Lessons from a Pol: Evan Bayh wrote an Op-Ed piece for Tuesday’s NY Times titled, “Where Do Democrats Go Next?” (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/opinion/03bayh.html?_r=)
My longstanding response, to him. I believe the moderate senator from Indiana, voluntarily leaving office in January, will come out of political retirement as President Obama’s next choice for vice president.
With sensible strategies as those elucidated in his commentary, Bayh is well positioned to appeal to the majority of voters.
Lessons from the Field: A week ago, Cliff Lee was invincible. Now that he’s lost two World Series games, will the NY Yankees still spend gazillions to sign him as a free agent?
A week ago, the Texas Rangers made the Yankees look like old men. They out-hit, out-pitched, out-ran the Bronx Bummers in a convincing four games to two American League Championship Series win. They looked unstoppable entering the World Series.
Someone forgot to tell the San Francisco Giants. The Giants simply out-hit, out-pitched, out-ran and out-fielded the Rangers. Suddenly the Rangers looked like old men, or young men not worthy of being on the same field as the Giants. The Giants obliterated the Rangers four games to one.
That’s the thing about baseball, or any sport for that matter. A team, a player, can get hot, or turn cold, and completely change the anticipated outcome. There are no telltale clues. It just happens. When a whole team rises to the occasion, it’s marvelous to watch. Yankee fans, if they are true baseball fans, had to marvel at what the Rangers did to our beloved diamondmen. And we had to savor what the Giants did to the Rangers. Ah, sweet comeuppance (not revenge), at the hands of another team. And what hands they were—superb pitching and surprisingly solid fielding from a team not known for its defense.
The Giants and the Rangers, as well as the Tampa Bay Rays, the Minnesota Twins and the Cincinnati Reds, showed the Yanks that a high payroll is not the only route to the post-season. But anyone who thinks the Yankees will sharply reduce overall player salaries fails to recall they have made the playoffs 15 of the last 16 years. No other team can claim such a distinguished record. Playoff appearances translate to more revenue. The Yanks will continue to spend to make the playoffs. In the playoffs, they have to hope they are the hot team, for dollars don’t matter if the other team is on a roll. So look for Cliff Lee to wear pinstripes next year.
Lessons from My Wallet: Nothing says retirement more than a review of my mostly underused airline and hotel frequent traveler cards.
At one time I had so many cards I carried a separate wallet just for them: American Airlines, Delta, USAir, Jet Blue, United, Continental, America West, Northwest, Virgin America, Hertz, Budget, Starwood Hotels, Hyatt, Stouffer Hotels, Radisson, Holiday Inn, Marriott, Ramada, Hilton, Wyndham, Best Western, Renaissance—I got tired just typing that list.
Several years ago I finally realized it was foolish to carry the cards with me. So I reduced the load to one sheet of paper with all the card fronts photo-stated on both sides of the paper. Now I won’t have to carry even that around. Last night I inputted all my account numbers into my cell phone. Technology to the rescue. Of course, I rarely travel, and even less frequently travel for work, these days, making my number punching seem quite superfluous. But you never know when opportunity will come a knockin’, so I’m ready.
Lessons from the Court: The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on a censorship case that quite frankly vexes me (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/us/03scotus.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=morazzini&st=cse). I am generally against any form of censorship, but this case involves California’s attempt to restrict the sale of violent video games to minors.
Aside from the desire not to allow government to get a foothold on what can and cannot be said and sold, I can’t see any redeeming social value to video games that exalt killing, maiming, dismembering, sexual abuse, torture and other sadistic behavior. It’s hard to accept that our society is turned on by these increasingly sophisticated and repulsive (at least to me) forms of entertainment. It’s hard to accept that our society and laws would not want to shield those under 18 from this depravity, just as it prohibits minors from buying sexually explicit material. How can viewing sex be more damaging to a young mind than these graphic depictions of deadly and deviant mayhem that a video game player actually participates in and initiates?
I’d say it sounds like I’m turning more conservative in my old age, but a conservative reading of the Bill of Rights would not let government make any law that abridges freedom of the press. Oh, what troubled times we live in.
Showing posts with label Evan Bayh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evan Bayh. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Ethnic Pride and Shame
Ethnic pride is a powerful cultural marker. What Italian didn’t feel his chest swell when Rocky Marciano won the heavyweight boxing title? Or when Luciano Pavarotti hit a high C note? When rap stars dominate the music business, when the NBA and most Division I college basketball teams feature Afro-Americans, when Barack Obama took the oath of office, how could people of color not be proud?
When I was growing up, my parents always pointed out prominent Jewish actors, playwrights, politicians, physicians, even sportsmen, especially when their names might not have given away their pedigree. Kirk Douglas. Tony Curtis. John Garfield. Arthur Miller. Jacob Javits. Jonas Salk. Sandy Koufax—how proud we were when he declined to play in a World Series game on Yom Kippur (how disappointed I was when Ike Davis of the Mets chose to play a meaningless game on this year’s Yom Kippur).
I wound up doing the same not so subtle identification process for my children.
But just as coins have two sides, ethnic pride is but the positive side of ethnic shame. Here are two prominent residents on my list of shame:
Bernard Madoff
Pamela Geller
Madoff is obvious. Beyond swindling money, helped along, let’s be honest, by the greed of many of his clients, was his total disregard for the impact his illegal activity would have on the numerous social and charitable organizations that blindly invested with him. Sad as it is that many individuals lost their savings, it is far worse that he bankrupted or weakened entities whose sole purpose was to help their fellow human.
If you are not already familiar with Pamela Geller, here’s a link to a profile from Sunday’s NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/nyregion/10geller.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage.
To reject radical forms of Islam that have morphed into violence is not shameful. But Geller has transformed the perception of Islam from a major religion into an extremist movement. She incites hatred, intolerance, bigotry.
It is true. Some Muslims want to kill all “non-believers.” Nothing new here. Religions often are brutally intolerant—Israelites wanted to eradicate all inhabitants of Canaan; Christians killed non-believers during their conquests of the New World; Catholics and Protestants killed each other; New Believers and Old Believers fought for supremacy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Shiites and Sunnis kill each other in the name of Allah. It’s hard to find any religion without blood on its hands, as God always seems to be “on their side.”
But Geller, who went to Hebrew school, should have learned that Jews flourished in the early Middle Ages under Islam. Indeed, Spain was a model of religious tolerance when Muslims ruled there, allowing Jews to rise to the highest levels of government, commerce and the arts. Either through ignorance or intent, Geller turns her back on history to paint an entire religion as evil. Her depictions of Islam are as cruel as any anti-Semitic canard. She is a demagogue empowered by the Internet and cable TV. I shutter to think anyone might think she represents the Jewish community.
Texas Massacre: If you’re a liberal and a New York sports fan, this was a great weekend. First, the Texas Rangers lost two home playoff games to the Tampa Bay Rays. Both teams will travel to Florida for the deciding fifth game of their series to determine who will play the Yankees beginning Friday night for the American League pennant.
Second, the NY Football Giants beat up the Houston Texans, 34-10.
Third, the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Tennessee Titans, 34-27.
Few states bring out the nasty in me as does Texas. For the most part I enjoyed my visits there (I probably traveled to Texas close to 100 times). But I can’t separate the state’s regressive politics (and George W. Bush) from their sports teams. I was delighted the Rangers, Texans and Cowboys lost.
Oh, by the way, Target dodged a boycott bullet as the Yanks defeated the Minnesota Twins at Target Field (and Yankee Stadium).
Have a Seat: Perhaps you saw the Op-Ed piece last Thursday in the NY Times from John Edgar Wideman. He’s a a professor of Africana studies and literary arts at Brown University. At least twice a week he rides the Acela from New York City to Providence, RI, and back, discovering along the way that he rarely has to share a double seat with anybody. Why? He presumes because he is a man of color. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/opinion/07Wideman.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=wideman&st=cse).
From more than 30 years commuting on Metro North, I can tell you he is 100% correct. As I never wanted to stand, I sat next to everyone and anyone, even if it meant taking the dreaded middle seat of a three-seat bench. My only bias was not to be wedged in between two portly passengers. If I sat at one end of a three-seater and a person of color sat at the other end, it was usually a given no one would take the middle seat, regardless of how crowded the train was.
Metro North is not like the subway where races mix, if not easily, at least commonly. Few Afro-Americans commute on Metro North. They are largely avoided. I am not alone in my convictions. Here’s how some other readers responded to Wideman in letters to the editor: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/opinion/l09seat.html?ref=amtrak.
??? For VP: Just as the baseball playoffs got under way, official, and unofficial, Washington entered its fall season with incessant speculation President Obama will shake up his team, switching the positions of Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. For the record, the White House denied any such move is contemplated.
As long ago as March 4, I opined Biden would conveniently and diplomatically be replaced on the 2012 ticket. I didn’t think it would be by Hillary. I picked former Indiana senator Evan Bayh, 55, a moderate young enough to give Democrats a good shot at holding the presidency in 2016 if Obama wins re-election.
When I was growing up, my parents always pointed out prominent Jewish actors, playwrights, politicians, physicians, even sportsmen, especially when their names might not have given away their pedigree. Kirk Douglas. Tony Curtis. John Garfield. Arthur Miller. Jacob Javits. Jonas Salk. Sandy Koufax—how proud we were when he declined to play in a World Series game on Yom Kippur (how disappointed I was when Ike Davis of the Mets chose to play a meaningless game on this year’s Yom Kippur).
I wound up doing the same not so subtle identification process for my children.
But just as coins have two sides, ethnic pride is but the positive side of ethnic shame. Here are two prominent residents on my list of shame:
Bernard Madoff
Pamela Geller
Madoff is obvious. Beyond swindling money, helped along, let’s be honest, by the greed of many of his clients, was his total disregard for the impact his illegal activity would have on the numerous social and charitable organizations that blindly invested with him. Sad as it is that many individuals lost their savings, it is far worse that he bankrupted or weakened entities whose sole purpose was to help their fellow human.
If you are not already familiar with Pamela Geller, here’s a link to a profile from Sunday’s NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/nyregion/10geller.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage.
To reject radical forms of Islam that have morphed into violence is not shameful. But Geller has transformed the perception of Islam from a major religion into an extremist movement. She incites hatred, intolerance, bigotry.
It is true. Some Muslims want to kill all “non-believers.” Nothing new here. Religions often are brutally intolerant—Israelites wanted to eradicate all inhabitants of Canaan; Christians killed non-believers during their conquests of the New World; Catholics and Protestants killed each other; New Believers and Old Believers fought for supremacy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Shiites and Sunnis kill each other in the name of Allah. It’s hard to find any religion without blood on its hands, as God always seems to be “on their side.”
But Geller, who went to Hebrew school, should have learned that Jews flourished in the early Middle Ages under Islam. Indeed, Spain was a model of religious tolerance when Muslims ruled there, allowing Jews to rise to the highest levels of government, commerce and the arts. Either through ignorance or intent, Geller turns her back on history to paint an entire religion as evil. Her depictions of Islam are as cruel as any anti-Semitic canard. She is a demagogue empowered by the Internet and cable TV. I shutter to think anyone might think she represents the Jewish community.
Texas Massacre: If you’re a liberal and a New York sports fan, this was a great weekend. First, the Texas Rangers lost two home playoff games to the Tampa Bay Rays. Both teams will travel to Florida for the deciding fifth game of their series to determine who will play the Yankees beginning Friday night for the American League pennant.
Second, the NY Football Giants beat up the Houston Texans, 34-10.
Third, the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Tennessee Titans, 34-27.
Few states bring out the nasty in me as does Texas. For the most part I enjoyed my visits there (I probably traveled to Texas close to 100 times). But I can’t separate the state’s regressive politics (and George W. Bush) from their sports teams. I was delighted the Rangers, Texans and Cowboys lost.
Oh, by the way, Target dodged a boycott bullet as the Yanks defeated the Minnesota Twins at Target Field (and Yankee Stadium).
Have a Seat: Perhaps you saw the Op-Ed piece last Thursday in the NY Times from John Edgar Wideman. He’s a a professor of Africana studies and literary arts at Brown University. At least twice a week he rides the Acela from New York City to Providence, RI, and back, discovering along the way that he rarely has to share a double seat with anybody. Why? He presumes because he is a man of color. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/opinion/07Wideman.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=wideman&st=cse).
From more than 30 years commuting on Metro North, I can tell you he is 100% correct. As I never wanted to stand, I sat next to everyone and anyone, even if it meant taking the dreaded middle seat of a three-seat bench. My only bias was not to be wedged in between two portly passengers. If I sat at one end of a three-seater and a person of color sat at the other end, it was usually a given no one would take the middle seat, regardless of how crowded the train was.
Metro North is not like the subway where races mix, if not easily, at least commonly. Few Afro-Americans commute on Metro North. They are largely avoided. I am not alone in my convictions. Here’s how some other readers responded to Wideman in letters to the editor: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/opinion/l09seat.html?ref=amtrak.
??? For VP: Just as the baseball playoffs got under way, official, and unofficial, Washington entered its fall season with incessant speculation President Obama will shake up his team, switching the positions of Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. For the record, the White House denied any such move is contemplated.
As long ago as March 4, I opined Biden would conveniently and diplomatically be replaced on the 2012 ticket. I didn’t think it would be by Hillary. I picked former Indiana senator Evan Bayh, 55, a moderate young enough to give Democrats a good shot at holding the presidency in 2016 if Obama wins re-election.
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