Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Concerning Historical Ignorance
Section 3 - State of the Union, Convening Congress
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
I would be in favor of ending the current annual event as it has lost significance or meaning with regard to the functional political process but merely re-emphasizes & highlights problems with "Washington Politics as usual." The tradition began with Woodrow Wilson, hardly an example for any President to desire to follow. However, it serves to further agendas. Up until Wilson, Presidents merely wrote a letter to Congress following the example of Thomas Jefferson who did not like the precedent set by Washington & Adams in addressing Congress. Jefferson felt that it appeared too monarchial. But, I digress, my opinion regardless of my track record is rarely headed.
You can read or even watch replays, soundbites, commentary, etc. concerning the Sate of the Unions Speech on countless websites. I listened to some banter after the speech last night from both sides. Chris Mathews was so enthralled by President Obama's speech that he forgot his racist feelings towards the black race. Democrat & Republican pundits squabbled about points made, promises kept, and things that were pointless regardless. However no one seemingly had a problem with the quote I provide below.
I was shocked at the historical ignorance by our President, and the lack of reverence & respect given past administrations. The quote I have contention with is:
"Now -- just stating the facts. Now, if we had taken office in ordinary times, I would have..."
The President went on to essentially blame the Bush administration. Nothing new there, it's been a part of the administrations MO however unappealing or appealing it is based on your political views. However, my question is, "Mr. President, What ordinary times are you talking about? In the history of this country would you please point to a 4 year period of normal times?" It doesn't matter what you would have done Mr. President. In 234 years that this country has existed, we have never known normal times.
As a lifelong student of history, I cannot recall a single President who had executive power turned over to them in these superfluous "ordinary times" that President Obama seems to think are so common. Let's start with Washington in 1789! He was chosen to be the leader of a country that at the time had just broken away from the most powerful country on the planet. In the history of the world the number of nations succeeding from one country & surviving independently for 20 years is staggeringly infinitesimal. For evidence I give you Europe & the Continent of Africa! Washington never decried the challenge he was given however! A challenge that was greater than any Barack Obama will EVER face in his life. Washington was given the task to hold 13 colonies, each of which had very egocentric independent identities, together in the name of Individual rights & freedom. Washington took over and then passed along to Adams, Jefferson, etc. a government that had to establish a Military, Navy, & later an Air-Force. They had to normalize & coin money. They had to set trade regulations & tariffs. They had to deal with a rapidly expanding country thanks to the Louisiana Purchase. There was a war with Mexico. They dealt with a Civil War! This before the country was 100 years old.
Please someone describe to me the normalcy here. Also, it should be emphasized, that while the policies passed & decisions made look nice and sensible & are presented in a nice light in text books, most of these issues sparked much more fierce debate than the silliness of the recent Health Care Reform debate. The Louisiana Purchase & westward expansion was looked upon with disdain by many. It was better "left to the savages" as Native Americans were oft labeled. The government simply coining money was hotly contested though it is difficult to understand today the fears of restriction of freedom that coining money brought to a people accustomed to taxation without representation & oppression by governmental rule at the time.
Post-Civil War, presidents in turn dealt with reconstruction of the Southern United States & continued westward expansion facilitated as a result of the hotly debated trans-continental railroad who's placement was a point of contention for states that succeeded from the Union prior to the Civil War. Also on the table for presidents to deal with is how to deal with suddenly freed slaves. What rights would they be given? Were they allowed to vote? Own land? All points of legislative contention. At the turn of the century just after our hundredth birthday as a nation Presidents had to deal with the newly organized territory of Alaska (before Oklahoma even became a territory mind you). Hawaii, Puerto Rico, & American Samoa were annexed. Not all were popular decisions.
In the "ordinary" part of the early 1900s we helped the citizens of Panama rise up and declare their independence from Columbia so that we could build what would become known as the Panama Canal, one of the greatest engineering feats in the history of mankind. Then in 1914 WWI began with the U.S. entering the fray in 1917. However in the normalcy of that 3 -year interim we invaded Haiti, contended with Pancho Villa, bought the West Indies & U.S. Virgin Islands for $25Million, & began the National Park Service.
In spite of the War to End All Wars, the U.S. experienced dramatic financial and industrial growth during the 1920s. Taxation, trade tariffs, infrastructure, all were unsettled & contentious issues despite the popular dance halls in New York City & Chicago. Oh yeah, after nearly being decimated we gave American Indians citizenship! Citizenship after they had been here for a few thousand years. None of this seems normal to me.
Then in 1929, on Black Tuesday, the stock market plummeted and we entered into the Great Depression. We remained in the Great Depression until we entered into WWII. Curious if FDR, when sworn in thought he was taking an "ordinary" job during "ordinary times."
Since WWII, "ordinary times" as they had been since 1789 were merely naive delusions of grandeur! Post WWII we were immediately embroiled in the Cold War that lasted until the end of the 20th century. We went to war in Korea in the early part of the decade of the 50s. Seems like if anything was normal it would be war & turmoil. After the Korean War it was very long before we had civil unrest in Harlem, NY; Watts in Los Angeles, California; at Kent State University in Ohio, and oh yeah. We were involved in another war. This time in a small country in Southeast Asia called Vietnam. The war in Vietnam, like Korea, was a result of the Cold War. We had a president assassinated, we had a president impeached. We had a missile crisis involving the Soviet Union our adversary in the Cold War & the Island nation of Cuba, a mere 90 miles from our shores. After the war in Vietnam we also had a new drug culture within the United States & an energy crisis. People waited in lines for hours for gasoline, Iran took Americans as hostages. As we entered the 1980s we were gripped with a stubborn recession, inflation, high unemployment, & a bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut. Doubting that Ronald Reagan felt that there was anything "ordinary" during this period in which he also survived an attempt on his life.
As we entered the 1990s we liberated the tiny country of Kuwait from it's neighbor Iraq in our first war in the Middle East. We endured an attempted bombing on the World Trade Center, the killing of Americans in the bombing of the Kabul Towers in Saudi Arabia, the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, the death of U.S. Servicemen in the terrorist attack on the U.S.S. Cole, earthquakes in San Francisco & Los Angeles, floods in the Mid-West that cost billions of dollars not to mention lives. We enjoyed rapid technological growth, & then a bust of the temporary stock bubble that it created which plunged us into yet another recession.
What can you say, it's a nice day for a drive!
This is the newest electric car. It can go 30 miles without having to charge!
Monday, January 25, 2010
America is fat & getting fatter!
Sent from my Cellular South BlackBerry® Smartphone
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The real story of the NBA Finals' Game 3
First off, too much has been made of Orlando's amazing shooting percentage, 62.5% from the field, 76.7% inside the 3 point arc. The argument has run like this..... 'The magic had to have the best shooting game in NBA Finals history just to beat the Lakers." Well, yeah, and in Game 2 it took the Lakers overtime to beat a team that didn't shoot nearly as well AND had over 20 turnovers. So what's your point?
Let me enlighten the "experts" on TV that the point they are missing is that this is the WORST defense in NBA finals history by both teams! Neither of these teams can guard a toilet see! The Orlando Magic shot such a blistering percentage because they had better offensive spacing in game 3 than in the first two games and were not guarded. It opened up early outside shooting opportunities and that opened up driving lanes for Rafer Alston and Turkoglu. When you repeatedly put pressure on the paint every trip, scoring becomes easy. Not a single expert has had the basketball knowledge to mention that little fact.
What they have concentrated on was Kobe Bryant. Was it his fault or not? Is he tired or not? Can he do it by himself or not? Well, the answers are Yes, it doesn't matter, and no! Yes it was his fault they lost! He played like shit! Kobe played bad! For you L.A. and Kobe fans who didn't have a heart attack from someone saying that, let me explain why. Kobe too twice as many shots as any of his teammates. Kobe made 7 of his first 9 shots, but then only made 4 or his next 16, one of which was a basket with a half second left that was meaningless. So he had essentially gone 3 of 15 after his first half flurry. Meanwhile, his teammate Pau Gasol went 9 of 11. I.e., he took 11 shots and made 9 of them. By not giving Pau Gasol the ball more, the Lakers are cutting their own throat. Gasol is the ideal center to run the triangle offense through. He's mobile and skilled. As for Kobe being tired, you're not tired if you go 3-15 down the stretch. Yeah, he's played more games than anyone in the last 24 months, but a few games ago he went for 40! 24 months of fatigue didn't suddenly catch up with him in 24 minutes of the second half. Obviously sports writers with 40+ inch waist know little about fintess and conditioning.
Furthermore, Dwight Howard has not fared well when guarding him. Howard is more athletic, stronger, and quicker, but Gasol is smarter and more skilled.
"The big strong guys are always taking from the little guys, but the smart guys, they take from every body." - Pete Carril
What the legendary Princeton coach was saying there, and his teams proved time and again, was that you didn't have to be the best athlete if you had skill and played intelligently. That's what Gasol does, and he can eat the Magic alive whether Howard or anyone else is guarding him. If I were Phil Jackson, we would have a rule, unless it was a fast break bucket, or a lay up, no one shot until the ball had gone through Gasol. If the Lakers did this, they would notice that they were beating the Magic by about 22 points a game! Kobe would get his points on less shots because he wouldn't have to work as hard for them, and this series would be over a lot sooner than it otherwise will be. Gasol is the ideal player to run the Triangle Offense through.
As mentioned, the defense by both teams in this series is atrocious. The help defense by both teams is rare if ever existent. What's more, I've seen more bad pick and rolls by the Magic lead to baskets than I can count, but the Lakers have struggled with the pick and roll throughout the playoffs. If the Magic could dress out John Stockton and Karl Malone for the next three games this series would get silly!
The Magic offense, as mentioned had better spacing for game three which was responsible for the easier shots of which they certainly made. However, they have one of the biggest and most athletic players in the league on the post, and rarely throw him the ball on the block. They typically throw it to Howard on a hi-lo weak side pin, or on the roll of a pick and roll. By doing so this rarely gives the other team time to double team him. Double teams on Howard would give the other perimeter players for Orlando open shots and driving lanes. Now, there is the problem that Howard is not nearly as skilled as Gasol. He is limited offensively. Largely because he has never been truly coached. His only real move is a running hook that he has worked on, but short arms often. He also drops the ball too low too often for guards to swipe at and he spends too much time and too many dribbles gathering himself due to poor footwork. It would behoove Howard to spend the summer watching footwork from old films of Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajouwan. They did in 3 steps what it takes Howard to do in 5-7 steps. However, despite his offensive limitations, give him the ball enough on the post and he will command attention. After all Shaquille is still limited offensively, and very few teams choose to NOT double him, even though he's 76 now! But, Magic maintain the good spacing and you'll have a chance to win any game.
Lamar Odom has had a pretty good series. He's shooting a good percentage and making some plays, in fact, you might could argue that along with Gasol, he should be getting more touches in scoring range. However, again, this is due to bad defense and possibly scouting by the Magic. If Odom ever loses use of his left hand he will be able to neither brush his teeth or wipe his ass! Magic defenders, make Odom go right! He will not score!
Now, back to Mr. Bryant, the most beloved player of sports commentators since his Airness.... Here's some advice Kobe..... Instead of trying to go out and win this championship without Shaq and all of that other nonsensical media BS...... Go try to get a triple double! You have guys on your team that can flat score the ball! Derek Fisher rarely misses a big shot late in games. Odom finishes well, you have some decent shooters, and Gasol is the most underused scorer in the game. You don't have to shoot 25 shots a game, in fact, you're hurting your team! It was your fault that the Lakers lost that game. Get Gasol the ball more. He needs 17+ shots a game! Maybe 25, he shoots an incredible percentage and puts pressure on the paint. Putting pressure on the paint is the ONLY key necessity for a successful offense in basketball. Fall away jumpers from 22 feet don't put pressure on the paint.
Posts
