NPR covered the departure of the final official combat unit from Iraq, in a surprisingly balanced fashion, considering who inhabits the offices at NPR.
Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the convoy of combat troops from the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, lumbered across the Iraq-Kuwait border before dawn, with a few hundred members staying behind to wrap up administrative and logistical duties. They will fly out of Baghdad later Thursday.
The departure doesn't mark the end of the U.S. military presence, however: About 50,000 troops will remain in Iraq through the end of next year. The troops are officially there in an advisory role, but will carry weapons to defend themselves and will join Iraqi troops on missions if requested.
OS had the honor of spending a day with a young Marine whose unit was amongst the first to arrive in downtown Baghdad, even as Baghdad Bob was briefing the press across the street that the Iraqi army was 'crushing the invader'. His unit's tractor was used to pull down the statue of Saddam, which was a very good moment. I never asked The Question, but he answered it at the end of the day: 'Did we do the right thing by going in? Yes, absolutely.' He also said that even though it was dangerous, he and his unit knew their lives were never needlessly endangered, that they were well-looked after. They had maps detailing every tree and low wall in their path, and they always had a plan in place. His unit made it to downtown with a few minor casualties, and no men lost. An extraordinary accomplishment.
In 2006, OS found himself drinking a G&T on an Oxbridge lawn, when his English academic conversation partner launched in on him about Iraq--how awful, how dare you Americans, how could you, why did you, Bush is a monster, yadda-yadda-yadda. Out of the blue. Very circumspectly, OS, trying to be the polite guest, responded--'It was a close call, but it was an unfortunate necessity.' Didn't go over well, and luckily a kind soul intervened to steer the conversation elsewhere.
Seven years after the fact, OS still reluctantly concludes the same: Saddam had to go, and we were the only ones who could accomplish it. The UK, bless 'em, as well as the newly-freed nations of Eastern Europe, along with Spain and a few others, knew what was at stake, and sacrificed mightily as well.
But, lesson number one is: When you got a murderin' thug on the ropes like we had Saddam in 1991, finish the job. The clean-up would have been messy, but tens of thousands of lives would have been spared. Saddam was never going to repent or relent. He had to be killed, along with his sons and inner circle. No other way to deal with him.
Lesson number 2: It's easier to overrun a place than it is to occupy, administer, and rebuild a place. That's why you don't ever want to be in the empire-building business. Bush and company were so good at the overrunning bit, and pretty clueless about the what to do after they won. If you're gonna go to war, ya' better have a plan for what happens after you win. General MacArthur was a genius, not just because he defeated Japan, but in how he reassembled what remained after August 1945.
Same with Marshall in Europe. If you don't have a plan, don't start shooting.
Lesson number 3: There are always unintended consequences, for good and ill. Al-Quaeda deciding to start a civil war, the Sunnis/Shias/Kurds all going after one another, and the post-Saddam score-settling were awful, and they're not over it yet.
Even as we leave, they're ginning it up again. But we don't make them do that. Planting a car bomb in a marketplace is a willful act, requires a good deal of planning. We didn't create those monsters, they decided to emerge from the woodwork.
And, OS thinks we'll see some good unintended consequences as well, but it may take a little time. The American soldier has a habit of improving the lives of the people he peaceably encounters, and good things will blossom in time.
Lesson number 4: If the Left had not decided to ghoulishly support our defeat at the hands of the monsters, we would have left earlier, with a lot fewer people hurt and killed. Let's remember that every time we vote in the future. Obama and Miz Hillary had a vested interest in failure, and made no attempt to hide it.
Lesson number 5: This one, for the rest of the world. We show up, we do the best job possible, and we leave. Most times, on our own schedule. We don't build empires.
We go home. Where the heart is.
Iraq may yet prove to be a failed country, but not because they weren't given every opportunity to succeed.
HT to all who served.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
LA Reacts To The Hope-N-Change Express: Some Comments Left By Angelenos
Now, how much money does Himself have to raise to overcome the fury of all those citizens of Los Angeles he stranded on behalf of his fundraising trip?
Doug Ross shares a few of the ones that can be printed.
One of the most poignant:
Look at a Map of Los Angeles and estimate how many people move on that Map. Would you arrive at 3pm and shut down the 405 and then move eastward and completely shut down the small streets that millions of commuters use because they are no where close to a freeway, just to have a meal? If you do not live in Los Angeles you cannot make a comment. Move here pay to live here and then live here and then make a comment about what happened tonight. Cars were over heated. People had to leave their cars to walk home. About people walking to get water. Los Angeles is one of the driest places in the United States. Again live here and then speak. Get a map, ask some of the mothers stuck for hours and then talk to us about what happened. -- matflash
And we all thought we never see worse than Jimmy Carter!
So, to lighten the mood, because only humor will do at moments like this:
How many Obamas does is take to screw in a light bulb?
One to hold the light bulb, four to turn the ladder, eighteen to assess conformity to OSHA workplace requirements, four to assess the environmental impact of the burnt-out bulb disposal, twelve to participate in a task force to evaluate green energy solutions for a replacement bulb, eight to script his actions, four to script instructions and work the teleprompter, 23 to work with the justice department to sue the light bulb manufacturer...
But, in reality, it only takes one to create utter chaos in our culture.
Because those around him will not stand up to him.
Because he still has a hard-core and well-heeled group of enablers, who host fundraiser dinners to keep him in power, who give him the Nobel Peace Prize for having accomplished nothing, who vote to spend and spend money we don't have to buy his votes for him.
Heaven have mercy on us all.
Doug Ross shares a few of the ones that can be printed.
One of the most poignant:
Look at a Map of Los Angeles and estimate how many people move on that Map. Would you arrive at 3pm and shut down the 405 and then move eastward and completely shut down the small streets that millions of commuters use because they are no where close to a freeway, just to have a meal? If you do not live in Los Angeles you cannot make a comment. Move here pay to live here and then live here and then make a comment about what happened tonight. Cars were over heated. People had to leave their cars to walk home. About people walking to get water. Los Angeles is one of the driest places in the United States. Again live here and then speak. Get a map, ask some of the mothers stuck for hours and then talk to us about what happened. -- matflash
And we all thought we never see worse than Jimmy Carter!
So, to lighten the mood, because only humor will do at moments like this:
How many Obamas does is take to screw in a light bulb?
One to hold the light bulb, four to turn the ladder, eighteen to assess conformity to OSHA workplace requirements, four to assess the environmental impact of the burnt-out bulb disposal, twelve to participate in a task force to evaluate green energy solutions for a replacement bulb, eight to script his actions, four to script instructions and work the teleprompter, 23 to work with the justice department to sue the light bulb manufacturer...
But, in reality, it only takes one to create utter chaos in our culture.
Because those around him will not stand up to him.
Because he still has a hard-core and well-heeled group of enablers, who host fundraiser dinners to keep him in power, who give him the Nobel Peace Prize for having accomplished nothing, who vote to spend and spend money we don't have to buy his votes for him.
Heaven have mercy on us all.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Planet Knucklehead, Chapter 4: James Kwak Attempts To Move His Phone And DSL To His New Home
It would be funnier, were it not so common.
At least Mr. Kwak, a most erudite economist, has some good insights into why we live on Planet Knucklehead.
Enjoy.
At least Mr. Kwak, a most erudite economist, has some good insights into why we live on Planet Knucklehead.
Enjoy.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Hope-n-Change Express Arrives In L.A.--And Gridlock Follows
OS has a hard time sympathizing. These folks voted for this clown.
However, at least one guy is rethinking his decision, actually connecting the dots between his bad decision and the quandry in which he found himself. For California, this represents progress.
One man, who did not want to give his name, said it had taken his wife four hours to drive home from Brentwood. Another man trying to walk west on 6th Street to his office shouted at the officers blocking his way and told them he wished he had voted for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Obama's opponent in the 2008 presidential race.
Well, at least The One didn't harm The Great Recovery, since a goodly portion of these folks don't have jobs to be late to, anyway. Always look for that silver lining, OS reminds his readers.
Had 'nuff, ya'll?
However, at least one guy is rethinking his decision, actually connecting the dots between his bad decision and the quandry in which he found himself. For California, this represents progress.
One man, who did not want to give his name, said it had taken his wife four hours to drive home from Brentwood. Another man trying to walk west on 6th Street to his office shouted at the officers blocking his way and told them he wished he had voted for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Obama's opponent in the 2008 presidential race.
Well, at least The One didn't harm The Great Recovery, since a goodly portion of these folks don't have jobs to be late to, anyway. Always look for that silver lining, OS reminds his readers.
Had 'nuff, ya'll?
Pearson's Resignation As Head Of UKIP: Perhaps We Could Lease Him?
Dan Hannan is one of the most skilled writers out there, and OS is cheering for him to move into 10 Downing Street one fine day, for the sake of us all.
His thoughts on the resignation of Lord Pearson from the leadership of the UKIP are good food for thought, on both sides of the pond.
We truly do need more Pearsons, and not one more Barney Frank, in our public life.
Years ago, as Lady Thatcher retired, there was tongue-in-cheek comment that we here in the US should lease her for eight years service in the White House. Whatever the rent, we should pay. Solve the UK's deficit of payments, and put our house in order at the same stroke.
So, how do we lease Pearson? And Hannan? Obviously not for President, since they're not native-born US citizens, but for some role in our public life, somewhere beside the talking-head and lecture circuit.
His thoughts on the resignation of Lord Pearson from the leadership of the UKIP are good food for thought, on both sides of the pond.
We truly do need more Pearsons, and not one more Barney Frank, in our public life.
Years ago, as Lady Thatcher retired, there was tongue-in-cheek comment that we here in the US should lease her for eight years service in the White House. Whatever the rent, we should pay. Solve the UK's deficit of payments, and put our house in order at the same stroke.
So, how do we lease Pearson? And Hannan? Obviously not for President, since they're not native-born US citizens, but for some role in our public life, somewhere beside the talking-head and lecture circuit.
The Day After, And The Protests Continue: PGA Damage Control Not Working
OS checked in with CBSSports.com, to the official line presented by Mr. Elling.
The official shoulder-to-shoulder, we're-just-gonna-have-to-stonewall-this-one-out-Party Line is: Rules is rules is rules is rules, and nobody gonna question either the PGA or us, by golly.
The reaction to that article is pretty vehement. Folks aren't buying it.
Lots and lots and lots of money on the line here. And this is not going to go away.
CBS also posted a summary video with Nance and Nick Faldo. Faldo looked pretty heartsick as he held to the party line.
Someone, somewhere, within the next few days, within the PGA or CBS, is gonna' start talking about this candidly to some part of the press that will give him a hearing. The fur will then fly.
This is not over. OS smells scandal in the air. There is some sort of iceberg under this tip.
The official shoulder-to-shoulder, we're-just-gonna-have-to-stonewall-this-one-out-Party Line is: Rules is rules is rules is rules, and nobody gonna question either the PGA or us, by golly.
The reaction to that article is pretty vehement. Folks aren't buying it.
Lots and lots and lots of money on the line here. And this is not going to go away.
CBS also posted a summary video with Nance and Nick Faldo. Faldo looked pretty heartsick as he held to the party line.
Someone, somewhere, within the next few days, within the PGA or CBS, is gonna' start talking about this candidly to some part of the press that will give him a hearing. The fur will then fly.
This is not over. OS smells scandal in the air. There is some sort of iceberg under this tip.
The Best Time Of Year: The BBC Proms July 16 Through September 11
Just when the heat becomes totally unbearable, the BBC (bless 'em) roll the Promenade Concerts out.
And they broadcast them, over the air, and to your desktop. Gratis. Or since we in the US don't pay the Beeb's license fees, courtesy of the British public. Thanks, ya'll!
It's a huge variety of music, beautifully presented, with live 'presenters' to provide program notes and introductions.
All totally first-class. The UK produces so many of the world's great musicians, for a host of reasons, not the least these well-supported concerts made available to all. Tickets for the live events are hard to come by, priced as they are for people on slim budgets.
As OS writes, he is listening to the first of the Bach Proms, featuring John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists performning the six Brandenburg Concertos, on reproductions of authentic instruments, using the performance techniques of Bach's day (ca. 1720s), even down at the original pitch levels Bach heard as he composed. It's a different and wonderful experience, the 'Aha Moment'--'So that's how they're supposed to sound!'
OS spends too much time bitchin' and railing at the culture. It's time to recommend a bit of the solution, and the BBC Proms are a good place to begin.
Feast yer' ears on somma-this music, ya'll. It'll change yer life fer the better, guarawnteed!
Here's the link to the entire season' schedule.
Here's the link to the online official program book.
Enjoy! And tell your family and friends.
And they broadcast them, over the air, and to your desktop. Gratis. Or since we in the US don't pay the Beeb's license fees, courtesy of the British public. Thanks, ya'll!
It's a huge variety of music, beautifully presented, with live 'presenters' to provide program notes and introductions.
All totally first-class. The UK produces so many of the world's great musicians, for a host of reasons, not the least these well-supported concerts made available to all. Tickets for the live events are hard to come by, priced as they are for people on slim budgets.
As OS writes, he is listening to the first of the Bach Proms, featuring John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists performning the six Brandenburg Concertos, on reproductions of authentic instruments, using the performance techniques of Bach's day (ca. 1720s), even down at the original pitch levels Bach heard as he composed. It's a different and wonderful experience, the 'Aha Moment'--'So that's how they're supposed to sound!'
OS spends too much time bitchin' and railing at the culture. It's time to recommend a bit of the solution, and the BBC Proms are a good place to begin.
Feast yer' ears on somma-this music, ya'll. It'll change yer life fer the better, guarawnteed!
Here's the link to the entire season' schedule.
Here's the link to the online official program book.
Enjoy! And tell your family and friends.
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Grassfire Builds: The PGA Gots Some Splainin' To Do, Lucy
From Steve Elling, CBS Sports Senior Writer:
Rarely has a ruling touched off such a firestorm of commentary. The PGA Tour, which had nothing to do with the administration of the event, posted the following on its Facebook page, where fans were going ballistic: "The PGA Tour did not make the ruling and had no authority over the outcome. Your comments are appreciated, but please keep them clean of foul language and attacks."
Johnson's professional peers jumped to his defense, although as any judge or referee will be quick to note, ignorance of the rule is no excuse.
"I didn't see any notice in the locker room but I wasn't looking for them," Ian Poulter wrote. "They may have been there."
Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman wrote: "Gutted for Dustin. Shocking rule, 900+ bunkers and probably only 100 rakes. I don't get it! That is ridiculous, since when can a 1000 spectators walk through a bunker? Stupid!"
LPGA star Paula Creamer chimed in with: "That is a horrible call. I just can't believe it."
PGA Tour veteran Joe Ogilvie: "I'm stupefied they are even considering penalizing Dustin. If anything, it is ground under repair."
Elling is doing his duty for his employer, who have spent many millions on PGA event rights, and have millions to lose if the public turns away. Fair enough, his article supports the PGA to the hilt. He even quotes the owner of Whistling Straits, the course of 1,200 bunkers:
"It's a bunker," Kohler said. "Whether it's outside the ropes or inside the ropes doesn't make any difference, it's still a bunker. Hard lessons in life I tell you, but it was on the rules sheet.
"I'm not sure it's negative. It's hard, it's terrible and it's crushing for Dustin. It's crushing for everyone that watched and heard and feels for Dustin. On the other hand, darn it, it's the rules of golf.
"The point is, golf has rules. And the beauty of golf is, those rules apply to all of us. Be it professional or amateur and the values of golf have evolved from the rules of golf. And it's those values that are really quite precious. "They all knew it."
Really? Is every square inch of sand of a flat surface on a golf course a bunker? Do fans get to stand in bunkers?
OS took a few minutes to review the Facebook comments referenced above.If you think OS has a low opinion of the PGA, you ain't read nothin' til you read these!
The PGA.Com Facebook page appears to have shut down all further comment, but the stream of invective and protest previous to that act of courage is overwhelmingly negative.
Yeah, baby, yeah! That'll show all them ignorant, pissant, nobody-worth-knowing fans! They're just the ones who tune in to our events every Sunday, buy tickets and merchandise to events, take lessons with our members, volunteer for our tournaments. We'll do just fine without them!
This will not go away soon. This calls everything about the PGA into question.
Golfers know and love the game, almost at a religious level, because they play it with such dedication. It gives people such joy, such a sense of accomplishment, at whatever level they play. They love the game, and revere it, because honesty and fair play lie at the very heart of it.
The PGA just pissed all over them, and let them know they don't care a fig for their opinion.
This will not go away soon.
PS: This view from Golf Channel.
They still remember what the game was about.
OS misses Arnie, Jack, Lee, Ben, and Gary. It was a game played with and for love and honor.
Rarely has a ruling touched off such a firestorm of commentary. The PGA Tour, which had nothing to do with the administration of the event, posted the following on its Facebook page, where fans were going ballistic: "The PGA Tour did not make the ruling and had no authority over the outcome. Your comments are appreciated, but please keep them clean of foul language and attacks."
Johnson's professional peers jumped to his defense, although as any judge or referee will be quick to note, ignorance of the rule is no excuse.
"I didn't see any notice in the locker room but I wasn't looking for them," Ian Poulter wrote. "They may have been there."
Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman wrote: "Gutted for Dustin. Shocking rule, 900+ bunkers and probably only 100 rakes. I don't get it! That is ridiculous, since when can a 1000 spectators walk through a bunker? Stupid!"
LPGA star Paula Creamer chimed in with: "That is a horrible call. I just can't believe it."
PGA Tour veteran Joe Ogilvie: "I'm stupefied they are even considering penalizing Dustin. If anything, it is ground under repair."
Elling is doing his duty for his employer, who have spent many millions on PGA event rights, and have millions to lose if the public turns away. Fair enough, his article supports the PGA to the hilt. He even quotes the owner of Whistling Straits, the course of 1,200 bunkers:
"It's a bunker," Kohler said. "Whether it's outside the ropes or inside the ropes doesn't make any difference, it's still a bunker. Hard lessons in life I tell you, but it was on the rules sheet.
"I'm not sure it's negative. It's hard, it's terrible and it's crushing for Dustin. It's crushing for everyone that watched and heard and feels for Dustin. On the other hand, darn it, it's the rules of golf.
"The point is, golf has rules. And the beauty of golf is, those rules apply to all of us. Be it professional or amateur and the values of golf have evolved from the rules of golf. And it's those values that are really quite precious. "They all knew it."
Really? Is every square inch of sand of a flat surface on a golf course a bunker? Do fans get to stand in bunkers?
OS took a few minutes to review the Facebook comments referenced above.If you think OS has a low opinion of the PGA, you ain't read nothin' til you read these!
The PGA.Com Facebook page appears to have shut down all further comment, but the stream of invective and protest previous to that act of courage is overwhelmingly negative.
Yeah, baby, yeah! That'll show all them ignorant, pissant, nobody-worth-knowing fans! They're just the ones who tune in to our events every Sunday, buy tickets and merchandise to events, take lessons with our members, volunteer for our tournaments. We'll do just fine without them!
This will not go away soon. This calls everything about the PGA into question.
Golfers know and love the game, almost at a religious level, because they play it with such dedication. It gives people such joy, such a sense of accomplishment, at whatever level they play. They love the game, and revere it, because honesty and fair play lie at the very heart of it.
The PGA just pissed all over them, and let them know they don't care a fig for their opinion.
This will not go away soon.
PS: This view from Golf Channel.
They still remember what the game was about.
OS misses Arnie, Jack, Lee, Ben, and Gary. It was a game played with and for love and honor.
The PGA Covers Itself In Mud: The 2010 PGA Championship
The Damage Control has begun already.
The PGA will have to get out ahead of this massive, public screwup before Monday morning, but they will fail. The world saw the ball fall into the deep part of the crowd, on ground that had been trampled over again and again and again. Young Mr. Johnson was crowded in on every side by that crowd, with his ball lying on a flat sandy patch of soil, replete with grass and weeds. He was on the 18th hole on Sunday at the PGA Championship, with a one-stroke lead. He hits his shot, and scrambles to -11 for a three-way playoff. As he walks off the green, the rules official intercepts him to tell him that was a bunker he played from, after all.
David Feherty of CBS was with him when he played the shot. Feherty is an experienced professional player and journalist, someone who knows the game inside and out. Feherty didn't perceive it to be a bunker. He even went back to the spot, and said it again. The crowd that had witnessed the shot was with him, and they concurred. They were there. Where was the rules official? From what vantage did he see the event?
One rules official, somewhere, decided to play God, to claim his fifteen minutes of fame. Two-stroke penalty for young Mr. Johnson, or DQ for refusing to sign the card, and one of the strictest codes of silence in the world: Even breathe a word that we screwed up, my boy, and your career ends. Just try it.
Thus, let us take note: On 15 August, 2010, the PGA joined the ranks of the NBA, NFL, NHL, World-Cup Soccer, NCAA, and Major (and minor) League Baseball, where the umpires have decided that they deserve to intervene and direct the outcomes of games. Because they can.
They can take away a perfect game from a pitcher on the final out of the baseball game, and get away with it. Because they can.
They can allow one team to commit egregious fouls on another in the NCAA basketball tournament, and just about assure its victory. Because they can.
The rules are no longer the means of maintaining the integrity of the game, but the means by which the umpire can bend the outcome to his will, and gain the notoriety that so eludes him by any other means of legitimate achievement.
Mark Wilson, co-chairman of the PGA of America Rules Committee, got his minute on camera with CBS--how sweet was that? Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!--to begin the damage control.
The crowd was chanting 'Let him play!' Wilson decided to enter the history books this weekend, and he goes to his hotel satisfied in his quest.
Young Mr. Johnson is penalized two strokes. The playoff gets underway, and it is easy to sense the deflation in the entire proceeding. On eighteen, Bubba Watson hits his second shot into the creek, and a rules official is there, explaining it all to him, including the two-club-length rule from the hazard line. So, Bubba dutifully marks off his two club lengths, lay the driver down, mark with a tee, lay the driver down, mark with a tee. Only the rules official has his ****!!!! back turned as Bubba marks it off!
Inspires all sorts of confidence in the PGA Rules officials, now doesn't it?
The PeopleInChargeOfSuchThings back at PGA HQ will be on full-tilt damage-control and charm campaign. The press releases will fly, the ads of smiling golf pros with poor young children in the hospitals will run heavily. On and on and on,'cuz if sponsors (such as FedEx, Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, and RBC) smell trouble, sponsors walk. The PGA office will talk and talk and talk, and massage and massage, and spin and spin, and explain and explain, and privately threaten young Mr. Johnson within an inch of his young life, if he dare utter an honest opinion of the idiocy of his situation.
But the fans, and the players, know the truth already:
Mark Wilson screwed Dustin Johnson. Because he could. Not for the sake of the integrity of the game, but simply because he could. And the current leadership of the PGA will back him to the hilt, because they think they can get away with it.
But after today, we know a few things about the PGA:
No player, however skilled, however honest, irregardless of years of sacrifice to play at that level, is safe from a Mark Wilson. A shadow now hangs over the game, and every player must now always look over his shoulder while trying to compete, wondering where the next Mark Wilson hides.
No tournament, relying upon hundreds of volunteers donating thousands of hours and millions of dollars, is now safe from one rules official who decides how he wishes the tournament to conclude.
No corporate sponsor, spending money to buy goodwill from backing a tournament, is now safe from having their money flushed down the crapper by the PGA, when one rules official decides how he wishes the tournament to conclude.
Because he can.
Today, 15 August 2010, professional golf became just another professional sport.
The PGA will have to get out ahead of this massive, public screwup before Monday morning, but they will fail. The world saw the ball fall into the deep part of the crowd, on ground that had been trampled over again and again and again. Young Mr. Johnson was crowded in on every side by that crowd, with his ball lying on a flat sandy patch of soil, replete with grass and weeds. He was on the 18th hole on Sunday at the PGA Championship, with a one-stroke lead. He hits his shot, and scrambles to -11 for a three-way playoff. As he walks off the green, the rules official intercepts him to tell him that was a bunker he played from, after all.
David Feherty of CBS was with him when he played the shot. Feherty is an experienced professional player and journalist, someone who knows the game inside and out. Feherty didn't perceive it to be a bunker. He even went back to the spot, and said it again. The crowd that had witnessed the shot was with him, and they concurred. They were there. Where was the rules official? From what vantage did he see the event?
One rules official, somewhere, decided to play God, to claim his fifteen minutes of fame. Two-stroke penalty for young Mr. Johnson, or DQ for refusing to sign the card, and one of the strictest codes of silence in the world: Even breathe a word that we screwed up, my boy, and your career ends. Just try it.
Thus, let us take note: On 15 August, 2010, the PGA joined the ranks of the NBA, NFL, NHL, World-Cup Soccer, NCAA, and Major (and minor) League Baseball, where the umpires have decided that they deserve to intervene and direct the outcomes of games. Because they can.
They can take away a perfect game from a pitcher on the final out of the baseball game, and get away with it. Because they can.
They can allow one team to commit egregious fouls on another in the NCAA basketball tournament, and just about assure its victory. Because they can.
The rules are no longer the means of maintaining the integrity of the game, but the means by which the umpire can bend the outcome to his will, and gain the notoriety that so eludes him by any other means of legitimate achievement.
Mark Wilson, co-chairman of the PGA of America Rules Committee, got his minute on camera with CBS--how sweet was that? Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!--to begin the damage control.
The crowd was chanting 'Let him play!' Wilson decided to enter the history books this weekend, and he goes to his hotel satisfied in his quest.
Young Mr. Johnson is penalized two strokes. The playoff gets underway, and it is easy to sense the deflation in the entire proceeding. On eighteen, Bubba Watson hits his second shot into the creek, and a rules official is there, explaining it all to him, including the two-club-length rule from the hazard line. So, Bubba dutifully marks off his two club lengths, lay the driver down, mark with a tee, lay the driver down, mark with a tee. Only the rules official has his ****!!!! back turned as Bubba marks it off!
Inspires all sorts of confidence in the PGA Rules officials, now doesn't it?
The PeopleInChargeOfSuchThings back at PGA HQ will be on full-tilt damage-control and charm campaign. The press releases will fly, the ads of smiling golf pros with poor young children in the hospitals will run heavily. On and on and on,'cuz if sponsors (such as FedEx, Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, and RBC) smell trouble, sponsors walk. The PGA office will talk and talk and talk, and massage and massage, and spin and spin, and explain and explain, and privately threaten young Mr. Johnson within an inch of his young life, if he dare utter an honest opinion of the idiocy of his situation.
But the fans, and the players, know the truth already:
Mark Wilson screwed Dustin Johnson. Because he could. Not for the sake of the integrity of the game, but simply because he could. And the current leadership of the PGA will back him to the hilt, because they think they can get away with it.
But after today, we know a few things about the PGA:
No player, however skilled, however honest, irregardless of years of sacrifice to play at that level, is safe from a Mark Wilson. A shadow now hangs over the game, and every player must now always look over his shoulder while trying to compete, wondering where the next Mark Wilson hides.
No tournament, relying upon hundreds of volunteers donating thousands of hours and millions of dollars, is now safe from one rules official who decides how he wishes the tournament to conclude.
No corporate sponsor, spending money to buy goodwill from backing a tournament, is now safe from having their money flushed down the crapper by the PGA, when one rules official decides how he wishes the tournament to conclude.
Because he can.
Today, 15 August 2010, professional golf became just another professional sport.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Tone Deaf: Obama's Mosque
The New York Times tells the story.
WASHINGTON — President Obama delivered a strong defense on Friday night of a proposed Muslim community center and mosque near ground zero in Manhattan, using a White House dinner celebrating Ramadan to proclaim that “as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country.”
“I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground zero is, indeed, hallowed ground,” the president said in remarks prepared for the annual White House iftar, the sunset meal breaking the day’s fast.
But, he continued: “This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are.”
In hosting the iftar, Mr. Obama was following a White House tradition that, while sporadic, dates to Thomas Jefferson, who held a sunset dinner for the first Muslim ambassador to the United States. President George W. Bush hosted iftars annually.
Aides to Mr. Obama say privately that he has always felt strongly about the proposed community center and mosque, but the White House did not want to weigh in until local authorities made a decision on the proposal, planned for two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.
It's difficult to imagine any US President as utterly tone-deaf to his country as Barack Obama. It's like he's from another planet, or some other country, or some other dimension, place and time.
He's been willing to use the safety of Arizona's citizens to try to get John Kyl to vote his way on immigration. He just leaves a big bunch of the border open to the criminals until Arizona knuckles under. He's been willing to let the entire Gulf Coast twist in the wind until He gets the energy bill He thinks He deserves.
So, a simple question: If he's willing to do that, why wouldn't he be willing to propose a deal with the Saudis, to wit:
1. You get to have your mosque near Ground Zero. But you have to engrave in marble on the face of your mosque, in English, a condemnation of the murderers who attacked on 9/11. Consign them to whatever Perdition you think bad Muslims go to.
2. You allow and actively support the building of a large Catholic church near the largest mosque in Riyadh, and you absolutely guarantee the safety of the clergy, staff and parishoners. You declare that religious freedom and full equality for women are the new law of the Kingdom, and you enforce it. When the Pope shows up to say Mass in Riyadh, you can open your new mosque in lower Manhattan.
3. You denounce all persecutions of Christians and Jews within Islamic environs, and you open diplomatic and trade relations with Israel and the Vatican to prove you mean it. That gets you a building permit.
Shoot-fahr, Bubbah! It's The Chicago Way to horse-trade, ain't it?
Why, a President would damn-near have to be some sort of closet Muslim himself not to pick up the phone and tell Hizzoner Bloomberg this is one of the worst ideas in American history. Or he'd have to be a narcissist, tone-deaf and blind, totally unable to identify with the feelings and sensibilities of anyone except Himself. Completely out of touch with the nation he lives in, which he serves as Head of State.
Just about every Democrat member of Congress and Senate, governors, and Democrat pols down to dog-catcher have pictures of themselves arm-in-arm, smiling sweetly with The One.
Now, all their opposition has to do is publish them, alongside the news that The One actively supports The Mosque At Ground Zero.
WASHINGTON — President Obama delivered a strong defense on Friday night of a proposed Muslim community center and mosque near ground zero in Manhattan, using a White House dinner celebrating Ramadan to proclaim that “as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country.”
“I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground zero is, indeed, hallowed ground,” the president said in remarks prepared for the annual White House iftar, the sunset meal breaking the day’s fast.
But, he continued: “This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are.”
In hosting the iftar, Mr. Obama was following a White House tradition that, while sporadic, dates to Thomas Jefferson, who held a sunset dinner for the first Muslim ambassador to the United States. President George W. Bush hosted iftars annually.
Aides to Mr. Obama say privately that he has always felt strongly about the proposed community center and mosque, but the White House did not want to weigh in until local authorities made a decision on the proposal, planned for two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.
It's difficult to imagine any US President as utterly tone-deaf to his country as Barack Obama. It's like he's from another planet, or some other country, or some other dimension, place and time.
He's been willing to use the safety of Arizona's citizens to try to get John Kyl to vote his way on immigration. He just leaves a big bunch of the border open to the criminals until Arizona knuckles under. He's been willing to let the entire Gulf Coast twist in the wind until He gets the energy bill He thinks He deserves.
So, a simple question: If he's willing to do that, why wouldn't he be willing to propose a deal with the Saudis, to wit:
1. You get to have your mosque near Ground Zero. But you have to engrave in marble on the face of your mosque, in English, a condemnation of the murderers who attacked on 9/11. Consign them to whatever Perdition you think bad Muslims go to.
2. You allow and actively support the building of a large Catholic church near the largest mosque in Riyadh, and you absolutely guarantee the safety of the clergy, staff and parishoners. You declare that religious freedom and full equality for women are the new law of the Kingdom, and you enforce it. When the Pope shows up to say Mass in Riyadh, you can open your new mosque in lower Manhattan.
3. You denounce all persecutions of Christians and Jews within Islamic environs, and you open diplomatic and trade relations with Israel and the Vatican to prove you mean it. That gets you a building permit.
Shoot-fahr, Bubbah! It's The Chicago Way to horse-trade, ain't it?
Why, a President would damn-near have to be some sort of closet Muslim himself not to pick up the phone and tell Hizzoner Bloomberg this is one of the worst ideas in American history. Or he'd have to be a narcissist, tone-deaf and blind, totally unable to identify with the feelings and sensibilities of anyone except Himself. Completely out of touch with the nation he lives in, which he serves as Head of State.
Just about every Democrat member of Congress and Senate, governors, and Democrat pols down to dog-catcher have pictures of themselves arm-in-arm, smiling sweetly with The One.
Now, all their opposition has to do is publish them, alongside the news that The One actively supports The Mosque At Ground Zero.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)