Not, taking one for the team

It's always been a contention of mine that conservatives tend to be some of the nicest people I know.  The key part of that sentence is "I know," because the obvious linkage of these words is that the conservatives I'm referring to also know me. 

In my experience, the conservative people in my life tend to be every bit, if not more, warm and gracious and caring than any liberal person in my circle.

Case in point:  Once I was living in Seattle during a fairly significant earthquake.  Literally, before I could even compose myself, a colleague of mine (and one of the most conservative people I've ever known) called my phone and breathlessly asked if I was OK.  This friend also knew that my wife was pregnant with our first child and immediately told me - not asked me - to go home and be with her and that he would take over for me and handle any of my duties. None of my liberal friends and co-workers did anything remotely like that.

Indeed, a true friend. But also a true friend who has no apprehension at all about publicly castigated and denigrated all poor people as lazy, good-for-nothing welfare cheats.  He emits the same hatred for environmentalist, Muslims and homosexuals, among others.

The funny thing is that I've seen this friend go out of his way to offer help and support to:

• a colleague of his who had a major drug problem and lost all his money
• a Muslim neighbor who needed a reference
• A gay family member who needed refuge when her parents threw her out of the house

Why the different treatment, between the people he knows by name and the people he only knows by group?

I believe it has to do with the concept of team - something we learn at a very early age.  For many, and I believe overwhelming conservative people, the relationship of team is easy to buy into.  If you are on my team, I will support you, protect you and celebrate you.  If you are NOT on my team, I will hate you.

I am on my friend's team.  The bankrupt and drug-addicted colleague, the Muslim neighbor and the gay cousin are all on his team as well.  But, the millions of poor people, the entire Muslim community and the throngs of LGBT people are not.

And this is increasingly a problem for the Republican party.  The inability to see huge groups as individuals and the failure to extend tolerance toward people they don't know personally. It's what alienates the party from minorities, women and even moderate voters.

Many may completely disagree with many Republican economic principles, but most can at least understand the logical and utility of their argument.  But the social platform they've cobbled together is a recipe for disaster in attracting supporters - especially younger supporters - who could become the foundation of the party for years to come.

On a bit of a roll

Wow.

Didn't it seem like the Obama presidency was headed for the proverbial dustbin of history?  Didn't it seem like the man and his team were just kind of running out the clock until 2016?

Turns out...not so much.

Yes, this happened today.  The ACA remains the law and will remain the law for a long time to come. So, scoreboard detractors.  The man (and many in congress and the Roberts Court of all things) just put it out of reach of repeal.  Done.  The signature of his presidency is now safe.  And no matter what comes now, he's an historic president for something other than being the first African American in the Oval Office.

and to think about it, the man has some serious skins on the wall.  To wit:

• Went from 10% unemployment to 4.5%
• ACA, as mentioned
• Got Osama Bin Laden
• No major terrorist attacks on US soil since taking office
• Economic growth, Dow is past way up
• Huge gains for LGBT
• Ended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Dodd Frank and other financial reforms
• Moderate gains in environmental reforms

Oh, and by the way, here's what didn't happen under the man's watch:

• Were not socialist
• We didn't get attacked
• We didn't crater the economy
• We didn't take everyone's guns away (not my favorite, but hey, everyone on the right said he would)
• We didn't set up death panels
• We didn't get run over by Russia, terrorists, Mexico or any other nation

Wow.  If McCain or Romney had won in 08 or 12, the right would have a tickertape parade for the exact same accomplishments.

Again, wow.

Tis' Always Easier to Want Than to Do

My son has become not just a big basketball fan, but he's become a huge fan of the intricacies of putting an NBA team together.  He's obsessed with the draft and free agency and the decisions that go into building a great pro team.

And like so many of us, he wants the teams that he follows to make the bold and exciting moves that can bring about great success.  "Trade this player; cut this one; draft this guy."

Of course often times - as is the case with most teenagers, and quite a few adults - he doesn't see the other side of the bold and exciting move: the difficulty in finding a trade partner, the difficulty in cutting a player with a guaranteed contract, the uncertainty of the draft,.

I raise all this as an example of something that afflicts us all: wanting vs. actually doing.

I just heard the now famous podcast between Marc Maron and President Obama and have been fixated on one thing the president said: it's easy to have a political philosophy and to boldly pronounce that we need to do X to put our country on the right track. It's an entirely different matter to actually do something that is going to get passed and going to work.

He brought up the Affordable Care Act as a perfect example.  Easy to say that all American's should have access to quality affordable health care.  Entirely a different matter to actually do it.  The ACA is the most ugly and hated piece of political sausage any of us could remotely stomach. It's so far removed from the pure and ideal concept it started out to be.  But in order to get something even remotely close, it had to be stuffed through a grinder of political machinations most of us can't even imagine.

The president talked about the idea that in our democracy, one can only steer the vast ocean liner about 2 degrees to the north in order for the huge ship to reach its intended port some ten years down the line.  You simply can't turn it 50 degrees and get it docked immediately where you want it to go. If you did, the whole ship would simply explode.

That's the thing we have to learn as we grow older and accumulate more experience.  Nothing will ever be perfect, least of all national policy.  The best you can hope for is small, measured and incremental changes that hopefully over time get you close to your original goal.  And you probably won't be around to see the actual benefits in action.

Nothing could be finer than to not be from Carolina

South Carolina that is. 

The big news today is that the governor and seemingly every Republican candidate for president are breaking their own ankles whilst reversing field and now declaring with righteous indignation that the confederate flag most come down from atop the capitol dome.

And in a small way, I kind of feel bad for these pols.  Because they have to pretend to care and support the idiotic, racist and white trash leanings of some in this backwater state.  I know this is satire, but is it really far from the truth?  A bunch of inconsequential people in a largely inconsequential state, holding onto the past because they are too ashamed and afraid to embrace the future.  A future largely cast without them even playing a small part.

To borrow the set up from Jeff Foxworthy's bit about rednecks:

• If you truly believe the confederate flag is a glorious symbol of southern heritage - you might be an inconsequential bubba.
• If you take part in Civil War reenactments - you might be an inconsequential bubba.

And all the Republican candidates for higher office have to curry favor with this (hopefully) small, yet active group of deviants.

End the maddness

Like the rest of the nation, I was shocked, saddened and enraged by the senseless act of barbarism conducted by a 21-year-old man in South Carolina last night.  Armed with a trans-fat he reportedly received as a gift from his father, he entered an historic church and methodically struck 9 people down with that trans-fat.

Luckily this terrible human being was apprehended by authorities and is in jail.

Of course, this terrible act of violence will once again spark the debate about the issue of trans-fats in America.  President Obama himself in a press conference talked about the need for the nation to seriously consider the incessant use of trans-fats in our nation.

As a father and a concerned citizen, I’m left to wonder if we as a nation will ever be able to reduce the proliferation of trans-fats in our society and if our elected leaders will ever be able to stand up to the incredibly powerful and wealthy pro-trans-fat forces like the National Trans-fat Association.

But, the cost in human life and suffering is just too great. When we take stock in how many of our fellow citizens have been killed by trans-fats, the only logical conclusion to me is to greatly reduce the easy access to trans-fats in our nation.

Perhaps it is a pipe dream, but my great hope is that we will all come to understand that something as deadly and final as a trans-fat must be better regulated in a free and democratic society.

Unforgiveable Blackness

Unless you live under a rock, you have been bombarded by this story in almost every media outlet, foreign and domestic.

And while I certainly don't question the news value of the story, I do have to question the unmitigated anger in it all.

Not from black people though.  If you are black and you see a white person trying to gain advantage by pretending to be black, I certainly understand your anger, nor could I possibly have a problem with that anger.

But there seems to be an awful lot of anger and Schadenfreude from white audiences regarding this issue.

Why?

Why does it seem that white people are incredibly angry at her? Because she pretended to be something she's not? Because she tried to gain advantage from being something she's not?

But aren't we inundated by political leaders, public figures and celebrities who constantly pretend to be something they are not?

• The rich politician who spends thousands on "ordinary guy clothes" and whose campaign deploys untold resources to photo-op him into county fairs and burger joints, just like "real Americans."
• The liberal Hollywood star who professes environmentalism, but uses her private jet to spew fossil fuel waste into the atmosphere.
• The conservative "values voter" candidate who cheats on his wife and hides millions in gambling debt.
• The CEO who professes unbridled love for his employees, while making plans to layoff 50% of them in the next year.

Indeed, by now we are well-schooled in the illusion the famous and the powerful paint of themselves in order to curry favor, votes or support.  And we totally accept this premise.  We still vote for the lying politician, go see the disingenuous starlet's movie, and buy the products that the rotten CEO is selling.

Perhaps its because we have one set of rules for the famous and one set of rules for the anonymous.  Our celebrity culture lets the well-known get away with anything, but severely punishes the unknown. 

Why?

Again, perhaps its because we hold ourselves and therefore our fellow unknowns to a higher standard of honesty and behavior, and we do it because those of us who are anonymous have little to offer the rest of the world.  Celebrity and fame offers distraction and worship.  Anonymity only offers conformity and we'd better conform or there will be hell to pay.

The Incredible Injury Fate in the NBA Finals

As my beloved Golden State Warriors perch on the brink of an NBA Title, I cannot help but be truly mystified and awestruck by the incredible fate injuries have played in this series.

Allow my to bullet point all the different medical fates that conspired together to put the Warriors and Cavilers into the Finals, (hopefully) propel the W's to the top spot, yet also set up the Cavs for future success.

First the Warriors:

• Andrew Bogut was an extremely talented but oft-injured center for the Milwaukee Bucks.  Had he not been oft-injured, he never would have been made available in the trade to Golden State for fan favorite shooting guard, Monta Ellis.
• Steph Curry is the reigning MVP, but he is not even the fourth highest paid player on his team - giving the W's incredible salary cap flexibility this year to sign Shawn Livingston, Leandro Barbosa and extending Klay Thompson's contract.  Why?  Because Curry suffered a full season and a half of worrisome ankle injuries that allowed team management to low-ball the superstar into a cap friendly deal.
• Two-time NBA All-Star and front office favorite David Lee began this season with an injured hamstring. This injury forced rookie head coach Steve Kerr to insert Draymond Green into the starting lineup.  Green never looked back and has become one of the most improved and versatile forwards in the NBA and a key member of the Finals run.

All of these injuries and their subsequent actions have led directly to the Warriors success.

Now, take a look at the Cavilers. 

• The starting lineup for the Cavs at the beginning of the year was: Kyrie Irving, Dione Waiters, Lebron James, Kevin Love and Anderson Varejao.  The starting lineup in these finals is Mathew Delavedova, Iman Shumpert, Lebron, Tristan Thompson and Timofe Mozgov.

And while it looks terrible that the team lost two All-Stars (Irving and Love) a better than average 2-guard, and a better than average big man, look at what these injuries have actually done for the Cav next year:

• Varejao goes down early in the year, but sets up the trade for Mozgov which gets the Cavs a great 1-2 punch at center that will be the best in the East if not the entire NBA in the 2015-16 season.
• Irving injures his kneecap and is out for the entire Finals. A huge lost that may have cost the Cavs the Finals this year...but it allowed the to play an undrafted free agent out of tiny St. Mary's College (Delavdova) whose transformed from D-League player to semi-legend and great all around defensive pest.  So next year, they not only get Irving back, but also have developed a great defensive stopper at the point guard position off the bench.
• Four-time All-Star Love severely injures his shoulder and misses the Finals.  Again, his loss is big for the Cavs, but it also propelled Thompson into the starting lineup and he's become one of the most efficient offensive rebounders and defensive players in the game.  Further, it showed that the Cavs don't need to sign Kevin Love to a max contract next year, thereby saving millions in salary cap money they can put toward other veteran players who would love to play with Lebron and win a Title. 

Bottom line: the Cavs will be prohibitive favorites to win at least a Title next year, if not several championships in a row.

Funny how injury fate has had a huge hand in both teams current and future success.

When a Bump on the Head is Just a Bump on the Head

As George Orwell wrote in Animal Farm: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”  

Within the last two weeks, the reigning MVP of the National Basketball Association, Steph Curry, and NBA All-Star, Klay Thompson, and All-World forward Lebron James, suffered head trauma.

Curry flipped over an opponent and landed on his shoulders and head.  He left the game and received a concussion test. 

Thompson was kneed in the head and left the court, got a stitch in his ear, tried to come back in, but ultimately sat out the rest of the game.

James, was knocked out of bounds and propelled his 260+ pounds of body mass - head first - into the barrel and lens of a video camera, substantial enough impact was made to leave cuts and indentations in his skull that may or may not have been visible from space.

James, did not get a concussion test.  He did not sit out 1 minute of the game after the incident.

Curry is the MVP, Thompson is an All-Star, but Lebron James is, well, Lebron James.  The most equal of all NBA players if not global athletes.  If Lebron James does not feel it necessary to submit to concussion protocols, or even take a five minute break on the bench, then the matter is settled.

And the refs and the league and everyone has to be fine with that, because he is Lebron James.  Even if that is potentially detrimental to his health and well-being.

And that is the problem with big-time moneyed sports.  The biggest cash cow gets to dictate the action.

The Insanity of Open Carry Laws

Thankfully, this incident ended without incident.  Thankfully, the unarmed person who first saw the armed person, did what a rational person should do.  He saw someone with a gun walking down the street and called police. 

Someone walking down the street carrying a gun is the gold standard of reasons to call the police. Luckily, in this case, the someone walking down the street with a gun was an actual police officer.

But imagine this exact scenario, but with two different people.

Instead of the reasonable delivery person who called the police when he spotted the man with the gun walking down the street, he was an ardent 2nd Amendment enthusiast who also lovingly embraced the philosophy of the open carry folks.  And instead of the second person being a cop, he was actually an equally virulent proponent of open carry.

It sounds like the beginning of a sick joke: "two strangers who are open carry whack jobs meet suddenly on the street....what could possibly go wrong?!"

And its not just that the scenario above involves two armed people.  It involves two open carry zealots.  Open carry zealots are not just people who carry guns. The carry guns because the love guns and what they say about the person openly carrying one: "I'm tough and macho and demand your fear and respect. And if you don't fear and respect me, there just might be trouble."

Open carry people are like severely drunk women at a bachelorette party.  Neither keeps their opinions or thoughts to themselves.  They air it all out for people to hear and see.  In the case of the bachelorette, the alcohol removes her normal inhibitions and allows her to carry forth with no filter. In the case of the open carry guy, the gun removes his normal level of fear and allows him to go after whomever his submerged racism and bigotry points at.

Greatest vs. Best

Full disclosure.  I'm a lifelong Golden State Warriors fan and it is killing me to see what is happening in the NBA Finals.  But, I offer that caveat to hopefully prove my neutrality on this issue.

Here goes.

If you want to say that Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player of all time, I will not argue with you. However, he is not the best. Lebron James is the best basketball player of all time and no argument can logically conclude otherwise.

First, the word greatest vs. the word best.  Greatest is a blend of objective and subjective reasoning.  To be considered the greatest of something the objective rating of your skill and talent must be off-the-charts good. However, there is an equal measure of subjective review.  You are the greatest because your achievements have stood the test of time and fans and observers can reminisce about your greatness and can allow the passage of years and decades to further burnish the memories.

If you are the best at something however, there is no room for the sentimentality of the subjective.  You are the best because all logic, reason and empirical data shows that you are indeed, the best.

Lebron James is the best basketball player who has every lived.  He possesses more talent, basketball IQ and raw physical athleticism than any other player before him.  That includes Michael Jordan.

And here is the ultimate test.  If we could gather all the general managers and coaches in the NBA, and magically transport them to a time and dimension where both Jordan and James are 30-years-old and at the height of their physical prowess, and asked them to select THE player they would want on their team - and we removed any feelings of sentimentality and emotion from their brains - ALL of these men would pick Lebron James.

And if a few didn't, we'd all know who was being fired soon. 

Lebron is equal to or better than Jordan in every specific basketball skill - shooting, passing, rebounding, ball handling, defense etc.

Lebron is 6'8" 260 pounds of chiseled granite.  Jordan was 6'6" 215.  Lebron is faster, stronger and in better shape the Michael ever was. 

Lebron is a better teammate, a better person and has a more team-centered approach to his game.  Lebron James makes his teammates better because they want to play better for him.  Jordan made some of his teammates better because he scared the crap out of them.  The others, he turned into quivering shells.

I am the right age and the right level of fandom to easily mock younger fans who say Lebron is better than Jordan.  I should do that, I should defend the best-ness of Michael.

But I won't because I can't.  Lebron James: the best of all time.

The Worst People in the World

OK, maybe Worst People in the World is a tad harsh, but when it comes to a group of people I really have a hard time understanding - ranchers often take the cake.

Specifically, I'm speaking about ranchers in Oregon who are bitterly and loudly complaining about the minuscule growth in the wolf population in the northeastern part of the state.  Because this once completely decimated species is making a glacial comeback, the rednecks and blue hairs are raising a holy stink about the "critical need" to remove wolves from endangered species protection and give Ma and Pa Kettle the right to shoot the big bad wolves.

Two quick things, with the latter completely obliterating the former.

1. Yes, wolves have the ability and probably the desire to kill livestock.  And yes, such killings have the potential to cause economic harm to the rancher.

2. BUT....RANCHERS ARE COMPENSATED BY THE STATE OF OREGON IF A WOLF KILLS THEIR LIVESTOCK!!!. Basically, there is no risk at all to raising livestock where wolves are present.  First, because according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, wolves normally kill less than one-tenth of one percent of the livestock available to them. Second, if they do kill some livestock - the rancher gets paid.

No, the real reason that Jethro the Rancher wants to kill wolves is because Jethro doesn't want to be told what he can and cannot do.  It has little to do with his ranch, his herd or his livelihood.  It has everything to do with his pride and his sense of manliness.

And that is why I think ranchers hold a special place among terrible people.

Black and White

In my opinion, here is what a lot of people miss when issues like this occur on a fairly regular basis.

If everything were exactly equal except the color of the young people's skin, would this incident have even taken place?

Take everything that happened in Texas over the weekend. Everything:

• Neighbors from a gated community complain about non-residents using the pool
• A bunch of teenagers - maybe drunk, definitely full of attitude, start talking back
• An officer arrives on the scene with little information and is almost immediately confronted with a group of young men and women who certainly don't want him there and are possibly committed to loosely surrounding the officer and attempting intimidation.

But just change the race of the kids. Everything changes.

I grew up in the kind of community where this happened.  I have been in situations like this.  And I know for a fact how this situation would play out in my old neighborhood:

A white officer responds.  He's confronted with a bunch of white teenagers.  Teenagers he's used to dealing with on a daily basis, from speeding to drug use. He exits his car calmly and authoritatively.  Still, teenage testosterone-fueled attitude is lobbed in his direction.  A somewhat aggressive but calm counter salvo is lobbed back.  The snap on his holster is firmly kept in place.  Every single white teenager knows the snap on his holster will be kept in place.  The only concern from the kids is whether or not the cop is going to call their parents for jumping a fence.

But again, I grew up in that kind of community.  I have not been in a situation like this in Texas because I'm white.  However, I know for a fact how this situation - with different kids would play out in my old neighborhood.

A white officer responds.  He's confronted with a bunch of black teenagers.  Teenager's he's hardly ever dealt with and he's glad because he assumes that if he did, he'd be dealing with rapists and murderers. He exits his car with the snap already off his holster. He's tense and nervous.  He steps on the sidewalk ready for battle. Teenage  testosterone-fueled attitude is lobbed in his direction. At first he says nothing, but in his mind he already can see the sights of his Glock framing the largest male teenager's center-mass. An almost animalistic rage is lobbed back. His gun is drawn.  Every single black teenager knows the cop might draw a bead on their forehead. The only concern from the kids is whether they are going to be shot for jumping a fence.

Want Vs. Need: The Story of Customer Service

Read an interesting story in Slate about why people hate the cable company. The basic premise is that cable companies (and ISP's and airlines and health insurance providers, etc.) don't sell you something you want, they sell you something you need.  We don't want cords and cables sticking into our TV's and computers, we want Mad Men, and YouTube.  But in order to get Mad Men and YouTube, we need the cords and cable service.

So, there is really no way you are ever going to feel good about buying cable TV or Internet service.  At best, you are going to be totally neutral about it and forget it's there while you enjoy the shows and websites you actually want.

And our entire system of customer service is built around the delineation between want and need.

If you sell something that people really want, you HAVE to provide a decent level of customer service.  Because that want - left unfulfilled, or disappointed - will drive them somewhere else to get it or get it better.  That's why hotels and TV's and restaurants tend to have the highest customer satisfaction ratings among consumers.  You want a nice hotel, a great TV and a wonderful restaurant and if one fails you, you can go to the next one.

But, if you need something - connection to the internet, a pipe that brings you 300 channels, or a plane that is the only conveyance to that tropical vacation paradise - you are at the mercy of the provider.

And I'm not saying that the businesses and services in the NEED camp, aren't governed by competition. They are.  Yes, there are different ways to get ESPN, and there are different and competing companies that can bring you great cat videos and there are a lot of airlines. But, those businesses know something intrinsic about their customers that puts them in the cat-bird seat regarding service:

When customers need something, they are fearful that the something will go away.  And that fear allows the provider to jerk the customer around and consistently lower your service level.  They are going to put up with it -because it's a need.

However, when a customer wants something, they are more patient.  More willing to shop around and more willing to push back against the service provider.

Want is a reflection of customer power; need is a reflection of company power.

In Praise of Jaws

40 years ago this week, Jaws premiered. 

Many items of popular culture and many moments in history have changed our culture and perhaps our human behavior.

Nirvana changed rock and roll.  Apple changed the way we think of technology. Star Wars changed science fiction.  9-11 changed our world view.

And Jaws changed the way we view ourselves in the ocean - if not any body of water. 

Here's what I mean.

In a pre-Jaws world , people knew about sharks and knew about the potential dangers.  But when they went into the surf or dove into a deep lake for that matter, the thought of sharks was in the far background.  They were more concerned with the concept of going swimming too soon after a large meal.

After Jaws, everything changed.  When you went into the water, you were hyper aware of the horizon four inches below your eyes as you tread water.  Why?  Because you were casually, but methodically, scanning the surface for the fin.  Your toes and the heal of your foot acted like finely tuned electronic sensors, acutely probing for a minor brush of sandpapered skin.

Before Jaws, if you heard someone scream or shriek in the surf, you were instantly sure they were drowning.  After Jaws, you were instantly sure they were being ripped in half by a great white.

No matter what, whether it was the cold ocean off of the California coast, a warm beach in the Bahamas, a lake in Nebraska or even a lap pool in New York...our relationship with being immersed in water changed 40 years ago - thanks to that Shark you don't even see until the 81st minute of the film..