Hockey Standings

Now for something completely irrelevant.

I follow the Islanders. They are supposed to be a hockey team. It’s hard to tell sometimes.

The NHL is in the middle of its regular season, an 80+ game marathon of dullness designed to whittle 30 teams down to the 16 that make the playoffs, which is the only thing that matters in hockey (or the NBA, for that matter).

The play is significantly different in the post-season, much more exciting. The difference between regular season hockey and playoff hockey is the difference between, say, Howard Dean and a thinking human.

Hockey breaks its teams down to 2 conferences, then each conference into 3 divisions.

Eight teams make the playoffs from each conference– the three division winners and the next 5 teams with the best record. So it doesn’t matter, not even a little, if your team is in 2nd or 3rd or 5th in your division—it only matters if you are in that next group of 5 in the whole conference.

Here’s my complaint— all of the NY newspapers give the standings broken down, as per the NHL’s wishes I presume, into these fictional, meaningless divisions. They give us lots of information– the teams records, their home and away records, how they did in their last 10 games, etc.

But they don’t tell us whether, if the season ended today, our team would be in the playoffs, nor how many points out of the playoffs they are.

In other words, we get lots of information, but little of it useful.

So at least once a week, I have to count off the teams with higher point totals than the Islanders to see how they’re dong. How hard would it be to add a column showing playoff status, or, even better, to simply list the conference in point order, with a little asterisk for the "division" leaders?

With all that’s going on in the world, I admit freely that this is a silly complaint. But hockey’s regular season is a silly endeavor, so I suppose this post is a fitting one.

Friday Quickies

....I was in a local CVS the other evening and I swear I saw this classic scene with a new twist: a young guy, maybe in his 20's, was staring miserably at a wall of feminine products. As I passed him I heard him say into his cell phone "I have no idea....there's dozens....I don't know...hold on....".

Whereupon he took the phone from his ear and took a picture of the products on display.

What a great use for a camera-phone!

.....Here on Long Island the Roslyn school scandal is starting to wind down. This is the case where over $11 million dollars was stolen by the Superintendent, the Business manager, etc.

Most of the culprits in this juicy scandal have pled guilty-- the sentencing is starting.

Unfortunately, the now-former DA pled the cases down to ridiculously low charges; indeed, that may have been the key reason the 30-year incumbent lost the November election.

The first sentence, that of an accountant who helped cover up the crime, was pathetically short-- 4 months.

Now this guy didn't steal any money, but the others did and their sentences will also be relatively short. Horrible. These criminals not only stole from the kids in their district, but they've made it harder for other districts to pass budgets.

I don't believe in leniency for so-called white collar crime. They should be stripped of all assets, rendered with fines and restitution that will keep them poor forever, and sentenced to long prison terms.

And I think that goes for every thief, embezzler, stock fraud artist, etc. People who don't play by the rules shouldn't be allowed to profit from their actions.

.....Isaiah Thomas, the General Manager of the Knicks has been sued for sexual harrassment. One of the allegations that has cropped up is that Isaiah regularly cuts deals with hotel doormen to steer opposing players to strip clubs, in the hopes they tire themselves out too much to play well against the Knicks the next night.

Um, Isaiah. It ain't working.

In fact, opposing teams are playing so well at Madison Square Garden that maybe it's time for Isaiah to take the Knicks on a field trip, if you know what I mean.

.....It's been a while since we've had a war that's lasted this long. Stories are cropping up about the strain on the Army, the plight of the vets as they come home, etc.

Sooner or later somebody is going to call for a new G.I. bill for returning soldiers. Regardless of its form, it will be costly.

I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is the supposedly-conservative Republican Congress continuing to spend money like drunken sailors on leave, without due consideration for the actual costs of this necessary war on terror.

It is horrendous that our soldiers have to supplement their own body armor, or make make-shift armor for their vehicles.

Worse is that there is a need for private funding for a facility such as the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund's proposed medical facility:

The center will serve military personnel who have been catastrophically disabled in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The center will also serve military personnel and veterans severely injured in other operations and in the normal performance of their duties, combat and non-combat related.

The center will encompass a 60,000 square foot structure, providing ample space and facilities for the rehabilitation needs of the patients and their caregivers. It will be constructed on a site sufficient in size to meet the needs of the center’s patients and caregivers and will include $35 million in top of the line indoor and outdoor facilities.

$35 million dollars. Ridiculous. That's less than 20% of the cost of the "bridge-to-nowhere" pork special being built in Alaska.

I know the situation would be worse if the Democrats were in charge. But this isn't why I vote Republican.

We need some sanity, but I fear it will come too late to save the Senate and the House. Hastert and Frist and DeLay and Stevens and the rest should be ashamed of themselves.

.....And now a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:

"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have."

Speech to veterans, Springfield, IL, July 4, 1903

Palestinian Vote

The problem with democracy is that sometimes people we don't like win elections.

Hamas seems to have made substantial gains in the Palestinian election. Is that bad? Who knows? Was Arafat's party helpful, in any way? Could Arafat's party sign any meaningful accord, or lead the Palestinians to peace? Apparently not, given the history of the region.

The followers of Hamas would never trust an agreement they didn't participate in, anyway-- if there is anyone they trust less than the Israelis it's the Fatah. So their having Cabinet seats, in the tent so to speak, just may be helpful.

If not, well there's always another round of suicide bomber followed by tanks followed by, followed by...

But imagine a true peace. The Palestinians say they want schools, and hospitals and jobs. All of those good things are at their fingertips.

The Palestinians may not have oil, but they have Nazareth.

If Western tourists could spend Christmas in Bethlehem? The West Bank would have more hotels per square foot than Vegas.

Maybe Hamas can pull off a Nixon-to-China in that tortured area.

Alito & the Constitution

My good friend BaftertheFact has an intriguing, if misguided, analysis of Alito and his relationship to the Constitution, and how it differs from Bork's. I recommend it as interesting to read, though I tend to agree more with his analysis of the Mets than his analysis of...well, just about anything else!

Buried in his post may be the real crux of the difference between conservative and liberal judges-- it's not that Alito favors guns in the schoolyard (a type of Paul Begala nonsensical spin on a learned decision which is part of the cause for the polarization of America)-- it's that we move from a government of restricted powers and functions at our risk.

In retrospect, B (and the federal courts ultimately) were correct last year on Schiavo-- the federal government had no business interfering. I was wrong. I admit it freely.

While I heartily agree with the sentiment and the desire to try to save that poor woman's life, Congress had no right, no power, to override the State. We fell into the typical liberal trap of trying to use whatever power we could stretch from the body of government in our (temporary) control to right a perceived wrong. It’s an alluring but extremely dangerous road to wander down.

The danger is in this: as the Founding Fathers observed, and as history has borne them out, every government, at every level and in every branch, seeks to grow in power, moving inexorably towards absolutism, like an errant satellite in a decaying orbit spiraling towards the Earth. We have to keep them in check or we ultimately lose our freedoms.

The genius of the American Constitution isn’t that it set out a set of rules—many had done it before. It’s that for the first time ever a government was based on the premise that power rested with the People, and that the Federal government was given limited rights—not the other way around.

The question therefore isn't whether guns should be banned from schoolyards--it's who gets to do it.

I still say one of the things that's made Roe v. Wade such a country-rendering decision is that a huge portion of the country felt cheated-- and have rebelled because, in the words of every kid who feels she didn't get to speak her mind-- "It's not fair!

If the Court had followed "originalism" it would have declined to interject itself in what is clearly a state issue-- it would have kept Congress from interfering, and it would have allowed the states, one by one, to legalize abortion through their respective legislatures.

Abortion would have had the political effect of gambling, rather than slavery.

The West Wing (R.I.P.)

My wife and I have been big TWW fans since the outset. We've followed it through all of its changes, good seasons and bad.

I thought what they were doing, trying to morph the show on the fly, was interesting and exciting.

NBC announced yesterday they are canceling the show at the end of the season. Too bad. It would have been fun to see if they could have pulled off a wholesale switch in cast, especially if they would have had Alan Alda's Republican elected President.

Oh, well. I've lived through the untimely demise of other shows I thought had quality, too many to mention, though I may spend a little time thinking about them today (some off the top of my mind-- Sports Night, Star Trek, The Odd Couple, Cupid, Chicago Hope, ...I'll remember more).

I guess this will give NBC some airspace to show something of quality-- like another "Joey"or a show with bulimic celebrities--"Barfing with the Stars".

Friday Quickies (On a Saturday)

....Jets hired a new coach, one who is about 12 years old. This movement to hire younger and younger coaches and General Managers in sports is an interesting one. I don't really know what it means.

I do know the guy isn't old enough to be President, and I'm not sure I feel comfortable with entrusting something as important as the Jets with someone who can't even have access to the nuclear launch codes. Priorities, people.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, I hope the teams I root for remember the words of that old sage Casey Stengel, who in commenting on a young phenom said that he was 19 years old and in ten years he had a chance of being 29.

Nothing wrong with hiring young people-- I do it all the time. But as the Red Sox are finding with their whiz-kid Theo Epstein, often-times youth brings a lack of maturity that can wind up being a major distraction. And quality comes at any age-- see Jack McKeon and the Marlins.

But these are the Jets that I'm talking about now, so the odds are this kid crashes and burns by next November. Stay tuned.

.....Last night my wife and younger daughter and some good friends went to a small club on the Lower East Side to see a wonderful young singer/songwriter, Nadine Goellner play. I think we've seen her four or five times this past year.

I love Manhattan, and this gives me an excuse to go in, walk around the neighborhood for a bit, grab a bite to eat and hear some great music. It's a fun night out.

Three thoughts struck me last night as we walked about, looking for a restaurant before heading to the club.

First, the area is in transition, as all of Manhattan always is. I saw an interview with Woody Allen the other evening and he described NY as a kaliedescope, always changing. On the Lower East Side you can see the change as it's happening-- shops closing and re-opening, construction and build-outs scattered throughout, restaurants growing in number and sophistication, a host of music venues. It's still grittier than many other areas, but you can see it budding.

Second, there should be a sign over each and every bridge, tunnel and roadway in NY saying: Thank God for Rudy Giuliani.

Before Rudy cleaned the City up, no way would I have taken my family on this excursion. No way would we have walked around. No way would I have felt safe enough. It is impossible to explain to people how bad NY was until Rudy. And it's impossible to understand how we let it get that bad.

Third, does seeing a performer this often mean I am officially the oldest groupie in America?

....I see the government finally arrested some eco-terrorists. Good.

Violence and senseless destruction of property is not only wrong, obviously, but it's hurtful to the conservation movement. There is a much better way.

I have been a subscriber to PERC, (the Property and Environment Research Center) for a number of years. Month after month they sponsor and publish fascinating reports on ways we can save and nurture the environment through the use of sound, conservative, market-based methods.

For example, their latest journal includes articles on using advertising to aid waterways (Advertising for Clean Water -- "Doing Good While Doing Well"), the dangers of using the "precautionary principle" in analyzing environmental risks (A Cautionary Tale), and the need for more private ownership of woodlands to save them (A Ticket to Tragedy).

Since the days in Philosophy 101 when I first read "The Tragedy of the Commons" I have been aware of the need for a role for marketplace in environmental stewardship. Recognizing, maintaining and extending the rights of private property may be the best way we have to save our environment. PERC looks at those issues in plain language and with common sense. That doesn't mean there isn't a role for government. It means that there are ways to structure our system so that the forces that drive the market can be used to effectively manage and secure the environment. We conservatives can't always be suspicious of government; liberals can't always be suspicious of business. The two have to work hand in hand, or we'll never get a handle on this greatest of all challenges.

And, finally, a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:

"The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others."

Address to the Deep Waterway Convention, Memphis, TN, October 4, 1907

Interesting Reads

Much to do today, but I wanted to point out a few interesting reads:

My good friends and I have exchanged a few shots in the comment section of BAfterthe Fact;

A Constrained Vision, consistently one of the best blogs out there, takes a nice turn on the application process and feigned naivete in general;

The Education Wonks, simply a must read for anyone in, or with an interest in, American education, has just sponsored its 50th Carnival of Education. Read and participate-- both a re easy and enjoyable to do;

And finally the Sterns, T.F. and Lucy, offer worthwhile reading every time.

Enjoy the day!

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy & The Golden Globes

I don't, as a regular rule, ascribe to many conspiracy theories. I waver on Oswald and the magic bullet, but other than that there are few that I buy into.

I don't believe in aliens and Area 54; I believe oil prices rise because of opportunism, not concerted conduct; I think the Yankees win often because of money, not the rigging of games to get better TV ratings; I don't think there are many huge secret government projects out there, mostly because I've never seen one in my lifetime that didn't come to light sooner rather than later; and I know the enemy of the last occupant of the White House was not a vast right-wing conspiracy, but rather a zipper that couldn't stay up for an owner who had no morals, no decency and no discretion.

That said, I am now sure of the existence of one conspiracy: the Hollywood left is attempting to pave the way for Hillary by shoving Commander-in-Chief down our throats.

The plan is to make America comfortable with the idea of a woman President, i.e. Hillary.

This is not a new theory. When I first heard it, I dismissed it. That said, for Geena Davis to win the Golden Globe last evening proves even to a skeptic like me that there are darker forces at play here.

The reality is that Commander-in-Chief is a horrible show. Geena Davis is not only unconvincing, she is so wooden I'm surprised she hasn't sprouted leaves.

Now understand that I am a HUGE The West Wing fan. I enjoyed The American President. Back in the day, I laughed right along with All in the Family, including their prescient Ronald Reagan jokes.

I have no problem with fictional Democrats in power. Only real ones.

If you haven't seen Commander-in-Chief yet, and you have a hankering for an anesthetic-free root canal but can't find a drunk dentist, give the show a shot.

If you have seen the show you know two things: the ratings they claim are rigged and not only is there no way this show wins any awards, even the actors own mothers are saying, "It's OK honey, even Tom Hanks had his moments--remember The Bonfire of the Vanities-- you'll be OK".

The producers of Commander-in-Chief should distribute free barf bags to their regular viewers-- ones that have "Hillary For President" printed on the side, of course.

Good Job, NASA

If you knock somebody when things go wrong, I figure you have to say congrats when they go right:

Good job by NASA on the space-dust mission. Pretty amazing when you think about it-- they sent a probe up, travelled 3 billion miles, grabbed a piece of comet-tail and landed, bang!- right on the base they were aiming for.

Amazing indeed. Even moreso when you think about this-- how hard is it for a quarterback to hit a receiver 40 yards downfield? NASA hit this comet a helluva lot farther away!

Friday Quickies

.....Angelina Jolie is pregnant with Brad Pitt's baby. I was surprised that the announcement was by press release, and not a choir of heavenly hosts.

Maybe the angels will announce, I don't know... the marriage.

Or, next year, the divorce.

.....Joe Biden has called for the end of confirmation hearings. Just go to the Senate floor and debate the nominee's statements," the Delaware senator said, "instead of this game."

After watching the outrageous conduct of the Senators during these confirmation hearings since Bork, and the resultant weasling of the nominees in order to get confirmed, I tend to agree with him. The hearings are a waste.

Of course, Joe Biden, he of the 11 minute monologue followed by a dumb question or two, is a prime cause of this nonsense.

But my question is this-- who did Biden plagarize this idea from?

....Any death is a cause for reflection, if not mourning. The death of hundreds in the past few days as part of an annual Muslim ritual must give us all pause.

Unfortunately, the first thought that came to my mind is that, well, there goes 400 fewer potential car bombers. It’s not a thought that makes me feel better about myslf.

....I find myself reflexively oppositional to Christian fundamentalists.

Maybe it’s because I was born, raised and live in a multicultural, multi-religion area and I refuse to believe that wonderful, kind, generous people I know are condemned because of whether or how they choose to pray.

Maybe it’s because of disgusting idiots like Pat Robertson, or Jimmy Swaggart, or any of the host of other televangelists. Flip the stations on a Sunday morning and I defy you to determine if you are watching a religious broadcast or a Saturday Night Live satire.

Or maybe it’s because that at the same time we as a nation are spending money either in trying to back-door creationism into our schools, this time as “intelligent design”, or in trying to stop such lunacy, I read that our astronomy programs will be cut back for lack of funds.

In the words of the great Lewis Black, there are times I weep for my country.

.....Apropos the Senate hearings-- Bob Dole: "If you're hanging around with nothing to do and the zoo is closed, come over to the Senate. You'll get the same kind of feeling and you won't have to pay."

...And, finally, a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:

When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer "Present" or "Not guilty."

The Islanders

I don't mean for this to be a sports blog, but these are the stories that have hit me this week.

Reports this morning have the Islanders firing their head coach today. But apparently not (but perhaps so) their General Manager Mike Milbury. Milbury has been with the Islanders since 1995-- a long time in sports, especially since the Islanders have only made the playoffs a handful of times in those years, and never made any noise once in the playoffs.

Milbury is a great read. He is sarcastic, nasty and funny. Some of his best lines:

In the midst of a bitter contract dispute with the Islander's then-best player Ziggy Palffy and Palffy's agent Paul Kraus:

• "I think the agent is a moron and way in over his head."
• "It's too bad he lives in the city. He's depriving some small village of a pretty good idiot"
• "We hope that Ziggy will come to his senses. We have no hope Paul Kraus will."

Funny. Of course, Palffy was one of a looooong string of good players who have abandoned the Island. In fairness, for much of Milbury's tenure the Islanders had owners who either had money but didn't want to spend it or in fact had no money -- indeed, one of them was an actually real-life con artist, convicted and imprisoned! But he's also had Charles Wang's sizeable bankroll these last five years (four if you delete the strike season).

Another quote of Milbury's is telling:

• "I'm trying not to be really annoyed. But you know me. That won't last long."

For whatever reason- his personality, incompetence, the mis-alignment of the stars-the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Sterling, the guy getting the axe this morning, is Milbury's sixth coach, not counting two terms by himself.

If you have a manager in any business who has made 8 changes in a key position in 10 years, don't you have to question the manager's hiring judgment?

Mets, Jets, Knicks, Islanders. It ain't easy.

Maybe I should be like Hillary (Yes, I grew up in Chicago but now that I'm running for the Senate let me tell you I've always been a Yankee fan) and switch allegiances.

Nope. Can't do it. There's no honor in that at all- I'd rather suffer.

Update: The Islanders announced this morning that Milbury will be stepping aside as soon as a replacement can be found-- I guess this cat only had 8 lives.

Hall of Fame

I've no problem with today's Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, Bruce Sutter. He certainly fits the criteria.

But, having said that, there are 4 names that jump out at me as at least as deserving, if not moreso:

Goose Gossage: I would have put Gossage in ahead of Sutter, and I am a Met fan with a good deal of distaste for Yankees in general (and most Yankee fans in particular). That said, for a good part of his career Gossage was hands down the most feared and successful relief pitcher in baseball. He'd get my vote:

Jack Morris: Morris started three All-Star games, which tells you something right there. He was simply a great pitcher, a winner, and would have been the number 1 pitcher on every team in baseball in the 80's, except for those that already had a Hall of Fame-quality pitcher. He should be in.

Thurman Munson: Again, despite my anti-Yankee bias, I have no idea how he isn't in the Hall. He had the numbers, he was clutch, he was a leader, and the only two catchers he competed with during his days were Carlton Fisk and Johnny Bench, both of whom entered the Hall easily. He should be in.

Keith Hernandez: People say you win championships with pitching, defense and clutch hitting. Hernandez was the best fielder, at any position, I ever saw. He was to fielding what Lawrence Taylor was to linebacking. Add tremendous clutch hitting and leadership. Ozzie Smith is in: Hernandez was a much better hitter, and there was more space between Hernandez' fielding and other first baseman than there was between Smith and other shortstops. 11 consecutive Gold Gloves; an MVP; a lifetime batting average of .294. He should be in.

Frustration

I haven't written much since the summer. Pressing matters in life and business, mostly good by the way, have kept me from the keyboard.

But not now. I am moved, as they say.

By what?

By Alito? Presidential wire taps? The growing Hillary machine? Iraq? Global warming?

Nope.

The damn Jets.

I am a Jets fan. There. I said it.

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

After years of desperation, highlighted by faint glimmers of respectability dashed by the realities of a horror of an organization, you would think I would know better.

Now the Jets have lost their head coach, for, so the papers say, the lowest compensation ever received by a team for a head coach. So at least we have that going for us.

Ugh. I won't bore you with the litany of Jet disasters-- Kenny O'Brien, Kotite, Parcell's having a rookie throw a pass over the middle, Parcell's having a running back throw an interception against the Lions, missed field goals, Parcells is here, then he's gone, Belichick's here then he's gone leaving behind what looked for all the world like a hostage tape, the next coach leaves us for the University of freakin' Virginia, and on and on and on.

Thank God for the Saints and the Clippers or this may be deemed the worst sports franchise.

How does Bradway keep his job?

Of course, I'm also an Islander's fan. I take solace with them for they gave me four Stanley Cups in my lifetime, certainly more than a fan can expect.

But even there, how does Milbury (the GM) keep his job, through three owners?

It feels like my sports seasons run short-- the Mets, most years, through July; the Jets til November; the Knicks through, well, November; the Islanders til February.

You would think that would leave more time for writing, no?

Happy New Year

A happy, healthy, peaceful & prosperous New Year to all!