Dimmy Karras 

Dean News

Howard Dean's son tried to steal booze from a country club in Vermont, we learned today. Dean cancelled campaign plans for the weekend and went home instead. He will still make his formal announcement that he's running for president on Monday. The speech is at 1:00 and I expect it will be on C-SPAN at least, maybe even CNN et al. The Dean for America web site has details on the announcement, rallies, and everything else you may want to know about Howard Dean.

Initially I was skeptical of Dean's candidacy, but I must say that he is growing on me as I see and hear more of him. I thought John Edwards would be the candidate with the best chance of knocking off Bush, and I've liked Edwards for a while, but he doesn't seem to have as much dynamism to him as Dean right now (though Bill Saletan's Slate article shows Edwards may be turning more aggressive). Dean had an impressive win in the Wisconsin straw poll last week, while a poll taken this week showed him behind Kerry in New Hampshire by 12 points. The Matt Bai piece in the NYT Magazine a few weeks back painted Dean as more of a long-shot, though that doesn't square with the strong rhetoric I've seen from him on TV, nor the real outpouring of support I've seen for him on the web.

Maybe I'll go to the Boston rally for the Dean announcement on Monday and see what vibe I get. I'm actually annoyed Dean has cancelled the Meet the Press interview he was planning to give this weekend so he can go home to deal with family issues--that would've been a good chance to see what he's made of under cross-examination by Russert.

Kerry Abortion Filibuster

John Kerry has now said that he will filibuster any Supreme Court nominee who does not support Roe v. Wade. This raises the pressure on the other Democrats in the Senate running for president; the article says Edwards would definitely filibuster as well, though Lieberman and Graham are uncertain. Women's groups hold a lot of clout in the Democratic primaries and it will be interesting to see how the (potential) nominations to the High Court this summer become caught up in the '04 race for the White House. Expect more complaining from Senate Republicans about the filibuster tactic, as in the Estrada instance, if this all comes to pass.

If there indeed is a retirement on the Court at the end of the term, the nomination could be the big political story of the summer (many articles have already appeared on this). In addition, don't forget we'll hear the decision on the Michigan affirmative action case very soon, presumably next week since it's the last full week of June. Exciting, controversial times are ahead--and I'm rather looking forward to watching it all.

Is the stock market back?

There seems to be a good deal of commentary on this point currently, given the recent gains on Wall Street. The Economist, in an article available to all on their site, notes that some investment banks are now becoming more optimistic after a few lean years. Paul Krugman, meanwhile, argues that the recent run-up in stock prices is just another bubble.

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting piece on Monday about two fund managers in the same office who had taken opposite sides in the bull and bear debate. The article, available only to online WSJ subscribers, is here. The lead, written by E.S. Browning, makes clear the great significance of Wall Street's summer performance for the economy as a whole:

"The same kind of debate can be seen among investors of all stripes right now, reflecting the doubts that have grown as stocks have faltered for the better part of three years. In the short run, who is right will determine the success or failure of billions of dollars in retirement investments.

"But something even more fundamental is at stake: The stock market's performance this summer will be one of the main factors determining whether the economy finally takes off, or instead, sinks back into another, potentially disastrous, decline.

"'The market is going to behave like a thermometer for the economy,' says Jon Brorson, head of growth-stock investing in Chicago for money-management firm Neuberger Berman. 'Stock performance will have a profound effect on business confidence and on businesses' willingness to invest. If the rally fizzles, business confidence will ratchet down further and we will have more unemployment.'

"In Boston, careers are on the line. Messrs. Rutledge and McCormick both have seen their fortunes swing with the direction of the Dow -- and both now have staked out opposing stances at a critical time."

Amare Stoudemire NYT Mag piece

The New York Times Magazine has a fascinating article on Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, last year's NBA Rookie of the Year who entered the league straight out of high school and succeeded despite numerous major family problems. Undoubtedly the story of Stoudemire's transition will be closely studied by the Cleveland Cavaliers (a lock to take prep star LeBron James with the #1 pick in Thursday's draft) and other teams that select high schoolers.

The article is a good overview of Stoudemire's background, and it explains some of the things going on around him that otherwise don't make much sense without the context. In a recent column ranking the players with highest trade values, Bill Simmons wrote that he saw some warning signs for Amare's future:

"10. Amare Stoudemire -- Back in my single days, my buddy Joe House and I developed "The Other Shoe" theory, which centers around the premise that 'All women should be considered crazy until proven otherwise.' Whenever one of us started hanging out with somebody, the other would always ask, 'Did the other shoe drop yet?' In other words, did the new girl have any visible baggage? Was she hiding a trait that could potentially submarine the entire relationship? Was she way too close to her family? Was she secretly nuts? You'd be amazed how many times the other shoe ended up dropping.

"So what does this have to do with Amare Stoudemire? Well, during the middle of his rookie season -- the one in which he won "Rookie of the Year" and evoked comparisons to Moses Malone and Roy Tarpley -- his agent actually quit. Just threw up his hands and said, 'You know what, I've had enough of this guy, have someone else be your agent when you're signing for $80 million in three years.' That's a little disconcerting, no? And given that Amare played for about 19 high schools, and given that seven teams happily passed on him in last year's draft ... well, let's see where the other shoe drops with him before he moves into the 'Untouchables.'"

The agent's quitting is covered in the NYT article--basically he was abused by Amare's mother.

LeBron, by the way, had his first practice with the Cavs today. Apparently coach Paul Silas is going to play him at point guard in the summer league (James is expected to appear in the Boston summer league next month!). Another interesting tidbit I heard on SportsCenter is that in his interview with Bob Costas tonight (which airs in about 2 hours on HBO), James, when asked if his allegiance lies with Nike or the Cavs, responds that he's about "50-50."

I know the Tony Kornheisers of the world will jump on that statement (actually I bet he did on PTI today--didn't see the show), but when will there actually be a situation when James has to choose between the two? Keeping the endorsements and the competition separated should work out.

Anyway, the draft is Thursday, and in ESPN's latest mock draft the Celtics are taking some Greek guy at #16 and an Alabama point guard who played two years of college at #20. This will be ESPN's first year of covering the event. Too bad we won't get to see Charles Barkley's hijinks this time around.

Lewis-Klitschko

The heavyweight championship fight between Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko is tomorrow night at 10:00 on HBO (the bout should actually begin around 10:30). Most people think Lewis should win easily, though Tim Graham offers some reasons to think the fight could be interesting.

Ron Borges offers a less-than-enthusiastic preview (if covering the fights seems too much of a chore, Ron, I'll take your ringside seats). Then again, in a week when George Foreman says he's seriously considering a comeback, the heavyweight division deserves to be denigrated some.

Strangely enough, Vitali's brother, Wladimir, fought Lewis for some scenes in the movie Ocean's Eleven. Vitali says his brother picked up some things from the filming that may help him. SportsCenter also reported on yesterday's weigh-in with the info that Lewis was 256 pounds, the most he has ever weighed for a fight (Borges discusses this point too). Could this be a sign he's out of shape and taking his opponent likely? Could he end up being surprised, as he was by Hasim Rahman in South Africa two years ago? Unlikely, but there's always the chance of a surprise KO.

Ultimately, I will pick a Lewis win by decision. I am pleased that a heavyweight title fight will be on HBO rather than Pay-Per-View. Could the powers-that-be out there make this a more regular occurrence, please? For more on the TV coverage, check out the Boston Globe's SporTView column from today.

Bulger

I spent most of the day yesterday watching the House Government Oversight Committee's hearing on the FBI and the mob in Boston, at which UMass President and former State Senate President William Bulger testified. Predictably, Bulger said he did not know where authorities could find his brother, James "Whitey" Bulger, a fugitive wanted on 18 counts of murder (and other nasty things) who is on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list.

Bulger is pilloried in the Boston Globe today for what Dan Burton (the same mild-mannered Indiana rep who called Bill Clinton a "scumbag") termed during his questioning "convenient memory loss." Brian McGrory has a reasonably even-handed take on the proceedings, but Scot Lehigh and the lead editorial take Bulger to task.

Once the Globe decides a public figure is their enemy, they really go to town with as much damning coverage as they can come up with. Bulger has been a favorite target over the years, and the pattern has been the same with politicians including former governor Paul Celucci. One could argue that this week's series on John Kerry's life has not exactly portrayed the local presidential candidate in the best light possible either. I find the appearance of a crusading newspaper that seems to have its own agenda extremely distasteful. Certainly, commentary is valid on the op-ed page, but a constant drumbeat of negative news stories, re-hashing the same old information, begins to look suspicious.

The Bulger issue has been deliberately overblown by politicians hoping to score points with the public, and the Globe has gleefully gone along. The federal authorities should focus on finding the man accused of these crimes rather than perpetually harassing his law-abiding brother, a man who has dedicated his life and considerable talents to public service. All of the alleged misdeeds discussed yesterday have been investigated before, some multiple times, and going over them again now is useless as anything other than an effort to put Bill Bulger in a media spotlight for enemies to take potshots at him. The show in Congress had nothing to do with actually bringing the fugitive to justice, the only legitimate aim here.

Paul Krugman

It's Tuesday, and that means another Paul Krugman column has hit the NYT. His main point is that the Bush administration is not doing enough to protect homeland security.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog! I plan on posting primarily about news and politics, often with reference to online articles. I also will post on sports and pop culture some.

I am a young recent college graduate from the great state of Massachusetts. I can always be reached at dimmykarras@yahoo.com.


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