Sobering Thoughts |
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Comments on politics, the culture, economics, and sports by Paul Tuns.
I am editor-in-chief of "The Interim," Canada's life and family newspaper, and author of "Jean Chretien: A Legacy of Scandal" (2004) and "The Dauphin: The Truth about Justin Trudeau" (2015).
I am some combination of conservative/libertarian, standing athwart history yelling "bullshit!"
You can follow me on Twitter (@ptuns).
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Three and out 3. In a follow-up to his 10 best lineups to be no-hit, Chris Jaffe at Hardball Times looks at the 10 worst lineups to be no-hit. The most recent was the 2001 Baltimore Orioles (no-hit by Hideo Nomo) and a 1981 Toronto Blue Jays team that featured a future NBA All Star (Danny Ainge). 2. Fox Sports writer Ken Rosenthal is annoying. In his current column he says that the Chicago Cubs don't need to make a trade, they just need to win. True but easier said than done. Does Rosenthal think the Cubs are not trying to win or worse, trying to lose? I'm not even sure how his conclusion to his section on the Cubs rises to journalism from the mucks of moralizing: "They [the Cubs] need to get over DeRosa, get over their poor start, get over themselves." Getting over himself is good advice, Ken. 1. A bad outing or two can really affect a pitcher's ERA, one reason that the statistic has its limitations. Two quick examples. New York Mets ace Johan Santana has a 3.08 ERA in 96.1 innings so far this season -- very good, even slightly better than his career average (3.11), but a half run worse than last season (2.53). However, the 3.08 ERA is a little misleading. A few weeks back, Santana had his worst start ever, surrendering nine runs in three innings. If you remove that awful outing, Santana has a 2.31 ERA, a number that would vault him from ninth in the National League in ERA to second, just a hair behind Dan Haren (2.25) and in contention for the Cy Young rather than receiving criticism for an "off year." In the American League, New York Yankee fifth starter Chien-Ming Wang would still be having a mediocre year if you took out his first three starts -- three games in which he gave up 23 earned runs in six innings, including two games in which he didn't finish the second inning. He now has an ERA of 10.06, but take out the first three games he started (probably while injured) and his ERA is a more respectable 5.29 which is right in line with fifth starters. General managers would be wise to consider how a few bad games can throw off stats like ERA and they probably do, although sports writers and broadcasters don't seem to understand the concept and talk about how Santana is not having as good a year as usual or that Wang is struggling despite the former having a typical year and the latter obviously getting better. Against the burka Halifax Herald Chronicle columnist Paul Schneidreit doesn't like the burka. Not only is it sexist, it is a health hazard: Burka-wearing by pregnant women also has been linked to increased cases of rickets in their children. Stuff 1. The Wall Street Journal explores the issues surrounding touching people at work. (Touching includes shoulder rubs, hugs, back slaps and high fives.) There is someone who works outside our office, but when she comes to Toronto she hugs everyone. It is horrible. Simple rule: don't hug or touch unless hug or touched first. If this rule is followed, there would be no more workplace hugging and touching. 2. Cracked.com has "6 Items You Touch Everyday That Are Filthier Than a Toilet," including money, phones and soap. 3. A really interesting article from Southern Fried Science entitled, "The ecological disaster that is dolphin safe tuna." It turns out that saving the mammals (dolphins) has lethal consequence for sharks, tuna, and sea turtles. (HT: Newmarks Door) 4. Stroll down Nostalgia Ave with Listverse's "10 Best Uses Of Classical Music In Classic Cartoons." 5. New Scientist has a story on monkey stock markets: "(Vervet) Monkeys might not deal in stocks and shares, but they do trade commodities, and now it seems that monkey exchange rates are influenced by supply and demand. Grooming acts as a common currency among non-human primates, says Ronald Noë at the University of Strasbourg, France. It is exchanged for food, greater tolerance from dominant members of the group – and even for sex." In other words, primate stock markets fluctuate. Monday, June 29, 2009
Stuff 1. The most interesting thing I've read all year: "How Silicon Chips Are Made." Really. 2. For some reason when I read this Wall Street Journal story about the Ford Foundation's belt-tightening the word schadenfreude comes to mind. 3. 'I' before 'e' except for x, y and z. The old rule has too many exceptions. Proof: "Let neither financier inveigle the sheikh into seizing either species of weird leisure." 4. From Listverse: "Top 10 Unbelievable Vintage Cigarette Posters." 5. Wired.com has the 10 best prison breaks. Four and down 4. SI.com talks to several players about the broadcasters they do and don't like and the traits in broadcasters they admire and hate. Some of it is interesting, especially Renaldo Wynn calling out Tiki Barber for criticizing his former New York Giants team-mates and coach one year removed from playing with them. I doubt that Damien Woody really likes "honest broadcasters." I bet it depends about what they are being honest. I'd just like to add one broadcast annoyance I've mentioned often: not talking about the game on the field. 3. I've mentioned the Mr. Irrelevant title before -- the football tradition that confers the ignominious title on the last pick of the NFL draft. Well, place kicker Ryan Succup, picked #256th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs has just inked a three-year, $1.2 million deal. I wish I was that irrelevant. 2. Predictions on who will win some of the big QB battles: 1) Brady Quinn will edge out Derek Anderson for the privilege of winning the Browns' opening day job (and he could lose it by Canadian Thanksgiving). Anderson put up decent numbers for a stretch last season, but new coach Eric Mangini will want to give the team a new identity. Also, Quinn flashed some brilliance in a losing effort late last year against the Denver Broncos in which he put up a 104.3 passer rating. Mangini also really likes former New York Jets backup Brett Ratliff acquired by the Browns in the huge draft day deal for Sanchez; 2) Speaking of which ... Mark Sanchez has the job over Kellen Clemens, a career backup that has five TDs and 11 interceptions over parts of three seasons. After the Jets traded away a small army of picks and bodies for Sanchez, the former USC star would have to have a horrible camp and lose the job for Clemens to suit up as the starter in September; 3) Daunte Culpepper will get the starting QB job over number one pick Matthew Stafford because the Detroit Lions won't want to throw Stafford into the fire right away. Smart move and Culpepper's steady hand is exactly what the 0-16 Lions need right now; 4) I can't believe after Shaun Hill's stunning success down the stretch for the San Fran 49ers (five wins in final seven games under new coach Mike Singletary) that Alex Smith is even in the running. It's all a game and Hill will win it in the end; 5) It might as well be a battle royal in Tampa where Luke McCown, Byron Leftwich and Josh Freeman are competing for the Bucs starting job. I really liked Leftwich's work as Big Ben's backup in Pittsburgh. He is most likely to provide the new coaching staff with the things they want to see from their starter, but some scouts think Freeman is the best of the three QBs picked in the first round of the draft this year and that he has a decent chance of winning the job; 6) The Minnesota Vikings could have a difficult decision if they don't sign Brett Favre. Sage Rosenfels did a fine job in Matt Schaub's absence in Houston and Tarvaris Jackson has never done more than flash potential. I'd say this is a 50-50 call with a slight edge going to Rosenfels, the Vikes are probably comfortable with Jackson as Favre's backup if the 19-year veteran comes out of retirement for the second consecutive summer. 1. Monday Night Football turns 40 this year. Hank Williams Jr. has been doing the theme song for 21 seasons. Three and out 3. The Atlanta Braves narrowly avoided a three-game sweep by the visiting Boston Red Sox by winning 2-1 today. But this is quite amazing: over the three games, the BoSox scored six runs and the Braves scored three -- and one of these Red Sox runs was scored in the final inning of game three. 2. At SI.com, John Heyman has the 15 best free agent signings and 10 worst. I have some agreements and disagreements (of course) but what like to see a ranking on best and worst per dollar spent. It is hard to argue with Philly' signing of Raul Ibanez but I'd put Orlando Hudson (2B with the Los Angeles Dodgers) and Adam Dunn (OF with the Washington Nationals) are two of the top three. I wouldn't have Manny Ramirez on the worst list (difficult to tell quite yet) and I'd say New York Mets pitcher Oliver Perez and his shade-under-ten ERA is easily the worst signing. 1. One of my favourite players is New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. Most closers are over-rated, used in a way that rings up saves, a pretty meaningless statistic. Rivera, of course, has his share of saves, but he has been a pretty consistent lights-out closer. On Sunday night, he collected a pair of milestones against the New York Mets in a 4-2 game that deserves more comment than I'm giving here. (Mets walked 11 Yankees, six in the final two innings, for crying out loud.) He got his 500th career save, only the second player to do that in the Majors. He also got his first career RBI (in three at bats) when he was walked with the bases loaded. MLB.com has the story and charts of the 500th save, including a team-by-team breakdown of how Rivera has performed (more saves against the Baltimore Orioles than anyone else and more blown saves against the BoSox than against the Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays combined). Sunday, June 28, 2009
My weekend Spent it at the Ontario PC leadership convention. Despite being involved in politics for about 20 years, this was my first party convention. I dislike politics even more than usual. I might comment more about it later, but maybe not. Now I get to return to watching Bullshit. Friday, June 26, 2009
Stuff 1. Jonah Goldberg says everything I'd want to say about the passing of Michael Jackson. Key line: "If anything, Michael Jackson’s life, not his death, was tragic." 2. New Intrade.com website. I'd bet against health care reform, in favour of Ben Bernanke's re-appointment, I'm divided on whether Transformers will break $100 million on its opening weekend, and I don't think Intrade does a good enough job setting the parameters for whether Barack Obama's approval ratings will be 60% on June 30. 3. Hoser to Hosier has "Election 2009: A dynamic model" about Canadian politics. Lots of game theory if that is your thing. Ignore "Spring Election" section and it is still pertinent. 4. This is from 1999 but I can't imagine there would be fewer regulation: the U.S. Department of Transportation's "Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations." 5. New Scientists has "Animals on drugs: 11 unlikely highs." 6. Five professional sports leagues that didn't make it (from Mental Floss via Opinionjournal.com). Thursday, June 25, 2009
Truth about politicians Tyler Cowen is asked to provide insightful books about politics written about politicians. He lists a handful and then asks: "Are politicians so drunk with self-deception that they cannot write insightful books?" The answer: yes. Quote about health care Arnold Kling on academics advising for a government takeover of the health care system: I love it when people who have never managed anything more than a government grant are convinced they can manage one sixth of the economy. Stuff 1. Addressing themes contained in his forthcoming book Create Your Own Economy, Tyler Cowen talks about how the free online world is enriching us in ways that isn't captured by traditional economic statistics. I'll probably have more to say about this article (and book) in the future in a post tentatively entitled "I'd rather live online than in the 'real' world." 2. The Associated Press (via the Hollywood Reporter) wonders: Is Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, racist? Here's the evidence: "Skids and Mudflap, twin robots disguised as compact hatchbacks, constantly brawl and bicker in rap-inspired street slang. They're forced to acknowledge that they can't read. One has a gold tooth." 3. Listverse has the "Top 10 Utterly Useless Military Commanders." I'm not sure that General William Westmoreland deserves mention (he did a swell job in Vietnam until the 1968 Tet Offensive even if everything after that point was a disaster) and I'd put France's Maurice Gamelin much, much higher. 4. From the Mental Floss blog: "Wild, wild hearses." Must see photos of some pimped up hearses. 5. "I, toaster" -- that isn't the title of Thomas Thwaites artistic endeavour, but that essentially is what The Toaster Project. is doing. Radley Balko explains at Reason.com. Why not make Fridays meatless? The Daily Telegraph is reporting that the McCartneys are encouraging a day of abstaining from meat: Sir Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney are leading the Meat Free Monday campaign to persuade people to avoid meat once a week. It is not an attempt to turn the world vegetarian, one day at a time, but a crucial step in the fight against climate change.So Catholics were not only practicing self-discipline and imitating Christ when abstaining from meat, they were being environmentally friendly. In other words, good for the soul and good for the planet. Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Lesson from Sanford: let gays marry Mike Potemra in The Corner, apropos of Mark Sanford's admission to being a cheating low-life: As someone who favors gay marriage, I think this Sanford scandal underscores a central truth. The anti-gay-marriage forces are stuck making a slippery-slope argument when, in fact, we’re already at the bottom of the slippery slope. Here’s a guy, Sanford, who has not just not a moral and religious incentive to keep his marriage vows, but also a political-survival incentive. Yet the public sense of the sacredness of marriage has declined to the point that even he couldn’t do it. How much more could this institution be eviscerated, by letting a tiny, tiny minority of same-sexers join it? (Gays are a small fraction of the population, and the percentage of them who want to get married is a small fraction of the small fraction. The issue is, as the lawyers say, de minimis.)As I understand Potemra's argument, marriage has been so debased there is no harm in letting a handful of homosexuals join in a little meaningless matrimonial action. Apologies for affairs Real life Governor Mark Sanford (R): Rep. Gregory White apologies for future affair on Onion TV: Congressman Offers Preemptive Apology For Extramarital Affair Stuff 1. Wired.com has an fascinating article with incredible photos, "Extreme Life Thrives Where the Livin’ Ain’t Easy." A taste: "After 3 billion years of evolution, life has flowed into every last nook and cranny, from the bottom of the sea to the upper edge of the stratosphere. From blazing heat and freezing cold to pure acidity and atomic bomb-caliber radiation, there’s seemingly no stress so great that some bug can’t handle it." 2. Joe Sheehan discusses the possibility of a Golf Prospectus. (Might need a subscription to read this; I'm always logged into BP.) What Sheehan says of a golf tournament is also true of a baseball season: "I want to know how you balance experiencing the event with collecting enough knowledge about it to be analytical. I want to be able to tell the story and also break down the game." 3. Slate has advice on how to ensure your aquarium is environmentally friendly (if you care about such things). Counter-intuitively, having live plants in the tank might make it less "green" by requiring more energy for upkeep. The article has an interesting link to an article on humanely euthanizing fish (don't flush them down the toilet and don't decapitate unless you also pith). These articles piqued an interest in resurrecting my old tropical fish-keeping habit. 4. Writing at Reason.com, Craig Beato marks the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the Sony Walkman (July 1). Consider this: "Six months after its debut in Japan, the device reached American shores. It cost $200, or $589 in 2009 dollars." 5. Cracked.com has the "The 13 Most Unintentionally Disturbing Children's Toys." 6. Here's a song to get people to vote for Frank Klees in the Ontario PC leadership race. I particularly like the line "take a chance on him, take a chance vote Frank Klees." Monday, June 22, 2009
Blogging will return sometime -- I don't know when 1) Production week. 2) First and third seasons of Bullshit. Saturday, June 20, 2009
Prince Williams advice to United Kingdom: learn from gangs I can't find the article the Prince wrote for the Sunday Telegraph, but a report and extensive quotes are available from chief reporter Andrew Alderson. Here is an extended quote from the future heir to the throne: Former gang members have told me that it is precisely to find status, respect from others and the role in a community that we all crave that led them to fall in with gangs in the first place. Obamacare's dependency-inducing intent George F. Will on why Barack Obama's health care plan has the intended effect of crowding out private care: Assurances that the government plan would play by the rules that private insurers play by are implausible. Government is incapable of behaving like market-disciplined private insurers. Competition from the public option must be unfair because government does not need to make a profit and has enormous pricing and negotiating powers. Besides, unless the point of a government plan is to be cheaper, it is pointless: If the public option conforms to the imperatives that regulations and competition impose on private insurers, there is no reason for it.Will concludes his column by noting that if the goal was simply to ensure health care coverage for the 20 million "protractedly uninsured" all government would need to do is pay for their private insurance through a tax credit or some other measure. But that wouldn't create a new program that would beget its own demand and induce dependency. In other words, such measures would not expand government forever and are therefore undesirable to Democrats. Obama guilty of playing politics? The Washington Post reports that since becoming president, Barack Obama has mostly visited states in which his margin of victory in 2008 was relatively narrow. He is visiting swing states and states with large numbers of electoral votes. And like George W. Bush during his eight years in office, Obama has yet to visit Vermont. Key point which indicates that Obama is like all other presidents in being first and foremost a political creature: "Every president keeps his eye on the next election, and all of them have a laser focus on the battleground states because those are the ones that matter," said Darrell M. West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution. "Even presidents who claim to be above politics pay attention to polls and the competitive states. Ultimately, they know they have to win elections to carry out what they want to do." Health care poll: majority want to remake system they are satisfied with A New York Times/CBS poll finds that most people are comfortable with state-run health care because they think they it will universalize coverage and control costs. Never mind the specific question or flaws with the poll, what I found interesting is this: While 85 percent of respondents said the health care system needed to be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt, 77 percent said they were very or somewhat satisfied with the quality of their own care.More than three-quarters are satisfied with their own health care situation but because of a constant barrage of media coverage of how horrible the system is, they are willing to risk what they have. I'm not saying that the system is perfect -- far from it -- but I'm surprised that so many people are content with their own care but still feel the need to radically overhaul American health care. Three and out 3. Gordon Edes writes about Satchel Paige and Larry Tye's excellent Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend and the article is worth reading. But still, I can't agree (entirely) to his suggestion that the Cy Young be re-named after Paige. But here's an idea: the Cy Young could be for the American League's top pitcher, the Satchel Paige Trophy for the National League's. 2. Pedro Martinez -- one of the best pitchers in game ever and one of my least favourite players -- hasn't play professional ball this year but four teams (Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and another un-named team) are apparently looking at the veteran throw in the Domincan Republic. He would be an asset to each of those teams but I can't imagine Martinez, who as a Boston Red Sox once threw beloved Bronx Bomber bench coach Don Zimmer to the ground, in pinstripes. That's not to say I won't be cheering loudly if he signs and plays for New York and cheering loudly if he is pitching in pinstripes in October. Yet, my preference is for the poetry of his returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers where he got his start in the early 1990s. There is also something about him not returning to baseball and ruining what Tim Marchman called "the prettiest line in baseball" -- his 214-99 record. 1. I don't get the New York Yankees not using Alex Rodriguez for the past two games. They are in Florida playing the Marlins and don't have a DH (playing under National League rules), so they are already sapped of some of their power. Sure, A-Rod isn't hitting well in June, including a 0-15 stretch (that led to the benching), but he provides Mark Teixeira invaluable protection. He makes the lineup stronger and even if Rodriguez isn't hitting well, does anyone really believe Angel Berroa is better? Compare: Rodriguez is hitting 212/370/462 (with 9 HRs in 38 games) while Berroa is hitting 150/190/200 without a homer. And even if A-Rod is truly fatigued, as the Yanks say he is, he should have been given time off before this point as Peter Abraham notes here. Certainly, they could have used A-Rod's bat in tonight's 2-1 loss to the Marlins. Stuff 1. The table of contents of Tyler Cowen's Create Your Own Economy: The Path to Prosperity in a Disordered World, which comes out July 14. 2. Kayaking over waterfalls. 3. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that coffee might not be as unhealthy for you as you once thought. 4. According to this 2007 Business Week story, apparently 90% of restaurants don't fail in their first year; based on numbers from Columbus, Ohio, 25% fail in their first year, 60% within three years. That seems more like it; based on the restaurants I see opening, more than one in ten are still around a year or so later, so the 90% figure seemed implausible. (HT: Newmark's Door) 5. He's Barack Obama from JibJab (HT: Rondi Adamson) 6. Kick ass Iranian woman from Gateway Pundit who has lots of pictures and video: Friday, June 19, 2009
Stuff 1. Beautiful footage of the Stellar sea eagle. 2. Cheeseburger in a can. 3. An oldie but goodie from Cracked.com: "The Top 5 Ripoffs of Christopher Walken Roles (By Walken Himself)." 4. A city council election in Cave Creek, Arizona, is decided by the draw of a card. Adam Trenk, 26, picked the king of hearts to beat two-term councilman Thomas McGuire, who drew the six of hearts. 5. From the Daily Telegraph: "A woman has cancelled her church wedding and country house reception after discovering her fiance is a secret porn star." Thursday, June 18, 2009
Everything you need to know about politics Robin Hanson explains at Overcoming Bias. The intro to a post that is worth reading in its entirety: Politics isn’t mainly about policy, but when policy comes up politicians mainly want credit for appearing to do what voters embrace, while avoiding blame for appearing to do what voters reject. Actually doing something everyone likes is very hard; it is usually easier to modify how things appear, and who appears responsible. Republicans do this as much as Democrats, but since Democrats are now in charge, they offer current examples.Once you understand that politics isn't about policy this, from Andrew Roth at the Club for Growth blog, makes sense: Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), along with 43 other senators, have voiced their support for the Travel Promotion Act of 2009.This would only be unbelievably stupid if the goal of the bill was designed to really attract foreign tourists. But the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 is truly about appearing to attract foreign tourists, which politically speaking, is much more important. Commencement address banalities/lies Robin Hanson at Overcoming Bias: Listening to my son’s high school graduation ceremony last night, I was struck by how completely implausible were many speaker claims, such as:One commenter added: "We'll all stay friends." Another suggested these three truthful points that should given to all graduates: 1: Most of you are about average. Many of you are not doing even that well. Stuff 1. From New Scientist: Nine extraordinary clouds. 2. "Taoism vs. Confucianism," from Mental Floss. 3. I'm sorry but "brood" and "imbroglio" do not belong on a list of the 100 most beautiful words in the English language. "Mellifluous" does. 4. The Financial Times reports that TG-Gold-Super-Markt, a German company, will "install gold vending machines in airports and railway stations across the country." Tyler Cowen doesn't think the plan is real. If it does come to fruition, it looks like an excellent opportunity for money launderers. 5. Traffic barrel monster art. Yeah, the "artist" broke the law, but its neat. According to the News and Observer, the 22-year-old history student responsible for the work is facing charges over his art/prank/vandalism. 6. A half-billion basketball stadium is being built in Orlando. Is the floor made of gold? Three and out 3. Newmarket native Jake Eliopoulos was picked by the Toronto Blue Jays in the draft last week. He is a southpaw and is considered the best high school ballplayer in the country with a decent three pitch mix (a fastball in the high 80s that will get harder as he matures, a curve and a change-up). Chances are he will never play in the Big Show, but it is a nice story for the kid nonetheless. 2. Toronto Blue Jays skipper Cito Gaston wants a DH used in all inter-league games. I dislike inter-league play and I'd like to get rid of it, which would solve Gaston's problem (risking pitcher injuries during their at-bats), but inter-league is here to stay. So better to maintain the distinctiveness of each league in this less than perfect situation. Or -- and this will seem a heresy to many, and I'm not endorsing it -- bring the DH to the National League. 1. Slate attempts Moneyball for golf. I'm not sure it works. But as the stat-heads note, Moneyball isn't really working in baseball anymore now that everybody -- or almost everybody -- has bought into it. Weekly Standard sold No longer in News Corps stable of publications. Now in the hands of Clarity Media Group which owns the Washington Examiner and Examiner.com and other properties. Might be interesting to watch to see if anything changes. Or it might not. Depressing news from/about Africa From yesterday's Guardian: "Quarter of men in South Africa admit rape, survey finds." Shocking detail inside the story: one in 20 men admit to raping a woman or girl in the past year. There are reasons to be incredulous, but these are surprising numbers. The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration's special envoy to Sudan will declare that country's "co-ordinated" genocide in Darfur over. Good news for hand-wringing diplomats, horrible news for those in Darfur who know all too well that the "co-ordinated" genocide and its attendant rape campaign is not over. Still, the declaration by retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration (the special envoy) ensures that high-level talks can commence -- dishonest talk by dishonest people, but at least they're talking, right? Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Michael Ignatieff climbs down from election CTV has the story. For some reason, the Liberal leader reminds me of this:  Dead tree is dead WorldNetDaily reports on a Zogby poll that finds only 1 in 200 think "newspapers will be a dominant source of information in 2014." Asked if they could get news from only one source, one in ten respondents said it would be newspapers, while 56% said the internet. Of course, by newspapers and the internet, the pollster and respondents mean the way by which news is delivered. I read the New York Times and Daily Telegraph most days, but online; that's still getting news from a newspaper. A large percentage, but not a majority, are in the same boat: The poll said 49 percent of all respondents said national newspaper websites were very important and 43 percent said national television websites were important to them as a key source of news. Three and out 3. Sammy Sosa is reported to have tested positive for a performance-enhancing drugs back in 2003. Big surprise. Big deal. I guess he was lying when he said that the only PED he ever took was a Flintstone vitamin. (Please note that I strongly disagree with Jay Mariotti's outrage and moralizing.) Seriously -- and I am being serious in asking this -- doesn't this "revelation" make the Sosa-Mark McGwire homerun battle of 1998 a fair race? The real outrage should be reserved for those that leaked this information -- the tests were to be confidential. 2. Wisdom of the crowd? If you look at the American League All Star balloting, it is amazing how correct the fans are in their selections. Putting aside preferences (such as Robinson Cano at second or Jorge Posada at catcher), there is only one clearly wrong pick (Texas Rangers outfield Josh Hamilton is garnering votes based on last year's homerun derby and incredible 2008 season) and one questionable pick (Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis over Yankee 1B Mark Teixeira). And the questionable one is close (1,315 votes separate them) and Youkilis is not an indefensible selection. 1. The conservative-as-grumpy-old-guy applies also to the world of sports and to women. At The American Spectator online, Lisa Fabrizio, complains that today's baseball players don't have the skills or work ethic of players from an earlier Golden Age. First, remember the Golden Age was also the Lilly White Age; Babe Ruth and Ted Williams have inflated numbers because they didn't have to face Satchel Paige's arm. Also, it is a little unfair to compare New York Mets goat Luis Castillo to Joe DiMaggio or Ty Cobb. Try comparing these giants to the giants of today, such as Albert Pujols or Manny Ramirez (although the latter doesn't have the defensive acumen Fabrizio whines is lacking is some of today's players, like every player from the '30s through '50s was a Gold Glover). Compare Castillo to the forgotten backup middle infielder John Kerr (who played for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Washington Nationals from 1923-1934). All that said, she still has a point that players should use both hands when catching a fly ball. Letterman v. Palin Read Craig Newmark's thoughts on the David Letterman-Sarah Palin flap. Newmark's bottom line: it was a joke and the outrage machine needs to quiet down. I would echo his remarks 100%. I would add one point: some commenters are saying that under-age children of politicians are off limits. I totally disagree. If politicians and candidates are going to put their children on display as part their appeal to voters, the kids are part of the campaign and therefore fair game. Palin's appeal was that she was a regular mom, therefore her family is in play. Don't want attention paid to the kids, don't include them as part of your narrative. Stuff 1. Senator Tom Coburn has a list of 100 stimulus projects that are a waste of money. 2. John Stossel is now blogging. 3. Lasso of Truth defends blogging anonymously. Key lines: "I think it is laudable to take responsibility for your words and damn the consequences – but I also think it is an easier luxury for someone who only has to concern themselves with their own starving belly. If I lose my job because my boss doesn’t like my opinion on immigration, it’s not just me who starves. There are 7 other people in my household and most of them don’t even understand what immigration policy is, much less whether my opinions have any merit." Sadly, people lose their jobs over differences of political opinion. 4. Mental Floss has "5 Minor TV Characters who Hijacked the Show." I take exception to their comment that Michael J. Fox's Family Ties character "could deliver the most extreme right-wing political rhetoric and make it palatable because he was so darned cute"; Alex P. Keaton was a Republican who praised Richard Nixon and I don't recall him mentioning hot topic issues like abortion or immigration, instead providing mostly bland offerings on taxes and America as a superpower. 5. Cracked.com has "7 Safety Products (for the Incredibly Paranoid)" including the blaster car-mounted flamethrower, the rapex rapist dick destroyer, and child-sized full body pandemic coveralls. An good editorial cartoon is worth a thousand good columns State-run health care, the rectal exam of public policy. Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Four and down 4. The Denver Broncos have agreed to the request by WR Brandon Marshall for a trade. Marshall wanted more money after posting back-to-back 100 catch seasons. He is only going to be paid $2.2 million next year and probably deserves a pay raise. This is the second star to want a trade from Denver this off-season following Pro Bowl QB Jay Cutler's exit after a run-in with new coach Josh McDaniels. I don't understand Broncs owner Pat Bowlen publicly acknowledging he had agreed to the trade, thereby eliminating any leverage he might have in trade talks -- the second time he's done that in '09 (see Cutler). 3. The New York Giants need a reliable go-to receiver and Marshall would provide Eli Manning a nice target comparable to Plaxico Burress. Or the Chicago Bears could try to re-unite Cutler with his old team-mate because they are short of impact receivers. But in all likelihood, he'll end up somewhere entirely unexpected. 2. ESPN blogger John Clayton thinks that Carolina Panthers QB Jake Delhomme is still an asset to the team and fits into their plans over the next half dozen years. I'd put Delhomme in the bottom half of QBs in the NFL; if a contending team thinks that an under-achieving QB isn't hurting their playoff chances, then he fits into their plans. In the next season or so, the Panthers will start the search for their next franchise quarterback. But they were a 12-4 team last year with a good chance of competing for the NFC South division title or wild card spot for the next season or two. Delhomme is a hindrance to that goal. 1. The AP reports: "Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth began serving a 30-day jail sentence Tuesday for killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in Florida, a punishment made possible by his cooperation with investigators and the fervent wish by the victim's family to put the matter behind them." Thirty days for taking a life. I don't care what the victim's family wants. I seriously doubt it The Daily Express reports: Gordon Brown is in line to become the EU’s first president, it emerged last night.Brown wants a face-saving exit and the EU might give him that, but I have my doubts. In the same story, it is reported that support for the Labour Party among public-service workers is down to 30%. Offered without comment LifeSiteNews.com reports: "A UK couple recently lost their last IVF embryo when it was mistakenly implanted in another woman, who aborted the baby when she discovered it was not hers." Three and out 3. MLB.com headline: "NL East race reflected in All-Star votes." That is partly true but there might be another explanation. The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets account for five of eight starters; the St. Louis Cardinals have two and the Milwaukee Brewers one. In many ways that reflects the bias of the broadcast networks that televise mostly four or five teams (the Phillies, Mets, Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL, the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels in the AL). If you look at the second place votes for 1B, 2B, SS, 3B and catcher and the fourth through sixth place votes for the outfield, you'd have five more NL East players, two Dodgers, and one Cub. If more Washington Nationals or Houston Astros games were broadcast, Adam Dunn and Lance Berkman would be among the leading vote getters. 2. Over at Shysterball, Craig Calcaterra goes through "Things a borderline obsessive box score reader does on a night, and following morning, when there are hardly any box scores to read." (There were only two games last night.) Some non-baseball related thoughts and activities including listening over the baby monitor to his four-year-old snoring and the ethics of stalking people on Facebook. 1. Contra the claim of some broadcasters and pundits, Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts shows that Los Angeles Dodgers relievers are not throwing a dangerously excessive number of pitches. In fact, they are throwing a little over average (56.69 relief pitches per game vs. a MLB-average of 52.57). Twitter and politics Cafe Hayek notes this release from Twitter: A critical network upgrade must be performed to ensure continued operation of Twitter. In coordination with Twitter, our network host had planned this upgrade for tonight. However, our network partners at NTT America recognize the role Twitter is currently playing as an important communication tool in Iran. Tonight's planned maintenance has been rescheduled to tomorrow between 2-3p PST (1:30a in Iran).As Russell Roberts says, "What a world." Stuff 1. Boys Scouts will give out badges for satellite navigation. 2. Nick Cohen looks at "The Golden Age of Conspiracy," in the June issue of Standpoint magazine. 3. A four-minute commercial from Asia. Rather unexpected ending. 4. Scientific American: "Watering Down the Fishery Gene Pool: Do hatcheries help or hinder efforts to sustain wild populations?" 5. Listverse has "15 Fascinating Facts About Toilets." What I'm reading 1. Satchel: The Life And Times Of An American Legend by Larry Tye. Satchel Paige is probably the most interesting person to ever play professional ball and Tye does a good job separating fact and fiction, capturing the personality and character of Paige and illuminating what segregated baseball (and America) was like. I'm not ready to say that Satchel is the best baseball biography, but it is certainly up there. 2. "The State of Music Online: Ten Years After Napster," a Pew Internet and American Life Project report by Mary Madden. 3. "Measuring Parliament’s Attitude towards Canada-US Cooperation," a Fraser Institute report by Alexander Moens and Nachum Gabler. 4. "Forgive and Forget?" about forgiving in Rwanda after the genocide (and what science tells us about forgiveness) by Jina Moore in Search magazine. 5. "The Power of Personality: The Comparative Validity of Personality Traits, Socioeconomic Status, and Cognitive Ability for Predicting Important Life Outcomes," by Brent W. Roberts et al from a 2007 issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science (HT: Bryan Caplan) Monday, June 15, 2009
Three and out 3) Last week, the New York Mets lost to the New York Yankees when their second baseman dropped a routine infield fly with two out in the ninth and the tying and game-winning run scored on the play. But that might not be the hardest loss of the week. The Kansas City Royals lost, in part, after a line drive up the middle hit a seagull, made a bad bounce and skipped past the centerfielder. 2. The Washington Nationals do a pretty good imitation of the 1962 Mets. As USA Today's Game On blog noted, they had identical 16-45 records after 61 games. 1. A great list of 11 one-time-only feats in baseball history. Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no-hitters (the latter of which he had 71 years ago today) is the most impressive. Stuff 1. Gretchen Rubin has noted this many times at The Happiness Project blog, but it is worth saying again: it is much better to practise non-random acts of kindness than random acts of kindness. The former make the recipient feel better, the latter make the "giver" feel better. What is kinder? 2. Tyler Cowen on Persian food. Interesting note: "If you are in a country where you do not expect to see Persian food, and you see Persian food, it is usually very good. As a partial exception to a rule of good eating, a single Persian restaurant can be very good even if there are not other Persian restaurants around." 3. Hunch.com has finally launched. It claims to be a smarter search engine -- "Hunch helps you make decisions and gets smarter the more you use it." Technology Review has the story. Liked this quote: Co-founder Caterina Fake, who co-founded Flickr), says of Hunch.com: "I want it to feel like the Magic 8 Ball experience." 4. The 60-Second Science blog at Scientific American has a post on tapeworms, including this: "Once the bane of rural Japanese villagers, a paper in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases reports on the spread of the the salmon tapeworm Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense. The parasite, which can reach lengths of 39 feet (12 meters), has been steadily increasing its global distribution and prevalence – mostly among yuppies with a hankering for sashimi and ceviche." 5. Last week, I said Maleficent was the greatest Disney villian. A sample why: Four and down 4. 10 fantasy players Yahoo! fantasy football writer Brandon Funston hates more than you do. I don't do fantasy football but to me these should be players who can't put up numbers to match their hype or history. I'd really like to see 10 players I hate (period) list. Mine would include Tennessee Titans LB Keith Bulluck (the terrible towel stamper), Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo (pretty boy in a man's sport), New York Giants QB Eli Manning (is nothing without Plaxico Burress), supposedly retired QB Brett Favre (wrecking his rep with failure to commit to retirement) and Cincinnati Bengals RB Chad Ochocinco (just a jerk who doesn't have the production to match the mouth). 3. The New York Times on the Super Bowl rings of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Holly Brubach describes the 2008 ring: "Six round brilliants that stand for six Super Bowl victories, 14 diamonds that signify the Steelers’ division titles — like all Super Bowl rings, this one relies on symbols to give it greater meaning." 2. Matt Sohn at ProFootballWeekly.com says that a sportsbar is an over-rated place to watch a game and home is under-rated place. Would have to agree. I want to hear the play-by-play and commentary -- as atrocious as most broadcasters are -- and that is impossible at a bar. 1. Dann Parr also has an over-rated/under-rated at PFW.com, this one on available coaches. I am torn on how over-rated former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan is. He is 146-98 lifetime with the Broncs and Los Angeles Rams, including 138-86 in 14 seasons with Denver with only two sub-500 seasons (6-10 in 1999 and 7-9 in 2007). However, much of that record is padded by his phenomenal period from 1996-1998 when the Broncs were 39-9. He won two Super Bowls (1997 and 1998), but was 1-4 in the post-season since his Super Bowl victories when John Elway was the quarterback. It might be that he had worn out his welcome, or as Parr says, was "getting stale." Broncos owner Pat Bowlen was patient, but in the NFL world of in which "What have you done for me lately" is the ruling philosophy, Shanahan hadn't produced what the Broncos organization or fans wanted (a championship) in a decade. As Parr says, everyone is still viewing Shanahan as the coach he was on the eve of the 1999 season, coming off a pair of Super Bowl victories and nearly 40 wins over three seasons. It is notable that he hasn't made it back to the Big Game since Elway left. He blinks Michael Ignatieff learns from Stephane Dion and understands the need to at least look tough. CTV reports: Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says he won't introduce a non-confidence motion that could trigger an election, so long as the Conservatives give in to some key demands [on Employment Insurance]. CI commends Hudak and Hillier Catholic Insight magazine, a target of a federal level human rights complaints, commends the position of Ontario PC leadership candidates Randy Hillier and Tim Hudak in favour of abolishing the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, and in the case of Hillier, getting rid of (or reforming) the Ontario Human Rights Commission as well. But CI stops short of endorsing the candidates' proposals. Both want the courts to handle Ontario Human Rights Act cases, rather than the tribunals, and CI is right to worry that they will be any better: Hillier and Hudak’s proposals to abolish the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and empower the courts to uphold the Ontario Human Rights Code will not solve this problem. Time and again, the courts have backed human rights tribunals in using the Human Rights Code to suppress the rights and freedoms of Christians.Catholic Insight is correct, but politics is about what is plausible and gutting human rights legislation is nowhere near possible, let alone plausible, even if it is desirable. But the magazine takes the right stance in regard to the candidates' positions on the odious OHRT. Sunday, June 14, 2009
Steyn on Big Government Mark Steyn writes about the Nanny State, which goes hand-in-hand with the Welfare State. And as Canadians and the British know, and Americans are about to find out, both require state-run health care. Read the whole thing, but there are two choice 'graphs: According to the U.N. figures, life expectancy in the United States is 78 years; in the United Kingdom, it’s 79 — yay, go socialized health care! On the other hand, in Albania, where the entire population chain-smokes and the health-care system involves swimming to Italy, life expectancy is still 71 years — or about where America was a generation or so back. Once you get childhood mortality under control, and observe basic hygiene and lifestyle precautions, the health “system” is relatively marginal. One notes that, even in Somalia, which still has high childhood mortality, not to mention a state of permanent civil war, functioning government has entirely collapsed and yet life expectancy has increased from 49 to 55. Maybe if government were to collapse entirely in Washington, our life expectancy would show equally remarkable gains. Just thinking outside the box here.And: Look, by historical standards, we’re loaded: We have TVs and iPods and machines to wash our clothes and our dishes. We’re the first society in which a symptom of poverty is obesity: Every man his own William Howard Taft. Of course we’re “vulnerable”: By definition, we always are. But to demand a government organized on the principle of preemptively “taking care” of potential “vulnerabilities” is to make all of us, in the long run, far more vulnerable. A society of children cannot survive, no matter how all-embracing the government nanny.Steyn notes that Ontario PC leadership contender Christine Elliott says that according to her brand of conservatism, the state "need[s] to take care of vulnerable people." When conservatives talk like that, who will protect people vulnerable to the tentacles of government? Three and out 3. At SI.com, Tom Verducci looks at "the five biggest problem positions for contending teams" and what to do about them. Notably, he doesn't really mention in-house or other realistic options, just the kind of pie in the sky trades that make sense in the trade-for-'em-and-damn-the-expense-and-opportunity-cost world of sports punditry. This isn't journalism, it's a game of "Let's make believe." 2. Two interesting in-depth articles: "Bat Meets Ball: Checking in on the HitF/X data," from Baseball Analysts and "Are veterans being replaced more often?" at Hardball Times. Both are worth reading. 1. A pair of Houston Astros get a pair of hitting milestones in the same game: Miguel Tejada gets hit number 2000 and Lance Berkman swatted his 300th homerun. Even better for them, the 'Stros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks. Small government impossible without intact families Licia Corbella in the Calgary Herald, writing about "Private Choices, Public Costs: How Failing Families Cost Us All," from the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. Cohabiting is a trend that has grown exponentially through the decades. In 1961, 92 per cent of all Canadian families were headed by a married couple compared to just 68.6 per cent of families today. It's even lower in Quebec, where just 54.5 per cent of Quebec families are headed by married parents.Want to reduce the costs of the Welfare State, encourage (traditional) marriage and support families. Something to think about Kirk Savage in the Washington Post: Victim monuments such as the Titanic Memorial in Southwest Washington, the Holocaust Museum, the Japanese American Memorial and, most recently, the Victims of Communism Memorial, are now so common that it is hard to imagine the capital without them. Yet though we like to think that the nation's monuments reflect our history and heritage back to us, the changes have run ahead of what many are able to grasp. "Think about what you saw," declares a panel on the outer wall of the Holocaust Memorial. That is hard to do, especially when heroes and victims mingle together, shifting back and forth, within the Holocaust Museum and across the Mall and the city.I have long had a problem with the growth of memorials, walls, etc... in Washington and could not understand why Washington has a holocaust memorial museum. It all becomes an arena for tribal politics and there is no end to it and it can foster a sense of victimization that the cult of multiculturalism engenders by constantly inflaming grievances. Stuff 1. The Daily Mail reports that Roman Abramovich is having a 557-foot, £300million yacht built. The Eclipse will, er, eclipse, his three other yachts (the Pelorus which is 377 feet long, the Ecstasea that is 282 feet and the 161-foot Sussurro). The Mail reports, "the Eclipse has been specifically designed to overshadow the world's current largest private yacht, a 525-footer owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai." It will feature two helipads, a military-grade missile defence system, and a private submarine which will double as an escape pod. 2. Mental Floss has "The World’s 10 Messiest Food Festivals." 3. "The 10 Essential Rules for Slowing Down and Enjoying Life More," especially six, eight and nine. 4. "Diverse and dazzling frogs" from the Bronx Zoo World of Reptiles (via the Central Park Zoo website). 5. Telegraph.com has "Sacha Baron Cohen's twenty funniest lines." My favourite: As Ali G: "Sex can lead to nasty things like herpes, gonorrhea, and something called relationships." Close second (as Bruno): "Look at the evil people in the world: Saddam Hussein, Hitler, Stalin. What do they all have in common? Moustaches!" But Ali G's very best stuff is in this interview ("Why does they puts pictures of gaylords on the bills here?" and "Wouldn't it be better than instead of having like a five dollar bill and a ten dollar bill, having like a five dollar 44 bill and 16 dollar 89 bill and like a 22 dollar 11 bill, and like a five dollar 44, no I's done that already, or like a 182,000 dollar 250 million bill, that way you wouldn't have to carry any spare change?") Saturday, June 13, 2009
Stuff 1. A video of the new snow leopards which went on display at the Central Park Zoo this weekend. The Wall Street Journal has a good article on the new display, which cost $11 million to complete. 2. MSM Money asks: "Is safer air travel worth the cost?" 3. As a former D&D player (more than 25 years ago in my junior high school days) I had to read Cracked.com's "15 Retarded Dungeons and Dragons Monsters." 4. Dear Prudence answers Portnoy's complaint, er, an inquiry from a guy whose wife thinks he masturbates too much. Not for the prudish. 5. FoxNews business desk messes up. Friday, June 12, 2009
A skeptical view of 'saved or created' jobs IMAO doesn't like the claim that X number of jobs are/will be "saved or created" by the Obama administration. IMAO's Frank J. says: [B]ut the media seems credulous so I guess “created or saved” is a perfectly find formulation. Thus we might as well apply the phrase to lots of different things.And he offers a few examples, of which I note a few of the better ones: * By not going to McDonalds, I created or saved two cheeseburgers and a large fry.Ridiculous? That's the point. The changing US-Israel relationship Haaretz reports that 56% of Israelis support the building of "settlements" (or as normal people call them, "homes" or "communities"). President Barack Obama has called for a halt on construction of new settlements. Dan Flesher writes in Haaretz that the president and (according to one poll) the American people are no longer prepared to be Israel's closest ally and vital protector. This line explains why Obama wants to change direction and get much tougher with the Israeli government: the administration is in a "quest for a new relationship with the Muslim world." But the American people? I'm not sure they are ready to side with the dysfunctional and undemocratic Arab world quite yet. More likely, Americans want to hold their allies to a higher standard. But there's more. Flesher says that organization American Jewry is terrified to challenge the popular president. That might be true today, but give it time. The Teflon will wear off, Obama will become vulnerable to criticism, and Jews will be able to speak in defense of Israel again. More on the Raitt controversy and politics The Ottawa Citizen's John Robson: Oh, here's a sexy story. A cabinet minister was caught privately calling a difficult problem "sexy" and an opportunity for career advancement. We journalists would never do that.Yes, ambition is a good thing. Robson explains: It is the beginning of wisdom in public affairs to reward politicians who solve problems and punish those who do not. That way we harness their mighty ambition to our well-being, instead of prompting it to work for our undoing. Change the U.S. national anthem? Michael Kinsley offers alternatives to the "Star Spangled Banner" as the American national anthem which he says is too difficult for most Americans to sing ("notoriously unsingable"). This seven-year-old autistic girl does a good enough job. Inflation and deflation Shrinkage is Good has a comparison of the inflation-adjusted prices of certain products or goods from the Summer of 1969 and this Summer, 40 years later. Marijuana prices have doubled, television prices are way down, a gallon of gas is up only about 15%, the price of the daily paper is down about 15%, the cost of an album was cut in half, and a pair of sneakers is about the same. Stuff 1. A dress made of meat. Says the, er, designer: "I contemplated many ideas, including beef jerky, ham, ground beef, prosciutto... but they were all too expensive, thick, and/or runny. I chose salami because it's thin, keeps in one piece, and is quite cheap, and bacon because it looks very, um, meaty." 2. Listverse has "Top 10 Survival Tips For People In Horror Flicks." They miss the obvious cliche: teens shouldn't have sex or do drugs. 3. Is it ever right to pummel right-wing politicians with eggs? The London Times gathers opinion. 4. The New York Times has a story on the decreasing popularity of blogs and there is mention of a study that found 95% of blogs have not been updated over the past 120 days. Sounds like gloating from the Old Grey Lady, but really it just shows how behind the times The Times has become. It has been known for years that most people give up on their blogs rather quickly. Ditto for Twitter and Facebook and it will be true for whatever comes next. 5. New Scientist has a report on the first new element in five years for the periodic table. Three and out 3. The Selena Roberts salacious gossip-mongering "tell-all" unauthorized biography of New York Yankees star Alex Rodriquez (A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez) hasn't sold very many copies. According to publisher HarperCollins, just 16,000 copies of the first run of 150,000 have sold. According to Nielson BookScan, about 11,000 of those were sold in the first week. On the plus side, for those interested in the book who haven't bought it yet, it won't be hard to find a remaindered copy of it. 2. Marc Hulet at Baseball Analysts likes what the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins did at the draft, thought the Tampa Bay Rays had a better second day than first day, and seems confused by what the Pittsburgh Pirates were doing. The Texas Rangers picked a pair of high ceiling hurlers, which is probably abuse considering that if they make the Majors, they'll be pitching in Arlington. 1. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers won their 10,000th game. That would be in history, as the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers/Dodgers/Robins/Atlantics and LA Dodgers. What a great franchise. Thursday, June 11, 2009
Return of Rick After a too-long absence, Rick returns to Life with Father with a post about culture, construction and Coren. Enjoyed this line: "Madonna - she is a has-been, but the culture recycles itself so relentlessly that she always manages to churn back through the machinery with depressing regularity." His complaint that his culture columns are not up on The Interim website is a valid one. Within the next few weeks, TI hopes to be back online with a new and improved website. More about that later, but for now let me say I'm really excited about the redesign and new features. Kicking and screaming, TI is being dragged into the 21st century -- at least technology-wise. Remembering John Wayne NRO has a symposium to mark the 30th anniversary of the passing of John Wayne. Liked, particularly, Michael Long's comments on what today's conservatives can learn from The Duke: John Wayne made entertaining movies. That was the point of his career, the key to his success, and the main reason he is remembered. That he was conservative and a man of character is incidental; a few people go to see a movie for the star or the subject matter, but the mass audiences that create a hit come for the story. John Wayne made sure his movies told interesting stories. Thus the way in for those who believe conservatives are forever shut out of Hollywood: Tell good stories. Make movies people want to see. Inform your work with your conservatism (or whatever is in your personality, because that is what will make your movie unique), but create true entertainment. Preachy pictures generally fail: Witness the dozens of recent anti-war movies with a box-office take less than Michael Moore’s annual budget for exercise clothes. John Wayne was not a conservative entertainer; he was an entertainer who happened to be conservative. Being that is how our side will finally gain traction in Hollywood. News from across the big pond I find today's North American papers a little boring today, but lots of interesting things are happening in not-so-great Britain. The Daily Mail reports: "Benefits cheat who claimed she couldn't walk enjoys a round of golf." More of these stories can't but help the cause of small-government conservatism. The Guardian reports that Russian oligarch and former KGB official Alexander Lebedev, who earlier this year bought the Evening Standard, is close to a deal to buy the Independent and Independent on Sunday newspapers. Lebedev is part of what some people call Londonograd. Just weeks after buying Kaka from AC Milan for 59 million British pounds, Real Madrid appears to have finally agreed to a transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United. The price tag: 80 million pounds. Stuff 1. "The Seven Types of Bookstore Customer," from Rocketbomber (HT: Marginal Revolution) 2. This is not my thing, but I know a few of my readers like cats. Scientific American has the evolution of the house cat. 3. "Top 10 Ways to Provoke a Geek Argument," by Matt Blum at Wired.com. I would only argue about one of these. Can you guess which one? 4. "How Your Favorite Sneakers Got Their Names," from Mental Floss (via the Wall Street Journal) 5. "Amazing concept cars." And there's this WTF:  Three and out 3. Wall Street Journal has an article on the best universities for developing Major League talent. California schools have four of the top five. Surprisingly Sanford isn't one of them and neither Texas or Long Beach State crack the top ten. Interesting and brief article. 2. Steven Goldman at the Pinstriped Bible has an idea on how to manage the transition from Jorge Posada to The Next Catcher. This is pretty close to a sacrilege in Yankee circles, but the Bronx Bombers need a plan and they and their fans need to realize that Posada is not going to be able to catch forever. Jesus Montero and Austin Romine both look to be pretty decent options, although Montero might end up playing another position eventually, and it would be a shame if they path was blocked by over-use of a declining star and fan favourite; it is the latter that nudges the Yankees to making a bad decision for the team by possibly blinding them to better options. 1. I'm not a big fan of Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki but this Baseball Daily Digest story illustrates his greatness with some incredible statistics. Three notable facts: Suzuki got 3000th hit in professional baseball last July, got to 1800 MLB hits faster than Wade Boggs and could have 2000 MLB hits by the end of 2009 -- just his ninth season playing North American ball. Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Green politics Only slightly less silly than the hay the opposition is trying to make over Lisa Raitt and John Baird. A Green Party press release yesterday: Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is horrified today after reading research that shows Canadian MPs’ questions about climate change in the House of Commons made up only a measly 3.7% of all questions asked. “It is the responsibility of the Opposition parties to ask questions in the House about issues of concern to Canadians and they are missing one of the biggest concerns of all – climate change,” said May. “In fact, the number of questions on climate is dropping into oblivion in the House.”Or people don't really care about the environment. The challenge for Elizabeth May and the Greens: to make climate change as sexy as isotopes. To be serious for a moment, there is only one reason that the opposition doesn't ask questions about the environment: they can't score points on the issue. Perhaps the Conservatives aren't vulnerable on the environment; perhaps people say they care about the environment but the parties have access to research shows that they don't care that deeply; perhaps the (phony) science behind the questions makes for cruddy Question Period optics. It really doesn't matter why, the point is the opposition doesn't think they can beat the Conservatives on the environment, not even for a day. If they thought they could, there would be more questions about the issue. It is extremely telling that there aren't. I would also add that just because half of Canadians (said they) took part in Earth Hour, it does not necessarily follow that they want Parliament to focus on green issues. Four and down 4. ProFootballWeekly.com says that there is unlikely anyone or any company wealthy enough in St. Louis to afford the $510 million price tag to keep the Rams in that city. The article doesn't speculate about where the Rams might be headed, instead focusing on the major challenges any new owner would have keeping the franchise viable in St. Louis. 3. ColdHardFootballFacts.com looks at how many picks from the 2009 draft came from each state. I found it interesting that Hawaii produced the same number of picks as Michigan or Illinois (five each) and more than New York (4), Tennessee (3) and Indiana (2). The states that provided the most college picks: Texas (37), California (32), and Florida (19). 2. The Miami Herald ran a profile of Jimmy Johnson, former coach of the Miami Dolphins and University of Miami Hurricanes, this past weekend, is nothing special. But there is one interesting fact about how he is enjoying his "retirement" (although he still is on the Fox broadcast team) except this: he goes days without wearing pants. 1. I'm not convinced by every argument made by SI.com's Damon Hack on why the conventional wisdom about the division leaders might not be true, but his point is a good one: while football pundits are quick to anoint a division leader or can't miss wild card, there are often factors that arise to radically change things. No one saw the Miami Dolphins contending for, let alone winning the AFC East last season and everyone anointed the Dallas Cowboys NFC champs before a single was played. CTF questionnaires Answers to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Ontario PC leadership race questionnaire from Frank Klees, Tim Hudak, Randy Hillier and Christine Elliott (who didn't answer the questionnaire but did respond). Stuff 1. The Vancouver Sun headline: "Vancouver world's most livable city, Harare the worst: Poll." Wonder if it was a close call? As one of the George Mason economists has observed, normally these studies -- this one from The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks six Canadian and Australian cities in the top 10 for "livability" -- measure how Scandinavian a place is. Obviously Vancouver is better than the capital of Zimbabwe, but there is a certain statist/liberal bias to these things. 2. How would Mars fare on a livability index? New Scientist reports, "Mars robots may have destroyed evidence of life." 3. "Top 10 Most Evil Disney Villains." Entirely agree that Maleficent is number one but I would put Ursula and Cruella De Vil higher. Notably, half of the top 10 are female. Score one for gender equality. Generally I agree that "Anyone who kills cute little puppies to make coats is evil in my books," unless that person is Montgomery Burns. 4. A full colour screen that bends. There's also roll-up solar panels. 5. The 100 most beautiful cars of all-time (from the Telegraph in 2008). I'm not sure why this ranked only 27th or why the Silver Shadow is not on the list at all.  |