Last word on the flag flap

On Saturday morning, Bush signed an order raising flags back to full staff in advance of Independence Day. So we were only officially mourning Reagan for 27 or 28 days. Some of the flags around here are still at half-staff, so either they didn’t read the “brief” in Saturday’s paper, or there was a separate order from Governor Schwarzenegger that I’m unaware of. (The LAPD station near my apartment had their flag at half-staff this afternoon, but a Burbank fire station was flying theirs at full-staff, to name the two government facilities I noticed.)

I’m leaving for New York early Tuesday morning, and probably won’t have computer access until I get back late Sunday. I intend to go to the Yankees-Devil Rays game Thursday night, but may be going solo because certain people have to work, or so they claim.

Perhaps while I’m gone, everyone can complain about the All-Star Game selections. Where’s Victor Zambrano and his awesome June?! Where’s Maura’s favorite player?! Why can’t I do a write-in on this “final vote” thing?!

His Life

If the index is correct, Bill Clinton’s new book only mentions baseball once. It’s on page 620, at the start of a discussion of what a tough time the fall of 1994 was. He opens the chapter by noting that Bud Selig had just announced that negotiations with the Major League Baseball Players’ Association were at an impasse, and that the 1994 postseason would be canceled.

He talks about sending David Lindsey to try to bring the two sides together, and about how he invited both sides to the White House for a talk, to no avail.

I wonder if there’s a reference librarian out there who’d like to research where the amount of baseball talk in Clinton’s book puts it in the ranks of presidential memoirs. I read Grant’s Memoirs last week, and they don’t mention baseball, despite its reported popularity among soldiers in camp.

Original comments…

Steve: Doesn’t he talk about getting to third base?

Levi: Now that I’m twenty pages into it, I have already found another mention of baseball, albeit a very brief one. On page 19, he talks about being taken to a St. Louis Cardinals game by his stepfather. They stayed overnight and Bill loved the game and the trip. I assume the Cardinals won.

Jim: But the real question, since you obviously turned to the index first: anything along the lines of “Clinton, Bill, depicted in clothes, to disturbing effect”?

Well, I guess the effect would be a lot more disturbing if Clinton, Bill were depicted out of clothes, but you get the idea.

Levi: On page 34, baseball is mentioned again. The Clintons get a new TV and Bill enjoys watching baseball, especially Stan Musial.

Think maybe this was indexed in a hurry?

Giving 110%

This isn’t about baseball, but I figure baseball fans can relate to Dick Grasso’s estimate of his efforts. Kevin Drum at Washington Monthly noted the following:

“New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has decided to sue Richard Grasso, the former CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, for using various forms of chicanery to overpay himself. Spitzer listed several main bullet points to support his contention, but this is my favorite:

On a 1-to-10 performance scale used to determine compensation, Grasso at one point assigned himself a 13, Spitzer said.”

Original comments…

Levi: Oh, and Eliot Spitzer’s one of my heroes. He’s going to make a great Vice-President or Attorney General in the Barack Obama administration in 2012.

Bush dodges important issue

I have many thoughts on Bush’s press conference last night. But since most of those thoughts aren’t family-friendly, I’ll stick to this one:

What happened to the scourge of steroids? Aren’t they–along with gay marriage–ravaging our youth? Aren’t they shattering our trust in our sports heroes? It was just three months ago that they were important to include in the State of the Union address. Now, despite the prime-time slot, they rate nary a mention.

Maybe we’ve defeated them? After all, Barry Bonds only has three home runs so far this season, so clearly he’s off the ‘roids.

Maybe that can be Bush’s campaign slogan: “Vote Bush. At least he defeated steroids. Maybe.”

Back to baseball later. I promise. I’m just waiting to hear what Rickey Henderson‘s up to these days.