Month: April 2022

Three major events at old Yankee Stadium that were not related to baseball

The first Yankee Stadium was used from 1923-2008.

Three important non-baseball events that took place there:

College football: “In the 1928 game, with the score 0–0 at halftime, legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne gave his “win one for the Gipper” speech (with reference to All-American halfback George Gipp, who died in 1920); Notre Dame went on to defeat Army, 12–6. “

Boxing: “Perhaps the most famous boxing match ever held at Yankee Stadium was on June 22, 1938, when Joe Louis, an African-American, squared off against Schmeling, a German. Adolf Hitler followed the rematch carefully, imploring Schmeling to defeat Louis, whom Hitler publicly berated. This left some with what they perceived as a moral predicament: root for the black fighter, or for the Nazi. Schmeling had defeated Louis in 1936, but in defense of his title, Louis knocked out Schmeling in the first round. This was one of eight championship fights the “Brown Bomber” fought at Yankee Stadium.”

NFL Football: “On December 28, 1958, Yankee Stadium hosted the 1958 NFL championship game, frequently called “The Greatest Game Ever Played”. The Baltimore Colts tied the Giants, 17–17, on a field goal with seven seconds left. Led by quarterback Johnny Unitas, the Colts won in overtime, 23–17. The game’s dramatic ending is often cited as elevating professional football to one of the United States’ major sports.”

Bad opinion column by Ross Douthat in the New York Times

I disagree with a lot of this.

  1. Douthat says: The Electoral College’s legitimacy can stand up if an occasional 49-47 percent popular vote result goes the other way. That’s not true. I think two of the last six elections are a lot more than occasional. Also, 2004 and 2020 could have easily resulted in elections won by the popular vote loser. The legitimacy of the Electoral College was also damaged by the way the Republican-dominated Supreme Court gave the 2000 election to George Bush. This also has hurt the credibility of the Supreme Court. Four of the justices were appointed by Republican presidents who didn’t win the popular vote.
  2. Douthat says: Especially in the current climate, which looks dire for the Democrats, the Republicans have an opportunity to make the Electoral College complaint moot, for a time at least, by simply taking plausible positions, nominating plausible candidates and winning majorities outright. Republicans have shown no interest in this. They didn’t have a real platform in 2020 and McConnell says he won’t say what they would do if they win the majority in 2022. Many Republican positions are not popular:
    1. They oppose abortion while the majority favors keeping Roe vs. Wade
    2. They oppose all gun safety bills while the majority favors at least some changes such as universal background checks.
    3. They wouldn’t give Merrick Garland even a hearing for his Supreme Court nomination while the majority supported giving him a hearing.
  3. Douthat says: And Republican structural advantages, while real, did not then prevent Democrats from reclaiming the House of Representatives in 2018 and the presidency in 2020 and Senate in 2021. He is ignoring the fact that Republicans are using voter suppression laws to increase their advantage. They also have used gerrymandering and the Republican Supreme Court will help them. Sure, Democrats do it too but Republicans have done more. Also, look that the terrible racist gerrymandering DeSantis has proposed in Florida.
  4. Douthat says that Republicans should nominate someone other than Trump. Are the alternatives much different? Potential candidates like DeSantis believe in the stolen election, massive voter fraud and racist policies. They’re not an improvement.
  5. Douthat says: Second, to the extent that there’s a Democratic path back to greater parity in the Senate and Electoral College without structural reform, it probably requires the development of an explicit faction within the party dedicated to winning back two kinds of voters — culturally conservative Latinos and working-class whites — who were part of Barack Obama’s coalition but have drifted rightward since. He ignores the fact that the most liberal Democratic ideas have not been enacted. Going too far to the right will cause the Democrats to lose support on the left.

Where we are headed is an election in 2024 where whichever party loses will not trust the results. I fully expect to see things like some states with multiple sets of electors.

I hated Thomas Hardy’s Return of the Native

Too many remarkable coincidences. You could see Hardy pulling the strings. In the book, a character is stung by an adder and dies. It was ridiculous. For a high school assignment, I wrote a parody in which someone is hit by a meteorite which I thought was equally plausible. The witnesses were more concerned and upset about the blood on the meteorite.

The media is addicted to Trump

Froomkin’s analysis of Trump coverage is excellent. However, I think the main reason the media gives him so much coverage is that their ratings were better when he was president. I watch less TV because I am disgusted that they still give him and his dangerous lies so much coverage.

Update on gerrymandering in Florida

I bet DeSantis is counting on the right-wing Supreme Court to let his map stand, at least for 2022 elections. He is evil but I think he’s got a good chance to be our next president. He has terrible policies like Trump but with less personal baggage and is not as obsessed with 2020.