mostly palaver

Enough

I've been seeing a ton of posts like this around the lefty-blogosphere lately:

But now I'm watching [McCain] in 2008, his desperation for the presidency driving him to conduct a campaign that's carefully but relentlessly testing ever more contemptible depths of squalor in its attacks on Barack Obama ("he made time to go to the gym but canceled a visit with wounded troops" is just the latest), and I wonder how he's going to feel when it's all over. Not only will he lose the election, but he's going to wake up one morning and realize that he abandoned his dignity in the process. That's obviously something that's important to him, and even for someone who was never much of a fan, it's kind of sad to watch him give it up so readily.

I don't think it's "sad" and I don't feel bad for John McCain.  He is a grown man making very calculated decisions not some 16 year old kid running for junior class president.  So he loses his dignity? Why should we care? 

I'm serious about this, why should Democrats care how John McCain feels on the inside?  Will McCain feel any less dignified if he wins this way?  Somehow I don't think he will. 

By the way, I'm not even saying that McCain is even surrendering all (but is surrendering much of his public persona), regardless, Democrats should be fighting that much harder to keep him away from the White House, not engaging in speculative pity parties for him.

Bad day at the office

This happened to Damiano Cunego 30 minutes into a stage that lasted almost 5 hours.  That's right, he rode in this condition for 4 1/2 hours. Look at the shedded jersey!  Looks like he did a belly-flop and drag.  Someone is not going to get much sleep this evening.

Climbing L'Alpe d'Huez

Here are the top-10 times for riders climbing L'Alpe d'Huez in the Tour (Sastre did it yesterday in 39'41"):

1. Marco Pantani 37'35 (1997)
2. Lance Armstrong 37'36 (2004)
3. Marco Pantani 38'00 (1994)
4. Lance Armstrong 38'01 (2001)
5. Marco Pantani 38'04 (1995)
6. Jan Ullrich 38'23 (1997)
7. Floyd Landis 38'34 (2006)
8. Andreas Klöden 38'35 (2006)
9. Jan Ullrich 38'37 (2004)
10. Richard Virenque 39'02 (1997)

Pantani, Ullrich, Landis and Virenque are all confirmed dopers.  Armstrong and Kloden have never failed a test.

Hmm...

Compare this article in today's NY Times:

In a recent interview, Michael Chertoff , the homeland security secretary, cautioned against using domestic security programs to help pay for day-to-day policing needs. “I don’t think we want to take a program designed for one purpose and slowly massage it into another purpose,” Mr. Chertoff said. “If you are pursuing street crime, I don’t think all the organs of national security should be involved in that.”

With this article in today's NY Times:

The Bush administration plans to shift nearly $230 million in aid to Pakistan from counterterrorism programs to upgrading that country’s aging F-16 attack planes, which Pakistan prizes more for their contribution to its military rivalry with India than for fighting insurgents along its Afghan border... The financing for the F-16s would represent more than two-thirds of the $300 million that Pakistan will receive this year in American military financing for equipment and training. Last year, Congress specified that those funds be used for law enforcement or counterterrorism. Pakistan’s military has rarely used its current fleet of F-16s, which were built in the 1980s, for close-air support of counterterrorism missions, largely because the risks of civilian casualties would inflame anti-government sentiments in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Tour News

Well, CSC did ride like lunatics over the 3 days in the Alps, with Carlos Sastre in yellow after today's stage up L'Alpe d'Huez:

1 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank         74.39.03
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                    1.24
3 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner                            1.33
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto                           1.34
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                                2.39
6 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30    4.41
7 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne          5.35
8 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi           5.52
9 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale                       8.10
10 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale                    8.24

I don't think that Sastre has enough to hold off everyone in the ITT coming this Saturday and barring something unexpected over the next 2 days, I'd expect the final podium in Paris to be Evans then Menchov then Sastre.  I don't think that Vande Velde can take almost 5 minutes out of Sastre.  Garmin-Chipotle said they were looking for a Top-10 so they'll be happy with 4th, but 4th really sucks for them too (sooo close to the final podium).  

I get "surveys"?

Today I received a "survey" from the Republican National Committee, specifically from Carly Fiorina.  According to the letter from Carly:

Your registered Survey is one of a select few being mailed by the Republican National Committee into your area. 

Because of your high level of political involvement and steadfast commitment to the Republican Party, your personal input on the questions presented in your VICTORY 2008 CRITICAL ISSUES SURVEY are essential to our Party's ability to maintain control of the White House and recapture our majorities in the U.S. Congress. (emp. in original)

Obviously Carly doens't read mostly palaver. Here are some selected questions from the "survey", answer choice in all is "Yes", "No" or "Undecided".

Do you believe our economy will grow if we cut taxes and put more money in the hands of hardworking Americans who pay taxes?

Should America surrender in Iraq regardless of the consequences in the Middle East?

Do you believe we should set a public date for withdrawing from Iraq even if it undermines our troops in the field?

Should we appoint judges who will interpret the law instead of liberal activists who will make new laws from the bench?

Do you think that forcing every American into a socialized national health care system is the best way to deal with uninsured patients?

Are you concerned about the vast sums of campaign funds being stockpiled by the Democrats and their liberal allies?

Of course, at the end of the survey, they ask you to make a political contribution which was, I suspect, the goal of the mailing.  But perhaps I'm being too cynical.

And before you jump on me, I am aware that nonsense like this happens on both sides of the aisle.  That doesn't prevent me from laughing at stuff from the other side of it.

Tour Thoughts

It's the second rest day of the Tour, after the first day in the Alps, and things have shaken up considerably GC-wise:

1 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                        63.57.21
2 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                                0.07
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto                                              0.08
4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                                                0.38
5 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30        0.39
6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                     0.49
7 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia                                             2.48
8 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale                                 3.36
9 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                  4.11
10 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi              4.34

There are still two days in the high Alps with Wednesday's stage to L'Alpe d'Huez being the one that could decide the race if Schleck, Kohl or Sastre can gain enough time on Evans, Menchov, and Vande Velde because the Tour has now become a race of the guys who can climb like angels but can't time trial for shit, against the guys who can time trial really well and climb pretty well. 

There is an individual time trial on Saturday that is twice the length of the Stage 4 time trial.  Looking at the performances on that day, Schleck would have to have about 4 minutes in hand, Sastre and Kohl somewhere between 3 and 4 minutes to avoid losing the jersey in the ITT. That's the thing to watch for over the next two days, can one of the three climbers separate themselves from both the other climbers and the TT guys, or do the TT guys keep it close enough that they will fight for the overall on Saturday.  I'm betting that CSC goes bananas over the next couple of days in an effort to get Schleck his time, but can't get him the time he's going to need.  Losing the jersey at this point was probably a good thing for Evans and I'd look for either he or Vande Velde to win the overall.

I really like the way this tour is shaping up.  I've been saying for years that with modern testing and training methods that superman-like performances are impossible.  If you test within similar physical parameters (VO2 max, power generation, etc) then it is not plausible that a rider has found some new training regimen that makes him 10% better than his competitors over a 3-week tour.  It's just not possible today.  Guys can always have bad days, but they can't have superhuman good days.  That said, it's awesome to see the top-6 are less than 1 minute apart - it's what I'd expect to see in a clean(er) race, everyone is about the same physically and the differences are in a handful of seconds here and there and the less frequent physical or emotional crisis.  Good stuff.

Presidential Succession

The probability of something happening to both the President and Vice President is vanishingly small (I hope and assume), so for the most part this is a non-issue.  I only bring it up because if something does happen to both, it could be a very big issue.  This is an area where we don't need a top-secret executive order, in fact a top-secret executive order is the worst course of action.  If both leaders of our country are killed, it is going to be very important that we all know who is in charge, with no ambiguity. 

He said he was a big fan of Pantani

Dope:

Italian rider Riccardo Riccò of Saunier Duval has tested positive for blood booster Erythropoietin (EPO), French sports daily L'Equipe reported on its website on Thursday. According to the paper's Damien Ressiot, one of the climber's urine samples collected by the French Anti-Doping Agency AFLD showed traces of a third generation EPO called CERA (Continuous Erythropoietin Receptor Activator).

The Saunier Duval team has voluntarily withdrawn itself from the Tour de France, and said it would not compete in any races until further notice. Directeur sportif Joxean Fernandez Matxin said he was as surprised as anybody. "We only found out ten minutes ago. The entire team will stop racing, not only in the Tour de France. We suspend the activities of the team until we understand what has happened."

UPDATE: Well, at least Saunier Duval did all they could to ensure Ricco was clean:

Piepoli, the winner of stage 10to Hautacam, is not reported to have failed a drugs test, but the team decided to fire him after conducting an internal investigation. "[Gianetti] did a personal investigation and consequently lost faith in Riccò but also in Piepoli because of a violation of the team's ethics code," read a team statement.

"All our riders gave us guarantees that they were clean," the statement added. "Riccò swore on his mother's head that he had never turned to illegal substances or means to improve his performance. Despite all the efforts made both internally and from outside the team we have failed to avoid this deplorable situation. We are the victims of the deceitful behaviour of those who put our sponsors' investments and the jobs of so many honest people at risk with the loathsome purpose of improving their cycling performance." [emp. added]

After all, we all know that swearing on his mother's head is even more serious than the infamous "pinkie promise" which, in turn, trumps "cross-my-heart".   Jesus.  Does it really surprise them that a rider could lie about cheating?  Really? 

Ricco also made a big splash in the Giro by all-but-accusing Alberto Contador of doping.  Fate has a weird way of biting you in the butt sometimes. 

How do you say "Bye-Bye" in Flemish?

In French?  In Portuguese? Budweiser is going to be a Belgian-Brazilian brand now. Which doesn't sit well with some red-blooded Americans:

Jordan Moore took the news that his beloved Budweiser could soon fall into foreign hands very personally: He decided he would scrap his plan to get the logo of the King of Beers tattooed on his right rib cage.

"I'll tell you one thing," said the 21-year-old concrete worker during his lunch break at The Brick of St. Louis bar, in the shadow of this city's storied Anheuser-Busch Cos. brewery, "if Budweiser is made by a different country, I don't drink Budweiser anymore. I'll go back to Wild Turkey." (Wild Turkey, a Kentucky bourbon, is owned by French drinks giant Pernod Ricard SA.) [emp added]

Oh, the irony makes me laugh.  Wait, isn't irony French too?  Mon dieu!