Monday, January 29, 2007

Illegal Immigrants II. The Job Issue

THE JOB ISSUE

Here is the main point for Americans and the most important issue of this debate. Foreign workers and the end of the American Dream. It was not long ago when an AVERAGE worker could afford to buy a house, car and have enough left to send their children off to college. Those days are gone. There aren't any jobs for even skilled laborers anymore that can support hardly one person let alone a family. With the influx of so much labor that can be purchased for less than minimum wage, the effect is a stagnation of the rising minimum wage. The system has been worked for almost two centuries to a point where labor in this country was given decent wages, benefits and hours because the constant flood of cheap labor had been removed. Immigrants from south of the border that are here to work and leave, dont have to pay for all the community costs of native workers and therefore can afford to work at smaller wages because their cost of living is based on Chihuahua or Juarez costs of living: there is a supreme mismatch. Americans can't afford to work as cheap.

What right do we have in this country to have higher wages and standards of living? Because Americans became a nation based on meritocracy and ability rather than how white your skin was and who your father was, that's why. Everyone had the opportunity to work hard and play ball as long as they play on an equal playing field (That's not to say it was without some advantages and disadvantages but it was more fair than anywhere else). When that field begins to be pulled from beneath, who wouldn't be concerned? This balance of power, the equilibrium that developed over the years had prevented big business from running away with all the money, but with so many workers in play, they can pick their team, paying far less. Thats what the constant influx of foreign workers does to the labor force. It floods the market driving prices way down and profits way up. Because we are citizens in this democratic country, it is our right to restrict who can come and go through our great country. This is any sovereign nation's free right. Besides, it is probably harder for an average American to get a job in Europe or Australia or NZ than it is for anyone else to get one in American and yet because we want to limit illegal workers from entering, we are at fault? I don't think so.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Blog Riotus down until recovery

Pats lost to the Colts in the AFC Championship game after leading for 59 minutes of the game. I am upset (but not a sore loser; Peyton Manning was literally unstoppable in the second half).

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Sore Loser Award

The New England Patriots beat the San Diego Chargers to advance to the American Football Conference's Championship game. After their demise on the field, Chargers All-World RB LaDainian Tomlinson, stormed the field to confront Patriots players celebrating on the Chargers symbol at the middle of the field. Patriots players were rubbing their upset victory in by imitating linebacker Shawn Merriman's sack dance, a dance that he himself did standing above Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after knocking him down on a pass attempt during the game. After listening to Merriman's cocksure comments on everything short of eating Brady's non-existent children the week leading up to the contest, the sealed-lipped Patriots must have been at a boiling point.

After a missed field goal by San Diego and resulting Patriots win, the Patriots released their aggression with zeal, doing Merriman's dance. The shock of defeat combined with the well-aimed Patriots comeback sent LT into a firestorm, sending him in a fury across the field at Patriots players and into the post-game with fiery words spouted at Patriots coach Bill Belichick. While LT's frustration can be understandable, Merriman's explanation of events, on the contrary, is laughable. I have been waiting all week from a comment from the Patriots camp to explain to simple-minded people that the Patriots were merely expressing their exhilaration defeating a team that was running their mouths before and during the game. The national media, so obsessed with getting a juicy story, forgot to validate reality by only seeing it through LT's eyes. Had it reviewed the behavior of Merriman, his pre-game comments and on-field celebrations with any depth, this would not be a story of a winning team without integrity, but a few sore losers.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Major League Soccer crumbles, signs big-name, washed-up player

I had heard rumors that the LA Galaxy were throwing out feelers to acquire David "Spiceboy" Beckham and optimistic that it could be done to give the MLS popularity without bankrupting the league. The MLS has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Soccer is not a novelty in the US, but it is certainly a stretch to call it popular. Without the big names of club tradition and superstars of Europe, or the raw talent of Brazil, the MLS needed to build its reputation from the outset with good, tough play from its players and smart signing decisions from its teams. Beckham's multimillion dollar contract gives the MLS neither a hard working player, nor a sound investment. 32-year old Beckham has already peaked in his career. Dropped by England's national team and Real Madrid, Beckham only hope for remaining competitive option for European football was in the scandal-ridden Italian league at Milan. Given Beckham is already a household name in the US, and with Los Angeles the entertainment capital of the world, it is no stretch that Beckham would strongly consider entering the twilight of his career there. There is no doubt that Beckham still has some strong soccer left to play; but it remains to be seen whether his 10 million a year presence will be a blessing for the budding MLS or a financial crisis. After all, he is no Pele. Let's hope his name brings fans over the country to the stadiums and the MLS can sustain his exorbitant salary. Otherwise, the MLS will follow in the footsteps of the NASL.

Nobody seems to learn from history

When historians talk of blunders that could have been avoided, they all point to Hitler's fateful decision to invade Russia during World War II. Had he read of the account of Napolean's ill-fated march of typhus and frostbite coming back from Moscow in 1812, Hitler may have thought otherwise than have his Wehrmacht embark on Operation Barbarossa. My question is why the somewhat positive outcome of the combined German-Austrian army in Russia is not ever mentioned. Although the Austrians rarely could defeat the Russians on their own during the Great War, the Germans handily defeated Russian armies year after year until their capitulation.

Reading about the American-Japanese Naval conflict during WWII, I could not help but think that the Japanese must have read too much into history. While Alfred Thayer Mahan's impressive Sea Power tome and Lord Nelson's victory at Trafalgar were certainly a must-read for admirals and naval war planners during the age of sail, the advent of the aeroplane changed warfare into a third dimension. By the time of WWII, the rules of war had changed entirely from Nelson's 1805 victory. Battleships or "dreadnoughts" would not rule the waves any longer.

Forward thinking strategists realized that the air ruled over the sea. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, both US aircraft carriers were at sea. Although the Japanese planes did considerable damage to the Pacific fleet that day, the Americans did not lose their most vital asset in the Pacific, their carriers. And some Japanese knew it. America's material might would eventually overwhelm the Japanese.

The Japanese were fighting a war and based victory on their fighting spirit. In an age of technology and innovation, fighting spirit would not carry the Rising Sun to victory over the Americans. They believed the arrogant soldiers and sailors would not last in a war of attrition, that American housewives would lower morale by abandoning their men off at war with interlopers back home, and heaven was on the side of the Japanese. It turns out Japanese "Night Vision" was no match for American radar and bullets fly just as fast and straight from an arrogant gun as they do from one with superior fighting spirit.

Technology, especially superior weaponry, were outclassed by determination in Vietnam, completing the cycle of triumphs: Technology over the will, the will over technology. Current strategies are always forged on the tails of past ones. Napolean's cannon overwhelmed the practice of line infantry battles, although the Americans did not take the cue and weaponry of the American Civil War wrought disatrous casualties on Confederate and Union ranks. Outflanking and troop movements of the late 19th century were outdated by the Great War in Europe. In turn, static defenses such as trenches and the Maginot Line were rendered obsolete by tanks, planes and blitzkrieg tactics. In the same way, Nelson's strategies of headlong attack and victory by superior seamanship and determination were lost in the shuffle of improving technologies. But just like Stalin's winter ultimately stopped Hitler's blitzkrieg, 'Nam's jungles and moisture crippled America's might.

It is remarkable to me that men and women's lives are thrown away because proper contextual elements are not included into modern war planning. American strategy in Vietnam failed because enemy units could not be located and brought into a set-piece battle. Technology could not be used because there was no one to use it on. The short-sighted strategy did not include the intangibles.

Recently, the intangible elements were not followed again. 3020 American soldiers and countless Iraqi civilians later, there is no end in sight, yet we were declared a winner years ago. With infrastructure standing upon the fall of Baghdad, the administrators and soldiers were told to go home. Then we brought in novices from America with no experience with the local custom, language or economics to run the country.

The problem stems from improper planning. American war planners did not anticipate Iraqi organized military resistance to be none-existant. Without a plan for Iraq after the takeover, American soldiers were left with occupational duties they had not trained for. The strategy had not included all the intangibles; in this case, no resistance and a vicious vaccum of power. Nobody did seem to think of the possible outcomes when Saddam fell from power. No one questioned if Saddam's brutality was the result of a populace that could not be controlled without force. The only problem with not knowing: It is their job to know the outcomes of their decisions, especially when planning a pre-emptive war. Ignorance cannot be used as an excuse.

So with Bush now committing 20,000 new troops to Iraq, he does so with a new strategy for doing a better job training Iraqi troops and a threat of pulling the American blank check from the Iraqi goverment's hands. I am not enthusiastic about Bush's plan or his integrity: He is simply and obviously trying to pass the Iraq debacle on to the next president. While the situation seems like it could not be any worse, the president's next hard sell to the American people is a plan, a strategy that involves more Americans troops and more anticipated loss of life. Although I hope Americans are not really foolish to believe that Bush is doing anything other than prolonging death and destruction until 2009, we all hope that we can move forward, stop the violence and killing, and secure peace in Iraq. Unfortunately Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld (more like Rumsfled) and the rest of the warhawks "drew up their plan on the back of a matchbook without thinking. It was the plan of a boy." And instead of keeping these boys playing with their toy soldiers in a sandbox, they are playing with American bodies. When is enough, enough?

Hopefully this "augmentation" (as Secretary of State Rice delicately used in the place of escalation) is teamed with strategic thinking that emcompasses the intangibles. As we all know blitzkrieg may have taken Baghdad, but spirit and determination will not give us victory. We need a real plan that involves intelligence in the place of brawn. This is not to say troops are not needed in sensitive situations, but how do troops stop violence with more violence? Isn't an occupation exactly the kind of thing that prevents true freedom? Moreover, democracy may never have a chance in Iraq because it's not entirely clear whether Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurds could ever possibly co-exist without a violent arm holding them together.

If there is a lesson of history to be learned from the mess in Iraq, it is that current conflicts must be met with current strategy and intelligent thinking. Quitting may save lives now, but with American insistence on Middle East oil as a source for energy, it won't be long before our interests in the region cost more American lives. This is not to say let's stay in Iraq as long as it takes as some suggest, rather, maybe it's time to rethink the costs of basing our entire economy on middle east oil, because foward thinking does safe lives and money. Basing our economy in the past will only serve us future defeat.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

National Championship Game - The Feast of the Buckeyes

I was nervous and anxious before the game, fearful to predict what outcome would result, or even how they would match up. For months I had been hearing unending news of OSU’s invincibility countered by the Gators vulnerability. With all these epic accounts of OSU’s greats to boot, I was wondering why we were even playing this game and not erecting statues of Smith and Laurenitis up instead. A ten point spread? I didn’t see it that far apart but it seemed everyone else did outside of Gainesville. When I read the stories of Columbus’ new taste for gator meat I couldn't help but face the uncomfortable doubt of UF's chances. How could these fans be so confident about victory? South 1000 miles, the Gator’s fans didn’t seem to listen to hype. In Gainesville, fans were buying up National Championship gear as if supplies were going to run out. (That’s why you always see Championship apparel on sale in 6 months, because there is always a limitless supply)

Matching my uneasy nerves, I was brought to Game On, Boston’s OSU Alumni bar (I was unaware of the bar's affiliation before entering) by a few friends of the OSU persuasion. At Game On, I was one of three or four gators, the only wearing a Gators jersey, in a sea of red. There were probably around 300 buckeyes. The collective roar of the buckeyes’ fans watching their team being welcomed to the field made my anxiety even worse. Then came the kickoff… after two colossal pancake blocks by OSU, Ginn races down the sideline for a touchdown. Just like that. I thought for a few moments how I was going to have to leave and take the subway home without a ride, to avoid personal embarrasment and to bear witness to the upcoming rout. What was I supposed to expect?

Without losing a beat, Florida returned the kick and seamlessly marched into Ohio State’s red zone and Leak tossed a TD pass to Dallas Baker 7-7. Florida’s spread offense reminded me of something familiar: the Pats. Eating up 4 or 5 yards a play, creating many Third and shorts and happily taking what the D was offering.

I was still waiting for OSU to explode. We caught a glimpse of that explosion from Pittman’s 18 yard touchdown run in the second quarter but that turned out to be more flash than combustion. Florida’s offense did not falter, putting together consistent drives. Heismann winner Troy Smith and buckeyes could not. Florida’s defensive speed was something that Tressel’s squad had not been able to prepare for. Florida coach Urban Meyer had the Buckeyes playing honest on D by throwing screen passes, running reverses and draws, not letting OSU throw the kitchen sink at Leak. OSU never got any real consistent pressure on Leak as a result. Meanwhile, Florida’s D line never let Smith out of their sights, racking up 5 sacks and forcing uncharacteristic incompletions. Smith winded up going 4-13 for an embarrassing 35 yards. In all Ohio State’s offense compiled a dismal 82 yards in their 41-14 loss to UF.

During the game OSU’s hardened fans exposed their softness, approaching me with either idle threats about Ohio State’s impending comeback, asking how this was all possible, insulting me (“You’re ugly!”, a Ginn jersey clad hottie yelled in my face) and then giving excuses (the layover, Ginn injury, superstitious SI cover, etc etc). When a team is as hyped as the Buckeyes, the loss is even harder to digest. Once thought to be the “greatest OSU team in history”, they have became an ugly reality that Ohio State fans have to grasp. After knocking off both #2 ranked teams they faced, maybe this was a foreshadowing that they indeed deserved the #2 rank. And so be it, the final AP poll has them at #2 behind Florida.

There has to be something said about the layoff that OSU had between its last game, a 41-38 victory over league rival (and then-ranked #2) Michigan. Florida had two weeks less hibernation and looked in tune. Blame it on the layoff, but I doubt very much that ability is lost in fewer than two months. In the last few weeks I have wanted to believe what I already knew watching the SEC: There is no conference with better football talent, speed and athletic ability than can be found in the SEC. And I will bet a 12-1 SEC team over any other 12-0 team from another conference, any day. Atleast for the recent future, anyway. I said before the game regardless of outcome, and I will say this again: OSU would not have been perfect had it played in 9 SEC Conference games this season and perhaps would not had even played last night. Go Gators.