Fish Fear Me

Pathetic Punditry

John L. Perry goes all "Seven Days In May" on us over at Newsmax:

Obama Risks a Domestic Military ‘Intervention’

There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America’s military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the “Obama problem.” Don’t dismiss it as unrealistic.

Yes, Mr. Perry, I'm going to dismiss it as unrealistic. In fact, I'm going to call it what it is: defamatory to the US Military, silly, perhaps even insane.

Perry coyly writes that, "Describing what may be afoot is not to advocate it." Yeah, right. He then goes on to list a whole series of political issues and casts them as such serious dangers to the survival of the US that military intervention is conceivable to our top officers, and bizarrely fantasizes about a military regime that would get the country back on track. 

Bullshit.

(hmmm, I think Newsmax has pulled this on me in mid-post. I'll look for it elsewhere. Ok, it was copied here)

The stupid, or insane, just gets worse:

Military intervention is what Obama's exponentially accelerating agenda for fundamental change toward a Marxist state is inviting upon America. A coup is not an ideal option, but Obama's radical ideal is not acceptable or reversible.

Unthinkable? Then think up an alternative, non-violent solution to the Obama problem. Just don't shrug and say, We can always worry about that later.

The alternatives are called town halls, peaceful protests, and elections, and yes, they still work. And it's not as if our top commanders don't have their own political channels in Congress that they can and will use to express any concerns long before they would even think about something as horrific as a coup. Good grief.

Stuff like this just pisses me off. I'm as unhappy with the Obama agenda and where we are headed as the next conservative/libertarian, but imagining that there is even a hint of a military coup being contemplated is disgraceful, and an insult to our top military leaders. I suspect someone at Newsmax has recognized that and an apology will be forthcoming.

Odd

How do you screw up a floor mat?

Toyota Motor Corp said it will recall some 3.8 million vehicles in the United States because of the risk that a loose floormat could force down the accelerator, a problem suspected of causing crashes that have killed five people.

I'm not being smarmy here, I'm genuinely curious how this supposedly works. The article says the problem has led to 17 crashes and five deaths. Four of those deaths it appears, occurred last month in California in a curious incident:

Last month, an off-duty California state trooper and three members of his family were killed in the San Diego area in a crash of a 2009 Lexus ES350.

Before the crash, a passenger in the car had called 911 and told dispatchers that the accelerator was stuck and the car had reached 120 miles per hour (193 km per hour).

I can imagine even a highly trained driver being taken by surprise and not having the immediate presence of mind to shift into neutral and turn off the car. But not recovering in the time it took for a passenger to call and speak to 911?  Was it a rental car and the driver was not familiar with it?

The article does go on to say that on that particular model:

Federal investigators also found many owners were not aware that it takes three seconds to turn off the electronic ignition button that comes standard on that model and the Prius.

Many owners also complained that it was not obvious how to put a runaway vehicle in neutral because of the design of the Toyota gear panel.

Really? Don't the owners turn the car on and off all of the time? How can owners not be aware of how long it takes to turn their car off? And the gear panel of the ES350 is so odd that it's hard to put in neutral? I've seen some odd gear configurations over the years, but neutral? 

Others are speculating that there is another cause that has not been identified yet. I'm not going to speculate, just note that this is another one of those stories that seems to leave one with more questions than answers. The whole thing is odd.

Tuesday Notes

I hate MLB.com: I'll spare you the details, but circumstances led me to try to listen to the Twins tonight over the internet, but nooooo. MLB rules prohibit broadcasters from streaming games over the internet unless you go to mlb.com and subscribe for an admittedly nominal fee. Fine, I dragged the stereo back up from the basement which, er, I probably should have done anyway by now. One former girlfriend is probably happy as hell right now and has no idea why.

Twins: Earlier today the Twins took the makeup game from yesterday by a score of 3-2 in 10 innings. I guess it was a heck of a game but I couldn't catch it because of meetings. That put them 1 game back of the Tigers, but as I type this they are getting smacked around by the Tigers, down 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth. I sense the number two will be in my dreams tonight.

I don't get it: With all the millions of people this revolution murdered, why is the Empire State building honoring the PRC Revolution?

I understand the need for realism and diplomacy when it comes to communist China, but actually honoring the PRC? Do 60 million dead really mean nothing? Nothing?

Roman Polanski: I'm certainly not going to defend a man having sex with a 13-year-old girl under any circumstances. Reading the tawdry and pretty sad details that The Smoking Gun presents here and here (fixed, had the same url twice, sorry) makes me wonder what is the right thing to do at this point and frankly, I'm not sure I want to spend anymore time on it. I'm not siding with Polanski here, but there is something not right in all of those details and I think there is a larger story about culture in Hollywood and at-large, then and now, that offers more profound lessons. I'm pretty sure I don't have the stomach for it though.

Hmmm, 5-4 now, my boys are battling back.

The Public option is dead? No. The son of medicare is a zombie. It's just hiding in the woods with its hockey mask and axe.

Update: Two, two, two, two. Rats.

Who Do You Love?

For many a Viking fan today, the answer is clear: Brett Favre.

The Vikes got the ball on their own 20 with only 1:29 left in the game and down by 4 and with no timeouts left. I know I wasn't the only one who was pessimistic about their chances. To be polite, the words "Vikings" and "great clock management" have not been used together in years. But Favre led them down the field and the drive ended with .02 left on a play that will be talked about around here for a long time to come:

Most of the focus is on Favre, but that was a hell of catch by Greg Lewis also.In fact, the entire offense deserves credit for that final drive. It will be Favre who gets the most praise for it though, and I think that's right. Without him I don't think it would have happened.

I've been a Favre skeptic and pretty critical about why and how he joined the team so late in the preseason, but he just shut me up right there. For this week.

Stand or Fall

I sincerely hope that this is true and that the Minneapolis StarTribune really will fulfill their promise and prosper:

Providing quality journalism that serves the vital information needs of this community is at the very core of who we are and what has defined us for the past 142 years. That is the mission we are committed to upholding for the future.

Frankly though, I'm skeptical. To regain the credibility that they have squandered will require them to honestly investigate and report on the local powers that be that they have been in bed with for decades. As far as national news, they will have to do more than parrot the narratives that have been set by the New York Times and the Washington Post.

The Strib says it has new owners, but it will have to prove that. Because for at least three decades it has been really and obviously owned by a combination of local Democrats and major corporate interests. It's not for nothing that I sarcastically link to them on the sidebar as "The Red Star", a shot I first heard as a teen. To actually fulfill what they commit to at that link above they are going to have to make a lot of their friends uncomfortable and very likely angry.

I don't think they have the stones for that. Prove me wrong.

Two

The Twins picked up a game on the Tigers last night, beating the Royals 9-4 while the Tigers lost to the White Sox 2-0. They are now down by two games with nine left to play.

Pressure.

Afghanistan: What About State?

This is complete nonsense:

This bombshell was dropped by NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday:

The numbers are really pretty horrifying. What they say, embedded in this report by McChrystal, is they would need 500,000 troops - boots on the ground - and five years to do the job. No one expects that the Afghan Army could step up to that. Are we gonna put even half that of U.S. troops there, and NATO forces? No way. [Morning Joe, September 23, 2009]

Or more likely it is a case of someone conflating Afghan and US/NATO troop levels. No, we are not going to put even half that number of troops on the ground in Afghanistan. We don't have the troops to sustain a deployment for that long a time period. This strikes me as a fairly lame effort by Mitchell's source to try to get a talking point out there that would make the American public recoil and reject any escalation.

While much of the discussion this week has focused on the military strategy debate, a major point that McChrystal made in his report is that much of the problem is around the failure of the Afghan government to provide even the minimal services that most of the country wants and the flagrant corruption and injustice it apparently delivers where it is present. At least part of the Taliban success in parts of the countryside comes from providing some sort of stability, even if most people don't care for it, that is better than what the government is willing or able to deliver.

So what's the deal on the civilian side of the war effort? There is a lot of talk about Iraq diverting resources from Afghanistan as far as the U.S. military is concerned, and I think there is some truth in that. But some major portion of how we got where we are today seems to me to be a failure to develop civilian institutions. What went wrong there the past seven years or more? Did Iraq also divert civilian resources from Afghanistan? Because if so, and notwithstanding the many brave and hard-working civilians who did go to Iraq(especially those serving on the PRTs), it seems to me that our civilian agencies haven't exactly covered themselves in glory there either. So what is the stance of the State Department and other US civilian agencies? I've been wondering, where is their strategy?

Coming, I guess:

Karl W. Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, is preparing a separate assessment of Afghanistan's political future and the controversy surrounding the recent presidential election there. Although President Hamid Karzai has said he won, based on a tally by the country's electoral commission, international monitors are investigating allegations of widespread fraud.

No timeline for that is listed in that article. I don't see how we can evaluate the military strategy though, without also seeing the civilian strategy and how they both mesh together. Or if they mesh together.

I think the US military has shown how they are ready to step it up and make progress in Afghanistan. Now we need to see what the State Department and other US civilian agencies are going to bring to the table.

Sweep

The Twins are headed to Kansas City today after sweeping the White Sox in Chicago. Detroit has one more in Cleveland tonight after stomping the Indians last night, so the odds are that they will have a 3-game lead going into the weekend. Detroit heads to Chicago and then comes home to host the Twins for 4 games before finishing with Chicago again at home. The Twins will finish the season at home against KC.

Those last two in Chicago weren't pretty from a pitching perspective, but they were fun to watch and the Twins got the job done. They are scrapping now and somebody different stepped up in both of those games to get the job done. Last night it was Nick Punto.

It's fun to watch, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Making up 3 games is possible, especially since they are playing 4 more against Detroit. They need to get past KC first though, and hope Chicago can play spoiler against the Tigers. And even if they do manage to win the division, we need to brace for a quick exit in the playoffs.

If I understand the situation correctly, if the Twins manage to win the division they will end up playing the Evil Empire because the Red Sox will be the wild-card team and they are in the same division. Talk about a David vs. Goliath situation. I love my Twins, but getting past New York would be a tall order, to understate that situation if it comes to that. On the other hand, you never know. If they did manage to get into the post-season and then actually beat the Yankees, that would be delicious. But enough of that. They have to get there first.

Decision Time For Afghanistan

Gen. Stanley McChrystal's Afghanistan assessment and strategy recommendations report has been leaked to the Washington Post and is available in unclassified form at their site. After reading most of it, I think Bob Woodward does a pretty good job of summarizing both the substance and the tone of the report.

It's a pretty grim read and a clear warning of failure in Afghanistan if we do not adjust both strategy and resources.

Gen. McChrystal delivered his assessment three weeks ago. It appears that the White House is hesitating though, and in no hurry to make a decision. Bill Roggio contrasts the speed of change in deciding to surge in Iraq with the waffling that appears to be happening now regarding Aghanistan. Roggio asserts that, "Today, the military is perceiving that the administration is punting the question of a troop increase in Afghanistan, and the military is even questioning the administration's commitment to succeed in Afghanistan." The leak of the report and rumors of McChrystal threatening to resign if the White House doesn't stop dithering are intended to force the president to make a decision. Maybe, it's impossible for me to tell from where I sit.

The report itself seems to make sense to me. My sole skepticism is that based on what happened in Iraq, I think the goal of accelerating the training of more Afghan forces is probably unrealistic and we will carry the burden longer than McChrystal is willing to admit. I could be wrong about that though.

Regardless, it's time for a decision. At this point, I accept McChrystal's assessment that a reasonably stable Afghanistan is still achievable with the right commitment of resources. The price is worth it compared to the alternative of withdrawing and the almost certain return of al Qaeda safe havens. Perhaps the only worse move than that though, would be to half-ass the effort in Afghanistan and lose more troops for nothing.

On a related note, Michael Yon has made available a Frederick and Kimberly Kagan report on Afghanistan Force Requirements. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but at first glance it seems to dovetail with McChrystal's report as far as current assessment and strategy. It also has some very detailed info and maps on the current areas of contention and deployment of forces. Very good info if you are interested.

Sporting News

Friends, Minnesotans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury the Twins, not to praise them;
The evil that starting rotations do early in the season lives after them,
The good is oft interred with old pennant hopes,
So let it be with the Twins...

Sorry. When the Twins couldn't complete the sweep of Detroit yesterday, admittedly a very difficult task, instead of hitting the road one game behind the Tigers they are three games back today. They have three in Chicago, then three at KC, then four in Detroit, before ending the season back home with three against KC again. Now, it's possible that they will pick back up on their winning streak, they had won six in a row to get back into the hunt, and I hope they do. I'd like to see one more AL Central pennant to bring to the new ballpark next year. If they pull that off it will truly be an accomplishment based on what they have done so far this season. Which is why I temper my expectations.

On the plus side, the Twins are the best in the division as far as intra-division play at 35-24. Countering that is their record on the road, a dismal 31-40. And while the six-game winning streak was fun, before yesterday's loss it merely brought them to 10-7 for the month of September. That is hardly an inspiring record.

Go for it boys, I'll be rooting for you. I really don't think you have a prayer, but hey, prove me wrong.

The Vikes started slow again yesterday and let me indulge in bitching about my Vikes pet peeve, an offense that does several three and out series in a row and leaves the defense tired and scrambling. Detroit couldn't take advantage enough of that though, and when the Vikings offense finally got their act together Detroit was toast.

This is a good Vikings team. I'm a little concerned about rookie right tackle Phil Loadholt, but some patience is in order. All accounts that I've read say that he is working hard at all aspects of the game and so maybe he just needs some time to grow into the job. The dude is a monster at 6-8, 343 lbs. officially. If, when, he gets adjusted to the NFL, he's going to be a force.

On the FFL front, I cruised to victory this weekend. I think I was up like 25-0 yesterday by the time most of the early games had finished the first quarter. All of my starters scored with the exception of Brandon Marshall and it looks like I will have the high score for the week. Not that I think I have the greatest team in the world, but it's a better start than last year.