April 20, 2006
The American Economic Miracle
Tom Toles has an interesting take on the U.S. economy in the Washington Post (WaPo)
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:55 AM | Comments (1)
March 1, 2006
Can Tom Tomorrow See the Future?
Tom Tomorrow reprints an old cartoon for our enjoyment here
Posted by Chip Spear at 2:44 PM | Comments (1)
November 4, 2005
Political Football
Posted by Chip Spear at 4:16 PM | Comments (0)
July 20, 2005
The Old Single Wing
You see below a diagram of an old football formation called the Single Wing, invented by Pop Warner in 1907. It is rarely used, showing up in some high school offenses and perhaps a college or two. However I have never seen it used or described in a modern professional game.
Notice how the offense is unbalanced, overly weighted on the right side. Conversely if you were playing defense you are loaded on the left. Ah, so perhaps we have a little metaphor again. The Bushies are playing a game where everything is loaded on the right. If their main supporters had their way they would probably erase the left part of the field, and all players would line up in single file on the far right sideline. The neocons continue to push this right side offense, which being Republican is not surprising.
We live in a world that is not right, or left but all spread out, covering all parts of the field. Notice how much space is open on the left side? Perhaps the White House has some opportunities for big gains there. One only has to remember the big scores that Nixon made with China, surprising almost every political pundit at the time. And keep in mind that Ariel Sharon, that right wing ideologue in Israel launched an end around to the left with his Gaza withdrawals.
I bring this up just to point out that the single wing was abandoned as an effective strategy when the T-formation emerged in the early 40's. New defenses emerged to stop it. The offense was unable to effectively move the ball. Coaches developed new, more successful game plans. In the long run Bush will find the same thing. Perhaps it is becoming more apparent as he runs into increasing problems with his foreign and domestic agendas. This could be due to the fact that defenses adjusted and he finds it more difficult to make gains by insisting on a right side game plan to the exclusion of other options. A government can't live forever on the right, any more than it can live on the left. Over the long term the game balances out.
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:33 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 29, 2005
White Is......
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:31 PM | Comments (0)