Merry 4th of July

on this independence day lets take some time to think about all the peoples around the world still fighting for their independence.

i am especially thinking about the brave iranians who are standing up against their government to have their votes counted and voices heard.

where are all the ben franklins, thomas jeffersons, john adamses, and george washingtons today?

Palin

i don't claim to be no political expert, but i think i have a pretty good understanding of how this politics thing works. despite being the astute observer of politics that i am, i was quite baffled by sarah palin's announcement yesterday that she is stepping down as governor of alaska to...well, its kind of unclear what her next step is. some are speculating that there is a major scandal on the way (could be true). others think she just isn't interested in the job of governor (could also be true). she might be retiring from politics (god i hope this is true, but unlikely). or she could be prepping for a presidential run (unsure if i want this to be true or not). and, as the dude on CNN just said, depending who you ask, this is either the smartest - or dumbest - political move ever. depending on who you ask.

here is my take. barring the scandal scenario, i think this could prove to be a shrewd move. allow me to explain. right now, the republican party is essentially leaderless. none of the republican senators or representatives really commands the national spotlight. there is no governor, save for palin, that really commands national attention either. the power base of the republican party right now is in the media with rush, beck, hannity, and the rest, but despite being popular and influential, none of them can really be considered the leader of the republican party, politically speaking.

this is where palin comes in. i think nominally she was the de facto leader of the party, but from alaska it is very difficult to really command the national spotlight. now freed of the encumbrance of being governor, palin is free to tour the country for the next 3 (!) years and act as a steady opposition to obama's policies. what form her opposition will take is unsure but i think this is what she is doing. she is attempting to position herself as the leader of the party, and as we all know, when it comes to republican presidential primaries, the front runner normally wins.

i wonder if it will pay off for her. i personally don't think its a sound strategy. she could have waited a year and announced that she isn't running for reelection. but this will give her the time to do her homework on domestic and foreign policy and if she devotes herself to full time campaigning for 3 (!) years, she could emerge as a much more polished (read: comprehensible) candidate.

time will tell.

Big Shot Is The Only True Sixers Mascot (updated)

UPDATED: i originally posted this on 8/10/07 and had forgotten that the video of big shot was of him dancing to michael jackson.

i am waiting for the return of big shot. hip hop is a false god and all who worship him are praying to a false idol. the only road to salvation is through big shot.

Mark Sanford (UPDATED)

like the ayatollah in iran, mark sanford as lost all legitimacy in his ability to govern. iran is going through the throes of revolution and attempting to decide what gives government its legitimacy. here in the united states, we believe that government is of, by, and for the people and that a government gets its legitimacy through the consent of governed. in my opinion, mark sanford has lost the trust of the people of south carloina and should resign.

to be clear, this is not about his adultery, but that does play a part. this is about leaving his state for 5 days (it has been rumored that he had planned a 10 day vacation) and not telling anyone where he was going or not informing his second in command, the lt. governor. that behavior from the governor of a state is 100% inexcusable and should be grounds for dismissal on its face. even david patterson, as inept as he is, knew better than to leave the state while the NY state senate is playing its little game. you want to go away for a few days, fine. BUT YOU HAVE TO TELL SOMEONE! even if he was hiking the AT you still have to tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be back. just ask aron ralston. its a cardinal rule of hiking. let someone know where you are going and when you plan on returning so, if god forbid you aren't where you are supposed to be when you said you would be there, people can start looking for you.

the other side to this story is sanford's remarkable hypocrisy regarding "values" and the "sanctity of marriage". haven't we had enough of this BS? and when will the MSM ask sanford (and vitter and ensign and craig and fosella and newt and rudi and ...) what gives them the right to grandstand to protect the "sanctity of marriage" by not allowing gays to marry, yet their own actions do more to violate the "sanctity of marriage" than allowing gays to marry ever could. has any MSM reported asked this question to any of these jokers? what would they say? what could they say? how can they justify it? how can they find a leg to stand on?

this is the nature of government in the united states. the government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed. if you lose the trust of the people, you can not effectively govern. if you betray the trust your state has placed in you, you can not effectively govern. and, most especially, if you are proven to be a hypocrite of the highest order, you can not effectively govern. mark stanford should step down, not for having an affair, but for betraying the trust of the people of south carolina and losing sight of what grants government its legitimate power in the united states: the consent of the governed.

UPDATE: i think the previous paragraphs can now be replaced with a simple "fuck you". im glad that sanford went to the bible for his justification. im sure i can find a verse in there that says shitheads like him should be forced to watch "the real housewives of new jersey" without reprieve as punishment for being a first-rate asshole.

BIll Simmons on the Sixers Draft

no commentary. i'll let his words speak for me.

6:13: Jrue Holiday goes to the Sixers and, more importantly, wins the Rashard Lewis "Last Guy In The Green Room" Award. In 27 minutes per game as a freshman, Holiday averaged 8.5 points and more turnovers (3.8) than assists (3.7). On the bright side, he made 30.7 percent of his 3s. Wait, that's not good. That's your 17th pick. I'm wrapping this up soon.

6:19: Minnesota's choice of Ty Lawson (one of my two remaining favorites) just gave me the same look I had when I found out earlier today that Jackson had died. Did the Wolves really just take three point guards in the top 18? Has that ever happened before? Is David Kahn trying to go small and just got confused? And how will Chris Wallace up the Dumb GM ante?

6:21: Damn. Bucher is reporting Lawson is headed to Denver for a future protected No. 1 pick. That was a fun two minutes while it lasted. As reader Rob from Chicago joked later, "It was like an online fantasy draft and someone mistakenly put their settings on 'best player available auto-pilot.'"

6:26: Utah grabs my last favorite player in the draft: Eric Maynor. Why do I love him? He has been handling the rock since he was probably 2. He hasn't played a game since junior high in which the other guys didn't immediately agree, "That guy is the point guard." He's old-school. You could say he has "ownership" of that position. He's not a converted shooting guard or a long-range shooter who brings the ball up or even a short fast guy who plays point because he couldn't play anywhere else. He's a pure point. He owns it. Complete control at all times. That's why I like him. Solid pick. It's all about backups and foreign dudes from here on.

I'll Be There

i heard about the passing of michael jackson like so many others did last night by overhearing a conversation on the street. i didn't think anything of it at first. i heard a woman on the subway say something to the effect of "he isn't the king of pop anymore". i just assumed that she was having some generic conversation about michael jackson. things became clearer, however, as i walked through prospect park on my way to the band shell to see femi kuti. as i walked down a path, some dude stopped the two guys in front of me and said "excuse me, but is it true that michael jackson died?" he didn't believe the news and needed confirmation. that was the moment when i knew he was dead. initially i had written off the woman's comment as just talk, but once there was more context to her comments, i knew what happened. that was the theme throughout the evening. my friends talked about how they heard his music playing all afternoon, but didn't know why and just wrote it up to a coincidence. and once you heard the news, you knew why.

but, perhaps the most poignant part of the evening was after the show ended (btw, femi kuti was AMAZING) and the post-show music came on. once femi left the stage, the sounds of "i'll be there" started to filter through the speakers and instead of emptying the venue out, people stayed. and cheered. and sang. and some cried. it was really a special moment that only music can provide. it united black and white, young and old in remembrance of the music of michael, not his weirdness. his music is what i hope people will remember him by because when he was on his game, he truly was the best.

as a young kid, i loved michael's music. i had a glove. i had a poster. i listened to his music and loved it. and i still do. there is a reason that thriller is the greatest selling album of all time. from start to finish it doesn't let up. every song could be a hit on its own. any song could be the best song on the album and on any other album would be. i remember the first time i saw the thriller video and how much it scared me. his videos always went above and beyond the rest.

no one could make a video like him. no one could sing like him. no one could dance like him. no one could do what he did. he was the best. i hope this is the michael jackson that lasts through the ages, because this is the michael jackson i will always remember.

Amazing Victory for USA Soccer

it was an amazing victory, not as much for the historical significance, IMO, but for the great, great, great game team USA played. i watched the whole game and thought it was a spectacular performance by team USA. they really had spain's offense figured out, despite all the shots on goal spain had. i remember commenting early in the second half about the swarming D of team USA, while at the same time the commentators on TV were blasting the US team for letting spain run with the ball in the middle of the field. however, to me, it seemed like team USA was ok with giving spain the middle of the field (or is it called midfield...im still not 100% on my soccer terminology) because once spain got in the box they were getting mobbed by white shirts. and, even though spain got off a ton of shots, none were clean looks. all of their shots were either through or around legs and bodies, not clean rips. a ton of shots went to the post where howard cleaned them up. i just think that the US D had spain's offense figured out.

a few other thoughts:

• sick goal by jozy altidore.
• landon donovan, whom i have disliked since he laid an egg in the 2006 world cup, played a great game.
• the red card given to the US player was total BS. no way should that have been a red card. i wonder if FIFA has some sort of review system, like the NBA does with technical fouls. plus, how ridiculous is it that this guy will have to sit out the next game after one red card. the NBA has some rule for the playoffs where 6 or 7 techs force you to sit for a game. kobe had right up to the limit with techs and managed himself accordingly. it seems awfully punitive to kick a guy off the pitch for the rest of the current game as well as all of the next.

bring on the next opponent. USA! USA! USA!