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The Politics of Laughter 6 Life Lessons [The Walrus and The Oyster] No thanks… [picture] That is one crafty physics professor. [picture] Sometimes you just have to play a little air guitar. Our RP’s will know what I’m talking about! [.gif] Are you supposed to be writing a research paper right now? [picture] Can’t kick that morning coffee habit, no matter how hard you try? According to research, caffeine dependency might be in your genes. [Time] Talk about a comeback. After losing his job as a salesman, Andy Lunsford discovered his true calling: being an opera star. [CNN] Got some thoughts on how to turn America around? These 20 success stories have some ideas of their own. [Newsweek] The average American watches 143 hours of television per year– not surprising, but still scary. Good Magazine gives us eight more meaningful things we could do with our time. [Good Magazine] I’m a passionate professional golf fan…about 4-5 weekends a year. I half-pay attention to the ups and downs of the PGA schedule during the season when SportsCenter’s on, but I’m glued to the screen only those Saturdays and Sundays when a “Major Tournament” is being played — the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and the PGA champtionship — or every other year when the Ryder Cup stirs up my latent gingoism. For the past decade, I’ve been a proud, card-carrying member of Team Lefty. Phil “Lefty” Mickelson was known for many years as The Best Golfer in the World Never to Win a Major; and then having shooed the Majors’ Monkey off his back at the 2004 Masters, transformed into The Best Golfer in the World Not Named Tiger Woods. As the son of a cancer victim, my heart broke in 2009 when his mother and his wife, Amy, were diagnosed with breast cancer, and I literally cried when he grabbed Amy for a long embrace after capturing the 2010 Masters. And what a contrast it was to Lefty’s nemesis, who was going through…OK, if I need to explain Tiger Woods’ annus horribilis to you, then you need to watch television at least once in a while. But as the 2011 season started to get into gear, I found myself rooting for Tiger, and yes, feeling sorry for a guy whose net worth exceeds many developing nations, and whose reputation for legendary narcissism preceded the recent scandal by many years. Last Sunday, when he put together an incredible string of birdies during the first nine holes of the Masters’ final round, I was yelling at the screen doing my part to help urge his ball to fall into the hole. And I was disappointed when ultimately he fell just a few strokes short of the championship. I guess I’m victim of the human instinct to root for the underdog. But, just as this web site’s focus is on the second acts of recovering politicians, I think the love of a good redemption story is built into our DNA. I’m interested in hearing from you — Tiger fans and Tiger haters: What did Sunday’s round mean to you? Can someone redeem himself through athletic accomplishment? Or does Tiger even need redemption: Is it our business in the first place to judge Tiger for his actions? What say you? Please comment below: What a terrible day for George W. Bush–Josh Hamilton, brightest star on the Texas Rangers, slid into home and broke his arm. He’s out six to eight weeks. If you don’t know much about Hamilton, he has one of the most amazing stories in baseball. I’ve linked an old interview with HBO’s Real Sports that you ought to watch. [Lone Star Ball] [Real Sports] Barry Bonds’ perjury trial is almost finished, as the jury is currently deliberating about charges of him lying to a grand jury and obstructing justice. I am actually very torn about Barry Bonds. On one hand, I know he cheated and that is obviously bad. On the other, lots of people cheated, so why are they coming after Bonds so hard? More than one person has alleged racism here. What do you think? [New York Times] Here is a heartbreaking story about opening day for baseball in Japan. I remember after 9/11 when Keith Olbermann spoke about the healing power of baseball. I don’t remember what he said exactly, but it was something along the lines of baseball being something that keeps us all connected and allows us a respite from sorrow. Here’s hoping that works at least a little bit in Japan too. [ESPN] Have you heard about Brian Stow, the Giants fan who was almost beaten to death outside of Dodger Stadium? It’s a tragic story–he remains in a medically induced coma. The Giants have stepped up, raising almost $70,000 for his medical expenses. It makes me happy to see people being generous. I won’t lie, though, it makes me kind of sad that we live in a country where baseball teams have to raise money to pay for needed medical care. [USA Today] “Manny being Manny” is one of my favorite sayings in all of baseball. Unfortunately, we’ve said it for what will likely be the last time, as Manny Ramirez hung up his cleats for the last time less than a week into the season. Few players in any sports elicit such strong emotions as Manny Ramirez. I’ve linked to extremely different articles for you to peruse. (I think Manny is awesome, but I’m glad he never played for my Cardinals). [Manny Sucks] [Manny Rules] This is the picture I wanted to use for Politics of the Diamond [LOL]
The final premise is not built around life and death, but around the power of words never  How would these changed events have affected Chevy Chase's career? spoken. It imagines that Gerald Ford managed to averted a still inexplicable gaffe on foreign policy in a presidential debate with Jimmy Carter, and ended up passing Carter to win a narrow electoral college victory. (It is largely forgotten now that Carter’s win would have been reversed by a shift of less than 15,000 votes in Ohio and Mississippi). It is Ford who governs during the stagflation and drift of the late seventies, and when Ronald Reagan emerges as the nominee four years later, he bears the burden of a decade of failed Republican rule. His opponent, a charismatic one term Colorado Senator named Gary Hart, whose New Democrat aura is the right antidote to more conventional candidacies by Edward Kennedy and Reagan. Anyone engaged (or addled) enough by politics to be reading this blog could spin a nice set of counter- factuals around presidential elections. Where Greenfield surpasses the guessing game is his exceedingly deft injection of real life variables into his fiction. Greenfield’s LBJ remains determined to surpass Kennedy’s martyred luster by a prioritization of voting rights in the South; at the same time, his well documented insecurities make a catastrophic mix with Kruschev’s adventurism in the early sixties. Similarly, the same Bobby Kennedy who bravely exposed himself to a grieving black crowd in Indianapolis the night of Martin Luther King’s death is instantly familiar in the fictional account of RFK facing down a mob of student demonstrators in Chicago at a critical moment at the convention. Greenfield just as credibly suggests that a presidential campaign by Ted Kennedy would have floundered in any timeline under the weight of innuendo and doubts about his character, and that Ronald Reagan’s penchant for tactical boldness (think: the real life near selection of Ford as a running mate in 1980) might have led to a historic choice of a running mate in the fictional version of 1980. Read the rest of… We will lead off hump day with the introduction of our fifth recovering politician. He was a young, rising U.S. Congressman, who tried and failed to make the leap to the Governor’s office in his home state. He now is a widely respected practicing attorney. Rather than follow the pattern of previous contributing RPs, this former official will share with you a new book that has inspired and entertained him. And if you enjoy historical fiction, you’ll love the book as well. Hope to see you back here tomorrow. The race is officially on. Less than 26 years before the filing deadline, we now have two slates running for Governor in 2037. You may have caught the RP’s announcement earlier today that he was running with 17-year-old John Y. Brown, IV as his running mate. Now read contributing RP John Y. Brown, III‘s statement in response:
Thoughts? Do you have a favorite ticket? Other ideas for candidates? Did you read Brown’s column about political addiction yesterday and are jonesing to jump in the race yourself? Please use the comment section below to make any statements, announcements, etc.: Eric Clapton’s greatest album of all time–Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos–recently received a remaster. It’s fantastic. [Layla] The RP himself confessed his love for Adele a few days ago. Her disc, 21, has been burning up the charts. It’s also really good. [Rumor Has It] Radiohead dropped an album a few weeks ago. It’s always worth it to check it out when that happens–they did write Kid A and OK Computer once upon a time. Radiohead is one of the most political bands still releasing music. You won’t find their albums on popular services–they self release everything. [Morning Mr. Magpie] The Foo Fighters are one of my favorite bands of all time. While I really enjoyed Dave Grohl’s side project Them Crooked Vultures, it is good to see him back in action with his greatest band (yeah, I said that). [Rope] Wiz Khalifa, who you may know from the song Black and Yellow released an album last week. I’m not sold on it, but its super popular. [Roll Up] Britney Spears’ new album, Femme Fatale, debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. She’s back! The album is more dance-y than she has ever been before. I like it pretty well. [Hold It Against Me] OK Go, the band that makes incredible music videos and pretty good alt rock music, recently released an album called The Greatest Song I Ever Heard to go with Morgan Spurlock’s documentary The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. [The Greatest Song I Ever Heard] Steve Martin released a bluegrass album with the Steep Canyon Rangers called Rare Bird Alert. There is a hilarious song on there about being an atheist and not having any songs to sing. As a Baptist, this is not a problem I have ever faced. I still find the song really funny. [Atheists Ain’t Got No Songs – Live at Bonnaroo] This past weekend, the RP showed up as a guest on “Kentucky Newsmakers,” the long running talk show hosted by living legend Bill Bryant. The RP waxed nostalgically about his career in politics and shared his vision for The Recovering Politician. Inadvertently, he also made some news when Bryant asked him about his political future: The RP announced his bid for Governor in 2037, with running mate, John Y. Brown, IV, the 17-year-old son of contributing RP John Y. Brown, III. Watch the interview below (The RP’s stunning announcement comes about 12 minutes in): While Bryant accurately noted in the interview that 2037 is not an election year, the RP neglected to respond that his ticket’s top policy goal is to amend the state constituion to hold a gubernatorial election in 2037. Platform position #2 is to bring back the electric chair…for politicians who use online petitions. Plank 3, devised by Lt. Governor candidate Brown, is to implement voluntary furloughs, up to 30 days, for high school students: Brown explained, “In these tough economic times, it is important for all of us to share some of the sacrifice.” Stay tuned to RPTV for all of the latest news on the 2037 campaign… Much has been (and will continue to be) written about this year’s Masters—especially the spectacular battle to the finish and Rory’s agonizing implosion on Sunday. This piece from Golf magazine (normally less hyperbolic than many sports magazines and websites) caught the attention of the RP because news of Tiger Woods’ death may be greatly exaggerated. Check out, in particular, the comments following the article. Coarse dialogue is no more unusual in sport than in politics, but the author may have gone a little overboard on this one. [Golf]
Again, sometimes the comments that follow “news” items on websites are far more telling than the story itself. Should we expect equal access for reporters to a men’s locker room in a country club whose membership is open only to men? What do you think? Let us know! [CNN] Alright, we all want to stay fit of mind and body—and for good reason. As Lord Perceval said, “The physically fit can enjoy their vices.” This is a sport that involves swings and queens—and you’ve probably never heard of it. But talk about cross-training! [Krulwich Wonders] You would think that competitive sport between two countries that have been near the brink of nuclear war more than once could get pretty ugly. After a brief search by the RP, however, this was about as uncivil as it got—and it was big news! If only Kashmir could be as easily defused. [YouTube] |
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