Monday Morning News Update

Los Zetas, a Mexican drug cartel, has claimed that Bank of America has helped launder money through a Texas based racehorse business with BofA accounts. While the bank has admitted in errors of laundering in the past, the question remains whether or not Bank of America has any sort of participation in such money laundering and if they have any efforts in preventing this in the future.

At 11:50 AM this morning, President Obama proposed the extension of tax cuts for citizens earning less than $250,000 a year. This will cost the government $150 billion in revenue in 2013. While Romney's campaign efforts supports tax cuts for individuals on all income levels, will Obama's venture of building a stronger middle class win him the presidential election?

Our poor, earthquake-damaged Washington Monument has now postponed is open date to past 2014. The 5.8 earthquake that shook it last year has caused renovations to reach up to $15 million.

A seemingly death sentence to a cancer patient has turned out to become a potential cancer killing life saver. While unfortunately the patient who received the new drug therapy passed away, the new-found realization of what this drug could do has paved a new path for cancer research. 

Congratulations to Roger Federer's seventh Wimbledon title over Andy Murray this weekend. It's been more than two years since Federer has won a major title. Congrats Federer, you still got it!

CR Sports: Tradition and the Mets

For all of Stephen and Matt's disagreements, there is only one that so strongly divides an entire city and parts of three full states.  While that second part of that statement may or may not actually be true, I'm obviously talking about the Mets/Yankees crosstown rivalry.  With the first of the two teams' annual meetings set to take place tonight, Matt and Stephen decided to dissect which offered more compelling reasons for fanhood. 

Earlier today Stephen offered a tradition-based justification for being a Yankees fan.  Matt now gives his take on the joy, or something, of rooting for the Mets:

CLICK HERE FOR PART I

Posted by Matt:

Ah, tradition.  The great thing about tradition is that it takes many forms.  In the most simplistic, and perhaps most conventional, reading of the word tradition, the Yankees do indeed have much more to brag about than the Mets.  The 27 championships, the '27 Yankees team, Mantle, Ruth (though I'd argue Willie Mays, not Ruth, was the best ever)... it's all there with the Yankees, except the stadium where most of it happened.  Sorry, low blow. 

But the Mets have tradition, too, and most of it is of a scrappier, more blue-collar variety - which is what we fans have come to love.  There is no team that embraces its underdog status, out of necessity really, more than the Mets.  We are the team that set the record for most losses in a season... in our first season in existence.  Talk about a precedent.  We won our first World Series, seven years later, after being 10 games back in the standings in mid-August.  Sixteen years later, we won our second title in one of the greatest and most improbable comebacks in World Series history (say no more).  Then our two best young players - two of the best from that entire generation of baseball athletes (Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden) - became addicted to cocaine.

Alas, this is the other side of the Mets story - the franchise that can never get out of its own way.  It's maddening sometimes, but it's a signature part of what makes being a fan of any team both interesting and rewarding.

The Yankees, at least before they tore it down to build a more expensive replacement, used to play in baseball's cathedral, but we are the guys who played our home games in a glorified 1960s trash heap for 45 of the first 47 years of our history (note that this is not in any way a knock on Shea Stadium).  We are the franchise that had it revealed during the end of a disappointing 2002 campaign that multiple players on the team were smuggling marijuana into the ballpark in peanut butter jars.  In addition to our record-setting (and not in a good way) 1962 inaugural season, we once fielded a team dubbed "the worst team money could buy."  During that 1993 season, a player of ours got in trouble for throwing a firecracker at a fan. 

And then there's the fact that in 50 years we had never thrown a no-hitter until last Friday night. 

I could go on and on, but I don't really need to.  The point is that rooting for the Yankees is like being friends with the kid in school who is good at absolutely everything - sure, they might be able to take you along for the ride, but is there anything else there?  The Mets, conversely, are like your friend or relative who just can never quite get it together: they disappoint you perpetually, but you love them anyway.  When they do succeed, you feel that much better, because you were never expecting it in the first place.  Mantle, Gehrig, and Ruth?  Our heroes in the most memorable seasons during my lifetime were people like Benny Agbayani, Endy Chavez, and Todd Pratt.  

There are so many more underdogs than favorites in life, so many more rugged dreamers than flawless perfectionists.  The Mets are the rugged dreamers and, true to form, so are many of our supporters.  We can debate the merits of whether or not that's a good thing, but it makes being a Mets fan pretty damn interesting.

Are you a New Yorker?  Just a baseball fan?  Weigh in with your thoughts on Mets v. Yankees below...

CR Sports: Let's Go Yankees?

For all of Stephen and Matt's disagreements, there is only one that so strongly divides an entire city and parts of three full states.  While that second part of that statement may or may not actually be true, I'm obviously talking about the Mets/Yankees crosstown rivalry.  With the first of the two teams' annual meetings set to take place tonight, Matt and Stephen decided to dissect which offered more compelling reasons for fanhood. 

Note that this is not a debate about which team is better, in some rudimentary sense (although if it were I might note the Mets' superior win total so far this season), but a defense of the overall fan experience for either team.  Beyond the championships, why should anyone value being a fan of the Yankees?  Or, for that matter, why should anyone root for the Mets?  See what the writers of CONFLICT REVOLUTION think, and then weigh in with your own thoughts below.

Stephen, with the somewhat easier task of defending the most well-known baseball team in the world, leads off:  

Posted by Stephen:

The best reason to root for the Yankees over the Mets is tradition. I'm not saying the 27 championships are the absolute reason, but they factor into the long tradition of the team. Also factoring in is Monument Park, Babe Ruth (for the traditionalists out there, the best player to ever play the game), Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and this list keeps going and going. The Yankees, I think we could argue, are one of if not the biggest, greatest, and most recognizable name in baseball and perhaps all of American sports.

Outside of the tradition there is the expectation of greatness. The NY Yankees are expected to compete every year and are extremely disappointed if they do not. The Yankees give new meaning to the sports dynasty. 

Additionally, there's just the large nationwide support. The Yankees are the most popular team in Florida, a state with two of its own teams! 

Then there's the Boss. George Steinbrenner, who, in my humble opinion, changed the game for the better. He demanded nothing but the best from his players, but also demanded that they act like professionals who are being paid vast sums of money. Also, I think he was a net good for baseball and society. 

Finally, love us or hate us, there really isn't a middle ground and that, to me, means passion which is probably the best reason to enjoy sports - the passion of the fans. The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is likely the most dramatic in all of sports.  And that's why it's great to be a Yankees fan.

CLICK HERE FOR PART II

CR Sports: Johan Santana Pitches a No-Hitter

The Mets finally threw a no-hitter on Friday night, and I'm writing about it because it's a really big deal.

No, this will not fix the economy, or get Iran to stop pursuing nuclear weapons, or make healthcare any more affordable, or even bring my favorite baseball team any closer to that long-awaited World Series championship that still only exists in my imagination.

But it's a big deal, particularly for a franchise so comically snake-bitten as the Mets. 
   
Regular visitors to this blog know that Stephen and I occasionally use this space to write about sports, as we did recently in considering the subject of ads on American jerseys, and as I felt compelled to after the Giants' thrilling Super Bowl victory.  In my statements on the latter, especially, I tried to place my raw euphoria over the game within the broader context of what it feels like to go through life as a sports fan.  The day after your team wins America's most watched sporting event is different when it's also the team you've followed since you were five years old.

On its own, this would be a rather token observation.  But it's not just the time you put in.  It's what you end up getting for it in the end, and why you're okay with that ultimately being very little. 

Let's be clear: when it comes to emotional peaks and valleys, being a sports fan is a terrible deal.  Even if you root for the best team in any given sport, over the course of your lifetime, you will be disappointed at the end of almost every season.  You will see your team screw up more times than it succeeds.  They will break your heart frequently, and tease you three times for every time they satisfy you once, starting from the moment you initially make the ill-fated decision to base your personal happiness on the trials and tribulations of a bunch of guys playing a game.  It's the sports fan's paradox, but it's really quite simple, and the fate of a multi-billion dollar enterprise depends on it: if more people were less willing to put themselves through such an abusive relationship with their number one choice of entertainment, professional sports would NOT be one of the biggest industries in America.

CR Sports: Ads on Jerseys

The writers of Conflict Revolution are nothing if not well read, so it should come as no surprise that they each happened to come across the same, very interesting article on an idle lunch break last week.  What would come as more of a surprise is if they drew the same, very interesting conclusions.  See what happens as Matt and Steve talk ads on Americans sports jerseys (it could be a real thing) below:


Stephen: Matt, a friend sent me this link today:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7929649/when-see-ads-american-jerseys

So I have a few questions for you:

1) What do you think about putting ads on sports jerseys?
2) Do you think this will happen?
3) Do you think it hasn't yet for the reasons he argues?

Matt: I read this article on my lunch break today, and I'm actually more curious what you think, as the more ardent free market advocate but also sports traditionalist (or so I thought).  To your questions - in reverse order:

3) Absolutely.  As Americans we love progress, but the flip side is that we cling to our last bastions of tradition, from the national parks to unadulterated sports jerseys.  I remember when the Spiderman 2 bases caused an uproar in baseball in 2004 and I think the sponsors-on-jerseys movement has a lot to get around before it becomes a reality. 

2) For the reasons I just outlined, I'm skeptical.  If it happens, though, it will probably be in the order the author suggested: the NBA doesn't care, the NHL just wants money/fans, and if ads on jerseys are successful in two of our four major sports, we'll see a domino effect in the other two. 

1) I respect the free market imperative, but I'm coming down on the side of tradition.  I mean, is nothing sacred?  Are we all consigned to a future no one really wants in this case, just because it will make some people a lot of money?  I understand that the latter point will probably tip the scales, but I think his argument about this "leveling the playing field" by cutting down on individual player endorsements is bullsh*t.  Level the playing field for who?  The teams?  The league, so it can be more about money?  Mark my words, the $300 mil annual figure that is cited by the author will never be seen by the fans.  You could argue that more revenue for teams would lower ticket prices, but I find that slightly absurd.  Realistically players will just demand more money and owners will just get richer.

Week in Review: Occupy US, Baby

From Guy Fawkes to bin Laden, from Obama to the Titanic, Tommy, Iraq, and the burning
Übermensch, we've covered a lot of ground this week on Conflict Revolution. Don't miss a beat in our weekly countdown:

****
1) Matt raises the roof on D.C.'s building height ordinances. Is building skyscrapers (or even just above the 20th floor) just about real estate developer greed? Or is the character of the city itself at stake?

2) Speaking of capitalist hubris - and no, I'm not at even at the May Day socialist posts yet - would you like to take a voyage on the new Titanic?

3) We enter the complex and conflicted world of the Middle East with Kennan K. as our guide, as he breaks down Iraq's tenuous present and future dilemmas vis-a-vis Iran and the rest of the region like a boss;

4) Phil rambles about the unlikely but politically feasible alliance between socialism and anarchy as the Occupy Wall Street movement prepares itself for an "American Spring (& Summer)"

5) The man, it burns! The Burning man and his furry friends;

6) Matt likewise burns some straw men over why we should continue to support American space exploration;

7) And he also burns some Caps fans for leaving the Verizon Center too soon.

8) Tommy's inaugural Take (TiT?) blasts off into cyberspace - believe us when we say, now there will be blood

9) Das Übermensch Brett Aho cometh: "Not everyone needs to go to college...Fraulein."

10) And last but definitely not least, the crown jewel of Conflict Revolution itself, the master-debaters Stephen and Matt:

OSAMA BIN OCCUPIED PART 1: WILL OWS SURVIVE??

OSAMA BIN OCCUPIED PART 2: OBAMA CAN HAZ CREDIT??

MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU!

Links for Lunch: Thursday Edition

Stephen and I have several debates brewing right now.  It's actually been kind of a joy, exchanging occasionally mean-spirited messages with a friend thousands of miles away while I step away briefly from whatever it is I'm supposed to be doing instead.  Very Mean Girls, if you get where I'm going.  Stephen's even got a burn book, but he only writes about me.

 
Just know this: when we unleash these debates from the shackles of their cyberspace cages, the ripples will cascade down the information superhighway like a torrent of toxic chemicals.  That may not seem like an appealing analogy to you, but my worthy debating opponent - and his preferred presidential candidate - definitely likes it when people (corporations are people, my friend!) spill toxic chemicals just about anywhere, so you can surely bet that he'll be in support.

In the meantime, here's some links to tide you over while we fine-tune our latest snark:

1) Slate examines the possible consequences of a possible cyberattack.  I wrote a paper about this once, but I think I came to a far more ominous conclusion ["How Dangerous is a Cyberattack?" Slate, 4/27/12].

2) The Basketball Franchise Formerly Known As The New Jersey Nets makes their move to Brooklyn official ["Brooklyn Nets unveil logos," ESPN, 4/30/12]

3) Obama beats his chest over Osama, and then makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan to share the high fives with Hamid Karzai ["Obama makes surprise visit to Afghanistan to sign key pact, mark bin Laden raid," Washington Post, 5/1/12]

4) Speaking of bin Laden's bad day, why Republicans are the last political party with any credibility to criticize the President for politicizing national security.  Did these guys forget they had a 2004 nominating convention?  ["How the GOP Became a Party of Whiners Over Osama," The Daily Beast, 5/1/12]

Stay with us throughout the day for the second leg of Osama bin Occupied, and some philosophy to your dome from a loyal Conflict Revolution reader who likes to write about this stuff.  Go eat lunch outside on this lovely Thursday... and then come back to your favorite blog, for some mid-afternoon delight.

Over and out.

CR Sports: WTF, Caps Fans?!?

Fans of the Washington Capitals are recovering from hockey heartbreak this morning, after the Caps lost in TRIPLE overtime to the New York Rangers last night.  I had the good fortune of watching this game in a bar just outside the Verizon Center arena here in DC, where the Caps play their home games, and while hockey isn't really my sport, given my New York roots I can't say I'm so disappointed in the outcome.

The whole Caps thing down here is pretty interesting.  Hockey is a legitimately big deal.  You can always tell when its Caps game day, because the Washington Metro will be decked out with people dressed in the team's signature red jerseys.  In a sport that only recently got all of its playoff games televised again, competing in a major US market with three other professional sports franchises, including the unfortunate but dearly beloved Washington Redskins, this is no small feat.

CR Does Sports: Celebrating the Giants Super Bowl Victory

SPECIAL TO CONFLICT REVOLUTION: It was a Super Monday for Matt Buccelli and Stephen Siena. As previously noted, the authors of this blog have found a way to reconcile their many political differences through mutual fanhood of the New York Football Giants - for a whole year, the Giants are now champions of the football universe. Read our thoughts on our moment of sporting glory below.

Posted by Matt (2/6/12):

It's a pretty remarkable feeling when one of your favorite sports teams wins a championship. That may sound obvious, but so does saying it would be great to spend a week in Tahiti. That doesn't make it any easier to articulate or imagine until you're actually there.

Everything is better when your team wins. Your clothes look nicer, your shoes more expensive. The crowded bus you normally ride to work is empty for some reason. The person behind the counter at your go-to breakfast place puts butter instead of cream cheese on your bagel - normally a massive faux pas - and you shrug it off and tip her anyway. You come home to a house full of empty beer cans and rearranged furniture from your Super Bowl party, and you don't really mind cleaning it up.

More Super Bowl reaction after the jump...