Rapid punches

This time it's an homage to Junior Miller instead of Blackie Sherrod.

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There is no need for me to eulogize William F. Buckley, as there so many touching tributes from his friends and colleagues. But I would be remiss if I did not thank him for his influence on me and on this country. I was introduced to him on early editions of Firing Line, which began just as I was really becoming interested in politics and history, and he was an inspiration to me over the years. To one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century…RIP.

CORRECTION: Firing Line debuted in 1966, earlier than I had thought - I'm not quite that old.

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The perfect illustration of the politically correct mindset is captured in this headline from London’s Daily Mail:

“Government Renames Islamic Terrorism As ‘Anti-Islamic Activity’ To Woo Muslims.”

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Speaking of PC idiocy, the fascists at the NCAA have strong-armed another yet team into changing their name, Arkansas State plays their last home game as the Indians tonight. Apparently white liberals would rather them honor indigenous animals than indigenous people.

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From John Hollinger’s analysis (no free link) of the Primoz Brezec-Juan Dixon trade:

“The Euraptors were crestfallen when they acquired Dixon at the deadline last season and found out he was American. Exchanging him for Brezec fixes that nagging problem.”

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Every time I hear of the “scientific consensus” vis-a-vis global warming, I’m reminded of an Albert Einstein quote which I read in a Jay Nordlinger column.

In the 1930’s, 100 “Aryan” scientists signed a letter attacking Einstein and saying his Theory of Relativity was a Jewish hoax. Asked for a response, Einstein said “If what they were saying were true, one signature would have been enough.”

Indeed.

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John Hinderaker on the reeling New York Times: “[I]f a newspaper devotes its resources and its inherited goodwill with the public over a period of decades to advance the interests of one of our political parties, sooner or later people will notice.”

The paper has never quite caught on to the fact that, with the elimination of the Fairness Doctrine in the late ‘80’s and the explosion of the internet in the late 90’s, dissenting points of view can now be heard and thus partisan spin is no longer accepted uncritically. Now it’s too late for the once great newspaper to regain its dignity.

Lest you think it’s only newspapers, recall Dan Rather and CBS running a fake story in an attempt to swing the 2004 presidential election to their preferred candidate.

The old media are so desperate to see a Democrat elected that there's no telling what kind of shenanigans we'll see in the coming months. It's only February and they're already in full campaign mode before they even have a candidate!

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Did you catch Jesse Jackson’s take on the Super Bowl?

"Look at the Super Bowl last Sunday, New England vs. the Giants. They were able to transcend race because the playing field was even. The rules were public and the goals were clear, and there was inherent justice in the competition.''

Who knew Jackson was such an opponent of “affirmative action?”

Scattershooting

Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Chuck Nevitt:

Trivia I would never have been able to answer: Name the only two NCAA Division I colleges who have won a national championship in football (mythical, since the NCAA does not crown a champion at the highest level), basketball or baseball in each of the last four decades.

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Bob Novak brings us the sad story of how the Democrat leadership in the House, when forced to make a choice between saving US lives or increasing billable hours for trial lawyers, chose…well, you can guess.

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If the Lakers are invited to play Celebrity Jeopardy, it might be a good idea to leave Lamar Odom at home. After their February 6 loss in Atlanta Phil Jackson said his team was disjointed. When asked if he agreed with that assessment, Odom said “I don’t even know what disjointed means.”

Given Lamar’s past, he probably guessed it means it’s time to re-up.

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Have you noticed that every mass shooting happens in a “gun-free zone” – schools, post offices and the like? And that on those rare occasions when they are stopped it’s because they run into somebody else with a gun? There’s a lesson in there somewhere…now what could it be?

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Jason Kidd will be happy to get back to Dallas for so many reasons, but don’t overlook the fans. Earlier in the season, when asked why the Nets play harder on the road he replied "Maybe more people in the seats?"

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It was nice to see activist Bob Geldof effusively praising President Bush and our policies in Africa, a reminder that the wailing about how the perception of the US has dropped throughout the world is based more on the success of anti-American propagandists getting their message out than on reality. Usefully illustrating the point, major American papers ignored the story (as they do with pretty much any news that reflects positively on the US and/or the president), with only Investor’s Business Daily in addition to the linked Washington Times article even mentioning it.

Thankfully, there is a thriving alternative media out there. The bad news is that you have to work a little to find it, with most passively having their worldview shaped or at least influenced by anti-American elites.


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One more reason college basketball is a joke: Drake beat Iowa in Iowa City for the first time in 40 years due in no small part to the fact that Iowa shot 0, that’s zero/zip/nada, free throws.

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Trivia answer: Oklahoma (1974-75-85 football, 1994 baseball, 2000 football) and Cal State Fullerton (1979-84-95-2004 baseball).

That 70's Game?

Late in tonight's Lakers-Suns game, which was arguably the most entertaining game the NBA has seen in years (and thus the polar opposite of last year's Finals, the worst basketball I've ever seen), the great Hubie Brown said the game reminded him of basketball in the 70's.

I wondered which half of each team's roster he thought were coming down or strung out from their latest drug binge. I grew up watching 70's ball, and loved it at the time, but looking back the thing that stands out about the era was the ridiculously uneven play of players and entire teams due to the rampant drug abuse that infected the game at the time. There's a reason why there was so much parity in especially the second half of the decade.

And the thing is, Hubie knows this - he was there on the sidelines as a young coach.

All that said, I know what he meant, and his point is well-taken - that was some high quality stuff. I love several other sports, but there is nothing quite like NBA ball being played at that level.

You have to be healthy

One of these NFL teams that lost the most games to injury this year is not like the others:

1. Denver (7-9) 69 games lost
2. Indianapolis (13-3) 64 games lost
3. Miami (1-15) 60 games lost
4. Atlanta (4-12) 58 games lost
5. Baltimore (5-11) 57 games lost
6. Buffalo (7-9) 55 games lost
7. Cincinnati (7-9) 54 games lost
8. St. Louis (3-13) 54 games lost
9. Detroit (7-9) 53 games lost
10t. Chicago (7-9) 52 games lost
10t. Washington (9-7) 52 games lost

Wow, how good was that Indianapolis team? At least as good as New England, and probably a repeat Super Bowl champ, had they been only able to keep their team on the field.

Hat tip: Bob Sturm.

Scattershooting

Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Clay Johnson:

Did you catch Ted Kennedy's howler in endorsing Barack Obama? Mary Jo's last chauffeur said that Obama "truly has the power to inspire and make America good again, from sea to shining sea."

Shouldn't believing that this is not merely a good, but a great, country be a bare minimum prerequisite for public office?

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James Taranto brings up a question I've also pondered:

In an age of heightened sensitivity over slurs involving race, religion, sexual orientation and so forth, why is anti-American bigotry considered socially acceptable?

Certainly slurring America is no less offensive than slurring preferred groups. But for some reason the same folks who condemn slurs against blacks, or women, or gays have no problem with, and even participate in, the slurring of blacks and women and gays, all at the same time, in the form of slurring Americans. Rank hypocrisy, that.

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Police: Crack Found in Man's Buttocks

If not, a run-in with the law is the least of his problems!

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My favorite story of this election season is that Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential candidate Barack Obama are eighth cousins.

You already suspected that Obama was just another piece of the vast Halliburton conspiracy, right?

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Kobe Bryant, closet neocon?: "I'm a soldier, man. It's not a soldier's job to question whether or not he should fight the war. You've got to go over there and fight. It's not my place."

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Who's overpaid? According to Forbes, the top 10 CEO's earned an average of $59 million in 2004, while the top 10 athletes/entertainers earned an average of $116 million the same year.

Of course it was a trick question anyway...none of them are overpaid, they are just earning what the market will bear for their services. Nothing could be more American than that.

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Idiot alert: This is from an actual letter to the editor from an actual human being to the Oregonian, whom I will not embarrass by printing his name (The paper was not so kind).

It's incredible that so few understand and are alarmed by the very high probability that humans will very soon be extinct if we don't greatly reduce the number of people depending on the planet's limited life-support systems.

The United Nations' conclusion that "only urgent global action will do" in dealing with climate change (Nov. 18) is sobering indeed. But since human activity is the primary cause, the solution is a right-in-our-face no-brainer: Reduce human activity! And do it now, with aggressive, mandatory, global birth control! [...]

Life on Earth could be truly beautiful for all living things if there weren't so many humans competing for all the good things it has to offer. [...]

There's no time left for arguing. [...]

I get that this dolt thinks that humans are so evil that the only answer is global fascism, but why birth control? Why not just cut out the middleman (err, middlewoman)? Wouldn't concentration camps and mass executions be a more efficient means of accomplishing his goal? That has worked (and is still working, in places like North Korea and Cuba) for Nazis and communists for close to a century now, how could the author not have thought of it?

Maybe he just doesn't think the problem is really that urgent.

For skanks, it started New Year's Day

Valentine's Day kicks off mating season for skunks

While on the subject, make sure to check out Gordo's Valentine cards.

ONEdefeated

Back in the days when I rooted for NFL teams for something other than financial considerations, my favorite teams were Miami and Oakland. So I'm thrilled for everybody from Griese, Csonka and Buonoconti to Den Herder, Swift and Seiple and all the rest. I raise a glass of 18 year old McAllen's in your honor.

As for the best team of all time talk, I was never fully convinced in the case of these Patriots. They were a transcendent offensive team, but I have a hard time buying a team with little running game and a pedestrian defense as the best ever. Of course I have never considered the undefeated 1972 Dolphins the best team ever, either.

I reserve that for one of, and I am never sure which one, of the 1973 Dolphins, 1985 Bears and 1998 Broncos. Ultimately the 2007 Patriots fall into a group with the 2005 and 1968 Colts, teams that might well belong in that inner circle had they closed the deal.

The good news for New England, in which I'm sure they will find no comfort on this difficult night, is that those 1968 Colts won it all two years later and those 2005 Colts won it all the following year.

The bad news for them is that at least one of their previous championships, and perhaps others, is at best tainted and at worst totally undeserved and that they just do not belong in the discussion of the greatest teams ever, period.

I'll leave the role of things like lack of class or karma coming due to others to hash out.