Full Contact Breakfast

Storm Clouds

2007-04-19T21:12:00.000-04:00

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day soon a woman in the late stages of her pregnancy will face the excruciating prospect of having to end that pregnancy or face serious health consequences. When she discusses her situation with her doctor, she will learn that one option that has been used in the past is no longer available to her. Not because the procedure is unsafe or ineffective, and not because medical professionals, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, believe that it is a procedure that is medically inappropriate for use in such situations. No, she will learn that Congress, President Bush, and the Supreme Court have made the decision that this procedure should not be used, regardless of her individual situation and what she and her doctor believe is in her best medical interests. She also will learn that, if she is unhappy with the decision that has been made for her, she is welcome to hire a lawyer and bring to the courts the intensely personal issue of whether her pregnancy can or should continue, even at the expense of her health.

When Congress enacts, the President approves, and the Supreme Court upholds a ban on a medical procedure that in some circumstances is a professionally recommended option to protect a woman's health, the situation needs to be described as it is: government-approved misogyny. Yesterday's decision in Gonzales v. Carhart calls to mind Justice Blackmun's no longer completely accurate closing statement in an earlier abortion-related decision, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services: "For today, at least, the law of abortion stands undisturbed. For today, the women of this Nation still retain the liberty to control their destinies. But the signs are evident and very ominous, and a chill wind blows."

It's Harder Than It Looks

2007-04-19T20:23:00.000-04:00

A few thoughts about the tragedy at Virginia Tech and its aftermath:

Perhaps it is natural to seek some rational explanation, or to want to place blame, even for what ultimately is a completely irrational act. So it is not surprising to hear so much about what could have been done or what should have been done to prevent Cho Seung-Hei's murderous rampage. But it is depressing nonetheless to see so much written and spoken about how Virginia Tech failed to protect students, didn't warn them quickly enough, should have thrown Cho out of school, yada, yada, yada. Because it all misses the point. Here is what you are not reading or hearing about as part of the saturation coverage: You cannot predict future dangerousness with even a reasonable degree of certainty, and no reputable psychiatrist will claim otherwise. Keep that in mind as you read and listen to what is being said about this incident, especially criticism of what Virginia Tech administrators did and did not do. As former Indianapolis Colts' coach Jim Mora once said in another, obviously less important, context: "You think you know. But you don't know."
An article on the front page of today's New York Times is particularly appalling. In late 2005, Cho was found to be a danger to himself or others (the standard that must be met before someone can be involuntarily committed), was briefly hospitalized, and ordered to undergo out-patient treatment. Based on this, the Times writes: "For all the intervention by the police and faculty members, Mr. Cho was allowed to remain on campus and live with other students." What??? Let's discuss just a few of the several problems raised by this article and its implications that "warning signs" were ignored. First, lots of people are found to be a danger to themselves or others and are involuntarily committed. You probably know some, although you may not be aware of it, since it is not something that people usually advertise. There is a reason why, for example, well more than a billion dollars a year in Pennsylvania alone is spent on public and private mental health services. Very, very few people with mental illness are violent toward others, and a microscopically small number of such persons do the sort of thing that Cho did. Second, much has been made of the two incidents in which women complained about Cho's behavior toward them. But even the Times admits that one woman described Cho's actions as "annoying," and neither of the women decided to press charges. If those are warning signs, they were blurry ones indeed. Third, a lot also has been made of Cho's work in creative writing and other classes, much of which has been described as disturbing and violent. I do not dispute that such writings can be a sign of psychological problems, and Cho's teachers seemed to have acted appropriately in expressing concern, urging him to get help, etc. But such writing is neither a predictor of future violence (good news for Quentin Tarantino's neighbors and friends) nor sufficient by itself to expel someone from college. Finally, don't we want college students (and everyone else, of course) to seek counselling and treatment when mental health problems arise? What could be more of a deterrent to such treatment than students knowing that they face suspension, expulsion, or other stigmatization by seeking such treatment? There is a second article in today's Times that expresses this very point. Someone needs to show that article to the authors and editors who worked on the other piece.
Someone needs to tell all the talking heads that "loner" is neither a medical term nor a helpful description of Cho or what happened here. I have known several "loners." None killed anyone.
Congress needs to pass a law banning the use of "profilers" to explain crimes and those who commit them. They have been on cable this week more often than "Law and Order" episodes. I have seen a number of them, all of whom used their specialized training and years of experience to determine that Cho was deeply disturbed and dangerous. Someone needs to explain to these profilers that they would be a lot more impressive if they had said something about Cho's problems before he killed all those people. I did a little research and learned that the word "profiler" comes from the Latin term meaning "guess a lot and every so often get one right."
A final point: No reasonable person could dispute that our system for providing persons with mental health treatment should be improved. And if enough people care enough, it will be improved. But the answer is not to draw fast and easy conclusions based on a highly unusual incident, one that tells us next to nothing about the daily lives of nearly all other seriously mentally ill persons. I see "scary" behavior many days just walking the streets of Philadelphia. I would bet that not one of the hundreds of murders that have occurred in this City in the past two years has been committed by the persons I see.

Nice Work If You Can Get It

2007-04-10T20:26:00.001-04:00

Today's Inquirer brings more evidence of the truth of the maxim, generally attributed to Michael Kinsley, that in so many cases the scandal is not that something illegal has occurred, but rather that what has occurred is, in fact, legal. So it is with mayoral candidate Bob Brady and this story about the various government and publicly funded jobs held by members of his family.

Brady has been the head of the City Democratic Party for years, so the revelation that he has relatives on the public payroll hardly qualifies as news. But the details about his wife's job -- now that is interesting.

Bob Brady is married to Debra Brady. Debra Brady, according to the Inquirer, "works as an office manager for Philadelphia Writ Service, which holds a no-bid contract to deliver notices of lawsuits for the city Law Department and other agencies." She is paid $100,000 as the office manager. Since 1999, the City has paid Philadelphia Writ Service about $9 million, all the while never bothering to seek competitive bids to see if it could get the job done less expensively. What do you think the chances are that someone who, say, didn't pay its office manager $100,000 per year might be able to submit an attractive bid?

But wait, as they say, there's more. Philadelphia Writ Service is owned by Mitchell Rubin. Rubin is also the chair of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (what, you think his day job doesn't leave time for public service?). Guess where Bob Brady's son has a job that pays $86,000? At least he is not the office manager.

And in a final business-as-usual touch, State Sen. Vincent Fumo has a cameo in this little drama. Rubin is married to Ruth Arneo, who has been a close aide to Fumo for a long time. So close, in fact, that she managed to get herself indicted a couple months ago right alongside her boss on federal charges of misusing public funds as well as money contributed to a Fumo-controlled non-profit.

Whew. Got all that?

It would be hard to describe any of the Democrats running for mayor as agents of real change. But a vote for Brady is a vote to change not a thing about the culture of Philadelphia politics. So if you like how business is done in this City, how public funds are spent, the quality of City services, and the number of City employees, Brady is your guy.

Bada Bing

2007-04-09T21:31:00.000-04:00

The Sopranos returned last night for Season Six, Part II, a nine-episode victory lap toward the finish line of television immortality. Last night's episode, "Soprano Home Movies," didn't disappoint, offering the usual mix of foreshadowing, melancholy, violence, denial, banality, intimidation, and family dysfunction that regular viewers are used to seeing.

The episode provided a lot to chew on, much of which will lead to nothing if past history is any guide (if you are still waiting for The Big Russian to return, it is time to let that go). But, still, there were more ducks; talk of a brain-damaged kid; reference to DNA by Bobby before he left part of his shirt with his first-ever whackee; and, most ominous of all, a humiliated Tony combined with home movies of his childhood and tales of Mama Livia, both supplied by the kookily sinister Janice. This should be good.

Part of the genius of The Sopranos is its writers' ability to communicate its core messages in as little as a single line of dialogue. Last night, for example, in a scene occurring the day after the brawl between Tony and Bobby, Carmela says to a nervous Janice: "Tony is not a vindictive man." There it is: she is at once a denier, which allows Carmela to love her husband and live with and benefit from her marriage to a Mob boss, and an enabler, which allows Carmela to help her husband be all he can be by assisting in his charade of rationality, even with someone who obviously knows better. As great as James Gandolfini is, it is Edie Falco's Carmela who is the straw that stirs The Sopranos' drink.

On a train ride home today, I was reading The Survivor, an account of the Clinton White House years by John Harris. Harris describes an attempt by a family friend to try to get Hillary to accept that her husband did, in fact, have a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, despite his claims to the contrary. "You have to face the fact that something about this might be true," the friend warned. "'Look, Bob,' Hillary Clinton responded. 'My husband may have his faults, but he has never lied to me.'"

And that is when it hit me: The Sopranos is about the Clintons. It is all there: the ambition, of both spouses; the use and misuse of power; the use of people for their own benefit, and then their dispatch when their continued presence proves costly, uncomfortable, or simply undesirable; the sense that the usual rules don't always apply, often followed by the reliance on others to clean up the mess that has been made; the use of lower-level associates to both carry out unpleasant tasks and provide insulation when things don't always turn out as had been hoped; the repeated promises of changes to come; and, of course, wives who deny and enable, all the while prospering greatly from the relationship and using it to their own advantage when necessary.

Or maybe The Sopranos is about something, or somebody, else. Stay tuned.

Good News

2007-04-09T18:31:00.001-04:00

This is the best news I have heard in a long time. This fantasy thing is completely out of control and only getting worse, God help us all.

It's bad enough that there are segments about fantasy this or fantasy that on Sports Center and other ESPN programs, including identified fantasy "experts," as if it isn't enough to hear from what I guess we now have to call reality experts. But now, as I saw for the first time the other night, ESPN News includes "Fantasy Impact" on the screen when it shows its box score information about a game. I'm not sure how the fantasy impact of a game differs from the actual impact of a game, and please do not tell me because I don't want to know.

I guess I am old-school: For me, the game itself is the fantasy. And I prefer my fantasies to be, well, a little more fantastic.

Everything But the Helmet

2007-04-03T18:27:00.000-04:00

It's not just that John McCain is supporting President Bush on the Iraq war. That has been true for a long time. But his stroll in Baghdad the other day to do a little shopping -- accompanied by 100 soldiers, helicopters, and gun ships -- followed by claims that things are going well makes one wonder whether he has followed the President to La-La Land. Is this is "Dukakis in the tank" moment? He better hope not.

Imagine

2007-04-03T17:56:00.001-04:00

Here's what I would wish for: That Yoko Ono would do something that makes some freaking sense.

A Headlock on Life

2007-04-02T20:59:00.001-04:00

On the day before the first night of Passover, The New York Times brings word (subscription may be required) of the passing of Abe Coleman, "a squat powerhouse of a professional wrestler, billed by promoters as the Hebrew Hercules and known to opponents by the two-footed kick he copied from kangaroos." He was 101.

Mr. Coleman also was known as the Jewish Tarzan, presumably to avoid confusion with the real Tarzan, who I believe was Anglican and, unlike Mr. Coleman, was not known for his flying head butts and airplane spin. He claimed to have met his wife when, during a match, he was thrown out of the ring and landed on her, and while a woman who frequents the front rows of wrestling matches isn't for everyone, their union lasted nearly 50 years.

You just can't make this stuff up. Rest in peace, Mr. Coleman.

Bernie Who?

2007-03-31T21:55:00.001-04:00

Today's Washington Post provided the hardly unexpected news that the horrid Rudy Giuliani's bff, Bernard Kerik, is likely to be indicted on tax evasion and other charges. Kerik has already pleaded guilty to state charges that he accepted nearly $200,000 in "gifts" (I guess that is what they are calling that now), most of which involved substantial renovations to an apartment that Kerik did not pay for while working as the corrections commissioner and later the police commissioner when Giuliani was mayor of New York.

Or, to put it another way, Giuliani appointed a common crook to two of the most important jobs in the City of New York and then convinced President Bush (not that it was so hard, I'm sure) to nominate that crook to be in charge of the Department of Homeland Security. While this type of attention to detail certainly qualifies Giuliani to be the head of FEMA or some other senior position in the Bush Administration, I remain baffled as to why so many Republican voters seem inclined to support him for President. Let's hope Kerik and his ongoing problems finally shatter the inexplicable Giuliani mystique once and for all.

Quote of the Day

2007-03-31T21:12:00.001-04:00

"It's kind of like having a 9-11 benefit game, and asking Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to throw out the first pitch." -- Deadspin, making the obvious (except to the hapless Bud Selig) point that featuring the Cleveland Indians and their racist mascot, Chief Wahoo, in MLB's "Civil Rights Game" might not have been the best idea.

Sis Boom Bah

2007-03-31T21:02:00.000-04:00

According to this article in today's New York Times (subscription may be required), cheerleading has become at least as, and perhaps more, dangerous than some of the sporting events at which cheerleaders do whatever it is they do:

Emergency room visits for cheerleading injuries nationwide have more than doubled since the early 1990s, far outpacing the growth in the number of cheerleaders, and the rate of life-threatening injuries has startled researchers. Of 104 catastrophic injuries sustained by female high school and college athletes from 1982 to 2005 — head and spinal trauma that occasionally led to death — more than half resulted from cheerleading, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. All sports combined did not surpass cheerleading.

This danger element may be new to cheerleading, but here's something that has always been true: Cheerleading is stupid, exceptionally so.

I have never understood why parents and schools at all levels -- elementary, high school, and college -- think it is worthwhile to have students, almost always female, spend time "cheering on" others, almost always male, instead of doing something constructive themselves. I mean, it is not like people attending sporting events don't know when to applaud. And, please, don't tell me how athletic you have to be to do it. If cheerleaders were such good athletes, they would be playing on the teams they watch.

It's always been ridiculous. And now it's ridiculous and dangerous. It's tough to be perky after being dropped on your head.

I'm Baaaaaaack!!

2007-03-31T19:34:00.001-04:00

As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by myself...

Anyway, while I will never be one of those several times a day, or even once every day, type of blogger, I plan to now get back to my multiple times a week posting schedule. During the past couple of post-less weeks, I have been thinking about what FCB look like, and I decided that, for the most part, it should be just what it has been. I do hope to add the occasional longer essay, however, with my goal being one such piece a week or so. As always, your thoughts and comments are most welcome. Thanks especially to those of you who made clear, both by submitting comments and by resorting to the somewhat old-fashioned method of talking to me, that you missed hearing from this corner of the Internets.

Brief Respite

2007-03-18T17:36:00.001-04:00

Apologies to my loyal readers (both of them) for the lighter-than-usual posting activity this month. There are a few reasons for the lull, but none of them is especially interesting.

I have been spending some of this mini-hiatus thinking about the direction FCB should take in the days ahead, and I hope to have something to say about that soon. I am optimistic at least half of my readership will bear with me.

Pants on Fire

2007-03-07T21:10:00.001-05:00

The interesting thing about the Scooter Libby case is not that he lied to the FBI and the grand jury. It's that he lied so obviously and ineptly. I keep reading what a smart guy he is, but his years at the side of the Prince of Darkness clearly taught him nothing about the art of deception.

It's particularly unfortunate, if predictable, that Libby's supporters still insist that some sort of miscarriage of justice has occurred, as if what might be the strongest perjury case ever had just not played out before us all. Nine witnesses -- including two co-workers -- contradicted Libby's story and testified that Libby knew about Valerie Plame Wilson before his conversation with Tim Russert, during which Libby claimed to have been first told about her CIA job. Yet we still have to hear this sort of thing from the likes of Mary Matalin, as quoted in today's Washington Post:

"Scooter didn't do anything. And his personal record and service are impeccable. How do you make sense of a system where a security principal admits to stuffing classified docs in his pants and says, 'I'm sorry,' and a guy who is rebutting a demonstrable partisan liar is going through this madness?"

What??? I guess Mary hasn't figured out that there are ways of rebutting Joe Wilson that don't involve lying to the FBI and a grand jury. And what does what happened to Sandy Berger have to do with all this? Nothing, of course, but in Washington World, it is all partisanship, all the time. Facts be damned.

Libby has learned what Martha Stewart and many others also have learned: It doesn't matter what you did or didn't do. It doesn't matter whether an "underlying crime" has been committed. If you lie to the feds, you are in for a world of hurt.

Quote of the Day II

2007-03-07T20:14:00.001-05:00

"Can't we make this damn tin can go any faster?" -- Space shuttle pilot Commander William Oefelein, shortly after reading his e-mail while on his recent mission.

OK, I made this one up.

Quote of the Day

2007-03-07T20:11:00.001-05:00

"First urge will be to rip your clothes off, throw you on the ground and love the hell out of you." -- Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman, in e-mail message to Commander William Oefelein, who happened to be piloting the space shuttle at the time.

Not exactly "Ground Control to Major Tom."

Never-ending Shame

2007-02-28T21:21:00.000-05:00

The Bush Administration has been chock full of shameful moments -- there's been "Mission Accomplished;" "Heckuva job, Brownie" and its aftermath; a botched war that has taken more than 3,000 American lives; and the failure to make Americans significantly safer despite great financial and constitutional cost, to name but a few. But nothing better illustrates just how far off the moral rails the President and his main henchmen, the Prince of Darkness and Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, have taken this country than the case of Jose Padilla. Dahlia Lithwick does a good job showing why here.

Senior officials of our government have used and misused their full powers to destroy this man. It doesn't matter whether he has done what the government now says he has done, not that anyone should believe what the Justice Department says about Padilla given how much of what they said previously has been stashed in their ever-expanding "Never Mind" file. What matters is that Padilla is an American citizen arrested in America, yet for years he was denied the most basic constitutional rights and subjected to abusive and degrading treatment on a daily basis, including nearly three years in solitary confinement and a variety of other tactics that are not inflicted on even the most depraved criminals among us, criminals who, I hasten to add, have actually had trials and been convicted of something.

The government's zeal to convict Padilla of something, anything, has led to the tawdry spectacle of this week's hearing to determine if Padilla is competent to stand trial. A judge ruled late today that he is. And so this shameful exercise in personal and constitutional destruction moves forward.

Not in My House

2007-02-28T20:43:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee is trying to accomplish, but they're sure not going about it very well. Now that the committee has failed to vote anyone into the Hall for the third consecutive time, talk has begun of revamping the process. But that's the wrong solution. They should simply do away with the committee.

I have written before of my bafflement regarding players who seem to grow in esteem the farther they get into their retirement years. Players get on the ballot five years after their final seasons, then remain subject to judgment for 15 years so long as they reach minimum vote totals. I have never quite understood why a player who has failed to convince 75 percent of HOF voters -- most if not all of whom have seen the player in the prime of his career -- within 20 years that they should get in should continue to be considered for who knows how many more years. I would make an exception, of course, for the Negro League players who never received real consideration from the baseball writers. Some process also would have to be created so that managers and other non-players could be considered. But that could easily be accomplished within the context of the regular voting.

And it's not like the current Veterans Committee has distinguished itself. Of the 81 voters, only 51 voted for Marvin Miller, the former head of the players union. You can make a compelling case that Miller is the most significant baseball figure of the past 40 years. Anyone who says he is not among the five most significant figures during that time period simply has no idea what he is talking about. He almost single-handedly, for better or for worse (better, of course, for all the millionaires he created), revolutionized the sport by freeing players to sell their talents on the open market. I love some of the writers and broadcasters who have been voted in recently, but there is a serious problem with a Hall of Fame that includes Harry Kalas or Ernie Harwell but not Marvin Miller.

I also find it puzzling that the committee votes on umpires, like Doug Harvey, who inexplicably received more votes (52) than Miller. What, exactly, is the standard by which one judges whether someone is a Hall of Fame-caliber umpire? It can't just be longevity, any more than a long career means that a player gets in. Tony Gwynn was, by any objective measure, a better hitter during the prime of his career than 99 percent of his peers. By what objective measure is Harvey being measured?

The other advantage of doing away with the Veterans Committee is that it would end the biennial whining that occurs when Ron Santo does not get elected. I am old enough to remember a good chunk of Santo's career. He was a very good player, as these number show, but he does not belong in the Hall of Fame. Simply put, he was not great, and he hasn't gotten any better just because he has stayed in the public eye as a Cubs' announcer. If anyone has a gripe it is Jim Kaat, who pitched for 25 years, won 283 games, and might be the best fielding pitcher ever, having won 16 Gold Gloves, including an astonishing 12 straight.

Tastes Like Chicken

2007-02-23T17:19:00.000-05:00

Ixnay on the "beef" burritos.

Quote of the Day

2007-02-23T17:15:00.000-05:00

"He believes he will go back to the brig and he will die there." -- Patricia Zapf, a forensic psychologist testifying at a hearing to determine whether Jose Padilla is competent to stand trial.

Gee, whatever gave him that idea?

Turning Left -- A Lot

2007-02-21T21:21:00.001-05:00

I answer this question with a resounding yes. But overwhelming viewers with their properties has been ESPN's way of doing business for a long time. If you're not complaining about the NFL, NBA, or MLB, then you have to suck it up when it comes to NASCAR. Although the sign described here pretty much summarizes my feelings (FCB Shout Out: Deadspin).

Hey, at least it's not soccer.

Exacta

2007-02-21T21:08:00.000-05:00

Despicable and delusional at the same time. The Prince of Darkness carries forth.

Ouch

2007-02-18T21:19:00.000-05:00

This comment arrived in the FCB in-box this weekend. It's good to know that someone who reads FCB (or who at least stumbles over here) is a Beckham or soccer fan. I am trying to be generous and ignore the possibility that he or she is into the Spice Girls.

FCB is an equal opportunity blog and welcomes readers who are fans of all sports, even the exceptionally boring ones.

Hell Hath No Fury

2007-02-16T20:25:00.000-05:00

So I guess this means that no reconciliation is in the works for those crazy Kidds (Hat Tip: Deadspin). My favorite detail: Jason allegedly hit her with a cookie. I'm betting it was a Chips Ahoy.

Quote of the Day

2007-02-16T20:04:00.000-05:00

"I don't want people to think this is a joke." -- T. Milton Street, Sr., announcing his candidacy for mayor of Philadelphia.

Too late.

Dunder Head

2007-02-15T20:45:00.000-05:00

If, like FCB, you are a fan of The Office, you should check out this site, at which a labor and employment attorney analyzes each episode and estimates how much it would cost a company to defend the lawsuits that would be filed if their managers acted like the clueless Michael Scott (FCB Shoutout: WSJ Law Blog).

Quote of the Day

2007-02-15T20:34:00.000-05:00

"There is a method to this madness." -- City Managing Director Pedro Ramos, using a particularly unfortunate turn of phrase given the state of City services, trying to explain why so little plowing occurred in response to yesterday's significant snow.

While that snow was not being cleared, Mayor Street was giving a speech citing his many accomplishments. Having a clue was not among them.

Here We Go Again

2007-02-15T20:19:00.001-05:00

Now it's Justice Anthony Kennedy's turn to moan and groan about judicial pay.

All reasonable people can agree that federal judges should get the usual types of cost-of-living increases awarded routinely to other federal employees. But, as I have pointed out before, this "the judges are leaving, the judges are leaving" hysteria can't be supported. Justice Kennedy has been a federal judge for 30 years. Chief Justice Roberts left a seven-figure partnership to become a federal judge. If the pay is such a problem, why did they make such economically irrational choices? Could it be that there are non-monetary compensations, such as everyone standing up when you enter a room; really interesting work; and the power to make lawyers actually stop talking?

In addition, according to this calculation by the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, the current pay of federal judges is just slightly below what it has been, on average, for nearly 40 years, using inflation-adjusted dollars. What really irks these judges is that private sector lawyers and law professors now can make a whole lot more. Well, life is full of choices.

If some judges leave each year for better-paying jobs, so be it. There are plenty more highly qualified lawyers where they came from.

Update

2007-02-15T08:59:00.000-05:00

A judge has dismissed the case against MySpace I wrote about last month (Hat Tip: How Appealing). Four teenage girls had been sexually assaulted by a man who the girls had met on MySpace, so their parents sued the web site, claiming it had a duty to protect its underage users. "If anyone had a duty to protect [the girls], it was [their] parents, not MySpace," said U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks.

What a concept.

Quote of the Day -- Valentine's Day Edition

2007-02-14T08:51:00.001-05:00

"Mr. Fiennes became amorous towards me and, after a short period of time, I convinced him to leave the toilet." -- Qantas Airlines flight attendant Lisa Robertson, speaking about actor Ralph Fiennes, who apparently took a liking to Ms. Robertson during a flight.

It's Not Just Me

2007-02-13T20:35:00.001-05:00

This take on Rudy Giuliani didn't come from me, but I wish it had. And were I Torquemada's lawyer, I would tell him to sue.

Paying the Piper

2007-02-13T20:12:00.001-05:00

This column by Mark Yost in today's Wall Street Journal reflects a lot of what I have been thinking regarding the recent rash of publicity about ex-NFLers who have significant health issues. It is difficult not to conclude that many of the complaints, especially from players now in their 50s and older, is mostly bitterness about giving up so much physically for so little financially and, as the column notes, jealousy of later players who can earn so much more. But no one forced them to do it.

The most dangerous part of my job is avoiding a burned tongue from my morning coffee, yet I have had disability insurance for years. How many pro football players have used some of their money to purchase such a policy while they were still young and healthy? And I don't understand any of the arguments we are now hearing about how low NFL pensions are. My question is: why do former players get any pension at all? According to the web site of the NFL Players Association, the average NFL career lasts about three-and-a-half seasons. So let's say your career is exceptional and you play 10 seasons. How many jobs pay significant pensions for 10 years of service? For seven?

No one takes pleasure in seeing people suffer physically. But the sense of entitlement coming from some of these former players is unwarranted.

And, by the way, Tiki Barber is a very smart man.

How Many Sides of His Mouth Are There?

2007-02-10T12:57:00.001-05:00

More on the horror that is Rudy Giuliani. Since he lacks the integrity to embrace his long-stated positions or the courage to say that he has changed them, he has to resort to code words like "strict constructionist" to try to persuade right-wing voters to support him. So even though he says he supports a woman's constitutional right to choose an abortion, he wants people to believe that he will appoint Supreme Court justices who will take that right away. As usual, it is all -- and only -- about Rudy.

Hope It Was Good for You

2007-02-09T20:58:00.001-05:00

The Smoking Gun has a copy of Harold Reynold's contract, which ESPN terminated after Reynolds gave what he calls "an innocuous hug" to a female intern. The six-year contract was worth about $800,000 annually and required Reynolds to work about 100 days a year. Nice work if you can get it.

I don't know about you, but if a hug were going to cost me almost $5 million, I would want it to be a whole lot better than "innocuous."

Get Around, Get Around, I Get Around

2007-02-09T19:51:00.000-05:00

And now it's a three-man race. He seems a little young for her.

In Space, No One Hears You Pee

2007-02-08T20:53:00.001-05:00

NASA has announced that it will be checking out stalkernaut Lisa Nowak to see if it "missed anything along the way." I guess they mean something other than her complete psychological breakdown.

The first thing NASA needs to do is check the flight records to see if the space shuttle Nowak flew on last year made any unscheduled stops here. That would explain a lot.

Closing In?

2007-02-08T19:58:00.001-05:00

Since there seems to be little doubt that Scooter Libby lied -- and, consistent with how most things are done in the Bush Administration, in a particularly incompetent way -- one key question remains: Why did the Prince of Darkness care so much about Joseph Wilson and what he said? I think Andrew Sullivan has it right.

Libby should have lots of time in prison to figure it out. Right after he comes up with a new nickname -- "Scooter" won't cut it even in minimum security.

Commissioner for a Day

2007-02-06T21:38:00.001-05:00

Although the pro football season has only been over for two days, it's not too early to begin planning for next season. Here are my suggestions for how the already wildly successful NFL could become even more popular and exciting:

No more kicking of extra points. Nothing is less exciting than watching someone score a touchdown only to watch a different set of players trot on to the field to kick the extra point. The kickers almost never miss, and when they do it usually is because of a poor snap, as happened during the Super Bowl after the Colts' first touchdown, or a flubbed hold, as happened to Tony Romo in the Cowboys-Saints' game. The play is so dull that fans usually continue celebrating the touchdown and don't even pay attention to the extra point play. How to make the extra point as meaningful as the others plays run during the game? Easy. Let the offense choose how far from the goal line they wish to try for the extra point. The farther back they go, the more points they get. So, you get two points for the standard distance (three yards), three points for 10 yards, four points for 20 yards, etc. I will let the NFL figure out the details, but the point is to reward the offense for taking greater risks. And I would reward the defense, too, by awarding half as many points to them for stopping the offense, e.g., one point for successfully defending from the standard distance.
No more touchbacks. Yeah, there is nothing like watching Devin Hester take a knee in the end zone to get the frenzy quotient way up. I realize that touchbacks have become rarer since they have moved the kickoff spot back to the 30-yard line. But one touchback a year is one too many. The kick return can be one of the most exciting moments in a game. Make them run every one back, no matter where they field the ball.
No field goals inside 40 yards. Kickers are now so good, especially those lucky enough to kick in domes, that any attempt inside 40 yards is just a glorified extra point. As you can see from my proposed rule changes, I find the kicking part of the game to be one big bore. Either make it much harder or just get rid of it.
No more instant replay. What brainiacs in the NFL thought it would be a good idea to stop the game and have players and coaches stand around and do nothing while the referee jogs off the field to stare at a television monitor? People apparently pay $80 a ticket to watch this happen. This drive to remove the human element from officiating baffles me. The decisions made by players and coaches during games are debated endlessly (people will be talking about Andy Reid punting on 4th and 15 in the Saints game for months to come), and it is those very debates that are a large part of the popularity of a sport that plays only one game a week for about five months of the year. Yet somehow the NFL thinks that decisions made by officials have to be free of all error. Like officials in other sports, they will get it right a large percentage of the time and get it wrong on occasion. Sometimes, they will get a call wrong in a crucial spot. Sometimes, such wrong calls will seem unfair or unjust, and one team will feel like they got screwed. We have a word for that: Life. The perfectionistas in the NFL just have to get over it.

Spaced Out

2007-02-06T20:53:00.001-05:00

You can't make this stuff up. Am I the only one who thinks it's weird that the judge would grant bail to someone who has access to astronaut diapers and a space shuttle?

I was able to get a copy of Mr. Nowak's To Do List for tomorrow:

1. Call divorce lawyer.

2. Get the car detailed!!!

Money and Me

2007-02-04T17:07:00.000-05:00

Inquirer columnist John Grogan has announced that he is leaving the paper. This is hardly a surprise, given that keeping track of the millions of dollars he has made from his runaway bestseller Marley and Me likely is a full-time job of its own. Good for him.

I've not read Marley and Me, since books about cute dead animals (oops -- hope I didn't give away the ending) are not my thing. But having waded through more than a few of Grogan's columns, I find it astonishing that he could write a book that millions of people would want to buy. I find the guy unreadable. His farewell column is pretty much an example of much of his work -- usually trite, always predictable, never interesting.

Unlike Marley, Grogan won't be missed.

Put A Lid On It

2007-02-04T16:43:00.001-05:00

Later tonight, within seconds of the end of the Super Bowl, players and coaches on the winning team will continue the now-entrenched custom on putting on a hat saying "Super Bowl XLI Champion" or some such thing. You see this in most team sports now, pro and college, and in some cases the post-championship look includes a T-shirt as well.

When did this ridiculous practice begin? And, more important, how do we get it to stop?

I suppose it's a promotional tie-in to the sale of such merchandise, but I can't imagine anyone not already inclined to buy such things being persuaded to do so by the sight of Bill Belichick in a hat or a T-shirt. Half the time the hats and shirts still have their price tags dangling from them, instantly transforming their wearers from newly crowned champions to participants in a bizarre mass Minnie Pearl tribute.

Please stop it.

The Time Has Come

2007-02-04T16:04:00.001-05:00

It's about two and a half hours to kickoff, so I have made you wait long enough. Here's the inaugural FCB Bet The Mortgage Super Bowl pick:

Colts 41

Bears 17

That has been my score all week, so I am sticking with it now. But weather forecast is rain for most or all of the game, so if that holds true I would expect the Colts to score fewer points but still win handily. Take the Colts, give the points, and enjoy spending those mortgage payments on something fun.

Two Thumbs Up

2007-02-04T12:37:00.000-05:00

Most of my movie watching of late has been of the Netflix variety, but it's Oscar season, so Mrs. FCB and I have ventured out twice in recent days for a real movie experience. You know, the kind where you can't hit the pause button when you want to go to the bathroom and you get to hear the banal conversations of the people in front of you -- while the movie is playing.

I know that with the death of Pauline Kael and the recent unfortunate illness of Roger Ebert, the cineophiles among the FCB readership are looking for a place to find intelligent and insightful movie criticism. Unfortunately, the link to that site isn't working, so instead I will tell you what I thought of the two films I have seen in recent days.

First, The Departed. How ironic that Martin Scorsese, whose best known works in recent years have been showy and cinematic "films" like Casino, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, and The Aviator, has a Best Picture nominee and is the directing Oscar favorite for an old-fashioned movie. I liked The Departed a lot. Its story of two moles -- Leonardo DiCaprio as a cop embedded in Jack Nicholson's Irish mobster gang and Matt Damon as Nicholson's plant on the police force -- searching for each other is straightforward, well-told, dramatic, and riveting as it unfolds to its violent (hey, it's Scorsese) and not-altogether predictable conclusion. DiCaprio is terrific, blowing by an overmatched Damon and the expected but still entertaining Jack-being-Jack performance by Nicholson. DiCaprio is Oscar-nominated for his role in Blood Diamonds, and if he is better there than in The Departed, then he must have done one remarkable job on that picture (he was great in The Aviator as well).

Some have complained about the violence in The Departed (I thought it appropriate to the subject matter and not overdone -- but I admit to a high tolerance for that sort of thing) as well as its length, but these seem like quibbles. It's a really good, solid, entertaining movie.

And then there is Pan's Labyrinth. Wow. I mean, really, WOW. This is a great movie, one of the best I have seen in a long, long time. Run, don't walk, to see this picture.

The film is set in 1944 Spain. The Spanish Civil War has ended, but government troops are still fighting rebel holdouts ensconced in the mountains. The movie's central character is Ofelia, 11, whose widowed mother has married and become pregnant by the cruel, fascist captain commanding a remote outpost fighting a band of rebels. The captain requires Ofelia and her mother to make the difficult journey to the outpost because a son (he is sure the baby will be a boy) should be with his father when he is born. To cope with the strange and difficult surroundings, as well as a fearsome stepfather she rightly despises, Ofelia retreats into a fantasy world, in which she learns that she is a long-lost princess who can become immortal by successfully carrying out a series of tasks given to her by a faun.

The intersection of the child's fantasy world with the brutal reality occurring around her is at once depressing, shocking, uplifting, and, ultimately, heart-breaking. Director Guillermo del Toro, who received an Oscar nomination for his original screenplay (the film also is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film), does an amazing job of using the fantasy sequences to both inform and advance the "real" parts of the story, inevitably bringing the two together in a stunning final quarter of the movie that teaches us, yet again, that reality must prevail.

Wow.

Good News

2007-02-03T11:30:00.000-05:00

He should have been fired, but this is the next best thing.

Word of the Day

2007-02-01T21:01:00.000-05:00

The most interesting thing in this Inquirer article about the sale of the Thomas Eakins' painting The Cello Player is not that the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is unloading one famous Eakins' painting so that it can pay for its purchase of a more famous Eakins' painting, The Gross Clinic.

No, what is really striking is that the people who run museums don't sell paintings. They "deaccession" them. Maybe it makes them feel better to say it that way.

Average Joe

2007-02-01T20:49:00.001-05:00

Well, if you had Day One in the When Will Candidate Joe Biden Say Something Exceptionally Stupid Contest, you're a winner! Even I, who expect an glacier to crumble everytime he starts to speak, thought that Biden would make it past 9 a.m. on the first day of his presidential campaign before reminding everyone of just why they shouldn't vote for him. How wrong I was.

The Biden campaign should be fun. Pointless, but fun.

Death Watch

2007-02-01T20:27:00.001-05:00

I've written before about my interest in obituaries, which I read as faithfully as any other part of the paper. This week two of them left me more saddened than usual.

There was Barbaro, of course, whose very public fight for survival seemed to captivate so many. While I was not as affected as those who seemed unusually -- even weirdly -- emotionally attached to an animal they had only seen on television, I found it hard not to feel a twinge of sadness once the battle was lost. There is nothing like a champion horse fighting for life, or a cat stuck in a hole, or some other animal story to focus our emotional attention in ways that starving babies and genocide stories never do. Maybe it is because the animals in our lives don't disappoint us. Or that they rely on us so much for everything. Or something else. I have no great insights here, but I have been thinking about all this recently as I happily clean out a cat box twice a day.

And then there was the sad news this morning that Molly Ivins died yesterday after a long battle with breast cancer. Her writing voice was like no other -- and she was funny. Of course, as she often acknowledged, since she wrote about Texas politics, she had the advantage of great material.

Rest in peace.

Two Buck Chuck

2007-01-29T19:29:00.000-05:00

Now that Prince Charles and his weird-hat-wearing wife have finally left town, let's hope that another 146 years pass before another member of this dreadful family graces our fair city. If people are going to behave like brainless sheep, better that they do so about things of far more consequence than some job-shirking human wax figure.

The news articles made much of what was described as Charles' common touch, which really shouldn't haven't been surprising considering just how common Charles is. Here's just one example of the breathless coverage, courtesy of the Inquirer: "A bike officer called out, 'Hey, how you doing?' 'Still alive!' retorted the prince, getting a laugh."

Whoa!! I'm not sure I could survive much more of that British wit. Was that Prince Charles or Noel Coward??

In memory of the FCB Grandparents, here's what I say to Charles and the shamelessly adoring throng who bleated all around him this weekend: I bend my knee to no earthly king.

This Was The Week That Was

2007-01-28T18:18:00.000-05:00

Life has been intruding, as it often does, so forgive the blogging gap this past week. There is only one way to make amends: Another FCB Lightening Round!!

The next time I feel bad about spending too much time surfing the Net, not reading enough, or helping starving children somewhere, I am going to think about Marc Umile. Umile has spent the past two-and-a-half years memorizing the numbers of pi. You know, the 3.14159 thing. I just gave you the first six digits of the value of pi. Umile set a new record by reciting the first 12,887 digits (it took him a bit under four hours). Good for him, I guess, although you would think that someone with a memory like that might recall that hardly anyone needs to know the value of pi after 10th grade geometry exam.
My jury duty experience might have gone better had I followed this person's example.
The State of the Union speech is the most boring political event of the year, which is not an easy title to claim. This has nothing to do with President Bush's speech a few days ago. I have always felt that way. It was worse when Bill Clinton was president, since his speeches were longer, so there was many more opportunities for the senators and representatives to interrupt and applaud where they had been told to interrupt and applaud, thus making the speeches even loooooooonger. I will admit that the speech has had one benefit in recent years, however: Anything that keeps the Prince of Darkness in full view of millions of people makes the world a safer place, if only for an hour or so.
The entry of Bob Brady into the race for mayor of Philadelphia is good news for all those who think everything is going well in our city. Not so good news for the rest of us.
I guess all the problems around gun violence, taxes, job creation, and city services have been solved. City Council has moved on to the trans fat issue. Enough already. The government has a role in promoting the public health, such as making sure accurate information is provided to consumers about food, nutrition, and exercise. But it should not be dictating to cooks what they can put in their food and to me what I can put in my stomach. They can have my cheese doodle when they pry it from my cold, dead, and orange fingers.

Hillary's In

2007-01-20T17:04:00.000-05:00

I think it's great that a woman for the first time is a leading candidate for a presidential nomination. I am so grateful that I live in a country where people can succeed on their merits, instead of one of those countries where all the power is held by just one or two families.

Fly the Leaky Skies

2007-01-20T16:55:00.000-05:00

This piece in The New York Times earlier this week is an extreme -- but hardly an uncommon -- example, of just how ridiculous the TSA airport security system has become. For those who cannot access the article, the writer describes how, upon realizing that she may have left her wallet on the plane she had departed about 30 minutes earlier, she walked back to the gate, opened the unlocked jetway door, kept it propped open with her shoe, walked onto the empty and unattended plane, and searched around her seat for her wallet. Of course, the loud, piercing alarm did go off when she opened the jetway door, but it stopped a few minutes later when, the wallet search over, she dutifully closed the door.

My guess is that the people who should have responded to the alarm were busy outside emptying big garbage cans filled with shampoo and nail polish.

I was involved in a less egregious breach last week when I flew from San Diego to Philadelphia. About 20 minutes before my departure time, I checked my ticket to see which seating zone I had been assigned to for boarding purposes. I then realized that my ticket had a name on it that was not mine. It was close, but it clearly wasn't mine. I had showed that ticket and my driver's license to two security people to get through security. As the saying goes, I guess it was close enough for government work.

Street Cred

2007-01-20T16:25:00.000-05:00

This article shows why John Street has been such a poor mayor. He dismissively knocks Michael Nutter for offering ideas to reduce gun violence and the crime rate in Philadelphia, saying the problem is more complicated than Nutter suggests. Gee, thanks for the insight, Mayor.

The issue is not whether Nutter or any of the other candidates to succeed Street are seeking a campaign edge by touting solutions that sound good but may not work. It's that Street never, ever shows the slightest leadership, on public safety or any other issue (city finances? tax structure? Center City development? effectiveness of City services?).

I'm not talking about the phony swagger, flight jacket, "Mission Accomplished"-type of faux leadership we have had coming out of Washington in recent years. What I am talking about is, as St. Joe's political analyst Randall Miller says in the article, "seize[ing] the bully pulpit of office to articulate a consistent, strong message," ensuring that the specific measures employed effectively further that message, and accepting responsibility when things go poorly, as they so obviously have in this City on the issues of violence and crime.

But you also get the credit when things go right, which they are more likely to do if you know what you are doing. Obviously, Street learned nothing from watching Ed Rendell all those years. And we City residents have paid dearly for that failure.

It's Come to This

2007-01-19T19:13:00.000-05:00

Let me see if I have this straight: Your teenage daughter spends enough time on a web site that she forms a relationship with an adult, your daughter and the adult later meet, and the adult sexually abuses your daughter. And it is the fault of the web site???

Here are a few wacky ideas for parents like these who are so eager to blame others for the terrible things that happen to their kids who go online: Put your daughter's computer in the living room. Tell her that you will -- whenever you want because you paid for the computer and for the living room and for the entire bleeping house -- look over her shoulder at random moments, check the web sites where she has been, and maybe even look at some of her e-mail correspondence. Turn off the computer for entire days, unannounced and at random, but no fewer than two days a week. Make sure that for every hour online she reads a book for one hour.

Then you can sue websites.

I Pity the Fool

2007-01-19T18:51:00.000-05:00

I haven't mentioned the Prince of Darkness for a while. So here is Big Tent Democrat of Talk Left sticking it to him.

Rest assured that posts like this, unlike the Iraqi insurgency, are not in their last throes.

Oh, Wilber

2007-01-19T18:32:00.000-05:00

Something I've always thought has now been confirmed: If I were a horse, I would win the Kentucky Derby.

Update

2007-01-18T20:34:00.000-05:00

About a year ago, early in this blog's slow, steady march toward a double-digit readership, I made these comments (see second-to-last item) criticizing a Maryland law, aimed at Wal-Mart, that required large employers to spend at least eight percent of their payroll on health insurance benefits.

Yesterday, a federal appellate court upheld a lower court ruling throwing out the law. Good. The best intentions don't justify a dopey law and bad health care policy.

I'm Sorry, So Sorry, Maybe

2007-01-18T20:17:00.000-05:00

Charles Stimson says he's sorry -- sort of. Stimson, who was criticized by me and every other person who believes in the rule of law, now says his suggestion that law firms be shunned by their clients because of the firms' representation of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay does not represent his "core beliefs."

I would have preferred something along the lines of "I'm sorry that I ever said something so stupid, shameful, and un-American in an attempt to prevent lawyers from providing the type of assistance that I would immediately seek if the full power of the United States government were brought against me." So whatever Stimson's "core beliefs," it is very scary that someone who would say what he did has a position in our government.

Closet Leftist?

2007-01-18T19:44:00.000-05:00

I'm posting tonight from FCB's central Pennsylvania office in Harrisburg. This has been a hopping town of late, with the annual Farm Show last week and then the second Rendell inaugural.

Governor Rendell has made health care reform the priority issue for his second term. I might feel better about his chances to pull that off if he hadn't messed up the simple act of taking the oath of office. You're supposed to raise your right hand, Ed.

Love Stinks

2007-01-17T22:13:00.000-05:00

This just in: The gap between Michael Strahan's front teeth is not the only empty space in the Giant star's head.

Strahan, who last week was ordered to pay his ex-wife (they married in 1999 and have two kids) more than $15 million, had a pre-nuptial agreement in which he agreed to pay 50 percent of the marital assets plus 20 percent of his yearly earnings. Or, to put it in less legal terms, about 15 million freaking dollars.

Uh, dude, listen carefully. The point of a pre-nup is to ensure that you don't pay your ex-wife half of your assets, not to guarantee that you will be the punchline at every convention of matrimonial lawyers for the next 20 years. You might want to remember that the next time.

And as this discussion of Strahan's misfortune points out, the lawyers he hired were more Eli than Peyton (FCB Shoutout: The Big Lead). The good news is that he only will have to keep playing until he is 50 in order to earn the money back.

People Are Watching

2007-01-17T21:20:00.000-05:00

The graceless behavior of LaDainian Tomlinson after San Diego's loss to New England on Sunday was disturbing, but not because, as most reported, the usually classy Tomlinson applied the first tarnish to his golden image.

No, what bothered me was how much Tomlinson's "don't disrespect us in our house" rhetoric sounded so much like what you read in news articles describing some senseless act of violence in Philadelphia or another city that usually ends up with one young person dead and another incarcerated for decades. SI's Peter King heard it too (see second page).

Maybe some of the Patriot players did act like jerks. But Tomlinson has to understand that there are people out there who keep track of more than his statistics.

I Have Here in My Hand a List...

2007-01-14T17:15:00.000-05:00

Pentagon officials and others in the Bush Administration can try to distance themselves all they want from the shameful and, yes, un-American comments made the other day by Charles Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, who suggested that businesses not employ law firms representing those held at the Guantanamo prison.

But they reap what they sow, and so however depressing and despicable Stimson's statements are, they are hardly surprising from someone working for a President who has long signaled that constitutional and other legal protections are inconveniences to be ignored or, at the least, explained away in the name of "national security." That's why it is not enough that alleged terrorists from other countries are held at Guantanamo without charges or any meaningful opportunity to prove that our government may be wrong. Or that Jose Padilla (are there others?) is kept in psychosis-inducing isolation for years while government lawyers advance the stunning claim that a president can simply decree that an American citizen may not receive the due process guaranteed by our Constitution. No, having lost on its recent claims for absolute power, this Administration has to try to scare off the lawyers with the ability, commitment, and means to help those whom Stimson and his ilk would prefer that we forget.

Fortunately, it won't work. As Talk Left reminds us by re-printing these thoughts by and about John Adams, these are not new attacks. And so Mr. Stimson can take comfort in knowing that, no matter what he gets charged with, there will be a lawyer willing to take his case.

Bore Me Like Beckham

2007-01-13T14:19:00.000-05:00

I guess it's that time again. Every few years or so, someone decides to throw a bunch of money at a world soccer star on the downside of his career and then trumpets the bad investment as the dawn of a new era, when soccer really takes off as a sport people in the U.S. are interested in watching.

So, it is with this week's news that David Beckham will begin playing for zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sorry, drifted off there. He'll be playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. What, Maradona wasn't available?

There are already lots of people in this country interested in watching soccer. The problem Beckham and the MLS bankrollers face is that nearly all of these people are only interested in watching games involving their own children. And then those children grow up and start watching football -- American football. So it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.

Beginning of the End

2007-01-13T13:43:00.000-05:00

The decision by Durham District Attorney Michael Nifong to withdraw from the Duke lacrosse case means that this train wreck of a prosecution has moved toward its end game. Now that Nifong has lawyered up on the ethics charges brought against him, he is heeding his counsel's obvious advice to stop digging in that hole he has been working out of for the past few months.

It's not too hard to see what happens now: Pre-trial proceedings, including a hearing now scheduled for February 5, will be delayed while the special prosecutor the North Carolina Attorney General's Office appoints to handle the case gets up to speed. Once that happens, the remaining charges will be dropped against the defendants, with the new prosecutor explaining that, while he or she cannot be sure what happened during the night in question, there is simply not enough credible evidence to justify moving forward with the case.

Then the defendants will file civil lawsuits against Nifong and his office. Although Nifong has behaved like a buffoon, a civil case will be very difficult to win given the wide discretion DAs have to bring (or not bring) charges and the problems that would arise if persons facing charges that are then dropped or who are exonerated are free to bring such suits.

And let's not forget that it really isn't that hard to avoid being indicted on sexual assault charges. Lots of us manage to pull that off. High on the list of indictment avoidance tips is to not attend parties with lots of alcohol, 40 or so men, and no women except for strippers one of your pals has hired.

Go East, Middle-Aged Man

2007-01-10T21:15:00.000-05:00

Today is my last full day in San Diego, so most of tomorrow will be spent traveling back to FCB World Headquarters.

Among its many charms, San Diego has big, bright red trolley cars, and people using them apparently pay their fares based on an honor system. None of the stations I have used on this and prior visits here has gates or turnstiles. They are open to all, with machines present to dispense tickets. But no trip I have been on has ever had anyone checking for tickets, although information posted on the machines warns of receiving a citation for riding without one. I don't know how much that citation will cost you or how frequently they are doled out. All I know is that I dutifully paid each time, so I guess whatever deterrent effect exists is effective, at least for cynical Right Coasters.

And it's been interesting reading about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has spent the last few days acting like he's FDR. First, he proposed a plan to provide all Californians, including illegal immigrants, with health insurance. Then he issued an executive order designed to reduce auto emissions by 10 percent and promote demand for alternative fuels. The Big Guy is taking on the health care and petroleum industries. Not bad for one week.

Hasta la vista, baby.

What????

2007-01-10T20:54:00.000-05:00

The New York Football Giants have become the Home Depot of the NFL by rewarding Tom Coughlin's mediocre coaching job with a one-year contract extension. What has Coughlin ever done in his coaching career to lead one to think that he is the guy to take the Giants to the next level? It's just not going to happen with him. Big, big mistake.

More Obits

2007-01-10T20:13:00.000-05:00

There are two great obituaries in The New York Times today.

The first is for Jane Bolin, who died on January 8 at the age of 98. In 1939, New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia made Ms. Bolin the first African-American woman judge in the United States. She was also the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School, to join the New York City Bar Association, and to be hired by the New York City legal department. From the obit:

At Yale, Ms. Bolin was one of three women in her class and the only black woman. In an interview with The New York Times in 1993, she said that a few Southerners at the law school had taken pleasure in letting the swinging classroom doors hit her in the face. One of those Southerners later became active in the American Bar Association and invited her to speak before his bar group in Texas. She declined.

Even today, in 2007, women attorneys and African-American attorneys sometimes face considerable obstacles to professional success. It is difficult to imagine the amount of fortitude that must have been necessary for Judge Bolin to succeed.

Rut ro. Iwao Takamoto, the creator of Scooby-Doo, has died at age 81. Mr. Takamoto, who worked for both Disney and Hanna-Barbera, also is credited with creating Penelope Pitstop; Astro, the Jetsons' dog ("right, Rorge!"); and Atom Ant, from the underrated "Secret Squirrel Show." The obit explains that, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Mr. Takamoto and his family were sent to an internment camp, where the teenage Iwao learned sketching and animation techniques from two other internees who had been art directors at movie studios.

May they both rest in peace.

They'll Be Talking About That One

2007-01-08T19:18:00.000-05:00

Are you kidding me? Ohio State coach Jim Tressel just went for it on fourth and one at his own 29-yard line. His own 29-yard line. He didn't make it, and Florida just scored again to go up 34-14 at halftime.

He's Almost As Good as Larry Bird

2007-01-08T19:04:00.000-05:00

I have one of these in my office. Mine is a Hook Shot Jesus, with the original Dr. J lording (get it?) his divine skills over a pair of 8-year-olds. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have it on their web site any more, not there isn't lots of good stuff to see (I particularly like Jesus doing his Stan Mikita impression).

They Might Be Giants

2007-01-08T18:53:00.000-05:00

What a loser Tom Coughlin, the coach of the New York Football Giants, is. It's not enough that he moans and whines and grimaces on every play, managed to coach his team to seven losses in its last nine games to finish with a losing record for the season, talked about the importance of team discipline while all around him hockey games were breaking out, and demonstrated less-than-Churchillian leadership by throwing his offensive coordinator under the bus late in the season.

Now he's become delusional. Did you hear him talking after yesterday's loss to the Eagles about how there were some positives in this train wreck of a season? "I think they demonstrated a great concept of team this year," Coughlin said. What????

The Giants have to get rid of this guy. And then, after they hire a new general manager to replace the retiring Ernie Accorsi, they have to do a serious evaluation of Eli Manning. He just does not have what it takes to make a team a winner. He is simply mediocre by NFL standards. He will not take the Giants where they want to go, and the sooner they recognize it, the better.

If I Were King of the Forest

2007-01-08T18:25:00.000-05:00

A five-and-a-half-hour flight, after sitting on the runway for an hour (let's play guess the airline!) gives one plenty of time to figure out all that is wrong with the world, or at least air travel. I used to think that when I ruled the world (don't worry, I'll let you know) my first official act would be to banish all children from air travel. But I have been blessed to avoid children on most of my recent flights, so I have moved on to a much more pernicious development: People bringing suitcases on to airplanes.

Why can't airlines make people check their luggage? I am not talking about small bags that you can sling on your shoulder, like notebook computer bags, knapsacks, or even those humongous bags women carry and call "purses." No, these are suitcases, so heavily packed that people wheel them on to the plane, can barely fit them in the aisle, need assistance to get them into the overhead compartments, and give those Samsonite gorillas hernias.

Today, I happened to look up just in time to see a woman get someone to put her "carry-on" in the overhead compartment after removing my jacket and dropping it on the seat two rows ahead of me. She just dropped it there without trying to find out to whom it belonged, and she contentedly took her seat without bothering to put it back. When I told her that I didn't appreciate her simply discarding my jacket or having her bag-o-bricks dropped on top of much smaller bag, which included my new notebook computer, she said... Well, I don't know what she said because she responded in a language with which I am not familiar. Like that's my fault, but that's a subject for another day.

So, I go back to my original question: Why don't airlines make people check their luggage? I know people don't like to wait for their luggage, especially in Philadelphia, where you are more likely to see Elvis sitting on the baggage claim belt within 30 minutes than any of your items. But, still, it is ridiculous to see what people are bringing on to planes now. And even more ridiculous that airlines, which seem to have no problem treating passengers as if they are Soviet-era refugees when it comes to other amenities, won't enforce their own rules when it comes to this.

Gators' Turn

2007-01-08T17:43:00.000-05:00

Guess the layoff didn't hurt Florida either. They just marched down the field and scored in seven plays. 7-7, and not even five minutes have elapsed.

Not Like They Scripted It

2007-01-08T17:37:00.000-05:00

I wasn't planning to live blog the Ohio State-Florida game, but Ted Ginn, Jr. just ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. I was going to write about how the seven-week layoff was stupid, but that doesn't seem like such a good idea now.

The Ocean's on the Left

2007-01-08T17:34:00.000-05:00

The FCB Over America Tour continues as I spend a few days in FCB's West Coast office in San Diego, where it has been a sunny 72-degree day. You know, like Philadelphia.

Those Were The Days

2007-01-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

It's hard to disagree with President Bush -- dignified hangings are so much nicer.

Bring It On, Rudy

2007-01-04T21:37:00.000-05:00

Talk Left shares my intense dislike of all things Rudy Giuliani, who, as I am not the first to note, somehow gets people to pay him millions for advice about security yet can't keep track of his own campaign documents.

I hope he does run for President so that he can get the scrutiny and the ripping he so truly deserves. I have never understood why people are so impressed with Giuliani's actions related to 9/11. Anyone who was mayor of New York City that day and in the weeks thereafter would have done just what he did. Maybe someone can explain to me how simply being the mayor of a city that is the target of a horrific terrorist attack qualifies one to be a "security consultant." And he has such a sharp eye for talent that he made the thuggish Bernard Kerik the police commissioner and then his business partner and preferred choice for Secretary of Homeland Security before, of course, Kerik's various problems (to put it politely) caught up with him.

It is a testament to the sheep-like quality of so many ("Oh, Rudy, tell me more...") and to Giuliani's limitless ego that he has gotten so rich so fast. He is just appalling in every way.

Huh to the Chief

2007-01-03T21:50:00.000-05:00

Chief Justice John Roberts thinks the salaries paid to federal judges are too low, so low, in fact, that the situation presents a "constitutional crisis." You know, like Watergate and the Civil War. Didn't you get the memo?

As you can tell, I have no patience for this tale of woe, so painfully told by those making $165,200 (district judges); $175,100 (appellate judges); $203,000 (Supreme Court associate justices); and $212,000 (the Chief Justice) who have life tenure, nice offices, law clerks, and the juice to have lawyers jump up every time they enter a room.

There are lots of problems with the argument the Chief Justice makes, and a number of people have been quick to point them out (here and here, for example). The Chief Justice trots out the overused and meaningless comparison of judicial salaries to those paid to young associates in the largest law firms and professors and deans at elite law schools. If a lawyer made such an argument in a case before the Chief Justice and his colleagues, they would have him for lunch. Why is it a surprise -- or even a problem -- that top jobs in the private sector pay better than top jobs in the government? And why is it a crisis -- constitutional or otherwise -- if some judges choose to leave the bench to pursue other, more lucrative positions? Good for them, but there are lots and lots of highly qualified lawyers to take the place of every federal judge now serving.

What the Chief Justice does not mention is that he is Exhibit A for the "it's not about the money" argument. In his late 40s, with two small children, John Roberts gave up a law firm partnership that paid him several times what he makes as a federal judge. Obviously, he saw some non-monetary attractions in his new job. And, like every one of his fellow judges, he made the choice he did fully cognizant of its economic impact.

To be sure, it is a mistake to link judicial salaries to congressional salaries, as the law now requires, since the former stagnate when representatives and senators are afraid to raise their own pay. Judges deserve reasonable and regular cost-of-living increases, and it might make sense to have geographic adjustments so that a judge in Manhattan, New York makes a bit more than a judge in Manhattan, Kansas. The current system could be better, but the Chief Justice should stop with the sky-is-falling rhetoric he would be so quick to dismiss if used by others.

Better Living Through Chemistry

2007-01-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

Funerals force one to confront many of life's mysteries, and the service for President Ford today was no exception. Although many attendees or those watching on television likely were pondering such vexing matters as the afterlife and the fate of one's eternal soul, I was focused on a deeper enigma: Why don't Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, and Rosalynn Carter, with a combined age of 252, have any gray hair?

Wouldn't Be Prudent

2007-01-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

In his eulogy of President Ford today, President Bush cited the 38th president's commitment to civil rights, discussing Ford's offer to sit out a Michigan-Georgia Tech football game because Georgia Tech was refusing to play if an African-American Michigan player took the field. President Bush went on to praise Ford's vote in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made illegal discrimination on the basis of race in employment and access to public accommodations, such as hotels and restaurants.

There was no such legislative profile in courage in Bush's own family, however. While running for Congress in 1964, George H.W. Bush, the future 41st president, opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But let's not talk about it. They certainly don't.

An Edsel, Perhaps

2007-01-02T21:37:00.000-05:00

Christopher Hitchens, as he so often does, offers a somewhat different take on the Ford Administration.

Fly Away Home

2007-01-02T21:32:00.000-05:00

Now that I have returned from Chicago to FCB World Headquarters in Philadelphia, it's time to do something one usually has no reason to do: praise an airline.

I had never flown on Southwest Airlines before this trip to Chicago, and I have to say that I was very impressed. I'm sure people have their share of horror stories about Southwest, but, despite traveling during what is invariably described as "the busy holiday season," all went wonderfully smoothly. What was most obvious to me, as someone who for years often has had little choice but to fly on US Airways, is that the Southwest employees actually seem to know what they were supposed to be doing.

When we arrived at Midway Airport this morning at about 8:15, the place was already filled with travelers. The line to check bags at the Southwest counter was the longest I have ever seen: In addition to the long, snaking line in front of the counter, the queue extended out of the terminal and down a hallway. But that wasn't the end of the line. Those seeking to get on the line were then guided out the building and into a parking lot and asked to walk about a quarter of a mile to the other side of the terminal. We re-entered the building and found the end of the line, which ultimately worked its way down two long hallways used for airline offices clearly not intended to be open to the public, past two different sets of restrooms (which made the expression "bowels of the building" even more apt), and then back into the terminal. I figured we would be in that line for at least an hour.

It only took 20 minutes. Why? First, because Southwest had lots of people working the counter, tagging the bags for those who used the kiosks to check in, and dealing with all the usual problems. All the stations were being used. Second, Southwest had employees at key places in the line, directing people to the right place to just get into the line (no small feat), letting people know how much longer it would be, and making sure that when you got to the head of the line you were sent to the first open station. Everyone was on the move, both passengers and employees. It was amazing.

The plane boarded and then departed right on schedule. The tail winds were so strong that we landed in Philadelphia 30 minutes early. The crew decided to take their equivalent of a victory lap, making sure to point out more than once just how early the plane had arrived. "Be sure to tell your friends we arrived so early," one flight attendant said to the passengers, "because if the plane had been 30 minutes late, you know you would have told them about that." Touche.

And, in the most un-US Airways touch of all, the bags were on the belt in about 10 minutes!! I gathered them up and immediately went off to buy a lottery ticket, praying that my luck would hold up for just a few more minutes.

Everyone Feel Better Now?

2007-01-01T10:02:00.000-05:00

On December 30, Saddam Hussein was executed.

On December 31, the 3,000th American died as part of the Iraq war.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T09:57:00.000-05:00

FCB wishes all of its readers -- all right, both of them -- a happy and healthy 2007.

How Quickly They Forget

2006-12-29T16:08:00.000-05:00

The decision by the San Francisco Giants to give Barry Zito a seven-year, $126 million contract brings to mind the old saying about the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting the results to change.

These owners and general managers always think the guy they sign is going to be different, and maybe it will be so this time for Zito. But even though he is still months from ever throwing a pitch for the Giants, there is plenty of reason to believe that this signing was a big and very expensive mistake. Forget about the amount of the contract, as hard as that may be to do, and think about its length. Seven years for a pitcher? When's the last time a contract even as long as five years for a pitcher worked out well for a team? Don't forget to get back to me on that.

I acknowledge that Zito is just 28 and has proven to be durable, at least by today's standards, having pitched more than 200 innings in each of his six full seasons. But he is only 41-34 in his last three seasons, and his best ERA during that time is 3.83. How much will Zito improve on his recent performance in the next 2-3 years, even given that he will be playing in a pitcher-friendly stadium? Hard to predict, of course, but to justify that kind of money the difference had better be dramatic. And how will Zito perform in years 5-7 of the contract? There is simply no reason to believe that those years will be even as good as -- and instead almost certainly will be worse than -- what Zito has done the past couple of seasons.

Finally, here are two more words that should have given the Giants great pause: Mike Hampton. Remember him? He was the must-have lefty free agent who after the 2000 season signed an 8-year, $121 million deal with the Colorado Rockies. Two years later he was dealt to the Marlins and then to the Braves. Since signing his mega-deal his record is 53-48, and he didn't pitch at all in 2006. And his contract still has two more years to run.

Welcome to the future, Giants fans.

Tales from a Windy City

2006-12-29T15:21:00.000-05:00

I am spending a few days at FCB's Midwest office in Chicago, where the temperature is an Al-Gore-told-us-so 51 degrees. Even on an overcast day like this one, Chicago is a great city to walk around in, with buildings from several different eras, the elevated train tracks, and Lake Michigan, to name just a few points of interest.

And lots of great places to eat. Last night, Mrs. FCB and I dined at MK, a place we have been to before and liked so much that we made a point of returning. Since I'm no PhilaFoodie, I can't give you the in-depth review, but here's a capsule summary of an outstanding meal.

We started by sharing some tuna tartare that, while good, needed a little more kick, and a simple but tasty arugala salad. From there our paths diverged, with Mrs. FCB enjoying liver ("Something I would not make at home, so I need to get it here") accompanied by the traditional bacon and onions. I had a perfectly cooked pork chop featuring a delicious rub of rosemary, thyme, garlic, and pepper. It was terrific. An Andrew Rich 2004 pinot noir from the Willamette Valley went well with both dishes, maintaining its smoky undertone with the fruit opening up nicely as the meal progressed. A cheese course followed, and then we shared a scrumptious dessert featuring banana in a variety of presentations. Truly a delightful meal.

Here's where we are headed tomorrow night with friends. That should be a nice meal as well.

And So This Is Christmas

2006-12-25T07:24:00.000-05:00

And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the City of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among all people."

Luke 2:10-15

Merry Christmas to all.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2006-12-23T17:13:00.000-05:00

Happy Festivus. And may your Airing of Grievances be satisfying, if not productive.

Or you could just get a blog, like this guy. Or me.

Yo, Dog

2006-12-23T17:02:00.000-05:00

It's been a hard week for our canine friends. First, Joseph Barbera, the creator of Huckleberry Hound and many other cartoon characters, died. And now this.

Yanw

2006-12-22T16:27:00.000-05:00

Can everyone just please stop with the incessant will-he-or-won't-he-retire-last-home-game-last-game-ever-oh-my-God drivel about Brett Favre? Everything about him is so five years ago. He's turned from a great player into an irrelevant statistics-padder. I am baffled as to why anyone cares at all whether he keeps playing.

The Very Common Touch

2006-12-22T16:17:00.000-05:00

Oh, those wacky Windsors! It's always good to have a reminder of why -- and how much -- I detest the whole dole-living bunch of them. Maybe some of them will do something really crazy in 2007, like get a real job. (Hat Tip: Huffington Post).

And A Child Shall Screw Them Up

2006-12-18T19:48:00.000-05:00

Good for David Stern. He should impose increasingly harsh penalties until these stupid fights finally stop.

Tough break for the Knicks, though. Isiah Thomas didn't get suspended.

Ooh La La

2006-12-18T19:37:00.000-05:00

Hoodies are sooooo hot (FCB shoutout: The Big Lead).

Unbelievable

2006-12-18T19:28:00.000-05:00

How Appealing, Sentencing Law and Policy, and The Volokh Conspiracy are just a few of those commenting on the stunning 10-year sentence for the 17-year-old Georgia man (boy?) whose 15-year-old girlfriend was videotaped voluntarily peforming oral sex (or oral sodomy as prosecutors like to call it). The poor guy was convicted of aggravated child molestation.

Ten years with no parole and a lifetime of registering as a sex offender!!!!! Sorry to repeat myself, but !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Prosecutors must have nothing to do in Georgia.

Since oral sex is not a frequent topic on this blog (but is here), I will take this opportunity to ask: Why does some variation on the word "perform" always precede "oral sex" in articles about people those whose sexual habits make it into print? You would think there was tap dancing or juggling involved.

And you can stop clicking on the word "here" five lines up. It was a joke.

Good to Know

2006-12-18T18:33:00.000-05:00

According to Wikipedia, the "two leading causes of climbing deaths on Mount Hood are falls and hypothermia."

Climb Every Mountain

2006-12-18T18:27:00.000-05:00

I don't know anything about mountain climbing, but I know enough about 1) December; 2) cold temperatures; 3) snow; 4) ice; and 5) an 11,249-foot mountain to know that I never want to experience all of them at the same time.

I mean, really, what were these people thinking?

Let me say that I am sorry for their families and friends who have to experience such a loss. But how unforeseeable is it that there might be a monster storm at the top of a mountain at this time of year? Should people even be allowed to climb such a mountain at this time of year? What has this rescue operation cost? And how high would that cost have been if one or more of the rescuers had died as well?

I have no idea if the following is a fair comparison, but I found it interesting. Mt. Hood is situated at coordinates of 45 degrees, 22 minutes North. Chicago is located at 41 degrees, 50 minutes; Milwaukee at 43 degrees, 3 minutes; and Minneapolis at 44 degrees, 58 minutes. Ever heard of it snowing with high winds -- at ground level -- in those cities in December?

So when I read, in the article linked above, that the local sheriff says that, "We failed them. We literally failed them," I have to scratch my head. Were it up to me, there would be a sign at the foot of the mountain making clear that climbers who ascend after a certain date should not expect a rescue operation if things go wrong. Those who assume such risk have to live with -- or, however sadly, die from -- such risk.

Waseca Prison Blues

2006-12-14T19:42:00.000-05:00

Jeff Skilling reported to prison yesterday to begin serving his 24-year sentence. Not to put too fine a point on it, but, as I have argued before, Skilling is getting screwed. It is shameful that he is serving 24 years while Andrew Fastow is serving only six. The single biggest factor in the length of Skilling's sentence is not the criminal activity for which he was convicted. It is that he exercised his constitutional right to have the government prove the charges against him before a jury of his peers. I have no problem with giving Fastow something of a break for pleading guilty. But it is Fastow -- not Skilling nor Ken Lay -- who is most responsible for Enron's demise. I don't care what he has contributed to the Skilling case or the civil cases,. For him to get six years is a disgrace.

The question of Skilling's guilt or innocence is both difficult and interesting. Here's an interesting analysis (warning: it is a long post) from Houston lawyer Tom Kirkendall's blog of the case against Skilling (FCB shout out: How Appealing).

Drunk with Power

2006-12-14T18:43:00.000-05:00

I guess it was too much to hope that Governor Rendell's recent re-election and announced disinterest in further electoral forays would lead him to set crass politics aside. Of course it was.

Now he's rammed through the appointment of former state Senator Joe Conti as the chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. The Governor apparently couldn't be bothered to tell LCB Chairman Jonathan Newman that Conti was going to be hired until fewer than 24 hours before the LCB voted on the hiring, but what the heck, Rendell had the other two LCB members in his pocket.

Forget about how it looks that, in the wake of his pay raise fiasco, the Governor has handed a $150,000 a year job to an outgoing legislator who was either so dumb or so indifferent that he said he wasn't giving his salary increase back because he had already spent it on a water heater. What's particularly troubling is that, in the face of the laudable progress Newman has made to modernize and improve the ridiculous state store system, the Governor couldn't even be bothered to conduct a real search for a CEO or involve the person most responsible for the LCB's recent (if insufficient) progress.

According to the Inquirer, Rendell defended his actions by saying, "Do you hear of any $1.7 billion company that doesn't have a CEO?" Of course, a CEO is less necessary when you have a state-controlled monopoly over the industry in question. But the best part of all this is hearing Conti and others claim he is qualified to run this $1.7 billion company because -- I am not making this up -- he has been a legislator and, before that, he managed two restaurants. I guess if he had managed three restaurants he would be in line to take over General Electric.

Oh, We Got Trouble

2006-12-14T18:20:00.000-05:00

It's not just baseball, football, or cycling anymore. Welcome to Development on Steroids, also known as Philadelphia River City, a 10-building, 12-million- square-foot, 3700-apartment, two-hotel, and one-60-story tower complex being proposed for northwest Center City between 23rd Street and the Schuylkill River. Here's an artist's rendering of the site.

I support the responsible development of Center City and other parts of Philadelphia and have been critical of those who adopt an "enough is enough" attitude 10 minutes after they move in. But, that said, one has to ask: Are you bleeping kidding me?

Disclosure time: I'm neither an urban planning or architectural expert, although I am by years of experience a city living expert. If built, the shadows cast by Philadelphia River City will literally fall on FCB World Headquarters and kill off the western view from the top floor of FCB HQ. And it says something about what is happening in Center City that, despite this proximity, River City is not even the closest multi-housing development within the sound of these keyboard clicks. So, I definitely have a dog in this fight.

But I have to question both the wisdom and the feasibility of the proposed complex. Is it necessary that every inch of Center City have a building on it? Why make it harder for many to see the magnificent facade of 30th Street Station? Why do developers want to mess with the great open view of 30th Street Station as you walk up JFK Boulevard, which is the second-best walking view in town after the Art Museum/City Hall corridor on the Ben Franklin Parkway? Okay, I know the answer to that one -- money. What is the point of a height limitation in a zoning code if someone can seriously seek a variance to allow a building eight times higher than the law permits? How will people get into, out of, and past this behemoth, given the existing roads and the geographical limits imposed by the Schuylkill River? And how much money will all this cost taxpayers, both in the form of necessary infrastructure improvements as well as lost revenue if the development becomes a Keystone Opportunity Zone, entitling businesses and their well-heeled employees to forego state and local taxes?

Governor Rendell is on record as supporting Philadelphia River City, which is hardly surprising since he loves big developers only slightly less than his lovely wife and cheesesteaks. So let's hope that the mayoral candidates and other officials begin an extended public discussion about the merits of this project.

My Kingdom for a Fork

2006-12-06T22:07:00.000-05:00

Sorry to go all Seinfeld here, but what is the deal with chopsticks?

I had a very nice meal last night at Aqua, a Thai/Malaysian place in Center City (PhilaFoodie review here). I know the cuisine comes from a part of the world where chopsticks are used. But -- hello? -- I am not in Bangkok, I am in Philadelphia, where people use a little utensil that I like to call a "fork."

I don't mean to pick on Aqua, which I liked a lot. And they did bring me a fork after a bit. But why do you have to ask for it? Why do people use chopsticks when they eat Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, or other similar food? Why does the type of food cause someone to change the method of eating it? It's not like the food tastes better when it touches wood instead of metal. It's not like people in China use forks when they eat food that originated in the West. It's not like you pay in yuans or bahts at the end of the meal. What is going on here?

I feel better now. Thank you.

Drewless

2006-12-06T21:41:00.000-05:00

Has any player ever had more money thrown at him for no good reason than J.D. Drew? He's managed to accumulate $38 million in his career to date; two years ago he somehow got the Dodgers to give him a five-year, $55 million deal; and now he has walked away from that and scored a five-year, $70 million contract with the Red Sox. So much for "Theo Epstein" and "boy genius" showing up in the same sentence ever again.

For some reason stat geeks love Drew. I guess it must be for his four seasons with an OBP over .400. Whatever. The facts are that he has averaged only 118 games per year and has medium power (career average of 20 HR and 63 -- 63!! -- RBI, with 2006 being his only 100-RBI season). He gets this big money because when things are going well he looks like Mickey Mantle. But then something always happens, and it's back to the DL. I don't care how much money is floating around baseball these days. This is an insane signing that the Red Sox will regret.

Drew reminds me of those Miller Lite commercials from years ago: He's everything you've always wanted in an outfielder. And less.

Black and White II

2006-12-05T17:20:00.000-05:00

Malcolm Gladwell makes an interesting attempt to quantify how much revulsion people should feel when someone says something stupid at best and horribly racist at worst. I agree with him in his relative ranking of Mel Gibson and Michael Richards. Although Richards is getting more of a hammering, primarily because his rant was captured on video, Gibson's was worse, since it's easy to believe -- despite his protests -- that he really believes that stuff.

And as for Michael Irwin, as Gladwell says: Please. He's an idiot whose continued employment by ESPN is by far the most baffling personnel mystery on Planet Bristol. I don't know what Harold Reynolds did to get himself fired (other than his self-described innocuous hug of a female co-worker), but he must be apoplectic everytime he sees Irwin on the air.