Lawrence Lessing has invited Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich to be a guest blogger on his site. I think this is going to do more harm than good for Kucinich, as he writes as if he’s writing a speech (which makes you wonder if he’s even writing the posts at all — perhaps it’s an aide). For example:

We are now being hoisted on the petard of NAFTA and the WTO. America?s trade policies have been dictated by powerful multinational corporations whose flag is not red white and blue, but green with a dollar sign.

Quick, what’s a petard? Don’t cheat.

It is through such dialogues on democracy that we can fulfill our responsibility to form a more perfect union.

Huh? Perhaps he should have modeled his speech on what Howard Dean wrote when he was a guest blogger:

No matter what the issues are that we as individuals care most about– whether intellectual property, healthy care, the environment ? I believe that the only way we are ever going to come to a real solution on any of these issues is if we all stand together against the special interests in Washington. There are now 33 lobbyists for every member of congress. How do we change that? By working together. One of the amazing things about this campaign is how the Internet has allowed people to meet and work together in common cause. Only by taking an active part in our democracy will we be able to restore a government of, by and for the people.

Sure, it’s still a bit _campaigny_, but it doesn’t sound like he wrote and re-wrote it until it sounded just right.

Posted on 12 August 2003

Scott Rosenberg has an interesting take on John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty. I think his analysis of the treatise is good, but it has a certain liberal bent to it (which shouldn’t be a surprise considering he’s a columnist for Salon). Mill makes quite a case for Classical Liberalism, but I think these days it’s going to be used more as an attack against conservatism. But it’s important to note that Mill is talking to everyone — every single person, regardless of their religious/political/philosophical bent, must be willing to listen (and hear) other opinions. Mill also critiques those who don’t really think for themselves — people who simply accept what like-minded say as dogma. Today, too many people think this only goes for conservatives and religious folk, but have a close read or listen when someone is asked to defend their ideas, and more often than not, they either can’t answer the question directly (because they don’t have an answer) or they reply with simply the “party line.”

Posted on 12 August 2003

If you live in Pittsburgh, you’ve no doubt heard that the city is laying off over 700 employees because of a massive budget shortfall. Pittsburgh’s financial situation has been pretty grim for years now, but things are finally starting to bottom out. So who is going to suffer the most? The average taxpayer. We lose police officers, swimming pools, rec centers, and will more and likely have to start paying for services like garbage collection. To me, this is a bit stunning, since I already pay more in income taxes to the city than I do to the state, and an occupation tax just to have the opportunity to work in the city.

So what got us here? Simple. For many years, the city’s population has been declining as more and more younger people leave town after high school or university. Pittsburgh also has the stigma of being a manufacturing town, and many businesses aren’t interesting in opening up shop here. So, Mayor Murphy had a plan. In an effort to woo more businesses to Pittsburgh (and keep the existing ones), the city offered to not require new businesses to pay business taxes. The thought was that even though the businesses wouldn’t be paying taxes, they would bring so many new jobs to the city that the shortfall would be made up in property taxes. This logic, of course, ignored one very visible trend — people were flocking to the suburbs, and therefore not paying income taxes to the city.

In reality, this means that roughly 45% of the businesses in the city don’t pay business taxes to the city. Many of these are large businesses, who could generate quite a bit of revenue for the city via the taxes. But instead, it’s mostly smaller businesses shouldering the tax burden, and now, that burden is also being passed along to the average taxpayer. On top of this, Mayor Murphy decides to talk out of both side of his mouth, lamenting that things have happened this way. Right. The biggest cheerleader for these large business exemptions is the mayor himself.

So, am I saying the layoffs were unnecessary? Well, without them, those people probably would not have been paid. So, for the mayor and city council, it was most expedient decision. But they need to face up to the mistakes that they’ve made in the past with the city finances. City council should not have approved budgets knowing they couldn’t be balanced. And the mayor can’t give away the keys to the city to every business that threatens to leave.

Posted on 11 August 2003

A quote from Petter Solberg at the end of his second place drive at Rally Finland:

We almost lost it on the first corner, but I kept on going. At one point, I was standing in my seat with all my weight on the throttle pedal – I actually bent it! I know it’s not quite a win, but it certainly feels like one!

Can’t say the boy wasn’t trying.

By the way…Finland is pretty well known for its jumps….

Posted on 11 August 2003

Markko Martin has held on to win Rally Finland (his second WRC win) by 58 seconds over Petter Solberg. Despite what Solberg said in the service park today and yesterday (he would just fight for third place as Richard Burn’s Peugeot was just too quick), Solberg won the last stage and beat Burns by over a second. Burns just couldn’t keep up with Solberg on the last stage, despite winning a trio stages on the day. Carlos Sainz ran into suspension problems on the final stages, and lost over a minute to Burns and Solberg, but he will still pull in a nice haul of points for the driver’s championship.

Sebastien Loeb had a fine rally, despite this being his second trip to Finland, finishing in 5th place. Tommi Makinen had a frustrating home rally, never feeling that his Impreza was handling well, though he still took 6th place. A pack of Finnish WRC irregulars took 7th, 8th, and 9th place. Hyundai had a good rally, with Freddy Loix taking 10th place, and Armin Schwarz taking 12th. Skoda didn’t finish a car again, with Toni Gardenmeister retiring on day 2.

So, Richard Burns maintains a slim lead in the driver’s championship, but it will be an exciting fall. He holds a four point lead over Carlos Sainz, and Sainz is six points ahead of Solberg and Gronholm. And thanks to Gronholm’s retirement, Citroen is having a run at it in the manufacturer’s championship, trailing Peugeot by only four points. Subaru and Ford are tied for third with sixty points apiece.

The championship moves to Australia next month, before a final string of tarmac rallies and the Rally Great Britain to close out the season.

Posted on 10 August 2003

It was a quite a day in Finland, and it looks like the rally will have only its third non-Finnish winner when the dust settles on Sunday (barring a rash of retirements). Where to begin….

First, Marcus Gronholm retired during SS13 with wheel problems. Seems he suffered the same fate as teammate Harri Rovanpera (a snapped suspension bolt), but Gronholn’s 206 lost a wheel, and he was unable to continue. Gronholm’s title defense this year looks eerily similar to his 2001 campaign — a few wins between numerous crashes and retirements (which allowed Richard Burns to take the driver’s championship despite only winning New Zealand). Things don’t looks good for Marcus at the moment, with Burns and Carlos Sainz fighting for second place points, but more on that in a moment.

Colin McRae also saw his championship disappear. After setting a fastest stage time, McRae was penalized a minute for turning in his timecard too early (cars can’t arrive at a stage start too soon after traveling on a road section). To add insult to injury, McRae crashed out on SS16.

All this leaves Markko Martin in the lead by over one minute, but his day was not without drama as well. Electronics problems in the Focus affected the differentials, and Martin was nearly caught by Richard Burns. But….

Burns ran into wheel bearing issues on SS17, and lost nearly a minute Martin, thus putting him a three way for second place with Carlos Sainz and Petter Solberg. Only half a second separates the three heading into the last day of the rally. Solberg surged late in the day, setting the fastest time on SS17. Petter doesn’t sound hopeful, however, saying that Burns will take second, just because of how quick the 206 is. This could just be scare tactics from Petter as well, given that he said he didn’t think the Impreza would be very quick here.

Sebastien Loeb is comfortably in fifth, and Tommi Makinen in sixth, well ahead of a contingent of Finnish irregulars. Should things continue as is for Subaru, this will be a decent rally, and should keep them ahead of Ford in the manufacturer’s standings.

At this point, this is Markko Martin’s rally. A steady drive should net him the win, as there are no killer stages tomorrow. The question is, can the Focus hold up for another day? The pressure is on Richard Burns and Carlos Sainz, and I imagine Solberg will do what he can to force them to make a mistake. Burns can’t afford to be too relaxed, as only .5 seconds separates 8 championship points and 4. High stakes indeed.

Posted on 9 August 2003

Sorry about the delay in getting a post about the rally up. I was having some issues with my recently upgrading mail program. Seems it just didn’t want to work for awhile….

Anyway….

It’s been a busy day at Rally Finland, with several lead changes. Heading into the final stage of the day, the superspecial at Killeri, Markko Martin has a slim 2 second lead over Marcus Gronholm. Richard Burns is about 20 seconds adrift of Gronholm, and Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz and Petter Solberg are grouped together another 30 seconds back.

Both Gronholm and Martin have been very quick, setting most of the fastest stage times. Burns had a great run through SS7, but then had some problems on SS9, dropping him a bit further back. Pre-rally favorite Harri Rovanpera had problems almost immediately on SS2, finding himself in the trees with suspension damage. He is still in the rally, though at 20 minutes back, he won’t be a factor in the overall standings. Sebastien Loeb and Tommi Makinen round out the top 8.

Didier Auriol didn’t start the stages today, as expected, because of shoulder pain, but Toni Gardenmeister has been running well in the new Fabia, setting one top 10 stage time, and if the car holds up, he should be able to fiight for a spot in the top ten. Hyundai’s Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz haven’t been particularly quick, and they are in the top 15, fighting with some of the local drivers.

The weather has been a mix of rain and sun, and some of the stages have been a bit muddy, allowing Burns (who would typically be sweeping the roads running first) to stay in the running. I expect he’ll catch right up to the leaders tomorrow when he runs near the end of the start order. Petter Solberg has said he feels he is pushing the Impreza to the limit, but the car just isn’t as quick as the Focus or the 206. Perhaps he will just have to wait for mistakes to make his move.

Posted on 8 August 2003

The World Rally Championship has headed to Finland for one of the most popular rounds of the championship. The gravel roads are smooth and fast, and littered with huge jumps. Most of the drivers refer to the event as the Grand Prix Finland because the average speeds are the fastest on the schedule (top speeds are generally around 200 kph). Finland is also considered a specialist’s event, even though it is gravel, as the style of driving is quite different from the other loose surface rallies. In the nearly 20 years the rally (as the 1000 Lakes Rally and Rally Finland) has been on the WRC calendar, only two non-Finns have won the event (Didier Auriol and Carlos Sainz). Both Petter Solberg and Richard Burns have looked quick over the past few years, but I don’t expect them to stand on the top step of the podium come Sunday.

This is Peugeot’s rally to win. Marcus Gronholm has four consecutive wins on the event, and Harri Rovanpera (also Finnish) is always quick here as well. Richard Burns desperately wants this to be the first rally he wins for Peugeot, though it will be interesting to see what sort of risks he takes if he can still hold on the driver’s championship lead without the win. Unless Gronholm makes a mistake, he should be tipped to win.

Subaru is looking for a good result. Petter Solberg was the best of the rest last year, taking third place, and Tommi Makinen also has a streak of consecutive wins here in the 1990s, so it’s not a question of ability. During the shakedown today, Solberg commented that the Impreza just didn’t feel quick, and that could be to their disadvantage.

Much is expected of Ford and Markko Martin. The Focus has been really quick since its debut this year, just about on par with the Peugeots, but it has been plagued by some mechanical difficulties (which robbed Martin of at least one win so far). But, if the car holds up, Martin could be on the podium come Sunday. Francois Duval, on the other hand, just wants to finish the rally and score some points for the team. Expect a steady rally from Duval.

The big question mark of the rally is Citroen. Both Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz can be quick on the rally, and the Xsara has proven to be fast on the loose surfaces this year, so perhaps one of them can break up the Finnish monopoly. Sebastien Loeb doesn’t have much experience on the rally, so expect him to also run a steady rally and try and maintain his position in the driver’s championship.

Skoda will just be trying to get the new Fabia to the finish ramp on Sunday, but DIdier Auriol has complained of shoulder pains, so he may not even start the rally. Hyundai is also looking to get a manufacturer’s point or two come Sunday. Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz can be quick, and some consistent top 10 stage times may get them to their goal.

My picks:
1. Marcus Gronholm
2. Harri Rovanpera
3. Richard Burns
4. Petter Solberg
5. Markko Martin

Posted on 7 August 2003

There are some updates on the boy’s progress here. I’m working on compiling a Quicktime movie of video footage for the site as well. Stay tuned.

Posted on 6 August 2003

Looks like Bill Gates and Microsoft will begin to assimilate primates into the way of .Net. Is there no justice in this world? The animal kingdom isn’t even safe from the clutches of the Evil Empire!!!

Posted on 6 August 2003