Posse Incitatus

Auld Lang Syne

Sometimes football games entail so much more than what takes place on the field. The Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla., tomorrow, pitting Alabama versus Michigan State, is one such example.

To understand why, let's start in December 1989, when future University of Alabama football star Mark Ingram was born.  He was named after his father, who played football for Michigan State and the New York Giants.  Twenty years later, Ingram Jr. would win the Heisman Trophy, annually given to college football's supposed best player (although, unfortunately, great players from poor or mediocre teams are regularly bypassed in favor of players from winning teams).

In December 1999, when Ingram Jr. was 10, Nick Saban left his job as head football coach of the Michigan State Spartans, taking over as head coach at Louisiana State University.  One of his MSU assistant coaches, Bobby Williams, assumed the helm at MSU, but got the ax three years later when the program was in disarray.  After one season as a Detroit Lions assistant, Williams joined Saban at LSU.  The two of them left after a few years, going first to the NFL's Miami Dolphins, then to Alabama, where they remain today. 

Additionally, one of Alabama's assistant coaches, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jim McElwain, worked as receivers and special teams coach for the Spartans from 2003-2005.

So, tomorrow we have a tilt between Michigan State and the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide, coached by former Michigan State head coach Nick Saban and two former MSU assistants.  Alabama boasts a star running back from Flint, Mich., whose father and mother both attended Michigan State.  Some Spartan fans are still bitter toward Saban, who they believe abandoned them strictly for more money, leaving their program floundering for several more years until Mark Dantonio took over in late 2006.  They see the New Year's Day matchup as an opportunity to exact revenge on Saban for spurning their beloved school.  But they ought to grow up and realize that, hey, college football is big business, and coaches are entitled to offer their talents to the highest bidder.

Aside from the present day unique relationship between these two programs, let's go one step further. Alabama and Michigan State also had something of a symbiosis back in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Spartans won several national championships. 

In those days, blacks were prohibited from attending Alabama, let alone playing for its football team. Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant was friends with MSU coach Hugh "Duffy" Daugherty, and would regularly steer talented black athletes toward East Lansing, Mich., supplying the Spartans with loads of talent during their glory years.  Many of the Spartan stars of the era, including Bubba Smith, George Webster, Gene Washington, and Charlie "Mad Dog" Thornhill, were southerners who headed north for an opportunity to get an education and play big-time college football.

Tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST, the Capital One Bowl will pit one of the Southeastern Conference's premier football teams against a Big Ten squad that is finally beginning to assert itself after decades of mediocrity.  The teams, their fans, and the regions of the country they represent may bear few similarities.  But there sure are a lot of common threads running between the two programs.

May the best team win.

 

 

 

 

 

Migration and Contamination

You've probably heard about the phenomenon of city dwellers, or residents of older suburbs, moving way out to the far-flung suburbs to escape traffic congestion, high taxes, and lousy schools.  Often, they've made this move so they can buy more house for the money and have a bigger yard, while paying much less in property taxes. 

But the more of them that do that, the greater the likelihood they will transform their new destination into something resembling their former place of residence.  Eventually, that undeveloped countryside sprouts cookie-cutter subdivisions, strip shopping centers, new schools and wider roads.  Pretty soon the traffic gets thick, the schools get crowded, and taxes go up so that a new water purification plant and wastewater treatment facility can be constructed.

This leads to my headline: Why "contamination" rather than "transformation"?  Because I'm talking about the possibility of red states being contaminated by liberals fleeing high taxes and high unemployment in their own states.  Certain states such as Texas and the Dakotas (North AND South) have low unemployment rates, typically because of lower taxes and a better regulatory climate. 

Liberals, who continuously elect politicians who raise taxes, spend like crazy, and increase regulations, often find that they don't like what they've wrought.  Either to escape the high taxes, or to find a job, or both, they frequently move to other states.  (Sometimes it might be primarily to escape cold, snowy winters of a northern state by moving to Texas or another southern state.)

The question is, will the migration be so great that red states are transformed into blue states.  Is Texas in danger of eventually morphing into a basket case like California, burdened by bloated public employee rolls, untenable pension and health insurance obligations, and weighed down with stifling regulations?  Let us hope not.

It sounds far-fetched, but unfortunately it's a distinct possibility.  A word to the wise liberals: Don't Mess with Texas!

 

The Next Shoe to Drop: Pensions

Uncle Sam isn't the only one that's totally broke: Hundreds, if not thousands, of public and private pensions are, too.  Sometimes it's because governments promised far more than they could deliver, and the demographics, actuarial realities, and budget ramifications have caught up with them.  Often, politicians did a quid pro quo, voting for generous retirement and health care benefits for union members who in turn dumped money into the politicians' campaign war chests.  Now it's time to pay the piper, but their ain't much cash in the till!

Or, as in the case of Detroit, a combination of ineptitude, lack of due dilligence, and sometimes just crooked chicanery amongst cronies, bad investments have caused pensions to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.

Here is a good story that ran in the New York Times the other day, about a small south Alabama town that has stopped paying its 150 retirees the pension money they were promised because, as the saying goes, "you can't get blood from a stone." For those of you in Rio Linda, that simply means THE MONEY'S NOT THERE!

In recent years, states such as California, Illinois, and New Jersey have been pushed up against the wall with untenable, massive pension obligations.  Some have continued borrowing money or shifting money from other budgets to help pay the pension shortfall.  Raising taxes is another strategy, but that can only work for so long.  At some point, you won't have any more productive people to tax, because they all will have fled the state.

The Pension Benefits Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) was created in the 1970s to protect the pensions of millions of private sector employees.  Doubtless, this government agency will be as swamped and beleaguered as Fannie and Freddie in the next few years.  But what about municipal, county, state, and federal pensions?  Many of them will be in dire straits, if they aren't already.  It's not just due to mismanagement and unworkable demographics.  It's also because the stock market has lost so much value in the past couple of years.

The Wall Street meltdown and its poisonous brew of derivatives, credit default swaps, short selling and other odious goings on, has occupied the mainstream media' attention for many months now.  So have prolonged high unemployment figures and the long-suffering housing market, which now seems to be even farther from recovery than we thought just a few weeks ago.

But the coming pension catastrophies are going to hit us like a tsunami, leaving millions of older retirees without sustenance.  It's going to be a grave problem. 

My suggestion to the news media: Pay more attention to the gathering storm clouds of public and private sector pensions.  Heck, if you could just lay off the Hollywood/American Idol/celebrity crap for a while, you'd have plenty of personnel and news space to devote to this urgent matter.

 

National Propaganda Radio

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has long had a reputation as a leftist outfit — just like its counterpart under the Corporation for Public Broadcasting umbrella, National Public Radio (NPR). 

Recently, a PBS correspondent pretty much picked up the pom-poms and cheered for the miserable health care system of thug dictator Fidel Castro on that hellhole Caribbean island.  Wall Street Journal columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady tells of a useful idiot reporter named Ray Suarez whose three-part series for PBS NewsHour gushed over Cuba's supposedly wonderful health care system, talking up its accessibility, quality, and free availability.

The Journal columnist describes how another reporter, Vicente Botin, who worked for Television Espanola in Spain, lived in Cuba for several years, experiencing first-hand its health care deficiencies.  He chronicled them for his book,"Los funerales de Castro" (Castro's Funeral). 

But Suarez of PBS didn't make an effort to dig for the truth.  Instead, he naively swallowed hook, line and sinker the Cuban government's load of propaganda.    Um, Ray, when the Cuban government takes you by the hand and walks you through something, that's about as close to accurate reporting as a Toyota Prius is to a Porsche.  Who knows, maybe he's gunning for a job with Michael Moore's film production company?

This is another prime example why Republicans like Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia have vowed to cut off funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  More power to 'em!  PBS and NPR are entitled to spout their leftist drivel.  But not on my dime.

Winding Down 2010

Just as I predicted, the lame duck Congress did some damage before FINALLY leaving town.  For example, enactment of the START treaty, repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, implementation of a nanny-state food safety bill, and the 9/11 victims compensation bill, guaranteed to balloon into another open-ended, bloated entitlement.  THANK GOD they're done! I don't think the Republic could stand much more of their "accomplishments"!

As we enter the final week of 2010, here are a few things I'm looking forward to in 2011:

-- A new, more conservative Congress taking the reins.  If total gridlock prevails, I'll be a happy man.  The more gridlock, the less spending.  And the less spending, the longer delay until the catastrophic day of reckoning.

-- Michigan's inept Gov. Jen-Jen "Tinkerbell" Granholm finally ending her two lousy terms and making way for Republican Rick Snyder.  Snyder can't just wave a magic wand and dispel Michigan's economic woes.  But the mere fact that he won't reside inside the vest pocket of the unions is reason enough to have optimism for Michigan's future.

-- It will be nice to have a reduced amount of money taken out of each paycheck for FICA withholding starting in the New Year.  I figure it might amount of about $80 extra per month.  Every little bit helps.

 -- It will be a relief when the Big Ten basketball season gets going.  I am tired of seeing my Spartans struggling against teams they don't normally play, using a potpourri of lineups that prevent players from developing the chemistry and cohesion they need to function optimally.  Today in the Detroit Free Press sports section, Mark Snyder previewed the Big Ten season, and predicted the Spartans would finish in fifth place.  I know Snyder is a Wolverine slappy, but this is ridiculous.  I won't hesitate to rub it in when he is shown to be dreadfully wrong come March.

RESURGENT LIONS —  For the first time since 2004, the Detroit Lions have won two consecutive road games.  Today, it was a 34-27 victory over the Miami Dolphins, leaving Detroit 5-10 with one game remaining.  Miami (7-8) held a 10-point lead in the second half, but two Lions' interceptions led to scores, and the Detroit defense stepped up big time, as the defensive line relentlessly harassed Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne. Cornerback Nathan Vasher and linebacker DeAndre Levi had picks for Detroit; Levi ran his in for a TD.

Detroit quarterback Shaun Hill started, because Drew Stanton, who had led the Lions to two straight victories, suffered a separated shoulder in the victory over Tampa Bay last week.  Hill managed to lead the Lions effectively, despite being without star wide receiver Calvin Johnson for much of the second half after Johnson injured his ankle.  He completed 14 of 26 passes, with no interceptions.

A couple of interesting side notes: Miami held a huge lead in time of possession (37:15 to 22:45), but turned the ball over three times.  Turnovers often determine the outcome of a game.  Miami's starting lineup includes two former Michigan Wolverines (Chad Henne and offensive tackle Jake Long), and a former Michigan State Spartan (punter Brandon Fields). The Lions have former Michigan Wolverine Jeff Backus starting at left tackle, and former Spartans Julian Peterson (linebacker) and Dave Rayner (placekicker).  Would have been nice if Stanton had started at QB, making it an MSU vs. Michigan QB dual.

The Lions have now won three in a row, and have a great shot at defeating Minnesota a week from today.  Detroit was competitive  in most of its losses this season.  They are just a few talented players short of making those key plays that mean the difference between winning and losing.  If they draft right and sign a couple of good free agents, the playoffs are a possibility in 2011.

Merry Christmas... And Other Sundries

The Posse wishes you and yours a Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year.  For Christians, this time of year serves as a reminder of our Creator's love and concern, as we celebrate the greatest gift of all.

But whether you're a Christian, an observer of another faith, an atheist or an agnostic, this time of year affords many of us an opportunity to break out of the routine, rest and recharge, and spend more time with family and friends.  Let's make the most of it, and never lose sight of our blessings.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES — As you've probably heard, our illustrious lame duck Congress enacted legislation overturning "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," thus kicking into gear a thorough review of all military rules, regulations, policies, and training with regard to gay service members.   A few months ago, I expressed my opposition to overturning this policy, and the other day, I read a couple of excellent columns on the American Thinker website that raised additional points in opposition to repeal of DADT -- things I hadn't even considered.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Elizabeth Herring outlines the coming can of worms in this piece.  She poses many nettlesome questions, including what happens to enlistees with strong religious beliefs in opposition to homosexuality: Will they be subject to hostile treatment for refusing to be "tolerant"?  What about someone urinating into a jar for a drug test who's being observed by an openly gay soldier?  Will there be a large exit of Arab Muslim translators whose religion views homosexuality as a sin?  What about the costs of the new training and regulations?  This whole thing is much more complicated than it's been made out to be by the limousine liberals mugging for MSNBC.

Additionally, conservative black columnist Kevin Jackson's essay deals with the military's cave-in to liberal social experimentation and its likely ramifications.  He notes that the comparison with overcoming segregation and discrimination against black troops in the 1940s is totally bogus.  For example, there already are high-ranking officers in the military who are gay.  Just wait, he says, we'll soon have "gay quotas" and discrimination suits claiming someone didn't get promoted because he/she was gay.  This whole thing is going to be messy as it plays out over the coming years, mark my words.

SHAMELESS and SHAMEFUL -- To what depths will former Detroit Mayor and current inmate Kwame Kilpatrick sink?  As this Wall Street Journal piece notes, the egotist hasn't lost a bit of his narcissism or delusions of grandeur behind bars.

Again, Kilpatrick, who plundered the city of Detroit, and by extension, the people he was supposed to serve, refuses to admit guilt and continues with the pathetic finger pointing.  His spokesman Ron Paul is quoted as saying, "One, he is not the first one who has been attacked by the government as a former leader in a community."

Oh, poor Kwame, he's just being railroaded by the big, bad government. Give me a break.

Kilpatrick, who a few days ago was part of a massive federal indictment (as was his father, Bernard), is Tweeting self-pitying blather such as the following:  "....when government acts in a hateful manner, disobedience may be warranted."

The Journal reports Kwame "wasn't shy about citing precedent: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., students protesters at Tiananmen Square in China." Oh, please.  Now he's comparing himself to these legends.  This is beyond the pale.

The sad thing is, this charlatan still has supporters.  I guess if anyone needed proof Detroit's educational system is an unmitigated disaster, it is that there are fools gullible enough to still believe in this disgraceful human being.

DEC. 3, 2008 —  For those ready to throw in the towel on the Michigan State Spartans basketball team, which started out ranked No. 2 and has been soundly defeated by some Top 25 teams, including Syracuse, and more recently, Texas, I offer Dec. 3, 2008.  On that date, the North Carolina Tar Heels pummeled the Spartans, 98-63 at Ford Field in Detroit.  Four months later, MSU had defeated some powerful teams, including Connecticut, to make it to the championship game.  Again, North Carolina won decisively.  The Tar Heels were more talented, and the Spartans didn't bring their A-game.

But this goes to show, it's premature to write off the Spartans if they don't play well in November and December.  They always play much better in February and March, and I expect them to get the kinks out of their system and be running like a well-oiled machine come March.  Congrats to Texas for Wednesday's butt-kicking, but believe me: That wasn't the REAL Spartans!

 

A merry Christmas to all

As is customary at this time of year, I tend to vanish from the blogosphere.  The pressing concerns of government, politics and even sports tend to shrink to insignificance when one is surrounded by friends and family.

Some may argue that it is self-defeating for conservatives to unilaterally cease fire at this time of year, and certainly the Democrats in Congress have shown a willingness to use the holiday season as a cover for their shenanigans.

However, there is a very real danger of conservatives becoming the mirror image of thei opponents - becoming just as politically-obsessed as the liberals they decry.  This "Beltway disease" is common in state capitols as well as in Washington and the only sure way to avoid it is to take time away.

So pour another glass of eggnog and add another log to the fire.  We'll be listening to Jo Stafford and Bing Crosby and thinking back to times when all that mattered was the joy and excitement of this blessed holiday.

Merry Christmas!

One for the Ages

If you are reading this blog before or during the hours of 8:30-11:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, I encourage you to tune in on  Monday Night Football.

The Minnesota Vikings will host the Chicago Bears in an outdoor stadium, TCF Bank Stadium, on the University of Minnesota campus, in frigid conditions, with heavy snow and a chill wind.  As you may have heard, a blizzard collapsed the roof of the Metrodome in Minneapolis on Dec. 12.  The Vikings played their Monday, Dec. 13 game at Ford Field in Detroit.

The forecast for tonight's game is steady snowfall, a temperature of about 17 degrees, winds 10-15 mph, and a wind chill factor of 6 degrees.  I happen to work with a woman whose husband is from Minnesota.  Last summer, they bought tickets to tonight's game for his parents (big Vikings fans) as a Christmas present.  Of course, when they purchased the tickets, they expected A) the game would be played in the climate-controlled Metrodome; and B) the Vikings would be jockeying for a playoff spot, or perhaps would have wrapped one up and would be vying for home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Vikings, like the Dallas Cowboys, have grossly underachieved relative to preseason expectations.  Keep in mind, this Vikings team came very close to making it to the Super Bowl last year.  This year, they and the Cowboys won't even make the playoffs.

I've always enjoyed watching football in adverse weather.  I recall as a kid how much fun it was to play football in freshly fallen snow.  But I pity the referees and "chain gang" officials who measure whether a first down has been achieved.  They must try to figure out where the yard lines are, and whether a play has achieved a first down.  (Or, for that matter, where to place the ball when a penalty has been called.)

Hey, I realize: Our nation and culture have serious problems.  Deep and protracted.  Some may wonder why I bother to write about sports.  Well, I'll just say it: I won't let our travails prevent me from enjoying some bread and circuses when I can.  And tonight at 8:30 EST on ESPN, it ought to be one hell of a circus.

 

Hope and Change

There IS hope.  Hope that Washington will change its ways.

While many Americans slept Thursday night, the U.S. Senate did something courageous and monumental: Halted implementation of a larded up omnibus spending bill that had served as a Christmas tree decorated with thousands of earmark ornaments.  As this Wall Street Journal piece reports, key Republicans opposed the bill even though it contained dozens of earmarks they themselves had requested.

Say what you will about the Tea Party, but it has been effective in waking up Americans -- and more importantly, politicians -- to the unsustainable spending insanity that will soon ruin us if it is not stopped.  And, the icing on the cake, Scary Harry Reid had to walk away with his tail between his legs, yanking the bill for lack of support.  Republicans had threatened to read each and every one of the 2,000 pages in the monstrosity of a bill. 

This is the type of attitude Republicans must maintain for the next two years.  It will put a halt to runaway spending, and hinder implementation of Obamacare when the vast new bureaucracies needed to oversee it fail to be funded, and therefore are not created.  There's a good reason the current Congress has an abysmal 13 percent approval rating: It has been useless, destructive, and sickeningly arrogant, shoving its misguided legislation down the throats of an unwilling American public.

The Republicans have a golden opportunity to do the right thing, and in the process build popular support for the future. Let's hope they don't shoot themselves in the foot as they've done so often in the past.

LIONS WIN! -- It's a big enough deal when the Detroit Lions win a game, period.  But what made today's victory so special is that it was the first Lions victory on the road since October 2007, ending a 26-game road losing streak.  Detroit (4-10) defeated the playoff-contending Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6), 23-20 in overtime.

Once again, two former Michigan State Spartans played key roles.  Third string quarterback Drew Stanton completed 23 of 37 passes with no interceptions, throwing for 252 yards, including one touchdown pass.  Placekicker Dave Rayner, filling in for injured legend Jason Hanson, kicked three field goals, including one at the end of regulation time to tie the game, and the one in overtime.

The Lions' defensive line put major pressure on Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman, and bent but didn't break versus the Bucs' running game.  The much-maligned Detroit offensive line opened big holes for a stable of running backs.  It was tremendously encouraging to see the Lions pull together and fight hard for a victory.  Their final two games are at Miami on Dec. 26 and home versus Minnesota on Jan. 2. 

If the Lions draft well in April, and sign a few free agents to fill some defensive holes, they could be respectable in 2011.  Unfortunately, Stanton's contract is up at the end of this season, and they apparently don't plan to keep him.  This despite the fact he probably has better talent than currently injured second string QB Shaun Hill.  It would be just like the Lions to let Stanton go, then he'd end up being productive for another team for years, and play tremendously every time he faced the Lions.

 

Voodoo Tax Sophistry

Now that the Senate and House have passed legislation to prevent a massive tax hike in 2011, it's a good time to ponder some of the misinformation out there. A few weeks ago, I addressed the topic of "deficit sophistry."  Today, it's tax sophistry.

Whenever I see the superficial, simplistic reporting and commentary on extending the Bush tax cuts, I just have to shake my head in disbelief.

It seems 99 percent of the reporters, editors, commentators, and anchor-persons (How's that for P.C.?) just buy hook, line, and sinker the figures from the latest Democrat talking points: Extending the current rates for the "rich," i.e., those with incomes over $250,000, will reduce federal revenues by $700 billion over 6 years.  (Never mind if many of these "rich" folks are really entrepreneurs and small business owners who use their "income" to pay employees' wages and cover the overhead.)

First of all, these estimates are based on static analysis.  And while economists disagree on a lot of things, one thing they all agree on is that the economy is dynamic and ever-changing, sort of like waves and currents in the ocean.  No one knows what will happen with unemployment, interest rates, deficits, the balance of trade, the effects of new technology on industry, and so on.  So to project how much extending current tax policy will reduce revenues is about as useful as me planning on what clothes I'll wear and food I'll eat on February 12, 2020.

On the one hand, we could have a great reduction in persons earning $250,000 or more; on the other, we might actually see an increase or little change in those ranks, but an uptick in use of tax shelters, deferred compensation, stock options, and other methods of avoiding the tax man.

But beyond all that, the most absurd thing about the liberals' argument is this:  Suppose they are correct, that tax rates did rise on people earning at least $250,000 annually, and revenues increased by $700 billion over six years.  Does anyone in their right mind believe these revenues would be used to help reduce annual deficits, or pay down the national debt?  If you do, you probably also believe in the tooth fairy.

Our federal government has gone far beyond the theoretical point of "critical mass" when it comes to out-of-control spending.  It may already be too late to turn things around.  (Check out this excellent column from American Thinker, which expresses my sentiments exactly.)

No one really knows how continuation of Bush income tax policy and the reduction in Social Security withholdings will affect our fiscal outlook in the years to come.  But there is plenty of evidence that lower tax rates increase productivity, investment, and employment levels. 

Conversely, raising income tax rates to the pre-Bush-tax-cut levels would choke the life out of whatever feeble recovery might now be taking root.  It would relegate us to many more years of a miserable economy -- one that, for middle-aged Baby Boomers such as myself, brings back unpleasant memories from the Peanut Farmer era.

Is it any coincidence that hideous   leisure suits and wretched disco music both were on the scene simultaneously with Jimmy Carter's disastrous economic policies?