I was very surprised to hear that the President has ordered a second carrier group into the Gulf on Tuesday. Pair that with Adm. Fallon's departure as Commander U.S. Central Command (CentCom) and, pending confirmation (scheduled for later this spring) Gen. David Petraeus' promotion to that same post. Well, it doesn't take a big leap to see where this might be a prologue to a larger conflict that included Iran.
Also, 4 U.S. soldiers were killed today.
…It's 10:27 PDT on April 18, 2008, and I kid you not, we have at least 5" of deep powder and it continues to come down. I have to be honest and say that I'm totally depressed by this. The fact
that it's April gives us an added bonus – The increased likelihood of a quick thaw which adds the very distinct possibility of flooding our basement and backyard.
As I'm fond of saying "I wish I was making this up." Where'd I put my Scotch? I really need a drink…
I stewed a lot about whether or not to post something about the fact that the fine men and women of the US Military are starting their 6th year in this seemingly endless boondoggle that Mr. Bush got us into, and the truth be told I'm not going to do much of the writing. But I did want to point out two pretty interesting pieces, written by two gentlemen who were originally in support of invading Iraq, but with the passage of time have seen the folly of it.
There's a temptation for some to say, "well that was the past, but we're beyond that now. No sense going over it all again", but I strongly disagree, and not because I want to hear them say "I'm sorry". Think of it this way – There's a problem with the wiring in your house, the electrician comes over, tells you how to fix it, and after you follow the advice your house burns down. An apology and restitution would be in order of course, but when the new house was being built, would you ask the same electrician to do the work? Of course not, equally if not more germane to the apology would be finding out if the electrician had learned from his mistake.
Look we all make mistakes, and God, the L&T, and my friends and family know that I've made more than my fair share, but just saying "let's not think about the past, but you can trust me going forward" isn't going to cut it. I need to know that you've learned. I think these two guys have;
John Cole – "My Iraq war retrospective"
Andrew Sullivan – "What I got wrong about Iraq"
Two very important points need to be made before I go further –
1 – I think it's fantastic when anyone goes out and does any distance at any speed. As far as I'm concerned, unless you're one of the pros there's no difference between any of us regardless of the speed at which we finish the course. This is not an indictment of people who walk, which leads me to my second point.
2 – There are times during some 5k's and 10k's when I walk. Again, this isn't about speed, it's about common courtesy, and when I have to walk on the route I follow these guidelines myself.
Having said, and meant, all of the above; if you walk, and by "walk" I mean that you're at the start planning to walk the whole course with no intent to run, but if you walk at these types of events, would you please try and follow some simple rules which will make everyone's day a bit more pleasant;
– If the event you're participating in has "flights" or "seeding" try to respect that. It's really not done so that you'll finish even later than the pros, it's so that those who are trying to run, maybe for an age group prize, or maybe just a personal best, but it gives those people a chance to realize their goals too.
– If for some reason you just have to start in the first wave, or with the 7 minute per mile folks, please try to stay to the edge of the route. You know you're not going to run there's no reason to be in the middle of the street in the middle of the pack. At that point you just become an obstacle.
– The subset of that is not to walk 5 abreast. It's great that you're all together, and shared suffering is one of the really cool things about group events like these, but again you become an obstacle for others to try and get around.
– If you ignore both of those and just decide that you've paid your fee and that entitles you to walk in the middle of the road from the front, then don't be angry when you get bumped and jostled and cut off. See the thing is, I paid my entry too, and I followed the event organizers' recommendations and I'm trying to run. There's a critical mass of bodies trying to fit into a small space, and you've become a very slow fish in a very fast tide. You're going to get bumped. I'm sorry, I'm not aiming for you, but honestly, I don't usually feel too bad about it either.
With that off my chest, the L&T and I did the annual St. Patrick's Day Dash this morning and with the exception of trying to dodge the reasons for my rant above, we had a good time. The weather wasn't great, but it wasn't raining so that was nice. This is a point to point run, with the start at the Seattle Center and the finish near Seahawks Stadium so you park at the finish and bus to the start. The line for those buses was unbelievable, it took us about 45 minutes just to board, but had the benefit of getting off the bus and starting within 5 minutes. Thanks to my offseason workouts (InCycle rocks!) my time was the best I've done in a long while (splits of 9.22 / 9.04 / 10.14 [I'm not sure what happened there]). After the run it was breakfast at the Blue Star Café, which we've decided to tell everyone is the worst place for breakfast in Seattle. It's horrible, and you should never eat there which will make it much easier for us to get a table…
The L&T's cousin has been home for a very short break recently. Why is this important? Well, because the break is from serving in the U.S. Army's Stryker Brigade in Iraq. He's on a 12 month (for now, it'll probably be increased) deployment at the very tip of the spear. I thought about his visit home, to see his wife and baby girl for a few short days, and then threw up in my mouth when I read this:
"I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said. "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed."
"It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks,"
Really Mr. President?!?! What is it that you're envious of? The incredibly long hours? Getting shot at or possibly blown up in a vehicle that doesn't have enough armor? Or maybe it's the sleeping in tents (if you're lucky) or in a shelled out house? Oh I know, maybe it's the food, or being away from your family? What about watching good friends die or have their body parts blown off, is that it? Really, what part of the "romance" are you wishing you could experience?
Back in the day I was part of the Navy/Marine Corps Mobile Medical Active Response Team which was basically a rapid (well, rapid for the military) deployment force of medical personnel that could be sent anywhere in the world within 72 hours. One weekend, shortly after the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, we got an activation notice which basically meant to get all your shit in one sock, report to the base, and be prepared to deploy somewhere. Obviously we all thought we were going to Lebanon. Once everyone had mustered, gotten our gear squared away, and were ready to board the aircraft we were told to stand-down and that this was a drill. 99.9% of us were relieved as hell, but I remember one young officer who was disappointed because he just knew we were "going to war" and was pretty vocal about it. An old school Marine Gunnery Sgt, that I know spent time in Vietnam, took the young officer aside and while I don't know what he said exactly I can guess. Let's just say we never saw the officer make another outburst like that one again.
Why do I tell this story? Because it ain't like the movies. There is nothing "romantic" about war. The only people that want to go to war are either too young and stupid to know better, or those who are in no danger of being called to fight in it. And, as Matthew Yglesias noted, Mr. Bush had an opportunity to participate in the "romance" and "fantastic experience" of being on the front lines during Vietnam, and we all know how that went…
Two great quotes about war by guys who've been there;
"I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell." – Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
"When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war." – Gen. and President Dwight D. Eisenhower
The fight over FISA has a bunch of different aspects, the fear portion of which my friend Mr. Jones covers quite well here. I'd like to look at a slightly different talking point that is popular with the administration and its enablers - That Congress needs to grant retroactive immunity because failure to do so will make companies less likely to comply with future requests.
Here's the thing that's so stupid about this meme; they don't get a choice! If a government organization, be it FBI, NSA, or local law enforcement, has a duly authorized court order to get information companies don't get an option to say no! They are legally compelled to comply. It would be as if you were pulled over while driving and decided that you didn't want to take the ticket (or stop your car). That's not an option. You can fight the ticket and protest being pulled over, but you still have to follow the rules. There is a lot of stupidity in this debate, some from both sides of the aisle, but continuing to parrot the administration's talking point that companies will decline to submit to a legally obtained court order is both silly and disingenuous.
My doctor decided that I had been on, and been taking too much of the anti-diarrheal drug that I had been on and requested that I try an over the counter alternative. The results have been mixed. On the downside, I'm taking a fair amount of the OTC one, still having the "problem", and having a hard time getting away from a bathroom for more than an hour or two. On the upside, I've dropped below 180lbs for the first time in years, and if my scale is to be believed, some of the weight I'm losing is actually fat.
Who says I'm not a glass half-full kind of guy?
There's an old adage that "all politics is local" and I think that applies to sports just as much. You root for teams based on connections, and based on that, as much as I dislike dynasties, I'll be rooting for the Patriots. Why? Two reasons – Eckel and Belichick.
While certainly not the best student (he was the Class of 2005's "Anchor Man", finishing last in his class) Kyle Eckel was an absolute beast at Navy, and as a fullback was instrumental in returning Navy Football. In addition to being named the Army Navy game MVP twice he is among the all-time leaders in carries, yards, and touchdowns. He was signed to the Patriots' active roster in October of 2007, and in addition to seeing some playing time with the offense has had a very good year with special teams.
As for Belichick, his ties with Navy football go back over 50 years. Bill is the son of legendary Navy coach Steve Belichick. Coach Belichick was involved with the Naval Academy for 50 (yes, that's correct, Five Zero years) including 33 years as an assistant football coach and professor of physical education. Bill has in the past discussed his connection with the USNA and speaks fondly of his time learning the game by watching his father in Annapolis, and in 2006 moved his family's historic football book collection to the Naval Academy.
Tomorrow, I'm a Patriots fan.
The L&T makes an impassioned plea to change the University of Washington's logo back to a Husky from the current Fighting Weasels here. It's definitely worth a read. I've always wondered why a team that was in the middle of a successful streak decides that it's time to change things (see Padres, San Diego), better to make a change when things aren't going so well (see Seahawks, Seattle).
I don't know retired U.S. SFC Red Thomas, I've never met the man, and until yesterday had never even heard of him before. But, I'd sure like to by him a beer. The World Wide Web is a strange and wondrous place, and it's amazing how following a little path can take you to great sources of wisdom, and so it is that I found "Words of Wisdom About Gas, Germs and Nukes by SFC Red Thomas, Armor Master Gunner, U.S. Army (ret)".
The 2004 article is maybe the best piece of writing about civilian responses to what the military calls NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) Warfare, all of which could probably be boiled down to don't panic and use your head, but the whole thing is really worth reading. Look, if there's an NBC attack, that would be very bad, but realistically, except for the psychological effects, it would be limited in scope and there are a lot of things you can do to minimize your exposure and risk.
Seriously, go read SFC Thomas' article, I promise that it's well worth your time…
Between the last playoff game and the Super Bowl there are two weeks. Two weeks of interviews, press conferences, practices, pundits, and buildup to the biggest football game of the season. I used to read about the teams and the game during those two weeks, but it was never a big deal to me. That changed in January of 2006…
Growing up I wasn't a big football fan, instead it was mostly baseball. Still living in Northern California my parents, and by extension I, followed and rooted for the San Francisco 49er's. The 49er's won Super Bowl XVI in 1982, which was nice, but nothing too exciting. Years and events passed, and I'd watch a game if it was on and usually watched the Super Bowl, but it still wasn't something I was passionate about. Then I met the L&T who was passionate about football and in particular "her" Seattle Seahawks. She was a fan, so I became a fan (which wasn't easy back in those days because the team wasn't always that good). In 2002 I took it to the next level join 4 of the best guys on the planet
The 2005/2006 Seattle Seahawks' season was a magical thing to be a part of. By finishing the regular season 13-3 (including a meaningless week 17 loss at Green Bay) the Seahawks had secured the #1 seed in the NFC and the road to the Super Bowl would go through Seattle, and the 5 of us would be there to watch it. After the bye week, Seattle opened the post-season beating Washington 20-10 and the next week beat the Carolina Panthers to win the NFC and the right to go to the Super Bowl.
And thus begun two of the most fun (and probably least productive) weeks I've ever had as a sports fan. When I was home, the NFL channel was always on, away from home there was a ton of Seahawks talk, the web the sites that I frequent were all talking about the game. It was fantastic! Media day, team practices, interviews with players on NFL Total Access, features on the team, replays of all our games, as well as planning to go to Vegas to watch the game. It was just fun to be a Seahawks' fan.
The problem is, now that I've experienced it once, it's hard to watch all the same stuff, but about a different team. Sure, I'll read the articles, and I'll watch the game, but unlike all those years before 2006, now I know what I'm missing…
In October of last year I signed up for a fantastic offseason workout program at Cycle U, called InCycle. When asked what "it" is the only thing I can say is imagine the hardest spinning class you've ever done, and then do it for 90 to 120 minutes. Three times a week. And this week the coaches turned it up to 11.
I understand the philosophy and some of the physiology behind it, next week is a scheduled recovery week for the class (more technique, less "hard" time") so the general idea is to stress the rider's system to the breaking point this week and then allow us to recover next week. Like I said, I get the idea, but damn this week was difficult on the system! I have class Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and besides feeling wiped out, it's wreaked havoc on my GI system! The three days following class have just torn me up. Look, if this makes me faster (and I think it will) and if it makes me able to compete (ditto), then it will be completely worth it, but "Jim's Guts" aren't happy about it right now…
BTW – I really like all of my coaches at Cycle U, they're excellent coaches and really great people, so when I say this it's with the uttermost respect, but Coaches Craig, Tammy, and Toby, I hate you… ;-)
…"Even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut"…
A friend made a post wondering who the audience was for his writing, and in posting a comment in response I mentioned that we, ourselves, are our own biggest audience. I then noted;
Blogs are electronic dairies, but instead of hiding the key, we leave it out there so anyone can find it
It's true, sometimes, even if it's by accident, I can be remotely profound.
As some of you know GYGIG had to change the dates of our Texas ride because in late 2007 (well after we had chosen our date) the Lance Armstrong Foundation chose the same weekend as GYGIG to have their huge fundraising ride. I understand it, the LAF has to scheduled the ride around when "The Man" is going to be available, but still, it was a little disheartening, because it means we have to reschedule, reprint flyers, etc (to answer a frequent question, no, we can't have it the same weekend as the Livestrong event, they're just too big, and all of the Austin based cycling support goes to them). Suffice it to say, that even as big a Lance and LAF fan as I am I was a little disappointed.
Then I read about Lance's trip to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kyrgyzstan as part of the USO's 2007 holiday tour. The USO is a fantastic organization, and for the troops the morale boost, support, and yes, entertainment they provide is hugely important. As a guy who spent many a weekend at various USO facilities, I owe them a ton for making my first few holidays away actually enjoyable. If you'll indulge me, here's a quick story – In November of 1982 Mr. Stout and I were still in Hospital Corpsman School and on the same duty schedule, so neither of us would be making it home for Thanksgiving. It was our first big holiday away from home, so when we heard that they were going to be serving Thanksgiving dinner at the San Diego USO, we jumped at the chance to go. Fantastic! We ate wonderful food (and as much of it as we could stuff in our belly), were served by wonderful people, they even had cards and decorations on the table made by local kids. For our first Thanksgiving away from home and family, we were surrounded by home and family.
Suffice it to say that I have nothing but praise and love for the USO, and for those performers who are willing to give up some of their time and comfort to give some good times to the men and women out at "the tip of the spear". So yeah, Lance gets a pass…
...This - It's not about whether you support the war or not, and it's not about the all too frequently hollow "I support the troops". It's about the fact that every war has costs, and those costs are the lives of young men and women like Andy. We would all do well to remember that.
Fair winds and following seas Andy.
It's pretty well documented that 2007 was one of the toughest and weirdest that I've experienced in my nearly 44 years on this planet. And yet, even with all of the bad times, I can't help but feel blessed. People significantly wiser than I (you can insert your own joke here) have said that the true measure of a man is the company he keeps and the people he counts as friends. I believe that's true, and it makes me one of the fullest people on the planet.
Thank you to everyone who has touched my life in the last year. It's because of you that I can look back and say that, even with all of the bad times, 2007 was a good year. I wish everyone a joyous, healthy, and peaceful 2008.
The Cycle U team had a New Year's Eve ride scheduled for this morning and what a great day for it – A cold but very pretty morning, no clouds, very little wind, and around 35 degrees. About 7 of us met in Leschi to do the south Lake Union Loop (down along the water on the west side, around the Renton airport, then up the eastside and over I-90), because it was a recovery week for most of us, the pace was leisurely, around 17mph, and it was fun to get outside on the road. That is until the first small climb when I had nothing. I went as low as I could go in gearing, and was trying to spin it out, but I had nothing. I'd lumber up the climbs and then jam on the flats to try not to hold up the group too much. Finally around Renton I told the rest of the team to go ahead and not hold up for me. In the end I decided to turn back at the airport getting in 20 miles in about 75 minutes.
If this was an isolated incident I wouldn't be as bummed out about it, but the fact that hills and climbing continue to be my Achilles Heel is both disappointing and frustrating. I was prepared to ride today, had a good breakfast and plenty of "fuel in the tank". Thanks to the L&T I had great new wool socks to keep my feet warm. This should have been a great morning, instead I'm wondering if joining a team might have been a little premature…
Doping in sports is a serious problem, and something that desperately needs to be fixed. That said, I'm tired of hearing so called "major" sports fans hypocritically telling me how bad doping is in cycling. It's a shame that doping has been a scandal during the last two Tour de Frances, and it gives racers and cycling fans a bit of a black-eye, but what about the 1,000 other professional cycling races? And the tens of thousands of doping control tests that are conducted each year?
Because cycling an Olympic sport it falls under the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which means the top three winners of every stage of every race get tested. It also means that there is extensive testing out of season testing as well. If you heard anything about the 2007 Tour it was probably how a guy who was in 1st place got kicked out of the race. He didn't get kicked out because he tested positive for drugs, he was kicked out because he wasn't where he said he was going to be during the offseason. Let that sink in a minute, kicked out of cycling's equivalent to the Super Bowl or the Daytona 500 because he wasn't available for a doping test.
This might be a good time to review the punishments for doping in "major" sports?
MLB* – 1st = 50 game suspension and "public identification of the offender". 2nd = 100 game suspension.
NFL (a sport I love) – 1st offense = 4 game suspension. 2nd = 8 games. 3rd = year.
NBA – 1st offense = 10 game suspension. 2nd = 25 games. 3rd = year.
NHL – 1st = 20 game suspension. 2nd = 60 games. 3rd = lifetime.
Compare that to cycling – 1st offense = 2 year ban. 2nd = lifetime. And, if a rider tests positive during a major Tour event, the entire team is removed from the race. Imagine that happening in baseball.
Like I said in the first paragraph, doping is a serious problem, and I heartily support and applaud teams like Slipstream who are taking a more holistic approach to stop doping on their team (basically it does genetics testing year round, you can read more here) But I am beyond tired of having football, baseball, and the like's fans telling me how bad my sport is. They only difference between cycling and the "big 4"? Cycling is serious about its anti-doping testing and punishments for offenders.
I'll leave the final word to Bill Simmons talking about the results of the Mitchell report on MLB doping – "The greatest hitter and pitcher of the past 50 years both cheated to get where they were ... and if that's not enough, our all-time hits leader was a convicted felon who bet against his own team. Ladies and gentleman, America's pastime! Is it time to remake "Field of Dreams" and include a scene where Shoeless Joe sells $3,000 of HGH to Moonlight Graham?"
*Unless you're named in the Mitchell report, in which case, according to Mitchell, you shouldn't be penalized at all.
Greetings from Sacramento International Airport (SMF on your scorecards, but I honestly have no idea where the "International" part comes in). It's now about 7pm, and my scheduled departure at the start of the day was 12:22pm. You do the math.
We boarded, pushed back from the gate, and during the engine start a manifold that was supposed to close didn't. We went back to the gate, hung out there for about 30 minutes, when they finally said it probably wouldn't be worth us staying onboard so we may as well unload the aircraft. This wasn't going to get fixed anytime soon.
I should say that the gate staff has been great! Alaska has giving all of us plenty of food vouchers, extra miles on our plan (or $25, I'll take the 1000 miles), and the individual staff has had a great attitude about this. The passengers have been great too, with only a very few that have pitched a fit (a quick aside – Are people just stupid or insane? If someone comes on the PA and says "there's a problem with your aircraft", my first thought isn't what an inconvenience it is to me, it's fix the damn plane! I don't care if it takes several hours, take as long as you need, just make sure the plane is air-worthy. What is wrong with some people?).
On the plus side, SMF has finally opened a restaurant (Gordon Biersch) and now has free wireless internet access, so I've got that going for me, which is nice. Just an interesting end to a very interesting trip…
…I have a question – "Is it okay to be okay if Army wins on Saturday?"
Look, by just about any measure, it's been a great year for Navy football;
Beat the Zoomies? Check
Beat Notre Dame? Oh hell yes!
Winning record for the season? Check
Keeping Commander In Chief's trophy? Check
Going to a Bowl Game? Check
And now on Saturday is the Army v. Navy game and the number is 5. That's what the current win streak over Army is. Five Saturdays that have been just a bit brighter. Five straight wins in one of the greatest rivalries in all of sport. And yet I still find myself wondering…
"Would I be okay if Army wins on Saturday?"
Don't get me wrong, I will watch every play and pace and all the rest, and I have no doubt that I'd be a little bummed out (the L&T can confirm that normally when Navy loses, I'm not the most pleasant person to be around), but given all of Navy's success this year, if for some reason we can't extend the streak to six… Seriously, I know I won't be happy, I can't even honestly say that I'll be okay, but I am sure I'll start thinking about San Diego in December…
Till then – GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!
This has been an especially difficult post to write, in some posts the words come so fast that my fingers can't keep up. In this case, the words come equally fast, but are so disjointed that it would be unreadable. My life in a nutshell I guess.
Anyway, we held a small memorial for Eric on Nov. 7th, which would have been the Stout's first wedding anniversary. Jana decided that scattering Eric's ashes from the ferry and sailing they were married on would make a nice circle, I think she was right. About 16 of us walked on to the MV Walla Walla, while Jana wisely decided to drive on. After getting underway we all went to the car deck fantail where we met up with Jana. After getting passed the major traffic lanes, the ferry came to a stop to allow us to have our memorial (quick aside, I've got to give major props to the MV Walla Walla crew and the Washington State Ferry system, they were fantastic and very easy to work with). Jana had written a very nice piece, which I read, then she scattered Eric's ashes.
After the ferry docked Jana continued on to the peninsula while the rest waited for the return trip. On the return trip Jana's mom had brought some sparkling cider which we used to toast Eric. The remainder of the sailing was spent sharing Eric stories.
I think I have come to understand why Mr. Stout's death has been such a challenge for me. He was the last link to my "ancient" history (pre-1989). We had gone through so much together, Corps school, the Navy, the deaths of my dad, the Boss, mom Stout, and my mom, and so many other things. Don't misunderstand, my life now is very blessed and I have more friends and family now that some people will have in their entire lives. Still there are times when it's fun to talk about the old days, bombing our way up to University Town Center in the Camaro with 91X blasting loudly…
"And it'd please everyone
Got thrown off the boat before the trip was done
So with a smile on your face
You disappear without no trace…
Oh, don't cha' know we gonna have us a little fun
I'll light the candle we can get a lot of reading done…
Somewhere the sun is shining
On this world, but not for me
Two lover's hearts are rising
How long before I'm free…
Yes I feel like Jonah in the belly of the whale…"
- Burning Sensations – Belly of The Whale (1983)
Over the last couple of days I've encountered a couple of things that I think are very important. It's frequent to hear the current administration and its apologist say things like "What the boots on the ground think is what's important" and "We depend on our military to give us the full story", with that in mind I'd like to present the following:
First up is Mr. Malcolm Nance. Mr. Nance is a classic case of "been there, done that, seen the movie, and got the t-shirt". In addition to his current job consulting with Homeland Security and US Intelligence agencies, and writing books on terrorism and counterinsurgency, he's a former Navy Chief and was a master instructor at the military's Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) school. Basically, the man knows what he's about, and when he says waterboarding is torture, you might want to listen to him.
His very informative article is here, and I can't emphasize this enough, please read the whole piece. While it's a little long, it is by far the most informative and authoritative piece on torture that I've read.
The second item of note is an NPR piece on Lt. Col. Colby Vokey USMC, which can be found here. Lt. Col Vokey is a decorated combat veteran, and until recently the head of the Marine Corps defense lawyer corps, western US. Lt. Col Vokey is leaving the Marine Corps because he has become "demoralized", "bitter", and "fed-up".
The important information here is that both of these were written by men not only of unquestionable patriotism, but also men who have been, as the saying goes "on the sharp end of the spear". If the constant refrain is that we should listen to those on "the front line", here are two men with impeccable qualifications. Maybe it's time we listened to them…
To say that the L&T and I had an unusual courtship would be putting it mildly. Before she moved back up to Washington State we had either 5 or 6 "dates" none of which were of the traditional guys go pick up the girls' type. Our 1st date was dinner at my house (and while I have all the memory power of the average 2 year old ["oh look, something shiny…"] I can actually remember quite a bit of our first date). After that and for the rest of the L&T's time in Southern California we either met someplace neutral or at my house.
After she moved back to Washington, we'd fly up or down for a visit and we were pretty much together the whole time.
Then I moved up here and had an apartment on the next floor, but we were pretty much always in one apartment or the other. A little before we were married we shared an apartment (different rooms. Seriously), so there was no going over to pick her up or the like
All of this is a long way of saying that it's probably been close to 20 years since I've gone and picked up a girl for a date. While I doubt it, some might wonder why this is relevant, and that's because the streak ends tonight! No, the L&T has come to her sense and left me, she's cat sitting for our friends Thom and Michael in West Seattle and we've got tickets to go see "Striking 12" in Tacoma tonight (if the show is coming to a town near you, go see this show). All of this means I'm going to pick her up and we're going out on a date! The whole dinner and a show thing, I mean it's a classic adult date!
And it breaks a long dry spell...
"Until this moment, Senator, I think I never gauged your cruelty or your recklessness... Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" Joseph Welch, June 9th, 1954 to US Senator Joseph McCarthy.
As I've gotten older I've come to realize that politics isn't pleasant. There's no such thing as a "mud" free campaign, you're always going to dig up dirt on your opponent, and when you find something, as long as it's true, I understand the need to use it. Don't get me wrong, I wish that it weren't so, I wish that candidates could have an honest debate about real issues, and not talk about past indiscretions. But I know that's not how it's going to be, and I've come to grips with that.
It's the same thing with punditry… Frequently both the right and left talking heads and blogs discuss policy, ideas, and the like, but there are occasions when both sides get into name calling. I'm fine with this as well, heck most of the time it's quite funny, and I regularly read the more "snarky" websites (see both Sadly No! and The Rude Pundit for excellent examples). The name calling is lobbed by each side at the other and it's a game where everyone knows the rules, and while there are always a few who take it seriously, most understand how it goes. Again no problem with that...
But in much the same way that the House Un-American Activities Committee quickly went off the rails, I'm afraid that some in the right wing punditry class have not only gone off the rails, but have crashed through the neighborhood and into the school. By now most are aware that a couple of weeks ago the Democratic response to Mr. Bush's weekly radio was given by 12 year old Graeme Frost. Young Master Frost told how having SCHIP paid for the medical bills his family faced after a severe accident. We can all discuss SCHIP, we can even discuss wither or not it was wise for Democrats to have a 12 y/o read its response (though please spare me the moral outrage of "Democrats using children", as Republicans do it as well [see Mr. Bush having "snowflake babies" surround him while vetoing the stem cell research bill for the most recent example]), but that wasn't good enough for the Right Wing Professional Punditry Class. No, rather than discuss the merits of the issues, they go after not only the family but the kid as well. They question their medical history, job history, how they educate their children, there is nothing that is out of bounds to them. All of which leads me to wonder – What the fuck is wrong with these people?
It's ironic that the same people who loudly decried criticism of a 4 star US Army soldier are stalking a middle class family, including but not limited to publishing their home address and driving by their places of business! Look, a lot of Right-Wingnuttery makes me angry, and all of this more so than ever before, but I would NEVER EVEN CONSIDER doing this to the likes of Steyn or Malkin or the rest of that ilk. There are some boundaries that shouldn't be crossed, and some rails that should always be stayed on! What the hell happened to these "people" that would make them do this? Have they become so angry that they don't consider slandering a middle class family or their children to be wrong? Have they become so driven by hate that anything, ANYTHING, they consider wrong is to be destroyed completely? "At long last, have (they) left no sense of decency?"
PS – I'm reminded of the penultimate scene in "The American President" (a schlocky love story, but not a bad movie). After quietly enduring reports and character questions about his girlfriend, "Andrew Shepherd" finally responds with a pretty good shot that I'm going to paraphrase here;
"The Frost family has done nothing to you... They have done nothing but be in a "traditional" marriage, raised two kids through a pretty tragic accident, they've bought a house and paid their taxes, in short they've lived what most on the Right consider to be a "correct" life. You guys want a character debate? You better stick with me, 'cause Graeme and his family are way out of your league…"
Hotel living means a lot of things, but one of them is a daily copy of the USA Today. I don’t read it all the time, but it’s nice to have. The paper or the fact that I got a chance to read it today isn’t the focus of this rant, instead it was a headline I saw; “D-Mat readies for spring training…”
We need to stop this! Nicknames are an incredible part of sports history; “The Babe”, “Mean” Joe Greene, “Charlie Hustle”, “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, “Air” Jordan, “Sweetness”, “Magic”, the list is very long and just as distinguished. But we don’t have nicknames anymore, in its place fans, reporters and play-by-play announcers continue to perpetuate basic pre-school rhyming. I was okay with “A-Rod”, as it seemed to be the first, but now it’s just gone beyond stupid. T-Mac, D-Wade, D-Jack, and on and on and on. Stop it! If you want to give someone a nickname then come up with something original or at a descent copy, but for goodness sakes stop with the Anna-Banana-Fo-Fana stuff.
Deep cleansing breath….
