Syriza Imitates the US - on immigration

One of the worst trait of knee-jerk lefties around the world, or here actually, is an lazy anti-Americanism.  For a country like Greece, that does not make sense.  There are many ways in which America could benefit from imitating Greek attitudes on food, family, and work-life balance.

But Greece really needs to copy American ideals such as meritocracy, faith in democratic institutions (courts, etc.), taking more personal responsibility for civic life  (volunteerism, citizens boards), and above all not asking what your country can do for you but what can you for your country.  

One way our meritocracy manifests itself is an immigrant can come to America and instantly feel like an American, and more importantly know a child born here is automatically an American citizen.  

Unlike the U.S. or Canada, most old world nation's determine citizenship by blood or heritage. For instance, in Greece there are generations of Greek-born Albanians who despite that birth are officially Albanian citizens. The same was true for Turks in Germany, northern Africans in France, etc.  That is starting to change in Europe, though not everywhere, but in a very progressive move changed this week in Greece courtesy of Syriza. 

On Tuesday, Alternate Migration Policy Minister Tasia Christodoulopoulou announced that Greek nationality would be granted to all migrants' children who were born and raised in Greece. She added that this would apply to even those who were not born here, but came to Greece at very young age and finished school here.

That is huge!  Congrats to Syriza for that very humane and logical move, AND for imitating the U.S. too.

New Day, Old View in Ελλας

Two days into the Syriza era in Greece and the world economy has yet to collapse!

Though Greece is still in the eurozone new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has shaken things up a bit already, starting with his inauguration. As the son of a Greek Orthodox priest and the nephew of two more, including one in the motherland, it is still hard for me to believe that an atheist could get elected Greek prime minister. Tsipras solidified his non-creed cred by holding a secular swearing-in service without a Bible or priest. 

Another change is that Tsipras appointed Greece's first cabinet minister to root out and fight corruption, a laudatory move that elevates solving one of the country's most intractable and urgent problems. Hopefully the minister's job will also include shaming/ cajoling/forcing Greece's wealthiest citizens to actually pay their taxes. [Republicans like to point to Greece as an example of a failed welfare state but as I blogged before it is a GOP paradise: the rich simply don't pay taxes.]

An atheist PM. Fighting corruption. Those are two new, never-been-seen-before qualities for a Greek prime minister. One other change proposed by Tsipras, an end to the European sanctions against Russia, looks new and bold but is actually an old, tired and failed policy. 

During the 400+ years that Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire, Greeks repeatedly looked to the northeast, to our Orthodox coreligionists in Russia, to come liberate us and restore a Byzantine Orthodox Empire with Constantinople as it's capital.

As you may know, that never happened. Nevertheless, too many Greeks have inexplicably always looked to Russia. It didn't matter if Russia was ruled by czars, Communists, dictators, or thugs; many Greeks continued to look longingly - and unrequitedly - to Moscow. 

It's ironic that a guy who wants to do things differently in Greece - which is admirable - includes a tired, old and failed attitude towards Russia on his to-do list, and that an atheist wants to nurture an old relationship built on Orthodoxy. 

Heels Peaking

It's only Tuesday but what a week. First, Tsipras and Syriza sweep into power in Greece, and President Obama decides to protect 12 million acres in the Arctic Refuge including the coastal plain as wilderness, both on Sunday.

But of course I can't stop thinking about Monday night and Carolina's beat down of Syracuse. It was one of those games where the Heels looked terrible, at least for the first twenty minutes, with turnovers and unforced errors all over the Dean Dome.  Even 5 minutes into the second the Heels still trailed and the Orange controlled the game.

Then, all of a sudden you look up and the Heels are up 10, have scored more than 90 points against a historically tough defense, and shoot better than 60 percent in the second half and better than 55 percent for the game.

This team is starting to come together at the right time, and are looking both dangerous and intriguing at the same time.

Best of all, it's been vintage Carolina basketball.

One reason the Heels are shooting it so well is they are steadily and competently feeding the post, Dean style, for easy baskets.  Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks have been feasting inside, with Johnson making 57 percent of his shots while Meeks makes 58 percent.  

And of course it's not a coincidence that those two have benefited from the return of a more confident Marcus Paige. Paige has been good most of the season, as was Carolina.  But of late he has been great; ditto the Heels.

A Few More Thoughts

• I've always liked Nate Britt since he was born and raised inside the Beltway.  If he plays like he did last night...man oh man!
• He had a rough game last night, but Justin Jackson is also coming on.  After being reminded to be aggressive he had games of 17 and 16 versus Virginia Tech and FSU.
• This week may be the true test to see if this team is peaking and worthy of the loftiest of expectations.  The Heels travel to the YUM! Center to take on the Cardinals, then return to Chapel Hill on Monday, Feb. 2nd to take on undefeated Virginia.

GO HEELS!

My Quick Take on the Looming Greek Elections

Unlike the last time they went to the polls, the fate of the world may not be decided by the Greek electorate on January 25th.  The German banks that were repaid by the troika - IMF, European Central Bank, European Commission - that bailed out Greece two years ago are liquid again; since they have gotten their money Germany apparently does not fear a Greek exit from the eurozone if Syriza wins.

Though the leader of that party, Kosta Tsipras, is a loon a vote for Syriza does have some good points, mainly as a vote in opposition to the austerity measures forced on Greece and other eurozone nations like Spain, Ireland and Italy. It's striking to see Europe cling to austerity; their economies are so weak that Greece - GREECE - was one of only 3 eurozone nations that saw economic growth in 2014.

Contrast that with the U.S., where President Obama - with robust Democratic majorities in the House and Senate - went in the other direction and passed a stimulus bill in 2009 that kept our economy above water and paved the way for a robust recovery that is still picking up steam. Republicans wanted to push cuts in spending and emulate the European elites they supposedly despise.

But the German banks were repaid so that's all that matters to the EU.

Also unlike the last elections in 2012, eurozone leaders do not seem that alarmed about Greece possibly leaving the common currency.  Again, their banks have recovered so Greece, which is only 2 percent of the European economy, is back to being a blip on the radar screen.

But having an EU nation drop their common currency seems awfully cynical, politically.  The economic union of Europe was supposed to herald a era of continental cooperation and integration.  Has the EU stopped aspiring to those lofty political and cultural goals?  Seems like it.

While I would love to see an anti-austerity party win the Greek elections, and see an anti-austerity movement pick up steam in Europe, I can't get behind Syriza. It's ironic that they are somewhat anti-American - Syriza has threatened to kick the U.S. Navy out of Crete, opposes sanctions against Putin, etc. - when what Greece really needs is to emulate the U.S. and become a meritocracy, embrace immigrants (which Greece USED to do), and convince the E.U. - from the inside, instead of dropping out of the eurozone - to try an Obama-style stimulus instead of austerity. 

Beating NC State

For a native North Carolinian, someone Tar Heel born, it is hard to top beating NC State - in anything but especially basketball, especially especially at Reynolds.

Saying Reynolds is proof that I am a native but also reflects how growing up Duke was not the biggest rival for the Heels. In the 70s, the Blue Devils were home to Rand Paul and other right wingers in training but they hardly featured good basketball players.  That was NC State.

Kudos to the Pack for playing a tough game versus the Heels, and I never thought I would ever type 'kudos to Mark Gottfried' but he deserves credit for making NC State basketball relevant again. Ask the Dookies if State is back. Unlike Carolina, who has won 17 of the last 18 versus the Pack, Duke has lost two in a row to State at the RBC Center, 3 in a row on that floor including the loss to Mercer.

Of course, more kudos are due to Marcus Paige, who for the second year in a row took down the Wolfpack with 23 points, 9 assists, 4 steals and no turnovers. But unlike last year's duel with T.J. Warren, Paige had considerable help from J.P. Tokoto, Isaiah Hicks, and the entire roster on Wednesday night.  Tokoto was great on defense and came up with some big steals and hoops late, and Hicks was especially huge as he posted a career high in points with Brice Johnson in foul trouble. Kennedy Meeks and Nate Britt also made big-time plays for the Heels throughout the contest.

It was a win-win win: a great victory versus the Pack IN Raleigh, and another reason to love Marcus Paige.

GO HEELS!

Reset - for Paige and for Tar Heels everywhere

I think it's safe to say the Tar Heels hit the reset button on the 2014-2015 season after their come from behind win versus Louisville in Chapel Hill on Saturday.  More than two months into this season, and the team still felt off, stuck in neutral.  For every good win, over Ohio State in Columbus or the back-to-back wins over UCLA and Florida, there were equally odd losses to Iowa at home coupled with the 'meh' games at Kentucky and against Butler.

Ditto the players. Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks entered the season with altered bodies and great expectations. Both have played well at times, but there remain nagging questions about their offensive inconsistency.

But of course the biggest example of a player stuck in neutral, searching for a rhythm and flow, was Marcus Paige.  

Not only is he our best player, the pre-season ACC player of the year and first team All-American, Paige carries the burden of being an actual student-athlete. He's asked to make shots, lead the Heels to championships, AND lead Carolina out of our post-Wainstein funk.   

We, or at least folks like me, need him to save the team and help restore our alma mater's reputation.

That's a lot on the slender shoulders of the Iowa junior. But with 8.5 seconds left and the Heels down one, Paige found to way to balance all those responsibilities - or at least figured out a way to bank them high off the glass and into the basket - and lead the Heels to their most important win of the season.

A play that big, to cap off a comeback that important, can save a season for a team and a player.  

And when that player is Marcus Paige it makes us, Tar Heels everywhere, feel better about Carolina - Dean's Carolina, the institution we believe in and cherish, THE university of the people - too.*

GO HEELS! 

* I may be overdoing it a bit, but as you can tell I love Marcus Paige. He's as Dean as they come. Anyway, we'll find out if he has turned around our season on Wednesday versus State. It will be quite a game, if for no other reason it will be State's 'we just beat the crap out of Duke' mojo versus our 'The Marcus Paige who single-handedly took down the Wolfpack in Raleigh last year is BACK.'

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP NOTE

If you only read one article about tonight's college football championship game read this one from the Post: Students Try to Find Their Place For College Football National Championship Game. The networks and big six conferences lined up the money, sponsors, boosters, capitalist pigs, and the athletes but forgot about the students. Big time college sports don't need to be reformed; they are fundamentally corrupt.   

Conference Players of the Year

Sure, January marks the beginning of a new year but for hoops fans it mainly marks the start of ACC basketball. Though it's true that since the ACC started it's football-fueled expansion there have been a few conference games in December, the real schedule starts in January. Just this weekend there were two double-overtime games, and a nice road win for the Heels, so the ACC is off to a good start.

The conference is also loaded. Notre Dame looked terrific in taking down the Heels tonight. The addition of Louisville, coupled with Syracuse the year before, has helped reorient the conference back to where it belongs - as the nation's pre-eminent hoops conference. In addition to three teams in the top 5 and five in the current top 20, two other ACC squads have been ranked this year.  That's seven teams - at a minimum - that should get bids to the NCAA tournament.

Tournament bids is one way to measure the strength of a conference; ditto final fours and championships. Another interesting way to do so is by looking at recent players of fhe year and how they have fared at the next level. The holiday break gave me a chance to look into how the last 10 POY in the big six conferences have done in the NBA, with some interesting findings.*

I broke the players into 6 categories: MVPs (6 pts); All stars (5); starters (3); in the rotation (2); earning a pro paycheck (1); busts (0).*

Using the categories here is how the conferences stack up:

SEC - 22

ACC - 21

Big 12 - 20

PAC 12 - 18

Big East - 16

Big 10 - 10

Though it's not a balanced hoops conference it's not surprising to see the SEC on top, buoyed by one MVP type, Anthony Davis, an all star in John Wall coupled with starters and solid rotation guys. The SEC also had the fewest busts.

The ACC picked up points with 4 starters (Reddick twice, Zeller, and Lawson) plus lots of rotation players. Surpisingly and embarrassingly, no recent ACC player of the year has made an NBA all star game. The conference that produced Jordan, Duncan, Worthy, Carter, etc. seems to have stopped producing them.**

The Big 12 rode two stars - Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin - with a good number of starters and rotation guys (Marcus Thornton, Glen Davis, Markieff Morris, Michael Beasley) adding points. The PAC 12 used the same formula, and scored better than expected, thanks to two All Stars in Kevin Love and James Harden plus some rotation guys (Josh Childress, Derrick Williams).

As expected the Big 10 and Big East, two conferences where players never seem to learn how to pass or shoot (with the exception of UConn) brought up the rear. The recent emergence of Randy Foye and Jeff Green were the Big East's saving graces. And who would have guessed that Draymond Green is the only Big 10 POY in the last decade to amount to anything in the League?***

* This is hardly the best way to look at player's impact. Kyrie Irving, for instance, only played 9 games for Duke so was never a candidate for player of the year, yet is an All Star. One and done players do not always win POY, though Davis and Wall did for Kentucky.

** An exception is Chris Paul, who in his two years at Wake was rookie of the year and first team all ACC, but lot POY honors to Jared Dudley and Tyler Hansbrough.

***  Michigan's Trey Burke may change that.