Big Stages on the Horizon

The US continues to replay the 1972 Olympics this weekend as we take on Lithuania in the semi-finals of the FIBA World Basketball Championships.  

Earlier this week the US defeated Russia by 10.  I was hoping for a bigger, blow out win after Russia's American-born coach, David Blatt, opined that upon further review the Soviet Union was the rightful winner in the gold medal game of the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  What a moron.

For years and years Lithuania was kind of the New York City of the Soviet Union, producing most of the USSR's best players.  This year they are led by Linus Kleiza, who played for George Karl and the Denver Nuggets prior to spending a year in Greece with Olympiacos last season.  But Kleiza went to high school at Montrose Christian near the District.

Lithuania blew out Argentina in their quarterfinal game this week, an impressive achievement, but I can't imagine them hanging with the U.S.  With Argentina, Greece and Spain already eliminated our squad should have a pretty clear path to the U.S.'s first world basketball championship since 1994.  Game time for the tilt against Lithuania is noon eastern on Saturday.

Turkey takes on Serbia in another battle between Ottoman Turks and Byzantine-era Orthodox Christians.  

Champions League

On Wednesday, Greek soccer champion Panathinaikos travels to Catalonia to take on one of soccer's most famous and glamorous clubs, Barcelona.  Barca and PAO are in the same European Champions League group, along with two other teams.  The top two advance to the knock out round of 32.  

Barca features arguably the world's best player in Lionel Messi, and the game will be an interesting test for Pana and Greek soccer.  Game time is 9:30 am on Wednesday. 

Greece blows it against Spain

After being competitive the entire game against the defending world champs -  and then taking the lead in the 3rd quarter - Ellas lost their concentration and blew it against Spain this afternoon in the first leg of the knockout round of the 2010 World Championships in Constantinople.

Greece took a four-point lead late in the third behind the shooting and defense of Dimitris Diamantidis. But midway through the final quarter Greece turned it over 3 straight possessions to literally hand the game to Spain.  The turnovers were the result of incredibly sloppy passes, more unforced errors than turnovers.  

Down the stretch Greece looked uber-European in a basketball sense: no concentration, which manifested itself in a 7 for 16 night at the free throw line; and terrible decisions and bad passes, a simple lack of basketball sense that is the biggest difference between American and European players - we are just smarter and concentrate more than they do.

Greece bows out way too early, in the round of 32, instead of competing for a medal.  Both Greece and Spain underachieved in the group stage; that's why they met so soon. Greece ended up third in their group behind Turkey and Russia - a team they should have beaten.  Doing so would have meant a second place finish and more importantly avoiding Spain.

So instead of defending their silver medal from 4 years ago Greece goes home way too early.  It looks like Ellas really missed the back court play of Theo Papaloukas, a smart point guard who rarely made mistakes in leading Greece to the 2005 European championship and the silver medal in the 2006 world championships, including the semi-final win over the U.S.

The good news out of the world championships is the play of the U.S.  Spain may give US a  game, but the US has played very well and should win the gold in a walk.

Some good news for the Heels

It's not all bad news for the Heels.  It looks linebackers Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant have been cleared to play tonight versus LSU.  The other piece of good news is that the Tigers' offense had little ept last year, so even with a weakened defense the Heels could be okay.

On the offensive side the story is the same as last year. If QB T.J. Yates plays well the Heels should move the ball, even without Greg Little to throw to.  Besides Yates, pressure will be on third string running back Johnny White.  White has been more of a special teams player in Chapel Hill but now gets to start his last year as a Tar Heels running back as the starter.  Perhaps that Cinderella story line will result in a 100-yards plus game.  

Good news for the Heels football team but not so good news for the Hellas football team.  Playing their first game in the EURO 2012 qualifying round and under new coach Francisco Santos, Ellas could only manage a 1-1 tie against their Orthodox co-religionists from Georgia last night.  FYI, the game was moved to Pireaus to accommodate a U2 concert at the Olympic Stadium.

Greece is in a pretty underwhelming group.   Besides Georgia, Ellas is grouped with Malta, Latvia, Israel and Croatia. Israel is decent, but Croatia is good and should be Greece's only real competition.  Then again, we could only muster a tie at home.  

Croatia's talent, and the tie versus Georgia, makes Tuesday's game in Zagreb a BIG one for Ellas.  The good news is Greece thoroughly outshot and outplayed Georgia, and Santos appears to have them playing a more attacking style.  But it's only be one game.  

Stealing one on the road against their only real rival in the group will go a long way in determining if Greece will qualify for Euro 2012 in Poland/Ukraine (P/U?  Is this the 'incredible history of anti-Semitism Euro?).

•  In honor of TJ Yates' home state AND the EURO 2012 game last night this post is in Georgia font.

Wide World of Sports

Lots of post-Strasburg sports news to focus on, including a smorgasbord of baseball, world basketball championships and more bad news, this time from Carolina.

Nationals Notes

Another weird week for the Nats.  The up side for me was the pitching of Jordan Zimmermann.  In his second start after "Steven Strasburg" surgery (formerly known as Tommy John surgery) Zimmermann was dominant is striking out 9 Marlins in six innings of one-hit, shutout ball.  It's only one start, but some good ju-ju for Nats fans contemplating Strasburg's return from the same surgery.

With Zimmermann's return, the signing of Bryce Harper, the September call up of Danny Espinosa, the minor league progress of Cuban pitcher Yunesky Maya and catcher Wilson Ramos, the second half progress of Ian Desmond, Roger Bernadina, Michael Morse, and Drew Storen, plus Gold Glove/Silver Slugger/Face of the Franchise Ryan Zimmerman there is legitimate light at the end of the Dr. Yoakum's scalpel.  

In 2012 Nats, fans could have a young, exciting and legit line up of CF Carl Crawford (would love to sign that guy from Tampa Bay), SS Desmond, 3B Zimmerman, 1B Dunn/Someone Like Him, LF/!B Morse, RF Harper, CF Bernadina, 2B Espinosa, C Ramos, complimented by a starting rotation of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Maya, Ross Detwiler and John Lannan, with Storen closing with help from set up men Sean Burnett, Tyler Clippard, Garrett Mock, and Colin Balester.  

Of course, one name missing from that list of man of the hour, Nyjer Morgan. I'm all over the place with Nyjer.  

Frankly, he lost me on the inside the park home run he 'gave up' to the Orioles' Adam Jones by slamming his glove on the ground in disgust after missing a deep drive.  I say he gave it up because even though he failed to make the catch, the ball did NOT clear the fence.  But instead of finding the ball he slammed his glove down in a fit of pique. Morgan never found the ball, and by the time left fielder Josh Willingham came over to throw the ball back in Jones had an inside-the-park home run.  

Morgan's concentration and production seemed to go south shortly after than unprofessional play.  His on base percentage, base running, and fielding suffered but things really came unglued in the last few weeks.  First he was accused of throwing a ball at a fan in Philadelphia.  Of course, Phillies fans are pains in the Manasses, but a professional DOES not do that.  There have been a few eyewitnesses who exonerate Morgan, but MLB did suspend him 7 games.

That suspension was on appeal when Morgan collided with not one but two catchers. The first collision, against the Cardinals, was just odd.  He bumped the Cards' catcher Bryan Anderson even though there was no throw home. Of course, he connected with Anderson but missed home plate. Morgan was eventually ruled out after Ivan Rodriguez grabbed him and pushed him towards home so he could eventually step on the plate, which is against the rules. Morgan's play was at best odd, at worst stupid.

Instead of trying to bump the catcher, Morgan should have slid and scored.  But Morgan did not seem to learn that lesson; two nights later instead of trying to slide under a tag in the top of the 10th inning (of Zimmermann's gem) Morgan really slammed into Marlins' catcher Brett Hayes in an attempt to jar the ball lose.  It didn't happen.  Hayes made the tag but Morgan had separated the Marlins catcher's shoulder.  He's out for the season.

Morgan and Nats expected retaliation.  Nothing wrong with that as long as it's not at a player's head.  Morgan was plunked in the side, and it seemed like that was that.

But Morgan kept the flames going, at least to the Marlins, by stealing two bases and scoring on a sacrifice fly.  Though the Nats were down at the time 3-14, in Morgan's defense it was only the 4th inning and the Marlins were holding him on. The steals prompted the Marlins to do something you NEVER see - a player getting thrown at twice in one game.

The next time Morgan game up the Marlins threw behind him, and a massive fight ensued.

Like I said, I'm torn.  Morgan has been a below-average player this season, mainly due to mental errors and a lack of professionalism. In Miami, he is not solely to blame for the fight.  You don't throw at a guy twice in one game.  

But again, it goes back to the inside-the-park home run he game up.  A professional makes the smart play, and in this case it meant sliding in to home instead of trying to run over the Marlins' catcher.  Morgan does that - the Nats score and no one gets hurt - and a bean ball war does not start the next game. 

In each instance you can find a scapegoat - obnoxious Phillies fan, Ivan Rodriguez grabbed him, the Marlins threw at him twice in one game - but bottom line you need to be a professional and play with your head.  Perhaps a bad season - Morgan had been demoted to 8th in the Nationals line up - prompted him to take out his frustrations against two catchers.  But neither play made sense, and neither one was the smart baseball play.  

In firing obnoxious blow hard Rob Dibble from the booth and cutting malcontents like Elijah Dukes the Nats front office has demonstrated a willingness to fire employees who rhyme with pass moles.  We'll see how they deal with guys who are unprofessional and unfocused like Morgan has been the last few weeks.

Anyway, remember the good paragraph about the 2012 line up.

Time to Drop Football?

There is disheartening news out of Chapel Hill, too.  It's been hard to keep track of all the fires swirling around Carolina's football team.  Contact with agents, problems with tutors, and academic issues have plagued the Heels all summer.

My gut reaction is Carolina should stop trying to chase the fool's gold that is big time college football, which of course is incredibly impractical but does make sense.  For a great piece on the greed that dominates college football, and undermines a school's mission, check out today's John Feinstein column in The Post.  Ever since Mack Brown left football has suffered, but not from lack of trying. The Heels have never gotten over the hump despite spending millions on new facilities and expanding Kenan Stadium.  

And now 6 of the 11 starters from the famed Tar Heel defense are suspended, as are the Heels two best running backs.  College teams often rally in the face of this kind of adversity; it's almost a coaches dream scenario (at least for pre-game speeches).  But the Heels have so many top players suspended you wonder if there is enough depth to paper over the losses.  

Perhaps most frustrating is the contact with agents.  Why did these guys come back to Chapel Hill for another season - at least four Carolina defensive players were projected as high draft picks in the spring - only to allegedly start taking money and gifts from agents?  And now in addition to not playing they are tarnishing the reputation and embarrassing the university.  

But at least they did not try to steal a pass in the 4th inning.

World Basketball Championships

The U.S. has looked pretty good in the World Basketball Championships in Turkey.  Despite having Krzyzewski as 'our' coach Kevin Durant and Derek Rose have looked great in leading the US to a 5-0 record.  We play Angola in the knock out round tomorrow in what will likely turn out to be another 40-point rout.

Greece, on the other hand, has yet to get their groove back.  Ellas was blowing out teams prior to the bad-karma-inducing game and fight with Serbia a week ago in the Acropolis Tournament.

After winning their first three games - versus China, a good Puerto Rico team, and Ivory Coast - Greece lost to Turkey (no shame there; the Turks have 3 NBA players on their roster and are playing at home) and Russia by 3.  The greater shame is losing to two nations who WE civilized. 

Anyway, that two-game losing streak means Ellas has to play Spain, who also under whelmed in the first round of play, on Saturday in the knock out round.  Instead of playing - as expected - for a medal Greece and Spain are playing for their lives tomorrow. It should be a great game between two of the four best national teams (widely considered to be the U.S., Argentina, Spain and Greece), and I think it will be on NBA TV live at 2:00 pm eastern if you want to tune in.

 

Worst 24 hours in DC since . . .

probably the day the Supreme Court decided that George W. Bush was president.  On that day in 2001, I remember thinking "well, there goes the Arctic Refuge."

The good news is, of course, that didn't happen.  We won.  But it's harder to find some good news in the last 24-hour news cycle.

One, phenom Steven Strasburg needs Tommy John surgery.  When that news came across my phone Friday morning I almost cried.  That fact alone, that I felt like crying about a baseball player I've never met, proves that old phase: 'sports fans are the most miserable people on Earth'. 

As I tweeted yesterday (@AthanDCTarheel), the Curse of Lez Boulez is real.  DC sports teams can not catch a break, and the only team that has historically won (history leaves out DC United) is the one with the most racist name in history, and boasted a proud racist owner for years in the 40s, 50s and early 60s.

Soul sucking as Strasburg's injury is, a sucking compounded by the timing since we found out about the diagnosis a day AFTER Bryce Harper's hope-inducing introduction and awesome batting practice session, there are SEVERAL silver linings. 

1. there were 10 pitchers in this year's all-star game who had the surgery, and almost 85  percent of the hurlers who have had the procedure come back just as strong or stronger
2. Stasburg is only 22 years old; his body is still growing and his youth should aid his recovery.  
3. hurting a shoulder is a much bigger problem for a pitcher than an elbow or forearm; many have opined that he can strengthen his shoulder while rehabilitating after Tommy John surgery.

Finally, their is Strasburg's attitude.  And I'm not talking about his work ethic.  I'm talking about his quote that it's better to have this happen now than say, at a time when the Nats are in a pennant race or battling for a World Series. Clearly, Strasburg is thinking big picture about his injury, surgery, recovery and career, so so should we.  But it still stinks to have to wait and hope things go well. 

Speaking of hope, let's hope John Wall or Bryce Harper are not hit by a bus.

Two, speaking of speaking of hope, the other bad thing to befall your nation's capital is the Glenn Beck rally.  I don't have much to add to the discussions about how outlandish it is for Beck to be linked to Martin Luther King and the "I Have A Dream" speech.  MLK was about making the country better and fulfill the meaning of it's creed; Beck's message is based on fear of the other and turning the clock back.  

And how can someone who claims President Obama is racist against white people and hates white culture profess to reclaim the civil rights movement?

But I do want to point out the irony of standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial.  Not only is it inappropriate for Beck to stand near where King stood, but what about Lincoln?  Does it bother Beck and the Tea Party that Lincoln: 

• was the father of big government, a government that swelled in size to fight and win the Civil War?  
• actually fought a war against white culture, at least white slave-owning culture?  Many Confederates thought that Lincoln hated white people;
• supported redistributing land, for free, via the Homestead Act, an act that gave away 160 acres to anyone over 21 years old and was loyal to the United States. According to history.com, similar bills were proposed prior to the Civil War but were defeated by southern members of Congress who feared new territories populated by non-slave holding homesteaders who supported laboring over slavery.
• supported labor over capital: "labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."
• strongly opposed the Tea Party's intellectual forefathers, the Know-Nothings, on immigration, stating that if they gaining power the Declaration of Independence would be amended to "all men are created equal except Negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics."  That sounds Tea Partyish to me.

I really think the Palins, Becks and the Tea Party have already hit their high water mark.  I just can't see folks, except maybe in Utah or Idaho maybe Kentucky, voting for these guys in November.  Their time has past, and Americans rarely if ever vote their fears rather than their hopes.  

Hopes, for Strasburg's recovery, and in November.

Mosque push back

Excellent pieces in The New York Times today by Frank Rich, Nicholas Kristoff and Maureen Dowd (I stopped reading her a few years ago, but she wrote three great pieces this week and is writing like an adult again) on the proposed Islamic Cultural Center near Ground Zero.

Rich in particular points out that lost in this stupid debate over the proposed Muslim YMCA (or YuMMA if it's for Muslims*) is how demonizing Islam really hurts our fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.  Newt Gingrich's statements alone will make an excellent Al Qaeda recruitment video.  And nothing would please Osama bin Laden more than to see a moderate and open minded iman lose this fight to build the cultural center in the land of free.

To say nothing of the fact that two mosques already exist near Ground Zero, as does a strip club. 

This has been a sordid and sad week for our Republic.  I've already blogged on the 'Obama is a Muslim poll.' My initial take was it loudly demonstrated the stupidity of 1 in 5 Americans.  But I want to fine tune that assessment; I think that poll - and the right wing hysteria over the proposed cultural center - primarily underscores how ideological many Americans are in the age of Fox News and the media/internet echo chamber.

There are way too many Americans who do not care about the facts, whose ideology makes it impossible for them to think straight. There are myriad causes for that. Right wingers see a black guy with a name like Obama and assume he's a Muslim/socialist/fill in blank. Many baby boomers and ex-hippies think 'feel' is more important that facts. So a boomer like George W. Bush invades Iraq despite there being no proof of weapons of mass destruction because he 'feels' that an enemy like Saddam Hussein MUST have some.  

And of course his fellow boomer, Bill Clinton, chose 'feel' over facts quite a bit in his personal life.

I think the anti-Islamic Community Center folks will trigger a backlash. Being mean, to put it simply, may resonate in the short term but makes you look bigoted and un-American in the long term. That's been true with supporters of slavery, Jim Crow, anti-Catholic and anti-immigrants groups, etc. etc. The arc of American history almost always - eventually - bends towards justice and the expansion of personal freedoms.

How ironic that a party currently dominated by ideologues who want less government are so determined to restrict a groups religious freedom?  Or so strongly opposes the right to everyone to get married.

But I also like the fact that Obama is back on message and calling for tolerance.  The courage of his convictions, and our American values, should win out in the case of the Ground Zero Islamic center.

And if the President needs more inspiration he should look to the Prime Minister of Turkey.  Yes, Turkey.

Last Sunday, the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was allowed to celebrate the Dormition of the Theotokos (the falling asleep in the Lord of the Virgin Mary) in the formerly Greek city of Trabzon (in the Pontic region of modern Turkey).  As it is here in the world's greatest nation/democracy, right-wing nationalists attacked Turkey's Prime Minister Tayip Erdogan for allowing the Patriarch to a) leave Constantinople and b) hold the service in a former Orthodox monastary.

For an interesting take on this story check out this column in the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

Erdogan's response is equally apt for New York and Turkey: “Whoever believes in his ideas does not fear freedom of ideas."  The Prime Minister added that critics of allowing the ceremony "create a climate of fear to provoke unrest."  

That's what ideologues do, and hopefully they will not get away with it here in the land of the free and the land of brave.

* for the record, yumma is made with pine nuts NOT chick peas).

Well, now we know

The news that 20 percent of Americans think President Obama is a Muslim - not that there's anything wrong with that - proves without a doubt that one in five Americans is stone cold stupid (they also probably don't know that 1 in 5 is the same as 20 percent).

Often times reporters and pundits accuse liberals of always thinking conservatives are dumb, but this time we are right. The modern Republican party is 50 percent fiscal conservatives and corporate types who simply want no taxes or government regulation, and 50 percent stupid crazy people who think:

• humans saddled and rode dinosaurs;
• the September 11th attacks were an inside job by the government (so why are they mad about a mosque at ground zero? They should be protesting a new post office or army recruiting station). Of course many of them also believe that Saddam Hussein attacked us on September 11th, so I may be confused about this point;
• Obama was born in a madrassa instead of Hawaii;
• New Mexico is a foreign country;
• global warming is a hoax but that pro wrestling is real
• all of their tax money goes to welfare instead of the military, Social Security and Medicare;
• illegal aliens are streaming into the country to get gay married and then get on welfare/take our jobs.

Of course, there are some dumb lefties - some who also believe the 911 conspiracies or think Mary Landrieu is a liberal - but nothing like the right wing nuts.

It's funny, but also really depressing.  Are we ever going to be a mature nation, one that believes in facts and science and rational thought, tempered and moderated and shaped by emotions and honesty and humility and kindness?

But enough of that crap - wrestling's on!

Quick Take on the Sunday Post

Back in DC, and reading the Post on newsprint as opposed to on line (but as it was on the Outer Banks, I'm still not wearing a shirt; I offer that up as a warning to my coworkers and fellow Metro riders for Monday).

After an hour of reading the paper, here are three quick takes on the news:

• The lead article in the Post is on another infamous Alaskan plane crash that killed Reps. Begich and Boggs in 1972.  The article also references the 1978 plane crash that killed Sen. Ted Stevens' first wife.  I bring that up only to point out how odd - and ideological - Sen. Stevens was.  In December 2005, when he failed to successfully include Arctic Refuge drilling language in a defense appropriations bill (he was chair of that committee at the time), he called the day he lost that vote "the saddest day of my life." Really, sadder than the day your wife died in a plane crash?
• Dan Balz's column points out how Ds hope to weather voter dissatisfaction in the November midterm elections by pointing out how crazy the Rs are. Of course, the only agenda the Republican have is to repeat how mad they are; they do not have an agenda or a single idea on how to end the two wars Bush got us in, fix the economy, put people to work, or protect the planet. 

Pointing out how nutty folks like Dookie Rand Paul are is certainly a valid point.  But it also is a depressing statement about the American electorate.  Obama ran and won - in part - on being aspirational and solution oriented on health care, the economy, financial reform, clean energy, etc. Then again, he mainly won because the electorate was fed up with George Bush. Is the political shelf life of being optimistic and aspirational a mere two years in contemporary America?  Are we that cranky and distracted and immature, that we are only happy complaining about things rather than trying to implement difficult solutions to serious problems like energy and health care?  Seems like it.

• Finally, I close with two mundane items from sports.  One, FIFA is thinking about eliminating ties in World Cup matches.  But football should not stop there.  Ties should be banned from all football/soccer matches.  One of the frustrating things about soccer is that not every team in every game plays to win, and you gain a point for not winning.  Think about how stupid that phrase is: in some games in certain scenarios one of the teams is NOT playing to win. If you are not playing to win you should not be playing.  Banning ties would also get rid of the stupid point system employed by soccer; it should come down to wins and losses.  One important way to dramatically improve soccer is to ban ties from every league and tournament. 

And two, the right-wingers in charge of the USA Basketball, Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski, are not picking any Tar Heels for this year's team set to play in the 2010 World Basketball championships in Turkey at the end of this month. But that's not all.  Colangelo had famously stated that anyone who does NOT play for the national team in 2010 will NOT be eligible for the 2012 Olympic team.  Predictably, Colangelo has backed off on that statement, in effect throwing the players who are playing in Turkey for the U.S. under the bus: 'thanks for playing in 2010, but sunshine patriots like LeBron and Wade are here for the Olympics so we don't need you any more.'  More right-wing hypocrisy.  As it was in 2006, this is not my America, so I will likely root for Greece if they play us in Turkey.

Hard Core Funky Beats

While at the beach in Avon in God's Country we've had a decent amount of rain, including a storm that rolled in last night as we were on the ferry from Okracoke to Hatteras Island.  Despite the rain we're having a great and relaxing time at the Outer Banks.   

Due to the rain we've been inside more than usual, and this morning I was playing my iPod on random when "Fight the Power' by PE came on (after a song by Kristi Stassinopoulou, FYI).  Listening to 'classic' PE - the song is from 1989, but you knew that - reminded me that the two worst things to happen to hip hop were: Snoop Dogg, who killed it my turning it into music for clowns and morons; and Terminator X's retirement from making hard core funky beats to become of all things an ostrich rancher (in God's country, where else?).


Hip hop has never fully recovered.

Managers

A quick blog on two managers.

Prior to the getting a hometown team in DC, I was a Braves fan (mainly due to superstation WTBS's domination of both North Cack and Florida, my two states).  And I would happily root for the Braves to win another World Series this season as a great send off for Bobby Cox.   

Cox is doing a great job with this year's Braves, but always does a great job.  Sports Illustrated recently ran a great piece on his longevity and his record-setting number of ejections.  It's a great article.

After moving to DC, also pre-Nats, the Orioles were my favorite American League team.  Easy to forget that once upon a time going to Camden Yards in the 90's was an huge deal.  Fantastic stadium - full of charismatic superstars like Cal Ripken, Robbie Alomar, Rafael Palmiero and Tar Heels like B.J. Surhoff - made it the place to be for many Washington sports fans.

Unlike many DC sports fans, who blamed O's owner Peter Angelos for keeping baseball out of the nation's capital, I never harbored any anti-Orioles sentiment.  Hard to be mad once you get a team, plus Angelos is Greek and a liberal.  

So I'm happy for the Orioles and their hiring of Buck Showalter - who is 4-0 so far. Instead of nickel-and-diming it with Lee Mazzilli and other rookie managers who quickly found themselves in over the heads in the ultra competitive AL East, the Os went big with Showalter.  I hope the undefeated mark leads to a successful run in Baltimore and that Showalter makes the Orioles relevant again.

Time to storm the barricades and board rooms!

Watching Greenspan on Meet The Press this morning say: "big banks, big corporations, and rich people are doing great."  Why do we like capitalism again?  

Government, via infrastructure and other projects, does a better job spending and HIRING than corporations do.  Time to storm the barricades and board rooms!

Whistling Past the Trade Deadline/Graveyard

The good news for Washington sports fans is the Nationals did not trade Adam Dunn.  Sure, the Nats aren't going to make a run at the wild card this season, but Dunn is a nice guy to have around while you rebuild your franchise and fan base.

Not only does he practically guarantee 35 to 40 homers every season, which is quite a luxury to have, but he appears to be a good club house guy, too.  Two great reasons to keep Dunn around.

And unlike the deals that dealt Matt Capps to the Twins and Christian Guzman (finally, the last of Jim Bowden's mistakes is erased) to the Rangers, trading Dunn would have demoralized an already demoralized fan base.

So Nats fans mad it past the trade deadline.

In Greece, things aren't as good.  I assume Greeks and Greek labor unions thought that they could whistle past the economic graveyard during this summer's tourist season.  I think every Greek hoped that despite all the negative economic news of the spring tourists would still visit the cradle of civilization this summer.  

But as usual, Greece is trying to slit its own throat.  First, the country saw massive and violent street protests in June over budget and spending cuts.  The nadir came when anarchists firebombed a bank and three employees died as a result.

The Greek public's disgust at the three deaths effectively stopped street protests.

However, some labor unions continue to take a razor to their country's neck.  First, in early July, dock workers in Pireas went on strike to protest new work rules and increased hours.  The strike lasted so long that Princess Cruise Lines decided to move their Mediterranean base from Greece to . . .  Istanbul.  Losing tourism jobs is bad enough, especially for a country that needs all the hard currency it can generate, but to lose it to Turkey?  Terrible.

Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there.  This week, fuel truck drivers have gone on strike, crippling bus and plane service throughout the country.  The travel gridlock further damages Greece's tourism industry.  The strike lasted so long that today the Greek government authorized the police and army to seize fuel trucks in the national interest and deliver the fuel.

Labor has the right to strike, but do it wisely - not during tourist season and NOT when the country is broke.  Striking Greek workers remind me of the right wingers here in the U.S. - both groups assume someone is lying to them, and have trouble with fact-based reality.  When the Greek government says they are broke the unions don't believe them, or when Obama show his birth certificate or cuts taxes for 90% of Americans our right-wing boobs assume the media is colluding with the White House to fool the public.

Everyone's Got a Plan . . .

Until they get punched in the mouth.

That quote from my favorite contemporary philosopher, Mike Tyson, sums up the Obama Administration - at least since the special election of Scott Brown.

It's hard not to be too cynical about the way the White House has governed lately.  Any time they get hit in the mouth they seemingly give up. That is a bit harsh since they did get health care over the finish line and passed some pretty meaningful financial reform legislation this summer.  

But even those victories display a certain lack of fight. There was no public option in the health care bill, let alone a single-payer system.  And on financial reform there is still chance for the White House to blow it by NOT naming someone like Elizabeth Warren to lead the new consumer advocacy board.

The state of contemporary politics is neatly summed up on page 2 of today’s “Week in Review” of The New York Times. 

Actually the entire section is pretty good, but especially the quote from Al Sharpton in the article about Shirley Sherrod.  Sharpton laments the Administration getting spooked by the Tea Party and ‘arguing with people carrying signs.”

But as this editorial cartoon points out, the Obama White House is spending too little time inspiring and activating the coalition of liberals, minorities and young people who elected him, and way too much time fretting and hand wringing about what the crack pots on Fox News are saying.

“Yes We Can” has been replaced with ‘Maybe We Shouldn’t.’

And I’m not quoting the Tea Party.  That’s from the White House.

Jim Webb and affirmative action

I don't know why Senator Jim Webb's oped in the Wall Street Journal prompted me to blog on the topic of affirmative action.  Perhaps it's the fact that when Webb was running for Senate everyone on the left swooned for him - a former Reaganite who was disgusted with the modern Republican party, opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, charismatic enough to wipe George Allen off the face of American politics and win in a deep-red state like Virginia.

How deep was the leftist swoon? Ariana Huffington attended his inauguration party in January 2007.

But as a Senator, this guy has been a major disappointment. He's pro-coal, pro-offshore drilling, and whines that "WASP elites have fallen by the wayside and a plethora of government-enforced diversity policies have marginalized many white workers."

A couple of thoughts - one serious and one snarky - on that quote in particular and his general opposition to affirmative action.

My personal bias is the fewer Protestants in the U.S. the better (and this isn't even the snarky response!).  But you can make a credible argument that Protestantism, with it's decentralized structure and grassroots organization, helped nurture American democracy in the 18th and 19th centuries.  When you compare Protestant nations to Catholic or Orthodox ones (hierarchical and undemocratic churches to say the least), nations that were dominated by decentralized religions developed stronger democratic institutions (elections, press, courts, etc.).  

But where Protestantism - and decentralization - was complimentary in the 18th and 19th centuries, it has not been as beneficial to the modern nation state of the 20th and 21st centuries, centuries where America became larger, more diverse, and a strong and more active central government became a necessity.  Like it or not, America needed a strong central government to do everything from winning World War II and rebuilding Japan and Europe in our image, ending Jim Crow, establishing Social Security, building the interstate highways and the existing transportation infrastructure, electrifying rural areas, wiping out diseases like small pox and polio, establishing national parks, passing food safety laws, ad infinitum.

So I think the era of WASP domination and WASP ideology - decentralized government with little influence or significance - has thankfully run it's course, a fact that angers Sen. Webb and others (the Tea Baggers, for instance).  Interesting to note that the notion of a weak national government started to ebb during the Civil War.  Not only did the size of the federal government swell to fight that war, but coincidentally a war fought by an army made up largely of immigrants, the U.S. army, fought and defeated an army of WASPs, the Confederacy.

Of course, the Confederacy was primarily fighting to preserve slavery and by extension white supremacy.  And that notion of white supremacy fostered and perpetuated WASP elites.  Until World War II and government programs like the G.I. Bill started leveling a variety of playing fields, there was little competition for WASPs in business, government or higher education.  All the way back to the 1840s with anti-Irish and anti-Catholic laws, the so-called WASP elites restricted the activities and aspiration of non-WASPs.  Jim Crow laws, personal discrimination, immigration quotas, housing covenants, race riots, internment camps, and other un-American indignities plagued every non-WASP group in the United States: Jews, Chinese, Africans, Japanese, Mexicans, Greeks, Italians, Native Americans - everyone who was not a white, male, Protestant. 

Not to mention slavery and wiping out Native Americans.

I guess having a Supreme Court made up entirely of Catholics and Jews is proof that WASP elites have fallen by the wayside, but I say good riddance.  All hale modern America, a nation still striving - and getting better and better, I'll add; witness our African-American president, the Supreme Court, our female Italian-American Speaker of the House who represents America's gayest city, our Mormon Senate Majority Leader, Oprah, Bobby Jindal, etc. - to fulfill the promise of it's creed, the best creed ever written.  Ironically written by a slave-owning WASP; got to love history!

Now for the snarky response regarding 'marginalized white workers.'  As you know, I am biased towards immigrants.  It's laughable to claim white workers are marginalized.  But perhaps they feel that way because they have to compete in a new, open America - and they often lose.  Immigrants simply work harder, and they work harder because they believe and validate our national myths - that this is THE land of opportunity and if you work hard - or study hard - you'll get ahead.*

Immigrants chose America, and do not take it for granted.  I think WASPs do, and fail to take advantage of the opportunities America affords.  That's why most small businesses seem to be started by immigrants, professional schools are full of non-WASPs, etc.

* The exception to 'work hard and you'll get ahead' is the African-American experience.  No group has been in America longer and worked harder - as slaves and free people under Jim Crow - for little compensation than African Americans. And until Obama's election their experience also mocked another Americanism: anyone can become President in America. 

That cynical experience is precisely why we still need affirmative action.  It's certainly not a panacea to the problems that persist in black America, but it IS an appropriate response to the world the lamented WASP elites of Jim Webb created, a world and it thankfully eroding.

Vacation and oil spills

Got back last week from our family road trip vacation to Chicago.  Don't know whether vacation and the oil spill has kept me from blogging.  But those two events came right after - or in the case of the spill, intensified after - the US lost in the World Cup AND the Nats stopped hitting.  Those four events contributed to an even quieter blog than usual.

A few random notes to get me back in the swing, on a variety of topics:

• If you are in Chicago - a great town anyway you look at it, but especially for it's excellent public spaces and art - make sure to visit Hot Doug's, one of America's funkiest and coolest sausage places. They serve a variety of hot dogs and sausages, including antelope, rattlesnake, and alligator.  I was provincial, and had a gyro sausage with artichoke spread and haloumi cheese (from Cyprus).
• The other highlights of Chitown included: a 4th of July Cubs game at Wrigley.  We sat in the Bartman Section and watched the Reds dismantle the Cubbies 14-3. Third time we've seen the impressive Reds in person - they can hit.  Wrigleyville is also a blast - even for a traditional loser the North Side fans treat each game like a festival; dinner at my excellent cousin's house in Naperville; and walking on the glass sky walk/balcony off the top floor of the Sears Tower - you know you are walking on solid glass but that first step onto the clear platform is freaky as you look straight down to the street from the 101st floor.
• On the way back to DC we stopped at a fabulous ice cream place, Tom's Ice Cream Bowl, in Zanesville, OH (reportedly named after famed western writer Zane Grey).  It's an old timey ice cream parlor with good food and fantastic ice cream, complete with bow-tie wearing soda jerks.  
• We found Tom's on Yelp, the best iPhone App (at least on this trip).  We also found the outstanding 11th Street Diner in Chicago via Yelp, and great diner near the museums on the Chicago water front.
• Finally, Primanti Brothers and Pamela's P&G Diner, both in the Strip District of underrated Pittsburgh.  Primanti Brothers is famous for stuffing their sandwiches with french fries and cole slaw between two slices of thick cut Italian bread, served on wax paper.  It's sounds cheesy and contrived and etcetera, but it tastes fantastic.  And the crepe pancakes at Pamela's were fantastic.
• Of the three cities we visited the saddest was Cleveland.  Unlike Chicago, which was vibrant all day every day, and downtown and the Strip District of Pittsburgh - both districts full of thriving locally owned businesses and people and sporting goods stores - Cleveland was empty.  So three cities that were industrial giants built near transportation hubs but Cleveland, much more aligned with the Detroit auto industry, has not made the transition very well.
• But Cleveland does has the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is worth a visit to the Cleve. At the Hall of Fame, Ariadne purchased a vinyl Aretha Franklin album, they had a small but interesting display on Joy Division and New Order, and an excellent but temporary exhibit/retrospective on Bruce Springsteen.  The HOF also does a great job acknowledging the contributions of non-rock music - blues, soul and country - and there are lots of displays devoted to Johnny Cash, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, etc.
• I was also reminded how much crappy rock music has been made in the last 50 years.  There were quite a few exhibits devoted to Queen, Ted Nugent, Pink Floyd, and other non-punk rock dreck.  For instance, the guest that day was one of the guitarists from Molly Hatchet. 
• We were in Ohio the night LeBron James stiffed the Buckeye State.  No one begrudges moving on via free agency - but DO NOT hold an hour-long narcissism festival to stiff your home town team.  And I question joining someone else's team - in this case Dwayne Wade's and Pat Riley's Miami Heat, (two folks I dislike; Wade is a soccer player-style poseur always preening, and Riley is a right-wing asshole who learned coaching from a racist) rather than proving you are THE MAN with Cleveland.  Is LeBron a star, as he claims, or a complimentary player following in Wade's wake?  
• The good news is Cleveland has FINALLY made room for Danny Green at the 2 spot.  Green and Wayne Ellington had nice runs at the recently completed NBA Summer League.  Ellington averaged 16 points a game, Green 12.   
• Greek-American Kosta Koufos also averaged 12 points a game.  And he wasn't the only Greek in Las Vegas.  Sofoklis Schortsianitis, aka Baby Shaq/Greek Shaq/Big Sofo, made his LA Clippers debut 7 years after he was drafted.  Baby Shaq, born in Greece to a Greek father and Cameroonian mother, is most famous for dominating Dwight Howard in the second half of Greece's upset of the US in the 2006 World Championship final four.

That's enough for now.  Look for a depressing Nats blog soon!