LANCE ARMSTRONG, THE ANTI-AMERICAN BOY?

The greatest individual sports hero story of recent decades is Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor and now five-time Tour de France victor. Add the personal issues and life challenges that he's faced and conquered to the unavoidable world geo-political backdrop of this year's Tour and you have a compelling story indeed. Would you believe a summer blockbuster movie or book with these plot elements:

Hero beats cancer, then wins four straight Tours, angering many French (and other European) fans of a sport that does not traditionally include successful American athletes. He is frequently accused of taking performance enhancing drugs (the sport is notorious for it's drug abusers) in spite of the fact that he has never tested positive for such.

Wife and hero separate but they reconcile and are determined to improve relationship.

The hero's main antagonist tests positive for the club drug Ecstasy, is suspended from racing and not able to compete the year the hero wins his fourth tour. He mounts his own personal comeback and will challenge the hero's attempt at a record-tying fifth consecutive victory.

The hero's team mate and fellow American departs to become lead rider of another team. He is considered a contender, but crashes early in the race and fractures his collarbone. He continues, however, and eventually wins a stage and completes the 2000+ mile race in overall fourth place. What might have been?

Meanwhile, in addition to disliking him for winning, the French are expected to resent him for being American in a time when the French government is opposing America's war on terrorism at every opportunity.

Then: Hero leads as expected. Antagonist chases as expected. Race is closest ever for hero. He crashes in late stage and antagonist (along with hero's former team mate) in astounding display of sportsmanship slows to allow hero to regain position. (Hero had done same for antagonist in previous race.) Hero then wins that stage. Race ultimately comes down to an individual time trial held in the rain! Antagonist crashes, thus ending slight remaining hope for victory. Hero takes closest overall Tour victory of his career.

Is that enough drama? Thus case closed on "greatest sports hero of modern era."

Of course everyone wants to be the hero, or at least to claim common ground with the hero. Small wonder then, that some in the media want this man to be an anti war droolbat just like them.

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear...
David Bowie, A Space Oddity

Washington Post, 5 July:

On the other hand, Armstrong has tried in recent years to shed his image as distant, learning passable French and giving interviews on French television in French. And before the Iraq war, he was quoted in interviews saying he was opposed to a military conflict -- comments hardly noticed back home, but which made the headlines here (France).

The Guardian (UK) 6 July Headline: Serena got the message, now it's Lance's turn as French cheers become jeers for US stars

For Armstrong there is an irony in this hostility. He was also against the war in Iraq, so much so that he told George Bush.
'He's a personal friend, but we've all got the right not to agree with our friends,' he said.

However, as has been noted here before, Lance's own website presented a slightly different perspective:

"...In my opinion it's not really the place of an athlete to take a position here. And I do think there should be a strong delineation from sports, war, diplomacy, and politics. I am getting asked this question repeatedly over here because a) I'm an American like the President, b) I'm a Texan like the President, and c) I am a friend of the President's. The war seems to be very unpopular here (lots and lots of protests) and it's normal that the press tries to get a quote regarding this. "What I will say, and have said many times, is that NOBODY wants a war. Not me. Not President Bush. Not Tony Blair. No one... but sometimes it may be unavoidable. I absolutely support the President and absolutely support our troops."

I would not claim to speak for Lance Armstrong, and have no compelling need to twist or obscure anyone's words to support my personal opinion, but it would seem Lance is "anti-war" as much as any reasonable person is anti war. A realist as opposed to an idealist. One who knows the tragic necessity of war as a last resort, and certainly not a man to use such a thing to his political advantage. Lance did not make sensational comments about the war to generate personal publicity. In fact he avoided teh limelight on this issue as much as possible and did not seek to use his celebrity to espouse his personal views for all the world.

Perhaps the more accurate portrayal is from this article:

Armstrong, the highest-profile U.S. athlete living and competing in Europe, tried to walk a tightrope. He expressed reservations about going to war without broader international support while affirming his support for Bush. But he wearied of being put on the spot.

"No more war questions," he said grimly as he emerged from the U.S. Postal Service team van at a race in Spain in late March.

Never simply content to make vague and incorrect claims that Lance was one of their comrades-in-arms at the anti-war rallies, the same reporters often went on to make faulty predictions of the reception he would get from the French. A description (and prediction) from the Guardian story referenced above describes:

There was tension in the air at football's Confederations Cup in Paris as the US players took to the field. Boos spread around the stadium as America's national anthem was played, jeers that did not quite finish until the team left the pitch.

Before that came Serena Williams's semi-final against Belgium's Justine Henin-Hardenne in the French Open in June, when the American was jeered and heckled throughout the match, leaving her defeated and in tears...

These stories follow the "everyone hates America now because of George Bush" storyline. The media is eager to sell this story to an American public, but a growing body of evidence from Iraq and elsewhere disputes these fables.

Surprisingly, perhaps, this NY Times article, (which avoids the Lance Armstrong position on war issue other then to note that "...he spoke, as he often did before the Tour, about the need to repair French-American relations strained by the war in Iraq.") details the reality:

Asked a few days ago about his reaction to the horde of fans with American flags along the route, he said, "Many times you get next to them and it's a French person. It's strange but many times it happens. I can't complain about the kind of support it is, it's much appreciated."

An informal solicitation of opinions from fans during the three-week race showed full appreciation of Armstrong's feats and nearly unanimous respect for him. Again and again, people at the sides of the Tour's many roads described him "un grand monsieur," roughly translatable as "a class act."...

...farther down the road, the counterman in a sandwich shop spoke for the defense. "I stopped following the sport because of all the drugs," he said. "When Armstrong began winning, I came back since I can't believe anybody who had cancer would take no-matter-what drugs. He's revived the sport. Him, he's un grand monsieur."

Indeed.

Politically Correct?

A bit behind the times, but this was too good to pass up. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) in a speech to College Republicans in Washington, DC last week:

Good afternoon, or, as John Kerry might say: “Bonjour!”

I'm sure you've already heard a good many speakers today and will hear a bunch more after I'm done.

So you'll probably judge my speech more on its brevity than its persuasiveness.

But that's okay, because as you may have heard, we Republicans from Texas aren't known for our el-o-qua-city.

But we are known for being clear.

So in the interests of clarity, I have a simple message to pass along: the national Democrat party seems to have lost its marbles.

Though they remain a potent electoral machine, armed with battalions of trial lawyers and entertainers, and their Grand Coalition of the Perpetually Partisan, they are no longer a serious force in the national debate.

Their single organizing philosophy is an irrational, all-encompassing, broiling hatred of George W. Bush.

They hate him for a million reasons.

But most of all, Democrats hate the president because on every political issue of significance since he came into office, he has beaten them like rented mules.

Gosh, Tom, what are you really trying to say? Read the rest on his homepage. It just keeps getting better.

DEMOCRACY, WHISKEY, SEXY

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HOPE

A great man has passed on, another link to a past that in so many ways to so many people seems so much better then the present. Mourned, to be sure, but we can all celebrate a life well lived. In the great lottery Bob Hope was a winner in many ways, and all well deserved. Our nation tends to enjoy knocking it's heroes down from the pedestals on which we stand them, and though I am sure Bob Hope was human, with all the frailties and failings that implies, I can't name many others who have never even briefly fallen from that lofty perch. Farewell then, to one of the greats. I sincerely believe that through all the future years of our grand civilization the echoes of the heartfelt laughter and thunderous applause may never die.

My 100th Birthday salute to Mr Hope:

Here, go check this out. . Have some fun, then come back here and read this.

1995, Eglin Air Force Base, NW Florida
An old old man stands assisted on "the ramp", the acres and acres of pavement where aircraft are parked and taxi; where they are when they are on the ground but not on the runway or in a hangar. An Air Force aircraft stands ready to transport this man, probably would transport him anywhere in the world if he said "go." He is not in the military; has never been. He is frail, skinny-legged to the point one wonders how he could stand. He is however, in the service, and has been for most of his life.

Bob Hope, of course. The legend. He has retired from all performances save one. He does an annual fundraiser for Bob Hope Village, the Air Force Enlisted Widows home just outside the gates of Eglin in beautiful Shalimar, Florida. Here live the widows of the men who defeated Hitler, and of some who held the 38th Parallel that stands to this day as the frontier of freedom from communist tyranny. Some served from WWII through Korea and Vietnam before retiring, to modest pensions and better times. All were heroes.

These are not spacious luxury accommodations by any means. Those who live there would not be familiar with that lifestyle. They probably moved to new "quarters" every two or three years for most of their lives, getting rid of much of their possessions each time to remain below the woefully inadequate weight limits imposed on the military. These women are used to a simple lifestyle, and that is what this place offers. But for this these surviving members of the Greatest Generation would have nothing.

Had you even heard of this place before? If a modern celebrity were to support something of this nature it would be trumpeted constantly in the press. The cameras would not stop rolling.

There were no cameras on the old man being helped into the plane. There was only local news coverage of his last ever show. Undoubtedly none was sought. He would not return again. Fitting that his last performance was so low key, and for a cause he truly believed in. Bob kept the faith with the laughing men in the old grainy film, the crowd at the USO shows. He has given back like few before and none since.

Now it's 2003. My children are 17, 15, and 12. They do not know this man. That's the passage of time, but also my fault. We're going to fix that with some videos. Can't rent 'em here, but Bob's stuff is dirt cheap at Amazon - all the Road movies on DVD, thirty bucks. A little less then whatever the latest SNL deserter's stuff would cost.

So that leaves me something for the widows too.

Happy birthday, Mr. Hope. And thanks for the memories.

Bob Hope Village

LANCE ARMSTRONG: THE ALL-AMERICAN BOY!

A few months back, in the midst of the shooting war, as the pseudo-intellectual "sport" of President bashing was spreading faster then gonorrhea through the left wing effete, I found this post on Lance Armstrong's homepage:

"...In my opinion it's not really the place of an athlete to take a position here. And I do think there should be a strong delineation from sports, war, diplomacy, and politics. I am getting asked this question repeatedly over here because a) I'm an American like the President, b) I'm a Texan like the President, and c) I am a friend of the President's. The war seems to be very unpopular here (lots and lots of protests) and it's normal that the press tries to get a quote regarding this.

"What I will say, and have said many times, is that NOBODY wants a war. Not me. Not President Bush. Not Tony Blair. No one... but sometimes it may be unavoidable. I absolutely support the President and absolutely support our troops."

There can't be too many good things said for this man, who publicly posted those words for the entire world to see, even as he was preparing for a grueling defense of what is probably the toughest individual challenge faced in modern sports. A brutal three-week, 2,135 mile ride through open country in France, a country whose leaders seem determined to become the sworn enemy of his own; a country that was once the proud sanctuary of the Ayatollah Khomeini; a country with a rapidly growing Muslim population.

Not since Jesse Owens in Berlin has a single athlete accomplished such a feat, to humble the Nazi's on their home turf, in their capitol city, no less. We are much too PC now to see the connection, and certainly Lance would deny it vehemently. All the more a hero.

And please note that a large percentage of the people of France respect and admire the accomplishments of this great American, and were there in force to cheer him along the way. The displays of good sportsmanship by the athletes and the surprisingly few attempts at political grandstanding by lefty droolers in the crowd (or the great job at controlling them by the Tour organizers and French law enforcement agencies) made for a truly wonderful historical spectacle.

Hats off to Armstrong then, the All American Boy!

Ooglay Hussein's Diary

Ahhh woe upon me I am rending the clothings of my person in grief unequaled through human history as my beloved brothers, those grease-coated heroes of Tikrit, Europe, and the American left, are lying now as corpses in the hands of the infidel! How fondly I remember the many humiliations I suffered at their glorious hands, the unspeakable acts they committed upon my person as I matured, the many things no man should do to another that were done to me by them for pleasure! All gone now, the world will never know their like again! Were it not for my recent acquisition of some 30-odd million American dollars I would have virtually nothing left to live for. Excuse me pig Americans, while I am going to further rend my suddenly antiquated-looking personal wardrobe....eternal woe be upon me!

Thank you. My grief is slowly passing. "Ooglay" you are saying, where is it you are now?" And I would answer then "Iraq is where I am for now."

"And Ooglay, most glorious Saddam's only living son, how are you there again? Is it not dangerous with the cities crawling with American soldiers?"

And then I would say "I am not my father's only remaining son. Already you have forgotton my half-brother Quasi, he who my Glorious Father caught Uday lowering into the shredder feet first. This is how he bacame a half brother to me. Also you have forgotten my other brother who was so sickened at the sight that we changed his name to Queesy. So still my Father has the three of us as a blessing unto him in his old age.

Well why am I being back in Iraq? Was the desire to be in my homeland so great? Did I so miss the days when I could dangle my toes in the Euphrates on a hot July morning while the screams of Udays "latest" were carried on the breeze?

No. Honest to Allah the only thing that brought me here was American dollars. And my delightful sense of irony. You see, I am now on temporary leave from my job as Managing Editor of the New York's Time Newspaper. I am working as "fact-finder" for the Democratic National Committee and something called "The Nine." I'm still a bit confused by details, but apparently these "Nine" are plotting to somehow overthrow your King Bush, and I am to gather information here that may help them to do this wonderful thing. But here is something that I learned from reporters at Times: "Oog, baby," they would be saying "why bother gathering information when you can sit in a bar and make it up?" So yes that is what I am doing in Iraq.

And really I do nothing until one of "The Nine" starts to really bug me, then I will provide some "discovery" like the Nigerian Uranium thing. Some of them are bothering me more then others. One is calling al the time, he is Howard something and he is a Dean or something I suppose at University. He is nutty. Also funny is Kerry who threatens me with bodily harm. He says he is Killer Nam Vet. I say this is not scary to one who grew up in the palace I grew up in. One other is named Kook-a-nitch or something and I don't know what he says, and also Sharpton is not to be understood.

Whatever. It is fun to tell them things and hear them shout with joy and say "I knew it! We've got him now!" But maybe they just aren't getting my message out because there is georgebush still pumping my Glorious Father's oil.

Also I am getting to publish my "findings" in NY Times, even though DNC is paying for my work. Pretty slick, yes?

Well I was going to be leaving for now but then speaking of money I am making I am realizing that someone may read my first part and be thinking it was me who turned in my Brothers. This is not true. I swear by the Prophet it was my Glorious Father who was a little short on cash.

"Ooglay" he is saying to me "you know the Americans, how much you think we get for Uday and Qusay?"

"Of Glorious Father, for whom all Iraq shall soon rise up behind again, I am sure the most unworthy Amer dogs would give us at least ten thousand Dinar each!"

And so that is how I am having new suits made in Paris via the internet, while my Glorious Father is hoping he can cover this weeks bribes.

I will take care of him though. After all, am I not now his favorite son?

The complete works of Ooglay Hussein can be found here.

DEMOCRACY, WHISKEY, SEXY?

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LINKS

Terrible oversight on my part to almost let the week slip by without mentioning Carnival of the Vanities is up at Winds of Change, a great site with many thought-provoking entries. There's not much to read here as I'm working on some hot projects and you will certainly find lots of good stuff there - at the Carnival and elsewhere on the page.

I also failed miserably to note Amish Tech Support's hosting of the Carnival last week. So here's Laurence's blog a thon link in compensation. Check it out. Contribute if you can.

DEMOCRACY, WHISKEY, SEXY?

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DEMOCRACY, WHISKEY, SEXY?

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DEMOCRACY, WHISKEY, SEXY?

Place holder. Post moved here http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/000561.html

DEMOCRACY, WHISKEY, SEXY?

Place holder. Post moved here http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/000561.html

DEMOCRACY, WHISKEY, SEXY?

Place holder. Post moved here
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