Texas, You Know, I Don't Think It's Going to Work

The New Yorkers' Hendrik Hertzberg supports Gov. Rick Perry's suggestion Texas secession:

Despite Perry’s fighting words, there is no reason for the separation to be an occasion for violence. The globe is replete with two-state solutions: India and Pakistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Israel and Palestine. Admittedly, these may not be the best examples. A closer parallel would be Czechoslovakia, which, in 1993, split peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Like Czechs and Slovaks, Americans and Texans speak closely related languages, share a common, if not equally intense, interest in football games (though the Dallas Cowboys could no longer style themselves “America’s Team”), and enjoy each other’s cuisines. (Houston has a number of acceptable organic fusion restaurants, and there is a pretty fair barbecue place just a block from The New Yorker’s offices.) The border between the United States and the Federated States (“Confederate” being a word that remains a little too provocative) might not be as trouble-free as that between the United States and Canada, but, compared to the border with Mexico, it would probably require somewhat fewer armed citizen militias and fences topped with concertina wire to thwart illegal aliens desperate for a better life. On balance, trade relations between the U.S. and the F.S. would be advantageous to both. Cultural exchanges, tourism, and even a degree of military coöperation would be far from unthinkable.

For the old country, the benefits would be obvious. A more intimately sized Congress would briskly enact sensible gun control, universal health insurance, and ample support for the arts, the humanities, and the sciences. Although Texas itself has been a net contributor to the Treasury—it gets back ninety-four cents for each dollar it sends to Washington—nearly all the other potential F.S. states, especially the ones whose politicians complain most loudly about the federal jackboot, are on the dole. (South Carolina, for example, receives $1.35 on the dollar, as compared with Illinois’s seventy-five cents.) Republicans would have a hard time winning elections for a generation or two, but eventually a responsible opposition party would emerge, along the lines of Britain’s Conservatives, and a normal alternation in power could return.

The rest is worth reading, for many laughs. Keep in mind, many Texans do support secession. Just this weekend Gov. Perry has requested help with the swine flu.

R.I.P Bea Arthur

I watched you weekly with my mother. You brought hours of enjoyment to my life and my families.

of Montreal Cover of The Beatles "I'm So Tired"

h/t StereoGum

Moving on Up to the Eastside

High school juniors dropping out of school to play basketball overseas was inevitable, but that doesn't make it any less sad:

Jeremy Tyler, a 6-foot-11 junior, dropped out of his San Diego High School and said he would skip his senior year to play professionally in Europe, The New York Times and Yahoo! Sports reported on Wednesday.

Tyler, 17, will become the first player born in the United States to leave high school early to play professional basketball overseas. He is expected to come back in two years, when he is eligible for the NBA draft.

I hope he has a solid support group. There are college graduates who never make the adjustment from college to the pros. I can only imagine what this kid's first year in Europe will be like. Kids are growing up so fast they can't be prepared for what's to come.

Shep Smith is Mad as Hell

I love it when Shep Smith goes rogue on Fox News.
h/t sgwhiteinfla video source
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A True Class Act: Andre Ward

Sports columnist Monte Poole is the best thing the Oakland Tribune has going for it.

It really is that simple.

He brings it once again with a profile of 2004 gold medal boxer and Oakland native Andre Ward.

Ward was the highlight of the '04 Summer Olympics. It turns out Ward is an even better person than he is a fighter:

Ward, however, won't compromise. He politely declines to talk trash even when provoked. And that's what Miranda is trying to do. He did it during a recent news conference and can't resist doing it whenever he finds an outlet.

A sample: "Andre Ward has never been in the ring with a fighter like me; he hasn't fought anyone talented. If there is one thing you notice about Andre's fights, he's always running."

Another sample: "Andre doesn't have the heart of a champion. He is holding onto his one achievement: the Olympic gold medal. But that is all he will ever achieve."

A third: "I feel sorry for Dan Goossen to have invested so much money in such an untalented fighter."

This is not atypical of boxers seeking attention. Whether showmanship or cheap chatter, it's designed to attract publicity and stir pre-fight promotion.

Ward responds with a shrug. If the immensely popular Manny Pacquiao doesn't need to swagger and boast, why should he?

"My kids are in this audience. My wife is here," Ward said after Miranda's verbal performance at the news conference. "So I'm going to continue to stand with integrity. And that's part of the reason I want to be an ambassador to the sport, because people expect fighters to do this.

I doubt I'll be able to make it to Ward's hometown debut May 16, but any locals should consider supporting this great boxer and great person.
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Republicans Stuck in 1993

Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe is going to filibuster the confirmation vote of Judge David Hamilton over concerns he's not anti-Muslim while being anti-Christian. Newt Gingrich did an interview with Christianity Today, where he said more of this nonsense:

You have Obama nominating Judge Hamilton, who said in her ruling that saying the words Jesus Christ in a prayer is a sign of inappropriate behavior, but saying Allah would be OK. You'll find most Republican senators voting against a judge who is confused about whether you can say Jesus Christ in a prayer, particularly one who is pro-Muslim being able to say Allah.

Michael Tomasky, over at the Guardian, does an excellent take down on this lunacy:

So here's where the lie comes in. Hamilton did indeed rule that Jesus Christ must not be mentioned in legislative prayers. But what did he say about Allah? It practically goes without saying that the decision doesn't so much as mention Allah. So this is what his wing-nut critics are doing: They're using the fact that he proscribes mentions of Jesus but does not specifically proscribe mentions of Allah to assert that he thinks mentions of Allah would be perfectly, as it were, kosher.

Please read the rest, if you're interested in why the current GOP is a geographically isolated party.
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