Some of you may be wondering where I have been. No posts for a while. I confess. I have been playing golf with Tiger on his yacht "Privacy". Hence no blogging. The yacht has a great course - bit long (7000 yards) - but then Tiger is a good driver (the golfing type). I played terribly. Kept hitting it into the water. Tiger and I made a pact. I would come out and blog again when he resumed golf. I broke the pact.
I am in Phoenix. We have had lots of guests over the holidays, and great weather, but now it's back to work. Reading tort cases on line. Who cares if it's sunny and in the 70's (sorry, in the 20's) outside. Nothing beats a good tort case, I say.
Lots have been going on of course that I could be commenting on. What's with the Conservatives, eh? I leave and they have a 15 point lead and three weeks later, all squared. I guess its that "proroguing" thing again. Worked last time for Harper. Pressed his luck I guess.
I get a lot of cable chatter here. Frankly, I am getting sick of it. The polarization in the media in the USA is over the top. Haiti of course is the big story. An unbelievable tragedy. Yet even that can be politicized. Nut bars like Rush Limbaugh come out with moronic theories about Obama being more concerned about Haiti than he was the underwear would be bomber because of race. Democrats praise Obama for his speedy response drawing negative analogies to Bush and Katrina. The cable networks boast about their complete 24/7 coverage of the tragedy running the same clips over and over. Health care debate seems to have taken a bit of a side line but it seems like it will happen. I guess the interesting race to watch is in Massachusetts Tuesday. If the Republican wins, that is big stuff. Might be bad for the health care bill.
Anyway, just wanted to say hello. Hello.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sunday, December 20, 2009
WHERE HAS THE PUNDIT GONE???
I know. I have not posted since December 2. Tiger Woods. The story has gotten a lot better since then. 14 alleged mistresses. Soon he will have played a whole round of 18.
And it's not as if things have not happened in that interval. The Copenhagen fiasco, the U.S. health care circus, the slumping in the polls President, the emergence of Alberta's new political "party" - the "Wildrose Alliance", amongst others. So I cannot blame this silence on the lack of things to "pundificate" on. Maybe it has been exam setting, exam marking, brutally cold weather, endless snow shovelling, a a trip here and there which has just frozen my "pundicasity".
In a couple of days, we head out to Phoenix and then to India on a 6 month sabbatical leave. When we are settled down, I will be back with the "punditry". First from Phoenix, and then hopefully from our travels in India.
I apologize to those who have frustratingly checked the ITP daily only to find a absence of any "pundifications". Soo.. here's the plan. I will be absent from my world of "pundalatry" for at least a week more. Trying to "pundulate" in a Motel 6 in Twin Falls, Sweetgrass, or even Salt Lake, is too stressful for this ITP. But I promise.. by the first week in January, you will be grateful for my past silence because I will be back in full throttle. For one thing, I will have FOX NEWS to watch, and that always gets my pundit juices flowing.
So.. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all that. You can stop looking for a week or so.
Now.. back to marking.
And it's not as if things have not happened in that interval. The Copenhagen fiasco, the U.S. health care circus, the slumping in the polls President, the emergence of Alberta's new political "party" - the "Wildrose Alliance", amongst others. So I cannot blame this silence on the lack of things to "pundificate" on. Maybe it has been exam setting, exam marking, brutally cold weather, endless snow shovelling, a a trip here and there which has just frozen my "pundicasity".
In a couple of days, we head out to Phoenix and then to India on a 6 month sabbatical leave. When we are settled down, I will be back with the "punditry". First from Phoenix, and then hopefully from our travels in India.
I apologize to those who have frustratingly checked the ITP daily only to find a absence of any "pundifications". Soo.. here's the plan. I will be absent from my world of "pundalatry" for at least a week more. Trying to "pundulate" in a Motel 6 in Twin Falls, Sweetgrass, or even Salt Lake, is too stressful for this ITP. But I promise.. by the first week in January, you will be grateful for my past silence because I will be back in full throttle. For one thing, I will have FOX NEWS to watch, and that always gets my pundit juices flowing.
So.. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all that. You can stop looking for a week or so.
Now.. back to marking.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
TIGER SHOULD SHOW UP
When I first heard that Tiger Woods was "seriously injured" in a car accident, I was pretty shocked. That would have been a big story. Tiger is the greatest golfer of his time, and probably the greatest ever. A serious injury could have ended his career, and that would have been big and bad news, not only for Tiger but for the golf world.
When it became clear that Woods was not seriously injured, and the story changed into a gossipy, speculative one about Tiger,his wife and other women, I began to lose interest. After all, rumours that a very rich, celebrity athlete might have engaged in extra marital affairs, leading to domestic turmoil is not shocking. We read about it every day.
What interests me more now is Tiger Woods' behaviour since the accident. Playing a cat and mouse game with the police who were simply trying to do their jobs was chicken poop behaviour. The police have better things to do than to be jerked around by Woods. If Tiger Woods did not want to be interviewed, which is apparently his legal right, he should have had the decency to come out and say it in the first place. Having the police come back three times over phoney baloney excuses is beneath a person of character.
And what is this with his refusal to show up at his own charity tournament, which he is hosting? Granted, he probably is in no mental condition to play 4 rounds of golf, although with Woods, his victory at the U.S. Open with a bum leg shows that he probably could have played and won this tournament, even with his sore ribs, scratched face, and shattered pride. But not to show up at all?
The Chevron World Challenge is a major fund raising event to support the Tiger Woods Foundation. Woods' physical presence at the tournament even if he is not playing would demonstrate its importance to him and give it a big boost. Not showing up because he is embarrassed by his private conduct shows a lack of character and courage. Woods cannot hide forever. He will have to face the music soon enough. Get it over with, Tiger! Come out and support your own tournament. Be a man.
I hope Tiger comes out to the Chevron World Challenge. Let's see if he does.
When it became clear that Woods was not seriously injured, and the story changed into a gossipy, speculative one about Tiger,his wife and other women, I began to lose interest. After all, rumours that a very rich, celebrity athlete might have engaged in extra marital affairs, leading to domestic turmoil is not shocking. We read about it every day.
What interests me more now is Tiger Woods' behaviour since the accident. Playing a cat and mouse game with the police who were simply trying to do their jobs was chicken poop behaviour. The police have better things to do than to be jerked around by Woods. If Tiger Woods did not want to be interviewed, which is apparently his legal right, he should have had the decency to come out and say it in the first place. Having the police come back three times over phoney baloney excuses is beneath a person of character.
And what is this with his refusal to show up at his own charity tournament, which he is hosting? Granted, he probably is in no mental condition to play 4 rounds of golf, although with Woods, his victory at the U.S. Open with a bum leg shows that he probably could have played and won this tournament, even with his sore ribs, scratched face, and shattered pride. But not to show up at all?
The Chevron World Challenge is a major fund raising event to support the Tiger Woods Foundation. Woods' physical presence at the tournament even if he is not playing would demonstrate its importance to him and give it a big boost. Not showing up because he is embarrassed by his private conduct shows a lack of character and courage. Woods cannot hide forever. He will have to face the music soon enough. Get it over with, Tiger! Come out and support your own tournament. Be a man.
I hope Tiger comes out to the Chevron World Challenge. Let's see if he does.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
BLOGGED DOWN
I always feel guilty when I have not posted for a few days. I worry that I will have let down my loyal readers. Don't get me wrong. I know I don't have that many loyal readers. On a good day, I might get about 50 or so visitors. That's not a lot in the blogosphere. But still.
One of the reasons that I have not posted anything since last Wednesday is because I have been away at a conference. I find it difficult to post things and deal with comments when I am travelling. But I am now back and can no longer use that excuse.
Another problem that I have been having lately is that posting on my favorite topic - President Obama - is becoming less fun for me. You see, I am essentially a contrarian. And criticizing the President is now becoming a bit too common place for my style of blogging. Everyone seems to be a critic, even those who strongly identify with and support him. They are crowding me out.
For example, take a look at today's Real Clear Politics.com. Roger Cohen, a self-professed "admirer" of the President, in his article entitled "Obama in His Labyrinth", published in the New York Times no less, writes that he is "worried". The President "feels over-managed, over-scripted to me, to the point where he's not showing the guts that prevailed at various difficult moments in the campaign". The opinion piece goes on to explain the author's disappointment with a long list of Obama's non-achievements to date.
Another commentator, Richard Cohen, who confesses that he supported Obama in the primaries against Hillary and voted for him "with both glee and enthusiasm", writes in his article, "Missing Barack Obama" (the title says it all) of a President "whose moral clarity has been dissipated". Rather than moral clarity it has all become "an Obama gray". The author lists his personal disappointments and wonders where the Barack Obama of the "famous speech on race" has gone.
There are several other similar pieces from David Kuhn's "Obama's Failing: Too Much Head, Too Little Gut" to the more scathing piece by Pat Buchanan "Our Pushover President". Andrew Malcolm's article "Now Democrats join Dick Cheney's critique of Obama" points out negative reviews from some other friendlies - Arianna Huffington and Leslie Gelb.
All of these critical pieces and others like them can be seen in just the one day, November 24, postings on RealClearPolitics. com. What is also interesting to note is the absence of any positive assessments.
So there it is. Unless the tide turns or I quit being a contrarian (unlikely I agree), I will have to write about other things.
One of the reasons that I have not posted anything since last Wednesday is because I have been away at a conference. I find it difficult to post things and deal with comments when I am travelling. But I am now back and can no longer use that excuse.
Another problem that I have been having lately is that posting on my favorite topic - President Obama - is becoming less fun for me. You see, I am essentially a contrarian. And criticizing the President is now becoming a bit too common place for my style of blogging. Everyone seems to be a critic, even those who strongly identify with and support him. They are crowding me out.
For example, take a look at today's Real Clear Politics.com. Roger Cohen, a self-professed "admirer" of the President, in his article entitled "Obama in His Labyrinth", published in the New York Times no less, writes that he is "worried". The President "feels over-managed, over-scripted to me, to the point where he's not showing the guts that prevailed at various difficult moments in the campaign". The opinion piece goes on to explain the author's disappointment with a long list of Obama's non-achievements to date.
Another commentator, Richard Cohen, who confesses that he supported Obama in the primaries against Hillary and voted for him "with both glee and enthusiasm", writes in his article, "Missing Barack Obama" (the title says it all) of a President "whose moral clarity has been dissipated". Rather than moral clarity it has all become "an Obama gray". The author lists his personal disappointments and wonders where the Barack Obama of the "famous speech on race" has gone.
There are several other similar pieces from David Kuhn's "Obama's Failing: Too Much Head, Too Little Gut" to the more scathing piece by Pat Buchanan "Our Pushover President". Andrew Malcolm's article "Now Democrats join Dick Cheney's critique of Obama" points out negative reviews from some other friendlies - Arianna Huffington and Leslie Gelb.
All of these critical pieces and others like them can be seen in just the one day, November 24, postings on RealClearPolitics. com. What is also interesting to note is the absence of any positive assessments.
So there it is. Unless the tide turns or I quit being a contrarian (unlikely I agree), I will have to write about other things.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
"GOING ROGUE" GETS EXTRA SPECIAL ATTENTION
Palin's book, "GOING ROGUE" is apparently getting extra special attention by the Associated Press. Apparently 11 staff members were assigned to "fact check" the book. According to the FOX News story, this compares to zero, which is the number of those people AP assigned to fact check books written by the late Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Joe Biden, Barack Obama, the Clintons, Rudy Guliani, or Newt Gingrich. Interesting, no?
By the way, the President does not intend to read the book. No time. Obama does think that Palin is a "credible candidate" for the Presidency should she decide to run in 2012, displaying a lot more graciousness and respect for her constituency than most of her detractors.
By the way, the President does not intend to read the book. No time. Obama does think that Palin is a "credible candidate" for the Presidency should she decide to run in 2012, displaying a lot more graciousness and respect for her constituency than most of her detractors.
FOX WAR WINDING DOWN
It appears that the White House has decided to wind down its war against FOX News. First came the news that Communications Director and Field Commander Anita Dunn, who led the battle on the part of the White House, was stepping down from her post. More encouragingly, the President granted FOX news an interview during his China trip. Good sense has prevailed. Now let's see what the President decides to do about Afghanistan.
Monday, November 16, 2009
LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK
I love an old joke told by Yogi Berra. The one about how a New York restaurant is always so crowded and hard to get into that no-one ever goes there anymore.
And so it goes with everyone's favorite person to talk about, Sarah Palin. Respected conservative commentator David Brooks (who I really like by the way) thinks she is "a joke". Brooks might think Palin is a joke, but it's Sarah who is the one laughing all the way to the bank these days.
Barely a year ago, Sarah Palin was a little known Governor from Alaska. Today she is the talk of the town - an American political celebrity, with millions of followers, huge influence, and lots of dough, with much more of it all to come. Take a look, for example, at the news stories of the day from Real Clear Politics website's eclectic collection. It's all about Sarah Palin. She's on the cover of Newsweek, in a very dazzling photo. The story lines are a mixed bag - "How Palin Can Win the GOP Nomination"; "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Sarah Palin"; "Why Sarah Palin Is Bad For the GOP"; "Palin Tells Her Side of the Story"; "Palin Braves Another Week of Bashing"; "Palin Image Is A Fraud"; "Sarah Palin: Rogue For President" - and that's just from one day of Real Clear Politics. She is on television with the Queen of T.V., Oprah, and with Barbara Walters. And on it goes. Palin, Palin, Palin.
This does not usually happen with people who are second on the ticket in a losing cause. I am not an expert on what has happened historically to failed Vice Presidential nominees but I would be surprised if many have had as much ink, and influence, as Sarah Palin (unless they subsequently ran for and became President).
Like her or hate her, Palin is a phenomenon. By saying this I am not pretending to say that she qualifies for being President, because she does not. I am not saying that she will become President, because she will not. I am not saying that I agree with all or even most of her views, because I do not. I was attracted to her freshness, her willingness to take on the establishment, her populism, and her courage and dignity in facing down the mocking sexism and viciousness which constantly greeted her, when she was on the McCain ticket. I thought then that McCain was the better suited of Obama or McCain to become President and I defended Palin because I thought she would help the ticket.
I continue to marvel at how this failed Vice Presidential candidate has not faded at all from the political scene, but in fact dominates it even more. She did not become Vice President, but she did not merely lick her wounds and retreat to Alaska. She continues to stare down her detractors and she continues to drive them crazy. As my mother always told me when I was being bugged by my older brother - "just ignore him". Advice to the Palin haters - why don't you try ignoring her?
And so it goes with everyone's favorite person to talk about, Sarah Palin. Respected conservative commentator David Brooks (who I really like by the way) thinks she is "a joke". Brooks might think Palin is a joke, but it's Sarah who is the one laughing all the way to the bank these days.
Barely a year ago, Sarah Palin was a little known Governor from Alaska. Today she is the talk of the town - an American political celebrity, with millions of followers, huge influence, and lots of dough, with much more of it all to come. Take a look, for example, at the news stories of the day from Real Clear Politics website's eclectic collection. It's all about Sarah Palin. She's on the cover of Newsweek, in a very dazzling photo. The story lines are a mixed bag - "How Palin Can Win the GOP Nomination"; "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Sarah Palin"; "Why Sarah Palin Is Bad For the GOP"; "Palin Tells Her Side of the Story"; "Palin Braves Another Week of Bashing"; "Palin Image Is A Fraud"; "Sarah Palin: Rogue For President" - and that's just from one day of Real Clear Politics. She is on television with the Queen of T.V., Oprah, and with Barbara Walters. And on it goes. Palin, Palin, Palin.
This does not usually happen with people who are second on the ticket in a losing cause. I am not an expert on what has happened historically to failed Vice Presidential nominees but I would be surprised if many have had as much ink, and influence, as Sarah Palin (unless they subsequently ran for and became President).
Like her or hate her, Palin is a phenomenon. By saying this I am not pretending to say that she qualifies for being President, because she does not. I am not saying that she will become President, because she will not. I am not saying that I agree with all or even most of her views, because I do not. I was attracted to her freshness, her willingness to take on the establishment, her populism, and her courage and dignity in facing down the mocking sexism and viciousness which constantly greeted her, when she was on the McCain ticket. I thought then that McCain was the better suited of Obama or McCain to become President and I defended Palin because I thought she would help the ticket.
I continue to marvel at how this failed Vice Presidential candidate has not faded at all from the political scene, but in fact dominates it even more. She did not become Vice President, but she did not merely lick her wounds and retreat to Alaska. She continues to stare down her detractors and she continues to drive them crazy. As my mother always told me when I was being bugged by my older brother - "just ignore him". Advice to the Palin haters - why don't you try ignoring her?
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