Sports Meets Politics

Don't worry. I don't care enough about baseball, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, etc. to write about the steroids scandal being hotly pursued (at taxpayer expense) by the U.S. Congress.

Instead, this is about U.S. basketball, specifically the Olympic team. I was listening to an espn.com podcast that included an interview with Chris Sheridan, an ESPN NBA analyst who is their leading contributor when it comes to Team USA. He was discussing the three major concerns that the guy running Team USA has right now as we head into the Summer Games in Beijing - 1) Kobe's pinky (makes sense), 2) the fatigue factor (given most top NBA players play a pretty grueling schedule well into April, May and even June, this makes sense too), and 3) money. WTF?! This came as a complete shock to me.

I'm no expert on Olympic sports and how they're funded, but I always assumed that they were entirely funded by the federal government. I can't be the only one that thought this, right? Where else can our 30+% be going? OK, that's an entirely different debate.

I haven't bothered to do the research, but I'm now figuring the basketball team is sort of self-funded (through ticket/merchandise sales) with contributions from the government and private sources. Seems kind of ridiculous.

What really bothered me, though, was when Sheridan pointed out that Team USA was considering playing an additional exhibition game in Taiwan during the summer, pre-Olympics, to raise some cold, hard yuan. The issue with this, of course, is that this only adds to the fatigue concerns. While one exhibition game in Taiwan might not seem like a big deal, Sheridan noted that it's not that simple, including the fact that it involves a non-direct flight through Hong Kong. We all know how tiring stop-and-go travel can be when all you're doing is sitting in front of a computer or lying on the beach. These guys have to play ball, make media appearances, etc., etc.

What it all comes down to is competition. As anyone who has followed Team USA basketball since they started using professional players in Barcelona '92, the team has seen much better days, and international competition is only getting better. Now our players, representing you and I and every other American in the biggest, most-publicized international competition in sports, are under-funded and over-worked? Explain to me how we have billions upon billions to support an endless, fruitless war (not to mention millions, or at least hundreds of thousands, to investigate steroids in baseball), but we can't come up with cash to ensure our Olympic basketball team can compete at the highest level. How much can it cost to fly these guys around in a charter plane, house and feed them and their wives and maybe even some of their entourage for a couple months? To sew up and wash some shorts and jerseys? To hire some translators to make sure they know what they're ordering at the local KFC?

Absolutely fucking ridiculous.

Go Team USA!

The Issues

With the primaries in California, New York, and a whole bunch of other states coming up, I found it timely that I happened to stumble upon this on cnn.com. See how all the candidates stack up on the major issues. Don't just vote for Obama because you're black or for Hillary because you have boobs. And God forbid, please...PLEASE...don't vote for John McCain.

Re-defining the word "terror"

At this point, there's no need to post a link to any of the articles about the tragic shootings on the Va Tech campus - surely you have all read them or seen the story on TV by now. Here's a quote I read from a WSJ email of the day's top headlines:

"FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said there was currently no evidence to suggest that the incident was a terrorist attack, but said "all avenues will be explored.""

(Major disclaimer: there's no direct quote with the word terrorism or terror in here, just the WSJ email suggesting that this was said by the FBI spokesman...I haven't been able to verify this quote)

This seemed like an idiotic comment to me, so I looked up the definition of "terror" on thefreedictionary.com to make sure I wasn't jumping to any inappropriate conclusions. Here's what I found:

ter·ror
n.
1. Intense, overpowering fear. See Synonyms at fear.
2. One that instills intense fear: a rabid dog that became the terror of the neighborhood.
3. The ability to instill intense fear: the terror of jackboots pounding down the street.
4. Violence committed or threatened by a group to intimidate or coerce a population, as for military or political purposes.
5. Informal An annoying or intolerable pest: that little terror of a child.

Basically all the definitions revolve around "intense fear" and the instilling of it. Now, some quotes from a cnn.com article on the story (still in developing stages):

"Amie Steele, editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, said one of her reporters at the dormitory reported "mass chaos.""

"The reporter said there were "lots of students running around, going crazy,"

"Waldron described the scene on campus as "mayhem." "

And the doozy: ""It was kind of scary," he said. "These two kids I guess had panicked and jumped out of the top-story window and the one kid broke his ankle and the other girl was not in good shape just lying on the ground." "

I don't know about you, but when people are jumping out of windows (we all remember those crazy pics of people jumping out of the WTC 6 years ago), there's some fear going on. Big-time.

So, if "terror" is supposed to be that which "instills intense fear", then why isn't this labeled a "terrorist attack"? I wonder - did 9/11 change the definition of "terror" or a "terrorist attack" to factor in who commits the act? This is obviously a rhetorical question that bears some thoughtful consideration.

Times-a-changin?

This article caught my eye this afternoon. Looks like the Dems are, much to my surprise, way out ahead of the Republicans early on in the fundraising race, Hillary in particular. There's obviously a lot of time to go, but it seems the Republican stronghold on spending might be diminishing, at least for this particular election. None of us can deny how (sadly) important money is in winning votes in today's 2-party environment - we all remember those Swift-Boat attacks on Kerry and there's no doubt in my mind they cost him on election day. So it'll be interesting to see whether this holds through next November, and, if so, what impact it has on the 2008 Presidential Election. Of course, Hillary's candidacy is totally changing the game from a whole host of perspectives, so money might not be the only aspect of politics put on display over the next year-and-a-half.

An Op-Ed Piece for Fox News

This post is primarily dedicated to Bhargavi, who in response to my latest post, accused me of being "flaming-liberal" (not to be confused with her fellow Briton John Amaechi)

Anyways, just so no one can accuse me of subjectively posting stories that validate my leftward leanings, I wanted to post this article, and with it, a kudos to the Bush administration. No, I'm not referring to those granola bars we all ate when we were kids, along with Fruit-Roll-Ups and Squeez-It Juice Drinks. But I mean kudos as in "props", "good job", etc. While the deal is tentative, it appears that some significant progress has been made on the North Koran nuclear situation. And in what must come as a shock to anyone that has followed U.S. foreign policy over the last 6+ years, it actually seems to benefit both the U.S. and its international allies. See what happens when you use a combination of diplomacy and carrots/sticks, as compared to invading and bombing people just for the hell of it? Lesson learned? I hope so.

The value of 3,000+ American lives

By now, some of you may have heard this story or come across this article. Just shocking.

To date, the war in Iraq has cost over 3,000 American lives and probably many, many more lives of Iraqi civilians. These numbers seem to grow by the hour, or at least as often as I get a chance to check cnn.com. Costs to taxpayers like me (before I quit my job) and you have totaled hundreds of billions of dollars. The Bush administration recently asked Congress for an additional $245 billion to cover the costs of the conflict through 2008.

For THIS?!

I ask - correction, I DARE anyone to please comment (anonymously if you wish) on what benefits all of this have yielded for us Americans, or for the world more broadly.

A safer country/world from terrorism? Questionable as to what the impact has been in the US (as compared to other Homeland Security measures). Terrorism continues to happen elsewhere in the world, and of course we read daily about insurgent attacks in Iraq.

A free and democratic Iraq? To state the average Iraqi is better off now than he or she was 4 years ago is debatable at best. As for democracy? Well, let's just say it's had better results here in the States than it has in Iraq. Apparently, a convicted Embassy bomber has been voted into Parliament - as part of the Prime Minister's Ruling Coalition no less. His seat in Parliament gives him immunity from prosecution. Of course I haven't even mentioned yet the fact that this guy has somehow evaded justice for 23+ years. Who exactly has been trying to capture him all this time???

Despite all this, the Bush administration and the Republican Congressional Minority is unwilling to even debate the merits of the war, or to consider alternative strategies for a lesser American role. They accuse anti-war activists of supporting a "cut and run" strategy. I accuse them of supporting a failed strategy, and of jeapordizing our troops and our taxpayers every single day.

Title IX is in full effect...

OK, that was a lame and probably sexist reference to the fact that US Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is set to become the first female Speaker of the House, as the Democrats won more than enough seats last night to take control of the chamber. They might even surprise the political pundits (is the word "pundit" ever used without the word "political" before it?) and take the Senate.

I really don't have a whole lot to say about the election, but I figure most of you were expecting me to write something about it, so here goes.

Honestly, the first thing I thought when I realized Pelosi will be Speaker wasn't anything related to her gender. I was just happy that the leader of the House will be representing the great state of California. Hopefully the benefits she can bring Californians at the national level will offset the harm Arnie will do to us at the state level.

Speaking of Californians, sometimes I just don't understand them. They're overwhelmingly Democrats and socially liberal. Yet they continue to elect Republican governors. And yesterday they passed a massive $40+ billion bond bill to fund transportation, housing, schools, and levees. Yet they voted against several tax hikes, including some that would seem relatively popular - a tax on oil companies and a tax on cigarette purchases. Econ lesson - "sin" taxes like those on cigs and liquor are good. Why? Because it doesn't matter how much cigs or alcohol costs. People still buy them. Hence, high tax revenues for the government. To fund, I dunno, maybe transportation, housing, schools, and levees. Now who do you think will be paying off the $40+ billion in bonds? If you said you (assuming you're relatively young, and a Californian) and me, congratulations, you're a winner. I voted against all but one of the bonds and now I'll be stuck paying the bills if I ever finish school and actually get a job. Thanks voters.

Incumbent George Allen (R-VA) is locked neck-in-neck with Jim Webb for a Senate seat. Allen, for those of you that don't follow politics, is the guy who referred to one of Webb's Indian staffers as "macaca" (a breed of monkey) a few months back. Just the kinda guy we need in D.C. Allen's currently trailing by a mere 6,000 votes, and will almost certainly demand a recount if he's declared the loser. Note to Allen: You're a loser, and you'll always be a loser.

Minnesotans elected the country's first Muslim Congressmen. Good for them. I'm extremely surprised that there had never been a Muslim in Congress before.

7 more states passed gay marriage bans, bringing the total to 27 (Arizonans defeated a gay marriage ban). Again, I ask, WHO THE F*CK CARES???!!!

I also have to eat a little crow for a previous post. In Missouri, voters approved a stem-cell research measure, as Michael J. Fox apparently trumpets Jeff Suppan and Kurt Warner.

Now, we wait for the official results. And then the stalemate between Bush and Congress begins.

Smart Politics

The Republicans have done it again. Those of you that know me know that I’m a pretty loyal Democrat (to be honest, I’m really more of an anti-conservative who is frustrated with the lack of choices in U.S. politics). The Republicans aren’t popular right now. The Senate and House are both, according to most political experts, up for grabs on November 7. Unfortunately, I don’t have confidence that the Democrats are even going to take back the Senate OR the House. Why? While I strongly disagree with most Republicans on policy (particularly on social issues – who cares if John wants to marry Mark instead of Marcia?), I have tremendous respect for their ability to play politics intelligently.

Case in point #1: The November 2004 elections. Utah, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, and, most importantly, Ohio, all had same-sex marriage bans on the ballot. Primarily Republican states, with a couple swing states in Michigan and Ohio. What happened? Christian conservatives rushed to the voting polls, Bush took 8 of the 10 states, including Ohio, which he won by around 118,000 votes out of a total of 5.6 million cast (51%-49% over Kerry). With it, he took the 20 electoral votes and thus the election (Kerry would have won if he carried Ohio). To make things worst, the same-sex marriage bans passed in all 10 states.

More recent case in point: Read this article. While I don’t know all the details, there’s a stem-cell research initiative on the state ballot, and in response to Democrats rolling out a national celebrity in Michael J. Fox, the Republicans have returned the punch with state celebrities. Kurt Warner…MVP of Superbowl XXXIII or some other Roman numerals. Jeff Suppan…MVP of the NLCS that just ended on Thursday. These guys are local heroes campaigning against a local initiative. I’m not sure what the poll numbers looked like before these ad campaigns, but I’d be willing to bet my business school salary (all $0 of it) that the initiative doesn’t pass.

Well played, Republicans.

Can't We All Just Get Along???

Quick break from Cairo to post a quick entry.

Two things inspired this entry:

1) I visited Coptic (i.e. Christian) Cairo earlier today. There's a bunch of churches, including the Hanging Church, the only one I entered. Everything inside is written in Arabic. If Christians can read Arabic in their houses of worship, can't Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc. JUST GET ALONG???!!!

2) I'm sure you're all aware of the violence going on in the Middle East right now (isn't there ALWAYS some sort of violence going on in the Middle East?). Anyways, as you know, one of the main motivators for my trip to Africa was that Shashank is out here, and had blocked off a good chunk of vacay time to travel with me. Unfortunately, he's been in Cyprus/Jordan/Syria for the last week or so, and today the REALLY bad news hit. On Friday, he has to leave Syria for Beirut. He'll be there indefinitely (sorry to blow up your spot Shashank). So, Kili is off the map for him (he's even been working out for it!). It'll be just me and Peter. Obviously, I'm worried about Shashank, as Beirut is no place for anybody, let alone a frail little Indian boy like Shashank. Less obviously, I'm worried about myself. Peter and I alone for over a week? Peter thousands of miles from all the Hawaiian girls he knows??? Let's just say I'll be sleeping with BOTH eyes open all week.

Israel, Hezbollah, Lebanon (Syria? U.S.? Arab League?). Whoever the FUCK is in charge - get your shit together. Israel, if you wanna weaken Hezbollah - bomb them, not the goddamn UN (Israeli bombs killed 4 UN peacekeepers earlier today). What good does it do to block the roads so that Lebanese civilians - CIVILIANS - can't get food and other necessary supplies??? It's been how many thousand years and you assholes are STILL fighting your fucking holy wars!!!??? I'm a student with ZERO income, and this was a damn expensive trip for me. And, while you haven't RUINED it, you've made it a helluva lot less enjoyable.

Operation Falcon II

First, read, or at least scan this article

Is it just me - or is anyone else troubled by the fact that "the arrests were...timed to coincide with National Victims Rights Week"??? Sure, this probably makes for a better headline. But shouldn't law enforcers arrest violent sex offenders and get them off our streets as soon as is humanly possible?

And for anyone who responds that the timing this year is merely a coincidence, "Last year's sweep netted more than 10,000 fugitives, 10 times the average in a week"

Usually I only say this when Smitty is preparing to attend an 18+ Indian party, but mothers and fathers, PLEASE, lock your daughters at home

French Protests

I'm sure by now, most of you have read about the protests in France. If not, the brief synopsis is that unions, inspired by young people, have been protesting a proposed law that would make it easier to fire (and thus from an economic perspective, easier to hire) people under the age of 26. Well, the protests have been going on for at least a week now I think, and have started to turn mildly violent.

So, as I was watching the news this morning, a thought occurred to me. Am I the only one who thinks that if the French worked even 25% as hard as they protest, this whole issue probably would have never came up in the first place?

Labor Unions

By now (assuming most people who are bored to the point of reading my blog have already exhausted cnn.com and other websites first), you have all probably heard about the MTA strike that started at 3AM today here in New York. Basically, all of the public buses and the subway system are completely shut down.

I'm one of the lucky ones - a door-to-door walk to work of about 18 minutes. But I have co-workers who have to walk twice that long. I haven't talked to some other friends, but I'm sure there are many people who are either walking 30+ minutes to work (in wind-chill temperatures in the low-teens) or are spending $15 or $20 each way to take a cab that they don't even get to themselves. Less fortunate people who live in Brooklyn have to walk all the way across the bridge to get to work.

Admittedly, I don't know the whole story behind the strike. Something about pay raises (I believe the union is seeking an 8% annual raise), health benefits (currently, workers pay no premium for basic coverage - $0), disciplinary action and retirement age (currently workers get 50% of their salary as pension starting at age 55...how many of you have parents who are 55+, and how many of them have retired?). It sure seems to me that the union leadership picked a GREAT time to walk off the job. Sure, why not let millions of people walk around in freezing temperatures while we sit on our fat, lazy asses to try to get more money? Tourists having trouble getting around the city? Welcome to New York bitches! God forbid we should have to work past the ripe-old age of 55 or pay 2% of our salary for healthcare.

I f'ing hate unionized labor!