Month: October 2011

Madoffs come up short in ’60 Minutes’ interview

Posted by dcrim – October 31, 2011

Michael Daly of The Daily Beast writes that Ruth and Andrew Madoff showed little compassion for Bernie Madoff’s victims on 60 Minutes Sunday night, using the interview to curry sympathy for themselves and promote a new book about the family. Click here for the story and to watch the seven best moments from the interview.

With one of the most exciting baseball seasons now in the rearview mirror, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN takes a look at the 10 biggest questions heading into the offseason. And the list doesn’t include who the next Cardinals manager will be now that Tony LaRussa has announced his retirement.

How to cash in big time on Illinois’ pension system

Posted by dcrim – October 26, 2011

In case you’re wondering how screwed up the pension system rules are in Illinois, a Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV investigation has revealed that two lobbyists with no prior teaching experience were allowed to count their years as union employees toward a state teacher pension once they served a single day of subbing in 2007. One will receive an annual pension double what the average teacher gets — all for for getting paid $93 for one day of subbing. Click here for the sordid details.

Here’s Tony LaRussa on this ’70s (game) show

Posted by dcrim – October 20, 2011

A friend passed along this long ago video. You have to be a certain age to remember this game show — and how utterly silly it was — and no doubt Tony LaRussa would like to forget it. Of course, if every move he makes continues to work the rest of the World Series, who cares.

Americans concentrating on restoring values, rebalancing

Posted by dcrim – October 18, 2011

Conservative columnist David Brooks of the New York Times has an interesting take on the restoration of America.

While the cameras surround the flamboyant fringes, the rest of the country is on a different mission. Quietly and untelegenically, Americans are trying to repair their economic values. … Quietly but decisively, Americans are trying to restore the moral norms that undergird our economic system

Click here for the story.

Jeff Zeleny and Ashley Parker of the New York Times write that Mitt Romney is clearly the GOP frontrunner, but it will be a long race.

He has consistently outperformed the rest of the Republican presidential field in debates. He has built a powerful fund-raising machine. He has rolled out one big-name endorsement after another. He has avoided being drawn into distracting sideshows or becoming rattled by his opponents. But a word of caution about calling Mitt Romney the inevitable nominee. He is now going to be tested in a more serious way.

Click here for the story.

Bill Bennett says Republicans are looking for a new kind of candidate in 2012. Click here.

On the Red Sox implosion, Cain and GOP overexposure

Posted by dcrim – October 13, 2011

The story of the Boston Red Sox keeps getting more and more curious. Drinking beer and playing video games in the clubhouse during games? That’s commitment. Click here for the sordid details.

Meanwhile, on the political circuit, ex-pizza executive Herman Cain is getting traction on the presidential campaign trail with a national sales tax. But Howard Kurtz of the Daily Beast reports that the proposal is tilted against the poor and faces opposition in both parties.

Matt Latimer says the endless debates showing GOP candidates offering little substance might prompt a bored-out-of their-minds electorate to look at President Obama and realize he’s not much worse. Click here for the story.

Best 9-9-9 plan? Runs Cards score in next three games

Posted by dcrim – October 12, 2011

The Daily Beast assesses what seems to be the Republicans’ debate of the week here, but we’re in the midst of the baseball playoffs, and the only deficit we’re concerned about is the one Milwaukee should be in after three games in St. Louis.

As the Cardinals and Brewers prepare to play Game 3 of the NLCS tonight in Busch Stadium, Jayson Stark of ESPN takes a look back at Game 2 and the performance of Albert Pujols.

It’s still Albert Pujols’ world. The St. Louis Cardinals are just playing in it. They don’t know for how much longer. They couldn’t tell you how many gazillions of dollars it will take to keep the guy from doing this stuff for somebody else’s team next year. All they know is, they’re now back even in the National League Championship Series, at a game apiece. And they owe it to You Know Who.

Click here for the story.

Meanwhile, Theo Epstein, the general manager of the Boston Red Sox for two championship teams in the last eight seasons, could be on his way to the Chicago Cubs in the next day or two if the Red Sox and Chicago can conclude negotiations. Someone should remind Epstein that the Cubs haven’t won since Japan lost.

Also in Boston, recently canned Terry Francona was distracted by marital issues and his use of pain medication last season, a team source told the Boston Globe, an allegation the former Red Sox manager denied.

Some of the most dubious things presidential candidates say

Posted by dcrim – October 11, 2011

The Washington Post and Bloomberg News are sponsoring an economics-focused debate among the 2012 Republican presidential candidates tonight at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. In preparation for that debate, the news organizations produced three videos that examine some of the most common sound bites used during previous debates — and what’s factually wrong with them. The videos cover three distinct areas. Click here to view.

On the Cardinals, Mizzou to the SEC and Yankees’ flameout

Posted by dcrim – October 7, 2011

Notes and quotes from the sports world heading into the weekend:

• The Phillies and the Cardinals are both throwing their ace in a winner-take-all playoff game. It doesn’t get any better than that. The loser has no complaints. And let’s be honest: Did anyone expect the Cardinals to still be playing?

• It’s nice that Missouri is flexing a little muscle and making the shot-callers in the Big 12 squirm, but the Tigers don’t belong in the SEC.

Mizzou’s rebirth in football has been due, in part, to the two-division setup in the Big 12 and the ability to recruit Texas. The Tigers played Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Nebraska every year, and only had to take on Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State twice every four years. There won’t be any cupcakes on an SEC schedule, and the recruiting advantage vanishes once that move is made.

The Big Ten makes more sense if MU wants a new home, but it doesn’t appear that conference is interested. And the SEC is no slam-dunk, either. Click here for the story.

• It’s always interesting to see how the New York tabloids react when the Yankees flame out in the playoffs, which happened for the fifth time in 10 years Thursday night. The story of a retired NYPD officer’s wife being acquitted of his murder seems to have softened the shots at the Yankees, though

The legacy of Steve Jobs: He changed the world

Posted by dcrim – October 6, 2011

Steve Jobs, right, the visionary co-founder of Apple who helped usher in the era of personal computers and then led a cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age, died Wednesday at age 56. The New York Times takes a look at Jobs’ life, and The Wall Street Journal describes how Jobs changed the world. The Los Angeles Times offers this photo gallery of one of the world’s greatest innovators.

On the political front, columnist Roger Simon opines that while polls churn out dismal numbers every day for Barack Obama, the president has one huge plus going for him: The Republican field.

Meanwhile, Politico answers five questions about Sarah Palin, who announced Wednesday what virtually everyone already knew — that she will not run for president in 2012.

With no Christie to the rescue, what’s next for GOP?

Posted by dcrim – October 5, 2011

Republican New Jersey Gov.Chris Christie announced Tuesday that he would not be a candidate for president in 2012. Robert Costa of National Review Online offers reasons why Christie decided to stay out of the race. Click here for the story.

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times writes that Christie has qualities voters are looking for.

Christie can be a bully, but that may seem better than the alternative: a president who lets himself be bullied, and who lets the bullies run wild. … People are longing for a president who can understand their pain, mix it up and get action — not one who averts his gaze, avoids conflict, delegates to Congress, wastes time hunting for common ground, cedes the moon to opponents and fails to get anywhere.

Thomas Friedman of the Times thinks Christie in the race would have had its benefits since no candidate really wants to address the tough issues. Writes Friedman: Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey isn’t going to run. That’s too bad. He had a chance to rescue the Republican Party from its dash to the cliff and make President Obama a better leader, too.

With Christie out, most prognosticators see this as a two-person race between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. However, as Michael Medved writes, while Perry and Romney slime each other, former pizza magnate Herman Cain is delivering on style and substance. Can Cain sustain the momentum?

Finally, one presidential hopeful no one is talking about is Sarah Palin. Alexander Burns of Politico notes that Palin hasn’t closed the door yet on a presidential bid, but few Republicans appear to be waiting for her answer.

Never was it clearer than Tuesday, when Chris Christie’s announcement that he would not run in 2012 prompted a throng of strategists to conclude the Republican field was finally set – never mind Palin’s indecision. A new poll published on the same day revealed that two thirds of Republicans don’t want her to run. … After spending the better part of three years in the center of the national political spotlight, the former vice presidential candidate appears to have worn out the patience of the GOP.