God is like this

A Nice Metaphor for the Credit Crisis

The credit crisis as Antarctic expedition from Marketplace on Vimeo.

Palin's Roe v. Wade Moment

At first I chuckle, and then I realize she could be a heartbeat away from the presidency. It erodes my faith American democracy to be honest. Well, at least we can laugh. It's a four minute clip, but stick with it. It's well worth it.


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A Coin Flip? Really?

Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony asked Katy Feeney, major league baseball senior vice president in charge of scheduling, why a coin flip determined that the Minnesota Twins were playing in Chicago last night. He was quoted in the Pioneer Press saying she told him, "They have just always done it that way."

Nice.

The White Sox earned that victory last night behind John Danks' stellar pitching performance, and the Twins are horrible on the road, so this is no excuse. However, Major League Baseball cannot continue to appeal to tradition in crucial situations such as this. For once Bud, please be proactive. The commissioner's major weakness is his retroactive management style, and this is symptomatic of his capitulation to the almighty dollar.

We saw it during the juiced era, when it took Congress recently strong-arming major league baseball to implement drug testing. We saw it on full display after the 2002 All-Star game. We saw it earlier this month when the Astros were forced to play a series against the Cubs at Wrigley North (Milwaukee) because someone, somehow, failed to anticipate Hurricane Ike. And we saw it last night, with game 163 of the 2008 season. A game played in Chicago despite the fact that the Twins had won the season series 10-8. Why? Because coin flips have always been used.

Time for Bud to make a retroactive change, again.

Sunday Morning

From Nakedpastor.

A Metaphor for Subprime America

An eerily prophetic excerpt from Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How it Can Renew America",

In some ways, the subprime mortgage mess and housing crisis are metaphors for what has come over America in recent years: A certain connection between hard work, achievement, and accountability has been broken. We’ve become a subprime nation that thinks it can just borrow its way to prosperity—putting nothing down and making no payments for two years. Subprime lenders told us that we could have the American dream—a home of our own—without the discipline or sacrifice that home ownership requires. We didn’t need to study hard and build a solid educational foundation. We didn’t need to save an build a solid credit record. The bank around the corner or online would borrow the money from China and lend it to us—with a credit check no more intrusive than the check you get at the airport when they make sure the name on your airline ticket matches the one on your driver’s license. When the whole pyramid scheme, operated by some of our best financial institutions, collapsed, everyone from simple homeowners to unscrupulous lenders looked to the government for a bailout. The politicians accommodated them, even though everyone knew that the lenders had not been betting that their customers’ penchant for hard work or frugality or innovation would enable them to make the payments. They were simply betting that the housing bubble would keep driving up the prices of homes and that mortgages rates would keep falling—that the market would bail everybody out forever. It did—until it didn’t. As with out houses, so with our country: We have been mortgaging our future rather than investing in it?

So, the question then becomes, what to invest in?

Concerns About the Bailout

An argument I continue to hear in support of the $700 billion dollar bailout has been that because assets are clogging up the system, credit could be very difficult to obtain if the federal government doesn't step in, quickly. I wonder if easy access to credit, or desire for that credit, wasn't the problem in the first place. From Naked Capitalism,

The US needs to wean itself of unsustainable overconsumption, and since consumption has come to depend on growth in indebtedness, a reversal, however painful, is necessary. Our excesses have been so great that there is no way out of this that does not lead to a general fall in living standards (note that the officialdom in the UK is willing to say that, but since perpetual prosperity is a God-given right in America, admitting we will be getting poorer is verboten). Thus, a sharp contraction in lending seems inevitable; the trick is to prevent it from crossing the tipping point into a vicious, accelerating downward spiral.

Naked Capitalism goes on to summarized two problems with the proposed legislation. The first comes from the direct wording of the bill, "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency." So, this bill grants the Secretary of the Treasury power that would exempt him from judicial or legislative review? Not a huge fan.

Secondly, the bill does NOT require the federal government to pay market value for these mortgages. Imagine that, lenders holding the federal government hostage, extracting top dollar for toxic mortgages, while tax payers flip the bill.

While such a bailout may be a necessary evil, hopefully the government does not make a bad situation worse in haste.

(The proposed $700 billion legislation is too dense to read myself, but have at it here if you'd like.)

Why China is to Blame for Global Warming

Ok, so maybe I've taken that image a bit out of context.

Cruisin' the Web

Obama the most liberal Senator?

Chairmen of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, summarizes the challenges that lay ahead as we look to reform the health care system in America. A nice concise overview.

If you've listened to sports talk radio at all recently then you've probably heard the Bud Light commercial tribute to another Real Man of Genius: Mr. Roller Cooler Cooler Roller (hear it at budlight.com). Well, it turns out members of the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen are also Real Men of Genius. So, does this mean Kyle McClellan is Mr. Cruzin Cooler?

A Pastor who previously supported President George W. Bush, launched a website called James Dobson Doesn't Speak For Me to refute claims made against Barack Obama by Dobson during his June 24th broadcast. After listening to that broadcast, where Dobson devotes a good portion of the program criticizing Obama's '06 Call to Renewal speech, it became very clear that Dobson was willing to take quotes out of context to suit his purposes.

An Ode to Baseball Cards, "Growing up on the mean streets of Bath, Maine, I never saw anyone riding their bicycles with baseball cards in the spokes. And if I did, I’d have shoved the ungrateful little punks off their banana-seated Huffys and rescued all the Garry Templetons, Oscar Zamoras, and Felix Millans as if they were my own cardboard children. Because that’s how I rolled, yo." I could not agree more.

Fascinating details behind the fall of Bear Sterns. Based on this account, it sounds like no one truly knows what caused Bear's collapse , but conspiracy theories have emerged.

Bishop of Durham and New Testament scholar (not to mention super smart theologian), N.T. Wright appeared on the Colbert Report and discussed heaven.

John McCain responded to criticism to his proposal for a gas tax holiday,"You know the economists?'' McCain said June 12 at Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange. "They're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in. They're the same ones that didn't predict the dot-com meltdown. They're the same ones that didn't predict the inflation that's staring us in the face today.'' Silly economists. So, does this mean McCain won't be putting his "lot in with economists"?

Two Bethel University Professors (my alma mater) wrote an article for Christianity Today, "How to Pick a President: Why Virtue Trumps Policy." An interesting perspective. Not what you'd expect given it's title.

The Story of Stuff

"Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption...We need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate."

For the entire Story of Stuff click here.

Crumbs

The last week of school, in U.S. history, I asked students to share examples of social and political commentary from their music collection. Well, here is mine. After visiting a hospital in Malawi with 300% bed occupancy and failing to receive support from American Christian leaders for his ONE campaign, Bono wrote "Crumbs From Your Table" during a night of drinking. The "crumbs" in the song refer to a passage from Matthew 15: 27. I've included a few more verses below for context:

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

²² A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly."

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."

²⁴ He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.

²⁶ He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs."

²⁷ "Yes it is, Lord," she said. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."

²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Crumbs From Your Table

From the brightest star
Comes the blackest hole
You had so much to offer
Why did you offer your soul?
I was there for you baby
When you needed my help
Would you deny for others
What you demand for yourself?

Cool down mama, cool off
Cool down mama, cool off

You speak of signs and wonders
I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table

You were pretty as a picture
It was all there to see
Then your face caught up with your psychology
With a mouth full of teeth
You ate all your friends
And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends

You speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table

Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die
Three to a bed
Sister Ann, she said
Dignity passes by

And you speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table

Jesus Shuttlesworth vs. the Black Mamba

It is about an hour before tip-off of game one of the 2008 NBA finals. Gangsta commish David Stern and the fans all got what we wanted: A Lakers-Celtics throwback series. Every major media outlet has beaten the major storylines to death, except one, The Ray Allen-Kobe Bryant feud. Supersonicsoul has a nice timeline of the feud dating back to 2004 when Ray Allen initially criticized Kobe,

“He feels like he needs to show this league and the people in this country that he is better without Shaq,” Allen says. “He can win championships without Shaq. So offensively, he's going to jump out and say, 'I can average 30 points. I can still carry the load on this team.' If Kobe doesn't see he needs two and a half good players to be a legitimate playoff contender or win a championship, in about a year or two he'll be calling out to Jerry Buss that 'We need some help in here,' or 'Trade me.’ And we'll all be saying, 'I told you so,' when he says that."

Allen concludes by stating, “He has the talent [to lead a team], he can do it. But is his attitude going to allow him to take a back seat and let Lamar Odom shine and let Caron Butler have his nights and bring those big guys along with him?”

Jesus Shuttlesworth, the prophet.

When Shaq left, Kobe shot, and shot, and shot, and shot, without making his teammates better. Caron Butler left town, and flourished in Washington, making the Eastern Conference All-Star Team. The Black Mamba (easily the stupidest nickname I've ever heard) began this season demanding that the Lakers upgrade the roster or trade him to a contender. When the Grizzlies gift-wrapped Pau Gasol at the trade deadline, the Lakers immediately became the best in the West. Kobe? Still a punk. Just a punk with a huge front line.

Of course, now he has a score to settle with Ray Allen, and that should scare the hell out of every Celtic fan out there. If you haven't noticed Ray Allen hasn't exactly been lights out this postseason. Those two ankle surgeries in the offseason seem to have taken their toll. Kobe will use those words from 2004 and try to put up 50 every night, no matter what Zen tactics Phil uses. And we all know he could do it.

But that would require him to shoot, and shoot, and shoot, and shoot...

And that hasn't worked so well in the past has it?

Lessons from Danny Ainge on Race Relations

Just finished a workshop on equity and religion in public schools. Workshops suck as it is, but they are worse when presenters don't practice what they preach. The facilitators of the equity discussion gave us norms to follow as we participated in this discussion about equity and religion in the public schools (they anticipated conflict). During that discussion, much to our surprise, one of these presenters decided the list of social norms did not apply to her, and chastised a grown man who expressed a dissenting view from that which the equity folk were preaching.

However tasty the equity kool-aid may have been, teachers were not drinking after that exchange.

Sometimes I think this equity discussion gets too complicated. I'm the heterosexul, white, english-speaking, able-bodied, Christian guy, so that gives me power and privilege in this society. I get that. But do we have to argue over semantics? Seriously. Look at how former rotund black Portland Trailblazer, Kevin Duckworth recalls white teammate Danny Ainge,

"We knew Danny was Mormon [Kevin Duckworth said]. I drilled Danny about everything I didn't know, why there were no black Mormons and that kind of thing. When you're with all black guys, you don't learn about other cultures. Danny was great. It was like Danny Ainge, the brother.
And during the Finals, when Spike Lee sent along some Malcolm X hats and t-shirts to the Blazers to help promote his new movie, the players made sure Ainge got one. "Danny was part of the team, too," Duck said.
"We called him token, in a light-hearted sense," said Abdelnaby. "I called him 'Ritz' for cracker and he called me 'Mandingo.' I've played with a lot of white people, and I don't know too many other people who could have handled it as well as Danny. That's probably the thing I most respect him for. There was never an inkling of anything from him of racism, of being uncomfortable... I don't think I could have handled it as well as Danny. We would talk black-white relationships. Part of the reason Danny and I got along so well is he was naive to what was going on as a black person. He never even saw the color."

He never even saw color. Wow. Multiculturalists would say we cannot ignore people's race or culture, we should learn about it, celebrate it. I don't know what a multiculturalist would say to Duckworth's comments. Heck, who knows, I might even be a multiculturalist. These arguments always seem so circular and pointless though (if you've been in these workshops you know what I'm talking about). Usually, when it comes down to it, it's a bunch of well-intentioned white people, who are privileged in some way, sitting in a room, arguing with each other about semantics. But, when it comes down to it, it's all about treating people right. Not just people of color, non-whites, minorities, subordinates, etc. (whatever you want to call 'them'), but all us privileged types too.

"Do unto others..." and leave semantics to authors and consultants.

Does Christian Rock Suck?

Daniel Rodish, author of Rapture Ready, has emersed himself inside the world of Christian popculture. In doing so, he's found hope for Christian rock. I don't often listen to Christian rock, unless you count U2, however my brother-in-law, Todd, can always be counted on for solid recommendations. Coincidentally, many of the bands Todd recommneds can be found on Rodish's top 10 New York Times playlist. I especially enjoy Over the Rhine (we own about six of their CDs). Becky and I alse met at a Sixpence None the Richer concert at Northestern College (this was before they released "Kiss"). A great local band called Flood opened for them.

The embedded video below is a debate, "Does Christian Rock Suck?" from Rodish's blog. One discussion point: Does Christian rock have to come from the crotch? It is interesting.


Debate: Does Christian Rock Suck? from Daniel Radosh on Vimeo.

2008 MLB Predictions

NATIONAL LEAGUE
East: New York Mets
The Braves will push them until September. Fortunately for the Mets, Tom Glavine plays for the other guys this year.
Central: Chicago Cubs
Jim Hendry should not give up the farm system for Brian Roberts. They can win without him. If Kerry Wood can stay healthy that entire bullpen will fall into place, and it looks very scary.
West: Arizona Arizona Diamondbacks
They gave up too much for Dan Haren. Nevertheless, youngsters like Upton, Young, Drew, and Jackson will make up for it with another year of maturity a the plate.
N.L. Wild Card: Cincinnati Reds
I can't believe I'm choosing a team managed by Dusty Baker, but what are predictions without a few risks? I can't help but to think the N.L. East will beat up on each other and the Reds and and Cubs will emerge in a weak N.L. Central (Yes, I think Ben Sheets will get hurt again).

AMERICAN LEAGUE
East: New York Yankees
There are too many questions surrounding the Red Sox starting rotation for me to choose them. The Yankees have more pitching depth this year than I can remember in any year's past, and suffice it to say, there will be no Roger Clemens signing come July.
Central: Cleveland Indians
This division comes down to bullpens. Edge: Cleveland.
West: Seattle Mariners
For years people have been raving about the Angels farm system, and we have yet to see it's fruits. The Mariners may have sacrificed the long-term health of the franchise by trading Adam Jones, but they now have the best 1-2 in the majors, and a nice bullpen. So, what the heck.
A.L. Wild Card: Boston Red Sox
Ultimately prognosticators have to leave one of the following four teams out, Tigers, Indians, Red Sox, and Yankees. I do not like the current make-up of the Tigers, especially Todd Jones. They are old and I believe they will be plagued with injuries, rendering their lineup much less potent than projected.

N.L. Champs: Arizona Diamondbacks
A.L. Champs: New York Yankees

World Series Champs: New York Yankees
With that farm system replenished, do not be surprised if September call-ups make the difference.

The Joe Nathan Deal: Harbinger for 2010

Recently, the Twins signed Joe Nathan to a four year, $47 million dollar deal. Twins blogger Aaron Gleeman did a good job of breaking down the Joe Nathan deal. Local columnists Jim Souhan and and Kelsie Smith predictably differ on their opinions. Below are my thoughts.

Market Value
To accurately assess the Joe Nathan deal we need to look at the closer market. Below are closer contracts that compare to Nathan's in order of the date they were signed. In brackets is each closer's approximate age when they signed their respective contracts.

Jason Isringhausen (2005) 4 yrs./$33.75 mil. [33 years old]
Mariano Rivera (2006) 3 yrs./$45 mil. [36 years old]
Trevor Hoffman (2006) 3 yrs./$21 mil. [38 years old]
Billy Wagner (2006) 4 yrs./$43 mil. [34 years old]
Francisco Cordero (2008) 4 yrs./$46 mil. [32 years old]
Joe Nathan (2008) 4 yrs./$47 mil. [33 years old]

When comparing Nathan's contract to those of his peers who signed at a similar age, it is a very fair deal for the Twins, especially considering Nathan's record setting 160 saves since 2004. Not only that, the market only seems to be inflating. Any one who thinks Francisco Cordero and Joe Nathan are comparable needs to take a closer look at the numbers. In his four seasons as the Twins closer, Joe Nathan has compiled a 1.94 ERA. In those same four seasons Cordero's ERA sits above 3.

Why Not Johan?
In the immediate aftermath of the contract extension many people second-guessed why Twins management would invest in a 33 year old closer rather than putting that money towards locking up Johan Santana, a 27 year old two-time Cy Young winner. The reality is that Joe Nathan may be a less risky investment than Johan Santana. Rarely have large, long-term contracts like the Mets gave to Santana worked out (i.e. Mike Hampton, Denny Naegle, A.J. Burnett). Even though, Joe Nathan's contract will make up somewhere between 12-15% of the Twins payroll throughout the deal, it is much more likely that his performance will be worth it, throughout the deal. This cannot be said for Santana, whose skills will probably decline dramaticaly in years 5 and 6 of his contract with the Mets. There were indicators of such decline last year, as Johan did not have his typical second half surge, and gave up a career high in home runs. Being in the National League may stall the inevitable for Santana, but Joe Nathan has showed no signs of decline, and should prove a bargain in years three and four of the contract.

What About Trading Nathan?
Some believe the Twins would have been better suited not signing Joe Nathan to an extension and trading him at the deadline. Not true. Bill Smith, once again would have been held hostage, like he was in the Santana negotiations, with no leverage, unable to extract high level talent from other teams because Nathan would have been viewed as a rental. I believe Joe Nathan is still very much on the trading block. However, now that he's signed to a four-year deal, he does not need to sell at the trade deadline in July. He can wait. He can wait for teams' bullpens to crumble, and then raid their farm systems. The contract is a very trade-friendly contract too. It comes with a no-trade clause that allows Nathan to block block a trade with three teams each year. I am sure that Smith agreed to pay Nathan more money up front in exchange for as few teams as possible in that no-trade clause.

So, G.M. Bill Smith has taken another step towards building the Twins toward becoming contenders in 2010. Carlos Gomez has already showed us flashes of brilliance on opening day. Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, and Joe Mauer are locked into long-term deals. The Twins acquired former Rays #1 pick Delmon Young in the offseason and head into June's draft with 4 of the first 61 picks. In the Nathan signing Bill Smith has obtained leverage for the trade deadline that he did not have during the Santana negotiations--he doesn't have to make a deal if the prospects offer do not satisfy his demands. He may not trade Nathan this season, but don't expect Nathan to finish this contract in the new balpark. This contract extension is a means to an end: Restocking the farm system

A Picture is Worth 4,000 Lives

A mosaic of 4,000 American soldiers killed in Iraq.

by Nico Pitney

I hate Duke

So, pictures like this hold a special place in my heart.

"Be a man, pee standing up." - God

Peter Gammons on Torii Hunter

Two excerpts from Peter Gammons' most recent blog post (click here to read it) really impressed me.

First on Torii Hunter's character,

When Hunter's agent, Larry Reynolds, told Angels owner Arte Moreno that Torii's social dreams had to be a part of the contract, the Angels built Hunter's Hundred into the contract so that not only will 100 underprivileged children go to every game, but the team also will invest in and work with agencies of Hunter's interest.

Hunter and his wife, Katrina, already have The Torii Hunter Project, which donates huge amounts of money to Little League and youth programs in depressed areas. They sponsor 14 teams to go to Williamsport, Pa., and other areas of the country, and work with the RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program.

"I can't stand hearing people complain that 8 percent of major league players are African-American," says Hunter. "I say, 'Do something.'" When asked about the funding for his project, he says "some comes from corporate sponsorships, some comes from other players, and whenever we need more, I pay for it. I can afford it."

As always, looking for a way to link baseball to it's cultural context, Gammons draws a parallel between Hunter's clubhouse presence and American politics,

The Angels know who they got in Torii Hunter -- a man who drips energy and preaches hope and potential. There are numbers that will quantify what Hunter is or isn't worth, just as there are politicians who try to tell us that "experience" is far more important than the foundation of hope and potential.

Those numbers don't matter as much as Hunter's ability to energize and inspire his teammates, with character that cannot be quantified...

It is a joy to read Peter Gammons. I wonder who he'll vote for?