So, two fronts collided somewhere over Michigan Wednesday, a low from the southwest and a high from the northwest, and the result was about what you’d expect this time of year — lots of crap falling from the sky. We also had crazy wind, and me? I had sandals on. It was a warm day, after all. I hope they’re not ruined by the water sluicing through them on the way to the bus stop. The puddles were unavoidable.
Well, that’s city life. It’s not like I didn’t have warning; some schools were dismissed early, after the apocalyptic forecasts spooked everyone. They weren’t new sandals or anything.
And that is today’s excitement.
Time for some Small Faces, I think:
This will be old news by the time you read it, but when you think about it, it was old news all along: Yep, the NFL brass had the whole Ray Rice video all along. What a bunch of lying liar sleazebags.
This is also old news, but it’s big news, and it’s mostly Detroit news. However, we have to acknowledge it, because it’s news: The city’s way out of bankruptcy became a lot clearer when the most recalcitrant of its creditors appears to have reached a settlement that doesn’t involve taking paintings from the wall at the art museum. And I link mainly for this priceless quote:
Outside court, Syncora lawyer Stephen Hackney reflected on a 14-month journey during which he fought to liquidate the city’s art collection, tried to block repairs to miles of broken streetlights and leveled a “blistering” personal attack on federal mediators that drew a rebuke from the judge.
“It is interesting and ironic that we are both part of Detroit’s future,” Hackney said. “It feels better to be loving rather than fighting.”
Lawyers. You gotta love ’em.
Thanks so much for being so patient and good about keeping the chatter going through this month of Scant. I do appreciate it.
Hattie said on September 11, 2014 at 2:13 am
I count on you for the real news out of Detroit.
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Basset said on September 11, 2014 at 2:42 am
Ian McLagan, keyboard player in that video, is opening an indie record store’s backyard show in Nashville this Saturday. Believe he lives in Austin now.
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Dexter said on September 11, 2014 at 3:38 am
Rain, indeed. The Weather Channel’s page reports that on 9-10 Toledo received 0.72 inches of rain. Jim Cantore, reporting on their TV channel at 1900 hours, said “Toledo has gotten well over FOUR INCHES of rain since midnight.” I-475 was closed at Corey Road (top of the circle loop that is I-475) and The Anthony Wayne Trail was under water in places, and my daughter said she ventured out once but just could not find any major streets that let her feel safe , the water was so deep and moving about above the street surfaces. Here in Bryan we experienced hard rain from noon until about 9:00 PM.
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Dexter said on September 11, 2014 at 3:48 am
Kids then, much older now, they lived near enough to smell and taste the air, thirteen years ago.
http://nypost.com/2014/09/10/generation-911-growing-up-in-the-shadow-of-the-towers
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coozledad said on September 11, 2014 at 7:50 am
To think we could have had old Shitepants McAlzheimer’s as president:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/john-mccain-jay-carney
As one of the TPM commenters says, military government is always the solution with these people.
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adrianne said on September 11, 2014 at 7:58 am
I’ve been riveted by the Ray Rice coverage. Sadly, the “revelation” about when the NFL had the punch video was hardly a surprise.
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Suzanne said on September 11, 2014 at 8:06 am
I used to think McCain was a good politician, sensible guy, and all that. And then he unleashed Ms Palin on the world.
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beb said on September 11, 2014 at 8:21 am
Syncora is a bratty little kid who deserves to be smacked around a bit. They are in the business of insuring loans and bond sales. They have to assume that some of these are going to go bad. But when Detroit’s bond issue went bad they didn’t want to pay. Instead they’ve pissed and moaned and threatened to set fire to everything until they got their way.
In Ray Rice related news … Oscar Pistorius skates in 1st degree murder charges, may face manslaughter charges. Who know that if yu are an internationally reknown athelete, like Pistorius or OJ Simpson, you can get away with murder.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/verdict-due-oscar-pistorius-murder-trial/story?id=25422654
JCBurns – if we can have an “edit” button, how about a “preview” button so we can see if our HTML is right before hitting the “post” button?
Coozledad – I really think McCain is starting to show dementia. He’s always wrong, increasingly argumentative, and like The Joker, just wants to see the world burn.
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adrianne said on September 11, 2014 at 8:32 am
I, too, think McCain has lost it. Thank God he was not elected in 2008.
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Jeff Borden said on September 11, 2014 at 9:24 am
I was actually considering voting for McCain back in 2000. I had Clinton fatigue and was not thrilled about Al Gore. It’s sad that he turned into such a douche after Karl Rove torpedoed him in the primaries with all kinds of nasty shit. He’s just a crazy, wild-eyed loon these days. . .he and Lindsey Graham seem intent on keeping us scared to death 24/7. I hate `em both.
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BigHank53 said on September 11, 2014 at 10:17 am
I checked John McCain’s record out during the 2000 primaries. With that there newfangled AltaVista thing I found out that the Christian Coalition and Focus on the Family had given John McCain’s voting record 100% approval ratings. That showed me I could ignore whatever intriguing nonsense came out of McCain’s piehole, because he would always vote for the most hardline conservative option.
The man was one of the Keating Five. He married money and pretends he earned it. His high profile exists only because of his ability to produce nuggets for our turd-fondling talking heads.
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brian stouder said on September 11, 2014 at 10:47 am
And then, while NFL players cannot assault their significant others if there’s video tape, Olympians can murder their significant others, and then walk (or hobble) away.
Pistorius pissed all over justice, as celebrities with anger issues often do
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Charlotte said on September 11, 2014 at 11:00 am
Snow here this morning — fire in the new woodstove, and the puppy is manic with excitement.
The Ray Rice thing is a puzzlement to me. I don’t understand why the 2nd video changes anything. They thought she knocked herself out? To make him look bad? (Probably, those douches.) But I think football itself is at some sort of turning point — like when boxing started to wane in popularity and be viewed as barbaric.
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brian stouder said on September 11, 2014 at 11:15 am
Charlotte, an interesting point.
I recall when boxing was (somewhat) on my radar; Foreman and Frasier and (of course) Ali.
And now all it is, is a pay-per-view thing that exists somewhere in the ether (alongside kickboxing and all the rest) which is the cultural equivalent of shopping at the Dollar store
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Sherri said on September 11, 2014 at 11:25 am
The NFL might need a new commissioner; are you qualified? http://www.playboy.com/articles/nfl-commissioner-flowchart
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brian stouder said on September 11, 2014 at 11:56 am
Sherri – superb!
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Connie said on September 11, 2014 at 12:42 pm
Brian, I disagree. My husband has followed boxing as long as I have known him and has never done pay per view. That Mayweather fight will be shown for free a few days later, after all. My daughter grew up watching boxing from her father’s lap and as a school kid had a crush on Oscar DeLaHoya. I kind of think my hub’s interest grew out of growing up in a city with a serious Golden Gloves program.
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Deggjr said on September 11, 2014 at 12:46 pm
I am amazed at the amount of attention currently directed towards Ray Rice/Roger Goodell. I was in the car yesterday listening to ESPN radio and that is all they talked about.
My guess is there is a general media grudge against Goodell/NFL and so they are trapped in the media spotlight. I’m fine with that but my gosh, you’d think Goodell wore a tan suit.
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brian stouder said on September 11, 2014 at 1:59 pm
Connie – point taken.
What I should have said was that I used to have some awareness of boxing, and I recall hearing it discussed (and argued over!) in day to day life.
And now – from my perspective – it practically doesn’t exist.
I remember, on more than one occasion, hearing people I respect, passionately defending boxing as a sport (and indeed, a misunderstood sport) with lots of fine points and subtleties.
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Sherri said on September 11, 2014 at 2:26 pm
Deggjr, I think that that that the media thinks that Goodell has lied to them, and that’s always likely to lead to a feeding frenzy. Plus, I suspect that it’s true that many people don’t particularly like Goodell as a person; he’s tried to hold himself and the NFL up as the moral high ground (I know, don’t laugh, but it’s true), and everybody’s tired of his act. This is the culmination of a number of actions that have rankled over the years.
Another thought on the Rice situation. I know it’s hard to understand why Janay Rice would stick by her abuser, why she would willingly put herself in a situation where she is physically vulnerable. It’s a complicated situation, of course, but one thing that occurs to me that men may not understand is that women are always physically vulnerable – it’s part of the air we breathe. Obviously, there are degrees, and obviously, many women don’t put themselves in situations like that, but not feeling physically vulnerable is not an option, even if you don’t live with an abuser. I don’t think that many men get that.
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Minnie said on September 11, 2014 at 3:19 pm
Sherri, you’ve made a good point. Our working/middle class suburb is, I’m glad to say, the most integrated neighborhood in the city. We have very little crime here. Still, when I went out mid afternoon to roll in the trash can, I kept my eye on the figure walking down the sidewalk toward me. Though he appeared non-threatening (white guy, dressed in tucked-in t-shirt and khakis, probably walking home from the nearby community college), he was young and big, whereas I am neither. Before opening the garage door I made sure that he had proceeded far enough past the house that he couldn’t bolt back my way. My caution was mostly unconscious, but it’s habitual.
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coozledad said on September 11, 2014 at 5:27 pm
White trash doesn’t come any trashier.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/11/anchorage-police-confirm-palin-family-involved-in-heated-saturday-night-brawl/
Too bad they didn’t break out the assault weapons.
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Deborah said on September 11, 2014 at 5:30 pm
Excellent point Sherri, about women always feeling physically vulnerable.
I used to watch Friday night fights on TV with my Dad when I was a kid. He would get a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and split it with a neighbor while they watched the fights. I liked it when my Dad gave me a sip of his beer, especially the foamy part. That was usually the only time I ever saw my Dad drink.
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coozledad said on September 11, 2014 at 5:38 pm
Gypsys, tramps, skinheads, whores and thieves.
The night before, Saturday, was a doozy. The details are a little sketchy, but there’s enough of them, from enough different sources, that a story emerges, a story that according to the gossip Gods, looks kind of like this: There’s some sort of Iron Dog/snowmachine party in Anchorage. A nice, mellow party, until the Palin’s show up. There’s beer, of course, and maybe other things. Which is all fine, but just about the time when some people might have had one too many, a Track Palin stumbles out of a stretch Hummer, and immediately spots an ex-boyfriend of Willow’s. Track isn’t happy with this guy, the story goes. There’s words, and more. The owner of the house gets involved, and he probably wished he hadn’t. At this point, he’s up against nearly the whole Palin tribe: Palin women screaming. Palin men thumping their chests. Word is that Bristol has a particularly strong right hook, which she employed repeatedly, and it’s something to hear when Sarah screams, “Don’t you know who I am!” And it was particularly wonderful when someone in the crowd screamed back, “This isn’t some damned Hillbilly reality show!” No, it’s what happens when the former First Family of Alaska comes knocking. As people were leaving in a cab, Track was seen on the street, shirtless, flipping people off, with Sarah right behind him, and Todd somewhere in the foreground, tending to his bloody nose.
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Jolene said on September 11, 2014 at 5:56 pm
I just did a minor amount of googling to see what I could find out about interventions (aside from or in addition to punishment in the criminal justice system) for men who have physically abused women. Seems that there are some programs–mostly involving groups of various kinds. The research cited suggests that they have a small positive effect. I imagine that, like most attempts to change behavior, especially impulsive behavior, repeated efforts and a strong desire to change are required, and relapses are common.
Very sad. You’d like to think that, with the right kind of help, the Rice family and others like them could find better ways of interacting. Maybe they can, but it appears that, for most people in this situation, doing so is definitely an uphill enterprise.
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alex said on September 11, 2014 at 7:22 pm
I think Michael Vick is a sociopath and don’t trust his acts of contrition and I’m equally disinclined to give the benefit of doubt to domestic abusers like Rice. Having known a few. These guys can feign having a moral compass when it gets them something but they’re truly incapable of empathy with other living creatures and I don’t think there is any way to fix that. Just my two cents’ worth.
I expect we’ll see Rice going to one of those clinics where celebrities rehabilitate their images without having to change their ways, maybe accompanied by a showy religious reawakening and some hefty donations to women’s charities. Perhaps he’ll even start a foundation that pays for battered women’s facial reconstruction surgeries. He’ll be back in the world’s good graces just in time for the 2016-17 season.
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MichaelG said on September 11, 2014 at 8:03 pm
Well, Rice has hired a PR firm so we can expect some self-serving drivel in the near future. Does the NFL have any kind of program to assist abused wives or to counsel wives or to provide counseling for the players or is there any kind of mandatory domestic violence class or etc., etc.? Is any such contemplated? How many of these people are beating their wives/girlfriends and haven’t been caught. Is there any statistic that shows this for the general public? That is total pct. of abusers vs. pct. of abusers exposed.
http://deadspin.com/the-only-thing-unusual-about-ray-and-janay-rice-is-that-1633583402/+Jessica
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Jolene said on September 11, 2014 at 8:57 pm
Wow, MichaelG, that Deadspin piece is devastating. So much for my efforts to find some hope for change.
I’m curious, you men, were you told by your fathers or other older men (or, for that matter, your mother) never to hit a woman? I find that phrase sort of awful because, really, shouldn’t it be, “Never hit anyone.” But, apparently, even old stupidhead, Sean Hannity, said on his show the other night, “One of the things you learn as a man is: Never hit a woman.”
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Sherri said on September 11, 2014 at 9:22 pm
Let’s make a few things clear. The NFL is really a collection of 32 really rich guys (well, 31 plus the Green Bay Packers, who are sort of publicly owned). Those 32 rich guys care about making more money, mostly, and winning Super Bowls, if it doesn’t cost them too much money. They don’t care about the players. They care if the players make them look bad, or if the players sue them, or if the players’ union gains anything in collective bargaining. So, no, the NFL doesn’t have any kind of domestic violence program, even though just two years ago, an active NFL player shot and killed his girlfriend (and mother of his baby) before driving to team headquarters and killing himself in front of team executives. I would suspect that since the Rice case is making them look bad, that probably some sort of domestic violence initiative will happen.
According to 538 back in July, NFL players are arrested for domestic violence at a higher rate: http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-rate-of-domestic-violence-arrests-among-nfl-players/. However, the NFL has not been very consistent (or particularly harsh) in penalizing players arrested for domestic violence: http://sidespin.kinja.com/roger-goodell-is-a-domestic-violence-enabler-who-must-b-1632385955
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alex said on September 11, 2014 at 9:40 pm
Well I used to get clobbered for hitting my younger brother. He figured out that he could turn on the tears at will and get my ass whupped even when I hadn’t done anything, and his word always trumped mine. This went on for a while until one weekend when I was staying with some relatives and he wasn’t aware that I wasn’t home. He went to my parents bawling his head off and told them that I had just beaten the crap out of him. And then they beat the crap out of him and that was the end of that game.
They didn’t apologize to me until many years later when they were having a good laugh about the memory and how naive they’d been as young parents when it came to handling sibling rivalry.
I don’t know where I learned that a man doesn’t hit a woman except that it didn’t happen in my family and it was always regarded as a shock and an outrage whenever it occurred in the community. One haunting case that stood out in my mind in particular was a story that was identical to that of the made-for-TV movie “The Burning Bed,” starring Farrah Fawcett, except that the abused woman received no mercy from the court. Cattywhampus from my grandma’s house was a family where the woman was severely abused and it was the talk of the neighborhood. When I was in the second third grade, the woman poured gasoline on her sleeping husband and burned the house to the ground. This was on the southeast corner of Kinsmoor and South Wayne in the early 1970s, an empty lot to this day. I remember feeling particularly horrified for the children and what it must have been like for them to lose both parents and be the subject of lurid gossip. One of the most disturbing memories of my childhood.
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alex said on September 11, 2014 at 9:59 pm
The front steps to nowhere: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0541733,-85.1469934,3a,75y,187.02h,75.02t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sqc2LOQYkCrKspGHrOxZrCg!2e0
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Deborah said on September 12, 2014 at 4:06 am
Alex, I find your use of the term “cattywhampus” interesting. I would say catty-corner but some say kitty-corner. Cattywhampus, to me means discombobulated. But I just googled it and it means askew, awry or diagonal, so you are correct.
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beb said on September 12, 2014 at 8:27 am
Like alex I don’t recall ever being specifically told “man don’t hit women.” It was just one of those things in the air you pick up as you grow, probably from TV shows where some guy would say “If you weren’t a woman I’d …” As for hitting another man, why you had to if you wanted to get any respect. Or at least you had to be willing to fight. It’s the World According to John Wayne.
A friend, my father’s age (he’s since passed on) once told me of a time when, as a child, he had been attacked by some other boys. He made it to the steps of his house and thought he was safe but his father comes out and tell him to go back and beat the crap out of those other boys or he’s beat the crap out of my friend. That how boys grew up to be men before the war.
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Bob (not Greene) said on September 12, 2014 at 9:10 am
Interesting, Alex. By the way the houses on your old block (including what I assume to be yours) look similar to the kinds of houses being built in the Chicago suburbs about that time. Not quite Chicago-style bungalows, but four-square versions of them.
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Minnie said on September 12, 2014 at 9:24 am
Someone is turning that corner lot into a garden, Alex. That’s progress and healing of a sort.
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Jolene said on September 12, 2014 at 9:45 am
An impressive statement re domestic violence from James Brown, the anchor for NFL games on CBS, which includes the horrifying fact that, in the US, three women in the are killed by their intimate partners every day. Since Ray Rice was arrested in February, six hundred women have been killed by their partners.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119422/cbs-sports-james-brown-commentary-ray-rice-nfl-domestic-violence
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Jolene said on September 12, 2014 at 10:21 am
In case you wondered about the rest of the world, here is a fact sheet on DV from the World Health Organization. Interesting, but a bit unsatisfying, as, unsurprisingly, the averages appear to obscure a lot of regional variation.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/
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coozledad said on September 12, 2014 at 12:18 pm
Reagan wanted to give asylum to Nazi scum:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/11/us-considered-offering-asylum-to-chilean-dictator-augusto-pinochet/
It’s like Operation Paperclip without the rocket science.
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alex said on September 12, 2014 at 12:43 pm
Bob, the area does bear some resemblance to neighborhoods like Albany Park/Ravenswood. Parts of Evanston and Skokie remind me of it as well. The homes were early 20th century. I didn’t live on that street but my maternal grandmother did and my mom’s sister and her family also lived very close by. Grandma’s house is sort of obscured by greenery in that picture, but it’s a brick four square on the diagonally opposite corner from the empty lot with a red SUV parked in front.
The neighborhood has changed quite a bit in the last forty-some years. I recently passed by what used to be a United Methodist church just down the block from there and noted that the pastor’s name and the signage are all in Spanish.
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Sherri said on September 12, 2014 at 1:22 pm
One reason I’ve focused more of my outrage on Roger Goodell and the NFL than on Ray Rice, despite the awfulness of what Ray Rice did, is because of Greg Hardy.
Greg Hardy is a star defensive end for the Carolina Panthers. He played last Sunday, and will play this Sunday. Last May, Hardy threw his girlfriend into a bathtub, dragged her from the bathroom to the living room by her hair, choked her, picked her up and threw her onto a futon covered with assault rifles and shotguns, all the while screaming that he was going to kill her, before finally throwing her out of his apartment, and then calling 911 claiming that he was the victim.
Hardy was found guilty in a bench trial, sentenced to 60 days suspended and 18 months probation, and because it was a misdemeanor and because of North Carolina law, he has the right to appeal and request a jury trial. The jury trial is currently scheduled for the middle of November (during football season), but his lawyer will almost certainly get an extension into 2015.
The NFL is waiting for the legal system to finish before doing anything. Under the new domestic violence policy, Hardy would be subject to a 6 game suspension.
Jerry Richardson, the owner of the Carolina Panthers and a strong supporter of Roger Goodell, was asked about domestic violence earlier this week when he was receiving a humanitarian award. He got all choked up, very emotional, about his concern. However, all that concern about domestic violence evidently disappears when it comes to thoughts of getting rid of Greg Hardy. Under the terms of the CBA, Richardson does not have the option of suspending Hardy without pay; only the league can do that. However, Richardson could release Hardy, or he could even keep Hardy on the roster but suspend him with pay. NFL teams have a 53 man roster, but can only dress 46 players for games – there are 7 players who are being paid but do not play every week.
What Hardy did is more horrendous than what Ray Rice did. He’s not the first player to do something like that, and he won’t be the last as long as the NFL tolerates it, and the NFL does tolerate it. My outrage is for the people who can look at what Hardy has done, and hold profits as more important than their own humanity. I don’t give a fuck for your tears, Jerry Richardson, and throwing some pennies at a domestic violence cause, while nice, doesn’t absolve you either. Show some courage and don’t play Greg Hardy.
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brian stouder said on September 12, 2014 at 2:35 pm
Sherri – word.
Your post right after Cooz’s (about Paperclip without the rocket science!) have an interesting symmetry.
NFL will do the ‘Paperclip’ thing for morally reprehensible people within their league, so long as they believe that’s the way to keep the bucks flowing in; and when the calculus changes (if it hasn’t already) then they will act anew.
Aside from that, my dad was from around Alex’s relatives’ part of Fort Wayne; he grew up on Home Avenue not far from Broadway, and when he came home from the Navy with his new wife (and baby – my oldest brother) in the 50’s (and then went back to the Navy!), mom lived with her in-laws over there for the next few years.
Her stories about Maude and Herb sounded more than a little like Everybody Loves Raymond, circa 1954
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alex said on September 12, 2014 at 2:56 pm
OMG!
I had just assumed this rollicking narrative was one of cooz’ original flights of fancy:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sarah-palin-family-reportedly-involved-drunken-brawl
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brian stouder said on September 12, 2014 at 3:01 pm
Alex, me too! I followed the link last night, and Pam wanted to know what was so *@!@#^( funny!
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Sue said on September 12, 2014 at 3:08 pm
I refuse to believe it happened until I see the video. And then some more video a week or so later.
But seriously, not a single damn camera phone?
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brian stouder said on September 12, 2014 at 3:45 pm
Sue – great point about camera phones.
If any boobs came out during the fight (in the physical rather than metaphorical sense!), then we’ll see the movie on TMZ
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Deborah said on September 12, 2014 at 3:57 pm
My guess is that there were active cell videos going on during the dog pile and who ever was taking it is holding out for $$$ from some media outlets.
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Jolene said on September 12, 2014 at 4:03 pm
Are you looking forward to fourteen hours of the Roosevelts next week? Hank Stuever, WaPo’s TV critic, had this to say about it at the top of his online chat earlier this week.
Yesterday I finished up the 14th hour of Ken Burns’s “The Roosevelts” (I was always the student who put off the really big term papers until the last minute), so I was surprised to get up today and realize that it is indeed 2014 and not 1945. The series is pretty magnificent — I’ll be writing my review this afternoon, which will go up tomorrow or Saturday. Are you planning on watching? If you’ve done one of these Burns marathons, you probably know it’s a good idea to have a project to work on while you watch — if not crocheting or cross-stitch or somesuch, maybe Christmas-card addressing? Something with glitter?
Pretty funny, but I’m looking forward to it. Later in the chat, Hank notes that he was very moved by Burns’s show on the Dust Bowl, as was I, but that the part of this series that deals with the Depression is even more affecting.
I thought of you when I read Hank’s comments, Dorothy. Given your productivity, you should be able to piece a couple of quilts and knit socks for the whole family while learning all there is to know about the R’s.
Is amazing to think how long Burns has been putting together these epics. The series on the Civil War, which I think was his first, was broadcast in 1990.
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brian stouder said on September 12, 2014 at 4:11 pm
Jolene – yes; Gulf War I was going, and I recall reading somewhere (maybe in Woodward’s book?) and Colin Powell and General Schwarzkopf (spelling?) had a heated satellite phone chat, because someone in the White House (who had been mesmerized by Burns “The Civil War” magnum opus) had compared him to General McLellan – magnificently prepared and awaiting more supplies – and not moving!
Lots of F-bombs in that conversation!
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nancy said on September 12, 2014 at 4:15 pm
Hey, all. Me popping in here.
I like Ken Burns fine, but I think he really needs to self-edit more. I rarely find myself as riveted by the last pieces of his epics as I am by the first. How many times did we need to hear Wynton Marsalis, jazz scholar, say, “No one had ever heard anything like that before?” How deep do we need to delve into the nuts and bolts of baseball? I did like the Dust Bowl, but it was only two days, as I recall.
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Sherri said on September 12, 2014 at 4:40 pm
I’m looking forward to The Roosevelts, all 14 hours of it. TR, FDR, and Eleanor are all such interesting characters that you could probably do 14 hours on each one of them, and I’d watch. But then, I’m going to go see 6 hours worth of plays just on LBJ’s presidency this fall, that I’ve already seen once, so maybe I’m not the right comparison.
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brian stouder said on September 12, 2014 at 4:44 pm
My opinion of Teddy could use a revision…my view of him lately was that he’d fit right into the casual-hate of the 2014 Republican party, aside from his good works with regard to the National Parks
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Jolene said on September 12, 2014 at 4:48 pm
Yes, the Dust Bowl was two two-hour bits, and it was, indeed, very affecting. I haven’t seen the shows on jazz or baseball. Someone in the WaPo chat mentioned one on the West that I hadn’t even heard of. Looking at his filmography on Wikipedia, I see that there are several I’ve missed. Something to put on my list of what to do in assisted living.
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Deborah said on September 12, 2014 at 4:53 pm
It seems to be a sweater wearing day in Santa Fe, high of 63 and tonight into the upper 40s. We’re planning on having a fire tonight. Our cat will be so happy, she’s going to be 17 next month and she’s crotchety as hell.
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Sherri said on September 12, 2014 at 5:06 pm
The news just keeps get worse for the NFL. Now Adrian Peterson, the star running back for the Minnesota Vikings, has been indicted in Texas for “reckless or negligent injury to a child.” The owners might have to fire Goodell just to change the conversation.
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Jolene said on September 12, 2014 at 5:08 pm
The Post interviewed some female fans outside last night’s game between the Baltimore a Ravens (Ray Rice’s team) and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some of them are very forgiving.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/sports/the-ladies-of-ravens-nation-on-ray-rice/2014/09/12/4d39ab5a-3a67-11e4-a023-1d61f7f31a05_video.html
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Jolene said on September 12, 2014 at 5:22 pm
A Friday afternoon bon-bon: a little girl copes with the disappointment of meeting the president rather than Beyoncé.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/politics/student-tells-obama-i-really-wantedbeyonce/2014/09/12/d6b9c14c-2eef-4393-9976-2dd0b3001b27_video.html
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Sherri said on September 12, 2014 at 6:18 pm
Interesting perspective from the wife of a former NFL player on what it’s like to be an NFL wife: http://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/09/ray-janay-rice-football-nfl-wives
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Jolene said on September 12, 2014 at 9:32 pm
Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota player indicted for child abuse, appears to have some, oh, maybe, 18th or 19th century ideas about child rearing and no ideas at all about when it’s a good idea to have a child. As best I can tell, he has, at 29, fathered at least six children with at least three different women. One of those children was killed by the mother’s new boyfriend at the age of two months, before Peterson had even met him. I hate to sound like a moralistic scold, but, jeez . . .
http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/09/12/exclusive-details-on-adrian-peterson-indictment-charges/
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11348826/adrian-peterson-talks-life-changes-death-son
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Sherri said on September 12, 2014 at 9:39 pm
The Vikings have deactivated Peterson for Sunday, which means he will be paid but will not be in uniform. Of course, he has to go to Texas to surrender to authorities on an arrest warrant, so there’s that.
Meanwhile, Greg Hardy will still play on Sunday, despite Jerry Richardson’s tears over domestic abuse: http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/09/12/greg-hardy-carolina-panthers-domestic-abuse
The intransigence of the NFL owners on this issue is all too symptomatic of the general attitude of corporations and rich people in our new Gilded Age: we’ll do whatever we want, stop annoying us, you plebes.
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Julie Robinson said on September 12, 2014 at 9:47 pm
NOW I remember why I despise football so much, she says with irony. And there’s no Caliban/Prospero to tell me what a fine sport it is, how it made him a man, etc.
The entire focus of the game is violence. Why then, is anyone surprised when that violence is taken off the field? If I had an hour I’d enumerate everything horrible about it, but I’m way too busy right now.
Talk about your open sewer.
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Kirk said on September 12, 2014 at 10:28 pm
Re: Ken Burns
I recommend one of his early works, which I think lasted about two hours, on Huey Long. Very insightful.
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Jolene said on September 13, 2014 at 1:34 am
Hank’s review of The Roosevelts is out. It’s so gorgeously written and clear about the merits of the show that you almost don’t need to watch it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/the-roosevelts-once-you-finish-all-14-hours-youre-sorry-to-see-them-go/2014/09/12/a32ad0c0-3855-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html
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David C. said on September 13, 2014 at 7:52 am
The overriding metaphor of the NFL is war. In the eye of the rabid fan, all the wives, girlfriends, and children hurt are collateral damage and they care as much about them as the rabid war fan cares about those killed by our errant bombs – not much. The NFL is richer than Croesus and can afford to buy a bigger rug to keep sweeping this under. Nothing will ever change.
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Jolene said on September 13, 2014 at 10:18 am
Need to remember that the NFL is just a piece–a well-publicized piece–of the violent world we live in.
The article Sherri linked to above (@29) is quite confusing, but if you stare at the graphs long enough and read it a few times, you come away with this summary: NFL players are arrested at lower rates than people in the general population. This is true across all crimes, including domestic violence. But, the proportion of all arrests for domestic violence is higher among NFL players than among the population at large.
In other words, an NFL player is less likely to be arrested for any crime than an average guy, but, an NFL player who is arrested is more likely to be arrested for DV than an average guy. Their overall crime rate is lower, but the proportion of DV among all crimes is higher.
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Jolene said on September 13, 2014 at 10:22 am
A psychologist writing in the Houston Chronicle puts it succinctly:
By focusing on the latest football player or MMA fighter (see Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, aka War Machine), I worry that domestic violence becomes “their problem” and we lose sight of the fact that someone in your family is more likely to perpetrate or be victimized by a partner than is a professional athlete. In fact, a statistician at fivethirtyeight.com noted that, while NFL players were arrested for domestic violence more than they were arrested for most other crimes, their rates were still about half of what is seen in the general population
http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Temple-Domestic-violence-is-America-s-problem-5748748.php
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Jolene said on September 13, 2014 at 10:42 am
Bill Clinton was interviewed on the PBS NewsHour last night, mainly about the anniversary of AmeriCorps, but he was asked about everything. As always, he had the simple words to talk about DV as something that happens all the time all over the world “where people live in close quarters and get into all sorts of problems, most of them not visible to the rest of the world.” * As he has before, he noted that he had seen it close up in the relationship between his mother and step-father.
Humans. What a species. Long-term, it’s like everything–more education, especially as it affects the status of women.
*Quote from memory, probably off a little.
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Sherri said on September 13, 2014 at 1:48 pm
People are violent. Football is violent, but it’s not just about violence. It’s also a chess match. Football has more complicated plays, more strategy, more technique for players to learn than any other sport I know of. It’s really not just line up and smash each other.
Writers wax poetically about baseball strategy, mostly because it happens in slow motion, but for the most part, baseball strategies change a little bit about every 30 years. Football strategies change a lot about every 3-5 years, it’s just a lot harder to see them because so much is happening at once. Football teams, because they only play once a week, tailor their games to their opponents, so each week you see the team do things subtly different. It’s a fascinating game from an analytic standpoint, as well as from an athletic standpoint.
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MichaelG said on September 13, 2014 at 5:26 pm
It was 103 yesterday and today it’ll be one oh something again. I drove past a high school a while ago and they were out there getting ready to play football. Better them than me.
Me? Monday I’m off to Spain for two weeks. Looking forward to it!
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Deborah said on September 13, 2014 at 7:28 pm
MichaelG, enjoy your time in Spain. I have loved my travels to Spain. Where are you going? I have only been to Barcelona ( loved, loved, loved) and Madrid.
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MichaelG said on September 13, 2014 at 9:46 pm
That’s it. Barcelona and Madrid. I plan to spend two weeks eating, drinking and walking around looking at stuff.
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MichaelG said on September 13, 2014 at 9:46 pm
And I’ll take the Spanish version of Jerry Brown’s crazy train from Barcelona to Madrid.
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Little Bird said on September 13, 2014 at 11:16 pm
I’m told the restaurant “Citrus” is still in Barcelona, I had the best (and largest single piece of) calamari there. I recommend the place. The food in that city was GLORIOUS!
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Basset said on September 13, 2014 at 11:25 pm
Sherri@67, calling football “fascinating from an analytic standpoint” is like calling boxing “the sweet science” – people knock each other down, the rest is just details. It’s stupid and violent and plays to the worst parts of the American character.
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Sherri said on September 14, 2014 at 3:08 am
Basset, sadly, there’s nothing unique about the American character when it comes to violence, nor are sports played in other countries free of violence. Personally, I find hunting stupid and violent, but to each their own.
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Dexter said on September 14, 2014 at 3:50 am
http://blog.sfgate.com/stienstra/2014/09/13/theres-a-mountain-lion-looking-in-my-window-pics/#26658101=0
The pretty kitty.
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Basset said on September 14, 2014 at 9:35 am
You’re right about the other countries, Sherri, but I wasn’t talking about them. And I don’t have a stadium full of people watching me hunt and saying “WE got one!” When I’m successful. The kill is the part I, and probably most of the hunters I know, like least. I have also never hit Mrs. B, who I expect would shoot me in my sleep if I did.
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Sherri said on September 14, 2014 at 1:01 pm
Carolina has made a last-minute decision to deactivate Greg Hardy for today’s game.
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Sherri said on September 14, 2014 at 1:19 pm
If getting rid of football would eliminate domestic violence in this country, I’d be all for getting rid of football. But I don’t think that that it would change much; for all the attention it draws, the vast majority of football players don’t commit domestic violence. There are ~2000 players on NFL rosters; I’d venture to say the fraction of problematic hunters is probably as large as the fraction of problematic football players.
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MichaelG said on September 14, 2014 at 2:43 pm
I’ve read that there is a lot of domestic violence among law enforcement personnel. True?
So Air France is going on strike tomorrow. They claim that half of their flights will still operate. My ride from Paris to Barcelona is on AF. Flip a coin. Maybe I’ll end up hitch hiking from Paris to BCN.
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Sherri said on September 14, 2014 at 2:59 pm
Some quick googling indicates that domestic violence occurs about 2-4 times more often among law enforcement officers than in the population at large. DV by LEOs is especially problematic because they have guns, it’s difficult to report them to the police because they are the police, and they often know where the DV shelters are.
I hope you make it to Barcelona with no difficulties, MichaelG, and I’m looking forward to a trip report!
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Julie Robinson said on September 14, 2014 at 3:39 pm
Michael G, you must be doing well if your docs are letting you out of the country. It sounds like a glorious and well-deserved trip.
Sherri, and others who are football fans: what do you think of the idea of removing most of the protective gear to encourage less-violent play? I’d be okay with flag football.
I have to hit the road again tomorrow to take my mom back home for her final packing. We’ve got quite a bit of her new apartment here in town set up and she’s bought some new furniture for it. Now she has to finish her packing or hire someone to. She won’t let us do it because we unreasonably want to throw out 20-year old newspapers and videotapes covered in half an inch of dust. I’ll be glad to stay home for a while and get things here caught up.
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MichaelG said on September 14, 2014 at 4:34 pm
I feel good, Julie. Like back to normal. Hope it lasts.
I called AF and they don’t really have anything to say. My AF flight is actually on Tues. The trip from Sacto to Paris is an overnight deal arriving in Paris just after 12 noon on Tues.
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MichaelG said on September 14, 2014 at 4:35 pm
Oh, and my hair grew back all weird. I now have crazy hair.
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Charlotte said on September 14, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Michael G — I took the overnight AF flight from SFO to Paris a couple of times — gorgeous views of the arctic on the return trip — sun coming up over all those huge rivers I once dreamed of paddling. And as an alternative — looks like the TGV runs Paris to Barcelona. I took it Paris to Aix and it was stupendous …
Have a great time! We want reports …
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Jolene said on September 14, 2014 at 5:37 pm
My hair came back as crazy hair too, MichaelG. Much curlier and more wiry than previously. Kind of entertaining, really.
Enjoy the trip to Spain. Haven’t been myself, but have many friends who’ve loved it, especially Barcelona.
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Jolene said on September 14, 2014 at 5:54 pm
Just noticed that the NYT has a very good article re arrest rates in the NFL. Shows what a good writer can do with complex data. Is consistent with what I said above, but may be easier to understand and provides more detail. Some interesting differences across teams.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/upshot/what-the-numbers-show-about-nfl-player-arrests.html?rref=sports/football&module=Ribbon&version=context®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Pro%20Football&pgtype=article&abt=0002&abg=0
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Sherri said on September 14, 2014 at 7:21 pm
I’d be fine with flag football, Julie, and less equipment might help some, but soccer and rugby still have significant concussion issues, too. Maybe getting rid of helmets would help; the concussion rates for girls lacrosse and boys lacrosse are similar, while boys wear helmets and girls don’t. In most sports, girls suffer concussions at a higher rate than boys.
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