Government Nazis

What the fuck?
Sometimes I really think I must be hallucinating. The shit I read and hear makes so little sense that I can't believe somebody didn't make it up. The government, our government, is unhappy because the Supreme Court is telling them they can't torture their prisoners. They are busy looking for ways around this decision and claiming they can't keep us safe without waterboarding et al.
Um, what? Have these people lost their fucking minds?
M'kay, before I go postal on this let's have a little civics lesson. The hydra that is the US government is three headed on purpose, and the heads are more or less all the same size. The Legislative branch makes the laws. The Judicial branch interprets the laws. The Executive branch enforces the laws.
Hey Executive branch! Stop trying to do the Judiciary's job!!!
Is that plain enough for you jack-booted mouth-breathers?
We are supposed to be the good guys! I believe that! It may sound a bit silly, but I grew up watching Hogan's Heroes, and the underlying morality rubbed off on me. The Americans fought for freedom from an ethos of threats and violence, argued loudly for adherence to the humanitarian code of the Geneva Convention when the Nazi regime wanted to ignore or stretch it. That is our legacy. The rule of law for everyone. We are the good guys and good guys do not torture. Ever! Some will sneer and say "Look, dreamer, we live in a dirty world and ideals are fine but they won't keep us safe and you need to deal with reality." Well, I answer, this country was founded on ideals in a dirty world. The Founding Fathers wanted something different, something that was not business as usual for the time. Why are we making a dirty world dirtier? Why are we not lighting a candle against the darkness? If we cannot be safe without sacrificing our values then safety is a luxury we cannot afford.
Let me repeat the point. The good guys do not torture. It should never enter our minds. Find alternatives. Be brave enough to live lives that reflect our ideals. Don't become the enemy. This kind of thing is exactly the reason that the reputation of the United States is slipping in the eyes of the world. Our moral currency is spent. We have gone from being a power out to right wrongs to one that merely wants to enforce its will.
This whole issue has largely been presented as a political one, and both sides have been trying to make hay out of it.This pisses me off because like all other hot issues it becomes clouded with more bullshit than fifty state fairs. The one voice that carries weight, the one voice that the administration should listen to, should be ashamed not to listen to, is that of a Republican. John McCain has been there, has been a POW held by a brutal regime, and has endured torture. He says no, we shouldn't behave this way. If ever one man should be able to stand in front of the careening tank of policy and stop it by his mere presence it should be Mr. McCain. How anyone can take the side of that jackass and his sneering crony over someone who is a surviving victim is appalling.

Good. Guys. Don't. Torture.

Spitzer

Well, well, well, a politician caught with a hooker, what a surprise. *Yawn*. It seems to be all anyone can talk about the last few days and most of the talk ends up being pretty pointless. Oddly, the most pertinent comment came from the leader of the loyal opposition in the NY legislature, who said something like "I feel sorry for his family, now we have to move forward." More on this guy in a moment. None of the rest of it helps and the pundits trying to explain why a man like Spitzer would do something like this are too caught up in grinding their own little axes.
First of all he had to resign. If he hadn't rode into office on the chariot of law and order he might have been able to hang on a la Bill Clinton, but he was hoist on his own petard and losing his job was an inevitability.
The reaction of the Republicans was predictable as well. Doesn't matter what party it is, or what the scandal happens to be, once political blood is in the water than every single politician turns into a shark, and the perpetrator's allies can't afford to defend him or her for fear of becoming the next ladle of chum. On both sides of the aisle, it's pure sanctimonious hypocrisy. Political expediency demands that everyone denounce any wrongdoing vociferously even when they know that their own colleagues and/or even themselves are guilty of the same thing. The public knows it, everyone does. The gentleman in the NY legislature was, prior to the resignation, pounding the pulpit and threatening impeachment. Once his opponent was KOed, he was ready to forgive and move on, trying to increase his moral capital in another way.
Of course, Spitzer was nobly contrite, accepting the blame and not trying to defend himself, emphasizing the remorse that consumes him over his tragic mistake. Again, this smacks of bullshit like it always does. Neither Spitzer nor anyone else who gets nailed with his hand or other body part in the cookie jar is really sorry they did it, they are sorry they got caught. Period. If he could have banged that high-end concubine with no one the wiser he would never have felt that level of remorse.
Finally, let's get to the why. Why did it happen? How does a law and order no nonsense sheriff who has such a high regard for correct behavior get tangled in the very nets he himself set? The answer is easy. Biology. Not the trite no-man-can-keep-it-in-his-pants type of biology but something more subtle. There is a quantity over quality issue in male reproductive strategy of any species (the opposite is true for female organisms). The promiscuity thing is a symptom of this. Males have more of a tendency to put their energy in more reproductive opportunities where females put their energy into maximizing the chances of each reproductive opportunity. This is directly attributable to the cheapness of sperm and the rareness of ova.
Human beings are social creatures and have hierarchies built into their social systems everywhere you look. Here is the important point, the only reason for getting to the top of any social hierarchy is to increase the opportunity to pass genes on to the next generation. Money, political power, social status, physical prowess, any of that stuff, it's all a vehicle to provide more access to more, and more selectively fit, reproductive partners. The higher the position the stronger the pull of the biological imperative. It's not conscious, but it is hard to resist. Spitzer became an alpha male and his survival urge was pushing him to act the part. Doesn't mean he's blameless, or off the hook, or a victim. But people have to understand that this is why these things happen. It's not a mystery, all the experts can expound upon their pet theories all they want, but it's just biology.

Gay Cooties

Ok, the straight guy is going to talk about homosexuals, brace yourself. First of all, I don't understand any of it. I can't possibly get my mind around being attracted to another male. I guess because I am attracted to women I can more understand a woman being attracted to another woman (hell yeah, she's hot, who wouldn't dig her?). I don't understand why guys are so attracted to girl on girl action. I feel it, but I don't understand it. There's a whole shitload I don't understand about all of this. One thing I do believe, and this most likely won't make some people out there happy, is that no parent, particularly a father, is going to celebrate his son being gay. They may get used to it, they may come to terms and accept it, but it will never be more than the equivalent of coming to terms with a child with an incurable illness or disability (note; I am not calling homosexuality an illness or disability, I am talking about a perception). Sorry but there it is. Do I think it's a choice? Probably not. Can it be self-repressed? Probably, but only sometimes.
That being said, I don't understand the fear and hatred of gay people. The whole biblical argument? Bullshit. A couple lines of Leviticus that conservative Christians glom onto like a fucking limpet at the expense of an entire Messiah's worth of preaching compassion and acceptance and embracing the outsider. Has to be something deeper than that. It's not like they'll keep reproducing and replace straight people as the dominant orientation in society (if you disagree go back and study some basic, and I mean basic, biology). So what is the big deal? Let them be gay. Let them get married or whatever. Why should you care? Are all the straight guys out there worried they're going to get raped? If that was a logical fear why do women let men anywhere near them? Why aren't women trying to legislate men out of existence? Seems more justified to me.
Guy I know, happens to be gay, don't think he knows I know. He works part-time at the same-type job at two different places. He just made a decision to go full-time at one place over the other. The sub-text is the place which could probably make him a better package financially doesn't know and probably wouldn't stand for it, whereas the other is more cosmopolitan,probably does know, and cares much less. So one place loses out, and he goes somewhere somewhat less stable financially. All because of discrimination or the fear of discrimination.
What's the big fucking deal?

A Super Bowl For The Dumpster

This has got to be the worst Super Bowl ever.
Last year we had a feel good story. A great team, with a great personality, and class, beat another team that was similar. You may not have wanted the Colts to win, but you couldn't really dislike them.
This year, well, we have everything that last year wasn't.
Let's start with the Giants. There is no reason anyone should ever root for any sports team from New York. A city that thinks its the only one in the world, most of whose teams have more money than anybody else (at least football has the salary cap) and an attitude suggesting it's their god-given right to win the title every year. New York is arrogant, and I hate arrogant. Top that off with Eli Manning. Sorry, but the elder brother got all the class in the family. Spoiled brat rotten kid refusing to play for the team with the right to draft him, oh yeah, Archie, you showed you were pretty classless as well. New York deserves Eli.
Now, moving on to New England. Last year Indy showed the world the classy side of excellence. This is the flip side. Arrogant, superior, sneering, cheating bullies. Belicheck breaks the rules and doesn't think he needs to answer to anyone about it. He runs the score up on teams without apology. His father was a coach, Navy I believe, and by all accounts an honorable man to whom sportsmanship meant something. How embarrassed for his son would he be. Again it's the arrogance thing. I hate that, and I despise Belicheck for the way he conducts himself. Tony Dungee and his starry-eyed, simplistic fundamentalism is infinitely superior to Bill's act.
So there's no one to root for in this year's contest. How do you sit and watch a game where the only good outcome can be a scoreless tie where everyone on both teams breaks a leg.
Enjoy the commercials.

Archbishop Hitler

Never thought I would spend half my time on this blog smoking out Nazis in modern society. I came across this story on the web and couldn't pass it up.


http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/kmov_localnews_080121_majerus.45f5820f.html


Nutshell: the new coach of the Saint Louis University (jesuit school) basketball team had the gall, the unmitigated audacity, to verbally support Hillary Clinton, Pro-Choice, and Stem Cell Research. Archbishop Burke of St. Louis, a prelate with a history of interfering with other people's lives, has decided that because of expressing those opinions he is unfit to coach at the University.
Once again we have the wonderful combination of cassocks and jackboots. Hey Burke! This is America! Just because your boss is a Nazi doesn't mean you have to try and one-up him! This absolutely fries me. He has no right to strongarm the University that way, nor to control the freedom of expression of its basketball coach. You don't have to surrender your conscience when you take a job and you don't have to wear a gag because a religious leader decides he doesn't like what you think. He wants to punish the coach for his remarks and probably will want to deny him the sacraments (he pulled that stunt a few years ago with John Kerry).
So far the University has remained sane and its position is that Majerus doesn't speak for the school on such matters. Lets all hope their saner heads prevail and Burke doesn't excommunicate him or some such.

Hmmm. Let's look at the Archbishop's actions with Kerry a moment. By his lights, if he denies the sacraments he puts the guy outside the pale, spiritually speaking. What happens if he just up and dies? In theological theory, if he dies whilst unshriven and with no last rites is his soul condemned? If so does that make the Archbishop guilty of something far worse than killing the meat body? Could he be arraigned for attempted soul-icide?

I can't believe Catholics aren't embarassed by this Nazi joker.

Blah-Blah-Blog

I spent a while surfing blogs this evening. It's damn hard to actually find one I want to read. When I read blogs I want compelling voices sharing their vision. I want drollery, profundity, wit, wisdom. I don't want product advertising, if I want porn all I have to do is stop avoiding it any time I'm online, and I don't read any language other than English (except a smattering of German). Right there I've removed about fifty percent of the candidates from consideration. Next, it sounds harsh, but I don't care about the daily minutiae and the diligently photographed cute moments of other people's families. Yeah, I know, they're not out there for me anyway but I still have to wade through them when I've gone walkabout in the blogosphere. Here's a revelation: pretending it's your infant children writing the blog is not nearly as cute as you think it is. Sorry. Neither is posting endless pictures of your cat's latest antics. Nor putting a soundtrack to your blog. Nor stamping/scrapbooking. There went another forty percent or so.
If you don't like those opinions or if you yourself are perpetrating a blog described above, oh well. You can just go straight to the 'next blog' button and never return. No skin off my nose.

Baseball-ocks

I came back to baseball at the end of college after a decade of not caring. I spent the nineties playing Rotisserie, knowing which team had the best fourth outfielder, the best set-up man. I remember Hank Aaron breaking the Babe's record, I remember Big Mac breaking Maris'. When it comes to baseball I am old-school, somewhere to the right of Bob Costas. I can't stand the DH or the wildcard, I look down on the American League as a whole, and I loathe the Yankees and the Red Sox almost equally.
I also really hate cheating.
Baseball is a different game. It's a team sport but one where the individual contributions stand out more than the team's efforts in many cases. The other major sports don't have this strange distortion. Collective accomplishments echo through history; the Whiz Kids, Murderer's Row, The Gashouse Gang, but no other sport worships its individual excellence the way baseball does. Year by year, career by career, baseball history is built of an ever-growing mountain of numbers put up by single players.
This is why football players can get caught using steroids, get suspended for four games or whatever, and it just blows over, but baseball players can't. Every point of batting average, every dinger, every K a pitcher throws matters because it gets built into the flying buttresses of the cathedral of baseball. It ornaments it as well as supporting it.
Here is what I think:
Barry Bonds is a cheating scumbag. Raphael Palmeiro is a cheating scumbag. Andy Petitte is a cheating scumbag, as is Jason Giambi. Rumors were floating around about Roger Clemens years before the Mitchell report came out. Is he a cheating scumbag? I'm fairly confident that he is, but that's opinion. I think Mark McGuire was a cheating scumbag. I think the record should be Maris'. I think the Mitchell report is the tip of the iceberg.
So what do we do about that?
I have been hearing lately that the prevalence of steroids in baseball means we should just throw up our hands, ignore it, and move on. Like it's not an uneven playing field, its just differently even. Don't asterisk any records, don't keep anybody out of the Hall of Fame, just wink and move on.
Bullshit.
One of the big arguments for this position is that how can you punish some and not others? Fine. Punish 'em all. No records count from the steroid era, nobody gets in the hall of fame (except maybe Tony Gwynn, don't try to tell me HE was on the juice...). Does this punish innocent players? Yeah, it does. So what? They were part of the culture, as far as I'm concerned they let it happen.
Too much of baseball is its history. Too much of its mystique is the trail of numbers disappearing into the past.
These cheaters have damaged baseball. I am drifting farther and farther away from a game that I used to really love.