A Black Eye For Baseball

It's a sad day for those of us who are baseball fans. The Mitchell report on steroid use shows that the entire system was involved:

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Some key points made in former Sen. George Mitchell's report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball, released on Thursday.

* There was widespread use of illegal steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by Major League Baseball players for more than a decade, in violation of federal law and baseball policy.

* Some of the game's biggest stars -- home run king Barry Bonds and top pitcher Roger Clemens, among them -- used drugs.

* Players from all 30 teams were found to use drugs at some time in their careers.

* Baseball's response to drug use by its players was "slow to develop and initially ineffective."

* Report recommends a year-round, unannounced drug testing program that should be administered by an independent authority.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=reu-steroidskeypoints_factbox&prov=reuters&type=lgns

It's been clear to those of us who watch that this has been going on for a long time. In the past couple of decades players have grown and records have fallen at an unnatural pace. But now the truth is out.

Baseball has overcome scandals and strikes before, and I believe that baseball can overcome this, but a lot of work will need to be done to restore integrity.
added: The list of names in the report is here: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ys-mitchellnames121307&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

A Major Endorsement

Obama may have Oprah, Clinton has Streisand, and McCain has Schilling, but to my mind this is the biggest endorsement yet. Luis Tiant endorses Bill Richardson:

Richardson's campaign announced today that Luis Tiant, the portly pitcher with the whirling-dervish delivery, will be the guest of honor at a "Mi Familia Con Richardson" Posada Celebration in Manchester on Sunday evening.

"Governor Richardson has earned my respect," Tiant, known at "El Tiante" and for his stellar performance in the 1975 playoffs, said in a statement issued by the New Mexico governor's campaign. "Bill Richardson’s experience, vision and record of delivering in the clutch make him the best qualified candidate for president."Richardson said he was thrilled to have Tiant's support.

"For a guy who dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player as a kid, to have the active support of a real Red Sox legend like Luis Tiant is truly an honor," he said in the statement. "Luis and I share an affinity for Red Sox baseball and maybe the occasional cigar."

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/12/el_tiante_to_st.html

Any baseball fan old enough to remember the '75 series knows Tiant. While the Sox lost, Luis pitched with the heart of a lion. His whirling-dervish windup is indelibly imprinted on my memory, and he played with class and style that earned the respect he received. His endorsement should move Richardson up at least 2 points in the polls.

Mall Santa

So I guess I have a job...in the short run. I have agreed to be a "mall santa". Lousy pay, dye my hair and beard, deal with children. We'll see how this works.

Beyond Absurd

Just the title: "ABA journal names Gonzales lawyer of the year":

A magazine published by the American Bar Association on Wednesday named former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales its Lawyer of the Year for 2007 — mostly for creating so much controversial news.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2007/12/gonzales_named_lawyer_of_the_y.php

Truly, truly bizarre. By that standard, Barry Bonds would be "sportsman of the year."

Shrub Still Hates Children

Having already vetoed one SCHIP bill, shrub is sticking to his guns (for Iraq):

President Bush on Wednesday was ready to veto legislation that passed with bipartisan support to dramatically expand government-provided health insurance for children.

It would be Bush's seventh veto in seven years. Bush vetoed an earlier version of the health insurance program.

The bill passed the Democratic-controlled Senate by a veto-proof margin, but the same was not true in the House. Even after the bill was approved, negotiations continued on a compromise version.

A major point of contention with the White House was Bush's demand that nearly all poor children eligible for the program be found and enrolled before those in slightly higher-income families could be covered.

Bush also has opposed using an increased tobacco tax to fund the program expansion. The bill includes a 61-cent rise on a package of cigarettes.

The replacement measure was designed to meet Republican objections to the first bill. But it was little changed.

It would increase funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program by $35 billion over five years, in order to add an estimated 4 million people to an existing program that provides insurance coverage for children from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance. The joint federal-state program currently provides benefits to roughly 6 million people, mostly children.

Bush's veto in early October of a similar bill was narrowly upheld by the House.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071212/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_veto&printer=1;_ylt=Atb0B6CJaqETxrNT4I8p4fgGw_IE

Here's hoping that congress can find the spine to override, what with an election year ahead.

Shrubism's 2007

Here's a nice little list of the 10 dumbest things our shrub said in 2007:

10. “And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I’m sorry it’s the case, and I’ll work hard to try to elevate it.” –interview on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

9. “I fully understand those who say you can’t win this thing militarily. That’s exactly what the United States military says, that you can’t win this military.” –on the need for political progress in Iraq, Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2007

8. “One of my concerns is that the health care not be as good as it can possibly be.” –on military benefits, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

7. “Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit.” –addressing Australian Prime Minister John Howard at the APEC Summit. Later, in the same speech: “As John Howard accurately noted when he went to thank the Austrian troops there last year…” –referring to Australian troops as “Austrian troops,” Sept. 7, 2007

6. “My relationship with this good man is where I’ve been focused, and that’s where my concentration is. And I don’t regret any other aspect of it. And so I — we filled a lot of space together.” –on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007

5. “You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 — 1976.” –to Queen Elizabeth, Washington, D.C., May 7, 2007 (Watch video clip)

4. “The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear — I’m a Commander Guy.” –deciding he is no longer just “The Decider,” Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007 (Watch video clip)

3. “Information is moving — you know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it’s also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets.” –Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007

2. “There are some similarities, of course (between Iraq and Vietnam). Death is terrible.” –Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

1. “As yesterday’s positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured.” –on the No Child Left Behind Act, Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2007 (Watch video clip)

Written by Ron Chusid

http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=2492

Can we at least make sure that our next president can speak english? Is that too much to ask?

Real Snow

Woke up to about 6 inches of snow. Which is usually a good thing. Except I have a bunch of things to do today, and I have to go out to do them. The weather gods are not on my side today.

Santa Isn't Coming this Year....

....at least for Uncle Sam.

From Bloomberg:

Iran, the second-biggest producer of crude oil in the Middle East, has ``completely halted'' all oil transactions in dollars, the state-run ISNA news agency said, citing Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari.

Nozari said the U.S. currency was no longer reliable as the dollar continues to depreciate. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has set up a team to study pricing oil in another currency, the INSA cited Nozari as saying. The measure is designed to prevent further losses in revenue to oil exporters, ISNA reported.

At the last OPEC meeting, Iran and Venezuela were pushing hard for a switch away from the dollar. Saudi Arabia was against this move and blocked further moves away from the dollar. In other words, there are a ton of politics involved with this as well. (h/t, http://www.bonddad.blogspot.com)

Since it has been bandied about until we're all blue in the face, let's just say that this could be spectacularly bad for the U.S. And, while we'll harp to the press and the international community about evil Iran having "nookular" weapons, we're really going to take this as a slap in the face as our currency devalues even more (if that's even possible), especially if other OPEC nations follow Iran's lead.

Those speculative plans for a March/April 2008 strike don't seem so implausible now, do they? Let us hope the Joint Chiefs are ignoring them.

More on the Hops Crisis

I've posted before on the world wide hop shortage, but there's more news today:

In the world of beer, you can't skip the hops -- even when the price goes up 400 percent in a year.

That jaw-dropping hike in the price of the twining vine flower -- an ingredient used to impart flavor to many brews -- is the result of market correction, bad crops and China, among other things. For beer lovers at the bar and the distributor, it may boil down to price hikes ranging from a quarter a glass to a few dollars a case in coming months.

''We use about 12 different varieties of hops, and they went up 350 to 400 percent, each one,'' said Dan Weyerbacher, president of Weyerbacher Brewing Co. in Easton.
That translates to a jump from about $4 a pound to about $23 a pound.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5beer.6174490dec09,0,3091573.story?coll=all_tab01_layout

This is a serious problem for my local brewery, Zymurgian, and all my friends who brew (I found out in the comments last time that a lot of our readers are also brewers), and there's no quick fix as hops take several years to grow.

Can we blame shrub?

it is snowing outside

I have nothing to say today. So here's a river pic.

Light Snow

While it's only a "dusting", we have our first snow of winter this morning.

Best Friday Boobies

I think this is the best pair of Boobies I've found so far for a Friday.

Act Surprised

The CIA destroyed the "torture tapes". Big surprise. Actually, I'm more surprised that they even admitted that the tapes ever existed. They claim "national security", but this is an obvious cover up of multiple crimes. And with our current dysfunctional government, they will get away with it.
This is the depth that shrub has sunk America to. The tacit admission that America has engaged in torture and then covered it up should be enough for all decent, moral people to call for impeachment. Instead, we get a lot of blather regarding "well, the tapes have been destroyed" as if that is exculpatory of the actual torture. I'm betting that there will be no prosecution of these crimes. They no longer even bother to lie about the torture itself.
As on so many other times, the shrub administration has placed themselves above the law, knowing that they wont be held accountable for their crimes.
How did we come to this? We deserve better.
added: Obstruction of justice is an easier charge to face than violation of international law, I suppose.

Way Too Dumb

Mutt Romney gave his speech "on faith" and proved that he is way too stupid to be president by saying this:

ROMNEY: “Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.”

Anyone who knows even the smallest smattering of history would know that this is absolutely false, not true, stupid, and dangerous.
(lots of other blogs have done more lengthy critiques of Romney's speech. I'll keep mine simple)

History in 100 Words

The history of the human race in 100 words:

Alan Charles Kors

George H. Walker Endowed Term Professor of
History

• First, tribes: tough life.
• The defaults beyond the intimate tribe were violence, aversion to difference, and slavery. Superstition: everywhere.
• Culture overcomes them partially.
• Rainfall agriculture, which allows loners.
• Irrigation agriculture, which favors community.
• Division of labor plus exchange in trade bring mutual cooperation, even outside the tribe.
• The impulse is always there, though: "Kill or enslave the outsider."
• Gradual science from Athens' compact with reason.
• Division of labor, trade, the mastery of knowledge, plus time brought surplus, sometimes a peaceful extended order and, rules diversely evolved and, the cooperation of strangers - always warring against the fierce defaults of tribalism, violence, and ignorance.
• No one who teaches you knows what will happen.
• http://www.sas.upenn.edu/home/news/trans_Kors.html

Pretty accurate in my opinion.

Job Hunting (or an excuse for the 900th post)

Those around me know that I'm looking for a job. Then I saw this one:

The opportunity of a lifetime! The government is paying up to $144,000 for a "business development/tourism" expert to "work with private sector businesses and local governments in fostering business development with a particular focus on tourism and related services."

The 13-month job also offers a 35 percent "danger pay" premium and other bonuses because it's based in Baghdad.

Yes, as the surge continues to calm things, the State Department figures it's time for the tourists to show up. But Iraqi tourism has been on the skids for many years and jump-starting projects will not be easy.

So one of your jobs will be "recognizing and reporting on obstacles to business development" -- small-arms fire, roadside bombs, for example -- and to be "a catalyst for new ideas."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/04/AR2007120402048_2.html

So, dear readers, should I apply for this job? Why or why not?

BTW, I could always use P.J. O'Rourke's slogan "see the ruins".

Happy Repeal Day

Today really should be a national holday. On December 5th, 1933 prohibition came to an end. Feel free to celebrate however you see fit, but as for me, I'll use it as an excuse to have a beer later (not that I need an excuse).

Walter Cronkite on Iraq

For those of us old enough to remember Vietnam, the voice of Walter Cronkite has a certain resonance. When he called for the end to the Vietnam war, the country listened. Now he's speaking out (written with David Krieger) for the end of the war in Iraq:

The American people no longer support the war in Iraq. The war is being carried on by a stubborn president who, like Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War, does not want to lose. But from the beginning this has been an ill-considered and poorly prosecuted war that, like the Vietnam War, has diminished respect for America. We believe Mr. Bush would like to drag the war on long enough to hand it off to another president.

The war in Iraq reminds us of the tragedy of the Vietnam War. Both wars began with false assertions by the president to the American people and the Congress. Like Vietnam, the Iraq War has introduced a new vocabulary: “shock and awe,” “mission accomplished,” “the surge.” Like Vietnam, we have destroyed cities in order to save them. It is not a strategy for success.

The Bush administration has attempted to forestall ending the war by putting in more troops, but more troops will not solve the problem. We have lost the hearts and minds of most of the Iraqi people, and victory no longer seems to be even a remote possibility. It is time to end our occupation of Iraq, and bring our troops home.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/12/04/5598/

Mr. Cronkite makes the case quite simply:

We must ask ourselves whether continuing to pursue this war is benefiting the American people or weakening us. We must ask whether continuing the war is benefiting the Iraqi people or inflicting greater suffering upon them. We believe the answer to these inquiries is that both the American and Iraqi people would benefit by ending the US military presence in Iraq.

Moving forward is not complicated, but it will require courage. Step one is to proceed with the rapid withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and hand over the responsibility for the security of Iraq to Iraqi forces. Step two is to remove our military bases from Iraq and to turn Iraqi oil over to Iraqis. Step three is to provide resources to the Iraqis to rebuild the infrastructure that has been destroyed in the war.

Congress must act. Although Congress never declared war, as required by the Constitution, they did give the president the authority to invade Iraq. Congress must now withdraw that authority and cease its funding of the war.

It is not likely, however, that Congress will act unless the American people make their voices heard with unmistakable clarity. That is the way the Vietnam War was brought to an end. It is the way that the Iraq War will also be brought to an end. The only question is whether it will be now, or whether the war will drag on, with all the suffering that implies, to an even more tragic, costly and degrading defeat. We will be a better, stronger and more decent country to bring the troops home now.

Thank you, Mr. Cronkite for speaking out. I only hope that the American people will again heed your word of wisdom.

Shrub Rejects Intelligence

I had hoped to post yesterday on shrub's press conference, but didn't get to it. Shrub seems to be rather confused by the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE).
For example, Iran halting their nuclear weapons program in 2003 means:

Look, Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous, and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon. The NIE says that Iran had a hidden -- a covert nuclear weapons program. That's what it said. What's to say they couldn't start another covert nuclear weapons program? And the best way to ensure that the world is peaceful in the future is for the international community to continue to work together to say to the Iranians, we're going to isolate you.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071204-4.html

Notice that shrub believes that "knowledge" is "dangerous" (which explains a lot of his behavior). He made the point more than once:

I think it is very important for the international community to recognize the fact that if Iran were to develop the knowledge that they could transfer to a clandestine program it would create a danger for the world. And so I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program, they halted the program. And the reason why it's a warning signal is that they could restart it. And the thing that would make a restarted program effective and dangerous is the ability to enrich uranium, the knowledge of which could be passed on to a hidden program.

Of course, the "knowledge" to make a nuclear weapon is readily available to just about anyone who has studied physics. Given that Iran has a fairly highly educated population (many Americans may be surprised by that) and that the "knowledge" is readily available in the world, we would have to eliminate a lot of people to keep Iran from having the "knowledge". And he's not backing down:

THE PRESIDENT: No, nobody ever told me that. Having said -- having laid that out, I still feel strongly that Iran is a danger. Nothing has changed in this NIE that says, okay, why don't we just stop worrying about it. Quite the contrary. I think the NIE makes it clear that Iran needs to be taken seriously as a threat to peace. My opinion hasn't changed.

And I just explained, Jim, that if you want to avoid a really problematic situation in the Middle East, now is the time to continue to work together. That's our message to our allies, and it's an important message for them to hear. And here's the reason why: In order for a nation to develop a nuclear weapons program they must have the materials from which to make a bomb, the know-how on how to take that material and make it explode, and a delivery system.

Now, the Iranians -- the most difficult aspect of developing a weapons program, or as some would say, the long pole in the tent, is enriching uranium. This is a nation -- Iran is a nation that is testing ballistic missiles. And it is a nation that is trying to enrich uranium. The NIE says this is a country that had a covert nuclear weapons program, which, by the way, they have failed to disclose, even today. They have never admitted the program existed in the first place.

The danger is, is that they can enrich, play like they got a civilian program -- or have a civilian program, or claim it's a civilian program -- and pass the knowledge to a covert military program. And then the danger is, is at some point in the future, they show up with a weapon. And my comments are, now is the time to work together to prevent that scenario from taking place. It's in our interests.

So Iran is a "threat to peace"? I know it's not a revelation that our shrub is a moron, but how the hell did this idiot get to be in charge of a country that has actual functioning nuclear weapons? Shrub has proven himself to be the greatest threat to peace on the planet. It wont be Iran that starts WWIII. Let us hope that shrub will be prevented from starting it.

That's Good

Under the list of unexpected treats, Zymurgian made "mullagatoni" (spelling by guess), an Indian curry soup. I had planned a basic dinner of something sandwich, but I ran into a bouquet of marvelous flavors. Thanks, Zymurgian.
Added: It's not that I don't know how to cook, it's that as a single guy I seldom get motivated to cook. I seldom get the urge to make really good food, and instead go for quick and easy. So a really good soup is a treat.