The Worst Moment in Sports?

When you compete, there are winners and losers. The Winter Olympics are no exception and the human interest stories that NBC so aptly intertwines with the gravity-defying and awe-inspiring accomplishments of the athletes are sure to pull at the heartstrings. Whether it is the death of a parent, a paralyzing fall, or an unfortunate injury that impedes the performance of the athlete, our emotions are affected when we see these young folks dedicate their lives in the pursuit of excellence.

As we watch them compete, we root for our favorites and we share vicariously in their success, or lack thereof. We sympathize with the underdog and we revel in the glow of the winners. We are puzzled by the decisions of judges and we are stunned by the missteps of our heroes.

But we understand that in all these competitive events, it is the young person “in the moment” who is giving it their best, in the hopes of culminating 4 years of preparation and training with a coveted Olympic Medal. The athlete goes into the event ready to prove their mettle and live up to their “favorite” status. Sometimes they succeed; sometimes they are eclipsed by someone else. But they have given it their best and are proud of what they’ve done.

Except Sven Kramer. Not much of the American audience has seen or grasped the sheer terror, frustration, and disillusion of this 23-year old speed skater from the Netherlands. He is the Olympic Champion on the 5K speed skate, setting a rare new Olympic record on ice that is considered slow by international standards. He was the undisputed favorite for the 10K event held yesterday. He had won every 10K event he competed in since the Turin Olympics. He is the World Record holder on that distance and he was uninjured and unafraid. He started his 10K pursuit yesterday in the last pairing, knowing that the surprising Lee Seung-Hoo from Korea had previously broken the Olympic Record with a gutsy and inspiring race. And all who watched live or online were wondering, is Sven up to the challenge?

He was, but his coach wasn’t. About half-way through the race, while Sven was leading by a margin of over 5 seconds, his coach observed Sven going to the wrong lane during the change. Or so he thought in what must have been a moment of panic for him. In a split-second decision, the coach broke habit and directed Sven to the inside lane. Sven followed the unanticipated directive and finished the race in first place, with a new Olympic Record. But he came to realize in the latter laps of the contest that something had gone wrong. His girlfriend in the stands had her eyes covered. The stadium was quiet, where the Dutch are notoriously supportive of their skaters. He knew and so did his coach. Four years of work, one chance for gold and eternal 10K glory; all gone because of a coaches’ mistake.

Who is to blame? No one, of course. But when it comes to worst moments in sports, this has to be right up there.

The Future of Coalition Government

My Right-Side-of-Lowell friend put a guilt trip on me to put out a post on the (not unexpected) fall of the Dutch Government. When I noticed Saturday morning that a 20-hour marathon Cabinet meeting resulted in the resignation of the Liberal (PvDA) ministers, I was not surprised. It doesn’t surprise me that cooler heads were unable to prevail after what must have been a tense, polarizing, and meeting. I am, however, disappointed in the outcome and a bit apprehensive about the future of the Dutch Body Politic.

Let me explain. The Dutch have a long history of governing from the middle. Due to the political system, coalition cabinets are the norm and the prominent leader of the largest party typically serves as Prime Minister for an extended period. While I haven’t researched the statistics on Cabinet longevity, only 6 post World War II cabinets have completed their term (that’s 6 out of 26!). The fact that Balkenende IV just fell indicates that 3 previous Cabinets existed under Jan Balkenende’s leadership and he hasn’t been able to go the distance with any of them. He has been the Dutch leader since 2002 and his Central Democratic Alliance (a party formed by the merge of a number of smaller, Christian-principle and center left parties) has been a major party and routinely part of the ruling coalition for the past 35 years.

The liberal Labor Party (Party van de Arbeid) has fluctuated in their popularity and swapped “largest” party status with the CDA a number of times during these past decades. The personal ambitions of its leader Wouter Bos, the Deputy Prime Minister of the fallen Cabinet, played a key role in the fall of Balkenende IV.

At the heart of the rift was the promised timeline for Dutch Troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Dutch troops support the NATO mission and are scheduled to end their rotation by the end of the year. NATO, the US, and the CDA all assessed the current situation in Afghanistan as requiring continued support of international troops to allow time for the surge to succeed. Hence, the CDA (Balkenende and his CDA Secretary of State, Maxime Verhagen) were open to debate future commitments of troops to NATO’s mission. The PvdA publicly rejected that possibility out of hand.

It seems the PvdA is not interested in facts, only perception. Their perception is that the war in Afghanistan is unpopular in the Netherlands, a perception supported by opinion polls. The poll numbers of the PvdA’s leadership (Wouter Bos) have been slipping for some time – economic turmoil will do that to you. The fact is that one of the leading Dutch newspapers (NRC Handelsblad) points out that the decision to resign will cast the PvdA as the irresponsible party, willing to let the country go ungoverned during an economic crisis, facing charges of abandoning the international community. And that this Cabinet’s fall could be a watershed moment in the history of Dutch politics.

Why am I concerned for the Body Politic in The Netherlands? In one word: Radicalization. Coalition governments do not have a long history of success and the electorate is not happy with the direction the leading parties have been advocating. Populists such as Geert Wilders threaten to undermine the historical Dutch Tolerance. There is a real possibility that the Dutch electorate might gravitate toward Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) and elevate it to a major party. It seems to me that “radicals” haven’t done much good in the world. Whether you agree with Wilders or not, it is indisputable that his and the PVV ideas, are radical departure of the Dutch norm. Radicalism may sell and make for compelling news cycles. But in the end, no radical in history has expanded the freedom of its constituents or created enduring peace and stability.

Although, you could make the argument that the Founding Fathers were the original “good” radicals…

DoD Report on Ft Hood

I haven't had a change to read the full report, but there is clear evidence some folks in the chain of command dropped the ball.

Here is the official report. Clearly the goods are classified and not included but the statement "We conclude.......several officers failed to comply with those policies when taking actions regarding the alleged perpetrator" is telling!

Is it the Law or Common Sense?

Here's a question for you. Driving after drinking (drunk): smart or stupid? How about: Texting while driving; smart or stupid?

Too black or white you say? How about Driving without seat belts fastened: smart or stupid?

We make rules and regulations (laws really) to govern the way we intend people to operate motor vehicles in our midst, not only to protect us from harm, but to protect drivers and occupants from themselves. I know, some among us feel that such governmental intrusion is unwarranted and overreaching, something to be avoided at (almost) all costs. Who are we to tell motorcyclists to wear helmets? Why should I wear a seat belt - I am not hurting anyone!! For the record, I always wear my seat belt when in the front seat of any vehicle (as required by law and common sense).

As far as not hurting anyone, I caught the local news story today where a 24-year-old Lowell woman died overnight in an single vehicle crash on I-93. Michelle was unfortunately not wearing her seat belt and was ejected when her car tested the tensile strength of the abutting trees. She was someone's daughter, someone's friend, perhaps someone's love. She hurt not only herself, but all those who knew her, cared for her, and had high hopes for her. She didn't follow the rules or the Law and she will never have the chance to change her mind.

You do! If you don't believe that seat belts save lives, yours and your loved ones inside and outside the car, the Internet has many resources to show you otherwise. A sample can be found here:
MADD: www.madd.org/stats
NHTSA: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/PEOPLE/outreach/safesobr/15qp/web/bukeymess.html
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control :www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/buckleup.htm

But who needs information, right? This is just Common Sense. So tell me, who lived through their crash in these tow photos? Yep, the firefighter did.


Merry Christmas - - be safe out there and enjoy the New Decade!! And let's rely on Common Sense -- that should be the Law!!

Strenght of Character

I saw the new Clint Eastwood movie "Invictus" this weekend and it was very, very good. Even accounting for literary license and romanticism, Nelson Mandela is one impressive, compassionate, and courageous leader. I must admit that I have not done much to acquaint myself with his history, other that the things that were newsworthy with the abolition of Apartheid. I plan on correcting that deficiency!

The movie, featuring Morgan Friedman in a Oscar-worthy performance as Mr. Mandela, derives its title from a poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley, who lost his foot to tuberculosis and (according to Wikipedia) wrote this very powerful reflection on the human condition.

INVICTUS:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

All I can say is "wow". I know; inadequate and banal but heartfelt. I am not much for poetry, but the emotions in this work really connected with me at a visceral level. And it seems to perfectly apply to Mr. Mandela, who emerged from a 27-year imprisonment to go on and lead South Africa out of the darkness of Apartheid into Integration! Go see the movie.....

With thanks to Wikipedia!

Thanksgiving.....or is it?

Reflecting in advance of Thanksgiving, here is an interesting bit of information on the First Thanksgiving Proclamation. This historic proclamation was issued by George Washington during his first year as President. It sets aside Thursday, November 26 as "A Day of Publick Thanksgiving and Prayer."

The history of that day, of course, dates to the days of the Pilgrims. The Fourth World Documentation Project describes the historic meeting between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag to celebrate three days of thanksgiving. The gathering resulted in a peace and friendship agreement giving the Pilgrims the clearing in the forest where the old Patuxet village once stood to build their new town of Plymouth.

One man's thanksgiving can be another man's lament or is this the law of unintended consequences? With thanks to the Fourth World Documentation Project.

Thank You Veterans!

This week, we will observe Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day. Veterans Day was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In legislation that was passed in 1938, November 11 was "dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day.'" As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans.

In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress -- at the urging of the veterans service organizations -- amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

My heartfelt "Thanks" to all veterans. Let's keep them and all those serving today in our thoughts and prayers!!

The Big Bad World.....

In the last week, I've read a number of opinions and articles reflecting on the role of the U.S in today's world and the future. Two pieces in particular resonated with me. One article (thank you John K!) dealt with the geo-political realities and the "Grand Strategy" of US administrations, Obama's in particular. George Friedman's piece on "Obama and the U.S Strategy of Buying Time" made me think about graduate school and the discussions we had on realism versus interdependence and the implications for empires, alliances, and world peace. The second article "The Modest Superpower" reflects on the roles of Europe and the US in light of the ongoing financial crisis and economic downturn.

The first article's main thrust is that the US tries (for good reason, according to the author) to stall for time before taking action. The second article concludes that Europe may be the next Superpower, at least economically, if not militarily. To me, these two articles complement each other and illustrate the advantages and dangers of the "wait and see" approach.

I am more inclined to side with the first article's approach, although that makes me sound like an isolationist perhaps, which I most assuredly do not see myself as. The second article, while I agree with the observations and implications, evokes a "where did we hear that before?" response in me. As I recall those graduate school days, it was Japan set to inevitably unseat the mighty American economic machine. But Paul Kennedy's "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers" put economic power and military might in perspective for me then, as it does now. Although he did forecast the fall of Pax Americana....

What did I conclude, you might ask? That it is a big bad world out there; that nothing is for certain; and that I am hopeful, dare I say optimistic, about the changes of the US. To paraphrase Samuel Clemens: "the reports of our demise are greatly exaggerated."

Global Climate Change -- we are our own worst enemy

I’ve been quiet on the merits of global climate change for a while, but not because I changed my mind about the validity of that claim, nor about my belief that human activity plays a role in the warming trend. It seems to me that a global warming trend will significantly alter the geo-political reality and place enormous long term pressure on the ability of governments to effectively deal with the effects of resettlement, changing sea levels, and other global impacts. I have not bothered to engage or comment on the various nay-sayers that use cherry-picked data to “proof” their point, because, frankly, what does my opinion really account for or matter.

But it seems the Associated Press did take notice and wanted to get to the bottom of the global cooling trend claim. An AP Science Writer article on today’s MSNBC website details a “blind” analysis by independent statisticians and concludes that the data shows a continued global warming trend. Unfortunately, the article itself does fall in the same trap it accuses the nay-sayers of – in the end, the author cherry-picks scientists and data to make inflammatory predictions about near-term trends. In this case, the dim-witted author regurgitates a claim that next year’s El Nino will produce a record breaking 2010 so that “a cooling trend will never be talked about again.” He should have left well-enough alone!!!

The Joys of International Travel.....a cautionary tale

Earlier this summer, we packed up the whole family to attend my parents 50th wedding anniversary in the ol' country. Now I have had a passport (unlike a certain vice-presidential candidate) for most of my life as has my wife and our kids. We travel fairly regularly outside of the US and keep our passports current.

Before the trip, I was well aware of the expiration date on my passport, which was just about 3 months after we were planning to return back from the trip. You see where this is heading? I checked in with the airline the night before the trip and input all our passport information into the reservation system, printed the boarding passes and headed off to the airport about 3 hours prior to the departure time, ready to begin the domestic connection portion for the international (night) flight.

Well, not so fast. Upon having checked our luggage, the airline employee decided that I was NOT allowed to take the flight!

So there we were at the airport, bags checked, ready to go to a "must attend" event in 3 days (this being Thursday afternoon and the party being Sunday)and I am out of luck. Now what do I do?

First the good news. After learning where I needed to go to get something done with a valid passport that had more than 3 months of time remaining, the Boston State Department office was as helpful as they could have been. It took a lot of time waiting in lines, but the actual time to get a brand new passport and walk out of the door was less than 90 minutes from handing in the completed paperwork to passport in hand. I was very impressed.

Of course the bad news was that I missed the flight, but I was able to get a 24 hour delay and repeat the whole thing (boarding included) the next day and the party went off without further incident. But the lesson I had to learn the hard way should be a tale of caution for all international travelers.

The bottomline is that the expiration date on your passport is a bit like the "sell by" date on the milk....it may be good, it may not be. Apparently each country gets to set its own requirements for visiting passports and the time a passport needs to be valid after the expected trip return date varies widely (from 9 months to nothing).

So I now will forever heed the advice of the young lady who was the first State Department employee to hear my plea -- renew your passport when it is within a year of expiration. The State Department passport office does NOT work on weekends. Had this happened to me 26 hours later, I would have missed the one event my parents had been looking forward to for 25 years!

For more information about passports, the State Department's International Travel section maintains a "by country" listing of the requirements. General passport application procedures can be found here.

The State of Democracy and Public Interest

My friend and colleague at The Right Side of Lowell blogged (uncharacteristically brief) about the MA vote to allow the Governor to appoint an interim US Senator. Earlier he had asked about the lack of outrage in reference to the impending decision to change the law/rules. Frankly, at the time, I didn’t think the issue rose to the level where moral outrage was warranted or worth the energy. However, he indirectly does raise a point. Where does the slippery slope of democratic value deterioration start and when does the “public interest” become an afterthought in the drive of the political elite for self-preservation?

I ran across an article in one of the leading Dutch newspapers, het NRC Handelsblad, lamenting the lack of political will to define “public interest” and the resultant deterioration of democratic values. One particular phrase resonated with me. The author concludes that for a host of reasons, governing in the Netherlands is now “incident-driven” with “symptoms of ADHD.”

That made me wonder where we in America are on that spectrum? Are our democratic values secure or compromised? Is the tone of political discourse conducive to sound decision making , or are we sliding toward a system where the vocal minority overshadows the true public interest? Is the lack of political engagement by the silent majority a sign of apathy, complacency, or stupidity?

Can we have a reasonable, albeit ideologically diverse, dialog about the real issues facing our democracy, be they national security, health care, economic prosperity, or energy? I sure hope so….although I am afraid we are free-sliding on this side of the ocean as well.