Awkward

I'm sure there's some sort of logical explanation for this. But we'd better hear it soon. Click the link and read it.

Benster and D Pick Your Games -- Week 11

"For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fell-ooooooooh, that nobody can deny."

So who would that be, Seabiscuit?

Do you know what tomorrow is, Decrepit?

Saturday, I think. Oh, that's right, it's your birthday. So I take it that you're the jolly good fellow, Grasshopper?

Who else? Now, it's time to get down to bidness.

Minnesota Golden Brewsters (+10) vs. Herky the Hawkeye, No Longer Featuring Ricky Stanzi, My All-Time Favorite Hawkeye/Whipping Boy. Iowa is a wounded team. Without my whipping post Stanzi, they have not won a game. The Brew Crew is coming off a win in which they became bowl eligible by defeating Lakeland Dental Academy, er, I mean South Dakota State. I'm calling the upset! Brewsters 38, Iowa Minus Stanzi Equals 17.

Based on that math, I may have to hire you a tutor. The Gophers really ought to hang their heads in shame over the way this season has gone, but it's become quite evident that Tim Brewster is shameless. Iowa could still get a nice bowl if they win, especially if they win impressively. Last time Iowa edged the Gophers 55-0. It will be a little closer this time. Iowa 24, Punky Brewster 7.

Beloved Wisconsin Badgers (-7) vs. Northwestern Wildcat Offense. Wisconsin is 8-2 and they have only lost to Iowa and Ohio State. The Cats did beat those Hawkeyes in Iowa City, but I think Bucky is too tough. Bucky Badger 60, Northwestern 10.

Uh, no. The Badgers are the better team and should win, but it won't be easy. The Wildcats have historically played the Badgers pretty tough in lovely Evanston, but I think this year they're balanced enough to wear the Wildcats down. Wisconsin 27, Northwestern 17.

The Ohio State University Buckeyes (-12) vs. Meeshegan Hail to the Vanquished. Since this is the only good national game, why not pick it? In Ann Arbor, there are probably some cries for Coach Rich Rodriguez's head. And I don't have much confidence in young quarterback Tate Forcier, who puts the the force in Forcier. But there is one way that Meeshegan could win; if Terrelle Pryor tries to win the game by himself. But Jim Tressel won't let that happen. Ohio State 49, Meeshegan 7.

Somewhere in the big press box in the sky, Bo Schembechler has to be shaking his head over what has happened to his beloved Wolverines. He's also shaking his head over your pick. The problem is, I suspect you're right and that the Go Bluers are just going to have to live with it. It won't be 49-7, but it could be ugly. How ugly? This ugly. Ohio State 31, Michigan 10.

Seattle Seabags (+10 1/2) vs. Minnesota Vikings. Matt Hasselbeck reminds me of a tragic hero. He has talent but he always seems to get hurt. Therefore Seattle has to start Seneca Wallace, who should still be a wide receiver. Minnesota should handle Seattle and the Seabags will be flies on the Vikings' flanks. Vikings 34, Seabags 13.

I don't think Seattle will win. I wonder if the Vikings will be complacent, though. They've had a lot of people telling them how good they are lately and if they are going to stumble down the stretch, this is the sort of game where it could happen. The guess here is that they won't, though. Vikings 35, Seattle 21.

San Francisco Singletarys (+6 1/2) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers. I have a message for those Aaron Rodgers haters. He doesn't suck. In fact, Green Bay's season looks a lot different than it did last week. The Niners will be a challenge but one that Green Bay can handle. Packers 24, San Fran 17.

You may be on to something, young fella. I think defense will carry the day here. The 49ers are offensively challenged and the Packer defense played beautifully last week against a very good Dallas team. I suspect that the Packers will do enough to win, but it could be a bit unsightly. Packers 27, 49ers 14.

Philadelphia Iggles (-3) vs. Bear Down Chicago da Bearz. The NFC North is ruled by the Vikings and the Packers and Bears are the middle class. Detroit is serf-like. Unfortunately, football has nothing to do with feudalism. Chicago might go down the pecking order when faced with a good team like the Eagles. It's difficult to stop Donovan McNabb because of his running ability and he also has good receivers like DeSean Jackson and Brett Celek. Iggles 59, da Bearz 3.

Good thing Gino is off hunting right now, otherwise he'd be getting after you, Lollipop Guild Graduate. What is it with Chicago quarterbacks? Jay Cutler used to look like a real quarterback. Now he looks lost. I suspect the Bears will play better this week. I also suspect it won't be enough. Eagles 27, Bears 16.

Well, Decrepit, I have nothing to do with the Lollipop Guild! And since I'm going to be 14 tomorrow, that means you're going to have to start wearing that Senior Discount baseball cap that you sell.

Okay, young fella. Just be sure to remind your readers that it makes a lovely holiday gift.

Sounds good, Decrepit. Buy the cap, you refugees from the 70s! Ben out!

Guilty Pleasures Part Fifty-Eight -- Radio Free Fearless Maria

Hello. This is Fearless Maria. It's almost time for the holidays, but the dumb artists don't seem to have made a lot of music about Thanksgiving.

There are a lot of turkeys in the music business, Maria.

I thought there were turkeys in bowling!

We're almost being overrun by turkeys, it would appear. Kinda like these guys.

Dad, I thought we did music on Guilty Pleasures, not weird quotes from old t.v. shows!

Good point, Maria. So what should we do tonight?

Well, I was thinking we could do something like a combination between Guilty Pleasures and that dumb Radio Free Dilettante thing that you post for no reason at all.

Oh, I have my reasons, Maria.

Well, one thing I know -- you have a lot of music, Dad!

True -- probably about 8000 songs, last time I checked.

Well, can you spare five of them for a Radio Free Fearless Maria (RFFM)?

Sure. Do you want to hit the shuffle button?

No, I don't want to hit the shuffle button. I'd rather listen to Hannah Montana than some of the weird old stuff you have, or can I just reject the bad stuff?

You're driving this thing, Maria. You do what you want.

Okay. Oopsie! I just broke the mouse! Just kidding. So what comes up first on this thing? Let's see.... Okay, I'll let this one go. It's the Beatles!

All My Loving

Dad, is this one of those couple hundred Beatles songs that has to do with love?

That topic did seem to interest them, Maria.

Okay. Well at least the Beatles tend to be more respectable looking than some of those other weird guys you've shown me, like Al Green in the disco lifeguard suit. So the Beatles are okay with me!

Glad you approve. Let's hit the shuffle and see what comes up next.

Okay. Rejected. Rejected. Rejected. Definitely rejected. Dad, you've really got to get rid of that "Have a Nice Decade" thing. Okay, let's try this one:

The Old Man Down the Road

So who is this John Fogerty guy, Dad? Is he even important enough to have a Wikipedia page?

Yes, he is, Maria. He ran a really good band called Creedence Clearwater Revival back in the late 1960s and the song you picked came out around 1985.

He's that old? So he's an old Fogerty, then! The song is okay. But does he really need 300 other guitar players on the stage with him? He must really need a big extension cord to plug in all those amps!

I don't think he's too worried about electricity costs, Maria.

Well, let's see what comes up next, Dad. Okay, this one's okay. It's Chuck Berry!

You Never Can Tell

Dad, there is a problem here. All his other guys in the band look okay, but Chuck must have gone to the city dump to get that shirt! I think it looks like that shirt got thrown away a few times before Chuck found it!

I think the orange pants are a nice touch, too.

Dad, I think it looks his pants are made of wrapping paper! At least Mr. Berry was recycling!

Yes, I think he was. Shall we move on?

Sure. Rejected. Rejected. Hmm, reasonable. Let's try this one:

Hanging on the Telephone

Dad, why does it look like they're singing on a gigantic beach towel? Or did they borrow some wrapping paper from Chuck Berry to use as wallpaper?

Not sure. That song was on an album called Parallel Lines and I guess the black and white stripes were supposed to be parallel lines.

Either that or they want to be NFL referees? Do you think that Blondie could do that? I kinda doubt it, Dad!

Not sure. I guess it could be an illegal procedure.

So was that joke, Dad. Now, let me see what else you've got. Okay, this next one will work. It's the Extremes, I mean the Supremes!

Where Did Our Love Go?

I don't know where their love went for sure, but it probably got lost in their hair! What's up with the B-52 hairdos, Dad? Those things were huge!

That was the style, believe it or not.

So that was in the 60s, right Dad?

Yes.

So shouldn't those have been called B-62s or something?

Well, I think they were also called beehive hairdos, too.

Well, then in their song they should have mentioned honey, not baby! Or are they also called crib hairdos?

Not that I know, Maria.

Well, you know what I know? It's time to vote, people! Pick your favorite in the comments section. And I promise I won't reject your vote. If I do, don't feel offended, though. I'm sure that I like you better than I like the guy who sang "Chevy Van."

I think we can all agree on that, Maria.

Palin Comes Alive

You have to say this much about Sarah Palin -- she might be more of a stimulus package for the economy than anything Obama and his minions have done this year. She's already sold tons of books, given Oprah Winfrey the best rating she's had for a show in years and caused the Associated Press to assign an 11-person task force to debunk her book.

It's also amazing that she inspires such a reaction from both left and right. There are a lot of people on the left who just HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE her, yet on the right I see plenty of this. She's human litmus paper, I tell ya.

Afternoon Delight

Some of the things you can learn over your lunch hour:

• Andy McCarthy, who prosecuted the Blind Sheik in the original WTC bombing case back in the 1990s, points out that the President has already given Khalid Sheik Mohammed grounds for a mistrial:

In a meeting with the press in China, President Obama said that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be "convicted" and had "the death penalty applied to him" . . . and then said he wasn't "pre-judging" the case. He made the second statement after it was pointed out to him — by NBC's Chuck Todd — that the first statement would be taken as the president's interfering in the trial process.

Of course, we've been assured here recently that the President is a graduate of nation's most prestigious law school, where he ran the law review, by the way.

• Remember those cool statistics from Recovery.gov website that detailed all the activity going on places like Minnesota's 57th congressional district? Well, it turns out that the guy who is in charge of the data can't vouch for it.

Earl Devaney, the chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, responded to questions posed by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., late yesterday to say the board can’t vouch for the numbers submitted by recipients of stimulus funding.

“Your letter specifically asks if I am able to certify that the number of jobs reported as created/saved on Recovery.gov is accurate and auditable. No, I am not able to make this certification,” Devaney wrote, in a letter provided to ABC News.

I am certain that this administration will do a much better job of administering the health care system, though.

• Al Gore has been telling us for some time now about how important it is to follow the scientific method when it comes to Global Warming Climate Change. He's also pretty fond of geothermal energy, although he seems a little confused about the basic science when he was chatting up Conan O'Brien the other night:

Conan: Now, what about ... you talk in the book about geothermal energy ...

Al: Yeah, yeah.

Conan: and that is, as I understand it, using the heat that's generated from the core of the earth ...

Al: Yeah.

Conan: ... to create energy, and it sounds to me like an evil plan by Lex Luthor to defeat Superman. Can you, can you tell me, is this a viable solution, geothermal energy?

Al: It definitely is, and it's a relatively new one. People think about geothermal energy -- when they think about it at all -- in terms of the hot water bubbling up in some places, but two kilometers or so down in most places there are these incredibly hot rocks, 'cause the interior of the earth is extremely hot, several million degrees, and the crust of the earth is hot ...

As it turns out, that's not quite right. There's some dispute on the actual answer, but it's in the thousands of degrees. So, Al is off by about 10,000%. Ordinarily, we expect our science to be a smidge more precise than that, but we're really talking about scientism here and the Rev. Al Gore is a pretty smart preacher.

Radio Free Dilettante - 111709

Last Five:

Osage Stomp, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
Don't Stand So Close to Me, The Police
Brass in Pocket, the Pretenders
You Got Me Walking, Jackie Wilson
Like a Hurricane, Neil Young

Next Five:
Gee, Officer Krupke!, Russ Tamblyn/West Side Story Soundtrack
Whole Lotta Rosie, AC/DC
Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles
Going to See My Baby, The Fatback Band
These Boots Are Made for Walking, Nancy Sinatra

Good News from Your Government

You know, we've been too hard on the president and his team. Really, they're doing a hell of a job.

I'm being totally serious. And I can prove it. They've been kind enough to provide hard data on the effectiveness of the stimulus package that we can all look at ourselves. It's all right there on the federal government's Recovery.gov website. And there it is -- incontrovertible proof that real people are gaining tangible benefits from the stimulus. Consider the lucky souls in Minnesota's 57th Congressional District. It's right there on the website: the government has created or saved 35 jobs in the 57th, and it took only $606,956 dollars to do it. A very impressive performance.

At first I was having a little trouble finding the Fighting 57th on the map, since most maps of Minnesota that show congressional boundaries indicate that the state has only 8 congressional districts. But if you're willing to dig deeper, you can get the answer. I believe the congressional office is located here. In addition, with just a few minutes of internet searching I was able to locate this promotional film from their Chamber of Commerce. It appears to that much of the grant money went to the performing arts. That's a good thing.

After receiving this reassuring news, I may have to rethink my position about the government's bid to increase its role in health care.

No Kidding

My good friend Brad Carlson notes the Associated Press has gone to great lengths to fact-check Sarah Palin's new book. Glad they care so much. Meanwhile, Brad asks a really pertinent question:

Say, now that you're done with that all-important, vital piece of "fact-checking", I suggest taking on a much more daunting (if not infinitely more relevant) task: How about reading the entire 1,900+ page health care bill which recently passed in the U.S. House?

Somebody ought to read it -- it's pretty clear that no one in Washington is. Oh, and be sure to read Brad's post in its entirety. He has a few more questions that someone really ought to answer.

Update: Mark Steyn notices that it took 11 AP writers to contribute to the Palin fact-checking article and Steyn provides suitable mockery of their efforts. Word on the street is that AP writer Rita Beamish did an especially kick-ass job on this assignment, but that Garance Burke pretty much sucked. We are still attempting to determine the precise role that H. Josef Hebert played, although it's reasonable to surmise that he sneered mightily as he read his portion of the advance copy.

New York Minute

The Obama administration's decision to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and some (but not all) of his terrorist pals in a federal court in Manhattan certainly has New Yorkers talking. The New York Times, ever concerned with process and procedure, tries to put a positive spin on the idea:

The Obama administration said Friday that it would prosecute Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, in a Manhattan federal courtroom, a decision that ignited a sharp political debate but took a step toward resolving one of the most pressing terrorism detention issues.

We are ever mindful of "terrorist detention issues," of course. If you want to know what the average New Yorker thinks of the decision, you need to look at a different newspaper, though:

Outraged New Yorkers said yesterday that admitted 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other terrorists deserve to be put to death -- and some even volunteered for the job.

"Kill them without a trial. Just a bullet in the head and say goodbye. Why waste taxpayer money?" said Thomas Pland, 70, a truck driver from Astoria, Queens.

"If they want me to do it," he added, "I will."

Mike Keane, owner of O'Hara's Restaurant & Pub a block from Ground Zero, said: "They should have taken care of them in Guantanamo Bay. Hang them there. It would have been quicker and easier."

But first, he added, "we should waterboard them a little more."

Isolated thoughts? No, there's more:

"I'm a hundred thousand percent against this move. They're war criminals!" said retired firefighter Joe Holland, whose son, Joseph III, a commodities trader, died in the World Trade Center's north tower.

"This is crazy. This is insane. They're going to make a mockery of the whole court system 10 blocks away from the World Trade Center. They're going to scream for holy war in America."

Peter Gadiel, head of 9/11 Families for a Secure America, fumed, "I never thought we could have gotten a worse president than George Bush. But we got one.

"The president wants a circus? He should hold the trial in Lafayette Park at the White House. That makes as much sense," added Gadiel, whose son, James, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee, died on 9/11.

A president worse than George Bush? I am aghast.

To be fair, at least one person is willing to give the President and his men the benefit of the doubt:

But retired firefighter James Riches, whose firefighter son, Jimmy, died on 9/11, said he would give President Obama the benefit of the doubt -- for now.

"Hopefully, we're doing the right thing. But if this all goes awry, I'm going to hold Obama and his Justice Department responsible," Riches said.

As will we all, Mr. Riches.

Benster and D Pick Your Games -- Week 10 Regularly Scheduled Broadcast

We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming. And that means it's time to make fun of Decrepit! Yeah, baybee!

Whuh? Huh? Sorry, I must have dozed off. Oh, you're making fun of your old man again, huh?

Yes, Decrepit. It's who I am. It's what I do. Ahem. So, as you might know, we have already picked the Bear Down Chicago da Bearz game, succesfully I might add, and we made fun of the Super Bowl Shuffle, the most hideous dance moves since Decrepit tried his hand at Dancing with the Stars.

I won't dance. Don't ask me.

Enough of that. Down to bidness!

South Dakota State Jackrabbits (NL) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers. I had to look up where South Dakota State is. It turns out that it is in Brookings, SD, wherever the heck that is. I don't know if it's close to the Mitchell Corn Palace, but it reminds me of when the Badgers played Wofford. By the way, I must say that the Corn Palace looks pretty creepy. Anyway, back to the game. The Brew Crew needs a win to become bowl eligible, but I'm worried that it could turn out like the NDSU game a couple of years ago, when the Gophers actually lost to the mighty Bison. Minnesota should win, but it won't be easy. Gophers 20, Jackrabbits 14.

So let's analyze what's at stake here. The Gophers are hoping to win in order to become bowl eligible. Chances are pretty good that if they win this game, they will then lose to Iowa next week and earn a berth in the fabled Little Caesar's Bowl game in lovely Detroit. Does that sound like incentive to you? I suspect the Gophers will win, but they'll probably not enjoy their ultimate destination much. Minnesota 31, SDSU 20.

Meeshegan Hail to the Vanquished (+8 1/2) vs. Beloved Wisconsin Badgers. Well, this game is between two pretty evenly matched teams. I think Badger QB Scott Tolzien is better than Meeshegan's Tate Forcier, who tends to forcier too many passes downfield. But the difference is going to be John Clay. And I believe that the Badgers will be going to a New Year's Day bowl. Bucky Badger 40, Hail to the Vanquished 3.

This is pretty unusual. Historically, the Wolverines have pretty much beaten the Badgers like a redheaded stepchild. Michigan is down now, but they'll be back. You have to make the most of your opportunities to take out all the years of frustration when you can. The Badgers will do that tomorrow. This could get ugly, but not as ugly as Seabiscuit thinks. Badgers 31, Michigan 17.

Herky the Hawkeye (+17) vs. Brutus the Buckeye. RIP to Iowa's perfect record after the dreaded Northwestern Wildcats came into Iowa City and won last week. Now the Hawkeyes face their toughest test of the season without Ricky Stanzi, who I still say is not as good as you might think. It is going to be tough. Even if the game was in Iowa City it would be tough, but this game is in Columbus and the winner will go to Pasadena. Buckeye fans, get your plane tickets west. Ohio State 50, Iowa 2.

No, grasshopper. Not even close. Here's the thing -- Ohio State has trouble scoring, so even though Iowa lost their quarterback, there was no way that the Buckeyes should be a 17 point favorite. They may not score 17 points against the tough Iowa defense. Ricky Stanzi doesn't play defense. In fact, the Buckeyes won't score 17 points. I'm calling the upset. Iowa 17, Ohio State 13.

Motor City Kitties (+17) vs. Minnesota Vikings. Detroit is even worse than a bad Mexican dinner. Matthew Stafford tries, but Rome wasn't built in a day. Minnesota is going to beat the Lions up like what the Romans did to the Christians. Minnesota Vikings 70, Detroit Lions 0.

The Lions still are in the league, Ben. It will be ugly, but not that ugly. I suspect the Vikings will play pretty well, though. And I have a feeling about this game that something bad is going to happen to the Vikings. Call it a hunch. But they'll still win. Vikings 31, Lions 14.

Dallas How 'Bout Them Cowboahs (-3) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers. I'm having a dilemma with this game. History is saying that Green Bay will win, while this season is saying that the Cowboys will win. Both teams are streaky, but Rodgers is a safer bet than Romo. Romo is kind of like the pro version of Ricky Stanzi. And for all those regulars out there, you know what I think about Ricky Stanzi. Green Bay is gonna win. Packers 10, Cowboahs 7.

Huh. I don't see it that way at all. I see points being scored. Potentially lots of points. The Packers are up against it. I suspect that Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy may have their jobs on the line at this point, especially following the highly embarrassing loss to the Creamsicles last week. The Packers will be desperate to win. And generally I like home underdogs who are desperate. But I also see DeMarcus Ware taking up permanent residence in Aaron Rodgers's grill. And I can't get that out of my mind. Maybe Jon Gruden will be coming back to Green Bay next year. I hate doing this, but.... Cowboys 31, Packers 23.

I wonder if Tradedown Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy get fired, they might be searching for jobs along with the NWA pilots who overshot the airport because they were too busy dinking around on their laptops.

That's not a good visual, youngblood. But it's possible. Guess we'll find out.

The Post Grabs a Steno Pad

Our friend Mitch Berg devotes considerable space taking down the phone-it-in column that Dan Balz of the Washington Post wrote about Tim Pawlenty. As always, what Mitch writes is well worth your time.

Here's what's interesting. Mitch surmises that the early column trashing Pawlenty is a sign that the Democrats are worried about Pawlenty as a potential rival in 2012. So when a commenter on Hot Air noticed this piece from the Post's sister publication, Newsweek, we get a good look at how a lot of journalism gets done these days:

If you want to figure out which of Obama's potential 2012 challengers the Democratic Party is most afraid of, it definitely helps to be political reporter. That's because the DNC is constantly bombarding hacks like me with stories, quips, fact sheets and comebacks designed to influence our coverage of a select group of prominent Republicans─namely, the ones they suspect of harboring 2012 aspirations, like Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee. Determine which Republican is inspiring the most hate mail and you probably have a pretty good idea which one the DNC sees as the biggest threat.

The answer─surprise, surprise─is Pawlenty. The least-well-known of the 2012 crop, the Minnesota governor has, according to the Gaggle's patented Gmail filtration method, provoked 28 direct-attack e-mails (i.e., attack e-mails with his name in the subject line) from the DNC since March; by contrast, Palin, by far the most famous Republican in the country, has racked up 27. The next highest finisher, Romney, trails with nine, with Jindal (four), Gingrich (two) and Huckabee (one) bringing up the rear. All told, the DNC has mentioned Pawlenty in 48 e-mails over the past two months, versus 37 for Palin, 16 for Gingrich, 12 for Romney, 11 for Jindal and four for Huckabee. All of this despite the fact that a new national survey by Rasmussen Reports shows Huckabee as the top 2012 choice of 29 percent of Republican voters, with Romney a close second at 24 percent and Palin (18 percent) and Gingrich (14 percent) hovering in the double-digits─while only 4 percent of respondents picked Pawlenty.

No one complains that the DNC is doing this. It's their job. What's interesting is that the Newsweek article pretty much shows that Balz's profile of Pawlenty is pretty much a rewrite of the DNC talking points:

But what's really interesting is the content of the DNC's attacks. Every move Pawlenty has made in recent weeks seems calibrated to shore up his right
flank and prove to potential 2012 primarygoers that he's as right wing as they are: intervening on Hoffman's behalf in New York, dissing Snowe, knocking Obama for delivering an innocuous speech to school children, flip-flopping on climate-change legislation, refusing to dismiss the inane chatter about "death panels." The problem is, this sort of hyperpartisan maneuvering counteracts Pawlenty's original appeal─a plot twist that the DNC has smartly latched onto and begun to promote as a part of a larger storyline. "It looks like Tim Pawlenty isn't even going to offer the pretense of being anything but an extreme right wing radical anymore," reads one DNC message. "If Tim Pawlenty is running for President, he's running for the George W. Bush presidency," reads another. The goal, simply put, is to define Pawlenty as an inauthentic Romneyesque cipher willing to say anything for a vote─and to do so early and often. For better or worse, the DNC's thinking goes, the public already knows Palin and Co. But Pawlenty is a still blank slate.

In some ways, the Minnesotan is lucky. The 2012 election is so far off that no sane, rational person is paying enough attention to the early jockeying to be particularly swayed by the DNC's near-constant swipes. But the people who shape public opinion most definitely are. This morning, Dan Balz, the Washington Post's campaign correspondent emeritus, wrote that Pawlenty "has said and done things that have other Republicans wondering about his instincts and his sure-footedness as a prospective 2012 presidential candidate." Balz even─gasp!─compared Pawlenty to Romney. "The real risk for Pawlenty, as Romney learned in his unsuccessful 2008
campaign, is losing his true voice and his authenticity," he explained. "Romney spent so much time trying to reposition himself and picking narrow tactical fights with his rivals that the qualities that might have made him a more attractive candidate were lost in the smoke."

Emphasis mine. It would probably be better if Balz spent a little less time just channeling the DNC smoke and doing some original reporting, no?

Benster and D Pick Your Games -- Week 10 Early Bird Emergency Pick

So we were going to pick the games tomorrow, but Decrepit reminded me that there was a game scheduled for tonight, involving da Bearz. This is not a drill. This is real. Really real.

Bear Down Chicago da Bearz (+3) vs. San Francisco Singletarys. Well, this should be kinda interesting. I think Mike Singletary should quit the 49ers, sign up with da Bearz and suit up at middle linebacker. And da Bearz should hire Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan back so they won't be as dull as they are right now. Back then, they were really good and even made music videos. Bad music videos, but music videos nonetheless. These Thursday games are just a way for the NFL to make more money, with the exception of the Thanksgiving games. As if the NFL doesn't have enough money already. Niners 40, da Bearz 17.

Whoo boy, Gino's not going to like that pick, Seabiscuit! But it may not be wrong. Da Bearz aren't necessarily as dysfunctional as some other teams in the division, but they are pretty dysfunctional. I'm not sure what's worse -- getting beat by the Tampa Bay Creamsicles or getting your butt handed to you on your home field by the Cardinals. Either way, not good. The 49ers are not a great team, either, but they'll be better tonight. San Francisco 27, da Bearz 20.

We'll be back tomorrow with more normal games than this one, which is not exactly a good time slot if you ask me!

Presidentin' Is Hard

Sheesh.

President Barack Obama won't accept any of the Afghanistan war options before him without changes, a senior administration official said, as concerns soar over the ability of the Afghan government to secure its own country one day.

Uh, Mr. President? It has occurred to you that dithering on this decision also makes it harder for the Afghan government to secure its own country, right?

Lightning Round 111109

Very quickly:

I don't think the notion that Maj. Hasan was a lone nut is going to hold up to scrutiny. And while it's too late in many respects, a little scrutiny is in order.

Then again, maybe we don't need to scrutinize Maj. Hasan that much. The redoubtable Richard M. Daley, Mayor of Chicago, has figured out the real villain in this event.

Do you remember the case of Gerald Walpin, the inspector general who was investigating an Obama friend and was fired based on trumped up charges? Well, the truth is out. And now Walpin wants his job back. We'll find out a lot about the Obama administration by watching how this matter unfolds.

Speaking of inspectors general, it's sure nice to see that Fan and Fred have figured out a way to rid themselves of their meddlesome priest. And hats off to HuffPo for covering this story.

And speaking of meddlesome priests....

Obama at Fort Hood

We do a lot of Obama bashing around here, but if we're going to be fair, we need to give the man credit where it is due. And today, the President gave an excellent speech honoring the 13 people who were killed at Fort Hood last week. The transcript of the speech is at the link and you can watch it here if you are so inclined.

The president did two important things today: he took the time to speak about each victim by name, and he said the following:

For history is filled with heroes. You may remember the stories of a grandfather who marched across Europe; an uncle who fought in Vietnam; a sister who served in the Gulf. But as we honor the many generations who have served, I think all of us — every single American — must acknowledge that this generation has more than proved itself the equal of those who have come before.

We need not look to the past for greatness, because it is before our very eyes.

This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in a time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different and difficult places. They have stood watch in blinding deserts and on snowy mountains. They have extended the opportunity of self-government to peoples that have suffered tyranny and war. They are man and woman; white, black, and brown; of all faiths and stations — all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life.

The president is correct about all of this. We have an extraordinary military and the men and women who serve have done extraordinary things. It's easy to take their efforts for granted as we live and work and play. Even in a time of great challenges and great disagreements about many issues, we are incredibly fortunate to be Americans. And the President said exactly the right things today in describing those who work so hard to ensure our good fortune.

Home Truth

David Warren, writing at Real Clear Politics:

Falsehood has more consequences than the revelation of personal insincerity. What happened at Fort Hood was no kind of "tragedy." It was a criminal act, of the terrorist sort, performed by a man acting upon known Islamist motives. To present the perpetrator himself as a kind of "victim" -- a man emotionally distressed by his impending assignment to Afghanistan or Iraq -- is to misrepresent the reality.

This man was a professional psychiatrist, assigned to help soldiers cope with traumas. Is this the profile of a man with no control over his own emotions? It appears he had hired a lawyer to get him out of the military before his deployment overseas. Is this consistent with spontaneity?

He reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire on American soldiers. Would that perhaps offer a little hint of the actual motive? He shot about 40 people, over 10 minutes, with two pistols, neither of them military issue. Might that perhaps suggest premeditation?

There's more. Read the whole thing.