Uechi-Ryu.com

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Glenn

Clearly this former U of L law school student is clouded by his bluegrass state bias. There is no place in college basketball quite like Tobacco Road. The combination of athletics and academics are unparallelled.

But Kentucky is in a class of its own.



Bingo!

What a shame they didn't build the KFC Yum! Center just a little bigger and invite an NBA franchise.

But that's OK. The love of college sports is something a Virginia resident can understand.



Indeed! It's sad that my health services research unit at a well known Fortune 500 company in Louisville has to go east most of the time (usually to Yale, BTW) to hire science types. Speaking of which... more and more I'm becoming a minority with having English as a first language. They just don't grow my type in universities much any more. Rather than do science and math, most Americans want the easy way out through law school and a job at Dewey, Chetham, and Howe.

One good benefit of doing well in basketball is a dramatic uptick in college applications to that university. And increased competition for slots means a smarter and better student body. With any luck, we might be able to get a few science and math grads coming out the back end.

By the way... I'll win the office bracket pool if Kentucky beats Kansas in the finals. And I've already promised my winnings to the Red Cross for the recent tornado outbreak just north of here.

- Bill

Basketball is to Kentucky, what Football is to Nebraska.

In my P.E. 101 class (history and statistics) at WKU, our Instructor said the reason Bear Bryant went back to Alabama to Coach, was that he could not stand to coach in a state where Football was a secondary sport.

Though I'm not a big basketball fan, I'll be in front of the TV tomorrow. I'm afraid they'd revoke my Ky Citizenship, if I don't watch it. And Glenn, I'm not sure that Nebraska would take me back.

All provincial thinking, my friend. In these times with this global economy, residence is strictly a state of mind.

We're all fans of the game.

- Bill

This from the dyed-in-the-wool Virginian for whom UVa and Jefferson are the answer to any question!

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Glenn

Well if I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Virginian, what the heck was I doing in a New England prep school, why am I a member of Red Sox Nation, and why do I spend literally 80% of my time in The Bluegrass State? (1)

TJ and I share political beliefs (see Nolan Chart), as well as frequent flier miles and a rebellious nature. And he was one of the last great renaissance men. I could do worse for a role model. And it makes sense to go back to what you know best when looking for a point of reference.

BTW, TJ was a graduate of W&M; he was merely the founder of UVa. And I started my martial arts career with a native Japanese at W&M.

I did BTW make reference to Tobacco Road above. While tobacco is a big Virginia crop and Phillip Morris (Altria) is headquartered in Richmond, Tobacco Road in basketballspeak means the research triangle schools plus Wake Forrest (a.k.a. North Carolina ACC schools). (2) That's a whole other kettle of fish.

BTW, tweak noted.

- Bill

1) My Louisville-based efficiency apartment is in Jefferson County. Go figure...

2) See Tobacco Road

Well... one game away from winning the office pool.

- Bill

You need to see the other historical side of Jefferson.
He created a depression that would make the 1930's look prosperous.

http://drmatthewashton.com/2011/07/01/g ... t-of-1807/

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Sans Peur Ne Obliviscaris
www.hinghamkarate.com

Hyperbole notwithstanding, You argue best when you argue our point!

Oh, and thanks for a review of that piece of history.


Sometimes decisions made have to be considered in the context of what wasn't done. Why? Because the alternative could have been much worse. In this case however we ultimately ended up in war with Britain anyway, so the noble effort was for naught.


We can spot Jefferson for being one of the first to experience this.

We cannot forgive subsequent politicians for failing to heed this lesson of history. Economic sanctions almost never work, and often lead to a very bad outcome. Protectionism was one of several causes of The Great Depression. Sanctions on Iraq did not prevent war in Iraq. The list goes on. Cheaters will cheat, and the law of unintended consequences usually rears its ugly head. Sometimes doing nothing is the wiser choice, but few leaders choose that option.

Even fewer no-name historians can refrain from judging others on the matter.

This November let's come revisit this very subject. Did Obama's insistence on Iranian sanctions undermine his reelection? Gasoline is already at $4 per gallon and climbing, and Joe Sixpack is not amused. Meanwhile I'm betting that the Chinese will undermine the entire effort, get a cheap supply of energy, and continue making us a debtor nation to them.

Time will tell.

- Bill

P.S. Don't you just love it when someone (Matthew Ashton) calls themselves Doctor? It's sort of like someone referring to themselves as Master. For the record, I'm entitled to both and insist you call me Bill.

If you are writing in the professional context you have your degree in I think calling yourself doctor is fine if you have earned it. It lends credibility to your writing and ideas. I know you and others that attain your PHD struggle hard and give up a lot to achieve it. Even more so perhaps when there is no big payday at the end of the process. I respect the term greatly and I am proud of you and my other friends that are doctors, even though they may not be able to write me a prescription to save me a trip and co-pay to the clinic!

I have a lot more dirt than that on Jefferson. I will save them for future devils advocate sessions.

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Sans Peur Ne Obliviscaris
www.hinghamkarate.com

The proper way to refer to yourself in an article is as John Jones, PhD or Mary Smith, RN MSN MPH or David Johnson, Renshi Rokudan. In my medical world (I'm a biomedical engineer, BTW) when we see someone calling themselves "Doctor", it's almost always a chiropractor wishing to elevate him/herself to the level of an MD. It's considered improper to the point of dishonest, and almost always causes a person "in the know" to wince.

You martial artists out there... you know what I mean. Ever heard an American refer to himself as a "master" or even "soke"? This practice has so cheapened the label that it's now meaningless. The better/smarter thing to do is to state your actual credentials after the fact, and be done with it.


If it's about Jefferson as president, well save your dirt. You're totally missing his relevance in history. A visit to his grave would be a good start. What did Jefferson want to be remembered by?

If you're interested in getting into a classic Jefferson vs. Hamilton argument, well... bring it on!

- Bill

I am not a big enough fan of Hancock to pit him against your Virginia boy.
If I was going to have a Revolutionary grudge match I would choose Ethan Allen to kick Toms butt.
I'll stick to slamming the hypocrisy a slave holder who writes about "all men created equal."

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Sans Peur Ne Obliviscaris
www.hinghamkarate.com

Res ipsa loquitur.

And I will stick to my underage Irish ancestors having to fight a war that the North was unwilling to fight. Conscripting a starving 14-year-old non-native to do The Union Army's work? (My own great grandfather William McCarthy) Really??? I see that the condescending North had a nuanced definition of "a man" as well. How convenient for them!

Oh and the Irish could tell you a thing or two about being called and treated like a n***** in the North a few centuries back. Same with my Lithuanian ancestors in Shenandoah Pennsylvania who were shipped in (underage as well) to work the coal mines. Good thing my great grandfather was ambitious enough to buy a tavern license from a dead anglo saxon. Grandma and her sister moved to NYC shortly after that.

That's YOUR country that TJ helped start and my ancestors helped put back together again. Oh and you're welcome. And if TJ was here, I'm sure he'd say the same.

A Yankee Virginian.* Who'd a thunk it?

- Bill

* I was born in Virginia because my dad and mom were first employed by NACA after dad graduated from Manhattan Engineering School and mom graduated as valedictorian from Greenwich (Connecticut) High. NACA soon became Langley NASA, and my parents both had their hands on the beginnings of the space program. A bit of history... The line from Apollo 13 might have been "Hampton, we have a problem!" had JFK not chosen LBJ as a running mate to beat Nixon in 1960. As politics will go, Houston won out on Mission Control.

Oops!

For the record... Coverage by ABC this morning on the celebrations commented on the civility of similar parties in Louisville.

Kentucky Final Four Celebrations Turn Violent

Kudos to Louisville fans for being the better representatives of their state.

- Bill

We had already kicked British butt out of Massachusetts a year before TJ wrote the Declaration. Evacuating them was our Declaration. Of course another Virginia guy named George helped out. We were doing just fine before he got there though.
My great-great grandfather was on the USS Housatonic which closed off the port of Charleston until the CSS Hunley came along. For some reason he got off before it got sunk. I'm not sure why.
http://www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=MISSION
So both our ancestors helped to correct TJ's failure to free the slaves.....

Always fun to put a social context to history.
HMMM.... was basketball invented yet?

_________________
Sans Peur Ne Obliviscaris
www.hinghamkarate.com