Goal!

Ole ole! Congratulations to Spain overcoming a gritty Dutch side for their first ever World Cup victory! Enjoy the party for the rest of the week. Next week it’s back to that pesky debt crisis.

Just when you thought it was safe to point the intercontinental ballistic missiles somewhere else, the Cold War returns baby! Early last week the Justice Department announced they had arrested 10 Russian citizens accused of espionage against the United States, on behalf of the Russian government.  Russia, of course, denied the accusations.  What self-respecting nation would admit to espionage against another.  (To co-opt a phrase, the first rule of spy club is; you don’t talk about spy club.)  But by the end of the week, the accused spies were on an airplane back to Europe, to be exchanged for several persons convicted of espionage against Russia, on behalf of the United States.

Much ado about very little?  Probably.  In fact, the whole story is a little disappointing.  It’s like the “Evil Empire” isn’t even trying anymore.  According to the DOJ, the accused spies were charged with collecting information like attitudes toward Russia and American’s feelings regarding the election of Barack Obama.  Apparently they don’t get CNN in Moscow.  But perhaps the most amusing part of this saga was the reaction of people who for some reason seemed to think that espionage was somehow a thing of the past.  Nations spy on other nations, regardless of how warm the relations might be.  This country spends 700 billion dollars a year on defense.  You didn’t think that was all bombs and bullets, did you?

Speaking of war, two weeks ago Republican National Committee Chairman and perpetual comic relief agent Michael Steele stumbled over what was either a miserable attempt at revisionist history, or the most incredulous case of selective amnesia ever recorded.  Speaking at a fundraiser, Steele launched into an attack on the President’s war policy, claiming that Afghanistan was Obama’s “war of choice,” and not something the United States had “actively pursued” prior to Obama taking office.  I never cease to be astounded by the ability of the Republican leadership and sympathetic talking heads to completely forget/ignore eight full years of history.  It’s as if January 2001 to January 2009 never happened.  Just to refresh Steele’s memory, we have been engaged in Afghanistan since October of 2001, seven years and eight months before the current President took office.  Steele went on to admonish the President for remaining engaged in Afghanistan, insisting instead that we withdraw and leave Afghans to their own devices, even throwing in a Princess Bride reference about never getting involved in a land war in Asia.  I’m sure that sentiment accurately sums up the feelings of many Democrats who voted for the President a year-and-a-half ago.  Not only did he “misremember” eight years of history, he also forgot which party he currently claims to lead.  At this point I’m actually a little worried about him.  I think he would forget his brain if it weren’t locked so securely inside his shiny, shiny skull.

In the early hours of New Year’s Day, 2009, 24-year-old Oscar Grant and several others were detained by two Bay Area Rapid Transit Officers at a train platform in Oakland, California, following a fight aboard the train.  Following some sort of altercation, (what actually took place is the subject of dispute), officers - of which there were now seven - attempted to arrest Oscar Grant.  According to the officers, Grant resisted arrest.  He was forced face down to the ground and restrained by Officers Tony Pirone and Johannes Mesherle.  Feeling Grant was still refusing to comply, Mesherle directed Pirone to back away, then rose to his feet, drew his weapon and shot Grant once in the back.  Oscar Grant died in hospital seven hours later.  Mesherle maintains he intended to draw his Taser, not his firearm, and never intended to kill Grant.  Last Thursday, a Los Angeles jury agreed.  Johannes Mesherle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and not guilty of either second degree murder or voluntary manslaughter.

Was justice served in this case?  I don’t know.  It seems to depend on what color you, and/or what side of the proverbial track you live on.  The supporters of the police claim Oscar Grant’s death was an accident, that he was resisting arrest and Officer Mesherle simply made a tragic mistake.  Supporters of Oscar Grant’s family claim Mesherle lost control of his emotions and murdered an unarmed, restrained man. On one hand, I certainly don’t think Johannes Mesherle intended to kill Oscar Grant on that train platform.  I don’t think Mesherle intended to put a bullet through Grant’s back either.  But, on the other, it’s clear that Mesherle intended to shot Grant with something.  Hypothetically, if Mesherle had intended to say, rob someone, but ended up shooting and killing said person in the process, he would be guilty of murder in the first degree.  The fact that Mesherle may have intended only to stun Grant with 50,000 volts of electricity, then somehow failed to notice he had instead drawn his firearm before he fired warrants something more than a verdict of simple negligence.

The disturbing aspect of this verdict for me is this.  We as a society have given the police license to kill in order to protect us from those who would do us harm.  But with great power comes great responsibility.  Those with the power of life and death must be held to a higher standard when exercising that power.  “Oops I wasn’t paying attention,” isn’t good enough when someone’s life is at stake.  At least it shouldn’t be.  A uniform, badge and a license to kill should not be a shield against fatal acts of carelessness.

Headline in the online edition of today’s Wall Street Journal; Limbaugh Gets Mega Millions on Condo Sale.  I’ve spent the last hour trying to understand why the Wall Street Journal thinks that is news.

In an incredibly embarrassing display of self-aggrandizement last Thursday, LeBron James announced he will spend the next five years in South Beach, playing basketball fro the Miami heat.  During those five years with Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and nine other chumps, James promised fans not three, not four, not five, not six (whaaa?), but seven championships.  I guess that’s the new math.

I typically don’t write about basketball.  I haven’t paid much attention to the NBA since Michael Jordan retired the second time.  But this James free-agency business isn’t really about basketball. It’s really about the difference between being a first-class businessman and a first-class jerk. In less than sixty minutes, LeBron James managed to transform himself from one of the most popular athletes in the country to the most hated man in basketball, primarily because either he or his “people” couldn’t exercise a little self control.

Let’s be very clear about this. Nobody - except maybe the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers - has any problem with James shopping his talents to the highest bidder. Most people would jump into a pool of piranas for a guaranteed $16 million a year, I can’t imagine just sitting in my living room and having ten guys in thousand-dollar suits walk in and throw suitcases of money at me. What people object to is the manner in which the whole affair was handled. He could have announced his decision on Sportscenter, al-la his new teammates Wade and Bosh. He could have called a press conference at his house. He could have “tweeted” his intentions to his followers. He could have made any number of courteous, professional, business-like decisions. Instead, he attended some parties in Florida and Connecticut, then rolled up to perhaps the only Boys and Girls Club in America where the families of the kids there make more money than he does, and conduct an hour-long special consisting of video highlights of his greatness, the announcement of his decision, and then interviews during which he explained how difficult it was for him to leave Lake Erie winters for sunny South Beach. In fact, he didn’t have the where-with-all to inform his current team he was leaving. One of his associates sent a text message to the team only seconds before the live announcement was made.

It’s one thing to break up with your high school sweetheart. It’s another thing entirely to break up with your high school sweetheart for her younger, sexier, rival on national television. It was selfish, classless, and a really bad idea. And on top of all that, James has now set expectations so high, that if Miami does not win a championship this season - and multiples before his new contract expires - this will go down as the biggest failure/worst blunder in the modern history of the sport. Perhaps winning will cure all ills, perhaps it won’t. One thing is for sure. Losing will make he persona non-grata in two cities, instead of just one.

Many of the Dutch soccer fans attending the festivities in South Africa over the past month actually DROVE there. All the way from Holland. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a road trip.

Finally, there really is nothing like the feeling of going out on top. Congratulations to Paul the Oracle Octopus on his retirement from the World Cup prediction business with a perfect 8-0 record. Maybe he’ll transition into predicting election outcomes in his spare time, provided he can avoid the menu at some fancy German restaurant.