Today, Tuesday February 19, 2008 will go down in history as the day when a dynamic leader left the job he has held for years. This man was revered among his followers for his incisive thinking, his intuitive reactions, and his diligent, hard working attitude. Despite some dubious elements of his personal life -- betrayal and violence -- he is respected by many of his peers. Largely through his own talents and force of personality, he took a people who had been dominated by a more famous and powerful neighbor for as long as can be remembered and made them proud of themselves. He took a small group of no-names to the top of the world and kept them there for much longer than anyone expected.
Who is he?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Superdelegates
Increasingly it looks like the dead-lock in the Democratic primary between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will not be settled by the rank-and-file members of the party who vote and argue in the parties primaries and caucuses. Instead, it seems likely that the Democratic nominee for the presidential campaign of '08 will be decided by the almost 800 Superdelegates. Having the deciding votes cast for the Democratic nominee by a select group of party leaders seems extremely undemocratic, but should we be upset by this?
There's really nothing to be up-in-arms about. No age-old democratic principles are being violated -- the Superdelegates are not perverting the instructions of our Founding Fathers on the subject of political parties. In fact, most of our Founding Fathers considered political parties second only to tyranny (okay, if we dismiss "fuck," "damn," "fhit," and all of the 'normal' curse words) as far as obscenities go. The Democratic party is under no obligation to the principles of democracy at all -- they are a private organization. They could choose a nominee by lottery or brawling (neither of which would necessarily be a bad idea.) After all, what is a nominee other than a citizen who is going to try to run for an elected position?
Would it really be better if the nominee were chosen by the sum of all of the assorted state primaries and caucuses? If the voting ended today, Barack Obama would be the party's nominee, because he is leading the pledged delegate race 971 to 915. That's 51% to 49%. It seems to me that neither candidate has been able to convince a clear majority of democrats that he or she would be better than the other guy or doll. So I really don't see what the problem is with having party leaders decide who will be the best candidate to beat the Republicans and best President.
That said, there are two situations that I think could cause a real problem. If Clinton wins on the strength of her appeal to superdelegates it would be extremely easy for someone (almost anyone) to claim that it was not because of her experience, long service to the democratic party, etc., but because of her race. This could spell trouble. The other situation that could could blow up in a big way would be if one of the candidate's payment to a superdelegate became public. Regardless of whether that payment is a past favor, a future favor, a pledged vote in the senate, or cold hard cash, it would be very bad and very entertaining, but mostly very bad.
I'm still hoping that we will go into the convention still unclear about who will be the nominee and that there will be a back-room deal that would have Hillary Clinton running for President with Barack Obama as her Vice-Presidential candidate on the condition that Bill Clinton takes a long vacation to Tahiti until they win. Really, I think that would be the best for everyone involved.
There's really nothing to be up-in-arms about. No age-old democratic principles are being violated -- the Superdelegates are not perverting the instructions of our Founding Fathers on the subject of political parties. In fact, most of our Founding Fathers considered political parties second only to tyranny (okay, if we dismiss "fuck," "damn," "fhit," and all of the 'normal' curse words) as far as obscenities go. The Democratic party is under no obligation to the principles of democracy at all -- they are a private organization. They could choose a nominee by lottery or brawling (neither of which would necessarily be a bad idea.) After all, what is a nominee other than a citizen who is going to try to run for an elected position?
Would it really be better if the nominee were chosen by the sum of all of the assorted state primaries and caucuses? If the voting ended today, Barack Obama would be the party's nominee, because he is leading the pledged delegate race 971 to 915. That's 51% to 49%. It seems to me that neither candidate has been able to convince a clear majority of democrats that he or she would be better than the other guy or doll. So I really don't see what the problem is with having party leaders decide who will be the best candidate to beat the Republicans and best President.
That said, there are two situations that I think could cause a real problem. If Clinton wins on the strength of her appeal to superdelegates it would be extremely easy for someone (almost anyone) to claim that it was not because of her experience, long service to the democratic party, etc., but because of her race. This could spell trouble. The other situation that could could blow up in a big way would be if one of the candidate's payment to a superdelegate became public. Regardless of whether that payment is a past favor, a future favor, a pledged vote in the senate, or cold hard cash, it would be very bad and very entertaining, but mostly very bad.
I'm still hoping that we will go into the convention still unclear about who will be the nominee and that there will be a back-room deal that would have Hillary Clinton running for President with Barack Obama as her Vice-Presidential candidate on the condition that Bill Clinton takes a long vacation to Tahiti until they win. Really, I think that would be the best for everyone involved.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Iowa and New Hampshire -- Race and Process
To preface this blog, I feel it necessary to remind you that I don't know shit about shit. But, of course, if you're reading my drivel, you probably know that already. Not to worry -- the following political analysis will be highly speculative.
Much ado has been made over the results of the Democratic party's Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary. Theories explaining first why Barack Obama won in Iowa and now why Hillary Clinton won in New Hampshire have been so plentiful that it would be meaningless for me to even link to a few of them. I am nothing if not a slave to popular fads (plus, I'm right and everyone else is wrong...) so, here's my theory.
The results of Iowa and New Hampshire tell us nothing other than that people pretty much like Obama and Clinton equally and (thankfully) that they like Edwards a little less, at least in the Northeast. I am convinced and a little bit afraid that the winning margins in Iowa and New Hampshire can be explained by examining the voting processes of the two contests and thinking about race and racism.
In New Hampshire, the primary contest is an election, a process which is fairly familiar to most of us. The Iowa caucus, on the other hand, is a funny thing. People who are about to vote gather publicly in groups of their families and neighbors, friends and enemies, and then through a process involving debate and attempts and verbal persuasion, they more or less cast their votes. I believe that this would aid a Black candidate in Iowa and hurt him or her in New Hampshire.
As I believe pointed out by Malcolm Gladwell in one of his books, people tend to represent themselves in public as making choices less dependent on race as they actually do. He used the example of people on online dating sites declaring that the race of their date matters very little, but then almost always choosing to "approach" people of their own race. In Iowa -- voting in public, I believe people (basically everyone voting in both of these contests were white) were less likely to NOT vote for Obama because of his race, even if at the last second they felt unsure or uneasy because of it. Conversely, I am afraid that in New Hampshire, in the privacy of a curtained voting booth, people may have allowed their racial prejudices or simply their doubts about the racism of the rest of the country sway their votes from Obama. This would explain why polls (a public statement of your voting plan) would have shown Obama roughly 15% ahead of where he ended up placing in the actual, (and private on an individual level,) vote.
Since most of the rest of the contests are primaries and not caucuses, I still think Obama will have an uphill battle to climb (how's that for a mixed metaphor?) I know that Clinton is a woman (this Clinton) and that there are still tons of people who don't think a woman should be president, but I would argue that these people are less likely to lie to pollsters about this feeling. Either way, I am glad that the results in New Hampshire and Iowa have been so inconclusive. Extending the race for another month and another 20 states at least will get us more experienced candidate, chosen by a more educated and representative group of voters.
After I wrote this, I came across this article which explains my gut theory in possibly more eloquent languege. Apparently this isn't a new idea, and even has a name, the "Bradley/Wilder/Dinkins effect."
Much ado has been made over the results of the Democratic party's Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary. Theories explaining first why Barack Obama won in Iowa and now why Hillary Clinton won in New Hampshire have been so plentiful that it would be meaningless for me to even link to a few of them. I am nothing if not a slave to popular fads (plus, I'm right and everyone else is wrong...) so, here's my theory.
The results of Iowa and New Hampshire tell us nothing other than that people pretty much like Obama and Clinton equally and (thankfully) that they like Edwards a little less, at least in the Northeast. I am convinced and a little bit afraid that the winning margins in Iowa and New Hampshire can be explained by examining the voting processes of the two contests and thinking about race and racism.
In New Hampshire, the primary contest is an election, a process which is fairly familiar to most of us. The Iowa caucus, on the other hand, is a funny thing. People who are about to vote gather publicly in groups of their families and neighbors, friends and enemies, and then through a process involving debate and attempts and verbal persuasion, they more or less cast their votes. I believe that this would aid a Black candidate in Iowa and hurt him or her in New Hampshire.
As I believe pointed out by Malcolm Gladwell in one of his books, people tend to represent themselves in public as making choices less dependent on race as they actually do. He used the example of people on online dating sites declaring that the race of their date matters very little, but then almost always choosing to "approach" people of their own race. In Iowa -- voting in public, I believe people (basically everyone voting in both of these contests were white) were less likely to NOT vote for Obama because of his race, even if at the last second they felt unsure or uneasy because of it. Conversely, I am afraid that in New Hampshire, in the privacy of a curtained voting booth, people may have allowed their racial prejudices or simply their doubts about the racism of the rest of the country sway their votes from Obama. This would explain why polls (a public statement of your voting plan) would have shown Obama roughly 15% ahead of where he ended up placing in the actual, (and private on an individual level,) vote.
Since most of the rest of the contests are primaries and not caucuses, I still think Obama will have an uphill battle to climb (how's that for a mixed metaphor?) I know that Clinton is a woman (this Clinton) and that there are still tons of people who don't think a woman should be president, but I would argue that these people are less likely to lie to pollsters about this feeling. Either way, I am glad that the results in New Hampshire and Iowa have been so inconclusive. Extending the race for another month and another 20 states at least will get us more experienced candidate, chosen by a more educated and representative group of voters.
After I wrote this, I came across this article which explains my gut theory in possibly more eloquent languege. Apparently this isn't a new idea, and even has a name, the "Bradley/Wilder/Dinkins effect."
Sunday, January 06, 2008
The (First?) Ten Commandments of Ezism
1. Don't watch the weather.
2. Don't buy water.
3. Don't trade in currency.
4. Don't ever write ten commandments without an elastic clause like "Don't do stuff you shouldn't do."
5. Don't do stuff you shouldn't do.
6. Deodorant and electric razors are scams and should be treated as such.
7. Shake your ass, but watch yourself.
8.
9. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, two, the dentist, three the psychiatrist.
10. Sleep well.
They're really more like guidelines...
2. Don't buy water.
3. Don't trade in currency.
4. Don't ever write ten commandments without an elastic clause like "Don't do stuff you shouldn't do."
5. Don't do stuff you shouldn't do.
6. Deodorant and electric razors are scams and should be treated as such.
7. Shake your ass, but watch yourself.
8.
9. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, two, the dentist, three the psychiatrist.
10. Sleep well.
They're really more like guidelines...
Monday, December 10, 2007
Dogfighting, Hypocrisy, and Why the NFL Won't be Around in 10 Years
Football star Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in a federal jail today for his "involvement in a dogfighting ring." This is an unfair conviction because of who Michael Vick is. Now, I could be saying that because Vick is a celebrity, he and his co-defendants were treated in an unfairly harsh way to send a message, but I'm not. I could be saying that because Vick grew up in Virginia, he should be judged by the prevailing morals of the southern culture, which seems to be fairly permissive of dogfighting at least according to Whoopi Goldberg (go to around the 1:45 mark of the video,) but, I'm not. I could argue that Vick has been targeted unfairly because of his status as a popular Black figure in Atlanta -- an argument that was explored in "A History of Mistrust" by Wright Thompson, but I'm not. It is hypocritical to sentence Michael Vick to almost two years of jail time for acting as an owner, financier, and profiteer involved in dogfighting while lauding, supporting, and idolizing him as a participant in very similar activities throughout his life as a football player.
The first time I saw Vick play football was on September 23, 1999 when he was a red-shirt freshman (otherwise known as a Sophomore who didn't play football his first year at college... I tried to claim that I was one in my second year at Rutgers, but it didn't get me very far...) at Virginia Tech University. This was the third game of the season. Vick had missed the second game after being carried off the field in his first game. Running towards the end zone, Vick had shown such speed, agility, courage, fearlessness, elusiveness, cleverness, and yes, aggression that he refused to stop until an opponent managed to flip Vick completely. Vick still made it into the end zone for a touchdown, but he sprained his ankle when he hit the ground. If you never saw Vick play, check out this video (musical accompaniment by Ludacris, flips around 0:44 mark.)
Why is this relevant? The same qualities that made Vick successful in football are the ones that I imagine would make a pit-bull successful in dogfighting. Yes, you say, but dogfighting is a horrible, violent, and often fatal activity, where the dogs get no reward out of it, whereas football is a sport whose participants are rewarded beyond reason.
I'm not sure this is true. Dogfighting is clearly violent, and football players who do not train well enough to make the NFL are not taken out and shot or electrocuted and killed (although encouraging college kids to concentrate solely on football and to ignore academics and then to set them loose with no support after they don't make the NFL is a violation itself, but that's another story...) but, football itself is no less violent then dogfighting.
In the past year, a Buffalo Bill, Kevin Everett suffered a life threatening spinal cord injury during a game. More and more information has been coming out about the effects of the repeated concussions that many football players have had and continue to have. Retired players have suffered from severe depression, early onset dementia and Alzheimer's (and we're talking about mid-forties early,) leading to suicide and death. Even if your brain manages to make it through, your body most likely will not. Bo Jackson a legendary athlete had his career ended when he tore his hip. The great quarterback John Elway recently had knee replacement surgery at the age of 47. Linemen in the NFL (and increasingly at younger ages) are usually 300+ pounds, which puts an incredible toll on their bodies.
Quite simply, playing football at a high enough level for a long enough time will kill you. But football stars like Michael Vick are fawned over by fans, paid millions of dollars by team owners. Yet Vick is thrown into jail for lavishing the same twisted funding and adoration (remember, little to no mercy is shown to football players who don't perform either, see Ryan Leaf, see the NFL's bizarre refusal to fairly compensate retired players, see team's abilities to cut a player at any time) onto fighting dogs.
I actually saw Vick in an airport once. He was reading a magazine, waiting for a flight to Atlanta when a man approached him:
"Hey, are you Mike Vick? I love playing you in Madden!"
I think Mike Vick just got played in real life.
The first time I saw Vick play football was on September 23, 1999 when he was a red-shirt freshman (otherwise known as a Sophomore who didn't play football his first year at college... I tried to claim that I was one in my second year at Rutgers, but it didn't get me very far...) at Virginia Tech University. This was the third game of the season. Vick had missed the second game after being carried off the field in his first game. Running towards the end zone, Vick had shown such speed, agility, courage, fearlessness, elusiveness, cleverness, and yes, aggression that he refused to stop until an opponent managed to flip Vick completely. Vick still made it into the end zone for a touchdown, but he sprained his ankle when he hit the ground. If you never saw Vick play, check out this video (musical accompaniment by Ludacris, flips around 0:44 mark.)
Why is this relevant? The same qualities that made Vick successful in football are the ones that I imagine would make a pit-bull successful in dogfighting. Yes, you say, but dogfighting is a horrible, violent, and often fatal activity, where the dogs get no reward out of it, whereas football is a sport whose participants are rewarded beyond reason.
I'm not sure this is true. Dogfighting is clearly violent, and football players who do not train well enough to make the NFL are not taken out and shot or electrocuted and killed (although encouraging college kids to concentrate solely on football and to ignore academics and then to set them loose with no support after they don't make the NFL is a violation itself, but that's another story...) but, football itself is no less violent then dogfighting.
In the past year, a Buffalo Bill, Kevin Everett suffered a life threatening spinal cord injury during a game. More and more information has been coming out about the effects of the repeated concussions that many football players have had and continue to have. Retired players have suffered from severe depression, early onset dementia and Alzheimer's (and we're talking about mid-forties early,) leading to suicide and death. Even if your brain manages to make it through, your body most likely will not. Bo Jackson a legendary athlete had his career ended when he tore his hip. The great quarterback John Elway recently had knee replacement surgery at the age of 47. Linemen in the NFL (and increasingly at younger ages) are usually 300+ pounds, which puts an incredible toll on their bodies.
Quite simply, playing football at a high enough level for a long enough time will kill you. But football stars like Michael Vick are fawned over by fans, paid millions of dollars by team owners. Yet Vick is thrown into jail for lavishing the same twisted funding and adoration (remember, little to no mercy is shown to football players who don't perform either, see Ryan Leaf, see the NFL's bizarre refusal to fairly compensate retired players, see team's abilities to cut a player at any time) onto fighting dogs.
I actually saw Vick in an airport once. He was reading a magazine, waiting for a flight to Atlanta when a man approached him:
"Hey, are you Mike Vick? I love playing you in Madden!"
I think Mike Vick just got played in real life.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Birthday Party 2007
Thanks to everyone who came out to my birthday party! Without further ado, check out this slide show of photos taken by YOU, the party-goers... (god, that trope is getting played out!)
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Recalling New Orleans, Part One
To continue my theme of being absurdly remiss in my blogging duties, I am only now, almost two weeks after I got beck from spending a week in Louisiana, going to write about it.
I went down with a group from my company, Return Path, to a Habitat for Humanity build near Mandeville, Covington, and Abita Springs, three small towns on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. As you might remember, the day after Hurricane Katrina hit, everyone was relieved at how little damage it had done. Then, the levees which held Lake Pontchartrain in its basin burst and the lake flooded South, towards New Orleans. The neighborhoods on the South Shore of the lake were among the hardest hit areas and many of them have not been rebuilt -- some probably never will be.
Instead, the neighborhoods on the North Shore of the lake have seen their populations triple in the last year and a half. Needless to say, this has been a bit of a strain on the infrastructure (the traffic (almost) rivals New Jersey!) Also similar to parts of New Jersey, the North Shore neighborhoods are home to many who commute into the big city for work everyday. Instead of the being the Bridge & Tunnel crowd, these folks could accurately be called the Causeway crowd, because to get to New Orleans they drive across the lake on a 23 mile bridge! Check out this google map to see this wonder.
I left New York a couple of days early with my friend and colleague, Russ, with plans to enjoy the various delights of New Orleans before we got down to work. Unfortunately, we had chosen to fly AirTran, so we spent a lot of time waiting around in La Guardia airport with a group of people, who like us, were fated to spend an unwanted night in Atlanta due to various plane and customer service malfunctions. Luckily, we were stuck with some nice people, some of whom were from New Orleans, so we heard a few interesting stories.
The most remarkable of them came from Amanda, a young woman whose extended family are almost all firemen in New Orleans. Apparently, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, firemen were forced into all sorts of first-responder duties, and among the various responsibilities of the job was the issuing, by the FBI of "drop guns." A "drop gun," we found out, is an untraceable gun with no serial number which, when given out, went along with instructions to -- if you ended up needing to use it -- drop it.
In more light-hearted news, we were (supposed to be) flying on the same day as the NFL draft and the Atlanta Falcon's star quarterback, Michael Vick, happened to be flying from the same gate as us. Despite being distracted by the blingiest chain I've ever seen, I caught a snippet of conversation between him and a white male admirer in his mid thirties, "You're great, man! I love playing you in Madden!"
When we finally made it to New Orleans, it was a real pleasure. Canal Street and Bourbon Street are busy, bustling, and unbelievably smelly. At night the bars feature cover bands or, worse, karaoke. On the upside you can buy funny T-shirts (the best we saw bore the message, "FEMA emergency plan, 'Run bitches, run!'") and get colorful alcoholic beverages in large plastic cups to go. We had more fun on Frenchman street several blocks away where there are several great jazz and blues clubs (try the Apple Barrel) and a great restaurant where I had one of the most exquisitely wonderful meals in recent memory. My guess is that everything is amazing, but I can personally vouch for the Fried Chicken, Mac 'n Cheese, and Mustard Greens.
Thank you for making it through part one, and please tune in to part two, when our intrepid heroes discover the joys of stuffed ices, the omnipotence of the word "baby" in Louisiana vernacular, and get our hand dirty with some building.
I went down with a group from my company, Return Path, to a Habitat for Humanity build near Mandeville, Covington, and Abita Springs, three small towns on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. As you might remember, the day after Hurricane Katrina hit, everyone was relieved at how little damage it had done. Then, the levees which held Lake Pontchartrain in its basin burst and the lake flooded South, towards New Orleans. The neighborhoods on the South Shore of the lake were among the hardest hit areas and many of them have not been rebuilt -- some probably never will be.
Instead, the neighborhoods on the North Shore of the lake have seen their populations triple in the last year and a half. Needless to say, this has been a bit of a strain on the infrastructure (the traffic (almost) rivals New Jersey!) Also similar to parts of New Jersey, the North Shore neighborhoods are home to many who commute into the big city for work everyday. Instead of the being the Bridge & Tunnel crowd, these folks could accurately be called the Causeway crowd, because to get to New Orleans they drive across the lake on a 23 mile bridge! Check out this google map to see this wonder.
I left New York a couple of days early with my friend and colleague, Russ, with plans to enjoy the various delights of New Orleans before we got down to work. Unfortunately, we had chosen to fly AirTran, so we spent a lot of time waiting around in La Guardia airport with a group of people, who like us, were fated to spend an unwanted night in Atlanta due to various plane and customer service malfunctions. Luckily, we were stuck with some nice people, some of whom were from New Orleans, so we heard a few interesting stories.
The most remarkable of them came from Amanda, a young woman whose extended family are almost all firemen in New Orleans. Apparently, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, firemen were forced into all sorts of first-responder duties, and among the various responsibilities of the job was the issuing, by the FBI of "drop guns." A "drop gun," we found out, is an untraceable gun with no serial number which, when given out, went along with instructions to -- if you ended up needing to use it -- drop it.
In more light-hearted news, we were (supposed to be) flying on the same day as the NFL draft and the Atlanta Falcon's star quarterback, Michael Vick, happened to be flying from the same gate as us. Despite being distracted by the blingiest chain I've ever seen, I caught a snippet of conversation between him and a white male admirer in his mid thirties, "You're great, man! I love playing you in Madden!"
When we finally made it to New Orleans, it was a real pleasure. Canal Street and Bourbon Street are busy, bustling, and unbelievably smelly. At night the bars feature cover bands or, worse, karaoke. On the upside you can buy funny T-shirts (the best we saw bore the message, "FEMA emergency plan, 'Run bitches, run!'") and get colorful alcoholic beverages in large plastic cups to go. We had more fun on Frenchman street several blocks away where there are several great jazz and blues clubs (try the Apple Barrel) and a great restaurant where I had one of the most exquisitely wonderful meals in recent memory. My guess is that everything is amazing, but I can personally vouch for the Fried Chicken, Mac 'n Cheese, and Mustard Greens.
Thank you for making it through part one, and please tune in to part two, when our intrepid heroes discover the joys of stuffed ices, the omnipotence of the word "baby" in Louisiana vernacular, and get our hand dirty with some building.
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