Wednesday, December 29, 2004

House Ethics Panel Chief May Be Replaced (washingtonpost.com)

Frickin' ridiculous. Don't like the game, change the rules. The hypocricy of the House GOP is unparalleled. What is Delay going to do? If he was just a little less brazen, maybe he would be able to sustain the facade of legitimacy.
BCS Has More Money Than Sense (washingtonpost.com)

No BCS, no $$$. Playoffs would be an abberation. Maybe more $$$, definately more corruption. Who chooses who gets in? What happens when everyone loses and there are 24 9-1 teams? What about the regular season?

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

The New York Times > Sports > College Football > College Bowl Scene Is Flush With Corporate Dollars

A courser side of College football. Should these things be non-profits? Maybe the IRS should look into this?
Commonwealth Club Speech

As promised . . . .
The New York Times > International > Americas > The Food Chain | Survival of the Biggest: Supermarket Giants Crush Central American Farmers

I'm not sure that this is exactly fair. Not to defend the gigantic corporate giants, but this is not exactly new. This happened throughout Europe and the US. The only difference is that the farmers do not have the political clout or wealthy enough countries to get sudsidies.

The other thing is that the road from a rural society to an urban one is always paved with pain. It happened here (see the Great Depression, Great Migration, in the 20th Century, Rise of mechanization and industrial meat packing in the 19th Century) and will happen around the world as countries become more industrialized.

No many claim that there was an ideal about the past and the rural society. The problem with that is that it is a tough life. If you live in the snow belt and only eat food from 50 (or 200) miles of where you live, you should subsist on a canned fruits and veggies from the summer and cabbage. It's not fun to have to spend several weeks a year packing your veggies and then spending 6 months out of the year eating the same thing. Only with the rise of modern medicine and A/C have humans been able to populate states like Florida and Louisiana.

Find the Crichton speech to that club for more, better argued info.

Monday, December 27, 2004

ChicagoSports.com - It's more than just bowling for dollars

Finally someone who doens't want a CFB playoff. This is a great article that brings up some new points about the evils of the playoffs.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

AP Does Its Part (washingtonpost.com)

Oh there are so many problems with Wilbon's arguments . . . Where should I begin . . .

"The Bowl Championship Series has been accused of a lot of things, most of them bad. But the Associated Press' disassociation from the BCS amounts to an indictment of the entire system."

Indictment of the system? What do you mean? It's bad because it makes your fellow sportswriters the subject of pressures no intended with the poll, ie BCS football $$$ over what's right. Maybe the writers need to get some integrity and not SELLOUT.

They system is fine considering the alternative. Do you want lock-in bowls where none of the top 3 teams would be facing each other this year? What happens when there are 2 legitimate champions and the rest of the teams suck? What if there are 5 teams that go undefeated? A Playoff would screw someone ...

"The BCS will appoint some blue-ribbon panel that will vote during the season and help select, at the end of next season, the two teams that will play in the Rose Bowl, the next "national championship game. Had there been such a panel this year, undoubtedly, its representatives would have found a way to move Utah and Boise State out of attractive games and give another seat at the banquet table to a team similar to 7-4 Pittsburgh, which nobody outside of Pennsylvania wants to see play. "

A Blue Ribbon panel to determine who's in and who's out. That sounds a lot like the NCAA Basketball tournament selection committee which you think is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Arguing about something that didn't happen is moronic. How do you know that they wouldn't have put in more mid-majors?

"Still, the AP has undermined all that because the AP poll is the one that truly matters. Its panelists actually vote; I know because I participated in the poll in 1986 when I covered the national college football beat for The Washington Post."

The AP doesn't matter in the NCAA College Basketball world.Who cares. So 18 years ago you covered college football for one year (which then the Post had a terrible sports page) and you're some expert. Oh I forgot, your childhood in the midwest and your college daze at Northwestern have truly prepared you know and love football.

"See, there's one way to do away with most of this junk: settle the thing on the field. You can still have the polls; it's nice to argue over them during the regular season. But in the end, duke it out on the field. The bowl season, since the implementation of the BCS, has become so tiresome. College football reaches its peak in November, not January, because the lobbying and sniping over voting eventually wears us out. The college basketball season builds and builds to an end-of-March climax, and who has ever complained about March Madness?"

They do settle it on the field, during the regular season! The regular season still matters. You get terrible games during the year because they don't matter. Look at the premeire matchup on Christmas day between the Heat and the Lakers. Does the actual game matter? Doe either team have a shot of actually making or missing the playoffs if they lose this game? Of course not, it's just a spectacle where we hope for a fight.

I'd agree, the College Football season is over by Thanksgiving. That's its peak. The rivalry games between Auburn/Alabama, Ohio State/Michigan, etc. It's my favorite time of the year when a rivalry team pulls an upset. That's what college football is about, not the moronic idea of a tournament.



Wednesday, December 22, 2004

The Road Back by Al From and Bruce Reed (printable version)

They offer a good start. Although the weakness of their ideas is in that they are after the presidency. These ideas maybe great, but do not offer a true national campaign strategy. After dropping the Community, Opportunity, Responsibility, they lack a core slogan. Even with this and the presidency, they were not able to make inroads into the party DNA. The GOP, even though they lie through their teeth, are for "lower taxes, less government, and anti-communism/terrorism." You can run a Contract on America campaign on those values. Reed and From don't offer that idea, only the best path to the Presidency for the Dems.
AP Opts Out Of Formula For BCS (washingtonpost.com)

This BCS AP thing is funny. I'm not sure what the alternative is, but maybe an elected board? Better than the bad old days and better than a playoff.

I doubt that you watch ESPN news in the morning, but they have Mike and Mike (Greenberg and Golic) radio show on the TV. This morning they were talking about the X-mas and NBA showing the Kobe vs Shaq and Det vs Ind game. They basically boiled the game into the slight possibility of a fight happening making them exciting. Isn't that basically the NHL? A meaningless regular season game where a fight breaks out? More importantly and germane to the BCS is that this shows you why playoffs suck.
A Wine for All Reasons (washingtonpost.com)

This article is insulting. I know its a column about wine, but for crying out loud, a better "for our part . . ." might be "Since my day job is to taste wine, you should buy these bottles." Just the tone of this thing is terrible

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

The New York Times > Business > Your Money > Whoops! It's 1985 All Over Again

Good look at the historical basis of the dollar's fall and what policies were implemented then. Additionally if you read between the lines about how the GOP has convinced people to vote against their better interests. In this article, it mentions NAM and their support for the Rep. However, the best days of NAM in the last 20 years were during a Democratic Administration. The seemed to have bottled something where the folks that lose the most under a GOP administration are its most ardent supporters. Maybe faith in God is not the answer, but faith in the GOP?

Monday, December 20, 2004

Chicago Tribune | Bush Defends Rumsfeld As 'A Caring Fellow'

Headline sounds like the "kiss of death" in the sports world. He should have been out awhile ago. Now he's in because Bush's enemies want him out.
Chicago Tribune | Bears' secondary caught napping on biggest plays

Funniest legit article of the year.

"It's very difficult because it kind of gets boring," said Tillman, who was credited with one tackle. "You're there to make plays and catch balls. That's your job. The hardest part is staying engaged in the game, going through your reads, keying the quarterback."

I thought the $ millions or what ever they pay makes sure that you pay attention to th game . . . .

More importantly, where was the PR guy on this.

Thursday, December 16, 2004

A Lobbyist's Progress

Really fascinating article about Washington Lobbyists and the "Conservative" movement. Even more fascinating is that this was published by Kristol's Weekly Standard! Is the revolution over? Now what? Probably not, just the way it used to be a Century ago . . .

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

The Democrats' Rove Envy (washingtonpost.com)

I'm intrigued by the idea of the 50 state party. Unfortunatley that's the wrong direction. The problem lies with the fact that the GOP has the left the local party organization entirely. The successful run of the "Contract on America," has shown that "All Politics is Local" has faded. Not to say that it doesn't work, but that it's time as the primary GOTV has passed. The GOP runs national campaigns. Look at what the core values of the GOP represent and how they follow those terms. Lower taxes, Stronger military, Less Government. I'd even argue that their GOTV was so strong because they have such a strong national campaign. Sure they cover their bases, but have really moved the message thing.

The problem is that the Dems had a national message that they abandoned. Community, Opportunity, Responsibility trifecta. Stick with this message and you can win. Clinton took this to the White House yet somewhere the Dems abandoned it. This message appeals to American values and crosses over to everyone.
washingtonpost.com: Libel Suit Takes Aim at Print Reporter's Words on TV

More interesting that it takes all these written stories and no one confirmed what he said. The Herald wrote 17 stories about this quote and no one asked where it came from? There is no justice in this world, only hype.

Monday, December 13, 2004

Signs That the Gap May Be Closing (washingtonpost.com)

The biggest thing about last night was the hits. Additionally, the sign of confidence was Gibbs starting to use those formations and the movement. At the begining of the year, they couldn't do anything without getting called for a penalty, last night they definately looked better and more comfortable. Clock management is still terrible. I'm not sure that Gibbs is connecting with Ramsey quickly enough or what. Next year, they will be tough, especially with the schedule they should get . . .

Friday, December 10, 2004

Salon.com News | MoveOn to Democratic Party: "we own it"

A little short-sighted and very silly. I'm not sure that MoveOn has figuered out how the Dem's lost. Maybe this Iraq thing or the Al Queda or OBL might want to be the centerpiece of the movement and not some Liberal sentiments of the good ole days. It sounds like a inmates are running the assylum . . .

Thursday, December 09, 2004

Economist.com | Economics focus

A revolutionary idea might be to end the income tax and have a progressive asset tax. Taxing people's property has been the foundation of state and local taxes, but why not the Feds? It would encourage spending, but not too much (taxes on cars and other property would discourage too much consumption). It would encourage work and income. At the same time it would eliminate taxes on those who could least afford to pay. Set a limit at say $300,000 and over that you are taxed 10 percent and make it progressive. Anyone who has had property longer would get taxed on it more.

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Get Along? Get Real. (washingtonpost.com)

What is the strategic plan for the Dems in the next cycle? What have we learned from the last election?

Dionne's column present the Dems with some strong medicine about what not to do. Basically don't give in to the Reps on the true values of the party: No Social Security Reform and obstructing the judicuial process. This is a good start. We don't have anything to lose right now. There are no penalties playing tough here. Going along with the GOP on these and other policies is insane and could destroy the party.

In the longer term is this minority status what we have to live for? That's a real possibility, but not necessarily a bad future. There are more Republicans than Dems right now. They simply outnumber us and the tyranny of the majority is in place. The next thought is so what? They did everything wrong in the last election and won. Is it possible for them to repeat it? Can they meld the pocketbook and religious sides of the party with the anti-terror rhetoric? Or maybe the anti-terror rhetoric is exactly that. They know that the GOP would explode if their were no terrorist threat. So let's block the intelligence reforms and fight a war that distracts us from the real threat. They can look like they are doing something about it while at the same time, not really doing anything about it.

Next step is to destroy the opposition before we destroy ourselves. Pass through the "ownership society" reforms and make the Democratic Party irrelevent. Beat them on their "reformist" rhetoric and make everyone a "stockholder" who wants smaller government.

Then what is the Democratic Party to do? What is our long-term goal? There are plenty of very smart folks in DC that are trying to come up with something. Do we just impede the progress of the GOP? Move things along and look like the party of progress? Stick to our values? Find a 21st Century solution? Reinvent ourselves? Revert to the past?

How about wait? Bush's term will be over in the next four years. The Dems obstruct everything. It's almost impossible for seats to move too much more in Congress, just wait. Next go around, we harness what we have and move things to the middle. We should be able to get enough $$ with the Internet. We should also get smarter about values. But thing we have to remember is that every Presidential Democratic Candidate in the last 50 years has been an individual that was outside the party (versus someone like the Bushies that can't function w/o the party). We have to wait and pray that Jimmy Carter will come from out of the woods. We have to get the party back into the South and winning there. Less divisive racial/identity politics and more policies based around a common theme (community, opportunity, responsibility anyone?) If it doesn't fit in the context of the theme, we ditch it.

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Notre Dame's True Colors (washingtonpost.com)

I thought Wilbon would be pushing his college football playoff agenda in this one, but thankfully he stuck to the issue of Willingham. Yes, he's right, they didn't love him at ND, but having ridiculous expectations are what you get when you accepted the job. I believe that he deserved another year, especially considering the wins over Tennessee and Michigan. However at the end of the day, Willingham's winning percentage was basically the same as he brought in from Stanford.

Urban Meyer is the reason that he was fired. There is no better reason. However, I don't think that Meyer will be all that. He runs an older style offense and doesn't seem to have enough head coach seasoning to head a program like ND. Even a Gruden or Callahan are no guarantees. Maybe ND is has made its road to the National Championship too difficult (no conference, high academic standards, tough scheduling, location, etc.), but then again that's what makes the instiution special. In a world where mediocrity is embraced too often, maybe high expectations are what we need.