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A Balk And A Blast

[ 0 ] May 30, 2007 | Scott Lemieux

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“You ask for a miracle, I give you…Armando Benitez.”

Between the beautiful day and the Perez/Lincecum matchup, I made am impulse decision to buy Mets tickets yesterday (even with the knowledge that Bonds wasn’t going to start), and it ended up being a good decision. It was a classic power pitchers matchup–every run scoring on a homerun except for Human Highlight Reel Reyes flying home from first on a double, and outside of Perez in the first inning both had terrific stuff. The old Husky Lincecum, if he stays healthy, is going to be a dynamite pitcher; not only a fastball in the upper 90s, but also a devastating curve he throws in the mid-80s. The game went to the 12th. In the top of the inning with runners on the corners, Delgado made a risky play by going for the DP on a groundball by touching the bag first. It was tempting because he was right there, but taking the force off [that was stupid on my part; see comments. I was thinking the bases were loaded when the ball was first hit, and didn't make the adjustment after I remembered.] was crucial, as Vizquel slid under the tag with the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the inning, though, Reyes draws a leadoff walk–somewhat unnoticed, the formerly undisciplined Reyes has drawn 29 with a near-.400 OBP this year–and spooked Benitez into a balk. Endy bunts him over to third, but even Reyes can’t score on Beltran’s hard grounder. But Reyes bluffs off third and Bentiez balks again, bringing in the tying run. You can tell Benitez senses the inevitable now, and sure enough Delgado hits a 2-2 pitch for his second mammoth homer to right of the game to win it.

And then I get home and see that the Yankees have dropped to 14 1/2 back in a game involving crucial errors by Jeter and Slappy Rodriguez and a straight steal of home. Oh yeah. BTW, the idiots who claim that if you just watch Jeter you’ll see he’s great shortstop (if the only other shortstops you see play for your local high school, maybe) should have been at Shea last night, where a great shortstop put on a clinic; Vizquel is unbelievable. It looked like the Mets had the game won in the bottom of the ninth when Franco–maybe Vizquel felt extra young at this point–hit a hard grounder up the middle, but Vizquel ranged well to his left, speared the ball, and flipped it to the second baseman who barehanded it for the force. It wasn’t the only great play he made, either. These numbers ain’t a fluke; even at 40, Jeter couldn’t carry Vizquel’s jock as a defensive player.

The War Prayer

[ 0 ] May 29, 2007 | davenoon

Twain, 1904 or 1905:

O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it — for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet!

Having been rendered into real life in the 20th and 21st centures, Twain’s “War Prayer” is now available in a more tolerable animated form. (h/t Ralph Luker)

. . . for those with slower connections, the YouTube link is here.

Reading Pravda

[ 0 ] May 29, 2007 | Robert Farley

This is kind of interesting; I open up Fox News and find a front page article on a threatening new Russian ICBM that’s apparently capable of defeating any US missile defense system. The missile, a variant of the Topol-M, isn’t new. The Russian claims that the ICBM can defeat a missile defense system aren’t new, either. Fox’s shoddy reporting aside, though, it’s curious that someone decided to front this article today. Russia has become threatening and irritating in any number of ways over the past five years or so, so why the alarmist report now on an event that amounts to, essentially, nothing?

Fox’s model is a remarkable synthesis of canny consumerism and political purpose; they understand that they need to please a consumer base expecting red meat, yet at the same time they can lure that base in particular directions. I’m wondering whether this article is part of the first project, or of the second. Does the braintrust at Fox think that the base is ripe for some Russia baiting? They have a viewership that trends old, white, and male, and might have some fond memories of the Cold War. Still, I can’t remember all that many articles at Fox recently highlighting the Russian threat. On the other hand, could the folks at Fox be thinking that this is the time to emphasize national security in a way that doesn’t refer to Iraq or to the War on Terror? The article takes pains to conjure a new Russian threat, mentioning that the new ICBM was (purportedly) developed in response to the withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, and pointing out Russian intransigence on the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty.

So I have to wonder, is this part of an effort to steer the media debate towards national security, but in a way that ignores Iraq and the GWOT? Are we going to see the Republican nominee next year denounce his Democratic opponent for being insufficiently tough on the Russians? Indeed, (and this would be truly perverse) I have to wonder if we’ll see someone claim that we oughtn’t withdraw from Iraq because “we can’t look weak in front of the Russians”.

Hobbyhorse Watch

[ 0 ] May 29, 2007 | Scott Lemieux

I’ve been meaning to comment on the odious comments of MeMe Roth (see Lindsay and zuzu), but Professor B. beats me to it, cutting to the heart of the issue:

This whole “I’m so concerned for her health!! And the health of all the impressionable girls who watch American Idol!”

Uh huh. Gosh, MeMe, that’s mighty white of you. Funny how your concern doesn’t extend to any of the health issues that don’t make people . . . aesthetically displeasing.

Here’s the thing: anyone dissing fat people? Who concern trolls it by wringing their hands over the health of perfect strangers? Is a big fat liar.

I could repeat again that (with the possible exception of diabetes) the independent effects of weight on health are negligible, but in some sense it’s beside the point. These arguments aren’t about health; they’re about using health as a pretext to dress up aesthetic reactions. (And there’s nothing wrong with these aesthetic reactions per se, although they hardly justify the kind of systematic shaming that the health smokescreen seems to justify.) And this is not merely harmless; conflating weight with health quite clearly has a net negative impact on health, creating psychological problems and providing all kinds of incentives for behaviors that are considerably more unhealthy than being overweight. A White Bear is especially good on this point.

Obviously, the bad faith is particularly transparent when your gimmick is a “wedding dress challenge,” but it’s a problem that goes far beyond one Fox News crank.

"Won’t somebody think of the children?"

[ 0 ] May 29, 2007 | davenoon

Having been persuaded by several recent arguments that mocking the earnest and well-meaning artists of the world only hurts America’s youth, I can only imagine what a post like this might do to atomize the souls of aspiring poets and songwriters.

Now, I’ve usually only enjoyed about 43% of Conor Oberst’s work, but think it’s outrageous that someone would take the time to criticize him — especially when our government (which Oberst opposes) is torturing people.

Christ! Perhaps if Joe Mathlete would spend less time explaining Marmaduke to us, he would understand a little something about priorities.

Court Protects Gender Discrimintion

[ 0 ] May 29, 2007 | Scott Lemieux

As Ruth Bader Ginsburg notes, the evidence of gender discrimination in the case of Ledbetter v. Goodyear, decided today by the Supreme Court, is unambiguous:

Lilly Ledbetter was a supervisor at Goodyear Tire and Rubber’s plant in Gadsden, Alabama, from 1979 until her retirement in 1998. For most of those years, she worked as an area manager, a position largely occupied by men. Initially, Ledbetter’s salary was in line with the salaries of men performing substantially similar work. Over time, however, her pay slipped in comparison to the pay of male area managers with equal or less seniority. By the end of 1997, Ledbetter was the only woman working as an area manager and the pay discrepancy between Ledbetter and her 15 male counterparts was stark: Ledbetter was paid $3,727 per month; the lowest paid male area manager received $4,286 per month, the highest paid, $5,236.

Despite this, and contrary to the judgment of the EEOC, the Court by a bare 5-4 majority threw out the discrimination claim she brought under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The Court–in an opinion, natch, written by its arch-reactionary newest member–argued that Ledbetter failed to challenge the initial discriminatory pay decision within the required 180 days, and the ongoing pay discrimination did not constitute an “unlawful employment practice.” As Ginsburg points out, this reading of the statute makes little sense; unlike a single discrete act such as a firing, an employee may not be aware of the discriminatory nature of their pay until much later, and moreover it is illogical to hold that only an initial decision to discriminate but not the discriminatory pay itself constitutes an unlawful practice. The effect of the case is to insulate employers from wage discrimination claims as long as they can hide the evidence from the employee being discriminated against for 180 days, a result contrary to the purpose of the statute that is in no way compelled by its language.

The effect of Sandra Day O’Connor being replaced by Alito is particularly stark in this case. O’Connor–who was offered only secretarial jobs after graduating third in her Stanford Law class–had a good record on gender discrimination, while Altio’s record on both gender issues and civil rights claims more broadly is atrocious. The useful idiots who claimed Alito was a moderate notwithstanding, his vote in this case was inevitable; I held out a shred of optimism that Thomas and Scalia might defer to the EEOC based on the former’s opinion in the Morgan case, but this was apparently hopeless optimism. Although these kinds of cases flay under the radar, this is a major way the Alito-fied Court will work to advance bad outcomes. Republicans don’t have to modify or repeal civil rights legislation, and the Court needn’t strike it down; the courts and/or the executive branch can just gut the legislation by making it difficult to enforce in ways that don’t attract public attention.

To end on a slightly less defeatist note, as Ginsburg did, because this is a case of statutory interpretation Congress can respond to the Court by changing the language of the statute to override the Court’s unduly narrow interpretation. They should start working to do so immediately.

Denial of Service

[ 0 ] May 29, 2007 | Robert Farley

Estonia has been under assault:

When Estonian authorities began removing a bronze statue of a World War II-era Soviet soldier from a park in this bustling Baltic seaport last month, they expected violent street protests by Estonians of Russian descent.

What followed was what some here describe as the first war in cyberspace, a monthlong campaign that has forced Estonian authorities to defend their pint-size Baltic nation from a data flood that they say was set off by orders from Russia or ethnic Russian sources in retaliation for the removal of the statue.

This has been interesting for a few reasons. On the geopolitical stage this seems to be yet another demonstration by Russia that it is still willing and capable to throw its weight around in the near abroad, without much apparent concern for international opinion. The Estonians and some neutral observers are convinced that the attacks are state orchestrated, although it should be noted that especially in a situation as emotionally packed as this (the intial dispute regarded Russia and Estonia’s roles in World War II), such orchestration might not be necessary.

Probably more important is the Russian method, which is opening up new avenues for inter-state bullying. The attacks by Russia have caused genuine property damage and economic loss in Estonia. Facing a denial of service attack is obviously preferable to fending off cruise missiles, but the disruptive effect can be quite similar. To the extent that economic activity becomes more and more embedded in electronic networks, the ability of attacks to disrupt or destroy these networks will become increasingly problematic, and politically relevant. NATO is already thinking along these lines:

For NATO, the attack may lead to a discussion of whether it needs to modify its commitment to collective defense, enshrined in Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty. Mr. [Hillar] Aarelaid said NATO’s Internet security experts said little but took copious notes during their visit.

Lots of work has been done on “cyber war”, the promise and vulnerability of networked military organizations. Less attention has been paid to the economic prospects of cyber warfare, and to the ability of states to exert power and coercion through a new set of tools. When Russia tries to coerce its neigbors through threatening to destroy their economic and governmental activity, it becomes a problem for NATO and consequently the United States.

Cross-posted to TAPPED.

Falklands Blogging Roundup

[ 0 ] May 29, 2007 | Robert Farley

There’s been some good Falklands blogging around the interweb-tubes of late.

Alex at Yorkshire Ranter has been doing some bang-up work:
Myth 1: Command?
Myth 2: Maggie?
Myth 3: Imperialism?
Myth 4: Friends in High Places?

Dan Hardie has a piece on the “Unlearned Lessons” of the Falklands War

Warship: International Fleet Review has links up to a couple of older pieces about the war, although you have to buy the magazine to read the whole thing.

While not directly connected to an analysis of the Falklands conflict, Mr. Trend has a fine series on the current political climate in Argentina:
Notes 1
Notes 2

McClatchy has a bit more on the perception of the war in Argentina.

On the enduring impact, apparently nearly 300 veterans of the war have committed suicide since 1982. Mark Knopfler is on the case.

Rogue Gunner, a veteran of the war, has plenty of nifty
 stuff.

I’m sure that there’s more; if anyone has a good link, e-mail or leave it in comments.

Paying For Toxic Global Warming

[ 0 ] May 29, 2007 | Scott Lemieux

I understand that it’s politically difficult to institute the kinds of policies–most importantly energy taxes–that would be necessary to substantially reduce carbon emissions. But one good first step would be to stop directly subsidizing dirty energy.

There, There

[ 0 ] May 29, 2007 | Scott Lemieux

General J.C. Christian kindly consoles Ace O. Spades, heterosexual, over the latest humiliation of the wingnutosphere’s Junior Detective division:

I see Greenwald is doing it to you again, and frankly, I’m disgusted by it. I mean, here we have a guy who refuses to answer his nations call to take up his keyboard and go to war against the Worldwide Islamunistofascist Conspiracy and its servants in the media and the Demislamunistofascistsatanic Party, and chooses, instead, to fact check you and Chuck Johnson, two of America’s greatest keyboard heroes.

I know he thinks he’s exposed you as some frightened, hate-crazed supremacist with delusions of martial grandeur, and maybe you are, but who’s to say that isn’t a good thing. It certainly works for Dick Cheney.

Yes, things look bleak right now. Certainly, to most observers, the fact that the State Department authenticated a document you claimed was forged does tend to make you look like an idiot.

Fortunately we know better. Fuck Greenwald and those of his ilk who are stabbing America in the back with cold hard facts. We have a war to win. We don’t have time for facts or reality. They are merely crutches for the weak. We will build our own reality; a reality where going to war with Iraq was a smart move; a reality where all men are strong and ruggedly handsome and, by God, a reality in which all women are eager to sleep with us even if we live in our mother’s basement eating Cheetos and compulsively masturbating to reruns of 24.

I must echo these sentiments, in the interests of civility.

…Speaking of the Schiavo memo, a compendium of Powerline’s greatest hits.

Worst American Birthdays, vol. XVI

[ 0 ] May 28, 2007 | davenoon

Rudy Giuliani, the twice-divorced ex-mayor and erstwhile drag queen of New York City, celebrates his 63rd birthday today as he marches onward in his quest to become the nation’s chief authoritarian. As President of the United States, Giuliani would likely go farther than any of his predecessors in banishing squeegee operators, panhandlers, porn merchants and ferrets from the surface of the earth; he would then offer persuasive (if statistically spurious) claims to the effect that his policies had reduced terrorism while raising property values and stimulating tourism.

Although “America’s Mayor” has not followed some of his rivals in promising to “double Gitmo” should he ascend to higher office in 2008, Giuliani would likely be more inclined than other candidates to sufficiently equip Camp Delta with the toilet plungers our interrogators so desperately need to protect America from further attack. As well, white Americans could sleep peacefully each night, secure in their knowledge that dangerous, wallet-wielding Guineans (like Amadou Diallo) and drug-deal-refusing off-duty Haitian security guards (like Patrick Dorismond) will not live to see the next sunrise. If nothing else, President Giuliani could rally the nation’s morale by converting his old Street Crimes Unit into a global special ops force, complete with t-shirts — just as in the good old days — announcing that the U.S. “owns the night” and that “there is no hunting like the hunting of man.” Perhaps Giuliani’s former business partner, police commissioner and dear friend Bernard Kerik — should he avoid prosecution and imprisonment for an arc of felonies reaching years into the past — could renew his bid to preside over the Department of Homeland Security.

Whatever the future holds for Rudy, however, one thing is clear. If this nation is to persevere in the Global War Against People Who Resemble in Some Vague Way the People Who Carried Out the 9-11 Attacks, we need to be as well-prepared and coordinated as the city of New York was on that fateful morning in 2001.

Lend A Hand

[ 0 ] May 28, 2007 | Scott Lemieux

Christy on Memorial Day, with many suggestions of what you can do to help.

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