Terry McMahon's Awesome Blog

I think this is the type of thing that used to be like eight posts. I'm right not to be concerned.

First off, Gawker reports that the staff of High Times beat the staff of the Wall Street Journal in softball yesterday. Best part is the headline.
[Gawker: Softball: Stoners vs. Neocons]

Evan Bayh, whose nascent presidential campaign I've criticized before, wins major points here. A recent internet poll found him the hottest senator (don't forget, Edwards is now a free man), though they eliminated Barack Obama before the contest even started, because Obama would obviously beat everyone. Bayh's response:

I surprised members of my staff by saying when the (online poll) results came out (that) I wanted to challenge Barack to a walk-off. They were surprised I'd heard of "Zoolander" (in which Ben Stiller is a clueless fashion model). I said, "I want a walk-off, baby." (Laughs)

It's a walk-off! (Sigh.) It's a walk-off.
[Indianapolis Star: Senator hails chief reasons for making run]

Next, I can't believe this whole situation is working according to some plan, but here's how Political Wire cites the Arizona Republic on next year's Arizona governor's race:

Political insiders say Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano's (D) decision "to turn down a $65,000 pay raise last year already has had an impact on the 2006 governor's race," the Arizona Republic reports. "Republicans are having trouble recruiting a candidate, and some say the salary and the lack of a governor's mansion are part of the problem."

The decision could be "one of the shrewdest political moves" Napolitano has ever made.

So it's politically smart only to take pay raises when you're not up for reelection?
[Political Wire: Low Salary Scaring Off GOP Challengers.]

California U.S. Rep. George Miller rents out space in his DC house to other members of Congress, a practice that's not that rare because, I mean, how are you supposed to have a house in your district and in DC? These guys threw away any money they had the first time they ran. But examinations of these living arrangements is the height of journalism. Here's the funniest line from the entry on Miller's congressional hostel:

"My son was interning at the State Department one year and he stayed with us," said Panetta. "The poor kid used to buy cereal to have in the house because we didn't have much food. Schumer used to eat his cereal. If there was any food around, Schumer would eat it."

That's former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, and current U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. So it wasn't just Travis Combs who did that?
[LA Times: At This 'Animal House,' the Party Is Democratic]

Now, I always thought the world of baseball GMs was a genteel place of friendly competition and public smiles. Not so Nationals GM Jim Bowden:

MLB.com: The team has hit a dry spell during the last 18 games. What has been the main problem?

Jim Bowden: A dry spell? I feel like I'm in the desert. We are in a horrible slump. Never have I seen a team collapse after the All-Star break and pitch very well. The team's ERA is better than any other month all year, and we can't win a game. It has been an embarrassment, it has been frustrating. There are no excuses.
...
MLB.com: Recently, you have made it clear that you want Barry Larkin to come out of retirement and play for the Nationals. How much of a difference would he make?

Bowden: Larkin's leadership is important. He is a veteran guy that has been there. I think his presence in the clubhouse and on the field would help this team.
...
MLB.com: What kind of job has he done for you in the front office?

Bowden: He has done a good job for his first year. He would be doing a better job if he takes the field the last couple of months of the season.

Note that Barry Larkin led the league in Leadership Over Replacement Veteran eight times when he played for the Reds, a stat to which most observers attribute his 1995 NL MVP award. Also, his last few years, didn't he still suck even when he was in playing shape?
[MLB.com: Nationals Q & A with Bowden]

Finally, I was worried today that I would have to come up with a way of expressing my feelings on the major AFL-CIO split that went down today. Thank goodness DailyKos came through in the clutch, and I can just cut and paste:

While a lack of unity in the labor movement may seem to bode ill for its future, it's probably the best thing to have happened to it in a long time. The AFL-CIO was bleeding membership and clout and wasn't prepared to enact the sorts of reforms -- heck, any reforms -- designed to reverse the trend.

Among its set of reforms, SEIU has been pushing for redirecting political money back into organizing based on a simple principle -- union members are far more likely to vote Democratic than non-union members. So much so that Mondale actually won the southern, white, male union vote en route to a catastrophic nationwide loss in 1984. So why not make more union members? Rather than invest directly in races (something SEIU clearly still plans to do, given its current efforts to take over the San Antonio city government), it plans on diverting some of that direct assistance into organizing and growing union ranks. That investment will mean 1) more money for future political engagement, and 2) more Democratic-leaning votes.

Whether it works or not remains to be seen, just as whether Teamsters and the other four (dissident) Unite to Win unions (and anyone else) joins a new federation. But fact is, the AFL-CIO is broken and there was no will to reform. And when the status quo won't budge, sometimes it takes drastic measures to shake the establishment out of its inertia.

Seriously, if the vitriol being spewed by the remaining AFL-CIO unions were matched by any plan to bring back union members, I sure haven't heard about it. At least Andy Stern and SEIU have a plan, which I think may actually work. And if it doesn't, that'll be the starting point from which the unions can learn better strategies, so they can find one that will work. Watching membership continue to collapse ain't fixin' a dang thing.
[DailyKos: AFL-CIO to split]

(The Point Judith Country Club, as part of my rockin' country club summer. Look at all them golf carts!)