Rocco saves the day; consumers pay the way

Tonight was supposed to be the night when Sinclair Broadcast Group pulled the plug on Mediacom’s right to broadcast 22 of its television stations, including the CBS affiliate in Cedar Rapids. Today’s newspaper even included a how-to guide for people to obtain the channel over the air and the cable giant began issuing free antennae to its customers.

Then came word from Mediacom Chairman and CEO Rocco B. Commisso (not an alias, I swear) that he has offered Sinclair 33 percent more money to resolve the ongoing dispute over compensation for carrying its stations. Commisso said the latest offer included several options for Sinclair, including a deal that is more than double the average compensation Sinclair gets for rebroadcasting its signal from any other satellite or cable provider.

A few hours later, Sinclair reached an agreement with Mediacom to delay disconnecting its stations from the dominant cable TV provider in Iowa until Jan. 5 while negotiations continue.

Affected markets include Des Moines and Cedar Rapids in Iowa; Minneapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; Birmingham, Ala; and St. Louis, among others. Subscribers in 16 markets may lose one or two local stations each.

For the time being, anyway, local Mediacom customers will continue to receive NFL games broadcast on CBS, Iowa Hawkeye basketball, “The Amazing Race,” “Late Night With David Letterman,” all those CSI shows and, come Dec. 29, the Brut Sun Bowl.

I walked away from the dispute when I purchased a high definition antenna – thus not rewarding Sinclair nor punishing Mediacom. To my surprise, the antenna pulls in all of my local channels, including CBS, and also their HD signals. I wasn’t able to get CBS HD through Mediacom, but can through the antenna.

So why do I care? Because, ultimately, this is a consumer pocketbook issue. If Mediacom buckles to Sinclair’s demands – and it appears they have – who do you think will foot the bill? Not Rocco.

Not so suburban after all

And now, the exception to Lonnie's rule:


I don't live in a particularly small town. There's a university, an actual, functional downtown with an infamous courthouse, gracious old homes and interchangeable McMansions, and an increasingly alarming number of big box stores. I don't live particularly far out on the prairie, either. It's barely 20 miles from my house to the Arch. But I do live in a place where a subdivison is named Burns Farm because, not all that long ago, it actually was the Burns family farm. And, apparently, I also live in a place where, sometimes, there's a cow at the Home Depot.

So, there you go, all my coastal friends. All your suspicions confirmed!

My yin to her yang

It was probably predictable, but a pattern has developed in the few short weeks since this blog was launched. Perhaps you've noticed.

Allison is the good cop, I'm the bad cop. I'm the yin, she's the yang. Her posts are almost always insightful, thoughtful and well-written. (See "No day like a snow day," "A dilemma," "What the future holds," "Already Merry" and "A Thanksgiving Miracle," just to name a few.) My posts are almost always snarky, curmudgeonly, sinister and/or offensive. (See "Borat -- must see entertainment," "Holiday humbug" and "Mediacom vs. Sinclair -- which evil is the lesser?")

There's nothing wrong with this, mind you. It's just the way it is. And, perhaps, an accurate representation of who we really are. Hopefully, that combination will find an audience. If not, no big deal. We're having fun, which is all that really matters.

But if, by chance, something on this blog inspires someone -- anyone! -- to think, to laugh (see Borat or "Happy Thanksgiving America"), to get angry, to be entertained, to act or, most of all, to POST A COMMENT!, Allison will be thrilled. I, of course, couldn't give a damn.

No day like a snow day

If this isn't life in the Midwest, I don't know what is.

As I write this, around 5 o'clock Wednesday, it's 68 degrees and humid. By this time tomorrow, if the forecast holds--and for the sake of my topic, let's throw the weather guy a bone and assume that it will--it'll be 28 degrees. What kind of weather will accompany this forty degree drop? All of it! Rain, thunderstorms, freezing rain, sleet, ice, and snow are each expected. Considering that even the normally conservative weather service is guesstimating 6-10 inches of snow, it seems a safe bet that the shovels and de-icer will be making their first appearances of the season before the weekend. It's not even December! Hey Al, are we SURE about this global warming thing?

The upside, of course, is the magic phrase that dances through my head any time the forecast gets wintry: snow day! They might kick me out of the NEA for admitting it, but I'm not ashamed to say that sometimes there is no joy like snow day joy. It's just as good as you remember. Of course, these days, clicking the list on a local station's website has replaced intently listening to the radio. Instead of being frozen in place lest I miss my district's name among all those Catholic schools that seemed to close at the first sign of a flake, I sit in the dark and reload the page. The anticipation, however, is the same.

Sure, in the light of day, the screwed up schedules can be a pain, and when Madison's school closes and mine doesn't my mood is significantly darker as we scramble to plan the day, but the moment we both hit the closed-school jackpot is a pure pleasure rare in the grown-up world. Whatever responsibilities I had that day, I can't complete, and it's not my fault; the weight of daily life is lifted. Maybe I'll do something productive later, use the bonus time to catch up or get ahead. Hey, it could happen. But first I get to go play early-morning Santa Claus and whisper "snow day!" to Madison before jumping right back into bed as those with less fortuitous career choices scrape windshields and shovel drives. Snow day! May we all have one sometime.

Kazakhstan National Anthem

A scene from "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"

Very nice!

To Do List

The first order of business today is to move that Borat picture far enough down the page that I don’t have to look at it again. I’m not saying it’s not funny; I’m saying, “Oh, my eyes!”

How to achieve this important goal? If only I had a flight suit, I’d resurrect the classic strategery of declaring that my mission is already accomplished before it's even begun. I hate to imitate anything that guy has done, but at least I wouldn't really be stooping to his level: by the time I finished explaining that my mission was accomplished, it actually would be.

Borat -- must see entertainment

My wife was surprised I didn't write more about “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” so I will. It's funny. It's laugh-out-loud, pee-your-pants-a-little funny. Some people have taken offense, and I can understand that in the truth-hurts sort of way. Mostly, I feel the film is an equal opportunity offender. By that I mean, it plays no favorites. Everyone, especially if they're looking, can find something in it that offends them. I'm not like that. Apparently Kid Rock is. NIIICCCEEE!

WWJDecorate?

So, the Colorado peace-wreath story is over, with the head wingnut apparently deciding his principles aren't really worth the publicity. Unchanged, however, is the fact that we share our world with people determined to find Satan under every evergreen needle and with people who choose to be offended by PEACE . Somebody is going to have to hold my hand, speak slowly, and explain how this way of thinking works, because otherwise I am never going to get it.

Congratulations to visitor #250

Which I think was me. If not, it was Allison. Either way, congrats!

A dilemma

[Monday night! Packers! Snow! Favre! . . .Dang.
Sorry, Lonnie. Want a cookie?]

The annual ritual is over, or nearly. The weeks in which the family room is overtaken with overpriced yet strangely popular boxes have virtually come to an end, and our regular clutter has resumed its accustomed place. You know those boxes--the colorful ones decorated with peppy slogans and pictures of multicultural groups of girls achieving or bonding or at least posing in front of some wholesome yet non-traditional activity. Boxes of cookies: the Girl Scout kind.

Compared to previous years, this one wasn't too bad. No one dropped more than $500 of cookie money on a dark, windswept porch and walked away without realizing it*, for one thing. And no one got hives from eating six boxes of Thin Mints*, either. Other than the personal fortitude it took for me to not sell 13 boxes myself to reach the goal the actual Girl Scout in the house clearly wasn't interested in, and the tediousness of the counting and sorting, and, how can I forget, the long-term stakeout that was required to determine where the heck the door to that gray house is now that they added that garage, it was painless.

But today we still possess three boxes of cookies that aren't ours, and I'm not sure what to do. Well, technically, they are ours, as they were covered in the giant check I wrote to the Girl Scouts a few weeks back, but we didn't order them. We've tried to deliver several times, but no one has ever answered the door, and no one has ever returned the message I left asking when would be a good time to try again. Personally, if I were pressured into ordering cookies from an unfamiliar yet charming 9 year old, I wouldn't be too sad if no one ever showed up to collect, but I have visions (small, vague, non-threating visions, but visions nonetheless) of my daughter being branded as the Girl Scout who Didn't Deliver, and I hesitate. Do I post a last chance note on the door? Sell them to the aunt who called dibs? Have a snack? The debate continues. On the other hand, if we deliberate just a little longer, we can wrap them up, leave them on the porch, and call it an anonymous holiday gift. I bet there's even a badge in that.

*Madison, 2005
*Allison, 1975



girl scout cookies

Holiday humbug

I don’t mean to be a Scrooge, although my kids will tell you I have those tendencies, but the Thanksgiving holiday didn’t exactly put me in the Christmas spirit.

Sure, our outside lights are up, but only because my wife and daughter took matters into their own hands. Our tree isn’t up because we still insist on a real evergreen and don’t want to tempt a fire by getting it too early.

My mood has been in steady decline since Thursday, when we gathered with my family at the home of one of my sisters. Now I don’t claim any right to tell anyone how to run their household, but “take off your shoes and come in” doesn’t exactly sound like “you’re welcome here” to me. All of my sisters are inflicted with this shoe phobia, even though most of them have hardwood floors or tile.

What’s worse is the Thanksgiving sister has a dog that is allowed his run of the place, including any furniture and people within it. I love dogs, especially my own, but I don’t believe in treating them better than people, let alone relatives.

So we survived Thanksgiving and the dry oven roasted turkey – once you’ve had deep fried turkey, nothing else compares – and I looked forward to celebrating National Sleep-In Day, known to many as Black Friday. Until the phone rang and I was notified that the neighborhood arts center where I devote considerable community service was vandalized.

The center is located in a fairly rough neighborhood that I also call home. Historically, the center has been spared violence, I liked to believe, because the residents believed in our mission and supported the good things we were trying to accomplish for the neighborhood. That notion was shattered with one glass bottle thrown through one of four large, double-paned picture windows. So I spent Friday cleaning up broken glass and boarding up a window in a neighborhood that already has far too many boarded windows.

Saturday I ventured out to the Bull's Eye Boutique, primarily because I wanted some of their yummy rotisserie chicken salad. Alas, the deli I have come to love was gone, replaced by refrigerated shelves of pre-packaged deli items, including the aforementioned chicken salad in half-pound and pound containers. I don’t consider this progress and leave with my craving unsatisfied and my confidence in humanity declining.

The day ended on a high note, though, as I went to see “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”. My one word review: Brilliant! I have never laughed so hard. Go see it, unless you’re easily offended, in which case you should get over yourself first.

Next came Sunday, the best day of the week for fantasy football players. Unfortunately, I hitched my wagon to Eli Manning and the New York Giants. As a result, I lost my seventh game and have been eliminated from playoff consideration. My 14th season will end like all the others, with me presenting a trophy to someone else.

So I look forward to Monday and returning to work. At least I have a job to return to, unlike my Minnesota friend, a part-time copy editor at a once-respectable newspaper. The new owners have put their stamp on the place by firing all part-time employees as of Dec. 1. Merry Christmas!

At least I have the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football to look forward to. Or do I?

What the future holds

World peace is more important than dancing carrots!"

So said my daughter, reacting to the Thanksgiving drama she was in last week. The program included the obligatory salute to the troops, and Madison was both touched at the reminder of war and fearful that the grownups, as we so often do, were missing the point. "Sometimes, she said, "it feels like that war will never end."

For the record, there were no dancing carrots, but that girl does have a way with words. She also has a sensitive spirit, one that can be moved to tears by pollution-spewing smokestacks. She is equally offended by the destruction of the rainforest and the moments of injustice she sees in her small but growing world. With all the wrongs she perceives, it wouldn't be hard to be overwhelmed, and sometimes I worry that she will be. If she can channel her strong feelings, though, she'll be a force.

How to help her preserve her soft-hearted nature yet be resilient enough to cope with the world and strong enough to change it? I try, but I'm not sure I know; growing up so often seems to mean growing jaded, and people who don't engage don't act. It's typical, but telling, that the headlines that tabulate the deaths in Iraq barely make me blanch. It takes a striking atrocity, like six Sunnis being burned alive in Baghdad, to really make an impression. No good can come of being inured to stories--realities--like that, and no good can come of ignoring them because they're "too much." That it's too much for anyone to deal with is exactly the point! Real people are dealing with it every day; the rest of us have no right to claim "war fatigue" and tune it out.

Incalculable damage has been done, but the decisions that determine how long that damage will last and how far it will spread have yet to be made. Perhaps, if we pay attention, the result will be slightly less terrible than it could be. The world will hold plenty of messes for my daughter and her generation to clean up; let's hope this isn't one of them.

Iraq war

Already Merry

Our tree is up.

Christmas is more than a month away, it's 70 degrees and sunny, the yard is still full of leaves and a stray Halloween ghost that I haven't bothered to snag from an upper branch of the maple, and our Christmas tree is up.

I blame my mother.

Because I spent my entire childhood decorating the Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving, putting the tree up that early is one of our few irrational, inviolate holiday traditions. Our moods and our schedules don't matter at all; the calendar leads and we follow. For a week or so, that tree will surprise me every time I walk into the living room, some alien evergreen that's landed in the wrong season.

Why bother? My daughter is already indoctrinated; it's her tradition, her memories we're making now. Better to go along and listen to her sing Jingle Bells than create the memory of The Year Christmas Was Late and It Was All Mom's Fault.

Thanksgiving is over. The tree goes up. That's what we do.

A Thanksgiving Miracle

I'm shocked. It's Thanksgiving Day and not a single animated angel has appeared in my inbox to remind me to thank Dear Leader for protecting us from the heathens. I've received no bad poetry about soaring eagles and the innate superiority of America. Not one chain letter warning me that if I don't eat my share of factory-farmed turkey the terrorists will have won.

Either those filters are working or a certain faction of relatives has finally given up on me. And wouldn't that be something to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving America

Thanksgiving
America
YouTube

Mediacom vs. Sinclair -- which evil is the lesser?

I haven’t quite been able to figure whose side to take in the current standoff between Mediacom and Sinclair Broadcast Group. I have the great misfortune to be a Mediacom cable customer in a television market with a Sinclair-owned CBS affiliate.

Faced with the impending loss of CBS – home to The Amazing Race, Late Night With David Letterman, NFL broadcasts and (gulp) Super Bowl XLI – I’ve devoted far too much time investigating satellite television providers. I’ve compared DirecTV, which Sinclair suggests for Mediacom customers, with Dish Network.

My conclusion is that Dish would be slightly cheaper than DirecTV. Both offer NFL Network, which has exclusive broadcast rights to eight games beginning on Thanksgiving, which Mediacom does not. Only DirecTV has the NFL Sunday Ticket, but do I really need to spend $240 for the ability to see every NFL game when all I really care about is seeing the Green Bay Packers? (Rhetorical question.)

Neither Dish or DirecTV can compete with cable in a household with seven TVs, all of which need to operate independently of the others. (I’m guessing 1.75 TVs per person puts me on the high side, even in the good old USA.)

With my mind still not made up about which direction to go or not go, I marched into the local Best Buy looking for answers. Voila! For a mere $53, I walked out with a high definition antenna that pulls in all of my local channels, including CBS, and also their HD signals, which Mediacom doesn’t.

So my problem is solved, for the most part, but now I have another quandry. Why is Sinclair pushing Mediacom customers to switch to DirecTV when all they need is an auxiliary antenna to pull in the local channels Mediacom will soon drop? And why doesn’t Mediacom fight back with the same argument?

It seems neither is acting in good faith or in the best interests of its viewers as they wage their high-profile pissing match. It makes me want to pull the plug on both of them – but not until after the Super Bowl.

Time in a bottle?

Funny how the first weeks of this little project have resurrected so many memories, from felonious coworkers to former golden boys. I had long since put OJ out of my mind, but I now recall gathering around a radio in the Green Bay offices of a cheese company to hear the verdict. (Where else could one work in Wisconsin?) A few weeks later, I left that job in order to move to Iowa, and I can still hear the straightforward Texas twang of one of the R&D guys as he told me to have a nice life since he’d never see me again. The secretaries thought that was cold, but it was certainly true. Life goes on.

Sometimes I play a kind of mental chicken, daring myself to calculate how many years ago something happened, seeing how far back I can go without having a stroke. Part of that comes from hanging out with high school kids all day; prying questions are part of the mutual anthropology project we seem to be engaged in. The students assume that I envy them and try to spook themselves by imagining the someday when they’ll be “old”. They don’t realize what we have in common, that in twenty years they may still be playing games with chronology just to see how it feels.

Most of the time, once the shock fades, I'd say it feels pretty good. An accountant friend of mine is not a fan of my little word problems; maybe she takes the numbers more literally than I. Cold calculations that imply too much about mortality and not enough about memory unnerve me as much as anyone. I'm ever on a quest for a cosmic pause button that would allow us to add experiences without subtracting time. As symbols of what matters, though, these figures are pretty satisfying: I’ve known my best friend for nearly 19 years. I’ve been married for 14. A friend to my collaborator here for 10. A mother for more than 9. I like what numbers like that stand for, and I know that's another thing I understand that the teenagers don't. Why would I wish to be younger if it would wipe all that away?

PS: Beloit College's annual Mindset List provides a good reminder of how or why young people may think or act differently than older folks like Lonnie.

Beloit College
Mindset List

Worst Hollywood Production Ever

Forget "if he did." Why do we care?

Exhale America. Mediamaniac Rupert Murdoch has squelched plans for double-murdering NFL Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson’s book and Faux television special.

Whew!

Talk about your must-see TV. You mean a man found “not guilty” is going on TV to say how he would have committed a crime, if he had? What a bizarre twist on the usual guilty-guy-claims-innocence theme. Credit Faux for at least trying to give the viewers something different.

“I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” Murdoch said. “We are sorry for any pain this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.”

“But you’re not sorry about the publicity the whole matter has brought to your evil empire,” I added.

They must have had producers of Cops spinning in their graves, if they were dead. What they forgot are the two people who ARE dead. I can’t fathom how any credible network – or Faux even – could think this was a good idea.

I won’t belabor the point. It’s covered extensively at The Huffington Post and elsewhere. But “The Juice” – and I don’t mean alcohol – changed my life – and I don’t mean for the better – with his heinous crime. For months that seemed like weeks and were probably actually years, I was glued to the TV. I couldn’t get enough of Geraldo Rivera!

The thought of it makes me sick. I need to take a shower now.

murderer
mediamaniac
Evil Empire
Geraldo

Monday nights on NBC

Am I a good liberal if the mere sound of Aaron Sorkin dialogue sends me running from the room? I can remember speeding home from a night class to watch The West Wing, back when it was good, but I have no patience for this new version of the Hollywood Sermon on the Mount. I'd much rather spend my time with a self-regenerating cheerleader, the Japanese guy who bends space and time, and the only corrupt Republican who has ever charmed me. Escapism much?

Oh, and speaking of NBC, does anyone share my pain that the complete DVD set of Homicide: Life on the Street has been released for a list price of THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS? Sure, it's 35 DVDs, and sure, I'd never watch them all. But, man, I'd love to have it sitting next to the other TV DVDs I never watch. Best. show. ever.


Aaron Sorkin Heroes Homicide: LOTS

Money for nothing

Tempting as it is, I shouldn't give Lonnie a hard time for this youtube proliferation. If I wasn't entertained by every video, I was at least educated. I learned, for example, that Tom Vilsack is as boring as you'd expect the Governor of Iowa to be. (As a person who loved living in Iowa City, I get to say that.) I'd be tempted to say Lonnie was just like a kid in a candy store, except I hereby declare that simile defunct. Not only do candy stores barely exist any more, save for mall stores that no kid could afford, but, given the opportunity, today's kid wouldn't gleefully pick one of everything. Instead, he'd get there early, buy all the good stuff, sell it on eBay, count his profit, and never even eat any candy.

I am really tired of that kid.

You know, the one who gets into a knife fight at Best Buy as he waits to buy the PS3 he hopes to eBay for six times its already inflated price. Or the one who goes online for free World Series parade tickets only to post them for sale with a "my $200 price is firm" disclaimer moments later. For the people who line up to be gouged, I think the saying about a fool and his money applies. For the people who do the gouging, there are plenty of other sayings. I suggest a quick Google of doing unto others or the root of all evil.

Must the bottom line always be the bottom line? In the world of Halliburton and Abramoff, perhaps. I’d rather not live in that world, especially since it would seem to require time in either prison or hell (never mind the F2F with Dick Cheney). I'm all for making money, but when every experience is nothing but an opportunity for profit, we're all poorer for it.

PS3 eBay

I (heart) Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann interviews Mostafa's Lawyer

Keith Olbermann is simply the best. I've gone overboard today with youtube videos, and I promise to show greater restraint, but you'll find plenty of Keith here going forward.

Keith Olbermann
Countdown
MSNBC

0 for Sunday

In case you missed it, there were three shutouts in the NFL today. Our teams were on the losing end of two of them -- New England 35, Green Bay 0 and Carolina 15, St. Louis 0. But at least the Monsters got their first win in the post-Rumsfeld era.

New England Patriots
Green Bay Packers
Carolina Panthers
St. Louis Rams

Vilsack runs for president (sans headphones)

This reminds me of the one time I met Tom Vilsack. It was before the start of a July 4 8k, back when I used to run. I remember thinking it odd that a prominent politician would wear headphones while participating in a race. Guess he didn't really want to chat with anyone.

Tom Vilsack

Tom Who?

John Edwards on The Late Show

Interesting, I thought, that in a discussion of possible presidential candidates there was no mention of Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. If I'm not mistaken, he's the only one who has actually stated his intentions. When you throw your hat in the ring and no one notices, that should tell you something. When you're not likely to win your own state, even, in the first-in-the-nation caucuses, that should tell you something. Near as I can tell, Vilsack is positioning himself as the VP candidate or for a cabinet post. I don't put much stock in his presidential ambitions.

Tom Vilsack
John Edwards
David Letterman

Update

Well, this gives me hope. Today's stlcardinals.com email--which they won't stop sending no matter how many times I unsubscribe--offers half price seats for tomorrow's "film premiere." What, there weren't quite as many suckers, er, fans willing to pony up seventy-five bucks to watch TV as they'd originally anticipated? Thank goodness.

At the moment, though, I feel like paying this local writer to read his birthday tribute to local hero Stan Musial; it's a beautiful essay, as the best sportswriting often is. I'm too young to know if that time and place ever really existed as he remembers it, but I hope it did.

St. Louis Cardinals Stan Musial

Watch it, Redbirds.

This is why I hate the off-season. It's not that MLB isn't about the almighty dollar every minute of every day, but this time of year there are no pretty swings or improbable double plays to distract me from the dollar signs.

I'm not even thinking of player salaries, numbers so huge they seem imaginary to me. Even yesterday I didn't mind so much when I read that a full player's share of the Cardinals' World Series take is $362,173. How amazing for those guys making the minimum, I thought, to double their salaries for a week's play--not even stopping to calculate how many years of actual work it will take me to gross that much

And later, when I saw that the Cardinals were again giving away cheap satellite radios to encourage people to subscribe to XM in order to hear the games that have always been free, I was able to roll my eyes without rehashing why that move infuriated me so much in the first place. (The Cardinals bought into a radio station and moved the game broadcasts there. Smooth, profitable, move. The catch? The station's signal barely exceeds the shadow of the arch.)

But today I got an email "invitation" to the 2006 WORLD SERIES FILM PREMIERE* & DVD RELEASE CELEBRATION at Powell Symphony Hall. Come see the players! Come watch TV! Come see ballgames you've already seen! Come pay $30 to $75 depending on seat location!

For an organization that last year sold the urinals out of the old, demolished, stadium, I admit this is pretty classy. I bet there's even a red carpet. But seventy-five bucks? Good grief. Capitalism: I get it. If you don't fleece people in the weeks after your championship, when can you fleece people? And is it really a fleecing when the sheep are happy to pay? You got me. All I know is that these maneuvers make me fondly remember the days when the owner was Gussie Busch, a man who could take everyone's money without anyone minding so much. Then again, he sold beer.

I know it's never not been about money, but it makes me crabby when it's so obvious. I prefer to keep my illusions and a few bucks in my pocket. For that to happen, it may already be time to step away from the hot stove.

*FILM premiere? Did they reshoot the ending? Remake Fever Pitch?

Cardinals World Series

Amen brother!

Media crap on dems, by Gorette.

Boggle

Sure, the commute's ridiculous and filing income taxes in two states is a pain, but at least living across the river means the people who wrote this don't represent me.


Missouri Republicans

Right is the new wrong

I stumbled across this from Davis Sweet on the huffingtonpost. I wish I had written it myself, but didn't. Sweet reminds us to be kind guardians of our new-found (and well-deserved) favor with the public. We must avoid the temptation for revenge and hold ourselves to a much higher standard than the crooks, liars and hypocrites on the right. In short, don't be an asshole.

Some highlights:

Every smear in the recent campaign was a skidmark, and all of that unwashable crap (aside from some of the more hysterical Foley-bashing) came from the GOP. Karl Rove telling us the liberals wanted "therapy" for terrorists. Calling relentlessly pro-troop Representative John Murtha a traitor. Gang-pouting at John Kerry for an insult that a flippin' earthworm could tell was aimed at Bush rather than the troops. Each was an asshole move.

and

When folks are in trouble and you have the capacity to help, you have a couple of simple choices: help or be an asshole. We watched this administration choose their course, we were briefly baffled, and then we realized there was too much proctology in their psychology.

In conclusion:

So, advice to the incoming majority (barring an asshole move like a party switch from he-who-must-not-be-named): keep your words April fresh, clean up after yourselves, and limit any attacks to above the belt. That's the way to win the hearts and behinds of America.

Reminder

If space and time are infinite, why must everything I want to do happen simultaneously?

These days, I am a sucker for nostalgia, so considering that he played in the dearly departed St. Louis Arena, that Scott and I went to those games while we were dating, and that he represents a time when the Blues were actually good, the ceremony for retiring Brett Hull's number is a natural trifecta. I've been looking forward to it since April, when we watched them retire Al McInnis's number amid talk that the Golden Brett should have been first. I got extra tickets to make sure my good friend could go, too, and that game (and Spamalot) were to be my social highlights for the month.

But I'm not going, and I'm almost totally okay with that.

Last night my daughter brought home a script. She's in a little informal acting class at the Y, and it turns out the last class is a performance. A performance to be held, of course, at exactly the same time the Blues alumni will gather on the ice to honor number 16.

Figuring that out was a disappointing conclusion to an already crappy day, and I admit that my first reaction was to scan through all the possibilities in search of one that would allow me to go to the game. Well, we all know that's not happening; it's not even worth mentioning. What is worth mentioning, however, is the leap one's heart makes while watching a 9 year old's shoulders slump in the defintion of crestfallen but then instantly rebound as she realizes that though there is a game that night, her mother isn't going. She might not always remember that I had that effect on her, but I won't forget.

St. Louis Blues Brett Hull nostalgia motherhood

With time on its hands, Congress investigates NFL

As a Mediacom cable subscriber, I've been fretting all season about the exclusive NFL Network games that I won't get. Then again, as a cable subscriber, there are lots of games I don't get. Why Congress feels this is something worth their time and attention, that I really don't get.

WASHINGTON -- The NFL is about to start airing live regular-season games on its own network, and that has Congress a bit curious.

"We're intrigued, to put it mildly, what the NFL has in mind," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said Tuesday at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Specter grilled NFL executive vice president and general counsel Jeffrey Pash during the 90-minute hearing on sports programming. The hearing focused on how live games on the NFL Network could affect cable and satellite rates and whether the games raise any antitrust issues in connection with the Sports Broadcasting Act.

The NFL Network will air eight live games this season, starting Thanksgiving night when the Denver Broncos play the Kansas City Chiefs. Some broadcast companies, including Time Warner, have balked at paying the higher fee the league is charging to carry the network because of the games.

Time Warner chief operating officer Landel Hobbs testified that the NFL Network's rates are "out of whack" when compared to viewership ratings.

Pash responded that the NFL Network has indeed increased its fees, but he cited the popularity of the league's product as justification. He said other NFL Network carriers -- including DirecTV, EchoStar, Comcast and Cox -- have not passed along the price increase to their customers. However, Comcast wants to start offering the network as part of a premium sports-tier package, which has sparked a legal challenge from the NFL.

Pash also noted the NFL is the only major pro sports league that broadcasts all of its games on free, over-the-air television in participants' local markets. The NFL Network games will be aired by local stations in the participating teams' markets, using the same arrangement that exists with ESPN telecasts on Monday nights.

"There's been a mass migration away from broadcast television with one exception -- the NFL -- and we still have every game on broadcast television," Pash said.

Pash said the NFL Network's offerings do not run afoul of antitrust laws because they are "pro-competitive" and expand choices for consumers. As for Specter's concern about "what the NFL has in mind" for the future, Pash said it will be several years before there can be another significant change in how games are broadcast.

"For the next six years we've got contracts with the broadcast networks," Pash said. "We've got a contract with ESPN that goes out eight, so it's not like we're going to do this, this week, and next week we're going to do three times as much. This is where we are for the foreseeable future. We'll see if it works or not. We'll see if there's consumer acceptance. We'll see if there's consumer response. If these games don't get wide distribution, if they don't get good ratings, ratings commensurate with what our other games get, if they don't get strong advertiser support, we'll have to look at an alternative."

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2005-2006, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved

My My Turn

Speaking of work (and we were, down there somewhere), this week I'll go to a reception for completing five years of service; that's a milestone I've not reached with any other employer. Since I was the "trailing spouse" through five states, I have had some pretty random jobs (see below). On the other hand, unlike Caitlin Petre , I've never been a cocktail waitress in a bowling alley.

And, really, more power to her and her uniform miniskirt. I'm not here to judge the job she's taken as she bides her time before graduate school. I'm here to judge her apparent pride in her inability to fill out a W-4 form correctly or use a spreadsheet-- skills that she says, in her Newsweek "My Turn" essay, her alma mater should have ensured that she had. Her undergraduate degree in philosophy, you see, has limited utility in the real world.

Really? No way!

Well, yeah: no way. She dismisses "learning to think" as a value of a college education, separating academic "thinking" from the real-life analysis of, "Hey, I wonder how much money I need to give the government? I think I'll trot out my college-level reading comprehension skills and, oh, read the directions." Or Google. Or read a book. Or ask daddy's accountant. Or otherwise FIGURE IT OUT. Is that not what an educated person would do?

Then again, I guess that's as much independence and initiative as it is intelligent thought, and, in my experience, those qualities aren't taught, they're learned by experience. Even learned, one would hope, through the experience of completing a degree. So yes, cocktail waitress philsopher girl, you're right. You have a diploma, but not a complete education. Is that your university's fault? I really don't think so.

education

A Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives

To My Conservative Brothers and Sisters,

I know you are dismayed and disheartened at the results of last week's election. You're worried that the country is heading toward a very bad place you don't want it to go. Your 12-year Republican Revolution has ended with so much yet to do, so many promises left unfulfilled. You are in a funk, and I understand.

Well, cheer up, my friends! Do not despair. I have good news for you. I, and the millions of others who are now in charge with our Democratic Congress, have a pledge we would like to make to you, a list of promises that we offer you because we value you as our fellow Americans. You deserve to know what we plan to do with our newfound power -- and, to be specific, what we will do to you and for you.

Thus, here is our Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives:

Dear Conservatives and Republicans,

I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:

1. We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.

2. We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.

3. We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.

4. When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.

5. When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.

6. Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.

7. Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.

8. We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.

9. We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.

10. When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.

11. We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.

12. We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.

I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.

Signed,

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
(Click here to sign the pledge)
www.michaelmoore.com

P.S. Please feel free to pass this on.

More told you so

Lieberman might caucus with GOP

by kos

Mon Nov 13, 2006 at 10:39:49 PM PST

This would make me upset if it surprised me any. But I expected it.

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut said yesterday that he will caucus with Senate Democrats in the new Congress, but he would not rule out switching to the Republican caucus if he starts to feel uncomfortable among Democrats.

Here's the bottom line for Joe -- if he leaves the Democratic Party, he'll give the GOP a short-lived 50-50 majority. But in 2008, the Senate map is ALL Democratic pickups. And Lieberman can then enjoy life in a big GOP minority.

So I full expect him to jump to the dark side. It's what his voters want, it's what his financiers want, it's what his strategists want. You get elected with Republican voters, money and advice, you sort of end up indebted to the other side.

Or, he thinks he's being funny and clever by taunting the Democratic caucus.

Either way, his career is over in two years. With a big Democratic majority, he'll no longer have the leverage to hold Democrats hostage, and the minority Republicans will have no use for him.

So he should enjoy these next two years as much as he can. Because by helping deliver the big Democratic majority in 2008, we'll finish the job we started this year.

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Not For Long? The NFL mirrors American politics

I'm not sure you can have an in-joke without an in-crowd (is 2 a crowd?), but earlier tonight I was threatening to follow up my Cardinals/Democrats entry with a comparison of the Rams and the Republicans--both organizations, clearly, have bad plans that they cannot even manage to execute well--when Lonnie pointed out that the Packers may actually mirror the Democrats. The Pack is a team, he claimed, that steadily shows improvement and occasional glimpses of brilliance--marred with the occasional rookie error--all while working to again be America's Team!

Aha! To prognosticate the political future, the answer is clear: watch the NFL!

Epilogue

I can state unequivocally that I’ve forgotten more about my “mid-life crisis” than my dear friend Allison remembers. Now I’ll tell you “the rest of the story.”

We’ve both found our way back to our natural callings – or at least are making relevant use of our college degrees – and have stayed in touch through the series of pipes that is the Internets.

My family even visited hers one rainy St. Louis weekend and I got to see my hero Orel Hershiser pitch one last time for the Dodgers. However, if memory serves me, we only saw about nine outs that day because of the rain. Mark McGwire may have even homered as it was the height of the “juiced ball” era. (Remember all the time and attention that was paid to that theory? It now seems ridiculous since we’ve learned it was the players who were juiced, but I digress.)

Anyhow, Allison mentions my “company-wide kiss-off e-mail” in passing. I wouldn’t want our readers – either of you – to get the impression that I’m an impulsive hothead who doesn’t respect authority. At least not anymore, or not to the same degree. Aging will do that to you.

Our friendship was the product of natural forces. Allison had recently relocated from Green Bay to Iowa City with her husband’s job transfer. A lifelong, die-hard Packer fan, I was eager to hear her Titletown experiences. It was also the year the Packers returned to and won their third Super Bowl (and 12^th NFL championship).

I had recently flamed out as a newspaper reporter and carried around a lot of naiveté and anger about the corporate world. Like Allison, I had a baby on the way and simply needed a paycheck.

Allison’s description of this dysfunctional workplace will have to suffice as I can only add random memories of a place I’ve tried hard to forget, but oddly remember whenever I reach for a turkey baster. Allison’s post brought all of these memories crashing back into my brain and prompted me to comb through the archives of my life and times to find said e-mail.

Energized by today’s Packer win over Minnesota, I was pouring through all of my job reviews (all favorable, I might note), old newspaper clips, award certificates and such when (Eureka!) I found it. As a service to America and disgruntled workers everywhere, here it is (names have been changed to protect the innocent AND the guilty):

From: Lonnie Wiseacre
Sent: 09 April, 1997 3:45 p.m.
To: IOWA; HOME OFFICE
Subject: Final thoughts from a fleeing rat

If you don't know me (or wish you didn't) go ahead and delete this email.

Now for the 3 or 4 of you left, I would like to extend a fond farewell and best wishes as I depart for what I fully expect to be greener pastures.

Fear not: this is not one of those mushy "good-bye Ape Lied Corp., I'm leaving although everything and everyone here is wonderful" notes. Unlike those before me, my decision to leave Ape Lied was not at all difficult.

I'll get to resume working as a writer, something I enjoy greatly and at which I am fairly skilled. My experience as a software tech, by contrast, hasn't been all that enjoyable, primarily because my skills in this area are lacking. The drive to work will take me about 3 minutes instead of 30 (something I will especially appreciate tomorrow if the predicted 6 inch snowfall comes to fruition) and I may even be able to do my part to see that the kids are shuttled to and from day care. In addition, I will be better paid, which will come as no surprise to anyone at Ape Lied.

I would like to thank everyone who attempted to mold me into a competent technician, particularly those hard-working folks from Chicago who showed such dedication in getting the Iowa office off the ground. I hope I didn't fail you too badly. Please know that I am leaving with considerably more knowledge and understanding of computers than I came with.

I will miss my co-workers in Iowa (most of you anyway) who have persevered under some very trying circumstances. Those of you who moved so quickly from classmates to monitors (even though you are not being paid to work in this capacity) have my utmost respect. You will go far, somewhere else if not at Ape Lied. I empathize with those of you who have struggled, like me, and encourage you to stick with it and you will be rewarded, somewhere else if not at Ape Lied.

Years from now when by beautiful daughter Karissa is crowned Miss America, I will think of you all since you were there in the beginning. And you'll be able to say "you knew me when" when Zach inks his major league baseball contract. With every future Super Bowl win by the Green Bay Packers (and there will be many and it won't take 30 years) I will think of you for sharing (enduring?) the blissful 1996 season with me. I leave you my prized Reggie White animated cursor (that's a title towel he's waving) to remember me by. (Good luck setting it up, it took me months to get it right. One key is your reachout.ini must have colorcursor=yes in the system section, per Don Shout.)

To my teammates, I leave behind my coat tree as a symbol you will always find in me a place to hang your hat. I appoint my neighbor Cindy Cubicle keeper of the tree for being such a good sport as her New England Patriots suffered inevitable defeat in the Super Bowl.

I wish you all Godspeed and, if you are not as fortunate as I in your career pursuits, I hope Ape Lied will become the company it was touted to be when we came on board. You are the heart and sole (sic) of a company handicapped only by an underdeveloped corporate spine. Someday the powers that be will realize this has grown into a large company and will run it as such and not as the company it was when it was working out of a home.

I hope they will one-day have formal, written personnel policies and will not deal with such common matters as maternity leave on a case-by-case basis. And in formulating these policies, I hope they will see the Family and Medical Leave Act as a minimum standard and not an excuse for not doing the right thing.

I hope they will recognize their considerable investment in their employees and strive to retain them. And when employees do leave, as happens everywhere, I wish those left behind would not have to wonder and worry while seeing little, if any, effort to hire replacements.

Ciao! Carpe Diem!

P.S. In keeping with tradition...Number of times I have seen Bob: 0
(ignore the man behind the curtain!)

Editor’s note: The response to this e-mail ranged from complimentary to highly critical, which is no surprise. But the number of people who chose to “reply all”, caused the company’s network to crash, which is something I never imagined or intended. Ever since I’ve been lobbying the NFL to record one more sack for the late, great Reggie White.

And lest I forget, there was Allison's reply, including this paragraph that would change the course of our friendship forever:

And as for keeping in touch, as you can see -- if you're still reading -- you're not the only one who can write *way* long emails, so drop a line anytime. I'd like to hear how this new adventure goes and whatever else is happening. Plus, who else will give me endless crap about the crappy Cardinals?

Prologue

Like so many people, I have several long-distance friends whom I know only through the magic of the Internets. Lonnie is not one of them.

You see, more than ten years ago our friend Lonnie ended up in a job that he never wanted or expected to have. So did dozens of other people who figured that while being a software support tech for an insurance office automation product was not the culmination of their childhood dreams, it probably was an avenue to a paycheck that wouldn't bounce. I know that was my theory, anyway.

I don't think I really knew Lonnie during the first part of that summer, while we trained, honest to goodness, in a school cafeteria as the office building was being completed. For one thing, I had been befriended by a possessive and possibly psychotic pregnant mother of four who eventually had to leave that job and start appearing at her OB appointments in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit because, darn the luck, she was sentenced to ten years for embezzling $169,000 and five cars from her previous employer, a car dealership. True story.

Later, with adjacent cubes and a regular need to vent and get help with a "resolve", we got to know each other over the year--or months, really--that Karissa was born, I was pregnant, Clinton was re-elected, the Packers won the Super Bowl, management grew increasingly perverse, and our coworkers variously had affairs, got married, got divorced, got arrested, discovered their true sexual orientation, became alcoholics, or some combination thereof.

Call it a bonding experience.

Soon enough, Lonnie went on to better things in a blaze of company-wide kiss-off-email glory, and not long after that I left the company and Iowa with my husband and our new baby. It was a blip on the career radar; the kind of experience that slides off the resumé and fades, mercifully, from memory.

Except that here we still are, trading the kind of stories and snark that kept us sane in the cubicles of purgatory. And for that reason alone, it was the best crappy job I ever had.

Veterans, Future and Past

Yesterday I happened to catch part of a radio story about a living history project that has interviewed the fourteen remaining World War I veterans. World War I! The youngest are 105 years old. While it was remarkable to hear their stories and reassuring to see centenarians able to articulate their memories--which are as often of girls as they are of battle; you think that attitude has something to do with longevity?--I couldn't help but wonder what the world will look like and what the veterans of today's conflicts will have to say about it in 2095.

I told you so

Lieberman: Call Me a Democrat

The Associated Press
Friday, November 10, 2006; 11:13 AM

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Joe Lieberman, who won re-election as an independent, has a message for his Senate colleagues in the next Congress: Call me a Democrat.

The three-term Connecticut lawmaker defied party leaders when he launched his independent bid after losing to Democrat Ned Lamont in the August primary. During the campaign, he vowed to be an "independent-minded Democrat" if he were re-elected. In Tuesday's election, Lieberman won strong GOP support and given the closely divided Senate, Republicans are expected to court him.

So will he count as a Democrat or an independent who caucuses with the majority Democrats? In an e-mail message late Thursday, Lieberman spokesman Dan Gerstein said the senator will begin his new term as a Democrat.

With the Democratic takeover of the Senate, Lieberman is in line to become chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

In a post-election news conference, Lieberman said he was reassured by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid that he would retain his seniority when the new Senate convenes.

Election reality alters fantasy picture

It wasn’t just the nation’s destiny that changed with the Democratic election victory and the subsequent resignation/dismissal of Donald Rumsfield. The turn-of-events also had an impact on my fantasy football team.

Before you dismiss this as trivial, I should note I am commissioner of a league in its 14th year and seven of 12 owners are charter members. Four others are in their 11th, 12th or 13th year. Although I have yet to win a championship, I play on.

My team is named Lonster’s Monsters and for the last several years our logo has been a picture of Rummy. Who better to represent the Monsters than a real life monster? Who is scarier?

Then he had to go and quit/get fired and I was faced with a mid-season dilemma – stick with the tried and true or find a new sinister force to strike fear in the hearts of my opponents?

With the Monsters struggling to earn a playoff spot, it was time for decisive action. Emboldened by election night victories, I took all of about five seconds to find Rummy’s replacement.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you the new-look Monsters.

One of these things is like the other

There's a pained analogy to be made here, between baseball and politics, between Cardinals and Democrats, and apparently I'm going to make it. No, I'm not drawing any lines between Tony LaRussa and John Kerry, though, come to think of it, they are both successful, educated men who catch flak for not being "regular guys" , but as of the 2006 World Series only one of them has a rep for coming up short when it really counts, so, nevermind.

Instead, I'm thinking of Lonnie's friend and her "I hope the Dems don't muck it up" comment and how it reminds me of my experience as a baseball fan and, yes, Democrat.

Around here, it takes more effort to not be at a baseball fan than it takes to be one, but back in junior high I started to really love the Cardinals. They gave away free tickets (at the time, I believe, a $6 value) to kids on the honor roll, and something just clicked--something more than a teenage girl's appreciation of Tommy Herr. They won the 1982 World Series, and I was hooked. The next years were less magical, but they had some great players and a charismatic manager; I was dedicated. Then in 1985 an amazing squad took them back to the Series, where a lesser team beat them with the help of a motorized tarp and notorious missed call (see my April 1986 letter to the SI editor). I was crushed. When the Cardinals returned to the Series in 1987, I was thrilled, but wary. And thus not quite as saddened when they lost to the ridiculous stadium that houses the Twins. By the time Fate led the Red Sox past them in four, my heart was as hard as a Rawlings game ball. Expect the worst and you'll never be disappointed, but you won't enjoy anything as much as you could.

Have I ever been so wrapped up in the Democratic Party? Not exactly. But I can rememember the McGovern signs in the yard, the vacation stop at the Truman museum, the cheers for Carter, and the disbelief that people that we knew actually voted Republican. Growing up in the Reagan era, disillusionment with the government came quickly, tempering my expectations of the whole enterprise but solidifying my liberal leanings. Even during the comparative glory of the Clinton years, there was plenty of disappointment to be found, from the '94 midterms to Monica. After the shock of 2000 and the soul-crushing debacle of 2004, well, there was precious little faith left.

And then came 2006. As has been documented right into the ground, this was a craptacular year for the Redbirds. It was a year of underwhelming signings, blown saves, lacksidaisical play, and too much money spent on tickets that were invariably behind a fence or a rail or a foul pole. In a word, it sucked. I was so negative I annoyed even myself, but I couldn't help it, so frustrated was I with a team that wasn't even playing up to its questionable potential, until, of course, they did. For the only two weeks that matter.

Now, can I compare Democrats to a bunch of highly compensated, sporadically performing men? Well, possibly. On the other hand, I'm sure no one on the DLC is injecting HGH. At any rate, I saw a lot of Dems do and say impressive things this year, but I still steeled myself for the seemingly inevitable. After all, Fitzmas was never what I wished it would be. And we do, in fact, live in times when actually getting more votes does not necessarily mean actually winning the election.

During the first round of the playoffs, my initial hope was only to catch a glimpse of lovely San Diego and Petco Park, where we had attended a game in 2005. Then, whaddya know, they won. When the NY series began, I predicted Mets in 5 while crossing my fingers where no one could see. When Yadier Molina hit that home run, I cheered as loud as anyone, but it was more an out-of-body experience than a thrill. Finally, the next week, instead of achieving the mean goal of not embarrassing themselves, the Cardinals won the whole damn thing. And, I tell ya, after 24 years the relief was sweet.

Did the Tigers give that thing away? Technically, I think they threw it right past third base. But, as Lonnie pointed out to me right before he cut off the angsty baseball talk, no championship is unearned. The Cardinals did make the pitches, get the hits, and run like hell when the ball went sailing by. They took advantage of the opportunities that were presented, and, they won.

Did the Republicans lose this election? Well, yeah, I'm sure if they hadn't managed to destroy America as we knew it they would have picked up a few more votes. But the Democrats won. They ran hard, spoke the truth, and brought in the votes.

So I understand that impulse, the urge to say, "Sure, this is good. But just you wait. I've been around! I know! Bad things happen. Just you watch." If you cling to that, you'll miss out on the good things, even in something as inconsequential as a baseball game. If you cling to that notion in real life, not only will you miss out on the good, you may actually help make those sour predictions come true. I can't control the national Dems any more than I can control the Cardinals' moneygrubbing ownership. But I can give them credit for their successes, and, in some small way, I can give them a hand. If I'm afraid of what they might do, or if I'm punishing for what they did before, I won't do that, and then they may, indeed, muck it up.

The Birth of a Blog

During the course of a rapid-fire, election night e-mail exchange with my progressive friend, Allison, she finally agreed to venture into the Blogosphere with me. I’ve recaptured most of our exchanges to give you an idea of our views and the impetus that led to the creation of “open thread.”

LZ: Trust me, I have serious third party tendencies. My first presidential vote was for John Anderson, for example. But this is not the time for that. It will take all of us thoughtful, humanitarian patriots to combat the soulless bastards in the GOP.

Pardon my ignorance, but I scrolled by a Senate race in Indiana that has no Democratic candidate. Am I missing a key piece of info?

AP: I didn't know anything about it, but my friend Google tells me that no Dem filed. WHAT THE HELL?

LZ: Maybe Johnny Sellout can write a song about the sad state of affairs, and release it in conjunction with a Chevy ad. Fuckin Hoosiers!

AP: HA! I swear that was the worst thing about the World Series. Well, no, that would be Billy Cyrus singing. But totally time to change the name again, John.

But speaking of Chevy, did you see that they ran an entirely Spanish commerical several times during the WS? Muy interesante. I would have thought that would have been a story somewhere.

LZ: Might have been if anyone outside of Missouri or Michigan had watched. Sorry, but the World Series ran head-to-head with Dancing With the Stars (and Jerry Springer).

AP: This is true. But, dude, Dancing with Stars? I don't guess I know you at all.

LZ: Oh yes you do. I walked out of the house in disgust tonight when I got home (late) and that was on the big screen. Lisa offered to change the channel, but I needed space.

AP: The Dems take the House races yet concede to Richard Lugar?? What does he know about whom?

LZ: To temper my enthusiasm, I just realized that even if we take the Senate, it'll likely be 51-49 with Joe Friggin Lieberman wielding way too much power to call the shots.

AP: I just want the Senate for the committee chairs who will (who @#$! better) INVESTIGATE and oversee! But the thought of Lieberman and his ilk being in the catbird seat makes me a little ill.

LZ: Just turned over to local news and heard the nubile "reporter" talking about Jim Leach's stranglehold on the district he has "owned" for 15 consecutive elections. No doubt, he's one that many. Never mind he had to move from the Quad Cities to Iowa City after redistricting. Ooops!

AP: How did THAT happen?

LZ: He won -- not "one" -- 13-14 straight in the old district. Then survived the redistricting move to Iowa City because he's a Republican in name only. It's still too close to call, but if he wins, it's because his opponent didn't put up much of a fight.

AP: Here's what I don't get. I live in a solidly Dem county, thank goodness, but according to the numbers 8,000 people who voted Dem for everything else crossed over to the dark side to vote for Shimkus. What the hell. Just because they say he's going to win doesn't mean you have to help. The protecting-a-pedophile thing didn't make an impression at all. Last election we didn't live in this district, so I don't know what people think he's done for them, but it's clear what side he's on.

And the Dem who ran, who is pretty of the right to me, but, A) baby steps, and B) it doesn't take much, had NO money. Like one-color signs and Xerox copies no money, and he's still nearly running 40%, though I don't know what parts of the district that is.

LZ: Perhaps your county is more pro-pedophile than you know. Not to be a fear monger.

AP: You know when you said you like to be out of the reach of your audience? I see why.

So far, 157,000 people have voted AGAINST a proposal that public officials who are convicted of felonies or impeached forfeit their state pensions. I guess all those Republicans waiting for the indictments to drop have bigger families than we thought.

AP: Webb takes the lead????????????????

LZ: No supporting data for that claim. Trust no one.

AP: Yeah, I'm trying to stay up until that's somewhat more clear, or the Virginia site gives me numbers I like.

EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING

AP: Guess it's a good thing I didn't stay up until they called Virginia.

The sun ain't up yet, but thank God it's going to be a bright blue day. And thanks to you I even know what this means: “Big upset in IA-02 --- Loebsack defeats Leach!"

election

Out of the dark ages, into a brave new world

If you're like me, your inbox was filled with cheerful e-mails from fellow progressives celebrating yesterday's election mandate. "Bye, bye Rummy," read one. "Hello Nancy Pelosi! Hello new world... It's like the air is ok to breath again."

And then, as if we don't believe in our own ability to govern, as if we're not up to the simple task of doing better than Bush's enablers, my friend cut the triumph off at its knees. "We've earned this day," she said. "I just hope the Dems have a plan and don't muck things up."

If we don't have confidence in ourselves, why would anyone? I refuse to follow that negative line of thinking. I will not let Faux News, Doughboy Limbaugh, Phone-a-friend O'Reilly or any of the media pukes lessen our victory by suggesting we have anything to prove to anyone -- least of all, them!

The Republicans have destroyed this country over the last six years and Democrats should not be criticized if it takes a little time to clean up after them. If nothing else, taking away Bush's rubber stamp and preventing the nation from deteriorating further is a step in the right direction.

Meanwhile, let's not forget to celebrate. We won! America won! Our troops won!

new (Blue) day, new page

First post!

Just had to get that out of the way.

Otherwise this blank page and I would be about to launch the mother of all staring contests, and it is seriously too fine of a day for that. I'm not yet sure what this might turn out to be, except a way for my friend to maintain a far more orderly inbox, but I'm hopeful that it will be worth somebody's while.

In the meantime, I'm going to go get used to this new feeling--the one where the state of the nation does NOT instantly inspire anger and despair but rather relief and a sense of possibility.

I hope there's material in that.