Midwestern Mugwump (mw)2

Bainbridge on Negotiation

The Good Professor criticizes Bush and Santorum for pre-negotiation caving on Social Security saying - "It's not how they taught negotiation when I was in law school."  Of course, we know that Bainbridge prefers a more confrontational style. 

Personally, I like the way Aragorn conducted the negotiation with the Mouth of Sauron; but I don't think Roger Fisher would approve.

Had to See It Coming

What's the over/under for the number of minutes into the meeting to discuss the idea of selling a day's naming rights to the FleetCenter for this idea coming up - "Lawyer Tries to Name Boston Arena for Yankee Star."

I'd put it at 10 minutes - it's no later than the fourth question.  Right after - "Is it legal," "How much can we get" and "Can we stop obscene language."  And probably before any defamation concerns - which, given that it's Boston, could mean derogatory remarks about their own players as much as opposing players. 

I can't imagine there are actually legal questions here - there must be an absolute right to deny a name - just a question of - "Do we want to turn down the money?" (YES) and "Will we look petty in doing so?" (Sort of).

Sports Illustrated updates with the following quotes:

Arena officials have reserved the right to approve or reject any winning bid. . . "That name may not be as bad as A-Rod," Delaney [the owner's spokesman] said, referring to Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriquez, "but it's still considered obscene."

Swann(y) for Governor?

Professor Bainbridge offers up support for the notion of Lynn Swann as a Republican candidate for governor primarily on the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" basis (Swann's Steelers over the hated Cowboys).  What Bainbridge FAILS TO MENTION is that Swanny (as Keith Jackson likes to call him) is also a Trojan.  Talk about a tough choice.  Is beating the Cowboys more substantial than Bainbridge's loyalty to his current employer and avowed hatred of USC?  Swann won a Rose Bowl and a national championship at that place.  That's a pretty big pill in my book.

That said, I've always been a huge fan of Swann.  His Steelers were the team of the age when I came of age watching pro football and are the critical piece in my theory that sports fans are conditioned to like (a) their local team and (b) the team dominant when they 'came of sports age.'  For me, this was the Steelers - it seemed like they were on TV every single Sunday for my entire youth.  And who didn't love Swann's acrobatics and the stories of him taking ballet lessons when he was younger.

But he's still a Trojan.  UGH.  He better be squeaky clean on the all of the issues (not that I vote in PA anyway) to overcome that negative.

Journal and Da Mayor

Chicago Report is, I think, justifiably annoyed at Joseph Epstein's piece about Mayor Daley in yesterday's Wall Street Journal.  Clearly the city has dramatically improved over the last 15 years - but so has every other city in America.  Most of America's large cities are going through something of a renaissance - think of what Guiliani did with New York, Anthony Williams in Washington, even little old New Haven under John DeStefano.  These are all revived (more or less) cities of the young.  It's true, Chicago has a uniquely powerful place in the midwest as a draw, but many cities are drawing people like my law school peers.

The lede is a possible run by Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. who wants to 'restore honesty and integrity in our government.'  And Epstein's gloss is basically

Some people see corruption as intrinsic to, if not inherent in, big-city government, and I'm afraid that I happen to be one of them, but then I'm an American, like the man said, Chicago-born.

I'm a little less comfortable with that, though I am not an expert (is anyone - this really could be an interesting specialty) in comparative urban corruption. 

Contra Epstein, CR offers -

This is the mayor that watches our tax dollars go to Ward 19 trucking companies, the Duff Family, or other cronies. At best, he has been completely incompetent in ridding the city of waste and corruption. At worst, he is involved in this corruption. Either way, this is a HUGE strike against Daley.

Finally, Chicago is run more like Putin's Russia than a democratic city. Citizens that attempt to run against Daley's candidates and the volunteers that help them are threatened, intimidated, and harassed. If you don't believe me, check out the book "It Happened Four Years Ago."

There is much to like in the Daley/Chicago no-nonsense style and I am appreciative of his apparent lack of ambition to higher office.  The mayorship of Chicago is a high calling and an enormous task, but the ongoing corruption has been a real problem (I don't know anything about the intimidation mentioned above) and will continue to limit Chicago's opportunities and exacerbate it's natural disadvantages - as I discussed here.

Its a bummer - Chicago is a great city and hopefully can remain so.

Sider on Bush and Poverty

Rob Vischer at Mirror pointed out this piece by Ron Sider entitled "The State of the Union on Poverty."  I supported the president and am quite Republican in my outlook, but I think Sider's perspective is worth wrestling with.  I disagree in points and have some uncertainties, but I'm not an economist and, more importantly, I don't think that a 'fisking' (even if I were capable) is an appropriately Christian response to this piece.

I'm keeping my eyes out for a response and more to think about.

Nucular Greens

I'll admit that I couldn't finish this Thomas Friedman piece that Instapundit points to, but I found these articles on pebble-bed nuclear reactors and the growing necessity of re-considering nuclear energy to be absolutely fascinating, particularly the first article on China's enormous advances on a much safer, more energy efficient and easily constructed reactors.  Interesting stuff with practical problem solving potential. 

Badgers - Fiction

That's the Library of Congress catalogue subject category for the Frances books.  My girls have recently discovered them after ignoring them for several years. 

But I wondered this - are there other books in the "Badgers - Fiction" category?  This doesn't seem like a big genre to me.

Chicago Evangelicals - 2 More

The series in the Sun-Times continued with an article on Sunday regarding local evangelicals and politics.  I usually don't like articles on Evangelicals and politics because too often that's the only articles that get written.  But given the series, this isn't the case and it does raise some interesting questions about why Chicago evangelicals are more prominent given the importance of Dennis Hastert in national politics?  Quite interesting was the way in which Speaker Hastert is uneasy with the label 'evangelical.'  Amusing was the image of Duane Litfin, president of Wheaton, saying -

I committed to Denny Hastert that, when you see me coming, I want you to see me as the president of your alma mater, not as somebody else trying to get something out of you.

Not trying to get something out of you?  What is he talking about?  What else are you supposed to think when you see your college president?  That made me laugh.  Just a guess, but I think Falsani saw the irony in that statement, too.

I imagine another part of the lack of influence is that evangelicals are dispersed throughout the suburbs, while the political power center in the area is in the city - a place that evangelicals have, until recently (?), abandoned. 

Also check out this sidebar on graduates of local evangelicals colleges.  I had no idea Don Wyrtzen had published 400 songs and 2 million copies of his musicals.  That's a lot of music.

The second article was on the racial divide within evangelicalism.  Or perhaps more precisely, between those who describe themselves as evangelicals and those who might share most of their beliefs, but couldn't conceive of using that term.  To wit:

Evangelical seems to mean Republican, it seems to mean white, it seems to mean anti-social programs," Meeks said. "If 'evangelical' means that the Scriptures are supreme, that Jesus is Lord and savior and that the world is supposed to somehow be converted to the Christian world and way of life, then that's what I believe. But when you start looking at where we are socially, then you've got a whole other bag of tricks.

The divide here that she describes as a difference between action and planning is an interesting insight and not one I would have thought of, but then I'm a lawyer, so if planning wasn't ingrained in me by culture and personality, it sure has been as a matter of professional training.

Three really good articles.  Much appreciated.

I Know Nothing about North Korea

Really, next to nothing.  While that wouldn't stop most bloggers - let me suggest going to Daniel Drezner here and here and here (and be sure to read the comments). 

For a humorous (really) take - go to the Chicago Report, which sites connections to the Czech refusal to deny distribution to Team America - a movie I happened to have missed.  Any good historian will tell you that it's the little things that move historical events.  But probably not quite that small.

Too Hard On Reid?

I must agree that I share the Chicago Report's incredulity regarding Senator Durbin's complaint that the Republican's are being too hard on Senator Reid (the new Democratic minority leader in the Senate).  The story states that Durbin complained about 'personal attacks' on Senator Reid by 'White House operatives.'  (which I wish the Sun-Times or Durbin would give us some context for - Reid has been criticized for being inconsistent on Social Security, but that can't possibly be what Durbin is complaining about) Okay, I haven't really been paying attention, but all I've seen are discussions of voting record.  There may be more, I just haven't seen it. 

The discussion I have seen regards Reid's comments (which he has reiterated and attempted to clarify in various forms) about his rather low opinion of Justice Thomas, as quoted in the ever reliable CNN - "I think that he has been an embarrassment to the Supreme Court."  Now that's a personal attack (though it has been a while since I've taken logic).  Reid then continued to 'defend' his position by highlighting court opinions in which Thomas wrote minimally - pointing to other opinions on other cases. 

Durbin then goes on to produce an analogy to Abu Ghraib.  That's taking the high ground.  I continue to be impressed with the state of politics in my new state.