Chicagoans are fond of saying that the bad weather serves a purpose; it keeps the riff-raff away. It also has occurred to me that it doesn’t take any imagination or courage to live someplace where the weather is great (Yes, I’m looking at you Allisen, proprietor of The Foley House Inn in Savannah, GA 800-647-3708).
But…
As I walked into the 20 mph wind and 43 degree temperatures today (wind chill = 34 degrees!) following a night of downpours that left nine inches of water in the back of my yard, I wonder, WHAT KIND OF AN IDIOT VOLUNTEERS FOR THIS? It’s MAY. It’s the end of MAY. WHAT IS WRONG WITH US?!
I’m still processing President Obama’s speech yesterday outlining his thoughts on obtaining long-term stability and peace in the Middle East. I’ve thought that a two-state solution would be in Israel’s best interest for a while.
Ron Brownstein of National Journal recently pointed out that the “browning of America” will inevitably force Republicans to deal with the issue of immigration differently than they now do, if only to maintain their presidential election viability. Growing Hispanic populations in what are now “red states” will change the electoral landscape, as Hispanics (with the possible exception of Cuban exiles in South Florida) have traditionally voted for the Democrats. Thanks to supporters of California’s Prop 187 in 1994 and to, among others, Tom Tancredo, the 2008 presidential candidate for about as long as it takes to drink a cup of coffee, the Republican Party finds itself in an untenable situation on the immigration issue, if only due to the demographics. The Hispanic population is growing, and growing in places that are currently Republican strongholds. Absent a change, that control is unlikely to continue.
Now look at Israel. The demographic trend shows faster non-Jewish population growth than Jewish population growth–the so-called demographic time bomb. It doesn’t take much math to figure out that at some point down the road (perhaps way, way down the road) there will be more “others” than Jews to vote in Israeli elections. The extreme of that argument is that, ceteris paribus, there is a point in the future where Israel is no longer a Jewish state.
Depending on how seriously Israel’s leaders take this “threat” and how seriously they desire to ensure Israel’s status as a Jewish State, movement toward creating long-term peace with the Palestinians would be in their long-term interest. I suspect that the Arab community realizes that time is on their side. Israel’s leaders probably also know that the sand in their hourglass is finite, too.
History rarely moves in straight lines; present trends rarely continue unabated for long periods. The question is: Are Republicans and Israeli leaders willing to bet the ranch on that.
I haven’t been able to get this song out of my mind since yesterday afternoon. If you’ve spent as much time as I have listening to music, lyrics get burned into your unconscious mind, then situations make them pop out at you. It’s rarely the whole song, just a couplet, sometimes two. That’s been the way it’s been for me since yesterday.
Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ come Watching the ships roll in And then I watch ’em roll away again, yeah
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay Watching the tide roll away Ooo, I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay Wastin’ time
I left my home in Georgia Headed for the ‘Frisco bay ‘Cause I’ve had nothing to live for And look like nothin’s gonna come my way
So I’m just gonna sit on the dock of the bay Watching the tide roll away Ooo, I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay Wastin’ time
Look like nothing’s gonna change Everything still remains the same I can’t do what ten people tell me to do So I guess I’ll remain the same, yes
Sittin’ here resting my bones And this loneliness won’t leave me alone It’s two thousand miles I roamed Just to make this dock my home
Now, I’m just gonna sit at the dock of the bay Watching the tide roll away Oooo-wee, sittin’ on the dock of the bay Wastin’ time
More than a few people, many of whom I respect and are friends of mine have spent the day going out of their way to thank President Bush for his role in the kill/capture of Osama Bin Laden. Others say President Obama is “claiming credit” for what is really Bush’s accomplishment. This is fundamentally wrong and ignorant of the facts. Less than six months after an attack that killed nearly 3,000 people, the President of the United States announced that finding bin Laden didn’t matter.
QUESTION: Mr. President, in your speeches now, you rarely talk or mention Osama Bin Laden. Why is that? Also, can you can tell the American people if you have any more information — if you know if he is dead or alive. Deep in your heart, don’t you truly believe that until you find out if he is dead or alive, you won’t really want to make…
BUSH: Well, deep in my heart, I know the man’s on the run if he’s alive at all. And I — you know, who knows if he’s hiding in some cave or not? We hadn’t heard from him in a long time. . . So I don’t know where he is. Nor — you know, I just don’t spend that much time on him really, to be honest with you.
QUESTION: Do you believe the threat that Bin Laden posed won’t truly be eliminated until he is found either dead of alive?
BUSH: As I say, we hadn’t heard much from him. And I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s at the center of any command structure. And, you know, again, I don’t know where he is. I’ll repeat what I said: I truly am not that concerned about him.
[Updated 3-May *]. According to the New York Times, “By 2005, many inside the C.I.A. had reached the conclusion that the Bin Laden hunt had grown cold, and the agency’s top clandestine officer ordered an overhaul of the agency’s counterterrorism operations.” This included shuttering the CIA’s Bin Laden Issue Station unit tasked with tracking Bin Laden, headed by once coherent, now wack-a-doo Michael Scheuer. So POTUS declares him irrelevant and shuts down the unit with all the history and background. Instead of continuing the chase–a chase he might not win and didn’t control–President Bush elected to distract, dither, and divert resources to Iraq, tilting at windmills. However, the Times reports that along with the shuttering of BLIS, the Agency commenced “Operation Cannonball, a bureaucratic reshuffling that placed more C.I.A. case officers on the ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan.” The Times doesn’t say and I lack sufficient security clearance to know whether the initiation of Operation Cannonball was directed or even authorized by President Bush. In the spirit of magnanimity let’s say that he did. He permitted the scrapping of the old way of trying to catch Bin Laden and let the CIA start anew. Perhaps it was the putting of more agents in the field that helped lead to this week’s events. It’s not clear. [End update]
The Bush Administration’s 2002 declaration of irrelevance was a (failed) attempt to manage expectations and not have the view of its dual missions (Iraq and Afghanistan) tied to their ability to catch him. Having blown the chance to kill him at Tora Bora, the trail apparently went so cold that Andy Card and Karl Rove and the three amigos of national security team, Rummy, Cheney and Tenet thought they had no choice. Their focus was on avoiding being blamed for not getting him–in other words, managing the politics. They told us, “He’s in some of the remote mountains. We can’t find him. Regardless, he doesn’t matter. Now how about that Harriet Miers. Isn’t she something?”
(Let’s not start talking about the value of the information that came out of Guantanamo following our torture of prisoners. Based on their statements today, Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol should be asked: “If the torturing was so effective, why did we only get the courier’s nom de guerre?” Perhaps a 187th waterboarding session with KSM might have obtained it. But that’s an argument for another day.)
But we all saw last night, from coast to coast–college kids looking for a chance to gather, chant and sing the wrong words off-key notwithstanding–was a very clear statement that bin Laden was relevant. That it DID matter. It changed the status quo. It’s not clear by how much yet–maybe one degree, maybe 45 degrees. Time will tell, but cutting off the head of the snake matters.
Watching Black Hawk Down gives you some hint of what can go wrong in missions like these. Trying and failing is still failing. Ask Jimmy Carter. Obama risked a lot; from the lives of those incredible SEALS to his reputation. At some point in the early months of his presidency, Barack Obama told CIA chief Leon Panetta to make finding bin Laden a top priority. This is the opposite of irrelevant. Obama put the bullet in the chamber and order it fired.
Obama and his team tried where Bush and his team stopped trying. And for this, President Bush deserves our gratitude for his public service and devoting eight years to this country–but not thanks for helping get rid of Osama bin Laden.
* NOTE: The original version didn’t include references to Operation Cannonball. As noted, it’s not clear how much if any impact Cannonball had in getting to the desired outcome, but even if it did, the outpouring of gratitude for President Bush by his apologists and sycophants seems out of proportion.
From ESPN’s Outside the Lines comes the story of gambling on youth football in Florida, and the recruitment and sale(!) by parents of their children from one team to another for sums like $3,500.
Note the one kid saying almost verbatim what the Fab Five were saying in their recent 30-for-30 documentary: “I’m not seeing any of the money.”
Some of the children featured are as young as 6-years old.
I got started blogging because I figured it was an easier and far less intrusive way of spreading the Gospel of Mark (me, not him) than my old method–filling the inboxes of my friends with my missives. I’ve been doing it for a couple years. It’s not what I originally envisioned; I don’t post as regularly as I’d like to and I’ve pulled many punches on topics because I know that my readership consists largely of my friends, Facebook and otherwise. Not wanting to overtly offending them and their sensibilities is a great editor of my writing. Perhaps one day I’ll start throwing caution to the wind. I’ve also got less time than I want, so doing it the way I think it ought to be done is quite difficult. It takes more time than you’d think to fact check yourself on some of these things. (Imagine that! Fact checking on the internet! What a novel idea!) I have great respect for those able to churn out 500-800 thoughtful words on a meaningful topic every day. It’s harder than you might think.
I’ve taken to telling people that my (much more frequent) Facebook status updates are really the thesis statements of blog posts than I’ve been meaning to write but don’t have time.
So I have this handful of regular readers and a bunch of occasional visitors. I’m fine with that. I wish it were different, but until I put the time into being more diligent about it, it will have to do.
Then last week, I wrote a little piece about how dumb it is that baseball managers wear baseball uniforms, how silly they look and how I’m happy that NBA coaches don’t wear basketball uniforms when they’re on the sidelines. In it, I made an incidental reference to Yankee Manager, Joe Girardi. Following the generally accepted rules of blogging, I dutifully tagged “New York Yankees” in the post.
It was the biggest day the site has ever seen by a factor of ten. The second biggest day I’ve had was when I posted my “Alternative ____ Like a Champion Today” signs. That has continued to draw in a steady diet of Notre Dame fans.
All this provides more proof of an old Irish adage: There are no unmixed blessings.
The good news is that my site has a bunch of new readers. The bad news? They’re all Yankee fans.
So look for more cheap stunts to generate readership like gratuitous mentions of buying gold, naked pictures of celebrities, mentions of Ron Paul, Bill Clinton, conspiracy theories, Civil War re-enactment updates, LGBT marches, Nate Berkus, and Arcade Fire. Just until I can get my act together.
I know you’ll think I’m arrogant and a braggart, but facts are facts. There is one thing at which I am without question the best in the world at doing. It has made me the man I am today. It has gotten me and my family through some hard times and helped us celebrate the good times. My skill? Making toast.
It’s kept my kids from running away from home on several occasions. When I royally screw up as I so often do and my wife of nearly twenty-five years is angry at me, I know I can break her down and get us back on track by simply asking, “Can I make you some toast dear?” Plunking a couple English muffin halves in the machine and turning out some perfect pieces has been the magic elixir for us.
As I’ve traveled, I’ve served my toast in several parts of the country, leaving in my wake questions about technique and frustrations that I don’t visit often enough.
At one point, the Warden for Texas’ Death Row had me on speed dial because so many of their inmates were requesting my specialty, 12 grain toast, medium. Making those guys’ last meals special was something I was glad to do, but I finally had to stop. Unfortunately, there are too many people on Death Row in Texas and filling their orders was cutting into my free time. That and the toast didn’t travel well, leaving the prisoners disappointed. I’ve never forgiven myself for allowing my quality to slip like that.
A top chef would be probably be offended if you asked for ketchup, but I don’t mind. I just ask that the butter be soft enough to not tear the bread.
It is not possible that anyone has a work uniform more silly and less tied to their actual job than baseball managers and coaches.
They’re not going to play in the game.
Heck, if all goes well, they’ll never leave the dugout!
But for some reason, by the 1940’s managers had abandoned wearing “street clothes” (a phrase that I can’t say without thinking of hookers–a character flaw, I’m sure) and exchanged them for a team uniform. These are fat old men in a sport in which fat and old are not disqualifiers for participation. But even young and relatively thin Joe Girardi, manager of the New York Yankees looks stupid.
Do they do it for the tax deduction?
IRS Publication 529 says:
Work Clothes and Uniforms
You can deduct the cost and upkeep of work clothes if the following two requirements are met.
You must wear them as a condition of your employment.
The clothes are not suitable for everyday wear.
It is not enough that you wear distinctive clothing. The clothing must be specifically required by your employer. Nor is it enough that you do not, in fact, wear your work clothes away from work. The clothing must not be suitable for taking the place of your regular clothing.
While it qualifies, I’m sure that’s not the reason. “Tradition,” Tevya says. And yet it wasn’t always thus. At a holiday gathering long ago, I was once told that, “Tradition is what you resort to when you don’t have the time or the money to do it right.” You’d think that Major League Baseball wouldn’t have that problem.
Are there no mirrors in the Manager’s Offices in these ballparks? Do they not see how ridiculous they look?
Imagine if NBA coaches had to wear their team uniforms. People would stop watching the Orlando Magic, coached by Stan Van Gundy, if not the entire league. No one wants to see that.
Posted by Mark Wegener 
The Local Paper 
