Yet Another Scapegoat...

Back from a two week hiatus that included Spring Break in Vegas, and a job interview out in Los Angeles. I'd like to focus this entry almost entirely on recent developments (in the Bush administration, that word is increasingly becoming synonymous with despicable scandals) in the world of politics. Tomorrow, I will discuss the Suns roller coaster week, and a conclude with a few, pithy, movie reviews.

Amidst the growing maelstrom over a recent disclosure that 7 U.S. Attorney's were fired simply because they do not conform with the "politics over the rule of law" mentality of the Bush Administration, lies the similarities between the now ex-communicated I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and presently beleaguered Attorney General Alberto GONEzales. In fact, the congruence between the scenarios of the downfall of the two men becomes more apparent on a daily basis.

Both Libby and GONEzales were essentially the hatchet men for the White House. In Libby's case, he was the chosen man to smear Joe Wilson after his unfavorable assessment of the Administration's WMD intelligence analysis in the run up to the Iraq War. Actually, I don't even think it's accurate to depict "Libby" as chosen, but rather, he was just relegated to this duty when Cheney realized that this bit of subterfuge may actually cause a controversy. Upon this realization, Cheney exited stage left, and let his loyal deputy receive the brunt of the blow.
In the same vein, GONEzales was the poor sap selected to do the bidding of Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Karl Rove after the former complained that U.S. Attorney David Iglesias failed to prosecute Democrats in the New Mexico State Legislature during the hotly contested 2006 mid-term elections. (Never mind the fact that, since Bush illegitimately ascended to the presidency in 2000, Democrats have been prosecuted six times as often as Republicans by U.S Attorneys)

Secondly, Libby and Alberto will now both be forever known as the men who protected their superiors at the White House, a decision which both thereby perpetuates their own personal ignominy, but also prevents the general public from knowing the extent of the malicious influence of Bush, Cheney and the rest of their cabal in these two situations. Finally, both men will ultimately be exonerated by history, though that likely hardly serves to assuage their grief at present.

Ultimately, no one wins as a result of this arrangement. GONEzales and Libby have their previously burnished records tainted forever, while the Administration escapes unscathed from yet another catastrophic, illegal attempt to subvert the Constitution. And this sobering evaluation of the situation is probably where the investigation ends. As the Times reported yesterday, Mr. Bush is almost certainly to invoke the powers of "executive privilege", thereby preventing Rove, Miers, Sampson or GONEzales from testifying under oath in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Here's to hoping that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and his colleagues on the left side of the aisle continue to apply the utmost pressure upon the Administration. Otherwise, Mr. Bush may have finally proved that he will disregard the Constitutional principles of accountability, egalitarianism amongst the branches of government and the rule of law, even if sycophants like former Senate Majority Leader Frist, McConnell, Boehner or Hastert have been relegated to the minority party.

Here Goes Nothing...

Oh, what to discuss in my initial entry? I suppose I could lucubrate on the significance of the blogging world when it comes to the dissemination of news. Ehh, thinking about becoming the opposite of Jay Mariotti is enticing, but that topic has been written about more than Britney Spears' mental problems. Frankly, an ode to the blogosphere is too cliche, even for a man whose only claim to being "elite" is a weekly examination of the New Yorker (is that act the apotheosis of cliche, especially for a man who's never been north of Washington D.C.). So, where does that leave me? As I mention in my haughty blog preview up at the top of this page, I have knowledge about the remedial level only in sports and politics. That seems a fitting point to begin this likely feeble opus into the journalistic (is blogging even a form of journalism? I know my father, a veteran newspaper man, would beg to differ) world. In this week's edition of "Stuck in the Middle with You" , I'll discuss the week in Suns, my feelings as the baseball season sits on its precipice, and other random thoughts in the sporting area. My sentiments on the week in Politics will be slightly abbreviated this week, as I did not find many riveting stories other than the usual incompetence from the Administration. Finally, some random odds and ends, including a movie endorsement.

--It's hard to be dissatisfied after a Suns win against one of the Western Conference contenders (Spurts, Mavs, Jazz, Lake Show) they have been previously so inept against for the balance of the season. However, I can unequivocally say that their performance was quite underwhelming today against a injury-riddled Laker squad. Despite not having Luke Walton or Lamar Odom, the slumping second place squad in the Pacific Division put up an admirable fight to the end, even after falling behind by ten on two different occasions in the fourth quarter. The pertinent question arising from this game is whether the close margin of Suns victory can be attributed to the Lakers legitimately becoming a force in the West, or rather, yet another instance of the Suns offering a phlegmatic, uninspired performance. Frankly, I tend to go with the former. The Lakers, despite missing the two multi-faceted talents on their starting front court, executed offensively, maximized their strenghts (three point shooting and post defense) and effectively neutralized Amare Stoudemire after his first quarter scoring binge that even Peter North would be jealous of. The positive characteristics exhibited by the Lakers today can be attributed largely, and believe you me it pains to say the following, to their head coach Phil Jackson. For years, I have been a firm subscriber to the idea that Jackson garnered his rings simply as a result of opportunism (coming out of retirement to coach Kobe and Shaq, what a risk!) and the talent out on the court, which speaks for itself. However, in the 2006-07 season, Jackson has done a bang up job with this rag tag group of castaways and unproven young players (save Kobe and Odom) Couple the adroit assimilation of European League stalwarts like Mo Evans and Shammond Williams with some recent draft coups (Bynum, Walton, hell, even Jordan Farmar has been serviceable), and you have a team that could possibly contend, largely because of Jackson's in-game and motivational mastery. Don't be surprised if they give the Suns or Spurs a run for their money come playoff time, even if Lamar Odom remains on the sidelines after a recent shoulder problem.

--As for the soon to be three time defending Pacific Division champions, I'll try to put a positive spin on it and take one from the Sean Salisbury book of cliches (now in its fifth printing!) by simply saying that "a win's a win". After a pitiful first half, Steve Nash offered a virtuoso performance in the second that typified his illustrious tenure with the Suns thus far. Amare, after exploding early on in the contest, was largely contained by the platoon of Turiaf, Bynum and Brown. That said, Amare continues to improve on a nightly basis, as evidenced by his stout averages of 27 ppg and 12 rpg in the last six. During NBA Fastbreak on the WWL tonight, Jamal Mashburn envisaged the only scenario where the Suns could defeat the Mavericks would be a series in which Amare absolutely dominated the two headed monster of Dampier and Diop (or as Mashburn called the latter "Sagouna Joop"). Personally, I think this is a short sighted analysis of a hypothetical Suns-Mavs series. For one, Amare absolute demolished Tim Duncan in the 2004 West Finals, the Spurs won that series, resoundingly, in five games. However, the discussion of a Suns-Mavs series is neither here nor there, so I think I will stick to focusing on today's game, at least for this particular post. The most disturbing aspect of this game was the inexplicable disappearance of Shawn Marion in yet another big game. Yes, I'm aware that his post season stats are essentially tantamount to his regular season tallies. However, as anyone who watched the entire game will attest, the Matrix was largely nullified for prolonged stretches. Whether it was missing point blank shots, or committing numerous silly fouls (he was later disqualified), Shawn again showed that he can be susceptible to irrelevance at the hands of a potent defensive squad. Sans Boris Diaw, the Suns barely squeaked this one out. Marion can be largely blamed for this, in my opinion. In the final 24 minutes, Nash regained his golden touch, Amare played beastly post defense, Leandro eviscerated the Laker defense with his blazing speed and even Raja contributed with timely three balls. However, the one component absent, and I can't emphasize enough how important this particular aspect of the Suns attack is, was the potent combination of defense, rebounding and the occasional outside shot that is Shawn Marion. Let's all hope, as Suns fans, that the highest paid player on the squad is not persona non grata yet again come playoff time.

--One last note on the burgeoning Suns: It's relaxing to know that, despite what you might think given my complaints in the last few stanzas, this team is now 6-1 since the ASB and currently 45-14 on the season. The Nash era has truly spoiled me, I must admit, if I am harping on the play of a perennial all star in the midst of a historic season.

--Spring generally brings a few certainties to my humble existence, particularly since I entered college nearly five years ago. 1. I will be whisked away to an "exotic" place on a Spring Break trip that promises to be drowned in both distilled spirits and debauchery. Alas though, as experienced has mercilessly shown, the latter has hardly arisen. In fact, I don't know if I have dabbled in (literally) any of the licentious benefits places like Puerto Vallarta have to offer. In fact, I generally end up back at the hotel thoroughly drunk, exhausted and jealous of all of the STD's my friends were picking up after a chance encounter with their cab drivers 15 year old sister. 2. I will be enveloped by an overwhelming fear of the future (becoming gainfully employed) and be therefore compelled to concoct strategies designed to prolong my tenure as an undergraduate. (Finally, the proverbial well ran dry, and I sit here barely employed, broke, and deathly afraid of getting any sort of malaise, as I am currently bereft of insurance.) 3. The third rite of spring, if you will, is the widespread optimism and overall giddiness that encapsulates nearly all of MLB's 30 training camps, which tipped off last week in Arizona and Florida. Nearly every squad is so flush with the newly "Marxian" allocation of revenue, both local and national television monies included in said revenue, that how can you blame that if they have a little pep in their step. Color me excited, as well. Lately, I have been spending considerable time researching in advance of my fantasy draft which is still more than three and a half weeks from tonight. However, I must admit that my heightened excitement over the pending baseball season does not necessarily arise from my attempt to do a "George Will" impression and become a purist of the game. No, my interests are not percolating because of the "smell of the grass", the "sight of the clubbie cleaning out pubic lint from a cup of last season's first round draft pick" or, most apropos to the baseball purist view, "the chalk being artistically crafted along the base lines" Rather, my sudden fervor for the artist formerly known as America's past time directly emanates from my true "American-ness" e.g. my absolute love of gambling. Hell, the ability to wager on nearly every facet of the game epitomizes the popularity of the Numerous Felony League (NFL) presently. (Somewhere Michael Silver just had a coronary because he cannot stand to hear that fans do not love the game simply because of "the sense of community found outside Heinz Field" or the "majestic spirals unleashed by the indomitable Tom Brady against a tide of ferocious defenders" Spare us the Shakespearian prose while describing 22 dudes feverishly trying to poke each other's sac's, Silver) As much as purists of both sports hate to hear this fact, it is nevertheless fait accompli. Gambling is the engine behind the locomotive that is American sport in the 21 century. I say we embrace gambling as an integral cog in our current sports climate, not shun it, as many in the main stream media may suggest. After all, I couldn't tell you who the shortstop for the 2006 Pittsburgh Pirates was. But if I have thirty dollars on it (rough estimate for fantasy league buy-in's this season), shit, then I could tell you who his mom lost her virginity to, what his wife's favorite scent is, his preferred method of receiving HGH shipments (allegedly) and most importantly, his PECOTA projected OBP for 2007. Simply put: wagering money on sport, no matter how little, is concurrent with an uptake in interest, passion, and the bottom line for all parties involved. Why attempt to root it out of the game? I'd say it's akin to a studio refusing to release a film they knew would be successful simply because it had a little gratuitous violence. Wise up, Bud Selig. Embrace gambling in your sport. Vegas did. And they seem to be faring all right for themselves. Hmm....let me amend that. Just as long as PacMan Jones is in a different time zone.

I'm off to continue my foray into On the Road while simultaneously watching my roommate slaughter simulated drug dealers while playing Scarface on our LCDTV. Ahh, the fundamental dilemma of modern life: be an intellectual, or succumb to vapid consumerism. I've decided to dabble in both. How bourgeois.

Back tomorrow with some thoughts on the religious right's self victimization, the morass in the Middle East, and some praise for a recent film..

Remember, it doesn't get any better than this.

--Merkin