Kristi Noem And Johnny Manziel: A Minor Musing About Autographs And Money

I have spent too much time over the last six weeks listening to sports talk radio. Actually, most of it has been sports scandal talk radio. Former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez has been arrested on a murder charge. Major League Baseball has suspended Alex Rodriguez and over a dozen other players without pay because they used steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. Philadelphia Eagles receiver Riley Cooper was caught on a cell phone video angrily using a racial slur. Finally, Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel has confirmed many stereotypes about both the rich and the jocks as he has partied through the summer. Manziel is currently being investigated by the NCAA for accepting $7,500 for autographing memorabilia.

I thought about Manziel this morning when I read Cory's post about Representative Krisi Noem auctioning off an autographed cowgirl hat. As a college kid, Manziel is getting room and board, an education, access to training staff, and health care on someone else's dime. As an elected official and recent college grad, Noem is getting a paycheck, health care, office space, and money to hire a staff on the taxpayer's dime. Like Manziel, she was  probably has a few years of eligibility. Unlike Manziel, she doesn't risk losing eligibility because she will personally gain from auctioning off the autographed hat.

I don't have much sympathy for Manziel. Everything I've read about him makes me believe he's a spoiled brat. Still, it seems ironic and somewhat moronic that Manziel whose goal is to help Texas A&M win football games and earn himself an National Football League contract can't profit from his signature or likeness. Noem, who is supposed to represent all South Dakotans, can sign anything she wants and auction it off. If she doesn't want to risk the vagaries of an auction, she can demand $500 from voters to sit in the same room she is and eat rubbery chicken and overcooked asparagus. She can demand another $500 or $1000 dollars from voters for the opportunity to shake her hand. She can round out the package by charging another $500 for an autographed bumper sticker. Manziel can do none of those things.

I doubt autograph  money will corrupt a rich college kid like Manziel any more than it will a politician like Noem. Although he may make a few Aggie fans cry, it's doubtful that anything Manziel can do will cause anyone serious harm. On the hand, Noem can cause a great deal of harm if she works to benefit her financial supporters at the expense of others in South Dakota. 

Quotation Of The Day: Tim Johnson On Same-Sex Marriage Watch

From David Weigel at Slate:

Carper's evolution reduces the Senate's number of gay marriage Democratic hold-outs to seven: Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly, North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, and Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor. In what order will they evolve? To know this we need to put them into teams.

Senators retiring next year: Johnson

Senators up for re-election next year: Landrieu, Pryor

Senators not up for re-election until 2018: Donnelly, Heitkamp, Manchin, Nelson

Senators from states that have voted for Obama at least once: Donnelly, Nelson

Looks like Johnson would raise his hand next, right? Hard to say: His son Brendan may run for his U.S. Senate seat, and having a parent weigh in would lock him into a position he might not hold or want to hold. Nelson's got the smallest amount of risk—you'd think some 2018 Miami donors are going to ask him about marriage rights—so I bet he falls next. Landrieu and Pryor have the most to lose, sure, but to what degree can they alienate the gay/gay-friendly donor class leading in 2014? I'd put them on the bubble.[Emphasis Mine]

Powers Runs Political Blog Bootleg To Perfection

I love seeing a misdirection play done well, and Pat Powers at Dakota War College has just pulled the blog equivalent of a naked bootleg for a first down. Since March 1, Powers has published nearly two dozen posts about a possible Democratic primary race for the U, S, Senate between Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Brendan Johnson.

That choice struck me as a bit odd; Dakota War College is a de facto Republican Party organ, so Powers wasn't going to gain any Democratic readers. Outside of angering Democrats for the sake of angering Democrats, it was tough to see why Powers seemed so interested in a race that Republicans will probably win handily unless they shoot themselves in the foot.

Now, it all makes sense;  David Montgomery provides a Roll Call link that points to a Republican primary fight that might equal the rancor Powers suggests is being created as Johnson and Herseth Sandlin look at running for the Democratic nomination:

The potential for a high-profile Democratic squabble to succeed South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson — who is widely expected to retire — has grabbed the spotlight of the race so far.

But the possibility of an equally contentious Republican primary is brewing beneath the surface.

For now, the Republican field remains a party of one. Former Gov. Mike Rounds, who jumped into the race in November, is viewed by Republican leaders from Washington, D.C., to Sioux Falls, S.D., as a top-tier recruit. If nominated, Republicans believe Rounds would put the party in a strong position to win one of the GOP’s best pickup opportunities.

However, Rounds is highly unlikely to have a free ride to the nomination, local GOP sources said. South Dakota conservative activists are desperately seeking an alternative to Rounds, a moderate whose eight-year tenure enraged many in the right wing of the party.

While they await a decision from Rep. Kristi Noem, who would offer Rounds a stiff challenge in the primary, one other potential candidate is state Senate Majority Whip Larry Rhoden.

Powers apparently was trying to keep everyone's eyes on Herseth Sandlin or Johnson and off Rhoden, Rounds or Noem.  For two weeks, he succeeded.

A naked bootleg works well with a good fake hand off to a runner going into the heart of the defense, getting the opposition sweeping to the left and then running to right. Powers ran this political equivalent perfectly. It's almost as if he fears that a Republican primary battle for the Senate nomination would be a 3-yards and a cloud of dust slugfest.

On Professional Wrestling And Politics

Writing at The American Conservative, Jack Hunter compares politics to professional wrestling:

More than anything else, my first Republican National Convention reminded me of another type of event I’ve been to hundreds of times: professional wrestling. This is by no means exclusive to Republicans, as the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte will no doubt prove every bit as scripted and contrived as the GOP’s Tampa gathering. But I did not have a ringside seat for the DNC (which was fine with me). Still, throughout my Republican convention experience, I could not help but think — is this the RNC or WWE?

He concludes, "I’m also convinced that the greatest difference between wrestling fans and political fans is that most wrestling fans realize what they’re watching isn’t real."

I stopped following professional wrestling regularly in 2007 after Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son before committing suicide. The autoposy revealed brain damage caused by his actions in the ring.

I've never been to a convention, but the Sunday morning gabfests are rapidly becoming as mind-numbing and as formulaic as a pro wrestling match. The face makes statements that partisans cheer. The heel makes statements guaranteed to provoke reactions, usually boos. Meanwhile, the host, like every pro wrestling referee appears overwhelmed and clueless. The only thing missing is the pyro and music as each participant approaches the table.

Talk radio and Super PAC ads are even worse. Fox and MSNBC probably have plans for music and pyro.

If the situation were merely wrestling entertainment disguised as politics, one could ignore it. Because the partisans on both sides mimic their heroes in the political ring and public discourse devolves into the screaming sans substance that characterizes each WWE or TNA interview.

The Secular Holiday Season

If Americanism is indeed a religion, consumerism and sports may be it's major denominations and today may mark the start of the sports' faithful's holiday season.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, a day that combines both sports and consumerism.  This ultimate secular holiday's main ritual consists of serious and casual sports fans gathering together with those who don't know the difference between a first down and down-filled pillow to eat too much homemade bar food and keep pizza delivery drivers busy.  

The conservative sports fans will have reason to cheer when pitchers and catchers report.  Oakland's and Seattle's batterymates report on February 12; the rest of the MLB clubs have a February 19th reporting date.  If   Orthodox and Western churches can't always agree about Easter, why should baseball teams shouldn't have to agree about starting Spring Training.  The main requirement of this secular day of obligation is to mediate about the hope that will spring eternal on Opening Day, April 4.

On March 12, work will stop all over the country as people take as much work time as possible to fill out brackets for the NCAA Basketball Tournament aka March Madness.  On March 15 and 16 high school students across the country, even those who don't know the difference between a basketball and a bidet. March Madness also features gatherings and the conumption of copious amounts of bar food.

Happy Holidays.

Tea Party vs. Occupy Wall Street Scorecard

Blogging at The Duck of Minerva, one of the best blog titles ever, Dan Nexon produces this scorecard comparing the Tea Party to Occupy Wall Street.

(HT Andrew Sullivan)

Debt Super Committee Get Their Own Baseball Cards, Sort Of

Those of you who have lives may not know that US Presidents get their own cards in some Topps baseball card sets.

The current Oval Office occupant has not been left out.

  

The debt reduction super committee may not get a Topps card set, but this Atlantic article has put together stats that Topps can use to put on the back of the cards if the company chooses to issue a set.  All stats below are taken from the Atlantic article.

John Kyl--Position: Senator     Party: Republican
Statistics:  "He carries a lifetime 96.72 (out of 100) Senate vote rating from the American Conservative Union."

Chris Van Hollen--Position: Representative     Party: Democrat
Statistics:  During the previous two election cycles, Van Hollen helmed the Democratic Party's House campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

James Clyburn--Position: Representative     Party: Democrat
Statistics: He is the highest-ranking black member of Congress.

Rob Portman--Position: Senator     Party: Republican
Statistics: Having served as U.S. trade representative and as George W. Bush's Office of Management and Budget director, he brings budgetary experience to the table.

Xavier Becerra--Position: Representative    Party: Democrat
Statistics:  He's . . . a member of the House Progressive Caucus, meaning he's probably too liberal to jump on board with any grand super-committee compromise that can win more than one or two Republican votes.

Jeb Hensarling--Position: Representative     Party: Republican
Statistics:  Serving as Republican Conference chairman, Hensarling is the fourth-highest-ranking House Republican, and he's an across-the-board conservative, fiscal and social.  Hensarling carries a 98.96 lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, and in each of the last two years he's carried a rating of 100.

Pat Toomay--Position:  Senator     Party: Republican
Statistics: A former congressman, for years Toomey ran The Club for Growth, a D.C.-based economic-conservative group that pressures legislators to vote for an anti-tax, pro-business agenda and sponsors primary challengers against Republicans deemed too moderate.

Max Baucus--Position: Senator     Party: Democrat
Statistics:  Each delegation has its budget-and-tax wiz -- a guy or gal who actually knows how to work the numbers -- and that's what Baucus is for Senate Democrats.

Fred Upton--Position: Representative     Party: Republican
Statistics: Upton chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep. Joe Barton, who infamously apologized to BP, relinquished the top GOP spot on Energy and Commerce after the last Congress ended, and in the ensuing power-struggle over the committee chairmanship, Upton had to overcome insinuations that he's not conservative enough.

Dave Camp--Position: Representative     Party Republican
Statistics: As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Camp brings a knowledge of tax policy -- but also a history of non-enthusiasm for Paul Ryan's controversial budget plan. After Ryan released it, Camp said his committee wouldn't take it up, given that Ryan's plan would never make it through the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Patty Murray--Position: Senator     Party: Democrat
Statistics:  First elected in 1992, . . . she finds herself at the heights of Democratic power. This election cycle she took the helm as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, heading up the party's efforts to raise and spend money on Senate campaigns

John Kerry--Position: Senator     Party: Democrat
Statistics:  Seven short years ago, Kerry was running for president as the Democratic Party's standard bearer against president Bush. After that quest was derailed by Swift-Boat Veterans and wind-surfing photos, he hasn't quite made it back into a the national spotlight, even while serving as chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee after Vice President Joe Biden's departure for the executive. Serving on the super committee offers a high-profile task for the once-higher-profile Democrat.

Should Topps publish this set, I can see MC at the Dakota War College offering Cory Heidelberger at the Madville Times 3 Becerras for a Toomay and 2 Kyles.  Steve Sibson would probably try to corner the market on Hensarlring.

What Are Students Being Taught?

A couple of days ago Cooperative Catalyst published a Steve Miranda post that told the story about a student's effort to get into Harvard.

Miranda had informed students "that they should not expect a rubber stamp A on their report card."  That announcement produced the following predictable results.

One student approached me after class and said, “Wait, Miranda, are you saying that there’s a chance I might get a B in this class next semester?”

I replied, “If you do outstanding work like you’re capable of, then I would expect you to earn an A.”

He bolted out of my room and came back about 20 minutes later with a paper for me to sign. “Sorry Miranda, no offense, but I’m dropping the class. I’m trying to get into Harvard and I can’t risk getting a B.”

Miranda then reports that the student got into Harvard but found the result discomforting because once Harvard accepted him, he had no new goal and no way to relax.  Miranda goes on to back up his anecdote by linking to and excerpting this New York Times article about the college application process.  The Times reports,

Students preparing to apply to college are increasingly tailoring their summer plans with the goal of creating a standout personal statement—250 words or more—for the Common Application in which to describe “a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.” Specialized, exotic and sometimes costly activities, they hope, will polish a skill, cultivate an interest and put them in the spotlight in a crowded field of straight-A students with strong test scores, community service hours and plenty of extracurricular activities.

Today, the Los Angeles Times publishes a "most athletic" list.  The article reports,

The Times talked to several sports historians and many of them had more difficulty naming contemporary athletic athletes than figures from the past. Because kids today are groomed to be great at a single scholarship-earning sport, historian Richard Crepeau said that questions of athleticism are harder to answer.

"At one time this would have been a fairly simple matter," Crepeau said. "Just go to those who had, or who were capable of playing at the elite level in several sports.

"[But] in modern elite sport across the board there is such attention to training and conditioning that being athletic is nearly a given." [emphasis mine]

Both sports and education seem to have a similar process and send the same message: specialize and look for the glamor.  The kids seem to be mastering the philosophy well.  Perhaps someone is having them recite this mantra as a mnemonic: don't learn or play; just earn and pay.

Can A Fantasy Politician Game Be Far Off?

First, Richard Nixon allegedly designed a play for George Allen for the Redskins.

Then, political reporters started covering "the horse race" and reporting on "game changers."

Tonight, ESPN will unveil its new quarterback rating system.  In what one hopes is an unfortunate coincidence, political reporters have begun arguing about "Who Is Washington's Most Effective Politician?".  Andrew Sullivan sums up the arguments and gives his take.  Everyone seems to ignore that politicians' collective performances during the past few weeks indicate that the question should be "which politician has least harmed the country?"

ESPN is being a bit coy about its new formula in order to drive up ratings tonight.  As near as I can tell the politicians ranking involves the following formula:

First, total legislation championed divided by legislation passed plus base support minus opposition base hatred squared multiplied by press fawning  plus or minus a 2 percent Fox News factor prorated by blog comments with an escalated NPR factor.  Then multiply that number by speaking ability, physical attractiveness, length of time in Washington, number of connections in Congress, number of lobbyists who can demand favors, and residence in a safe district and divide by pi.

I apologize for all of you who linked to this post hoping to see a discussion of BDSM in governors' mansions or MILFs in state legislatures.

Some Sports Analogies for Education

This past week has seen several sports moments of note:  the US advances to elimination play in the World Cup; John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest tennis match in history, and Edwin Jackson pitched a no-hitter but he issued eight walks.  Each of these events seems to illustrate facts about education that many, especially well meaning but misguided reformers, forget.

If it wasn't clear before this week, it should be clear now: success is often just plain ugly.  No one is going to claim that Isner and Mahut played a great match.  Granted, Isner set a record for aces, but many of those came because Mahut was too tired to move.  Mahut also hit over 100 aces because Isner was too tired to effectively respond.

As for the baseball game, I've never heard a baseball fan say that walks make a game better.  Few pitchers are given the opportunity to give up eight because walks usually lead to runs.  Further in an age of pitch counts, walks drive up the pitch count, and few managers are going to allow their pitchers to throw 149 pitches.

The US World Cup win has been described as "maddening," and "Landon Donovan scuffed the ball into the goal."   This particular example of "the beautiful game" apparently wasn't that beautiful.  

Many educational reformers seem to believe that education is scientific and that there's some magic formula that can make everyone learn.  The fact is that education is "maddening"; teachers scuffle through long days and long school years.  Many of the successes are not caused by skill alone but by a a series of circumstances beyond teachers' control.  Like Donavan's game winning goal, many successes involve luck and being in the right place at the right time.

The other point that the tennis match has illustrated is that success is often costly.  Isner won the marathon match but was easily defeated in his next match.  Jackson's manager is considering holding Jackson out of his next scheduled start.  Likewise, education will have it's costs, even if it's only the fact that the comfortable get troubled while the troubled get comforted.

Update:  Ghana defeats US 2-1 in soccer, a fact that further illustrates that success is difficult to repeat, especially if the initial effort is extremely taxing.