30.6.04
Hockey: The period to sign free agents starts tomorrow (or tonight at midnight, I guess). Some clubs are paring payroll, whereas some are acting as though there's gonna be a season. Meanwhile, my Crapitals surprise no one by taking Alexander Ovechkin with the first pick of the entry draft. Now this means that the NHL must negotiate with the International Ice Hockey Federation and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (or whatever it's called) for Ovechkin's (and other Russians') rights. Apparently the NHL pays the Federations of the various European countries for the rights of Europeans to play in North America. Can't say as I understand, but there's so much about international commerce (even when the commodity is athletes) that I don't.
College World Series: Wow. Fullerton just manhandled Texas. I can't say that I expected it, but if I followed college baseball more than just in its tournament, I suppose I might, given the fact that Fullerton has been just about the hottest team over the second half of its regular season, going from 15-16 to a number 2 seed in Arizona State's regional, to winning the CWS.
But that's not the best part. Texas apparently missed the awards ceremony. Coach Augie Garrido (once a Titan) said that he was "unaware" that the runners-up got an award. It's apparently the first time in 17 years that a runner-up has not accepted its award. And ol' Augie must take those forgetful pills, because he's been involved in at least one ceremony in the last 17 years (2 years ago, Texas won the title). Of course, my ignorant ass isn't aware of when he won his other titles, so I can't say that he hasn't been involved in others. And, if memory serves, Texas lost in the final to Rice. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know. But, any way you slice it, Augie can't credibly give this lame-ass "misunderstanding" excuse. Methinks you "misunderstand" your role to imbue sportsmanship in your team and to set the example for your "lynch-mob" fans. To quote a local pastor who does one-minute commercials on the radio around here, "Not a sermon, just a thought".
Major League Baseball: The last Orioles' game I attended was on my birthday about 6 years ago. I was with my ex-girlfriend (we had just broken it off...messed up, no?), and it turned out to be the longest game in Orioles' history, ended in the 14th or 15th inning at about 12.30 in the morning on a Rafael Palmiero homer. In a lot of ways, I broke ties with the O's that night. I gave my O's hat to my ex while I made the argument that the O's were not my team, considering that I am a northern Virginian, or a suburban Washingtonian. Last I checked, I am not a Baltimorean by any stretch of the imaginiation. I remember a Thomas Boswell column (I think...it may have been a letter to the sports editor) that brought up the analogy of the neighbor's kid. That is to say, it's nice to see the neighbor's kid do well, but it's not the same as seeing your own kid. For many Washingtonians, the O's are not their team. They are the neighbor's team. I am one of those Washingtonians. And, seeing as my parents are from Detroit and Cincinnati (sort of...my dad's family is there, anyway), I am as (or more) inclined to follow the Tigers and Reds. And, of course, there is the fact that Peter Angelos, along with Bud Selig, stand in the way of a team in Washington. I have broken ties with that team from Baltimore, and I won't go to see them play unless they do so in Washington. That's just how I feel.
Wimbledon: I managed to see parts of the ass-kicking that Serena laid on Jennifer. Ouch. I was rooting for Jennifer, because I frequently think with the wrong (or is it?) head.
Vice President Cheney: The anti-capitalist Harold Meyerson takes a couple of shots at the Vice President using as a pretext the fact that Mr Cheney told Senator Pat Leahy (D-Vermont) to go fuck himself, or somesuch. Fine, so saying that wasn't the best idea. And the justification may have been weak. But there's the small difference of proportion. Bill Clinton, far from fanning the flames of incivility, was remarkably unfaithful to his wife. Given the Chinese communist infiltration of various national security secrets, one wonders if there is a correlation between marital faithless and faithlessness to the nation one serves. And there is still the credible allegation that Bill Clinton raped Juanita Broaddrick. Just a few paragraphs:
Consider now Cheney's case for last year's dividend tax cut, a budget-busting giveaway to the rich that came on top of the administration's previous budget-busting giveaways to the rich. In his memoir, Paul O'Neill -- the longtime Cheney buddy whom the veep had recruited to be Treasury secretary -- recounted his attempt to convince Cheney that yet another tax cut would spell fiscal ruination. "We won the [2002] midterms," Cheney responded. "This is our due."
The answer gives a whole new meaning to the term "entitlement program," but then, so does the Bush presidency.
Yeah, but is Bush's "entitlement program" any worse than the budget-busters of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and various other domestic programs which grew geometrically and far faster and farther than anyone predicted?
Considering that he's out of the public eye most of the time, it's remarkable that Cheney has become just as much of a polarizing figure as his boss. But then, Cheney is a master of high-impact public appearances. When a guy continues to insist, for instance, that there was a relationship between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and al Qaeda, despite the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission's report that it has found no evidence of such a link, he begins to convey an impression. In this case, it's that of one of Alfred Hitchcock's obsessional lunatics.
No, my man, that's you. No one (not even the commission, as pointed out by Commissioners Kean and Hamilton) has said there's no evidence of collaboration between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. And no one said (not even your straw man) that Iraq had anything to do with the attacks on 11 Sept.
A lesser president might seek to jettison such a running mate, but not George W. Bush. Cheney still has a signal virtue: Unlike Tom Ridge or Rudy Giuliani, he's no threat to brother Jeb's presidential prospects in 2008. Whatever peril Cheney may pose to the planet, he remains no obstacle to the George-'n-Jeb succession -- the least impressive dynastic duo since Willy of Prussia and Nicky of Russia.
I guess. But a couple of thoughts crossed my mind. The first was that the "George-'n-Jeb" succession was (or is) probably harmed more by the fact that Bush pere occupied the office less than a generation ago. I suspect that many people would vote against Jeb for fear of some sort of dynastic succession come to America. The other thought that crossed my mind is that you would not have minded the last such succession - a womanizer who thoroughly made a mess of a secret invasion of Cuba and his brother who used law enforcement files for political gain, part of the most overrated (but liberal, so protected) clan: Jack-'n-Bobby. And I guess that that makes Teddy the equivalent of Neil, and Chappaquiddick the equivalent of whichever S&L that was.
Zuletzt: and, after selecting a couple of books (This one & this one) I overheard at the counter that government employees get a discount. So I hear the following conversation:
Cashier 1: I'm going to start my own government.
Customer: I hope you pay better than ours.
Cashier 1: I'm going to take everyone's money. That's why I'm starting my government.
Customer & Cashier 2 laugh.
Cashier 2: Sounds like the Bush government.
I guess cashier 2 felt entitled to pick-a-government-program. And the hell of it is that Bush hasn't exactly reduced the size of government. He's just managed to cut taxes some. So, on the way out, I decided that (a) I'll not go back to that Waldenbooks (not hard, as it's not too close to my house) and (b) that Cashier 2 must believe the hype of the Democrats that Bush is paring back government and is therefore evil. Whatever. Even if the information is patently wrong.
More later.
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