The Answers Are...

1. Yes, with the overwhelming support of the black community. But he is likely to be forced out.

2. Nothing as far as I know, but she is having a baby.

3. It is futile!

...and justice for all

Opening Question: Did Mike Nifong actually win the election?

Second Question: How much money did the little ghetto trollop make during the course of this investigation?

Third Question: How can I argue with Tilam when he makes such excellent points?

The Duke Lacrosse Hoax

The card house is collapsing. The rape charges have been dropped by the DA's office against the Duke lacrosse players, but inexplicably, the sexual assault and kidnapping charges remain. I figure those will be dropped soon enough (but too late for these young men).

Further, the NC State Bar has brought an ethics complaint against the DA Mike Nifong. (As always, KC Johnson has all the deets.) This is an extraordinary move in the middle of this case. After all the "these white kids are GUILTY" rhetoric coming from the prosecution and the black community, to have the state bar say that the DA's conduct amounted to "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation" further prejudices any jury pool.

As for the DA, he is done. Butter him up 'cause he is toast. He will have to cut a deal not to get disbarred. And he won't be able to get a job flippin' burgers in Durham.

I say, "Great!"

The justice system in this country is too beholden to politics and personal vendettas. There is no "sniff test" to prevent frivolous lawsuits in this country. In an instance where I was sued for settlement money, the judge noted for the record that she did not believe that the plaintiff had "any likelihood of prevailing on the merits." Okay...so why is this farce allowed to continue?

Mike Nifong brought this case to win an election. He has destroyed several years of these young men's lives. Sure, the charges will be dropped, but to paraphrase Ray Donovan, "where do they go to get their reputations back?"

Vick's Vapor Rub

Two quick comments on Michael Vick.

First, he is a very good QB and a very good running back...he is not "great" at either. Being very good will take you to modest winning season, but will not win you a Super Bowl. Hotlanta is a nutty sports town and its obsession with Vick and his almost winning ways is not unique. Witness the Braves.

Second, will Vince Young be Michael Vick 2.0? With The Young/Vick model of QB, the offense becomes increasingly complex to run effectively. The offensive linemen are never quite sure where the QB will be (pocket? what pocket?) and the receivers are often in a difficult position to effectively block for a QB run. Not impossible, but hard.

Wake up and smell the coffee!

I used to live in Atlanta. Those football fans have such a hard-on for Michael Vick it's pathetic. The prototype of the athletic quarterback. The mold of the future...

GET A FRIKKIN GRIP. Vick is a gifted athlete, but that's all he is. He's not a quarterback. Sure he can gun the ball, but his accuracy and touch are nominal at best. Sure he can run, but he can't pass, and most of all, he can't lead the Falcons to the promised land. Everyone is all agog over the fact that he's the first quarterback to run for over 1000 yards in a season; but HELLO ATLANTA, your precious team is 7-8 and definitely on the OUTSIDE looking in on the playoff picture. You can brag about Vick's athleticism and such, but you have nothing to show for it...

God, this inane hero worship...

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

By Francis P. Church, first published in The New York Sun in 1897.

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor—

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus

-Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

***

More background on the most published editorial in any English language newspaper here. The original image is here.

Merry Christmas.

A Top 2 - 6 List

Mrs. Tilam ranks as the #1 beautiful woman in the world to moi. (Does being captain of the cheerleading squad count as an athlete?) But in response to Thew's DETAILED post, I offer my current numbers 2 - 6.

#2

Diane Lane

#3

Melissa Theuriau

#4

Alessandra Ambrosio

#5

Kate Beckinsale

#6

Petra Nemcova

My next post will address the sporting gals.

Babe watching...my second favorite pasttime!

Top 20 most beautiful athletes?

Well, let me start off first by saying my beautiful hoops playing/coaching wife, Mrs Thew, is tops. She's the champion. All the rest are just bench warmers.

And I will state my "top 5" of the current crop of hollywood hotties. Women I'd ask for a free weekend pass for from the wife (not that I'd get it, but it's fun to dream):

Jessica Biel
Kate Beckinsale
Jessica Alba
Jessica Simpson
Rebecca Romijn

Rachel Hunter gets an honorable mention, as does Diane Lane, Jodie Foster, and Rene Russo. Brangelina is no, Lohan is not even appealing to me in the least. Oh, and Sandra Bullock gets my "love to see her in a schoolgirl outfit" vote.

Now on the the MOTTS...

First my "WTF are they thinking?!"
Michelle Wie (you know she holds a special place in my heart)
Anastasia Myskina (bag her)
Marion Jones (she's more of a man than I am after all those steroids)
Daniela Hantuchova (clearly, someone has stolen her breasts and replaced them with...nothing)

Next my "yeah, little dim lighting and some mazola and I'm okay"
Lisa Leslie
Becky Hammon
Anna Rawson
Gretchen Bleiler
Alisa Camplin
Amy Acuff (if I can ever reach high enough to smooch her!)
Carrie Tollefson (hmm, bit on the emaciated side)
Maria Sharapova
Sasha Cohen

Lastly, my "spot on chap!"
Veronica Kay
Natalie Coughlin
Tara Dakides
Tanith Belbin
Malia Jones
Anna Kournikova
Gabriella Reece

And the list you've been waiting for...My Top 20!
Cory Everson
Jenny Finch
Katarina Witt
Summer Sanders
Natalie Coughlin
Tara Dakides
Natalie Gulbis
Malia Jones
Anna Kournikova
Gabriella Reece
Mia Finnegan
Danica Patrick
Stacey Dales (used to be Dales-Schulman, woo! she's avaiable)
Gabriella Sabatini
Stac Keibler (did you see her in "Dancing with the Stars"?)
Jan Stephenson
Carling Bassett (remember her? best canadian import since Hockey and Labatts)
Heather Mitts

Ah well, I could only come up with 18 - but I'm already running a fever!

TILAM?

Around the Horn - Special Year End Edition

Last HoF comment. Jeff Bagwell just retired from the Astros. I would say he is a near lock for the HoF.

As usual, I will leave the NHL commentary to our resident Goon, Thew. My only point is that I think that hockey (like soccer) offers better player comparisons because of the relative stability of the game and equipment over the years. No major rule changes (ala the DH) and no big equipment changes (ala golf), so maybe it is more appropriate then in other sports. (I am not saying it IS, just moreso.)

The Nothin' But Assholes league. Too much said already.

In the MLB, there seems to be much smoke, but I am not sure how much fire. I am happy to see Pettitte back with the Bombers, but I am not sure how much he will bring to the table given his health problems. Suffice to say the Yankees-Red Sox will be fun again.

Bode Miller is back on top of the Skiing World Cup standings. I am not sure who cares, but it would be nice for this guy to turn his life around.

In soccer, you have got to like the efforts of Didier Drogba for Chelsea. In the consummate team sport, this guy seems to be carrying the team with clutch play and goals. Here is the Everton match review including Drogba's goal. Funny bit of commentary at the end concerning the "poor" defending. Balderdash! If Alan Stubbs, the Everton defender, pulls up tight, Drogba runs right by him. You don't play that tight at 35 yards. To call it a botched defense unfairly discredits the goal.

Finally, in the only important sports news, several SI swimsuit models offer their take on the 20 Best Looking Athletes male & female. I will say you can tell the panel were women, because I think they blew the female list. My challenge to Thew (which I will post on in the next day or two) is: Name Your Top 20.

Game On.

Always back with a vengeance...

Hall of Fame Discussions...
Big Mac, I think, needs to be in the Hall of Fame. The ONLY thing he's been identified as using was Andro (which I have used, btw, to a fair bit of success) - he has never been proven to have used steroids, and I think his record and accomplishments show his place in the HoF. 49 HRs as a rookie in 1988 is a good and solid start imo. But we've beaten this dead horse...

NHL - ESPN has this poll of "the greatest hockey line of all time". Well that's just stupid in my opinion. We talk about the greatest of all time in golf (Tiger v Jack), why are we getting into this in hockey too? It's just to feed the lame couch athletes who yap around the watercooler during morning coffee break. On the other hand, since I am one of those lame couch athletes, I will weigh in with my personal perference: the top line of hockey has to contain Wayne Gretzky, period. The greatest hockey player of all time cannot be denied his place on this list. I'm not sure how I can NOT include such unbelievably talented players like Adam Oates (a player who could find an open player even if he were in a coma), Stevie Yzerman (a player whose leadership and skill simply WILLED the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup), or Mark Messier (New York Rangers, 1994, playoff guarantee, subsequent hat trick), but I'm sorry, I do. On the Great One's elbow has to be Super Mario. His skill, size, speed, vision, and soft hands can label him as one of the greatest of all time, argument. I believe he was better 1 v 1 than Wayne, but Gretzky really made the players around him much better than Mario did (not that Mario didn't, don't get me wrong). On Wayne's other elbow really can only be the Flower, Guy Lafleur. It was he who owned many of the records that Wayne broke in his career...although if you said "hey stupid, put Mike Bossy in his place" I really couldn't argue. But I'll go with Lafleur-Gretzky-Lemieux. Aside from the above, I give major honorable mention to players such as Sergei Federov, Brett Hull (yes, Brett Hull, as pure a sniper as the game has ever seen), Ron Francis (did you know that he had more points in his career than Mario Lemieux?), Denis Savard, Marcel Dionne, Mr Hockey, Boom Boom Geoffrion, and Rocket Richard.

NBA - another image issue for the dumb ass thugs in the NBA. 'Melo goes berserk after Isiah Thomas orders a hard foul and is now suspended for 15 games, so now the NBA has lost it's poster child and leading scorer. What boggles Mrs Thew is how people still attend these games and corporations still advertise with this frikkin league...but as always, the almighty dollar forgives many transgressions. Why do people still give a shit about this sport? Stick to college, it's more pure and exciting...

MLB - here's a gem from the Bronx. Darryl Strawberry thinks the Yankees' clubhouse is beset by bad chemistry that can be cured only one way: Derek Jeter needs to "embrace" Alex Rodriguez. Hoo Hoo! That's beautiful coming from the Strawman. But I gotta say, if there is anyone who would know about "chemist-try" besides Doc Gooden and Bobby Brown, it's Darryl. I guess now DJ should hold it for A-Clod when he pees? Puhleeze. Quit coddling and babying A-Clod, he's the highest paid player in baseball, he needs to understand that in the Bronx, your regular season doesn't count for SHIT if you don't win the world series. For his performance in the post-season, A-Clod is the most overpaid player in the history of baseball. Well, maybe not the history, but he is way overpaid. This "touchy feely" bullshit is now spilling over from lazy parents to head case professional baseball players...sheesh. Plus, he really screwed up when he dissed DJ in an article in Esquire in 2001 - never forget that the feet you step on today might be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow. Oh, and WELCOME BACK ANDY PETTITE...it's about freaking time you came home dumbass...

NFL - it's official, my Vikings SUCK. So Ladanian Tomlinson broke the single season touchdown record. Good for him. LT has been a star in this league for a while. And it's of note to realize that he's already rushed for 1600+ yards, so it's not like he's Jerome Bettis and has 20 TD's and 100 yards on the season. This guy in running wild.
Looks like T.O. spit on someone last weekend. Typical of T.O., he's just not satisfied leading the league in receiving touchdowns, he wants to stay in the limelight because of stupid shit, so he loses control and spits on DeAngelo Hall. Will this guy ever just go quietly into that good night?
Other than that, let's talk about world stuff...ah, screw it, Tilam's got that covered for now, I have nothing to add that would make us seem any more intelligent that we already do...
By the way, you didn't tell me I'd have to part the red sea to use the upgraded version of Blogger...

Baseball HoF

Who I would like to see and who will get in are two different things.

I agree with Thew that Ripkin Jr. and Gwynn are shoo-ins. Top talent and good guys. I think Jim Rice is deserving, but will not make it, and that is probably the case with Alan Trammell (I would say he was a better Tiger then Morris). (Though I think Trammell makes it before Rice.)

Donny Baseball would, in a fair world, get in, but won't. And I am sad to see Steve Garvey miss the HoF train. Gossage and OH will get a look, but a brief one.

Now, for McGuire. I think he should make it. He was arguably the first "super slugger," but if the voters read the words "steroid slugger" instead, he loses. Unlike Bonds, McGuire was a big boy from the get-go and McGuire used a non-banned substance, so I think he should be fine.

Here is a question: are steroids different from a corked bat?

More Mid East Crap

I made a point last January that TIME magazine finally catches up with: Arabs do not give a rat's ass about the Palestinians. They use it as an excuse to distract the West from the Sunni/Shiite powerplay occurring in the region.

In 632, the Profit Mohammed died. The elders appointed Abu Bakr as his successor despite the protests of those who said the Profit appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib as his rightful successor. Ali finally became Caliph for 5 years from 656 to 661 and is known as the last of the "rightly guided caliphs." After Ali's assassination, and coincident with the rise of the Umayyad dynasty (Sunni), the Sunnis and the Shiites have been fight each other. And the have not stopped since.

Iraq is the latest battlefield in this centuries old war. The US is not the problem. The fighting won't stop because we leave. The "sectarian" violence that plagues that country has plagued Islam for 1,345 YEARS! Saudi Arabia (Sunni) will never allow Iran (Shiite) to dominate Iraq, so it funds the Sunni insurgency. Iran wants to dominate Iraq, so it fund the Shiite militias.

The solution is majority (Shiite) control with inalienable rights (and oil money) granted to Sunnis. The Iraqi Kurd and Saudis (Egyptians?) should be "persuaded" to be an honest broker in this process. There are some indications that the Saudis are waking up to the reality that if the US leaves, the Saudis' lives will become much, much more complicated.

Good. It is about time.

UPDATE: Diana West from the Washington Times: Let'em kill each other.

I needed to have my "drivel" translator on it seems...

I understand everything you said. And if you re-read my last post, I jump on to your bandwagon about sports. And my example was close to home, since my daughter is a "casualty" of the young people sports machine that exists in today's society. BUT...

The reason I took umbrage to your post is that your counter-argument to a dearth of MLS(Pro) goals was a plethora of goals in a U10 league. And I say...no correlation. And then you come in with an entirely different post later and tell me I missed the point of the first one. Good thing you're not a lawyer!

How About Typing Shallower

Michael Irwin is in trouble and has been fired by ESPN.

Chicago objects to The Nativity Story sponsoring a Christmas celebration!

The two are similar in that the PC culture has gone nuts. Irwin is no Mel Gibson and the Chicago party is called "Christkindlmarket." Can we just calm down here?

Perhaps I Should Type Slower...

Thew must be purposefully antagonistic, because he ain't this dense.

Sports in America is a continuum from the first kick or hit to the last. To say that the youth game is the same as the pro game is silly, but to say that players at the top of the U10 game play in a certain way that changes by the time they are at U21 or in the MLS is not.

The Little League World Series pits the best baseball players in middle school against each other. Those games are played with certain characteristics that are different the when the Yankees and Sox square off. But you can trace the evolution of the game as the kids age. Whether it is ability (pitching improves) or equipment (aluminum to wood bats), you can see the game grow with the players.

I have two data points on the soccer continuum: the high scoring youth games and the low scoring pro games. What I am looking for is the point in between; the points where the game changes in character. A tadpole and a frog are different, but you can trace the development of the tadpole as it becomes a frog and see how the characteristics change on the way.

It is clear soccer's characteristics change as its players age...and not for the better (I think we can agree). I am just trying to identify and correct the problem.

Perhaps you're speaking Swahili?

A direct quote from your post...

"SoccerBlog is lamenting the lack of coverage...and complains about the drought of goals. But not all soccer in America is 'goal challenged.'"

My son's team....yadda yadda yadda..."Who says goal scoring is not part of soccer?".

You are comparing the draught of goals in MLS with the plethora of goals on your son's U10 team. Did I miss that point?

I am merely saying that comparing an abundance of goals on a U10 team to the lack of scoring in MLS is a silly comparison. If I missed the point, then you need to 'splain it again, Lucy. Because you then go on a rant about how many kids are dropping out of sports from 6th to 9th grade, and how do things change that leads to this, a real social policy diatribe. You were talking about goal scoring versus NOT goal scoring! Your blog on social policy and the youth sports climate is RIGHT ON, and I take no issue with it. But that was not what you were talking about, you were talking about "well, even though there is a dearth of goals in the MLS, there is a cornacoppia of scoring on my U10 team!" Get your arguments straight dood...

Now, about your social policy post, I can give you a HUGE reason why kids are dropping out. Sports aren't fun for the kids. You should see the crazed screaming psycho sports parents stalking the sidelines during games, even for 10 year olds. They scream at the kids, coach the kids, yell at the kids, howl at the other parents (how many fights?); it's pathetic, but that is the sports climate we have fostered in this country. WIN WIN WIN. BE A PRO, MAKE A TON OF MONEY! GET A COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP! We make it a job, when it should just be fun for the kids, serious later. There is so much pressure on the kids these days to win and perform and get better, we forget how much fun they really WANT it to be. So we, as parents, take the joy out of the game, and the kids lose interest. Having a daughter who decided to give up soccer after years of scoring goals and being an all star and making the "A" level travelling team, I know this closely. The coach making comments about her weight as she hit her teenage years (little 13 year old poundage gain), playing favorites, the pressure, the cliques, all turned her off to the game she so loved since she was little. Now she's an alternate band loving ("Death Cab for Cutie"???) eye piercing wanting artsy fartsy young lady who loves nothing more than to just chill in front of the TV or window shopping at Sephora. Almost like a rebellion against the mainstream...and her father. :)

THAT, I agree with Tilam on. Perhaps I missed his point, or perhaps he needs to explain it better.

Oh, and for the record, in little league, I only had ONE hit that season. So "swinging the bat" for me is, in reality, stretching it a bit.

ROFL!

Biting Off More then You Can Thew

As usual, in an effort to go for the jugular, Thew misses the point…and then everything else.

My question as to the MLS is “does something happen to the character of the game as the kids get older?” Here is a statistic: 70% of kids in sports in America drop out from participating in sports programs from 6th through 9th grade. This is across all sports.

As a licensed coach in youth soccer, I can say this is a HUGE concern for our league: to wit, how do we keep kids engaged. Now I would suggest that much of that dropout is multi-sport athletes focusing on one sport. But I would also propose that they are FORCED to focus on one sport because the demands of youth sports are very different now then they were when Thew and I were kicking a soccer ball or swinging a bat. Further, if that is the case, how do we as soccer coaches get the kids to pick OUR sport.

But there are a multitude of factors involved here and Thew is wrong when he says “it doesn’t matter what happens with a bunch of 6th graders…”. It most certainly does. The youth sports shape the character of professional sports to a great degree. From the simplest things like safety to more complicated concepts like sportsmanship, what you learn when you are young shapes the way you act and play as an adult…for better or worse.

As for diving and flopping, I would say that that is more of a problem with European leagues then in the MLS and is akin to asking “what about the fact that very few U10s speak Italian!” It is clear that kids will go up and adapt advantageous rules, but I digress.

My point is the beautiful game is evident in the youth leagues, so how can we continue to encourage the players, as they age, not to lose that desire to dent the twine.

Hall of Fame and Q-back Wannabes...

So there is some noteworthy stuff to chat about today...

Michael Vick gave the entire Georgia Dome the finger after being booed while walking off the field after the Falcon's 4th straight loss (to the Saints). Of course he apologized for it, and I'm sure it was borne of a great deal of frustration, but let's be honest - VICK SUX! Okay, maybe not "SUX", but he isn't an NFL quarterback, when are people going to realize that? I bitch about Michael Vick almost as much as I laugh at Michelle Wie; the guy is a phenomenal athlete with blazing speed, but he's NOT a quarterback. Now, it's important to mention that his receivers have hands of stone, but still, he is NOT the solution to Atlanta's future, regardless of how much marketing and fan appeal he has. But now we are seeing the issue - when the pressure is on, and Vick tries to be a quarterback of the traditional type. bad things happen...

Oh Ben Roethlisberger, how far have you fallen my friend...

HERE is a discussion that will prove interesting, not only between TILAM and I, but around water coolers and board rooms across the country...the MLB Hall of Fame candidates have been announced. And you guessed it, Big Mac is on the list. Mark McGwire is one of the higher profile players up for consideration, but certainly one of the most controversial...there are a TON of players who should get serious consideration, but I'm not convinced there are more than a few "oh yeah, this guy should be in the hall". Cal Ripken, Jr, is a sure bet imo. Same for Tony Gwynn, a consummate hitter if there ever was one despite his doughboy frame (e tu John Kruk?). But I see no real sure fire players from among the list after those two. Big Mac should be evaluated on his merits (which are pretty good) and NOT on the steroid rumors (hey, I did a cycle of Andro and put on 10 pounds with serious exercise and diet) even though I'd give it 60% chance that he probably did them. Other people who are going to get serious consideration are: Lee Smith, Jim Rice, Dave Parker, Jack Morris, Don Mattingly, Goose Gossage, Steve Garvey, and Orel Hershiser, some of whom are not on their first ballot, btw. I don't see anyone else from the list getting inducted. TILAM?

USC whooped up on Notre Dame. It was a great game but I don't think it was as close as the score would indicate, even though they won by 20 points. :)

Well, I guess there's nothing else in the world worth noting...Thew out.

He's BAAAAAACK

Thew is back after a short hiatus dealing with a cross country move.

Lemme tell ya, there is NOTHING between Tulsa, OK and Bakersfield, CA, but road, tumbleweeds, mountains, and dirt. And that includes any of the little broke down welfare wannabe towns along the way. It is one of THE most boring drives you'll ever do, but it's also one of the most interesting at the same time, seeing rock formations and the interesting landscapes. But frankly, strap on your iPod, set the cruise control, and watch the miles go by...

So, back to spew my rantings as I know you've been waiting for, dear readers...

Puskas has pass away, the soccer world has indeed lost one it's very best.
Milton Friedman is now in that great classroom in the sky as well - truly one of the most forward and influential thinkers of this past century.

Okay, enuf of that drivel...

Soccer in America - I take issue with Tilam's account of soccer goals in a U10 league compared to the MLS. Big deal. Now, I know the son in question, and he's a natural athlete that one, but a 10 year old team scoring goals in droves is HARDLY the counter-argument to a dearth of goals in MLS, and quite frankly, many of the other premier leagues around the world. I hardly see the comparison. Are you saying "well, they score a bunch of goals when they are kids, why aren't they scoring goals when they're adults?". *boggle* Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what happens with a bunch of 6th graders, what matters is that the MLS title game was a BORING 1-1 draw with a little bit of excitement in PK's. THAT is the issue here, THAT is the problem we need to fix. Drawing upon a comparison to 10 year olds simply doesn't compute with me, sorry Tilam. Also, let me ask THIS question in response to what I think your point is..."the U10 kids don't dive and flop around like a fish out of water, yet they do in all the pro leagues, what's THAT about?". Go ahead, start the flaming...

Aside from that, nice season, give your son my congratulations.

In "what has she done DIFFERENT lately?" department, Michelle Wie shot an 81 in a men's event in Japan. When will this end, I wonder...

Tiger won his 7th Grand Slam of golf. This guy is pure scary...

So Larry Coker was fired as the coach of the Miami Hurricanes. It's about damm time. He was a shitty coach who took a great program and turned it into the laughing stock of Florida. His national title was accomplished with OTHER players than his recruits. He recruited idiots to play but couldn't get them to perform on the field, they were too busy getting into trouble with the law off the field. Fights, guns, etc - I don't even thing the 'Canes are SNIFFING the top 25 in the AP poll. This is a quality lesson in "just because you recruit athletes to play it doesn't mean you're going to win if you recruit assholes".

NFL
Is there a hotter quarterback than Tony Romo of the Cowboys?
Has ANYONE learned the lesson of "winning and playing well will keep T.O.'s mouth shut!" yet?
Does anyone doubt Phillip Rivers anymore in San Diego?

NBA
Is there anyone who really gives a shit about the NBA?

MLB
So the Sawx won the lottery to speak with Matsuszaka. Was it more important to spend the money to keep him from the Yankees? Or was it important to land a pitcher? Also, so he lit up the Japanese league, how do you think he's going to do in the MLB? When the hitters and scouts chart him and figure him out, what do you think is going to happen? Light him up like a Chrismas tree. That is my prediction.
Soriano to the Cubbies...is it only me who says "Wood and Prior are NOT the tandem of the future, get some PITCHING!"
So Justine Morneau wins the MVP over DJ. I don't have a significant problem with this result, because frankly, Morneau is a great player who finished with a great season. But I'd have still given the nod to Jeter, whose history of quality play should have, imo, weighed a bit more in the judges mind. One quality season isn't enough, I hope Morneau proves this a valid choice in the years to come.

That's about it, I'll have more dirt to throw at Tilam soon enough.

The Galloping Major

Ferenc Puskas has died. He was one of the true greats of international soccer with a per game goals scored average greater then Pele.

From ESPN: "Puskas starred in two of the most famous games in European soccer history -- scoring twice in Hungary's stunning 6-3 upset over England at Wembley Stadium in 1953, and scoring four goals in Real Madrid's 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup final." As a side note Di Stefano scored a hat trick in the Real-Eintracht game. In 1999, he was voted the 6th best soccer player of the 20th century, though I think he was arguably better then that.

The game has changed since Puskas' time with the mid-field and defenses more dominant then ever. Those fans who bristle at a 1-0 or 1-1 game will appreciate the striker oriented mentality that dominated the international game in the 50s and 60s when Puskas, Di Stefano and Pele reigned supreme. And scores of 6-3 and 7-3 were far more common.

The world of soccer lost a true superstar.

Uncle Miltie

I will do a post on the Congressional elections, soon, but I interrupt politics to talk economics.

Milton Friedman passed away last night. Friedman had a direct influence in my life. As the founder of the Chicago School of Economics, he was the driving force in the replacement of Keynesian economics as the prevailing economic theory with monetarism. He won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1976 while at the University of Chicago.

As a Economic major from the University of Chicago, I spent 4 years being indoctrinated by a host of Friedman disciples...it was the greatest learning experience of my life.

UPDATE: I am doing Mr. Friedman a huge disservice by implying that he was simply an economist. His book, "Free to Chose," describes a moral and political system as much as an economic system. Milton Friedman was one of the great thinkers of our time. (See Joe's Dartblog for an interview on Libertarianism.)

Soccer in America...A Chance to Brag

It seems I have been demoted from SoccerBlog since my "comment" to one of Shourin's posts is taking its sweet time getting up on the site. Nonetheless, SoccerBlog is lamenting the lack of coverage of the MLS title game (1 - 1 tie, Houston in PKs over the Revolution) and complains about the drought of goals. But not all soccer in America is "goal challenged."

My U10 Boys team finished with an impressive 6-1-1 record this past fall season. I was very happy with the level of play and was also lucky to have some great filler kids. By filler, I mean that most coaches move with a small group of players anchored by their son/daughter. In this case, my son and about 5 friends formed the core of this team. As they are older this year then last (when the same core group went 4-3-1), they did have some advantages, but any advantages can be quickly lost if the kids you get from the draft to round out your team are not very good. This year, they were nearly all very good.

Like many coaches' sons, mine played a critical role. He is a goal scorer...that is what he does. In our 8 games, we outscored opponents 37-15 and HE outscored them 19-15. Our average game was a 4.6 - 1.9 victory and our one loss was a 3-1 loss against a weaker team. (We hit the post 5 times!) My son scored 3 hat tricks and had a 4 goal game in the last game of the season. I would also note that the goal is 12x6, not the regulation goal.

Who says goal scoring is not part of soccer!

Now, I will say that our defense this year was much stronger then last, but it was anchored by two talented, younger players with whom I rotated in an older player to fill. We did have one very weak player (though his problem is a lack of focus rather then a lack of ability), but I had enough depth to cover. Finally, we did have some very good goalkeepers.

I would point out that defense at a young age is "easier" then offense. In fact as a former striker and attacking midfielder, I can tell you that an inferior defender can still screw up an opposing offense if he/she plays conservatively. What happens to these players as they grow up???

Twofer!

Rumsfeld resigns and Shadegg is running for the Minority Whip post. I'll take that as a twofer within 6 hours of my post below.

Time to get cocky.

UPDATE: And Pence is running for Minority Leader! Ha!

Foreign Affairs

So I said I was a single issue voter: who is best suited to protect this country. Whether the rest of the country felt that strongly on the this issue or not, the party who I believe is less able to manage WWIV is now in charge as we are left with a Democratic House and (most likely) a Democratic Senate. What now?

Well, first off, we are not going to immediately withdraw. I do think that enough Democratic Congressmen and women will act rationally enough to prevent the John Kerrys of the Congress from getting their way. I do think there will be more forceful action to get the Iraqi government to act on its own. Maliki's government has been a little too cozy with Sadr and some other unsavory folks, but he can afford to do that if the American's have got his back. (As I stated previously, I do think that it will get worse for the Iraq people before it gets better.) We now have the opportunity for a good cop/bad cop approach and say, "Maliki, you had better make progress or else."

As an aside, I think the realistic worse case is that Iraq breaks up into three regions; the Kurdish north, the Shiite south and the Sunni middle. How bad would that be? I am not sure (I think it actually depends on how much trouble the KURDS want to make with Turkey and Iran). I do not think there will be "civil war" for all of Iraq.

I also see no change in policy toward Iran and North Korea.

The fundamental reason is that the Democrats did not win, the Republicans lost. The Democrats have no defined agenda, so they will be free to muddle along for two years and try and consolidate their victory in 2008. I simply do not see ANYONE in the Democratic leadership willing to stand up and take ownership and responsibility for action, in particular on foreign affairs.

More thoughts later...

Election 2006 Post-Mortem

Shocking…Election Day turned out about as predicted by the various pundits.

So, here are my thoughts as to winners; losers and what to watch for:

Winners:
Moderate Democrats. While Lieberman in CT is the media favorite, moderate Democrats made inroads in the Midwest and South and were able to take seats from Republicans.

Fossilized Liberals: Rangel, Conyers, Dingell are names the country will start to hear again. If VA and MT senate races go to the Democrats, we will have Reid and Kennedy in the Senate. This might be akin to waking up the next morning and finding out that the beautiful women you slept with last night…ain’t…so…beautiful.

Small Government Republicans. Pence, Shadegg and others have been pounding on Republican leadership to cut spending to no avail. I suspect you will see more of these guys in the House Minority leadership. THANK GOD!

Newt Gingrich. Architect of the 1994 Takeover, his 2008 stock just went waaaaay up. But did it go up enough to overcome the residual baggage from the Government shutdown?

Property Rights. Anti-Kelo initiatives passed overwhelmingly.

Losers:
President Bush. He has managed to piss off everyone for different reasons. And SecDef Rumsfeld is the next Iraq casualty.

Gays. I would argue that the BIGGEST loser was the gay community. Same-sex marriage bans continue to be enacted by popular vote. Other than Arizona, gays lost.

Activist Courts. Popular votes sent a strong message to the Courts: STOP IT. Kelo lost (US Supreme Court), gay rights lost (NJ and MA supreme court) and affirmative action lost in MI. The common theme is that these were reactions to activist courts imposing their will on the people. And the people struck back.

Fossilized Republicans. Hassert, Lewis, Young in the House, Stevens in the Senate. Your gravy train was good while it lasted, but it’s over.

McCain, Romney. The two 2008 Republican presidential front runners took a bit of a shot. McCain because he is clearly “part of the problem” that got the Republicans in this mess. Romney’s successor, Kerry Healey, was ROUTED in MA by Deval Patrick…some legacy.

The Iraqis. The terrorists stepped up the campaign to kill American in October and influence the elections. Despite the fact that this is a typical 6th year swing, they will take encouragement from the results and the Iraqis will bear the brunt of this.

Thew?

UPDATE: That was fast. Rumsfeld is out.

Battle Droids

As the man says, "Robots with machine guns. What could possibly go wrong?"

Election 2006 Part V

Okay, Election Day is upon us. First off…VOTE. As many of you know, I am a victim of taxation without representation…I am a Massachusetts Republican. I actually consider myself a Libertarian more then a Republican, but there really is not a category for a middle American voter.

I am an issues voter, usually focused on low taxes; free trade and other “free economy” policies. Of course, in the last few elections, I have voted based on the candidates’ stance on the War of Terror. (See Orson Scott Card.) I don’t think Iraq is going badly RELATIVE to other wars and RELATIVE to the alternative of withdrawal. Further, I am not sure that there is an obvious answer to what it will take to win beyond “time.”

But, we have not had a successful attack on US soil since 2001. While I am more then happy to give bi-partisan credit for the efforts immediately after September 11th, my concern is that the Democrats have lost their will to win. Forgetting how we got here, we have no alternative, but to see it through. On this issue, the Democrats, led by its loudest voices (Kerry, Kennedy, Dean, Reid) are very clear where they stand: cut and run.

I am hopeful, if the Democrats take the Congress that grown-ups will start asserting leadership, but I am far more concerned that the Left will take the results as a confirmation that the US wants to bail on Iraq and retreat to its borders. That will be a mistake, and very probably a tragic one.

The terrorists have spoken...vote Democrat.

boobie prize winner

Tilam is correct!

Election 2006 Part IV

In 2000 (Gore, FL) and 2004 (Kerry, OH), the issue of voter fraud came up. The Democrats scream the loudest about the disenfranchisement of their constituencies, primarily the black vote. Unfortunately, many steps have been taken to try and correct this - most notably in the form of voter ID requirements. Oddly, not have passed because of the universal opposition...of the Democratic Party.

John Fund is very worried that we will not know the winners next Tuesday. Now comes word of indictments against ACORN for voter fraud.

Voter fraud is more common then the Legacy Media reports. It looks like it affected the Presidential vote in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2004 (making WI a Blue, not Red state) and the Washington state Governors race in 2004 also (giving the Democrat a victory). Notice the pattern? The perpetrators of fraud: Democratic operatives. There is a reason that the Democrats do not want voter ID laws - it would put a damper on coercive and fraudulent voting practices in the major cities. It is far better to contest an election in front of sympathetic, Democrat appointed judges.

There is vote tampering on both sides, but the only party that has been involved with wide-spread, systemic fraud on the state-wide or national level in the last 10 years are the Democrats.

Quiz Answer

Okay, this is an educated guess, but I am going to say the House of Representatives.

The only reason is that moral turpitude of that magnitude can only remian quiet if you are powerful.

How did I do?

Another Quiz

How well do you know your beer bottles?

The Beer Challenge!!!

An old Quiz

Can you imagine working at the following Company? It has a little over 500 employees with the following statistics:

*29 have been accused of spousal abuse
*7 have been arrested for fraud
*19 have been accused of writing bad checks
*117 have bankrupted at least two businesses
*3 have been arrested for assault
*71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
*14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
*8 have been arrested for shoplifting
*21 are current defendants in lawsuits
*In 1998 alone, 84 were stopped for drunk driving


Can you guess which organization this is? Answer following Tilam's educated guess...

Election 2006 Part III

Kerry has finally issued one of those political non-apologies ("I am sorry if I was misinterpreted"). When will a politician just say, "I was wrong"?

The Right is still a little frosted at how this was handled. From IBD: "Kerry's gaffe revealed something important about the man and his party. The coverage, likewise, showed influential newspapers rooting for this story to die." See also Patterico's report on the New York Times' flat out misrepresentations.

Jim Geraghty gets taken to task. I suggest that Jim does not take Donald personally…I think you just got a glimpse of the Angry Right. There is a substantial number of members in the Angry Right, but my sense is that they differ from the Angry Left in that what stirs them up is the lack of an aggressive defense against their perception (mostly correct) that the playing field of public debate is stacked against them. So Rush get lambasted for what he supposedly meant, not what he said , while Kerry gets off for what he said he meant, not what he said. Follow that? On the other hand, the Angry Left is much more offensive (in both senses of the word).

Jim's commenter takes the attitude of Mario Loyola of NRO…put the Dems on the spot. Make them take a stand. Quite frankly, in 2006 I agree. The Democrats have made it a campaign mantra NOT to take a stand on anything but being anti-Bush. And Republicans have generally accepted that because they do not want to be perceived as being pro-Bush given the President’s weak poll numbers.

But the Republicans need to get the Democrats on the record: Do you agree with Senator Kerry? Do you favor immediate withdrawal? Do you favor immediate repeal of the Bush tax cuts? Do you favor addressing illegal immigrant in a manner that does not reward law breakers? Do you want to eliminate pork?

I would guess that many conservatives think the Conservative Establishment lacks the backbone to focus on the issues that have kept this country safe and the economy humming along. And sometimes being angry is a good thing.

These people want to be our LEADERS?

Clearing, John Kerry is exhibiting Dan Quayle disease. For those of you who don't remember Danny-boy, he is the unmitigated MORON who apparently never checked what his speechwriters put on paper, and if he did, he wasn't smart enough to know the facts. This is a man who congratulated our first moon landing crew by identifying one of the men as "buzz lukins" instead of "buzz aldrin". Now, some of you might remember who Mr Lukins is, but for those of you who don't, he's a convicted CHILD MOLESTER who is serving a hefty prison sentence. Frikkin MORONS.

Kerry is trying to take his dig at the president, but as is the case all too often in politics, is SO INTENT on delivering his barb that he misfires. I agree with Tilam's suggestion as to the message he was trying to put forth, and I also agree that no matter how well the Dems are situated for next week, they seem really focused on completely fubar'ing it.

Of course, since he's an athletic man, Kerry believed that the best defense is a good offense, and so in his apology he takes all the Republicans to task, slamming them for insinuating his comment was an attack on the citizens and armed forces of the US...blah blah blah. Idiot. The White House is hilariously whacking him verbally, and they should - "look guys, are these the types of leaders you want moving this country forward?" If I were the Pres, I'd be pissing my pants laughing at him. Talk about serving up cheese for the White House to slam one over the wall. Oh, and maybe I missed it, but Kerry has NOT completely clarified what he really wanted to say, at least in the stuff I've read. Maybe a simple "hey guys, I meant to state this as a criticism of the President, but it came out as this, and I screwed it up, and I'm sorry." Never a dull moment with those guys...

It nice to see someone BESIDES Teddy Kennedy being a complete ass, though.

Comments and musings from the world of sports (as I tend to do):

NFL
- Pats/Colts this weekend. I might actually watch a game from start to finish on Sunday.
- Shawn Merriman is blaming a "tainted legal supplement" for his positive steroid test. PUHLEEZE. Think of a new excuse, will ya? Nandralone just doesn't worm it's way into a pill, sorry buddy.
- Speaking of the Chargers, they sure have a ton of guys who are getting to know the police this season: Steve Foley was convicted on 2 counts of DUI (a double minor in hockey) and shot THREE TIMES by a police officer who felt threatened, Terrance Kiel was arrested on FIVE felony drug counts in Sept (he only missed ONE GAME), Markus Curry was released after being arrested on domestic violence chargers (hehe, get it?), and Foley and Shaun Phillips were each arrested for scuffling with San Diego police in two separate incidents one week apart. And in my bigot comment of the week "hmm, they are all black, does that say anything to us?".

MLB
- Sheff, what the frikk are you doing? Gary Sheffield is making noise in the Yankee clubhouse, stating that he wants a 3 year deal if they are going to make him play first base, and that if the Yankees trade him he's going to be a dick to the new club. Boy, THAT's gonna get you a phat contract... Sorry Sheff, but with Abreu in the lineup, you're a benchwarmer. Don't make it any worse by becoming Terrell Owens.
- The Rocket is already starting his "will I play or will I retire" dance, but amazingly enough, Andy Pettite is following his lead. Talk about paying TOO much attention to your teacher.

NBA
- another season of (and I LOVE THIS) "who gives a shit about the NBA?".
- WAIT - we bid a fond farewell to Red Auerbach, who passed last week. Ever a character and a winner, we will miss him. I bet he's smoking a HUGE stogie in the great hoops gym in the sky, smiling as ever.

NHL
- The Flyers are getting dissed BIG TIME. No one wants to be their next GM, that's hilarious! Well, they suck so far this year, but still, it's the FLYERS! Talk about becoming a red-headed stepchild in the eyes of NHL executives.
- Speaking of sucking, a glarin gquestion is "will the Atlanta Thrashers wake up and smell the coffee of mediocrity like they've done each of the past 3 years, or is this a legitimate SE powerhouse?" Time will tell, but they are certainly playing quality (and as a former resident of Hotlanta, exciting) hockey. But we've seen the fast horse out of the gate before, followed by a miserable middle of the season, followed by some quality hockey at the end. So the jury is still out - but you heard it first hear, Carolina and Atlanta will finish 1-2 in the Southeast, and both will make the playoffs. WRITE IT DOWN.
- Another young hotshot named Staal is in the NHL - that is a hockey family that SHOULD someday be mentioned in the same chapter as the HOWE's and MILLER's and SUTTER's. All the kids (Eric, Jordan, and the other one who's name I forget) are quality players with a wealth of talent.
- Speaking of the Penguins, will they have the cash and intestinal fortitude to keep their money kids - Crosby, Fleury, Malkin, and now Staal - for the long term? That is a great nucleus around which to build a hockey team. Going to be interesting to see how this plays out in the next couple of years.

PGA
- Paddy Harrington (who's a great guy if there ever was one) won the Euro Order of Merit after Sergio (no last name needed) gaffed on the final hole with a bogey, allowing the Irishman to tie for second and win the title. Maybe someone should have told Sergio that Harrington was from the US and it was match play...
- On that note, condolences to Paul Casey, who developed food poisoning before the tournament and lost his Order of Merit lead by gamely playing sick all week but ultimately losing out on the title. NO truth to the rumors that Harrington cooked a meal for Casey the evening before the tournament began. :)
- Jason Zuback won the Long Drive championship for a record fifth time with a clout of 369 yards. A far cry from the days of 400+ yard winning spanks during his 4 year reign from '96-'99. Let's hear it for drug testing in the LDA!!
- Vijay Singh was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame (along with Larry Nelson, Henry Picard, Marilynn Smith, and Mark McCormack (of IMG fame)). Once again I ask the question - WHY? By the way, it takes 65% majority to get in, but since no one got over 50% in his election year, he got in because he was the highest and he got over 50% (a clause in the election process). What the hell is THAT? 65% is 65%, if he doesn't get the requirement, he SHOULDN'T be in. Not to mention that he's a dick and I don't like him.

Holey Canoli's, that's enough for now! Thew out...

Election 2006 Part II

It is nearly impossible for me to believe. John Kerry demeaning the intelligence of our troops a week prior to election day.

Now it is clear to me he meant to slam the President's intelligence and say if you're stupid you get stuck in a Iraq quagmire. (Get it? Like Bush is stupid, har har!) But that is not how it came out.

Then Kerry responded. I seriously thought this was a joke. Sadly, it was not. It is not that it is simply incoherent, but this approach is fundamentally stupid. The simple thing is to say he misspoke, apologize and get another zinger in on President Bush. But nooooooo! (What is a "Katrina foreign policy" anyway?)

Every Republican should call on his or her challenger to take a stand on Kerry's remarks.

The Democrats are set to make big gains next week, but are hellbent on screwing it up.

UPDATE: Kerry is getting off the campaign trail and uses the phrase "Republican hate machine." Is this like a "capitalist running dog"? Why do left wingers sound like the "other side"?

Ba-da Bum

SI's Ten Spot has this little tid bit:

"A top substance-abuse expert from across the pond says that addiction to Internet porn is a growing problem for soccer players in England's Premiership. Well, sure. Players have to release tension somehow after running around for hours and never scoring."

Election 2006 Part I

Ahhhh. One week to go. For political junkies, this is nirvana. I will probably do a series of posts on this, but wanted to through two things down that are under the radar.

Religion: Matt Yglesias has a post about religion which I am trying hard to understand. Wretchard wrestles a bit with this, too. The Left's problem is not with evangelicals per se, but with religion. Matt clearly does not believe in Christianity's miracles, but I don't take that personally, because I doubt he believes in the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, Mohammed's Night Journey from the Dome of the Rock, etc. Wretchard's point is "fine, you are free not to believe, but don't lie about that disbelief." Matt is a brilliant guy, but he typifies that Elite Left view that anything is game as long as you win elections.

Religion is more important in an off year election, because that is what drives voter turnout on the right.

Future Stars: Michael Steele is running for Senate in MD. A black conservative, Steele has crossover power that Barack Obama has yet to prove. A Black Democrat will not be the first (elected) Black president. A Black Republican may. Steel as a VP candidate in 2008, could set himself up for a run in 2016 when he will be 58.

Duncan Hunter has established an exploratory committee for a 2008 run. Dismissed on the even on the Right, he is a Vietnam War vet (Airborne and Rangers) and is Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. A California conservative with a strong military background who is, at first glance, squeaky clean should NEVER be counted out in these times. His political career is more mature (he is 10 years older then Steele), so this is his shot.

I'm Back Baby

After a long and boring drive across the country to a new home on the West Coast, Thew is back online and full of...well, hot air.

Gays and marriage. Gays and unions. My comments to follow soon, it's 1 am and I need to get some shut eye.

Glad to be back to torment you Tilam.

Gay in NJ

Gays made a huge step toward equal "marriage" rights in NJ yesterday with the NJ Supreme court ruling. Glenn Reynolds has a round-up.

My position is the same as InstaPundit's...to wit, the government should sanction the contract of the union between couples. I would further state that "marriage" is a sacrament under the province of religious authorities and no business of the government. I think the NJ opinion is conscience of this distinction, but the use of "equal protection" to grant these rights gives me the creeps.

To wit, there is not logical distinction between same sex couples and Oedipal/Electra couples or a brother/sister union. (I obviously believe there are distinctions between same sex couples and marrying a minor or other individual - or beast I guess - who does not have the legal capacity to consent to the marriage.) That is why this needs to be settled in the legislatures not the courts.

I think gays do a disservice to their cause by using the courts to attempt wholesale change. I think this is because they are ultimately trying to impose moral acceptance as well as legal acceptance. I think I am like a great many Americans: while I support gay rights, I find gay sex repulsive. Does that make me a bigot? Maybe. Should the gay community care. No.

It always seems to me the objective of the gay community is not support, but approval. I am sorry, but I don't. And if push comes to shove, they will get neither rather then both.

UPDATE: Count Taranto in. And the Chicago Tribune also. Why is this so hard??? (See prior paragraph.)

Poster Girl

BlackFive brings us Beccy Cole and her video, Poster Girl.

I will keep quiet and let you see the video. And take a look at BlackFive for great stuff military and not...

My Next Gig

The WSJ reports that the media is looking for the next great centrist pundit.

My big chance!

Of course, what constitutes "centrist" from the point of view of a very liberal media is open to debate. Is a centrist a political "everyman" or "average Jane" who can articulate what the majority of Americans are feeling on a particular issue? Or is a centrist someone who relects the average position in the news room?

Around the Horn

So A-Rod stands for Another Round One Disappointment?

Torre will be back; so I am happy. Lou Pinella would be a disaster...an '00s version of Billy Martin. Beside, Torre is not the problem. In fact, I would say that there really is not a problem, they lost the Divisional Series, that's it.

Not to say I would not make changes; Sheffield is the old horse in a crowded (but talented) outfield. I can see why you play the veteran Sheffield even though he is coming off of an injury, but the guy is almost 38 and as us oldsters know, recovery does not come that quickly anymore. Cano certainly did not have a good series, but sometimes that happens. A-Rod has none of those excuses.

I take issue with Thew's criticism of Giambi. Giambi is a unique player and need to be evaluated a bit differently. Because of his power and the amount of HBP and BBs he draws, a deeper analysis of the stats is required. So, Bobby Abreu hit .333 with a OBP of .412 and a Slugging % of .400. No issue there for me (and Thew). Giambi hit .125 (8 at-bats, 1 HR), but had a OBP of .417 and a Slugging % of .500. I would say he had a decent series.

Cory Lidle dies in a plane crash while flying VFR on the Hudson and East Rivers. It seems they were coming up north along the East River when they crashed. The pilot likens it to flying in a canyon (i.e., you can't simply turn around). No word on whether there is any truth to the rumor that his last word's were: "Sorry Goose, but it's time to buzz a tower."

Atlanta Braves Disease...

Where to start...

Well, clearly King George will make some stupid knee-jerk reaction and probably fire Joe Torre. And make a bigger knee-jerk reaction and hire Lou Pinell. Of course, that isn't a given, but all the stories and "sources" are claiming it to be true. Lou Pinella for Joe Torre. Interesting change of attitude - Joe is the ultimately relaxed people manager, Lou is a psychopathic volcano who'll kick the ass of players who don't perform...possibly literally, as Rob Dibble can attest.

But where does the true blame lie?

Well, A-CLOD sucked AGAIN in a post-season. And I mean really sucked. 1 hit in 14 at bats for the "best player in baseball". Same with Gary Sheffield, although in HIS defense he didn't play much of the season because of an injury, and frankly, I wouldn't have played him much. But 1 for 12 isn't going to cut it. Cano at .133 and Giambi at .125 blows too. Bottom line is the Yankees didn't hit. Period. Sure, Jeter and Posada were around .500, and Abreu was over .300, but the rest of teh team couldn't hit it out of the infield if you spotted them the dirt. But the GLARING people who didn't perform were A-CLOD and CANO, neither of whom had an RBI...at all. And frankly, A-CLOD gets paid a SHITLOAD of money to perform, especially in the post-season. And he hasn't.

So here's Thew's opinions on the Yankees (and he's a Yankees fan)...

Keep Joe Torre (although I'm only about 75% sure here)...
Trade A-CLOD for pitching.
Keep Mussina, he's still got a couple of good years left.
Keep Randy Johnson, I still think that he can chuck it (he did win 17 games).
Now that Abreu is in RF, you can trade Gary Sheffield for pitching...please. Matsui/Damon/Abreu is an outfield I LOVE - and Cabrera is a decent subtitute.
Jaret Wright MUST GO. This guy was a flamethrower once, like a million years ago, but it's obvious his best years are behind him.
Mike Myers has to go too. I don't care that he's a submarining left, he's got control problems and only throws like 2 pitches, and is too inconsistent.
I like Bruney, Farnsworth (could use some control tweaks), Proctor, and Henn in the bullpen (Rivera is a given). Johnson, Mussina, Wang, and Lidle (give him a full year in the Bronx) are a decent starting rotation, and if we can trade A-CLOD for a quality pitcher that would be peechie. Villone is ok, I'm neutral about him.

And a GRUDGING congrats to the Tigers and a $25 gift card to my friend Mark who lives right outside Detroit. Bleah...

Scramble Golf Cheats

Thew relayed to me his annual journey to his old home town to play in a scramble golf tournament. His group tied for second low round with 14 under par. The winners were...

20 under. In this case it was 1 par, 15 birdies and 3 eagles.

I have played in many scramble charity tournaments and occasionally see a number like this, but I find it nearly impossible to believe it was done honestly. With everything going your group's way and a very judicious use of mulligan tickets, I can believe a 16 or 17 under, but 20 under???

I suspect that it is not outright fraud - that is getting a par, but writing down a birdie - but more like a very generous interpretations of the rules, whether it be gimmes, mulligans, etc. But even so, I have played on some mighty fine teams and it just seems so contrary to experience.

Tomorrow, I am plying in a charity scramble of my own. Last year my team won...with a 14 under. I will let you know how it goes.

Gutsy Topic!

The portrayal of the man as the MORON in the relationship has ingratiated itself in our nightly sitcoms. "Everyone Loves Raymond", "Kind of Queens", "The Simpsons", among others. All representations of the fact that the woman is the only smart one in the house and the man keeps f**king up everything. Pathetic, but it sure seems to set the sexual statement, no?

One of the wisest things that I've ever heard is "Women marry men hoping they'll change, Men marry women hoping they'll never change". How relevant is this in Tilam's discussion? Spot on. Women hope to change the man in their lives to be more what THEY want, rather than accept them for who they are and love them for this (although MY wife it the exception, she loves and and accepts me, warts and all). This is assinine a premise. If men did the same thing to women, they'd all have breast jobs, the body of an aerobic goddess, and platinum blonde hair. But we don't, for the most part. Why do women insist on "molding us"?

I have to applaud Tilam for jumping into THIS snakepit with both feet and taking it like a man on the chin. Dumbass...

So Tiger is pooh-poohing the Ryder cup as "the same shots but missed putts". Sure. I hope it helps you sleep at night. Cuz the US SUCKED!!!

Farewell to Byron Nelson. 11 professional tournaments in a row, 18 total in 1945. Lord Byron will do down as one of the great forefathers of today's massive sports machine that is the PGA. We will miss you. By the way, get 2 strokes each nine from Bobby Jones up there. :)

And btw, Calista Flockhart is skinny and ugly...

Ally McBeal

John Derbyshire of the National Review Online stepped into it with this post. As you might imagine, the reaction from the male populace was strong. So with everything that is going on, sex is the hot topic.

I blame the women's movement. The sexes are by no means "equal." It is not to say one is better then the other, but that they are different, as the book says, like Mars and Venus. But there has been raised two (going on three) generations of women whose expectations of a man and a relationship will never be met. I have said before, these women believe men are simply defective women. As such, they can remedy the defects and make us women.

Ladies, you can't, because we aren't.

The "Ally McBeal" syndrome is an offshoot of this. The women's movement destroyed the "objective" standard of what is a "good man." What was left in the vacuum is a relative standard of what any one women thinks is a "good man." The problem in application is that each woman thinks her man can be made better. Smart, faithful, good job, handsome...you don't do enough around the house! Spend any time with a woman and she will list all your "faults" as she sees them. Getting the big things right does not seem to count.

This is not a matter of lowering standards nor is it a matter of keeping silent at all times, but rather appreciating the good qualities in your mate.

Above all, men want to feel respected. For the past 40 years, we have gone from "Father Knows Best" to "The Simpsons." That is 40 years of destroying the image of men in society. So, when it comes down to it, you can't show respect, if you don't feel respect.

General Meanderings...

Today the dinosaurs become extinct again. We bid a fond and knuckle-laced farewell to Tie DOmi of the Toronto Maple Leafs. If anyone made a living the hard way in sports, it was Domi. Completely undersized at maybe 5'10", he took on the game's heavyweights when his team was physically threatened, and frankly, sometimes just for the hell of it (read: Bob Probert). As the NHL changed, goonage became less and less important, Domi still kept his enforcer role but actually started to play hockey while on the ice. He was rewarded with more ice time, more points to reward his efforts, and even playoff shifts! And he's a genuinely nice guy, quick to laugh, humble, and all around fun to speak with. Yes, there was that instance with the cheap shot on Neidermayer in New Jersey which was dirty, but he'll probably always be best known for his altercation with a FAN who was hecklingh him, threw beer on him, then stood on the glass of the penalty box to taunt him a second time when it FELL IN and he started scrapping with Tie. If you've ever seen it, it's HILARIOUS. Some old beer swilling average joe laughing and hooting at the opposing team when it's "holy shit batman, I'm in a fight with Tie Domi, I'm gonna get my ASS kicked". Life's little amusing moments.

Ryder Cup time...so what? We're gonna get smoked.

And as one door closes, another one opens. Welcome back Peter Gammons, ESPN baseball analyst. He has recovered from a near fatal aneurysm on June 27th, and is back at work, in the booth, and on the computer. Providing you can deal with his itty bitty little mouth and the funky way he moves it when he talks, he's an excellent analyst, engaging, in-the-know, and the best there is (sorry Joe Buck) in baseball.

Hockey pre-season is starting...it seems I'm just getting over my post-Hurricanes hangover! Welcome back boys!

So there is more debris floating around outside the shuttle. Am I the only one thinking "oh shit"? NASA cannot identify the objects. WTF? They are taking a detailed survey and once-over (actually, thrice-over) of the shuttle to ensure there is no damage to the heat shield so we don't turn the astronauts into a flaming ball of wax again. Oh Shit. I might be the only one, but I think the shuttle program is currently flawed big time, and frankly I'm concerned that we've essentially compromised the safety of our folks in space again "just to save a buck"...time will tell, though.

More Pope Scoop

TigerHawk has a nice vent against the Islaminuts. See also the Anchoress' review of the Pope's comments.

I will make a couple of comments. First off, there is nothing incompatible with Arabs or Islam or Persia or their history and a modern, functioning government. We seem to forget that a liberal, secular West concerned about human rights is a recent phenomenon: the Christian West has done a fair job - even recently - of producing mass murdering despots. In fairness, the Arab world has quite a bit of catching up to do if they want to match such 20th century examples, such as Nazism, Communism, etc., for crimes against humanity.

As for religious violence, both the Irish and the Basques are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, yet that has not prevented these groups from using terrorist violence to achieve their aims to this day, in one case openly supported by money from the United States. This does not justify "Muslim rage," but it merely shows that such violent and infantile behavior is not exclusively Muslim. So let's check our "holier than thou" attitude at the door.

Further, when this was Shiites v. Sunnis, we did not care so much. Like Darfur or even black on black violence in the inner city, we have traditionally had other things to worry about. But fly a few planes into buildings and open up the possibility of a nuclear dirty bomb in Atlanta and you have our attention.

The United States can not solve this problem. This is a problem for Islam and the Arab world. We can help; we can encourage certain behaviors; we can even GBU or Hellfire a few key terrorists, but structural changes are necessary. Structural changes (such as the emancipation of women) that the West has already made.

TigerHawk is also wrong about the relative progression of the West over the Middle East. This acceleration has happened since the First World War and has coincided with the Wests embrace of human rights and the value of the individual, in particular women. We still have a ways to go, but unleashing the potential of all your citizens is a powerful force...one that Islam has yet to embrace.

PB16 and the Islaminuts

The Muslim world is in a dither again. This time they are aghast that Pope Benedict spoke about "jihad" and the Prophet. The various Muslim organizations condemn the Holy Father for linking the "spread of Islam" with the "sword." The Pope's remarks, of course, do nothing of the sort. The Pope quotes the 14th-century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus. The Holy Father calls the quote "brusque."

The "religion of peace" reacted by burning the Pope in effigy.

I can not believe that PB16 was naive enough to think that qualifications of his quote of other's remarks were enough and that he expected someone to actually read his words for context and understanding. Pope Benedict XVI is very smart. I am curious how this will play out.

UPDATE: I should be clear...the Pope's comments do link the spreading of Islam with the sword, but it is unclear to me that he is making that point personally. It is clear he feels that bloodshed and the name of God are incompatible.

As if to prove his point, the religion of peace reacted violently to the accusation that they are violent, including murdering a Catholic nun. You simply can not make up this level of stupidity.

No Habla...

In the immortal words of Chris Tucker...

"Man, can't nobody understand the words that are coming outta your mouth!"

It's All About the Ladies

Two quick off topic points. First, I would stress that you have the freedom to walk down the street in Tehran; burn the American flag and call President Bush names. Second, let me take moment to savor "kudos to him for his coherent thoughts." Ahhhhh.

My point about the women is not original. I have posted that one of the great books to influence my thinking is Robert Wright's "Non-Zero." Wright is an "evolutionary psychologist" and is scary bright. You can see him in person on Bloggingheads.tv with Mickey Kaus. (Note that I don't think he is as good as a political commentator as he is a psychologist.)

One point Wright makes is that monogamy is bad for women, but good for society. Ignoring the emotional costs, it would be better economically for Bill Gates to have lots and lots of wives...or at least better for his wives. As an abstract point, women should have the freedom to go where the money is. Now, of course, if it takes about $1MM to support a family and Bill can support 60,000 wives (!), what of the men who would otherwise marry the 59,999 that are not Belinda?

Well, there is a chain effect that basically leaves the least desirable men in the world without wives. Now, one other salient fact is that married man are generally non-violent. Statistically, you are about as likely to be attacked by a married male as a non-married female. (Okay, I need to find that study.) The point is that frustrated single men without a moderating female influence are FAR more prone to violence. And this cuts across economic status lines.

Now if you have monogamy (eliminating the "Bill Gates gets all the chicks" problem), but do not allow women the freedom to chose a mate, you do not incent men to get a job to support a family. So economic liberty creates jobs, female emancipation creates competition among males to be responsible, ipso facto, less disgruntled single men to wage jihad.

Capice?

Discussing Tilam's point(s)...

When I hear him say the word "honesty", I actually believe that is nearly the right word. Certainly I think he is referring to "self-awareness of the real issue(s)". Frankly, people are lousy at looking in the mirror and telling the reflection the God's honest truth. It doesn't matter whether it's the war on terrorism, our weight or physical appearance, we stink at self-analyzation and honesty with the person in the mirror.

I have stated before that we are a quick hit, immediate gratification, results NOW society. That pervasive outlook in all our facets of life permutates its way into the view that we have on the war on terror. "What have we accomplished?". The honesty that WE as a society has to face (and even if you dispute the dates that Tilam states, i.e. the 43 year cold war) is that this will be an ongoing thing. We HAVE to face that and not expect it to be over quickly because the US kicks ass.

5 years after 9/11 and I believe we are safer in the air, but ultimately NOT AS SAFE in our buses and trains. And as a whole, we are not as safe in general because of our lack of self-honesty. Frankly, as a society, we "remember the attack" but seem, for the most part, to have forgotten the lessons. We are back to the stupid inconsiderate ignorant selfish group of people we were before the horrendous wake-up call. We are not honest with ourselves: just because the people being killed and attacked are thousands of miles away, that doesn't mean we are not in danger!. And we don't consider it an issue because it doesn't DIRECTLY affect us. So our self-delusional dishonesty is "this war on terror doesn't affect me", so we don't have to worry about it as much. The other side of the coin is that the leaders don't do a good job in convincing us a) of any progress we are making with CONCRETE examples, and b) speaking of the true, long ugly drawn out nature of this issue.

I need some info on the "demand side". Are you saying that the primary source of hate propoganda from the Immams are the facts that a) our females can choose their own mate, and b) our men can work where they want and earn what they want to attract a mate? I'm not sure I understand that point. Tilam says "without female empowerment and economic liberty, we will continue to have disgruntled men willing to wage jihad". You gotta 'splain Lucy. Are you saying that the men are willing to wage holy way because their women are not free and they themselves are not able to establish their own career? Yer shitting me, right? OMG it is SO much more than those 2 points, and can frankly be summed up in one word: FREEDOM. I can walk down the street and burn the US flag and not get in thrown in jail. I can stand up in a park and say "president bush is an asshole" and not get shot. They cannot stand our whole society, where we can do almost anything we want and not have the night police break into our homes and drag us to an internment camp. They resent that all encompassing freedom, and despise us for it and all that it represents. And the fact that THEIR people are a bit jealous of us and might be tempted to look at their regime a bit differently forces the leaders that be to denounce us and preach hatred towards us and incite this jihad. I'm not sure I'm getting your point correctly, but I will not limit it to those 2 items.

Tilam's clarification post is a good one, kudos to him for his coherent thoughts.

Honesty...

In my prior post, I mentioned that I was unsure we had the "honesty" to win WWIV. The lack of honesty, to be clear, cuts both ways.

In our blame focused society and in the high spirit of ultra-partisanship, the Left seeks to "blame" President Bush for 9/11. In response, the Right points out that the plot developed under President Clinton and it was President Clinton's policies and lack of action that encouraged Osama bin Laden.

They are both dead wrong; and both are knowingly wrong. It is clear that the 9/11 plot had nothing to do with who was President during 2001; a President Gore would not have caught the hijackers, noone would have.

It is equally clear that President Clinton - like President Bush pere; President Reagan, President Carter, President Ford and President Nixon - did not appreciate the rise and potential lethality of terrorism. Further, in retrospect, the Monica Lewinsky scandal was a big distraction at an important time. While it is true that President Clinton brought that upon himself - and I yielded to no one in my desire to have him resign - the zealous prosecution by the Right was not in the best interests of the country.

The Islamofascists do not care who is in office. The cowboy Bush...they hate him. But it defies reason that a "liberal" President would be tolerated by them. Given the Islamofascists position on gays, women, blacks, etc. , it is illogical that they would find common cause with a "liberal" president.

My own feeling is that Munich 1972 was the first major "shot" in WWIV. We need to understand that. The taking of the US Embassy in 1979 was the enemies first real action against us. It has escalated ever since and will continue to escalate (if we do nothing) in the future.

Let's be honest about this.

The "War" on Terror

Five years after 9/11 and I am still not sure we have the honesty to win World War IV. I use the word “honesty” on purpose as it describes the internal problem we face in the United States. We are not honestly facing our terrorism problem and we are not honestly discussing what lies ahead.

World War IV is an apt description when you see the Cold War as World War III. Further, the Cold War as WWIII begins to give you a sense of the pace and duration of the struggle against radical Islam. If you see the descent if the Iron Curtain (Churchill’s speech in 1946) as the start of WWIII and the Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) as the end, that struggle took 43 years to “win.” At times – Korea, Vietnam, Middle East, Afghanistan – it blew hot, but mostly was cold. But “cold” in the sense of guns going off between the proxies of the combatants, the ideological struggle was continuous. I suspect that the “war on terror” will be similar.

I also think there are other parallels between WWIV and WWIII. In the 1950s, communism was a very chic political perspective for the Western intelligentsia…utopia for the masses. It is not that anyone really wanted to LIVE in the USSR, but it imbued a sense of revolutionary thought for those who needed it. Similarly today, the hatred of American of the Islamic fascists shares a common cause with the anti-American intellectual left. Not that they really want to LIVE in Iran or Saudi Arabia, but it does give them a sense of moral superiority…to make common cause with the beheaders.

Further, it took some time for the US and the West to stop playing into the Communists hands by getting directly involved in shooting wars (Korea and Vietnam) that they were incapable of “winning.” By the late 1970s, the US was getting the Soviets into a shooting war (Afghanistan) that THEY were incapable of winning. Similarly, the use of proxies by the Jihadists has been superb for the past 30 years and will take some time for the US and West to understand how to play that game better. I suspect that we will by using local rebels; Special Ops and Western “security firms” (read mercenaries) to help us with “plausible deniability.” Finally, as stated in the prior paragraph, the use of non-military power (economic and cultural) must be merciless.

I would also note that the Jihadists have evolved the use of proxies from nation-states to various "group du jours" that will rise and fall in prominence. They understand that they cannot win a straight up military battle, so have developed a "whack-a-mole" strategy, where we spend a ton of effort to "destroy" "God's Islamic Sword only to find out Allah's Virtuous Heroes are doing the bombing, followed by Son of the Jihadis. As time has past, the half life of the terror organizations is diminishing: we are learning and adapting.

This is not to say WWIII and WWIV are the same…rather WWIV is the next evolution of asymmetric warfare. The use of proxies by the Soviets was asymmetric; the West took some time to develop an appropriate response. The use of economic power by the US was asymmetric; and the Soviets never could respond and ultimately “lost” WWIII.

My concern is that the War on Terror will be treated like the War on Drugs. The War on Drugs was (is?) a feel good effort focused on ridding the world of cocaine at the source. A “supply side” war, as it were. This was (and continues to be) an intellectually dishonest policy, IF YOU DON”T ADDRESS THE DEMAND. Similarly, we need to address the supply and demand side of the terrorism question.

By “demand side” I mean that we need to address the combination of hate messages (from imams) and willing young men. I am not close enough to the problem to be specific about a course of action, but it always strikes me that “female freedom” (the ability of an educated woman to chose her mate) and economic liberty (the ability of a man to provide for a family – hence attract a mate) are two fundamental ingredients. Without female empowerment and economic liberty, we will continue to have disgruntled men willing to wage jihad.

WWIV is a long war. It will blow hot and cold. We will suffer defeats (9/11; 7/11; Madrid) and have our victories. I am hopeful that there will be an event, such as the Fall of the Berlin Wall to mark the end of WWIV, but that is wishful thinking.

WWIV will be a test of this country’s ability to adapt its values to a changing environment. It will be a challenge for those in the political extremes (at least the intelligent ones) to distinguish their criticism from the value system of the enemy. It will involve using a broad range of the strengths of the United States and the West. We need Europe involved. We need moderate Muslims to stand strong.

And we need one other thing: for years the IRA was supported by Americans. It is an ugly tale the needs an open airing to help us understand the support of terrorism can come in many forms…even that lovable Irish cop on the corner of Boylston. We, as a nation, need to understand that our enemy will take comfort and draw strength from us if we are irresponsible. We need debate, decision and then action. And our lives depend on it.

Piling On Michelle

I do love watching Thew in a lather over this.

But I was amazed that he did not include her comments that she wanted to play on the Ryder Cup. The lack of self awareness is..well, like a 16 year old.

Please stop paying attention to her! Then we won't point out how underserving she is.

One more time, because TIlam loves it...

Michelle Wie struggled to an 8-over 79 Friday at the European Masters, missing the cut at a men's event for the ninth time in 10 attempts.

"I didn't even know which sport I was playing out there," Michelle Wie said.
The 16-year-old from Hawaii, who shot a 78 in Thursday's first round, finished at 15-over 157.

When will the side show, the lunacy, the vain attemps end?

Great Minds...

The National Review Online thought my email was worth quoting in full.

Though reading it again, it sounds a bit "thrown together." I usually try for "libertarian wacko." Oh, well, no one is perfect.

NRO is funny though, they actually answer the e-mails. I have received replies from Kathryn Lopez and John Podhoretz as well as Jonah Goldberg.

And me, simple citizen of the Republic...

Next up, a big pat on the Thew back for wading into political discourse...

Dipping my toes into the Political Pool

Hezbollah is the current (and by "current" I mean "terrorist of the weak") little whiny butt kid on the playground who is running around screaming and throwing a fit for attention. Meanwhile, in the background, there is someone who is much bigger, more organized, probably tougher, but perfectly content on letting the little people roar on his behalf, who is whispering in the ears of the Hezbollah "go fight that guy", "now go attack that guy", and so on. That big strong silent type, the true threat to the people of the world, is the guy we need to track down and take on, not the current group of people hopping up and down and waving guns.

However, I must digress a little from Tilam's point. I, and I have no proof of this other than my inherent cynicism of politics, have full belief that our government KNOWS this is a civilian war. As a matter of fact, THAT is the main reason they keep to their ideological dogma of the "war on terror". They KNOW that this war is losing support, yet they cling to that catchphrase to keep the civilian population behind them, keep their approval ratings, and otherwise garner public backing for this effort. THAT wording, stating "whooooo, this is dangerous to YOU Mr USA citizen, to YOU Mr John Q Public, this is a war on terrorists who target YOU", presents the fact that their propoganda war is internal as well, offering this reasoning to the american public, protecting their safety against the enemy via our "war on terror". So I think they know FULL WELL this is a civilian war, and while support is waning, they continue to hammer home that phrase as their rallying cry to the american people. Sometimes, when you hear about normal people subduing threats or identifying shifty people, it only seems that we regular shmoes are the only ones actually DOING anything concrete about it. :)

The american people need to see more results, not less. One of the big reasons that President Bush might be falling into liability, as Tilam states, is that truly, we have NO FIRM RESULTS of our "war on terror". Although Tilam might be able to summon some specific successes, I offer the following: we had Bin Laden and let him go, we continue to lose good american men in Iraq, Iran isn't disarming their nuclear program, and I won't even GO into China. Where are our successes? WMD? Where were they? We freed Iraq? No we didn't, least not yet IMHO. Hezbollah? Umm, well, not much there either. In the country of the long TD pass for a score, the long ball for a home run, the fast-break layup, and the power play, we are a society that needs constant attention and success, we hunger for immediate gratification, and this spills into all our phases of operation, sport or political. So what do we see? A game that is dragging on with what is perceived as little progress...

Tilam makes a good point about the Knesset and the IDF. We have laughed about the arab countries in that region, they just keep messing with the Israelis and getting their asses spanked. Israel is getting VERY good (or has been very good) as practicing what I termed in an offline conversation with Tilam as "Patton politics". If you remember, George Patton said "you don't win a war by giving up your life for your country, you win wars by getting the other dumb bastard to give up HIS life for his country". The terrorists and such are willing to give their life, so the Jews are happy to oblige them. And the result is "another 1,000 terrorists I killed who I don't have to worry about in the future". So on many fronts, this appears to take on a war of attrition, with the Jews killing terrorists at an astounding ratio because the terrorists are willing to die for their country. And by doing so, they fight and attack and act recklessly, thus making Israel's job almost easier by comparison. This underscores Tilam's point (and my paragraph above) that there is someone behind these flavour of the weak terrorist groups who is egging them on and using them as fodder or shock troops; it's almost like they are doing this more to make a ideological stand than actually take out any country or group of people. Because I HAVE to believe that if the terrorists REALLY want to attack the Israelis, it would have been a much bigger offensive. But to me, their actions almost indicate "see me, I'm here, I'm not going away, and I'm going to chip away at you like a gnat that you can't squash". If they had any real agenda other than "public notice", it probably would have been much more intense. Or so I think...