One of WCD’s favorite quotes is from the late Arthur Schlesinger Jr.:
The notion that authority is entitled to reverence per se is the most subvervise of all notions in a free society. “There is not worse heresy,” Lord Acton wrote, “than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.” Authority is entitled only to the respect it earns, and not a whit more.
After the jump, this week’s TMQ:
“Leads are not blown: victories are earned.” You are now free to skip the first 1,056 words of this week’s column. Who replaced Bill Belichick with an offense-oriented duplicate? Plus “In the modern game, high-scoring is the surest path to victory.” Yes, generally, the team that scores the highest number of points wins.
While we are a fan of “radiation technology”, Vanessa leaves us kind of cold.
Sweet and sour plays: Houston-Pittsburgh, Tennessee – Cleveland, Devin Hester – Carolina, Green Bay – Denver.
Lactaid brand milk contains milk.
Stupid Texans. By the way, “TMQ thinks the Texans have the potential to be the first team ever to finish 12-4 and miss the playoffs.”
More wasteful spending on bodyguards. But this week, there’s more than just bodyguards: why was the NYPD escorting Alex Rodriguez to a game? $600,000 a year for Chicago alderman Edward Burke’s bodyguards? Actually, that doesn’t shock us; we agree with South Texas Pistolero that “Chicago has shown itself to be a bona fide s–thole, worthy of nothing but contempt.” But this shocks us: “D.C. law prohibits public purchase of low-mileage vehicles, and stipulates that only the mayor may have a driver. The city council chairman simply instructed his staff to ignore the law.”
“TMQ believes plain old corruption, especially, is a bigger factor in runaway government spending than commonly understood.” WCD emphatically agrees, but we wonder why TMQ so frequently advocates giving more power to the corrupt?
We feel sorry for the Colts. No, wait, actually that’s heartburn. We don’t feel sorry for the Colts at all.
“Scientists Discover That When You Slam Members of Congress Together, Money Is Released”. In other news, WCD would be happy to see our tax money go towards building a high-energy congressperson accelerator.
Doughnuts: is there anything they can’t be made out of? “Hibiscus, salted caramel and passion fruit donuts are now baked in the Big Apple, as are mashed-potato donuts with chocolate-hazelnut icing.”
Tight ends. Creep. Christmas creep. “Mano-a-mano means hand-to-hand, not man to man”, you maroon.
We checked the moon math in TMQ’s “Terra Nova” item; it checks out. We boggle at the idea that that piece of crap cost $20 million, though. “It turns out the technology of 2149 builds flimsy, unreliable vehicles that appear to have been manufactured in Soviet tractor factories of the 1930s.” Oh, they’re driving GM products? “My bet is that a World War II-era 50-caliber machine gun would cut even the largest dinosaur in half.” We’re just throwing that quote in so we can link to L. Sprague de Camp’s classic short story, “A Gun For Dinosaur”.
Do we feel sorry for the Jets? No, still heartburn.
Stupid Cowboys. Martz! Can’t run no fancy plays on my blue turf, can’t get no antidote for blues…
So, if you’re rich, and advocate higher taxes on the rich, why are you not making voluntary tax payments to the government? Pay.gov makes it easy!
“A team that can’t gain one single yard to ice the game does not deserve victory.” The clock doesn’t stop when you think it stops, maroon. And that Oklahoma State safety? The refs could have whistled it dead for “lack of forward progress”.
Stupid Ravens.
“But advanced jets and tanks for a country that Bush said posed a ‘grave danger’ to the world? No problem!” Are we missing something? Doesn’t Iraq have a completely different government now than they did in 2003?
The Buffalo Bills had a team wine two years ago, you maroon.
Dolphins. Sorry? Heartburn still.
TMQ’s latest batch of NCAA reform proposals contains one that actually might work. However, that proposal depends on federal control through Title IX. Troy Meadows does have a good point, one that we think is echoed in Taylor Branch’s Atlantic piece.
Bistro dog food. High school football is way ahead of the NFL when it comes to concussion awareness and prevention. Why?
St. Thomas of Minnesota 63, St. John’s of Minnesota 7. Mary 31, Minnesota-Crookston (?). Ashland 6, Northwood 3.
“Single Worst Play of the Season — So Far”: Mark Sanchez, you are the weakest link.
Tune in next week, when TMQ asks “Is there a link between more football and fewer boys being admitted to college?” and WCD wonders if TMQ understands the whole correlation/causation thing.