September 29, 2008

Sports Make Me Sad

It is a time of transition in the sports world, with the baseball season winding down (or up, if your team made the playoffs) and the football season off to a running start.

But it's a sad time to be a Detroit fan. The Tigers had so much promise this year, and are finishing last in their division. They made a go of it for a few weeks here and there, but were hampered by extraordinarily poor pitching (which was, let's be honest, not helped by and abundance of injuries). It's a bummer but the Tigers still have so much talent that with some good off-season training and acquisitions, they have a great chance next season.

The same cannot be said for the lowly Lions, who are so bad that they've fired general manager Matt Millen, who probably should have been fired 7 years ago. But firing is not a solution, it merely creates a vacancy that the 0-3 Lions must now fill a quarter of the way into the season. It is a monumentally daunting task, because the new GM won't have the ability to cause any immediate change--better drafts, better trades, and better players are needed for that. I don't envy the shmuck who gets that job.

On the upside, basketball and hockey are starting fairly soon, and Detroit still knows how to flirt with greatness when it comes to its arena-based sports. The Red Wings are always great, and the Pistons are one of the best teams out there. It's really a shame that I prefer baseball and football, but at least it's something to root for.

In non-professional news, Virginia Tech beat Nebraska this weekend, which was unexpected but a nice surprise. Nebraska isn't ranked this year, but they're still Nebraska, so good on the Hokies for kicking butt. Tech is now ranked 20th, which means of course that they'll win a few more, get to about 14th or 13th, and flame out spectacularly. I mean, if previous seasons are any indication. God bless 'em.

September 26, 2008

Oh, and...

How awesome is it that The Office is back? Last night was spectacular.

Does anybody still watch ER? Why they gotta be all up and killin folks? That was depressing.

More Political Rhetoric From Me!

Sometimes, I just post things because I need to get it straight in my own head. I am aware that very few of this blog's readers will disagree on most of these ideas--but by all means, if you do, speak up. Tell me where the fallacy lies.

The biggest, and in my opinion most effective, criticism of Sarah Palin is that she's unqualified to hold the position for which she was nominated, and as such was a "stunt" selection. Conservatives disagree, saying she has executive experience (more on that later) and that she energized the Republican base like no one else.

To get to the heart of this issue, I think the question to ask is this: is there someone else, with more qualifications, who could do the same thing for the GOP?

Somebody Better?
When it comes to Sarah Palin, the answer is a resounding yes. There are plenty of conservative governors (22!) and frankly, if we're trying to beat 2 years as governor of one of the least populated states, I think you can look towards mayors of any metropolitan area as well. And while not all of these executives may have Palin's mind-bending social conservatism, enough of them do that it wouldn't be hard to find a really experienced right-winger to fill the position. Hell, Mitt Romney has everything Palin has but twice over. Except, of course, for that double-X chromosome.

The Myth of "Executive Experience"
Instead, we have Palin, who has no real experience that is applicable to the position of Vice President. "Executive experience!" you may cry, but the Vice President is only a part of the executive branch; he/she doesn't govern unless the President goes down. The Veep position is largely diplomatic, legislative (breaking ties in the Senate), and policy oriented. Cheney, the most empowered VP in modern history, does not have any executive experience. But even if I disagree with his politics and methods intensely, I admit he could ascend to the Presidency if called to do so. He has the professional experience to take that role, and so did Edwards, Lieberman, Gore, and even Jack Kemp (What up class of '96!).

Palin cannot be handed this responsibility. She has demonstrated time and time again that she has not even the slightest idea of what being President means, other than the fact that it's a culmination of her political dreams. She lacks everything a President should have, across the board.

So conservatives can argue this executive experience thing breathlessly, but it only really applies if McCain dies in office. Until then, she has no diplomatic, legislative, or policy experience whatsoever. She is a placeholder, a token lifted from obscurity for the sole purpose of sticking it to Obama.

But More Experienced Than Obama, Right?
Wrong! Obama was in the Illinois legislature for 8 years, and has been in the U.S. Senate for 3 more. Critics can argue about what he did during those years, but if we're comparing Palin and Obama's experience, you have to examine her achievements as well. And her 6 years as mayor of a tiny Alaska town are not more distinguished than Obama's "present" votes in Illinois.

But the real experience lies in the campaign. Obama has been running for President for over a year, and has been tested repeatedly by the press, by fellow Democrats, and by Republicans. He has weathered that storm well, and has formulated nuanced and intelligent policy opinions on every imaginable topic.

Palin was governor of Alaska until a month ago. She was not at all involved in the Republican primaries, and still has yet to make a single intelligent policy point on her own. You can chop off the careers of BOTH candidates, and Obama still wins by a mile in the experience department.

Bullet-Point Summary Time!
* Sarah Palin seems like a nice person. She has the least experience of almost every single VP candidate in the history of our country. This includes Dan Quayle.
* "Executive experience" means nothing in the VP position. It is as useful as knowing how to make snow cones.
* Obama has proven his ability to work above his experience level, by simple virtue of the fact that's he been campaigning for President for more than a year.

Epic Conclusion
A vote for the Republican ticket in 2008 is unpatriotic. It is a slap in the face of every person who expects more out of the President. It puts naked political ambition before the safety and prosperity of this country. Republicans, and all Americans, should be ashamed of McCain for acting with such reckless disregard for our nation.

September 24, 2008

Heroes: Still Inept

Monday night* saw the too-long season premier of Heroes on NBC. I went off on the show back in November (which ended then because of the writer's strike, if memory serves) saying that it had to get a helluva lot smarter to make watching worth my time.

Well, they may have tried. I'm not sure if show creator Tim Kring actually listened to the legions of people who were simply pissed off at the complete idiocy of the characters, but they seem slightly less stupider than last season.

But that's not saying much. Because wow were they a bunch of morons last year. This year, things seem to be moving at a brisker pace (so far) and the number of pointless speeches has decreased (but not disappeared).

On the other hand, the new characters are annoying. The new "speedster chick" would be fine if her powers made a lick of sense. But Hiro can stop time, he doesn't just slow it down. So how come she freezes like everyone else, but then unfreezes at will?

I've said it before--most notably in my rant against poor Underdog--but it bears repeating: you've got to establish a mythology, and then stick to those rules. If some guy can fly, then he can fly! Don't put him in situations where flight can solve a problem, and then have him not use it!

I will give it another episode, or maybe two, but without a spectacular change in tone and direction, this potentially great show is just a couple weeks away from my "Avoid This Crap" list.

*Also Monday night: How I Met Your Mother returned. It's still funny, though I hope they don't keep this Barney-Robin storyline up for long. I like insane-misogynistic Barney, not polite-cares-about-you Barney.

September 23, 2008

You Know You're Boned When...

...running as a conservative, even George Will thinks you're a crackpot.
It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?
(from The Post)

I will confess to not having the business know-how to completely grapple with the current economic crazytimes. I am glad that I'm not in a financial-sector job, though am fully aware that it's all interrelated and that eventually my own profession will suffer if the economic outlook isn't improved.

That being said, why bailouts? I'm pretty damn liberal, and hold many case-specific opinions that socialism is not a universally bad idea, but this seems completely unnecessary. I mean, when you have a liberal telling you to let the capitalist market correct itself, aren't you being more than a little reactionary?

I realize it has a trickle-down effect, and it sucks that poorer folks are getting screwed out of their housing loans. I am on-board with assistance programs to try and stem this tide of foreclosures. I am not on-board with bailouts of massive Wall Street firms that should have known better. Joe Homeowner may have as much fiscal smarts as me; Jim Stockbroker is a damn professional. This is like the government giving my firm a pass for committing insurance law violations. It's our job to know that stuff.

I know this is all fluff, even more so than usual because I really, really don't know much about the markets. But it's nice to see that smarter men than I (George Will is very, very smart) feel the same way.

September 12, 2008

Funny

I may be seizure-inducing angry with politics lately, but I still find humor when it pops up.

Regarding Sarah Palin, on Slate:
"The smell of my daughter’s clean laundry makes me feel warm and wonderful about families, but I’m not electing a pile of it vice president of the United States."
Indeed, son. Indeed.

September 10, 2008

I Know I'm a Broken Record

Unfortunately for you all, my daily life does not allow me much room to vent about politics. My job is not remotely political, I live in a city full of people who think along the same lines, and my friends don't need any convincing.

So when I read--and maybe I should stop doing that--about all the fantastically stupid "white women" who are giving McCain a big jump, I have nowhere to release my anger. Anger at how as a group, almost any demographic can be insipidly short-sighted. I just expected better from women.

But I suppose that's equality. Men don't have a monopoly on being morons. We're all on the stupidity ship together, sometimes.

This election is shaping up to be one of the first times in memory that I'm in danger of being really disappointed in my country. Kerry in '04 was sad, but he lacked a number of important qualities that could have pushed the election in his favor. Obama just has everything going for him--he wins on the issues, on the politics, and on personality--except that we are, collectively, morons. Call me an elitist, but I'm really starting to question the very sanity and morality of those who side with the GOP on this stuff.

So I'm sorry that I keep using this space for going-nowhere political rants. I should talk more about my visit back home this past week (it was great!) or non-political issues I like to ramble on about. Class warfare, chicks, why the Tigers are so very disappointing, etc. The stuff that sells newspapers.

September 9, 2008

A Radical Idea

"We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us."
- John McCain's acceptance speech

It has always been popular to bash Washington, DC, as a kind of shorthand for "politics". People seem to like the idea of "Washington outsiders" even though those who work in DC know just how useless most so-called "outsiders" actually are. Aside from getting lost repeatedly, they don't know how the system works.

McCain is a doofus, but this is at first glance a more honest line than most others. At second glance, it's full of crap. Because Washington is also just a city. It doesn't change anybody. Politics might change people, but politics IS people.

If you were elected decades ago to "change Washington," then maybe it's time to consider your epic failure. McCain hasn't changed politics, or his party, and now he's trying to get another go-around at it?

Here's the headline: Washington didn't change you. Nothing changed you. You're the same party that was elected into power 8 years ago, and the same party that held sway in Washington for 6 of those years. What does it take to make people realize that this was as golden an opportunity as a political party could ask for, and yet they've failed miserably? By McCain's own account, they've failed. He attributes the cause of the failure to the mystical energy imbued in the various monuments, museums and other buildings of DC, but he still admits failure.

Frankly, Obama could be the "emptiest suit" in the history of politics, and he would be better. He could be a scary black panther, or a Marxist, and I'd be more comfortable with him in charge.

That is how you change Washington. You give someone else a turn at the wheel, and you hope they do a better job.