Clarion Content

While the eyes of many newswatchers are on one pirate captured ship, the Russian frigate Neustrashimy, a vessel that has been seized off of the coast of Somalia, that contains scads of small arms, munitions and up to 33 Ukranian tanks, destined for the government of Kenya, the Clarion's veteran pirate watchers have spotted something that appears far more diabolical.

Certainly, it is bad news to hear about the Russian flagged vessel that has been seized, and it is worse news to hear local warlords were doing everything they could to offload the small arms from the ship before it was surround by United States and Russian naval vessels. The Clarion's sources report that another act of piracy may have resulted in the capture of something far more dangerous. Read more here. The speculation raised about the cargo of this other pirate-seized ship ranges from nuclear waste to nerve gas and beyond. All that has been reported so far is that several of the pirates got sick, lost their hair and died within days of seizing this Iranian ship and busting open sealed containers in the cargo hold in an attempt to determine what their booty was. The ship has not been recaptured by authorities, nor have the pirates demands for ransom been met.

Labels: Africa, nuclear issues, pirates

[the times...]...reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.

Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.

Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.

Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.

A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.

This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.

But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.

And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.

In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

But I have asserted a firm conviction - a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, facing race, quotes, thought

Labels: 2008's President, Middle East, Politics

On behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of a nation, land of Lincoln, let me express my deep gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention. Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let's face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father, my grandfather, was a cook, a domestic servant.

But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place: America, which stood as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before. While studying here, my father met my mother. She was born in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The day after Pearl Harbor he signed up for duty, joined Patton's army and marched across Europe. Back home, my grandmother raised their baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the GI Bill, bought a house through FHA, and moved west in search of opportunity.

And they, too, had big dreams for their daughter, a common dream, born of two continents. My parents shared not only an improbable love; they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or "blessed," believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success. They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren't rich, because in a generous America you don't have to be rich to achieve your potential. They are both passed away now. Yet, I know that, on this night, they look down on me with pride.

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents' dreams live on in my precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago, "We hold these truths to he self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody's son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will he counted - or at least, most of the time.

This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future generations. And fellow Americans - Democrats, Republicans, Independents - I say to you tonight: we have more work to do. More to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that's moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. More to do for the father I met who was losing his job and choking back tears, wondering how he would pay $4,500 a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits he counted on. More to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, who has the grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn't have the money to go to college.

Don't get me wrong. The people I meet in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks, they don't expect government to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don't want their tax money wasted by a welfare agency or the Pentagon. Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can't teach kids to learn. They know that parents have to parent, that children can't achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.

...........alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga.

A belief that we are connected as one people. If there's a child on the south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandmother. If there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It's that fundamental belief - I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper - that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. "E pluribus unum." Out of many, one.

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America - there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?....I'm not talking about blind optimism here - the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don't talk about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores....the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope!

In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation; the belief in things not seen; the belief that there are better days ahead. I believe we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair. I believe that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, quotes, thought

Is there any doubt that Tina Fey is more qualified to be President than Sarah Palin?

Unfortunately, SNL has decided to be very proprietary with this hilarious sketch, purportedly a follow-up interview between Katie Couric and Governor Palin. Despite numerous efforts the Clarion has been unable to embed it here. So you will have to follow the link to their site.

Watch and decide for yourselves...

Labels: 2008 presidential election, media, Pop Culture

Senator John McCain thrashed Senator Barack Obama last night in the first of three scheduled presidential debates. While the Clarion highly doubts either man moved the needle even a bit on the other's core supporters, it is our interpretation that McCain likely won handily amongst undecideds and independents. No less of a craven Obama supporter than the New York Times noted, "It took Mr. Obama 37 minutes into the debate to make one of his most important points: linking Mr. McCain with President Bush."

There were obvious signs, Obama saying, "You're right John," or "my opponent is right," nine times. By comparison McCain said something along the lines of "What Senator Obama doesn't understand is," or "what Senator Obama is being naive about is..." eight times. One candidate essentially conceded he got hammered, veteran political commentator David Broder noted, it was clear who the alpha male was Friday night in Mississippi.

Worse, Obama was made to look duplicitous and like a flip-flopper from the start; now he opposes earmarks, but before he proposed $932 million of them for his state. McCain landed a further blow when he verbally trapped Obama into saying that it wasn't a significant amount of money, technically by Washington budget standards correct, but just the kind of elitist trappings McCain wants to pin on him. Obama, by contrast, when handed a softball by Senator McCain, who asked his opinion of what rich is, neglected to slam it home with something along the lines of "Well Senator McCain, I feel you and your family are in far better position to tell the American people what "rich" is." At the Clarion, while we respect Obama's high minded reluctance to go truly negative and fight dirty, he looked like a kid getting a lecture from a much more experienced politician.

He was again trapped by McCain in what he tried to call "Senatorial inside baseball." While fellow wonks might know and agree that it wasn't a huge sin that Obama's NATO subcommittee never met to discuss Afghanistan, agreeing with the Illinois senator that it was handled by the full committee, all that Joe Six Pack heard was Obama railing on McCain about taking his eye off of the ball on Afghanistan and then being forced to admit that he never held a meeting on the same, even though it was in his area of responsibility. (as he allowed McCain to define it.)

The same happened when McCain excoriated Obama for voting for a pork barrel laden energy bill two years ago, here was Obama on turf he should clearly win; which candidate is more beholden to the oil companies, which candidate it more pro-alternative energy, and what happens? McCain pounds him with, "...this is a classic example of walking the walk and talking the talk. We had an energy bill before the United States Senate. It was festooned with Christmas tree ornaments. It had all kinds of breaks for the oil companies, I mean, billions of dollars worth. I voted against it; Senator Obama voted for it."

It went the same way on Iran and Israel. Obama attempted to be high minded and intelligent, offering up a reasoned critique of the practice of unwillingness to negotiate at all with America's enemies, and how poorly that has gone as policy toward Iran and North Korea. And McCain pounded him with the simplistic but effective, "So let me get this right. We sit down with (Iran's president) Ahmadinejad, and he says, "We're going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth," and we say, "No, you're not"? Oh, please." Obama astutely pointed out that the president of Iran isn't even the most powerful person in Iran, clearly the religious leadership is, and it was swept aside with no further mention by either candidate or Lehrer. (Most folks probably didn't even hear him make the subtle distinction.) He lost the exchange on Henry Kissinger's opinions the same way, probably substatively right, but technically made to look like a naive kid, McCain's had a relationship with Kissinger since Obama was 8 years old.

The formula repeated itself all night, early on Obama attempts to be the first of the two candidates to honestly admit, Jim Lehrer's point that they both had been trying to dodge, that the economic crisis might actually effect their budgets, spending priorities and therefore the way they govern. Admirable, thoughtful, and how does McCain respond, "Well, I want to make sure we're not handing the health care system over to the federal government which is basically what would ultimately happen with Senator Obama's health care plan. I want the families to make decisions between themselves and their doctors. Not the federal government." Not on topic, not fair, but short, clear and effective.


Link to a full transcript of the debate here.

Labels: 2008's President, Politics

Hilarious, TPMtv! Keep up the good work.

And a special thanks to the faithful reader who sent us the link.

Labels: economics, Politics

...from our friends at Duck and Cover.

Read Duck and Cover
at the Blue Pyramid.

Labels: economics, Politics

The Iraqi parliament finally passed a law scheduling elections for January 31, 2009. The Clarion warned previously that elections would not be held this year, and that shortly after elections were eventually scheduled sectarian violence in Iraq would again spike. We are afraid of both of our predictions being accurate, but sadly elections are the prize the factions will fight most fiercely over, would that those fights only take place at the polls with the levers of the voting booths. Unfortunately, actual fighting appears far more likely, especially because the Iraqi lawmakers did not even address the issue of elections in four disputed provinces, three in the Kurdish autonomous region, and Tamim province, of which Kirkuk is the capital.

Can the American military enforce calm on a deeply divided, heavily armed, tense population? Will there be a fight for the levers and spoils of power?

Labels: Middle East, war

"May it be thy will to remove war and bloodshed from the world and perpetuate the wonders and greatness of peace. All the inhabitants of the world shall recognize and know the truth: that we have not been placed on this earth to wage war and not for hatred or bloodshed."---Rabbi Nachman of Breslav

Labels: quotes, thought, war

Syracuse alum Mike Tirico made an interesting and we think accurate point on ESPN radio the other day when he said that the Ryder Cup, staged last week in Kentucky, did more to introduce the current crop of young American golf stars to the sporting public in a week than the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs has done in three years. The Clarion is a long standing opponent of faux playoffs in sports that never had them. (NASCAR are you listening?)

Golf is not a sport that should have a playoff. It is a frivolous and foolish attempt to raise 'excitement' (by which the powers that be mean dollars.) The golf calendar has been for some time and continues to be shaped by the four majors. The Player of the Year in golf is not the equivalent of the Most Valuable Player in other sports. Golf is an individual sport and in fact, the player of the year is more equivalent to the title holder or champion in team sports. Both start again from scratch, they have to prove it all over again next year. To Tirico's point, it is oh so obvious when comparing the effects of real, organically generated enthusiasm: the United States win in the Ryder Cup, and faux advertising dollar driven enthusiasm: the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs.


Side note: Says here that Sooner Anthony Kim (who kicked Sergio's lily-livered behind in the Ryder Cup singles last week) will be one of the top Tiger major championship foils in the years to come.

Labels: golf, Predictions, sports, Sports Economics

"Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult. These difficulties accumulate and produce a friction, which no man can imagine exactly who has not seen war." ---Carl Von Clausewitz, On War


"But CENTCOM had not developed a plan for conventional ground operations in Afghanistan. Nor had diplomatic arrangements for basing, staging, overflight and access been made with Afghanistan's neighbors. There simply had been no stomach in Washington for sustained face-to-face combat in this remote primitive, landlocked country halfway around the world-no stomach since at least 1993.

From Hugh Shelton's tone, it was clear that this was about to change. America's military was going to war in a country where twenty-some years earlier the Soviet Union had invested 620,000 men over the course of eleven years, at a cost of more than 15,000 killed and almost 55,000 wounded." ---General Tommy Franks, American Soldier


"Bobby soon learns the trick that his father and his uncles and his grandfather all knew, which is that you never talk about the specifics of what happened over there. No one wants to hear about how you dug half of your buddy's molars out of your leg with the point of a bayonet." ---Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon


"...they have been getting bombed a lot. Even if the shrapnel misses you, the bomb's shock wave is like a stone wall moving at seven hundred miles an hour. Unlike a stone wall, it passes through your body, like a burst of light through a glass figurine. On its way through your flesh, it rearranges every part of you down to the mitochondrial level, disrupting every process in every cell, including whatever enables your brain to keep track of time and experience the world. A few of these detonations are enough to break the thread of consciousness into a snarl of tangled and chopped filaments. These men are not as human as they were when they left home; they cannot be expected to think clearly or do things for good reasons." ---Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon


"The trail was perhaps a hundred meters from the woodline, and in a matter of minutes we found the bodies. The first dink's brains were sticking out from the side of his head; now I knew why the brain is referred to as gray matter. I wondered what would happen if the skull was hit with a blunt object and the brain wasn't there to absorb the impact. With the butt of my M-16 I smacked the dink's head. The skull cracked like the head of a plastic doll. That was so neat that I gave him one more. As I looked down on the now grotesque face, I thought it would be neat to reach down and grab the brain to show the guys back at the compound, but on second thought I decided not to.

What would ever possess me to do something like that to a corpse? God only knows. I felt no remorse for the gook. He was dead and I was alive, that's the way it was." ---John L. Rotundo, Charlie Rangers

Labels: quotes, thought, war

The way the Clarion reads the sticks, supporters of presidential candidate Barak Obama had best be prepared. Be prepared for a repeat of the Al Gore-George Bush 2000 election. The Clarion is not predicting the election will be so close that it has to go to the Supreme Court to be adjudicated. Surely we hope not, the constitutional stress would be difficult for the republic to bear. The Clarion is predicting that Senator Obama will win the popular vote, but lose to Senator John McCain in the electoral college.

We see Obama winning by blow out margins in the big states California and New York, as well as in New England, New Jersey and Illinois. McCain has a lock on the depopulated plains of the upper Midwest; Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wyoming. McCain will also take Texas, and the deepest of the deep South, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. (People tell us Georgia is a McCain lock but we refuse to accept it.) The election will turn on the same states that it has been pivoting around for the last three election cycles, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania.

The Clarion thinks Obama will do no better than wins in one out four in those states. Likely, taking Michigan, from the Arizona Senator, who, quite honestly warned Michiganers in the primaries, 'Some of those jobs are not coming back.' Obama has done enough that he can squeak out Michigan. However alone it is not sufficient, to win the electoral college vote he must steal some of the Rocky Mountain states that border McCain's home state of Arizona. He might be able to get Colorado and Nevada; Utah seems like a long shot. Even if Obama is able to win all three of those, unless he can grab Florida, Ohio or Pennsylvania, he will still need to pick off one state in the South. (Meanwhile, he must hold on to Illinois neighbors, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.)

The Clarion thinks Obama has a good chance to win Virginia and/or North Carolina, and outside shot to swipe Georgia. It will all depend on turnout. A heavy turnout bodes well for the Senator from Illinois.

Here is a link to some of the latest polls.


And here is another link to a fun electoral vote calculator from the LA Times. Enjoy playing around with possible election scenarios yourself.

But Obama supporters, you have been warned, your candidate could win the popular vote (handily) and still lose the election. How will you react?

Labels: 2008's President, Predictions

A few quick baseball notes as another regular season comes to a close, perhaps the first regular season in what will come to be thought of as the post-steroid era. It was a wonderful and memorable regular season in many ways. The baseball regular season used to be the gem of American sports. The World Series was an interesting duel to the death after the climax for the real survivors. The '51 Giants won the pennant, not the World Series. The '64 Phils didn't have the Wild Card to bail them out and the legendary curses of the Cubs and Red Sox were built on their inability to even get to the post season for decades of futility.

This regular season hasn't been quite legendary, but it has been notable for a number of reasons: the Rays breaking through and making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, the Cubs season long domination of the Central and their fans hopes of finally breaking the curse, the irony of the Dodgers rise in the West behind Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre. On the individual performance side, the remarkable future Hall of Famer, Ichiro Suziki had his 8th straight 200 hit season since coming to America. Despite the Mariners horrific train wreck season, Ichiro got his hits and now has 16 straight 200 hit seasons included his Japanese League experience. And how about the Twins Joe Mauer trying to win a second batting title as a catcher! He's already the only A.L. catcher to win a batting title in the last fifty years. The only other two time batting champion as a catcher is legendary Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi, who caught Johnny Van Deer Meer's back-to-back no hitters, and led the Cincinnati Reds to the 1940 World Series title.

Finally, the Clarion is oh so glad to look at the list of home run leaders for the majors this year and only see one number over 40. Sanity and the glory of George Foster restored.

Labels: baseball, sports

Don't worry Cubs fans, we'll get to you. Your heartbreak is still a few weeks away.

Right now, it is poor Milwaukee. The same old Brewers, darn if it isn't September, and the Brewers are fading fast, while Ben Sheets is sidelined with injuries. It is amazing to watch and sad for Brewers fans, they drew over 3 million this year. They get C.C. Sabbathia at the trading deadline, and he is phenomenal, dominant, so good, that people are talking about whether he can win the Cy Young Award in only half a season. But here it is, the stretch run and the Brewers are stumbling anyway, losing 13 of 17, firing their manager with 12 games to go. (The Clarion doesn't blame them for that move. They had to try something, and Ned Yost contributed mightily to the collapse last year by coming unglued down the stretch.) Yesterday's loss was the worst, up four runs with two out and nobody on in the 9th, they gave up four and lost to the Cubbies in twelve innings. Brutal. The Clarion has no sympathy for the franchise, which hasn't sniffed the playoffs since 1982. We loathe former Brewers head and evil commissioner Bud Selig for what he subjected the game to during his reign.

But for the pained Brewers fans to once again have it snatched from their grasp! At least Cubs fans know failure and defeat are their birth right. Milwaukee can't even claim to be the leader in that, Cleveland and Philadelphia have been deprived of major sports championships for longer stretches.

Labels: baseball, Predictions, sports

Don't worry Cubs fans, we'll get to you. Your heartbreak is still a few weeks away.

Right now, it is poor Milwaukee. The same old Brewers, darn if it isn't September, and the Brewers are fading fast, while Ben Sheets is sidelined with injuries. It is amazing to watch and sad for Brewers fans, they drew over 3 million this year. They get C.C. Sabbathia at the trading deadline, and he is phenomenal, dominant, so good, that people are talking about whether he can win the Cy Young Award in only half a season. But here it is, the stretch run and the Brewers are stumbling anyway, losing 13 of 17, firing their manager with 12 games to go. (The Clarion doesn't blame them for that move. They had to try something, and Ned Yost contributed mightily to the collapse last year by coming unglued down the stretch.) Yesterday's loss was the worst, up four runs with two out and nobody on in the 9th, they gave up four and lost to the Cubbies in twelve innings. Brutal. The Clarion has no sympathy for the franchise, which hasn't sniffed the playoffs since 1982. We loathe former Brewers head and evil commissioner Bud Selig for what he subjected the game to during his reign.

But for the pained Brewers fans to once again have it snatched from their grasp! At least Cubs fans know failure and defeat are their birth right. Milwaukee can't even claim to be the leader in that, Cleveland and Philadelphia have been deprived of major sports championships for longer stretches.

Labels: baseball, Predictions, sports

United States relations with Pakistan reached a post-Pressler amendment low this week. The Pakistani Army's chief of staff incensed at United States raids, that have repeatedly violated Pakistan's sovereign borders and killed Pakistani citizens, indicated the Pakistani army had orders to fire at United States military personnel engaged in hostile actions. (including "hot pursuit" over the border from Afghanistan~sadly the echoes of the Nam are everywhere these days.) It was reported in the Pakistani media that this policy was confirmed by the Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. He said that the Pakistani Army chief's statements on the country's defense were "true reflection of the government policy."

The United States Army brass has made every effort to brush this news under the rug, much as it attempts to use language to make one forget that collateral damage from these raids often means dead women and children. A spokesman for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who was in Pakistan on an unannounced visit today said the American military leadership was, "working more closely with the Pakistani military to improve coordination and effectiveness in operations against extremist safe havens in the border regions." (Some reports indicated that Pakistani troops have already engaged United States forces.)

It must have been so much easier for the Bush II administration's military industrial complex when there was a dictator running Pakistan. It was much more natural and comfortable to be on the same side. As the first commander of the Second Gulf War, four star General Tommy Franks says in his biography, American Soldier, "For years American officials and diplomatic envoys in business suits had hectored soldier-politicians such as Perez Musharraf about human rights and representative government. Of course, I believed in these issues with equal conviction, but at this point in history we needed to establish priorities. Stopping al Qaeda was such a priority, and Musharraf was willing to help." (italics added by the Clarion for emphasis.)

Now with a democratically elected president, Asif Ali Zardari, in charge of Pakistan, the focus has shifted, in an unfortunate complication for the United States military leadership, to niggling issues like human rights and representative government, (just the basics, like quit killing our citizens with impunity and apologizing later.) The current United States policy continues to anger and radicalize the Pakistani populace. Oh and, news flash! The folks in the American military the Pakistani Army will be shooting at with real bullets and real missiles, it's not the generals, nor the policy makers.

Labels: Middle East

At the Clarion, we miss the departed Jerry Garcia. Below see a brilliant mash-up, of perhaps our favorite Grateful Dead song and an old cartoon.

To paraphrase Edwin Starr, "War? What the hell is good for? Absolutely nothing!"

Labels: Pop Culture, thought, war

Technical complications and various other malfeasance kept the Clarion from keeping the promise we made to you two weeks regarding our NFL Preview and NFL picks. A loyal reader reminded the editor that we failed to complete our NFL picks on a timely basis last year, too. Then again, we had the Panthers in the Super Bowl last year and NY Giants missing the playoffs, so maybe making our picks late isn't enough to help the Clarion. Maybe if we would just wait a couple more weeks...




In the NFC North...

1st Place

Chicago Bears

We still can't bring ourselves to pick the Packers. Do we like Kyle Orton better than Aaron Rodgers? Forte better than Ryan Grant? It would be generous to give the Bears a push at those two skill positions. The argument starts with we like the Bears defense better. Furthermore, this is a typical post-parity NFL division where any team can beat any other on a given Sunday. We believe when it comes down to December Kyle Orton's experience during the Bears Super Bowl run two years ago will be the difference. The Bears will ask him to do less than the Packers ask Rodgers to do. At least 9 wins.

2nd Place

Green Bay Packers

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has looked awfully good for the first two games. The Packers have won two divisional games, but somehow our gut feeling says there is struggle and strife ahead in Green Bay. We like their corners Charles Woodson and Al Harris a lot less than most of the experts. When we look closely at the Packers corners we are reminded of the legendary Elvis "Toast" Patterson, who made some glitzy plays, like Harris and Woodson, but earned his moniker more frequently. The Packers front seven on defense are tough, led by defensive end Aaron Kampman and linebackers Nick Barnett and A.J. Hawk. They could easily win this mediocre division, but it says here that a tough November-December stretch that includes games at New Orleans, Jacksonville and the Bears, plus home tilts with Carolina and Houston keeps the Pack on the outside of NFC playoffs looking in, at least 8 wins.

3rd Place

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are not as bad as the Lions, but on any given week as sketchy as their quarterback situation is, a casual observer could be easily fooled. Adrian Peterson cannot be expected to shoulder the load alone, remember he was considered injury prone at Oklahoma in college. Gus Frerotte is an unlikely savior. The Clarion has more confidence in the future success of 3rd string former USC'er John David Booty than we do either Frerotte or the overwhelmed Tavaris Jackson. The Vikings defense will get demoralized about halfway through the season as they realize just how one dimensional and putrid the offense is. At most 7 wins. (Which is not to say they won't beat the Panthers this weekend.)

4th Place

Detroit Lions

Jon Kitna is a decent quarterback, although in light of his Halloween costume last year, perhaps a bit of a nut job. Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson and Mike Furrey are good wide receivers. Unfortunately, beyond that, the cupboard is pretty bare. It is mind boggling that Lions President Matt Millen still has his job. His record to date is a staggering 31 up and 83 down. The Clarion keeps hearing Detroit is a good football town. Having lived through, first, the Barry Sanders era and now the Matt Millen era, we can honestly say the Lions have sucked for so long that we have no idea if that claim is true or not.

Labels: NFL, sports

some of the wisdom of Yann Martel, from his book Life of Pi,

"All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it, no species would survive."

(That first nugget reminds the Clarion of the brilliant, under-read, under-utilized Gavin De Becker book, The Gift of Fear.)

More from the Life of Pi,

"People move because of the wear and tear of anxiety. Because of the gnawing feeling that no matter how hard they work their efforts will yield nothing, that what they build up in one year will be torn down in one day by others. Because of the impression that the future is blocked up, that they might do all right but not their children. Because of the feeling that nothing will change, that happiness and prosperity are possible only somewhere else."

"I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent."

(This third one goes on for four more insightful paragraphs.)

The book is well worth the read. Yes, we know, everyone else read it years ago.

Labels: Sayings, thought

Calm the fuck down and don't wait for the absolute bottom of the market. Those were the two main points of a brilliant open letter posted on the financial advising website the Motley Fool earlier this week. The run on the investment banks, the credit crunch, the liquidity crisis, and the biggest United States government bailout of the finance industry in modern times are clearly taking on the characteristics of a panic. The first full-fledged financial panic in America since 1907 is underway, but the Fool's advice is wise. The underlying economic fundamentals of middle America are nowhere near as bad as the speculative margin bets made by the Wall Streeters who are being summarily bitten in the ass. Further, even as the Wall Streeters go, some discrimination needs to be made between, the good, the not so good, and the down right ugly, remember the media mantra, "Bad news sells." However, very few folks exercise good judgment when in a panic.

Calm down. Keep your wits about you. The country isn't sinking. Heck, there are even opportunities to be had.

Here is the Motley Fool's sage take on the situation...

Dear Fellow Fools,

Over the past 48 hours, markets around the globe have dropped, in no small part because of the collapse of Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) and Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC) sudden purchase of Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER). Today's volatility is more of the same, with uncertainty surrounding the future of AIG (NYSE: AIG).

We understand that the current state of the stock market and of the financial industry can be disconcerting. But we encourage you to remain calm. You may be tempted to act rashly, but please remember: This, too, shall pass.

And one of the primary reasons it shall pass is because not every financial firm made ill-advised and reckless decisions about leverage. Case in point, the stock of Berkshire Hathaway has actually risen since Aug. 1. There are still plenty of sound, well-run businesses that will reward us for being patient.

And the beauty is that many of those businesses are being sold at a discount to their fair value, simply because financial firms like AIG made terrible decisions. In fact, all of this is merely another turn of the cycle that has allowed so many investors to generate great wealth in the markets. Warren Buffett and his teacher, Benjamin Graham, are right: Over time, the market is a weighing machine. Companies cannot make poor financial decisions without eventually having to deal with the consequences. By allowing the collapse of Lehman Brothers to happen, the federal government and industry giants have indirectly decided to allow the capitalist system to do its work.

We believe this is a good thing -- it is a statement of hope, and we believe you should embrace it. (And we continue to hope that the Federal Reserve will not intervene on behalf of AIG.)

During the next few days and weeks, the markets promise to be extremely volatile. The response from Wall Street and the financial press will range from euphoric to despondent, and much of the advice you hear will be emotional and short-term in focus. We also recognize the very real risks in the market today. More companies are sure to struggle.

But at the same time, we urge you not to panic or react in haste. If we retain our wits, we can't help but make better decisions than the majority of investors. Here at The Motley Fool, we tend to avoid companies with significant debt in favor of companies with unleveraged, cash-rich balance sheets, companies like Buffalo Wild Wings (Nasdaq: BWLD), Quality Systems (Nasdaq: QSII), or Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG). Although the crisis in the financial sector is dragging the market as a whole down, there are opportunities yet to be found.

History has shown that after virtually every sudden drop the market has experienced, it recovered within a few years. Case in point: Six months after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the S&P 500 had gained 17%, and six months after the lows of Sept. 11, 2001, it was up nearly 19%. Even if the rewards aren't immediately obvious, in the long term, objective analysis of the opportunities and risks will prove superior to an emotional reaction.

Thank you for continuing to put your faith in us and The Motley Fool during these volatile times. We are paying close attention to these events, and we encourage you to come to Fool.com, Motley Fool CAPS, and our discussion boards for regular commentary.

by Bill Mann and the Fool Staff.

Labels: Economy, Politics, Practical Advice, Predictions, thought

Senator John McCain, who is no faux reformer, was way out in front in objecting to the manner in which business was conducted at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, (the quasi-private mortgage backers who the federal government bailed out to the tune of $200 billion last week.)

Here is McCain in the Congressional Record in May of 2006 warning that the federal government must scrutinize the practices of Fannie and Freddie more closely. Of course the beholden Beltway boys did nothing, killing the bill in question in committee. Special thanks to Rantburg for picking up this story.

Sen. John McCain [R-AZ]: "Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae's regulator reported that the company's quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were "illusions deliberately and systematically created" by the company's senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's former chief executive officer, OFHEO's report shows that over half of Mr. Raines' compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator's examination of the company's accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation."

Unfortunately the bill died in committee.

S. 190 [109th]: Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005---Status: Dead

Last Action: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Ordered to be amendmened.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, constitutional issues, economics

The elections are coming.

With that in mind, a thought from Edward Bernays...“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important (though little known or realized) element in a democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government, which is the true ruling power of our country. ...We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men (that) we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. ...In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons... who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires (strings or levers) which control the public mind.”

Labels: 2008 presidential election, quotes

Saw this interesting note in the USA Today, despite Aaron Rodgers' terrific start in his first two games as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, and as the replacement for future Hall of Famer Brett Farve, all may not be roses yet.

According to USA Today football columnist, Jarrett Bell, Rodgers is the first Green Bay quarterback to start 2 and 0, other than Farve, since Scott Hunter in 1971. Who is Scott Hunter you ask. And why is this a sign that the future may not be oh so rosy in Green Bay? Scott Hunter replaced a Hall of Fame quarterback, too, this one was a multiple Super Bowl winner, you might have recognized his picture above, Bart Starr. Hunter was out of Green Bay within three years without ever having led them to the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl.

Labels: NFL, sports

Apparently some liberal bloggers are pissed about the comparisons between the two tickets, their resumes and relevant experience. Read one rant below...

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

* Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you teach teach children about sexual predators, you are irresponsible and eroding the fiber of society.

* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate laywer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America 's.

* If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that hates America and advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, it's much clearer now."

Wow---Guess these people must of spent too much time reading. If they'd gotten out from behind the bookshelf and watched a few episodes of Married with Children, The Simpsons, or Family Guy this whole thing would make a lot more sense to'em.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Politics, Pop Culture

A couple of baseball quickies the Clarion heard or noticed in the last week; one we liked, one we loathed, and one that is transcendentally more important than our opinions.

The one we liked was Matt Holliday talking about playing in Fenway Park. Holliday felt like it was substantially better to play in Fenway than any road stadium of his career. He cited the difference between the Boston atmosphere and the atmosphere almost anywhere else with uncanny accuracy. As Peter Gammons related the story, Holliday said the key was in almost every other ballpark fans reacted to the action with their cheering and booing, whereas in Fenway fans anticipated the action with their sound. The comparison is hardly the same, the anticipation keeps the players on edge creating a playoff like atmosphere every game.

The one we loathed was Peter Gammons in the same radio interview waxing on about the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays knowing they were for real because of how good their run differential was. What? Talk about a meaningless stat!!! Run differential couldn't be less important, games count the same 1-0 or 15-1. It is our belief that Gammons was swayed by the fact that the Mothership started carrying run differential in their standings page. Come on Peter, you're better than that. Don't be fooled. (Just like last season in the NL where run differential signified little about who even made the playoffs, run differential is wrong again this year.)

The third one is a charitable cause, strikeoutsfortroops.org This is a charity started by the San Francisco Giants lefty pitcher, Barry Zito. It has given over a million dollars to wounded war veterans since its establishment. It is highly rated for its proper allocation of funds to the cause rather than overhead. It came to the Clarion's notice on September 11th when Zito was on the Jim Rome radio program discussing that USAA had agreed to make a $500 donation for every strikeout in the major leagues that day. The Clarion believes in the collective obligation of all American citizens to wounded war veterans.

Labels: baseball, sports

Follow this link to read a thoughtful essay in the Los Angeles Times by writer Paul Theroux, on Henry David Thoreau, hunting and modern politics.

Theroux's take is inspiring ecological bomb throwing in the manner of Edward Abbey.

He closes his piece with a brilliant Thoreau quote on the sanctity of all life, "A pine cut down, a dead pine, is no more a pine than a dead human carcass is a man. Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve life than destroy it."

Labels: ecology, Politics, thought

Tina Fey hits it out of the park as John McCain's running mate.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Politics, Pop Culture

The Clarion would hate to contribute to such a thing by spreading the word, but anecdotal evidence indicates the storm is already gathering, (pun intended.)

Example one: our local, Durham, North Carolina, BP station raised prices by 37 cents overnight for regular unleaded, from $3.62 per gallon to $3.99 per gallon.

Example two: multiple eyewitness reports out of Raleigh, NC have gas stations limiting customers to purchases of no more than ten gallons of gas.

Example three: news sources out of Kentucky report Gulf Coast wholesale gasoline, which was available for $3.25 per gallon only yesterday, has spiked to $4.75 per gallon today.

All this in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Ike on the Gulf Coast. Other media outlets reported that Sheetz Inc., owner of the pipeline in East Texas that supplies gas to the northeast has shut it down in preparation for Hurricane Ike's landfall. They say the pipeline is going to be shut down until Monday.

Of course, all sources agree that panic buying and topping off tanks unnecessarily would make the situation much worse.

Labels: Economy, energy policy

For the first time in thirteen years, it has become apparent that the New York Yankees are going to miss the playoffs. The curse of the A-Rod continues.

Loyal readers know that the Clarion strongly opposed the re-signing of Alex Rodriguez and the firing of Joe Torre. It has long been our view that A-Rod is a me guy, who comes up big at the smallest moments and small at the biggest moments. His teams have never won. Clearly, the manager matters less than the every day clean-up hitter, but keeping A-Rod, and losing Torre were two huge mistakes. To complete the these things happen in threes short-sighted trifecta, the Yanks, fixing what wasn't broken, moved likely future ace closer, Joba Chamberlain, to the starting rotation, and from there, rapidly to the disabled list. Hopefully, they haven't irreparably injured his career. Surely, they have derailed his progress, while messing with his confidence and his state of mind.

The Clarion appreciates the irony of Joe Torre's surging Los Angeles Dodgers led by the inimitable Manny Ramirez making the playoffs while the the Yankees miss out. The Dodgers aren't there yet, but the Yanks are toast.

Labels: baseball, sports

It was a different time. It was before the cost of liability insurance had been driven through the roof by a lawsuit mad culture. It was before cable TV, let alone the internet. It was before Super Dave Osborne, let alone Tony Hawk.


Behold Evil Kneivel




Daredevil for real

Labels: Pop Culture

Please stand by. We are experiencing technical difficulties.





From troubles with Time Warner's installation, to an unsympathetic wireless router, to failing hard drives, the Clarion has had a litany of computer issues in recent weeks.

Please bear with us. We will return to daily posting, hopefully, this weekend.

It is hardly fair to call the tiny capsules we are going to do this year a preview, but we wanted to go on record with our NFL picks before the season started. The first game in recent years has been on a Thursday, this year is no different. It involves two NFC East foes, the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants and the Washington Redskins under first year coach Jim Zorn. The Giants were a shocking revelation to the Clarion last year. We predicted against them the whole way. This year brings nothing different. Without further adieu then, our NFC East picks.

1st place

Dallas Cowboys

We like Tony Romo. We are unconcerned about the so-called Jessica Simpson curse. T.O. is a super talent on the field. Besides Owens the receiver corps is thin, but the running back stable is full. Bruiser Marion Barber III is ably backed by the rookie phenom Felix Jones. Their superb defensive line is good enough to make their linebackers and secondary appear almost Pro Bowl caliber. Over 10 wins.

2nd place

Philadelphia Eagles

Here at the Clarion, we love Donovan McNabb and we don't really care what anyone thinks about it. If the Eagles had ever, ever gotten the guy any wide receivers, he'd of brought them a couple of Lombardi trophies by now. The one year they gave him T.O., the only legit number one, let alone Pro Bowler that McNabb has ever played with, Donovan got them all the way to the Super Bowl. Brian Westbrook is a terrific back, running and receiving. Andy Reid is good coach, the defense is solid. Over 9 wins.

3rd place

Washington Redskins

Jason Campbell, this is it. This is the year for Redskins QB, Jason Campbell to breakthrough. He quarterbacked an Auburn squad, on probation, through an undefeated SEC season, which was the last time that has been done. The Clarion has always believed in him as a leader. He has the savvy, the composure and the arm strength to be a good NFL starter. It helps to have Clinton Portis in the backfield and Santana Moss and Antwan Randle-El split wide. Folks are worried about first year coach Jim Zorn, but the ancient editors at the Clarion's desk have confidence in Zorn dating all the way back to the Steve Largent era Seahawks. Zorn is a sharp football mind, given time he'll be fine. If it all comes together on the defensive side of the ball, especially with the addition of defensive end Jason Taylor, the Skins could make it three NFC East playoff teams. The Clarion predicts at least 8 wins.

4th place

New York Giants

The Giants fans should delight in this prediction, if only because predictions of success by the Clarion are the kiss of death for sports franchises. Still it is hard to love the Giants when they lost both of their starting defensive ends from last year, Michael Strahan to retirement and Osi Umenyiora to injury. Worse they let underrated linebacker Kawika Mitchell depart via free agency. On the offensive side of the ball the Clarion has never been a fan of Eli Manning. (One David Tyree miracle catch from 0-1 in the Super Bowl.) Nor have we ever thought much of Plastic-o Burress, the Giants number one wideout. Amani Toomer is finishing a borderline Hall of Fame career, but he has to get old sometime. Says here that the Giants win around 7 games this year.

The rest of our NFL preview will be in the Clarion Sports section later this week.

Labels: NFL, Predictions, sports

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin got off a beauty of a line last night in her speech to the Republican National Convention in Minnesota.

"In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."

Hey maybe it wasn't totally fair, but it sure was a well written turn of phrase. Palin was, of course, hailed by the staged audience of the convention, but her speech was indeed tightly constructed and rousingly delivered.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Politics, quotes

An Arizona cat survived a 70 mile trip under a pick-up truck, sitting on a spare tire yesterday. Bella traveled shaken but uninjured from Gilbert, AZ (upper left of map) to Kearny, AZ (right center edge.)

A look at the photo in this article suggests the cat may be smarter than the owner.

Labels: Pop Culture

It is hardly fair to call the tiny capsules we are going to do this year a preview, but we wanted to go on record with our NFL picks before the season started. The first game in recent years has been on a Thursday, this year is no different. It involves two NFC East foes, the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants and the Washington Redskins under first year coach Jim Zorn. The Giants were a shocking revelation to the Clarion last year. We predicted against them the whole way. This year brings nothing different. Without further adieu then, our NFC East picks.

1st place

Dallas Cowboys

We like Tony Romo. We are unconcerned about the so-called Jessica Simpson curse. T.O. is a super talent on the field. Besides Owens the receiver corps is thin, but the running back stable is full. Bruiser Marion Barber III is ably backed by the rookie phenom Felix Jones. Their superb defensive line is good enough to make their linebackers and secondary appear almost Pro Bowl caliber. Over 10 wins.

2nd place

Philadelphia Eagles

Here at the Clarion, we love Donovan McNabb and we don't really care what anyone thinks about it. If the Eagles had ever, ever gotten the guy any wide receivers, he'd of brought them a couple of Lombardi trophies by now. The one year they gave him T.O., the only legit number one, let alone Pro Bowler that McNabb has ever played with, Donovan got them all the way to the Super Bowl. Brian Westbrook is a terrific back, running and receiving. Andy Reid is good coach, the defense is solid. Over 9 wins.

3rd place

Washington Redskins

Jason Campbell, this is it. This is the year for Redskins QB, Jason Campbell to breakthrough. He quarterbacked an Auburn squad, on probation, through an undefeated SEC season, which was the last time that has been done. The Clarion has always believed in him as a leader. He has the savvy, the composure and the arm strength to be a good NFL starter. It helps to have Clinton Portis in the backfield and Santana Moss and Antwan Randle-El split wide. Folks are worried about first year coach Jim Zorn, but the ancient editors at the Clarion's desk have confidence in Zorn dating all the way back to the Steve Largent era Seahawks. Zorn is a sharp football mind, given time he'll be fine. If it all comes together on the defensive side of the ball, especially with the addition of defensive end Jason Taylor, the Skins could make it three NFC East playoff teams. The Clarion predicts at least 8 wins.

4th place

New York Giants

The Giants fans should delight in this prediction, if only because predictions of success by the Clarion are the kiss of death for sports franchises. Still it is hard to love the Giants when they lost both of their starting defensive ends from last year, Michael Strahan to retirement and Osi Umenyiora to injury. Worse they let underrated linebacker Kawika Mitchell depart via free agency. On the offensive side of the ball the Clarion has never been a fan of Eli Manning. (One David Tyree miracle catch from 0-1 in the Super Bowl.) Nor have we ever thought much of Plastic-o Burress, the Giants number one wideout. Amani Toomer is finishing a borderline Hall of Fame career, but he has to get old sometime. Says here that the Giants win around 7 games this year.

The rest of our NFL preview will be in the Clarion Sports section later this week.

Labels: NFL, Predictions, sports

"Familiarity almost inevitably breeds indifference." ---Marc Bloch

"Aging comes at you like the tide. It only feels like waves because of the way humans measure time; birthdays, anniversaries, seasons."---staff

"An attempt to rest political equality on religious truth is simply a recipe for social disaster and political failure." ---Andrew Sullivan

"He hungered to explain who he was...an orphan boy...who had been poor all his life, had grubbed for a living, and was poor in other ways too- if he was that one what was he doing in prison? Who were they punishing if his life was punishment?"---Bernard Malamud in The Fixer

"Sometimes things that go without saying should go unsaid."---staff

"Never think that wars are irrational catastrophes: they happen when wrong ways of thinking and living bring about intolerable situations."---Dorothy L. Sayers

"Bad data is a far worse problem than no data."---staff

"It is...chimerical to build peace on the economic foundations which, in turn, rest on the systematic cultivation of greed and envy, the very forces which drive men into conflict."---E.F. Schumacher

Link to other Clarion sayings posts.

Labels: economics, Practical Advice, Sayings, thought

Whatever else you might think of John McCain's choice for Vice-President, do not forget that picking Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska was a play for the southern Christian vote.

As the Clarion reads the tea leaves, the only way McCain loses the electoral math on election night is if somehow the solid south starts to slip from under him. Virginia, North Carolina and conceivably even, South Carolina are poised to flip into the blue column.

With that math in mind the veep choice war room might have gone something like this: McCain, an honest to goodness maverick, wanted to reclaim that mantle. Somebody on the inside of his campaign said, "Senator, you know, you could do the maverick thing, and the southern evangelical vote in one fell swoop. Sarah Palin."

There may have been one or two other factors. And it may have taken a little longer depending on how much, or how little, one believes they vetted her.

But as for the ticket power she brings, no less of a heavyweight than Richard Land was calling for her selection in a CBSNews.com interview. Who is Land you say? Well in addition to being a prolific author, a Princeton and an Oxford graduate, Land hosts two nationally syndicated radio programs "For Faith & Family" and "For Faith & Family's Insight."

Here's what the Washington Post's David Waters has Land saying about Palin in the CBSNews.com interview, "I think that the vice presidential choice that John McCain makes is probably the most important choice he's going to make in this entire campaign. Because he has no room for error, no margin for doubt. If he picks a pro-choice running mate, it will confirm the unease and the mistrust that some evangelicals--and don't forget this, social conservative Catholics--feel about McCain."

Land continues on the his preference for the veep choice, "Probably Governor (Sarah) Palin of Alaska, because she's a person of strong faith. She just had her fifth child, a Downs Syndrome child. And there's a wonderful quote that she gave about her baby, and the fact that she would never, ever consider having an abortion just because her child had Downs Syndrome. She's strongly pro-life."

"She's a virtual lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. She would ring so many bells. And I just think it would help with independents because she's a woman. She's a reform Governor."

The Clarion is not sure where we stand on Governor Palin yet, but we wanted to note for you you, dear readers, who wanted her selection. Whether it was a shrewd political move is also unclear at this juncture. It may help McCain with certain demographics and voter turnout issues.

Labels: 2008 presidential election, Politics

In perhaps not the most well timed announcement, although as the inevitable becomes more and more clear, perhaps there really was no good time, the Yankees announced next season's ticket prices in the new ballpark yesterday.

They range from the scandalous, the first nine rows behind the home plate cost between $500 and $2,500, to the merely outrageous, "Field level seats" will go for from $75 to $325, the "main level" from $40 to $100 and the best seats in the front part of left and right field will be $75 to $100. There are a few seats in the barely palatable price range, "upper decks seats" from $20 to $65 and a few more in the best of luck category, nine sections of bleacher seats for $12.

At least these ticket prices will help the Yanks pay to keep A-Rod in town. If you're scoring at home, a pair of $2,500 seats behind home plate would be $405,000 for season tickets.

Special thanks to the New York Times for the assist on this one.

Labels: baseball, sports, Sports Economics

That's right folks, that is what they are paying to fuel up on natural gas in Utah.

Read more about it here, in the NY Times.

Utah is the first state to have large consumer surge in natural gas driving, though Oklahoma is experiencing something of one, too, and large has to be qualified because even by the highest estimates there are 20,000 natural gas vehicles on the road out of 2.7 million vehicles registered in Utah.

Still there are signs of significance, perhaps even a local tipping point, there is substantial backlog on orders for the Honda Civic GX, the only car powered by natural gas made by a major automaker in the America. People are paying to convert their SUVs to run on natural gas. There is a gray market for conversion.

Interesting.

Labels: energy policy, Politics, technology