognize as meaningless, we should perhaps not be too surprised if at the end of the day these things, and not the things which are above, have claimed our children's hearts. She goes on goes to point out how children can be just as much "in the world" at home as they supposedly are at school.
A vat of thousand island salad dressing and...
 ...a bowl of soup?  Maybe not for 99.997% of humanity, but apparently they bear a striking resemblance in the eyes of United States Senator Amy Klobuchar. If you missed the Loon of the Week clip from last Saturday's NARN show, you can now listen to Senator Klobuchar--recently voted "funniest" in the class of freshman Senators--regale us with amusing tales of embarrassment and humiliation here. The recap of her "salad days" in the Senate comes after a side-splitting story about her This is Senator Klobuchar's second Loon Of The Week award in the past three months, making her an early contender for the coveted Loon of The Year honor. It's also interesting to note that despite criticism that we haven't done enough to promote feminist causes, a full 55% of our 2007 Loon of The Week winners have been women. And without an intrusive government quota system either. The sisters truly are doing it for themselves. UPDATE: Nihilist In Golf Pants: Top 11 Reasons Amy Klobuchar Was Voted Funniest Freshman Senator Labels: Separated At Birth
Goes without saying right?
During yesterday's Open, they played a piece on Arnold Palmer who never won at Oakmont and how big of a deal it was to him never to have won in his backyard. So they come back and Costas says "One would surmise that never having won at Oakmont is one of the biggest disappointments of the man's career." Surmise? The piece had an interview with Palmer and he JUST SAID THE EXACT WORDS! Costas is un-watchable. And we have the baseball playoffs to look forward to when he can regale us with his showy knowledge of who the second baseman was for the 1926 Black Sox. Can't wait. Hardly. Labels: Smugocracy Sunday, June 17, 2007
J. Ewing e-mails on global warming:
You don't allow comments, but I must comment on global warming. Here's what I want: I want all of these folks who are going to "do something" about global warming (at the expense of my freedoms) to tell me EXACTLY how many degrees they are going to reduce the planet's temperature, before they mandate anything. They could refer to the UN's IPCC report, which says that full implementation of Kyoto would reduce global temperatures by 0.04 degrees in a hundred years, but of course that is if we follow it world-wide, not just statewide. Or they could just look up the scientific fact that greenhouse gasses are only 3% of the atmosphere, that CO2 is only 5% of that, and that manmade CO2 is only 4% of that, and that Minnesota's contribution is less than 1% of that. So, an 80% reduction would solve 80% of 1% of 4% of 5%, or 0.0016 PERCENT of the problem! I have to ask if anybody's really going to notice. I mean, can the weatherman really predict tomorrow's temperature out to 6 decimal places? How about the local temperature 50 years from now? It's silly. We should all know by now that when it comes to global warming, it's not the result, but the thought that counts. If you can do something (or better yet force someone else to do something) that makes you FEEL better about the issue, then you can proudly pat yourself on the back because you've done your part. Labels: Global warming Saturday, June 16, 2007
Join us beginning at 11AM central for another episode of the award winning Northern Alliance Radio Network. Since we've actually never won an award, we're compelled by the National False Advertising Council to feature at least someone who has. And today that is the de facto film critic of NARN, Stephen Hunter. Apparenlty he's got some other side employment as well, something called the Washington Post where a few years back he won something called the Pulitzer Prize for Film Criticism. Stephen joins us at 12 noon.
Plus Loon of the Week, this Week in Gatekeeping, sophisticated and urban commentary on politics (belch!), and much, much more. It all begins at 11 AM central. Listen locally at AM1280 the Patriot, and streaming world-wide here. Calls encouraged at 651-289-4488. Don't you dare miss it! Labels: NARN (06-07) Friday, June 15, 2007
Toddler gets sick after getting margarita in his sippy cup:
Kim Mayorga was confused when her 2-year-old started making funny faces and pushing away the apple juice he had ordered at Applebee's. The explanation came when she opened the lid of the sippy cup and was hit by the smell of tequila and Triple Sec. The restaurant staff accidentally gave Julian Mayorga a margarita Monday. He grew drowsy and started vomiting a few hours later and was rushed to the hospital. "I wasn't going to make a big deal about it," the mother told the Contra Costa Times on Thursday, "but then he got sick." The apple juice and margarita mix were stored in identical plastic bottles, and the manager mistakenly grabbed the margarita container to pour the boy's drink, said Randy Tei, vice president for Apple Bay East Inc., which owns the franchise restaurant and nine other Applebee's in the San Francisco Bay area. Confusing apple juice and margarita mix? Sure, could happen to anyone. JB Adds: Well, the kid was 2. It's not like he was an infant or anything. Kind of like the way they used to throw kids in the water to teach 'em how to swim. Aren't people always telling us that we have to teach kids about reality as soon as possible? Bart (singing): Can I be a booze hound? Homer (singing) Not 'til you're 15 Labels: Cocktails
Panel leading charge against a warmer state:
Calling global warming "a huge and defining issue of our time," Gov. Tim Pawlenty kicked off Thursday's meeting of a group that will help establish climate-protection strategies that could reshape daily life in Minnesota for the next several decades. The Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group, made up of more than 50 leaders from the state's major businesses, utilities, environmental groups and churches, will assemble a salad of strategies designed to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. At its meeting in St. Paul on Thursday, the group discussed ways to get there, including ideas as broad as setting up a carbon trading market, reducing speed limits and increasing grassland and forest. They also talked about specific measures such as streamlining trash pickup in St. Paul to reduce the number of garbage trucks in city alleys. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. This notion that states should be leading the charge on fighting global warming is absurd. Why not just build a huge dome over the entire state so that we have our own climate which we can control and effect at our own discretion? And what the heck do churches have to do with this? Please God, reduce our CO2 emissions? Amen? More later if time and temperament (mine, not the planet's) allows. Labels: Global warming
The recent backlash against the Fred Thompson boomlet has often consisted of gross simplification and misreading of Republican voters' intentions and political sophistication. Supposedly, the people who support Thompson are projecting all their hopes and desires for a perfect president onto Thompson. They're not looking realistically at Thompson's strengths and weaknesses. They want another Reagan and so they're suspending their disbelief and wishfully seeing Reagan in Thompson.
This "When it's almost closing time your beer goggles make Amy Klobuchar look like Amy Acker" theory to explain Fred Thompson's support doesn't hold water with me. Most Republicans are sober enough to know that Thompson is not the next Reagan. But what he is isn't as important as what he isn't. He's not Mitt Romney and he's not Rudy Giuliani. I think a lot of Republicans voters have come to the realization that Romney and Giuliani are the only viable options at this point and they're looking for a third choice. A couple of troubling numbers for the Romney people to chew on: - According to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll American voters say they favor a generic Democrat over a generic Republican for president by a 52% to 31% margin. That's a significant gap to overcome in and of itself. - Couple that with another poll that shows that 43% of Americans would not vote for a Mormon for president. No matter how hard you might try to do the math, there is no way that those numbers don't equal a crushing defeat for the GOP if Romney is the candidate in 2008. It doesn't matter whether you think that his religion matters or not. The poll numbers show that it does and with winning the presidency already shaping up to be a difficult if not impossible task for any Republican, it means that he simply can't win. And even though he's leading the field right now, when the rubber meets the road I can't imagine pro-life conservatives are actually willing to give Giuliani a pass on abortion. So the choice comes down to losing the election with Romney or losing our souls (figuratively) with Giuliani. Is it any wonder that a Thompson candidacy holds promise? Labels: 2008 Election
Dinosaur Junior has reunited! You can almost hear the rock critics hearts just a-flutterin' way down here. The genius of Mascis/Barlow, together again like Peaches 'n Herb!
This here AP story explains just how important this band is and how they Weren't Appreciated In Their Time (eyes rolling to back of noggin). Dinosaur Jr. Reunites After 20 Years Dinosaur Jr.'s first performances in the early 1980s were played in obscurity, the crowds numbering in the dozens, the spotlight so far away it cast no light in the tiny clubs and converted industrial spaces they rocked. Perhaps there was a reason? Yet, they were so talented. Together they inspired a legion of bands who went on the to sell millions of albums, even if they never did. These were artists, they would never sully themselves with such bourgeois conceits as worrying about actually selling records. The original lineup - together for most of three powerful, yet melodic, albums - reintroduced ideas to underground rock 'n' roll that had been torn down by punk rock and purposely forgotten. After listening to Dinosaur, the next wave of disaffected young bands were emboldened... Emboldened to gnash their teeth in song about their parent's divorce and how the jocks picked on them in high school. That indeed was an important influence. I don't know where music would be without the angry disaffected genius template they helped establish. There could be beauty in all that noise. Could be, but wasn't. Mascis' ear-ravaging guitar work... I don't want my ears ravaged thank you very much. "You're Living All Over Me," Dinosaur's quivering slab of alienation, angst and awkwardness released in 1987... The three A's that any good music has. Scene: JB has just bought a new CD. He is in his basement bar sipping a rye on the rocks and listening to the new music. His wife is upstairs cooking his dinner and tending to the child. Wife: (calling down stairs) How's the new aquisition? JB: I really like it! Wife: Oh that's good JB: Yeah, it's really AWKWARD! Wife: Ummm....what? While Mascis, 41, continued down the path to guitar glory, Barlow found his own success. His solo home recordings and later bands Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion are credited with starting the lo-fi and emo movements, and continue to influence hipsters of the day. So these are the precious, artsy little dweebs that I have to thank for having to listen to Hinter and all this emo-crap they pipe in when I'm at the mall? Thanks guys. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest every inch of your hipster frames! Labels: That's Entertainment Thursday, June 14, 2007
We are still recovering from the revelation of Ben Stein's going native and throwing his money at Al Franken for Senate. Professor Bainbridge and Brian Maloney add their thoughts as well, including evidence that Ben Stein's conservatism really isn't all that it was cracked up to be.
Dismay also registered by Squotty at Kowabunga. As one would expect from the official MOB representative to the Klingon Empire, his problem isn't with Stein, it's with the 4 grand going to Franken from Leonard Nimoy: I always figured that Spock was Democrat, but I didn't realized that he was a far-left leftie who would support Al Frank-N-Furter. Egads Mr. Spock, how could you? One more Franken supporter was in the news this week. Robert Smigel donned his dog puppet and prowled the red carpet at the Tony Awards for targets, with hilarious consequences (video here). For example: I understand the ratings are going to be so low, Osama Bin Laden will be hiding on stage. I once saw Rosie O'Donnell in Grease. Not the musical, she was trying to wedge herself through a door way. A lesson Franken should learn. It's much easier to forgive people for their political sins when they happen to be actually funny. UPDATE: Better link to the Triumph video here. Labels: Politics-Local (06-07)
DFL negotiates with Rochester for state convention:
For the second election cycle in a row, the city of Rochester appears to be in line to play host to one, if not two, state political conventions. On Sunday, the state DFL executive committee authorized party leaders to negotiate a contract with the city as the host site of the 2008 Minnesota DFL Convention, which will run from June 6 to 8. The state DFL held its convention in Rochester last year. Local officials say the city's selection reaffirms its status as a political bellwether. While the Rochester area moved firmly in the Democratic column in last year's state elections after decades of Republican dominion, leaders from both state parties see the area as having the potential to swing in either a Democratic or Republican direction in 2008. The state Republican party has yet to name its site for the state GOP convention, but a party spokesman said Rochester was in the running. "It's kind of a hotbed for politics right now," said Brad Jones, executive director of the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Both parties see that they can win here, if they pay a little attention to us. Politically, it makes sense." Fortunately, we're perfectly positioned to cover all the action with our in-house political uber-wonk JB Doubtless already strategically situated in Rochester. Labels: Politics-Local (06-07)
It was a glorious morning. The first rays of dawn just starting to peek through hazy clouds. The sky streaked with color. Birds singing.
No better way to greet it then with a little pre-work hockey. A slight fog still hovered over the ice when we started skating and although it was quickly dissipated, the air was a good bit heavier than normal. Nothing like a little sweat to get the day started. Throw in some skatin', shootin', scorin' and even a nice little scrap (not involving me) that drew blood and it really don't get any better. Labels: Hockey (06-07) Wednesday, June 13, 2007
I've always found the rock, paper, scissors game that guilt-ridden white liberals engage in when it comes to dealing with other races to be quite interesting.
There is definitely a pecking order, a way of ranking which race must be treated with the most condescending piety. It usually works like this: blacks beat just about any other group when the two are head-to-head. For example if a woman and a black are at odds, the left will usually side with the black. Clarence Thomas being an obvious exception to the rule. Women are a close second, followed by hispanics, then Native Americans and finally (when they are desperate to cling to something) Asians. Which is why the current situation at the MLK/Drew Hospital in LA is so interesting. Here is a situation where a majority black-staffed hospital is engaged in widespread incompetence, killing off hispanic community members. Makes for a dicey situation when you are a guilt-ridden liberal. Do you speak out against the hospital since they are in the position of power, letting poor hispanics die in misery in the waiting room of the ER? But, at the same time this argument empowers conservatives who warned what affirmative action would bring. Tough one. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kingb13jun13,0,4679488.story?coll=la-home-center From the piece: Forty-seven percent of 285 licensed vocational nurses failed to pass detailed skills tests on the first try, he reported. After several attempts, most passed, he wrote. Those who did not pass "were removed from patient assignment." More than 40% of certified nurse assistants did not pass their first skills test, though "virtually all" passed after additional training, he said.Competency tests of King-Harbor's registered nurses, who are more highly trained and perform more advanced medical procedures, are continuing, Chernof wrote. Now the talk is around whether to close the facility down for good, chalking it up to a failed experiment in affirmative action that ended up costing the lives of some people. The price of progress I suppose. Not that this will stop the next experiment aimed at boosting the self-esteem of a downtrodden community who could probably care less what color the person adminstering health care to them is as long as they are competent. This hospital was opened in 1972 through the work of guilty whites who thought that the lack of hospitals was somehow one of the reasons for the Watts Riots of the late sixties. Another story of a guy who almost died at the hands of the hospital is here: http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/escaping-with-his-life/16446/ UPDATE: The LA Times did a pretty good in-depth piece a few years ago here. But there is no mention of the verboten subject matter affirmative action. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-kdday2dec06,1,503967,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true UPDATE II: Here's part I of the series. Some of these pathetic community activists have some explaining to do. When King/Drew is threatened, it is often Lillian Mobley--long the hospital's most visible defender--who takes the microphone. Last January, she stood facing about 200 people in an auditorium at Grant AME Church in Watts. As cheers of adoration washed over her, Mobley, a thin woman of regal bearing, thrust her chin forward in a characteristically defiant pose. Moments passed. When the last voice had been stilled, when every head turned her way, only then did she speak. "The hospital," she said gravely, leaning on a cane, "is being closed piece by piece." There were murmurs, shouts of dismay. "We have to stand together to fight this battle," said Mobley, her voice rising. "We have to rise every morning under God's will...to save Martin Luther King." That meeting, held to protest planned cutbacks at King/Drew, was one of many such gatherings she has addressed over the years. Strong-willed and fiercely protective, Mobley, 74, is at the forefront of a coterie of African American leaders, most now in their 70s and 80s, who defend King/Drew with the same intensity that they once devoted to the civil rights movement. To them, it is part of the same struggle.
On Monday, I concluded a post with advice to Nick Jr. writers to "unpack your adjectives."
On Tuesday, James Taranto leads off Best of the Web Today with a post on the New York Times titled "Unpack Your Adjectives." (Tip of the hat to Rick for the catch.) Labels: Media-National (07-09)
Word on the street (and The Hill) is that retired Lt. Col. Joe Repya--fresh off a failed bid to oust Ron Carey as the Chairman of the Minnesota GOP--is seriously considering challenging Senator Norm Coleman in next year's primary. Not sure if this is really the battle that Joe should be fighting.
Labels: Politics-Local (06-07)
As people around the world prepare to party with Al Gore on July 7th to raise awareness of global warming as part of "The Live Earth" concert series, pesky little things called facts keep emerging that could be a major buzz kill for party goers. How inconvenient.
ScienceDaily: The Woes Of Kilimanjaro: Don't Blame Global Warming: The "snows" of Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro inspired the title of an iconic American short story, but now its dwindling icecap is being cited as proof for human-induced global warming. However, two researchers writing in the July-August edition of American Scientist magazine say global warming has nothing to do with the decline of Kilimanjaro's ice, and using the mountain in northern Tanzania as a "poster child" for climate change is simply inaccurate. "There are dozens, if not hundreds, of photos of midlatitude glaciers you could show where there is absolutely no question that they are declining in response to the warming atmosphere," said climatologist Philip Mote, a University of Washington research scientist. But in the tropics -- particularly on Kilimanjaro -- processes are at work that are far different from those that have diminished glacial ice in temperate regions closer to the poles, he said. Mote and Georg Kaser, a glaciologist at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, write in American Scientist that the decline in Kilimanjaro's ice has been going on for more than a century and that most of it occurred before 1953, while evidence of atmospheric warming there before 1970 is inconclusive. They attribute the ice decline primarily to complex interacting factors, including the vertical shape of the ice's edge, which allows it to shrink but not expand. They also cite decreased snowfall, which reduces ice buildup and determines how much energy the ice absorbs -- because the whiteness of new snow reflects more sunlight, the lack of new snow allows the ice to absorb more of the sun's energy. But it's science! You can't argue with science! Unless, you know, it really isn't science at all. Labels: Global warming Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Al Franken is finding out that being a politician isn't exactly what he thought it would be from watching the West Wing all those years: I often think about how badly we need public financing of elections in this country. We need it because I should be out talking to Minnesotans about the issues that matter to their families. We need it so that I can spend my days meeting with policy experts and reading up on legislation and working with progressives all over the state to build a movement that can take on Norm Coleman next fall. Yes, Al has been forced to lower himself to calling people and asking for money for his campaign and he doesn't like it. Like any good liberal, he'd prefer a government subsidy instead, so he can have more time at his disposal to pass laws giving other people government subsidies. Despite his frustration with having to convince voters to fund his efforts rather than the government, he's been very successful at it. To the tune of $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2007, according to his FEC report. That FEC filing is a fascinating document. Did you know that anyone running for federal office in this country has to submit a detailed form to the government, listing the names, address, occupations of all people who gave them money, along with the amount given? It's true. I believe this level of intrusion into free association and political behavior has been around for some time. But I wouldn't have known that if Al Franken hadn't come along and turned the paperwork into a page from Variety Magazine. The stars have come out in force for Al Franken. Sen. Norm Coleman, the man holding the seat Franken covets, is even using this form as evidence that Franken is not fit to be Minnesota's senator, based on the company he keeps. Hard to argue with that when you see people like this flocking to Franken's side: "Me too," said co-host Rosie O'Donnell. "I'm maxing out to him. I'm maxing out my contribution." A review of Franken's FEC filing shows Rosie has not yet put her money where her enormous mouth is. Maybe she's waiting to hear whether or not Franken agrees with her that 9/11 was an inside job before she ponies up. Rosie aside, the left-wing celebrity activists you would expect to see supporting a fashionably unjustifiable and destructive cause are present. But there are a lot of other celebrities on this list, some I heretofore had some level of respect for. Yes, I understand one must at times separate entertainment and state. But it is exceedingly difficult to respect anyone who would willingly give money for the purpose of sending an embittered, loud mouth, nominal comedian to do one of the most important jobs in the country. Especially when those people don't even live in Minnesota. What follows is a litany of the radical chic outside agitators who've donated money to Franken's campaign. To paraphrase one of their other heroes, Michael Dukakis, I don't question their artistic talent, I question their judgment. Bill Maher - $1,000. OK, I question his artistic talent. But I understand his donation. Embittered, loud mouth, unfunny liberal comedians making millions in Hollywood have to stick together. Tom Hanks - $4,600. Ouch. It's hard not to like Tom hanks. But this is the most thoroughly disreputable thing he's done since Turner & Hooch. In fact, I would have respected him more if he'd have donated money to elect his slobbering hound costar to the US Senate instead. Donna Dixon Akroyd - $2,300. Longtime wife of Dan Akroyd and Hanks' blond bombshell Bosom Buddies costar It's sad to think the historical integrity of that crossdressing 80's sitcom rests upon the thin shoulders of Peter Scolari, who has not, yet, donated to Franken. Jane Curtain - $4600. The woman Dan Akroyd used to regularly refer to as an "ignorant slut" on one of those legendary, and not funny, SNL sketches from the golden years. It looks like maybe she's finally come around to Dan's way of thinking. Paul Newman - $4600. I'll never be able to drown my spaghetti with Newman's Own Sockarooni with the same carefree zest again. Lucy Lawless - $2,000. Xena, Warrior Princess. What the three headed Zorgon couldn't destroy, the FEC filing report lays to waste. BTW, I thought this gal was from New Zealand. Is she legally able to intrude into our political system? Somebody check her Z visa. Kevin Bacon - $1,000. Another bitter pill to swallow. But this does expand the options of the Kevin Bacon game. It used to take like 23 steps to connect Kevin Bacon and say, Lucy Lawless. Now there is only one. Plus everyone else on the Franken FEC filing is now only one step away from Kevin Bacon. Congratulations, Howard Stewart, auto worker from Ann Arbor Michigan, you are one step away from Kevin Bacon. And two steps from Lucy Lawless. Larry Hagman - $500. JR Ewing. Is he still alive? Or has the Democratic dream of giving dead people the franchise finally been realized? Robert Smigel - $4600. The man behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. You know, if he supports Franken, maybe there is something worthwhile about the man. For me to poop on! Leonard Nimoy - $4000. Dammit Spock! Shawn Otto - $250 - The writer of the painfully dull, depressing, and award winning movie "The House of Sand and Fog." He is also the husband of Minnesota's Auditor Rebecca Otto. A search of her state campaign donation filing indicates that, while Al Franken did not personally donate to her campaign, his political action committee, Midwest Values PAC, kicked in $500. Some quid pro quo perhaps? But the Ottos are coming back a little light here. Maybe they're waiting until Shawn can sell the rights to The House of Sand and Fog II: Unstable Foundation. Others donors I recognize, by category: Family Members Frances Franken -$ 4,600 - his wife Joseph Franken - $4600 - his son Thomasin Franken $2300 - his daughter. And part time Huffington Post contributor. I particularly like her charming take on take on urinating in public restrooms. Other entertainers Jason Alexander - $4,600. Down goes George Costanza. Barbara Bosson - $1,000. Last seen on Hill Street Blues 20 years ago. And she can still kick in a grand? Beth Broderick - $1,000 - Aunt Zelda on Sabrina, The Teen-Age Witch. Larry David/Laurie David - $4600 each. Buck Henry - $1,000. James Morrison - $250. Actor on 24. Bob Odenkirk - $2,000. Garry Trudeau - $1,000 - Doonesbury Bradley Whitford - $4600 - West Wing Marlo Thomas - $4600 - That Girl! Phil Donahue - $4600 - That Lousy Talk Show Host! Directors/Producers/Writers Lorne Michaels - $4600. SNL Creator James L Brooks - $4600 - The Simpsons creator. Jonathan Demme - $2300 Richard Donner - $2000 Nora Ephron - $2300 Peter Farrelly - $4600 - "Dumb and Dumber" creator. Marshall Herskovitz - $1,000. 30 Something creator. It's interesting to note that he donated a single dollar on 3/1, then $999 on March 2. Perhaps a new genre of comedy, FEC Filing Zingers. Tonight on NBC! Barry Levinson - $4600. Rob Reiner - $2300 - Meathead on All in the Family Harvey Weinstein $4600 Edward Zwick - $2300 Musicians Don Henley - $1,000 Stone Gossard - $2,000 Bonnie Raitt - $1,000. Linda Ronstadt - $1,500 Politicos Paul Begala - $1000 Geraldine Ferraro - $1000 Karenna Gore Schiff - $500. Warren Spanus - $250 Businessmen Craig Newmark $500 - Craig's List. Melvin Simon - $4600 - the guy behind the Mall of America. George Zimmer - $4600. The guy behind The Men's Warehouse.. And, finally, the most painful discovery of all. Ben Stein - $1,000. Legendary Ferris Beuhler actor, game show host, and brilliant conservative. Former speech writer for Richard Nixon and columnist for the American Spectator and Yahoo Finance, among other outlets. One of the finest writers around on politics, economics, and culture, as demonstrated in this listing. In particular, he's one the most articulate and persuasive speakers advocating the pro-life stance in the country. And he's giving money to Al Bleeping Franken? A guy who's never found a liberal position on abortion he didn't like (as shown by the $5,000 contribution he also received from something called Washington Women for Choice.) How in the world can Ben Stein be supporting Al Franken? Rather than engage in rank speculation, I have chosen to utilize the most powerful tool in the Internet journalist arsenal, the email interview. And believe it or not, Stein wrote me back. The disturbing transcript follows: SP: I was recently reviewing Al Franken's FEC filing for donations and expenditures. I must say I was a little surprised to find what I believe to be your name on the contributors list (if he was paying you, I'd applaud it). I'm a great admirer of your work from the American Spectator and the other media commentary you've provided over the years. But I always thought you were reasonably conservative in your orientation. So why in the world do you want to stick up poor Minnesotans (and the rest of the country) with a comedian who fancies himself a second coming of secular St. Wellstone? He's going to be about as far left as one can be in polite company in this country. If you're friends with the guy, I understand the motivation. But actions like these have consequences. Can't you just shake his hand extra friendly-like at the next cocktail party and leave it at that? BS: Al is a close friend and one of the smartest people I have ever met. SP: One final question, with all due respect. I believe you have a pretty strong commitment to pro-life issues and pro-growth economic policies. Are these trumped by your personal admiration for Franken and his alleged intellect? Anyone ... anyone ... Beuhler? Maybe my question sent Ben Stein into a spell of intense introspection and he's still trying to reconcile his actions with his philosophy. Or maybe he has a policy of one email only to obsessed, loser fans. Either way, the question stands unanswered. And if we wake up on November 5, 2008 to the reality of Senator Al Franken, we have Ben Stein's money to thank for it. UPDATE: Sisyphus, our go-to-guy on Barbara Bosson news, chimes in: I can explain how Barbara Bosson could come up with a grand -- she was married to Stephen Bochco (producer of Hill Street Blues, LA Law, NYPD Blues etc.) for many years. She is a (very) slightly more talented Laurie David. Labels: Politics-Local (06-07)
Miller is going to import the michelada concept from south of the border to boost lagging sales. They're hoping that it will become a beer Americans will drink. From today's Wall Street Journal (sub req):
Miller Brewing Co., known for its conventional slate of American beers, is hoping a brew with a Mexican twist can help pull it out of a sales slump. The Milwaukee brewer is launching Miller Chill, a 110-calorie beer flavored with lime and salt, throughout the U.S. this summer after a successful test run in Texas and several other states. Chill is Miller's answer to the michelada, a drink popular at Mexican beach resorts usually consisting of beer, lime juice and ice in a salt-rimmed glass. Miller, since 2002 the North American arm of London-based SABMiller PLC, plans to spend more than $30 million this year on television and print advertising for Chill. TV ads in local markets included the slogan, "Se habla Chill?" ("Do you speak Chill?"). Miller is counting on Chill to help it reverse a sales decline in North America and regain market share in the face of brutal competition. In the U.S., beer giants Miller, Anheuser-Busch Cos. and Molson Coors Brewing Co. are struggling to increase sales of their flagship domestic beers, as beer drinkers increasingly reach for imports and small-batch "craft" brews. Miller's prowess in the American beer industry has been gradually slipping since the 1980s, when Miller Lite held the lead in the light-beer wars with its famed "Tastes Great, Less Filling," ad campaign. Last year, Miller Lite lost market share to the best-selling U.S. beer, Bud Light. Miller's other brands, such as Miller High Life and Miller Genuine Draft, have stumbled for several years. In the year ended March 31, Miller's earnings before interest, taxes and amortization slid 17%, making it the worst-performing of SABMiller's regional divisions. North American sales fell 1% to $4.9 billion. The brewer hopes Chill, which it calls a premium light lager, will appeal to light-beer drinkers seeking more flavor. Miller is targeting 21- to 35-year-olds with the new brand, says Randy Ransom, Miller's chief marketing officer. "Consumers are looking for new and different ways to experience beer, and they're willing to pay for it," he says. "The core objective of this brand is to take share from competitive mainstream brands by giving light-beer drinkers a compelling reason to trade up." At stores, a six-pack of Chill, sold in lime-green long-neck bottles, sells for $6.50 to $7, about a dollar more than a six-pack of Miller Lite. While I'm sure Chill will have more flavor than Miller Lite (it's almost impossible not to), I'm a bit skeptical about trying to capture michelada in a bottle. I've enjoyed many a michelada in Mexico in the past and it is a refreshing, easy to drink concoction. However, when you order a michelada in a restaurant, you get a salt-rimmed glass half full of fresh lime juice and a bottle of whatever beer you prefer to add to the mix (Sol is my usual choice). You can then pour as much or as little beer as you want to suit your taste. How this is going to play out when it's mass produced and bottled remains to be seen. I'll give Chill a shot when it comes to a liquor store near me, but I doubt if will become one of my beers of summer. Somewhat related to the subject of flavored beers, Henry e-mails on ginger beer and ale: If you're ever in Detroit, try Vernor's ginger ale on tap. It has a spicy bite like none other. Vernor's is okay in cans and bottles but it's not as spicy or tasty--just as A&W root beer is better out of a tap. Vernor's used to be available in the Twin Cities, but I haven't seen a six-pack for years. UPDATE: Bert e-mails with a tip: Tell Henry, apparently a fellow emigrant Michigander (never "Michiganian"), that I consistently find Vernor's at Cub Foods. Not as good as out of the "tap", to be sure, but it's home away from home just as certainly as another Lions loss on Thanksgiving Day, or Rose Bowl loss to USC. UPDATE II: Paul from Colorado, another Fraters regular, bellies up to bar and offers this suggestion: One beer mixture that my better half likes a lot and I think it isn't too bad is a Black Velvet. Half champagine and half Porter. Try it sometime if you haven't. Since I'm not a big bubbly drinker (and I don't think that special bottle I'm saving for the day when the Vikes win the 'Bowl will be opened anytime soon), I have not had the pleasure of enjoying a Black Velvet. But anything made with porter can't be half bad, so I'll have to give it a go one of these days. You serving porter at your wedding SP? Labels: Beer Monday, June 11, 2007
Indulge me if you will in another moment of children's television criticism. After all, I have children and a television; therefore I am eminently qualified.
My withering gaze falls upon two shows in particular: "Dora the Explorer" and ""Go, Diego, Go!"" both of which are produced by the same group. In addition to the cheesy animation, the glacial pacing (especially on "Dora", the makers of "Diego" seem to have realized that to appeal to hyperactive--read all--young boys you need to pick up the pace a bit), and the insipid plotlines, my wife and I get irritated by the watered down language. Yes, they are shows for kids, but that doesn't mean they have an excuse to be stupid. It's a bit silly for programs that aspire to teach children about exotic animals, different cultures, and even another language to have to settle for such dumbed-down mediocre usage of the English language. The one area where this is particularly galling is the use of adjectives. Here's a short list of recently noted abuses: muddy mud icy ice hilly hill watery water Okay, I might be making the last one up, but the others are all too real examples of incredibly lazy writing. Muddy mud? Oh that's just mud, but over there that's muddy mud. C'mon, you can't come a better descriptor? Someone needs to unpack their adjectives. Labels: Television
Last Saturday on the NARN, we interviewed Lt. Col. John A. Nagl, author of Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam. This was our second interview with Lt. Col. Nagl and his comments were once again honest, insightful, and thought provoking.
He literally has helped write the book on counterinsurgency and his message on Iraq is that while progress is being made, he fears it won't be enough to keep the political clock in Washington from running out. Successful counterinsurgencies have typically taken about nine years and he believes that because of the circumstances in Iraq and Afghanistan, the efforts in those countries will require an even longer time commitment. It remains an open question whether America has the will and fortitude to see them through. The answer will be a determining factor in whether we have a safer or more dangerous world in the next thirty years. You can listen to (or download) the whole interview here. Labels: NARN (06-07)
Lileks interviews for a job at Nihilist In Golf Pants:
NIGP: What made you interested in applying here at Nihilist in Golf Pants? LILEKS: Well, your top 11 lists are legendary, but then there are also the live blogs, the fake interviews, the gambling tips, and the college hockey coverage. Plus, there's the fact that you won City Pages Right Wing Blog of the Year, back when that award meant something. I'm sick of working somewhere that never wins awards. But most of all, I would love the opportunity to work with JB.
The next officially sanctioned, licensed, and approved gathering of the Twin Cities chapter of the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers will take place on Saturday, July 14th at Keegan's Irish Pub in Northeast Minneapolis. Further details will be provided shortly.
Labels: MOB Sunday, June 10, 2007
Eric Felten, the Wall Street Journal's resident mixologist, focues his attention this week on one of JB's favorites, The Moscow Mule (sub req):
Hopper's error didn't derail the cocktail's progress, which Martin and Morgan promoted by having mule-engraved copper mugs made. They hyped the thousands of cups stolen by over-eager customers; Smirnoff would later sell the mugs nationwide. The Moscow Mule is still properly made in a copper mug, originals of which can regularly be found on eBay. When the drink got its name, Uncle Joe Stalin and Uncle Sam were allies, if not exactly pals. But by 1950, not unlike a few Hollywood screenwriters, Smirnoff and its flagship drink were taking heat for their Russian association. Assuming Smirnoff was a Soviet import, unionized bartenders in New York announced a Moscow Mule boycott, refusing to "shove slave labor liquor across the wood in any American saloon." Smirnoff rushed to testify that its vodka was not, and never had been, a member of the Communist Party -- and got some help from Walter Winchell: "The Moscow Mule drink is U.S. made, so don't be so political when you're thirsty," he wrote in May 1951. "Three are enough, however, to make you wanna fight pro-Communists." The Mule survived the red scare, but couldn't weather the nuttier notions of the marketing department. In 1965, the drink was relaunched as the Smirnoff Mule, complete with a massive ad campaign targeting the groovy new "discotheque" scene. This being the era of the Frug, the Mashed Potato and the Shrug, the Smirnoff folks figured they could use a novelty dance of their own. The company hired dancer "Killer Joe" Piro to create a sort of deranged Watusi to go along with an overgrown boogaloo jingle performed by Skitch Henderson and Carmen McRae. "Stand stubborn/Stop sudden/Look cool," implored the lyric. "Turn it on/Take it off/The Smirnoff Mule!" And that was that: The drink didn't fade away; it just died of sheer embarrassment. And what a pity, because the Moscow Mule is a terrific summer refresher, and well worth the effort of seeking out ginger beer, a soft drink with the spicy bite that ginger ale only wishes it had. Or just find one of the growing number of bars that have revived the drink in the past few years, such as AZ88 in Scottsdale, Ariz., Bar 89 in New York's SoHo neighborhood, and PX in Old Town Alexandria, Va. -- all of which have taken the trouble to acquire copper mugs for proper presentation. Nothing better on a hot summer day. Gotta have it in the copper mug though. UPDATE: "Moscow Mule" would be a great title for a hardboiled noir mystery set in the late '40s at the onset of the Cold War. A hard-drinking detective, a beautiful Russian exile whose loyalties are unclear, missing atomic documents, and a dead scientist: the book just about writes itself. A quick perusal of Amazon shows a Moscow travel guide bearing that name, but nothing in the fictional genre. Labels: Cocktails
Pictures from yesterday's event at the State Capitol in St. Paul (click to enlarge):
       Labels: NARN (06-07) Saturday, June 09, 2007
It's a beautiful morning in Minnesota. A perfect day for an outdoor event. Which makes me doubly glad that I elected to take part in the NARN live broadcast from the State Capitol grounds as the WWII Veterans Memorial is dedicated. My other option would have been to attend the MN GOP state central meeting in Oakdale.
Inside vs outside? Politics vs history? Yeah, I definitely made the right choice. The NARN will be broadcasting live from 11am-5pm while the WWII Memorial Dedication takes place from 10am-4:30pm. In addition to covering the dedication events as they unfold, we'll be providing our usual poignant and pithy political commentary. At noon, we hope to be joined by Lt. Col John A. Nagl, author of Learning To Eat Soup With A Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons From Malaya and Vietnam. Lt. Col. Nagl helped put together the new counterinsurgency manual being used by the military and we'd like to get his evaluation of the impact of the "surge" in Iraq. The rest of the NARN crew will also be on hand for six full hours of radio gold. We understand that Mitch Berg will be providing a live demonstration of ten ways you can kill a man with Lefse as a tribute to the Norwegian resistance. If you can make it out to the Capitol, be sure to stop by and say hi. If not, you can listen to the show as always on AM1280 WWTC locally or from anywhere on the internet stream. Labels: NARN (06-07) Friday, June 08, 2007
Okposo Stays, Goligoski Still Undecided:
Kyle Okposo made his decision. He's staying on at the University of Minnesota for another season. The Sophomore forward passed up the opportunity to turn pro today. He was drafted by the NY Islanders last year as the 7th overall pick. "After meeting with the Islanders to discuss my future, I felt it was in my best interest to return for my sophomore year," Okposo said in a statement released by the University today. "This is where I want to be to develop into a better player. I'm enjoying my time as a Gopher and am looking forward to helping us defend our WCHA Championships." Somewhere Sisyphus' mighty heart is all a flutter. Labels: Hockey (06-07)
One of the small joys of subscribing to the Wall Street Journal is the Taste page in the Friday edition of the paper. The three articles featured there each week on culture, education, and religion are just about guaranteed to entertain and enlighten. This week's batch is no exception.
Dimitri Cavalli recalls a time when liberals cheered as the Catholic Church cracked down on those who went against its teachings (free for all!): Rummel and Archbishop Joseph Ritter of St. Louis had previously used the threat of excommunication to suppress lay Catholic opposition to civil rights. In 1956, Rummel warned Catholic lawmakers in the state legislature that they would face excommunication if they voted to mandate the segregation of all private schools, including Catholic ones. In the same year, he forced the Association of Catholic Laymen, which was established to oppose his initial desegregation efforts, to disband by threatening its members with excommunication. In 1947, when "separate but equal" was still the law of the land, Ritter threatened to excommunicate any Catholic who took legal action to block his plan to desegregate Catholic schools in St. Louis. How did liberals react to Rummel's actions? "We salute the Catholic Archbishop," the New York Times editorialized. "He has set an example founded on religious principle and response to the social conscience of our times." An editorial in the Nation applauded Rummel's initial excommunication threat and cited Ritter's action in 1947 as a precedent. Certainly, it seems, liberals don't really mind mixing religion with politics as long as it's their political agenda being promoted. Rep. DeLauro, Mr. Giuliani and other Catholic politicians may choose to see ecclesiastical punishments as blunt political weapons used to club them into submission on a controversial issue. For the bishops, however, such punishments are imposed as a last effort to be taken against those who, in their judgment, are publicly flouting the laws of the church. And Collin Levy notes that many environmentalists are really not happy to see energy companies playing ball on alternative energy: All of this is particularly amusing in light of the hype in California last year over a ballot initiative called Proposition 87, also known as the "Clean Alternative Energy Act." Under the act, oil companies, having failed to invest enough in research on alternative fuels, would face a tax on each barrel of oil taken out of California. The money would be used in part to start a research fund for alternative energy technology. Many of the state's environmental glitterati rallied to support the initiative, including honorary resident Al Gore, Julia Roberts and Hollywood gadabout and heir Steve Bing, who pledged more than $40 million of his inherited wealth to the cause. The proposition failed, but the big oil companies launched new alternative fuel research institutes on California campuses shortly thereafter. Instead of gloating, Mr. Bing lashed out at Stanford for participating, publicly taking back $2.5 million of a gift to the school in protest. The outrage of Mr. Bing and others is hard to fathom, but their chief concern seems to be that, between them, the universities and the energy companies have cut the political activists out of control of the investment dollars. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a liberal watchdog group, has set up its own "Project for Integrity in Science" to "scrutinize conflicts of interest" at those schools and other nonprofit associations that receive corporate funding. The basic principle is fine: Transparency in philanthropy is generally a good thing. But the agenda of Mr. Bing and his environmentalist friends seems confused. Are they against capitalism or against pollution? Have they figured out that the two are not (always) the same? Far too many greens are at heart against capitalism. Concern over the state of the environment has just been a useful tool to advance their ultimate goal. Labels: Media-National (07-09)
'Massive' war protest could land at GOP convention's doorstep:
Twin Cities antiwar leaders on Thursday announced the route for a march that they said will be a "massive demonstration" at next year's Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Whether St. Paul police and the Secret Service will permit such a route remains to be seen. "Permits are not granted until about six months before the event," said Tom Walsh, a St. Paul police spokesman. "So they can make any plan they choose, but we have no comment on it." The Secret Service is expected to establish a perimeter around the convention, which will be held at the Xcel Energy Center, so it is unclear how close protesters will be allowed. At previous conventions, delays in issuing permits have sparked lawsuits. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota has said it is exploring that possibility here. It's going be a crazy week in September of aught-eight. Labels: 2008 RNC
Children, like cats, are notorious creatures of habit. They tend to embrace a routine that they can follow day after day. We've been reading the same four books to our eldest son before naps and bedtimes for at least the last six months (or maybe it just feels like that long a time).
One is the classic Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd. Another is Big Red Barn, also by Margaret Wise Brown and, at the risk of being charged with apostasy, it's a better book than Goodnight Moon. The other two books currently in heavy rotation are Good Night Gorilla and 10 Minutes till Bedtime, both by Peggy Rathmann. Our son absolutely loves both of them and they're fun for the parent too because the only words are dialog. You get to narrate the story as you see fit, which means it ends up different each and every time. Well, it's fun for the parent the first seventy-eight, seventy-nine times you tell it. After that, the creative veins are much tapped out and you struggle to find new ways to describe the same scenes over and over and over and over again. That's why a book with a good rhythm and pace like Big Red Barn is now preferred, especially at night when your own synapses aren't firing on all cylinders. The point of this is not to give you the inside dope on the bedtime goings-on at The Elder's Estate, as fascinating as I'm sure you find it. It's to establish the fact that youngsters crave routine. They expect the same things at the same time and usually the more that you can deliver that, the more satisfied they will be. Which brings me to Nick Jr. Their programmers are either sadistic sociopaths who enjoy messing with young minds (to say nothing of parents' sanity) or they're evil geniuses who've figured out a creative method to ensure ratings. Because on this cable channel--which is supposedly dedicated to children's programming--there is often no rhyme or reason to their daily schedule. Today, "SpongeBob SquarePants" is on at 7am. Tomorrow, "Dora The Explorer" may be on that time. The next day, there might be a "Go Diego Go" mini-marathon of four episodes in a row starting at 7am and the day after that "Diego" may not be on at all. For three months in a row, there will a "SpongeBob" every Friday night at 6pm. Then suddenly, it will move to 7pm. Then no "SpongeBob" will be on Friday night and after that six FREAKIN' "SpongeBobs" in a row will be aired on a Friday. Stop the madness! Now those of you without children are probably saying, "What's the big deal? Stop your whining. Why aren't you and your wingnut buddies writing about Scooter Libby?" And some of you with children are probably tsk tsking, and saying "The TV shouldn't be used as a babysitter." Lighten up. After all, JB and I were raised on a strict schedule of no more (or no less) than eight hours of television a day and we turned out just...What? Oh sorry, lost my train of thought there, short attention span, easily distracted and whatnot. What was I saying again? Oh yeah. Imagine if you will what would happen if Fox followed such an unpredictable schedule with their most popular show, say "24" (a much inferior and far less plausible program than "SpongeBob" by the way). Legions of easily amused "24" fans tune in on Tuesday night and sometimes the show is on and sometimes it isn't. Can you imagine the outcry? Or maybe people would just start tuning in to Fox more often, never knowing for certain the exact time their favorite show was going to be on and not wanting to dare miss it. That's what is no doubt actually behind the Nick Jr. strategy of random programming. Better keep it on Nick Jr. all the time, lest you chance missing your kid's favorite show. Better get going. I think "SpongeBob" is on. At least I hope it is. Labels: Television Thursday, June 07, 2007
When Penny Steele announced that she would not seek reelection to her seat on the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, there was concern that her departure would leave a void on the local political scene. Steele is a rare stalwart of common sense and responsibility and was often the lone voice on the Hennepin County Board willing to stand athwart Utopian visions of the future yelling "Stop!". God only knows how many bureaucratic boondoggles would have been foisted on the taxpayers of Hennepin County with little or no discussion or debate if Steele hadn't been on hand to provide a much-needed sanity check.
We appreciate Penny Steele's years of service and will definitely miss her feisty attitude on the Board. However, it looks like we're going to have an opportunity to replace her with another excellent public servant. Jeff Johnson has announced that he will seek the seat being vacated by Steele in 2008. Last time we heard from Jeff, he was being caught up in the Democratic wave that swept over Minnesota in the 2006 election. Despite being one of the strongest Republican candidates anywhere on the ticket, he was defeated in his bid for Attorney General by Among the Republican candidates in Minnesota who deserved a better fate in '06, none were more worthy of victory than Jeff Johnson. It was a crying shame that a man of his qualifications, integrity, and committment would get swamped in a tide of blue. But that's politics for you. It's great to see that Jeff is back in the game, ready to fight the good fight once again. At this early stage, it looks like aught-eight is not shaping up to be a great year for Republicans, but we are confident that this time around, it will be for Jeff Johnson. Labels: Politics-Local (06-07) Wednesday, June 06, 2007
In today's Wall Street Journal Floyd Abrams writes that the Islamic Society of Boston learned a painful lesson that sometimes it's better to ignore your critics instead of dragging them to into court (sub req):
On May 29 of this year, the potential vulnerability of a plaintiff that misuses the courts to sue for libel once again surfaced when the Islamic Society of Boston abandoned a libel action it had commenced against a number of Boston residents, a Boston newspaper and television station, and Steven Emerson, a recognized expert on terrorism and, in particular, extremist Islamic groups. In all, 17 defendants were named. Those accused had publicly raised questions about a real estate transaction entered into between the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Islamic Society, which transferred to the latter a plot of land in Boston, at a price well below market value, for the construction of a mosque and other facilities. The critics urged the Boston authorities to reconsider their decision to provide the land on such favorable terms (which included promised contributions to the community by the Islamic Society, such as holding lectures and offering other teaching about Islam) to an organization whose present or former leaders had close connections with or who had otherwise supported terrorist organizations. The Islamic Society wanted to silence its critics by suing them for libel. Instead, their lawsuit helped substantiate the critics' case against them: Their complaint asserted that the defendants had falsely stated that monies had been sent to the Islamic Society from "Saudi/Middle Eastern sources," and that such statements and others had devastated its fund-raising efforts. But documents obtained in discovery demonstrated without ambiguity that fund-raising was (as one representative of the Islamic Society had put it) "robust," with at least $7.2 million having been wired to the Islamic Society from Middle Eastern sources, mostly from Saudi Arabia. The Islamic Society claimed it had been libeled by a variety of expressions of concern by the defendants that it, the Society, had provided support for extremist organizations. But bank records obtained by the defendants showed that the Islamic Society had served as funder both of the Holy Land Foundation, a Hamas-controlled organization that the U.S. Treasury Department had said "exists to raise money in the United States to promote terror," and of the Benevolence International Foundation, which was identified by the 9/11 Commission as an al Qaeda fund-raising arm. The complaint maintained that any reference to recent connections between the Islamic Society and the now-imprisoned Abdurahman Alamoudi was false since it "had had no connection with him for years." But an Islamic Society check written in November 2000, two months after Alamoudi publicly proclaimed his support for Hamas and Hezbollah, was uncovered in discovery which directed money to pay for Alamoudi's travel expenses. The beauty of the story is that had the Islamic Society not gone to court in the first place, much of this evidence never would have seen the light of day. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Or perhaps suicide bombing your own headquarters would be a more appropriate metaphor in this instance. Labels: Legal matters
So reporter Eric Black, recently released by the Star Tribune in their cost-cutting purge, has joined the likes of Jeff Fecke and is now going to be writing for Minnesota Monitor and starting his own blog? Makes sense I guess.
We understand that if Lileks hadn't found a new bucket at the Strib, there was an agreement in principle for him to sign on at Nihilist In Golf Pants. And then there's our open offer--made at JB's behest--for Doug Grow to join the staff here at Fraters Libertas. Our salary package is standard in the blogging industry (unlike MinnMon, we're still waiting for the day when our sugar daddy comes in), but the benefits are what really sets us apart. We hope that Doug decides it's time to make a brand new start. Labels: Media-Local (05-07)
Have you ever tried to cut the toenails of a 14 month old? It's an ordeal. First you have to catch the rascal when he's kind of sleepy so his motor skills are not firing on all cylinders. Then you have to hold him down while he kicks and fusses. Then you have to get that tiny baby toenail clipper in there to hack away at a nail the size of a flea.
And the pinky toe is almost microscopic. I've never cut the toenails of a 14 month old either, but as I watched my wife struggling with it the other day while I relaxed on the couch with my dog-earred copy of Ball Four, I thought "that looks like hard work." The Elder Needles: Adam Smith is wondering exactly where your comparative advantage comes into play here pinmaker? Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Star Tribune Provides More Bad News (WSJ sub req):
It looks like Star Tribune was cheap for a reason. The $530 million Avista Capital Partners paid for the owner of the Minneapolis newspaper this year equated to a bargain-basement 6.5 times cash flow. This Wall Street Journal story from January called it a "gutsy" move by the private-equity firm, given that the paper, the 15th-largest in the country, stands out for its poor performance in a poor performing industry. Late word from Standard & Poor's Leveraged Commentary & Data seems to bear out the old adage that you get what you pay for. According to S&P (a division separate from the ratings group), so-called first-lien debt of the closely held company tumbled to as low as 96 cents on the dollar following a conference call with credit investors to discuss the company's recent performance. That's a whopping 3-cent move that puts the paper at a level usually reserved for companies in distress. (Trouble the company was already having is evident in this Wall Street Journal story last month detailing plans to slash jobs.) Bankers for Tribune, the Chicago newspaper company not to be confused with Star Tribune, are likely to be watching what's going on in Minneapolis carefully. That's because, as this recent WSJ story makes clear, the publisher is looking for financing to back its own $8.2 billion takeover. Tribune already had a hard time selling the first $7 billion it needed to fund the deal, and the $4 billion in loans and bonds it still needs to sell are looking like a taller order now. As the story, and this post we did yesterday indicates, as easy as it is to get credit investors to part with cash these days, there's an increasing number of companies with disappointing results. And in those cases, the credit markets aren't quite so easy these days. We were unable to get a quick comment from Star Tribune. Probably because the ladies in the phone room are all gone. Labels: Media-Local (05-07)
Memo to parents, relatives, guardians, day care providers, etc:
The last time I checked we were not living in a socialist commune. Rather our system is capitalistic in nature, based on a firm foundation of personal property rights. So next time you're down at the park and the child you're responsible for (at least nominally) comes over to OUR wagon and starts messing with OUR basketball, I expect that you will have the decency to instruct them to cease and desist, possibly taking the opportunity to briefly explain the concept of ownership: that ball is not yours, put it back. I understand that toddlers are far too young to understand why they should not take something that does not belong to them. However, it is your job as a responsible adult to teach them to respect the property of others. If, for some reason, it is absolutely imperative that your little darling play with OUR basketball, I expect that you will seek our permission, which would almost certainly be granted. It's simply common courtesy to do so. It is not courteous, but I'm discovering all too common to look on silently while the child in your charge takes said basketball out of said wagon and begins rolling and kicking it around the park, requiring us to monitor the status of OUR basketball so that it doesn't end up in the street. We're trying to have a society here people. JB Smartly replies: Funny The Elder should be talking about such a subject, since he does more ball handling in 5 minutes than Steve Nash does all night. L'Elder moons for rebuttal: Updating a ref from "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"? Not bad. Labels: Children
For Jordanians, Shotgun Weddings Can Be a Problem (WSJ sub req):
MADABA, Jordan -- It's wedding season here. Florists are preparing bouquets bursting with white roses, lilies and irises. And in a noisy basement print shop, a 45-year-old German-made press pounds out thousands of invitations bearing entwined hearts and the message: "Gunfire is forbidden." The message is part of an unusual campaign in Jordan, where many people like to punctuate nuptials and other summer celebrations by aiming skyward and squeezing off a few rounds from assault rifles and handguns. Unfortunately, because of misfires and the law of gravity, the tradition transforms some weddings into funeral processions. "You have to wear a helmet if you are going to go to a Jordanian wedding," says Ali Zenat, who runs a small social-services agency here. It's so embarrassing when you show up at a wedding wearing the same color helmet as the bridesmaids. Mr. Zenat also delivers bouquets to weddings throughout the district, which is south of Amman and abuts the Dead Sea in west central Jordan. Each bouquet -- he says he has personally delivered more than 100 -- arrives with a card that says, "Our wedding will be more beautiful without gunfire." Interestingly enough, this is the same message that was included in the invitation that we recently received for Saint Paul's upcoming nuptials. Personally I don't have a problem with it, but the other day in the hallway here at FL corporate headquarters, I overheard JB muttering that not bringing guns to the wedding was "PC nonsense" and something about "they'll have to take it out of my cold dead hands." Glad I'm not an usher.
T-Paw gets some love from an editorial in today's Wall Street Journal:
If he's looking for tips on handling Nancy Pelosi, President Bush might want to consult Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota. The Republican Governor is using his veto power to good effect on policy and making himself more popular. Last month the Democrats who run the Legislature in St. Paul pushed through a big tax and spending increase in their $35 billion state budget. Last week Mr. Pawlenty responded by vetoing all six of the spending and tax bills the Democrats sent him. The usual media and interest group suspects are upset, but Mr. Pawlenty is rallying his own supporters and making himself a defender of the taxpaying middle class. There's a lot to be gained at times by simply saying "No". Or maybe more appropriate for GW's sensibilities "No mas." Labels: Politics-Local (06-07)
At First Things, Adam G. Cooper reports that the Catholic Church has landed Another Big Fish:
Here we go again. Yet another promising Lutheran has just gone over to Rome. Robert C. Koons is professor of philosophy at the University of Texas. His department is the home of such distinguished scholars as Richard Sorabji and J. Budziszewski, company no doubt conducive to a stimulating intellectual climate. Koons' numerous publications on logic, causation, science, and metaphysics have earned deserved recognition, including the Arlt Prize from the Council of Graduate Schools for his 1992 book, Paradoxes of Belief and Strategic Rationality. While strictly a philosopher by profession, Koons is no slouch when it comes to theology. Just under a year ago, he published on his website a ninety-page personal study he had undertaken to work through the doctrinal differences between Lutherans and Roman Catholics. The study is refreshing for its clarity, charity, and good sense. Having been raised a good Missouri Synod Lutheran, Koons is well situated to articulate sound confessional teaching in congruity with the self-understanding of the Lutheran confessions. At the same time, Koons avoids the false characterizations that commonly typify many representations of Roman teaching. Looks like another good recruiting class for the Papists.
Sigh. Even without Pronger, the Mighty F'in Ducks were able to hold off the Sens and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. It's going to be a sad day when we have to watch Lord Stanley's prize be paraded through the streets of beautiful downtown Anaheim. California will now join North Carolina and Florida as home to the most recent Cup winners. That just ain't right.
Labels: Hockey (06-07) Monday, June 04, 2007
Diana from St. Louis e-mails:
My husband is conservative. I am a moderate liberal. :) We both enjoy reading your beer assessments. There is one omission....Sprecher Beer, a small brewery in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Would you consider adding some of their beers to your list? I might even read your postings from time to time... So if I drink a few Sprechers and rate them, she'll read our posts? Sounds like a win-win to me. I've seen Sprecher beers in the store before and I'm sure I've tried at least one of their brews at some point along my long and windy road, but for some reason I have not gotten around to an official evaluation. Consider Sprecher added to my "to drink" list. I've recently had a chance to enjoy some excellent seasonal beers from Bell's, Summit, and Surly and will be adding them to the ratings page shortly. Speaking of Surly, I introduced the Nihilist In Golf Pants to Surly Furious the other night and he was smitten at first taste. Now, the NIGP ALWAYS enjoys a free beer and would happily quaff the most watered-down, tasteless swill if it was offered to him gratis, but he really seemed to savor the heavily-hopped flavor explosion that is Furious. In fact, he may even go out and purchase a four-pack of Surly for himself. Well... Labels: Beer
WWII vets coming to St. Paul for last hurrah:
Some WWII soldiers are breaking out uniforms not worn for decades. Many will come in chartered buses, catch rides with their children or grandkids or drive in from around the nation. Upwards of 20,000 people are expected to gather Saturday on the Capitol Mall in St. Paul to dedicate the new state memorial to World War II veterans. State Veterans Affairs Commissioner Clark Dyrud said it could be one of the largest gatherings ever of WWII veterans in Minnesota. Among the crowd will be members of the Northern Alliance Radio Network as we'll be broadcasting our show live from the Capitol Mall this Saturday from 11am-5pm. Events are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. with a roll call of 6,284 Minnesota servicemen and -women who died during the war After a 2 p.m. flyover by WWII military aircraft, the dedication ceremony will begin. Speakers include Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Vessey and decorated WWII chaplain Delbert Kuehl. The program ends at 4:30 p.m. There will be free samples of the ubiquitous WWII delicacy Spam, served from the Hormel "Spammobile;" WWII-era music, military vehicles and an Army encampment; newsreels; a bloodmobile; a Minnesota History Center tent showing films, and exhibits in the Capitol Rotunda, including people taking oral histories of veterans. Free Spam? It really doesn't get any better. Might be a good opportunity to add to my NARN hosts eating photo collection too. More information on the event is available here. JB Chimes: You know, I'm starting to hear this modern phrase "Men AND women killed in..." a lot more these days. You never used to hear that. How many WACs did we lose in the Big One anyway, a couple hundred? More PC nonsense if you ask me. Labels: History
A few observations after watching the first hour of tonight's Democratic debate (I flipped it off when they switched to the "town hall" format. There may indeed be wisdom in crowds, but the questions asked by individual citizens in these forums are usually pretty lame):
- Wolf Blitzer did a nice job as host, especially when he followed up if the candidates were not answering the question which is too often par for the course in these debates. He really nailed Bill Richardson for refusing to address the possibility of genocide in Iraq if US troops withdrew. - Speaking of Richardson, why was this guy ever considered a serious contender? Tonight, he reminded me of nothing so much as the Democratic version of Tommy Thompson, a capable enough governor, but not ready for the prime time national stage. - Judging solely from what said tonight, the candidate who came across as the having the most reasonable, common-sense views on how to build a strong and secure future for America was... ...Hillary Clinton. I know it's hard for a lot of conservatives to swallow, but you gotta give Hillary her due here. If you have to have a Democrat in the White House in 2009 (and odds are that we will), from a national security perspective, the country could do a lot worse than her. At least based on the rhetoric she's pitching now. - An illuminating moment came when Blitzer asked for a show of hands on who would support making English the official national language of the US. Gravel was the only one in favor and the others were not only opposed, but, led by Obama, basically came out and said such issues shouldn't even be discussed because they were "divisive." Divisive you say? As opposed to what, the war in Iraq, gay marriage, abortion? Our entire political system is based on disagreement on issues. Every time there is an election, we are "divided." Just because it's an issue that you can't make political hay with, doesn't mean it isn't one that we should debate and I applaud the fact that it was even brought up. And just because English is the official language of the US, it doesn't mean that we won't encourage Americans to learn others. That little non sequitur was embraced by at least four of the candidates. Labels: 2008 Election Sunday, June 03, 2007
After watching tonight's Democratic debate (well. at least the first hour of it), I have a proposal for 2008. Since we hear so many complaints that there's no real difference between the parties, let's set up a real choice for voters. The Republicans nominate Ron Paul and the Democrats pick Dennis Kucinich. Can you imagine how much fun the debates between them would be?
Chip e-mails on the impact of the immigration bill:
Here is an email that I sent to the RNC today. When the administration starts to lose people like me, they are in real trouble. Dear RNC - I wanted to let you know that I have been a loyal supporter of President Bush for his entire two terms. I have voted Republican since the 1984 election and was proud to vote for Ronald Reagan. I still believe in the purpose and validity of the War on Terror and bringing democracy to the Middle East. I was recently solicited by the Republican Party of Minnesota for a $100 pledge. I called the party to rescind my pledge. The immigration bill put forth by the President and Senator Kennedy has made me rethink my support of the administration and the party. I believe in border security and enforcement first with no special path to citizenship, no special privileges. Also, his latest U turn on global warming to go along with the Europeans has me worried. Why does the president want to alienate the remaining 30% of the population that has been with him all this time? Labels: Immigration Friday, June 01, 2007
Rumors of a coming "conservative crackup" have been much exaggerated in recent years, usually fueled by members of the media eager to exploit the slightest hint of conflict and perhaps engaging in a little wishful thinking as well.
But if the recent fallout from the immigration bill is any indication, we may now actually be on the precipice of a major schism within the ranks of the conservative movement. When you've got the editorial page bigwigs from The Wall Street Journal and the editors of National Review going at each other with hammers and tongs (actually most of the hammer throwing is being done by the WSJ crew), you know that the we've reached a critical point. At Opinion Journal, Peggy Noonan believes that Bush's immigration push has already torn the conservative coalition asunder(free for all): What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration. They are not resisting, fighting and thereby setting down a historical marker--"At this point the break became final." That's not what's happening. What conservatives and Republicans must recognize is that the White House has broken with them. What President Bush is doing, and has been doing for some time, is sundering a great political coalition. This is sad, and it holds implications not only for one political party but for the American future. The White House doesn't need its traditional supporters anymore, because its problems are way beyond being solved by the base. And the people in the administration don't even much like the base. Desperate straits have left them liberated, and they are acting out their disdain. Leading Democrats often think their base is slightly mad but at least their heart is in the right place. This White House thinks its base is stupid and that its heart is in the wrong place. For almost three years, arguably longer, conservative Bush supporters have felt like sufferers of battered wife syndrome. You don't like endless gushing spending, the kind that assumes a high and unstoppable affluence will always exist, and the tax receipts will always flow in? Too bad! You don't like expanding governmental authority and power? Too bad. You think the war was wrong or is wrong? Too bad. But on immigration it has changed from "Too bad" to "You're bad." She goes on to say: Now conservatives and Republicans are going to have to win back their party. They are going to have to break from those who have already broken from them. With Republican prospects in 2008 already looking grim, the timing of this split within conservative ranks could not be worse. Welcome back to the wilderness. UPDATE: A few more thoughts upon further reflection. At the heart of the immigration divide is the problem that the "Republican Future" which the Bush administration believes they are trying to build is not the future that the current Republican base wants. President Bush has now managed to put himself in the unenviable political position of simultaneously being on the outs with the Left (who have despised him since day one) and now the Right (at least a good part of it). This of course is the muddled middle ground that media types like to claim stake to when they throw out the defense, "I get criticized from the Left and the Right, which means I must be doing something right." No, it probably just means that you're wrong. UPDATE II: More from the Never-ending Apes, Freedom Dogs, and Vox Day, who nobly resists the temptation to say "I told you so" (not). Labels: Politics-National (05-07)
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