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Random commentary and senseless acts of blogging.
The first Republican president once said, "While the people retain their virtue and their vigilance, no administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can seriously injure the government in the short space of four years." If Mr. Lincoln could see what's happened in these last three-and-a-half years, he might hedge a little on that statement. Blog critics Gryffindor House Slytherin House Ravenclaw House House Elves Beth Jacob Prisoners of Azkaban Muggles
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Thursday, February 24, 2005
Good news for Michael Jackson and Troy McClure: if this item is true, they can now relax secure in the knowledge that there is another celebrity with a sexual fetish even more bizarre and distasteful than theirs. Tongues are wagging about the recent intimate dinners between actor and frequent "Hardball" guest Ron Silver and leggy, blond, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter. The two were spotted dining together twice in recent weeks. Both Silver and Coulter have denied it. Since they're righty nut jobs and liars, that would indicate it's probably true. The Supreme Court has ruled against a California policy that segregates newly admitted prisoners, generally but not entirely on racial lines, in order to reduce prison violence. I actually have some first hand knowledge of the California prison system - and no, it isn't from the obvious source, my dubious character notwithstanding. In my younger days, I worked for the state fighting forest fires. A sizable portion of the manpower at the larger fires was provided by the state's Department of Corrections. The inmates worked the firelines in integrated crews, but it was striking that, when they went in for meals, they invariably sat at tables not by crew but strictly segregated by race. I don't think I ever saw a CDC table that was multiracial. Gangs were presumably not a major factor; these inmates came exclusively from minimum security facilities, and were usually close to release for relatively minor crimes. Prisoners with a record for causing problems inside weren't allowed on the crews, which were presumably a sought-after job in the prisons: spending time in the forest would look pretty attractive to anybody who lives cooped in a tiny cell, and the inmate and civilian crews ate the same food: basic but plentiful and quite good, with a major emphasis on steak. There may have been another attraction even more potent: although it was strictly forbidden, there were always rumors that some of the women on the civilian crews slipped away to fraternize with the prisoners. So what do I think of the state's seperation policy? On the whole, I don't feel overly upset by it. The intention of reducing violence is valid. And it doesn't appear to be an instance of a laudable purpose being made up for a policy that actually exists for other reasons; the state also separates Northern California and Southern California hispanics - a rule that has no racial basis but does make sense in terms of gang allegiances. My personal experience that inmates segregate themselves by choice is a further indication that this rule, however unsavory, probably does more good than harm in the real world. Monday, February 07, 2005
The Game Teams of talented competitors clashed yesterday in a battle that will, for many of them, be the peak moment of their careers. I didn't see the full competition, but, in what I did see, there was a clear winner: the Visa superhero commercial was definitely the cleverest. In between, there was also a ball game, which led me to ponder one of the deep questions of our age: why is it that NFL coaches, presumably intelligent guys who are the absolute cream of their profession, have never figured out how to manage the clock after devoting decades to the game? If I were a player, I'd be tempted to imitate Brad DeLong and ask, "Why are we coached by these idiots?" The announcers today noted the bizarre behavior of the Eagles, who continued to huddle between plays and stroll casually to the line of scrimmage even as time was ending their chances. But they failed to note the ultimate consequence of that beginner's blunder: because Philadelphia had only 2 time-outs left, they were forced to attempt an onside kick after scoring a touchdown with 1:48 left. The kick was recovered by the Patriots, as onside kicks are almost 90% of the time when opponents know one is coming, and the game was essentially over. If they had gone to the no huddle offense when the drive started, as they clearly should have, there would have been more time on the clock: in fact over two minutes. The Eagles could have kicked deep, knowing they had two time-outs and the two minute warning to stop the clock. If the kickoff had been reasonably defended and New England held, as they were in the game, to a three and out possession, Philadelphia would have gotten the ball back in good field position with an excellent chance of at least getting a good shot at a field goal to force overtime. Tuesday, February 01, 2005
I know a lot of parents have a favorite child, but isn't Secretary of Defense Heller in this season's 24 taking it a bit far? This week, when his daughter had a potential lead to the identity of the terrorists, he insisted she should rest and recover from her ordeal before trying to follow up on it. Last week, when he thought his son knew something and was holding out, he authorized CTU to use torture to make the brat talk. Josh Marshall notes that the Bush plan to privatize Social Security can't really move forward unless the increasingly solid wall of Democratic opposition is broken. Josh has done as much as anyone to build that wall and can take some justifiable pride in it. But on its own, it wouldn't stop the Repubs or probably even slow them down much. Remember, they're more than happy to pass bills with only Republican support. They're balking on this because they understand it looks like a stinker both as policy and as politics. If they really believed in the scheme, it would be moving forward, regardless of what the Democrats say. |
