What Annoying Song is Stuck in My Head Today?

If I need to suffer with a song stuck in my head, why shouldn't you have to do the same? Sometimes they're good, most times they're bad... but no matter what, they make you suffer. So I like to share the suffering whenever it happens.

Loyal fan of the blog ST sent me an email yesterday noting that he had just looked up the fact that the song "Automatic" was by the Pointer Sisters. As we later discussed, this falls in the realm of facts that we both probably knew, but couldn't recall. This is of course the problem with education and learning -- every time you learn something, it crowds out knowledge you already had. Like that time Homer took that home wine-making class and forgot how to drive... wait, I'm jumping into a Simpsons quote. Stick with the current subject.

Anyway, these facts that we used to know and later disappeared from knowledge... prior to the Internet, how would we have looked them up? Hell, it's faster now, since there's an App to answer that question. So thank you, Al Gore, for inventing the Internet. Without it, I wouldn't be able to get this stuck in anyone's head...


And yes, I did have to take the clip from Soul Train. You're welcome.

Maybe a Reason to Finally Move to New Jersey

Chris Christie is the Republican nominee for Governor in New Jersey. He's also a former prosecutor. And he's fat. Trust me when I say that he's not the only fat lawyer out there. But his appearance on Don Imus today was both human and funny...



(hat tip: Jim Geraghty) I always like people who can handle making fun of themselves, and better yet, can handle other people mocking them (take some notes, Mr. President). Christie knows he's fat. But his ability to turn around that issue on Corzine as well as he did (saying he weighs "550 pounds" and telling Corzine to "man up" was hilarious) should have been the focus of his campaign earlier.

Ace of Spades says it nicely (well, as nicely as you can say it while calling the sitting Governor a dick... then again, that may be about the kindest thing people can say about John Corzine)...

So, while I was surprised to find a nicely human guy here -- and one with a humorous dexterity -- I have to imagine that this is not news for many in New Jersey. Most people must have seen him before, right? Or am I overestimating once again the American public's interest in governing themselves?

So I wonder if the reaction here -- happy surprise -- is really the same reaction that NJ voters would have. I don't know how surprised they'd b. I mean, this guy didn't just roll out of bed yesterday morning and suddenly discover the ability for winning self-deprecation.

He also hits the right tone in criticizing Corzine for the fat jokes -- he's not outraged, just saying "Come on" and "Be a man, stand behind your insults, you effete loser." In so many words. Not outraged. Just kinda noting Corzine is passive-aggressive coward. And a dick.

Anyway, whether it's important or not, it sure is a pleasure to see some humanity in politics.

I still don't plan to move to New Jersey soon, and I'm still guessing my friends who live there may move out regardless of what happens. But I find myself rooting hard for Christie, for multiple reasons. And it's nice to be rooting for someone who also seems to be a good guy.

Peggy is Pissed

Normally, I just skim Peggy Noonan's weekly editorial quickly (typically forwarded by the Lord of Truth). Not this week. Somebody pissed in her cornflakes...

The biggest threat to America right now is not government spending, huge deficits, foreign ownership of our debt, world terrorism, two wars, potential epidemics or nuts with nukes. The biggest long-term threat is that people are becoming and have become disheartened, that this condition is reaching critical mass, and that it afflicts most broadly and deeply those members of the American leadership class who are not in Washington, most especially those in business.

...The most sophisticated Americans, experienced in how the country works on the ground, can't figure a way out. Have you heard, "If only we follow Obama and the Democrats, it will all get better"? Or, "If only we follow the Republicans, they'll make it all work again"? I bet you haven't, or not much.

This is historic. This is something new in modern political history, and I'm not sure we're fully noticing it. Americans are starting to think the problems we are facing cannot be solved.

Part of the reason is that the problems—debt, spending, war—seem too big. But a larger part is that our federal government, from the White House through Congress, and so many state and local governments, seems to be demonstrating every day that they cannot make things better. They are not offering a new path, they are only offering old paths—spend more, regulate more, tax more in an attempt to make us more healthy locally and nationally. And in the long term everyone—well, not those in government, but most everyone else—seems to know that won't work. It's not a way out. It's not a path through.

And so the disheartenedness of the leadership class, of those in business, of those who have something. This week the New York Post carried a report that 1.5 million people had left high-tax New York state between 2000 and 2008, more than a million of them from even higher-tax New York City. They took their tax dollars with them—in 2006 alone more than $4 billion.

You know what New York, both state and city, will do to make up for the lost money. They'll raise taxes.

...When I see those in government, both locally and in Washington, spend and tax and come up each day with new ways to spend and tax—health care, cap and trade, etc.—I think: Why aren't they worried about the impact of what they're doing? Why do they think America is so strong it can take endless abuse?

I think I know part of the answer. It is that they've never seen things go dark. They came of age during the great abundance, circa 1980-2008 (or 1950-2008, take your pick), and they don't have the habit of worry. They talk about their "concerns"—they're big on that word. But they're not really concerned. They think America is the goose that lays the golden egg. Why not? She laid it in their laps. She laid it in grandpa's lap.

They don't feel anxious, because they never had anything to be anxious about. They grew up in an America surrounded by phrases—"strongest nation in the world," "indispensable nation," "unipolar power," "highest standard of living"—and are not bright enough, or serious enough, to imagine that they can damage that, hurt it, even fatally.

We are governed at all levels by America's luckiest children, sons and daughters of the abundance, and they call themselves optimists but they're not optimists—they're unimaginative. They don't have faith, they've just never been foreclosed on. They are stupid and they are callous, and they don't mind it when people become disheartened. They don't even notice.

This is worth reading. Look, at the end of the day, I think there's an element of "the sky is falling" here that I don't subscribe to. I've always been of the opinion that the American people are imaginative and ingenious enough to overcome the stupidity foisted on them by Washington. Or put more simply, I've always had faith in the maxim that God looks after drunks, children, and the United States of America.

But then again, I do worry about the fact that we're discouraging people (actively) from pursuing their dreams, and discouraging dissent against the government at the same time. I know people who have, to one degree or another, opted out of the rat race, gone John Galt, etc.... and they seem to be doing so for no reason other than a desire to quit dealing with the headaches that come with dealing with government. People in Washington seem intent to solve every problem brought to them by creating a government solution for that problem, financed by taxpayer dollars or debt. Even worse, there are costs of larger government that aren't easily quantified, specifically the ones that discourage innovation and creativity. The next great invention or product that could generate massive revenue and change the world for the better is out there in someone's mind or scribbled in their notebook or sitting in a Word document on their laptop. But it may not get to market, because of too much regulation and too many taxes and too many cases where people are working for someone other than themselves and their family. I don't think people in DC pay enough attention to this problem... and as with most such problems, they won't until it's a crisis.

Ummmmmmm..... Secret Menu

I think I speak for Homer Simpson when I state my outrage at the existence of secret menu options at fast food restaurants (hat tip: Jonah Goldberg at the Corner). This is America, dammit! Where's the transparency Obama promised?

And as a proud patron of the In-n-Out Burger in Vegas, I'm not shocked someone would order the 100 x 100. But what's really impressive is that it only cost $97.66.

Healthcare Follies

It's awe-inspiring that the people who want to take over healthcare have trouble throwing pep rallies...

As Speaker Nancy Pelosi led her House Democrats down the Capitol steps Thursday morning for a health-care pep rally, the sound system began to crank out . . . wait, that's not U2's "Elevation," is it?

Alas, it was.

I need you to elevate me here

At the corner of your lips

At the orbit of your hips

Eclipse, you elevate my soul

I've lost all self-control . . .

Okay, you can stop blushing now.

Whenever politicians stage pep rallies to roll out the details of a new policy, the proceedings should be taken with a grain of salt. But Thursday's effort by House Democrats came with six 50-pound bags of salt -- ice-melting salt, to be specific -- placed on the bases of the six U.S. flags on the stage to keep them from toppling over in the wind and marring the event with unwanted visuals and ruinous metaphors.

The Democrats' preparations were elaborate. They chose a spot, on the West Front of the Capitol, near where Newt Gingrich announced his "Contract With America" 15 years ago. They had red, white and blue convention-style signs that, instead of displaying the names of states, offered messages such as "Expand coverage" and "Strengthen Medicare." They shared the stage with about 30 "real people," flown in from around the country, who could tell tales of health-care woe. One Capitol police officer, claiming that she was acting under instruction from Pelosi's office, even kept Republican staffers from entering the event.

But for all the precautions, policy pep rallies have a way of taking unwanted turns, and Thursday's did so almost immediately after Pelosi stepped to the microphone. "Nancy Pelosi, you'll burn in hell for this," said a voice, amplified by a bullhorn, from about 50 yards away.

"Thank you, insurance companies of America," Pelosi replied to the man. Actually, they were abortion protesters, and they were loud.

...Finally, police were able to silence the activists, who held a gruesome poster showing an aborted fetus and signs demanding "Kill the bill."

Pelosi and her lieutenants did an impressive job of putting together a health-care reform compromise that probably has enough support to pass. Her watered-down version of the "public option" -- leaving the government insurance plan to negotiate rates with providers rather than imposing Medicare rates -- meant that Thursday's rally included a few moderates from the "Blue Dog" coalition along with liberal Democrats.

But Pelosi's legislative finesse was not matched by her skills as a pep rally organizer. Only about 80 House Democrats, about a third of the caucus, were on the stage on the cool and gray morning. The others, Pelosi tried to explain to the crowd, "are in hearings, because the work of Congress does not stop just because we have an important message to give to you."

Another possible reason for the sparse attendance: Health care may be hugely important, but it's hard to get fired up about the nitty-gritty of policy. "The uninsured will have access to a temporary insurance program -- we're calling it a high-risk pool -- from the date of enactment until the exchange is available!" Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn (S.C.) told the rally.

A small number of people, many of them paid staffers standing off to the side, offered polite applause for the high-risk pool.

"From the date of enactment, we'll hinder price-gouging with sunshine requirements on insurance companies to disclose insurance rate increases!"

Light applause for rate-increase sunshine requirements.

You know, perhaps the lack of enthusiasm stems from the fact that most Americans don't know what's in the 1,990 page bill. Then again, most of Congress probably doesn't know either...

Congressional budget experts predicted the controversial government insurance option would probably cost consumers somewhat more than private coverage. At the same time, rank-and-file conservative Democrats sought additional information about the bill's overall impact on federal health care spending.

There was no official estimate on the total cost of the legislation, which ran to 1,990 pages. The Congressional Budget Office said the cost of additional coverage alone was slightly more than $1 trillion over a decade. But that omitted other items, including billions for disease prevention programs.

Yet another $230 billion or more in higher fees for doctors treating Medicare patients, included in an earlier version of the bill, was stripped out and will be voted on separately.

The measure "covers 96 percent of all Americans, and it puts affordable coverage in reach for millions of uninsured and underinsured families, lowering health care costs for all of us," boasted Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at a ceremony attended by dozens of Democratic lawmakers. She spoke on the steps of the Capitol, not far from where Obama issued his inaugural summons for Congress to act more than nine months ago.

Pelosi said the legislation would reduce federal deficits over the next decade by $104 billion, and congressional budget experts said it would probably reduce them even further over the following 10 years.

...One of the bill's major features is a new national insurance market, in which private companies could sell policies that meet federally mandated benefit levels, the government would offer competing coverage and consumers could shop for the policy that best met their needs.

In a bow to moderates, Democrats decided doctors, hospitals and other providers would be allowed to negotiate rates with the Health and Human Services Department for services provided in the government insurance option.

Liberals had favored a system in which fees would be dictated by the government, an approach that would have been less costly than what was settled on, and also would have moved closer to a purely government-run health care system than some Democrats favor.

The Congressional Budget Office said the result would be fees comparable to those doctors receive from private insurers. But for consumers, government-backed plans "would typically have premiums that are somewhat higher than the average premiums for private plans" sold in competition. As a result, it said enrollment would be only about 6 million.

I'm sure businesses that face high health care costs will continue to offer health care to their employees rather than paying a penalty at a lower cost. And I'm sure those employees won't feel bad about having to pay the higher costs for the public option. And I'm equally sure that the bill's cost isn't underestimated, because the estimated costs of government entitlement programs are always on the mark...

Beware of government estimates about the future cost of ObamaCare. When Medicare was being considered in the mid-1960s, the government projected that the outlays for the program 25 years down the road would be $10 billion. Instead, in 1990, 25 years later, the outlays were $107 billion. Government estimates were off by a factor of more than 10!

Medicaid, the other large medical program currently in effect, outdid Medicare. Medicaid outlays in 1968 were $1.8 billion. In 2007 they had risen to $190.6 billion, an increase in dollar terms of 105.9 times.

And that is only the Federal outlay number. There is a roughly equal Medicaid amount spent by the states due to federal mandates.

I'm sure I'll be able to explain the tremendous debt burden to my daughter by saying "Hope and Change" over and over. Then again, she's only two years old.

The World Series

As my friend the Lord of Truth recently pointed out, the last substantive post on this blog occurred nearly one year ago, and celebrated the Phillies' 2008 World Series title. So perhaps it's appropriate that the blog begins anew with a consideration of this year's World Series, opening tonight against the minions of Satan, the New York Yankees.

Let's start by citing my favorite moment from last year's Championship parade...



[Note to my my daughter and any other kids I have in the future: if you are reading this blog before you turn 18, please do not emulate Mr. Utley's use of swear words, at least not in the house. You'll still be grounded].

Back to the present...

In case you haven't noticed, I love sports. Most Philadelphians do -- perhaps it's a weather thing in general. I think that sports passion runs deeper in areas of the country where, God bless us, the weather isn't quite beautiful all 365 days a year. Fans in cities like Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo -- I think these are the places where sports passion runs deepest. And when teams from two of these cities play each other for a title, it's a little more special.

Now, I included New York on that list above, but let's face facts: New York is a special case. This stems from (a) New York's special importance as our nation's largest city and the world capital of high finance/culture/fashion/mafia/rudeness/whatever, and (b) New Yorkers' self-possessed superiority about it all. This quote from a Yankee fan may sum up what I said in (b) best...

"I don't have hate for Philly exactly -- they are like our redheaded stepchild," he said.

"It's like a nothing city. It's just insignificant in comparison to New York."

That line, in a nutshell, is what annoys the hell out of most of America about New York. That's not just the way they look at Philly -- they look at most of the rest of the country in similar terms. And yes, it's a little harder being the closest major city to New York -- it's an inferiority complex that gets reinforced (as someone once said, even paranoids have enemies).

When it comes to sports, particularly baseball, New Yorkers tend to think they invented the sport. And in the case of baseball, they did, which makes it even more annoying.

[One quick aside here -- does the location where a sport was invented make a team from that area more likely to win multiple titles? This seems to be the case for baseball (Yankees/Giants/Dodgers/Mets) and basketball (Celtics). Based on where football's founder hails from, someone should start a pro team in Connecticut... then again, I hate Connecticut.]

The Yankees are baseball's premiere franchise, and New York is home to more World Series titles than any other city (hell, between 1949 and 1956, the furthest the World Series trophy traveled from Yankee Stadium was Brooklyn). But while there's something to be said for history, most baseball fans who don't root for the pinstripes are sick of hearing about 26 world championships from people who weren't alive for 20 of them. And if we want to discuss the Yankees' titles, I'll happily point out that they haven't won a single one in this millennium.

But all that having been said, it's hard to spend too much energy on trashtalk. Yes, I'll happily note that the manhug between Texiera, Rodriguez and Jeter was the most scripted uncomfortable male bonding moment since Rocky and Apollo hugged in the surf [still waiting for Bill Simmons to point this out]. And I'll pray that the Phillies have all gotten swine flu and rabies vaccinations before visiting New York City. But trust me, that's mild compared to the stuff I have written about New York in the past.

As for me, and I believe the same is true for most Phillies fans, I’m feeling a serene confidence in this Phillies team. The fans have probably loved other recent Philly sports teams with nearly the same level of passion—the ‘93 Phils, the ‘00-01 Sixers, Jameer Nelson’s St. Joe’s team, the four guard Villanova group from 05-06, etc. But this time, that adoration is accompanied by a sense of true confidence that we have the best team, no matter who’s on the other side of the diamond. I remember feeling like the '82-83 Sixers were unbeatable, but it was tempered by all the recent big losses the franchise had suffered, such that we weren't certain it had happened until it did happen.

[As an aside, that team is the most underrated NBA champion ever. They were unstoppable, but forgotten because they won only once and the Celtics-Lakers rivalry became chic. Even in Philly, they were only remembered for being the team that won the last title before the long drought.]

I’m just a little too young to remember anything about the Broad Street Bullies of 1974 and 1975, but that might be the last time people in Philly felt this way about a team. And that was the last Philly team to repeat.

Based on input from most analysts, the Yankees may be a better team. But the same could have been said about the Dodgers, or even Tampa last year. A seven-game series doesn't always produce a victory by the better team, and the World Series doesn't always seem to go to the team with the best regular season record (in fact, that event seems to be the exception rather than the rule).

But I wouldn't concede the Yankees are the better team. C.C. Sabathia is a hell of a pitcher, but so is Cliff Lee. The Yankees lineup is stacked, but so is the Phillies lineup, and the Phillies may be the only NL team that actually can employ a quality DH. No, I'm not all that confident about Cole Hamels, but A. J. Burnett is just as hittable. Yes, Mariano Rivera is the greatest post-season closer of all-time... but as nervous as Brad Lidge has made us all season, he's closer to being the guy he was last year now than he has been all year, and that guy was perfect.

I think these teams are evenly matched -- the Yankees are slightly better hitters overall, but the Phils are better fielders. The starting rotations are a wash, even if Sabathia goes three times, because I don't think Pettitte goes on short rest, which means Gaudin gets a start. The bullpens tilt toward the Yankees, but I don't think that tilt is as significant as people think. And the Phillies have the managerial advantage in the dugout. That's not as big a deal as people think, but it is big enough that Girardi's tendency toward over-managing can negate his bullpen advantage. And thanks to last season's title, the Phillies are not the dewy-eyed inexperienced kids battling the hardened playoff veterans of the Yankees. It may be Jeter's seventh World Series, but it's A-Rod's first.

Bottom line, I see no reason not to feel confident about my team, and that's before I consider the special nature of this ballclub. There's talk floating around about whether this is the best sports team in Philadelphia history. Any conclusion on that point is premature, but they have forced their way into the discussion. In Philly, teams don't repeat as champions often, and they rarely even make it back to the title game after winning it.

[Silly historical point: in the last 100 years, when a Philly team had a chance to repeat and made the Finals in their sport (the '76 and '75 Flyers, the '49 Eagles, the '48 Warriors, the '31 and '30 A's, the 1914 A's, and the 1911 A's) they won 4 times and lost 4. None of this means anything, but I spent two minutes looking it up, so I felt the need to share.]

This team exudes championship confidence. There's a million examples of it (many of them involving Jimmy Rollins' mouth), but perhaps the best involve last year's Game 5 with Tampa. The Phils had their ace on the mound, had the lead, and then saw it disappear in a deluge as the Rays tied the game before MLB suspended it. They had to wait 48 hours to continue, and then win, or head back to Tampa, and face the likelihood that the ace who had carried the team would not pitch again in the Series. Then, even when they got the lead, the nearly unhittable set-up man gave up a line-drive homer that tied it.

At about 1 million times during that game alone, I felt what Philly sports fans had felt for the preceding quarter-century: "Again? We're gonna get hosed by a bad call/lucky shot/bloop hit/foggy weather/wacky injury/bad bounce! Why does this always happen to us, and only us???"

Meanwhile, the team never blinked. They stared right back at all the bad breaks, took advantage of the good ones, and never let despair take over. They did what winning teams do, because they believed they were one of them. And now, they've made their fans feel that way --we expect to win, no matter what happened earlier in this game or in the last game or in the last season or in the last century. That's why this team is special.

It took a D.C. columnist to sum this up best. Tom Boswell hit the nail on the head in the Washington Post:

Go to Philadelphia this month and you'll see stories about how the Phillies have reversed the town's ancient inferiority complex about its pro sports teams. You are no longer a sucker if you dare to believe in a Philly team's chance for a positively ridiculous comeback win. It's now the Phillies' trademark, especially in the playoffs. Ask the Rockies and Dodgers. Both are still numb.

Gratitude for the Phillies' reversing of this generations-long hex is so intense that affection drenches Citizens Bank Park, where fans wave their white rally towels over their heads for what seems like hours at a time. Boos? They don't exist. Heroes? By the boatload. Under pressure, they now expect expensive baseball teams from New York to roll over and gag. Don't the Mets do it every year?

The Phillies won a pennant last week, and afterward, there wasn't even a riot outside the park. A year ago, I walked out of Citizens Bank, questioned my sanity, and to escape the madness, blocked the path of the only taxi I saw. Within a block, fans kicked out the cab's headlight. Why? Why not. Last week I exited the same park, found an orderly line of cabs and a driver who said, "The fans expect to win now. So it's not too dangerous."

Maybe it comes down to Tug McGraw. Yes, a New York team (the Mets) owns the trademark to Tugger's most famous quote -- "Ya Gotta Believe!" But Tug's best quote may be from the 1980 World Championship parade:

"All throughout baseball history, Philadelphia has had to take a back seat to New York City. Well, New York can take this championship...and stick it! 'CAUSE WE'RE NUMBER ONE!"

I'm hoping someone replays that quote a week from now, during another parade. At this point, I’ll take the WFC’s mix of talent, desire, and confidence against anybody. I was going to say Phillies in six, but J-Roll says five, and who am I to disagree? Game 1, in the Bronx, tonight.

WHY CAN'T US?

We're Back

Yes, it's been awhile. So what? I was busy trying to build my own giant balloon and pitching a reailty TV show.

Truth be told, blogging is a lot of fun (for me), but it's a lot like exercise -- once you fall out of practice, it's a drag to do it. But when I receive multiple requests to re-activate the blog, and my own wife suggests I start a Twitter account (that may happen) so I can Tweet out blog posts... well, it's time. Not sure about using Twitter, but I shall blog.

Plus, it's been almost a year. I should have all of my other projects completed by now. You know, just like Obama fixed the economy.