A terrible case of burying the lede

I visited the US House yesterday. It was ... okay. I think I would've been more interested if they had been in session and it hadn't been the last day before a three-day weekend. Regardless, it had interesting moments.

I learnt that the crypt underneath the rotunda is empty because the Washingtons did not want the bodies of George and Martha to be dug up and reburied in the District, especially not 25 years after they died. I also learnt that the Supreme Court used to meet for many many years in the US Capitol. And I learnt that Congressman Robert B Aderholt (R-AL) is one of those people who never attended or paid attention to university-level American History courses.

He was the only one still present at Friday, 11 a.m., and was talking to what looked like a first-grade class of some sort. One of the teachers asked about "In God We Trust" on the money (it is carved above the Speaker's podium as well in the House). The Congressman went on this long, rambling talk about how it's on the money, no plans to take it off, there was one of the dollar coins with it on the rim, they moved it to the front (missing the fact that the valuable versions of those coins are MISSING the "In God We Trust" due to a minting error on the day), and then said something about how about 95 per cent of the founding fathers were devout Christians.

Anyone who's even HEARD of Thomas Jefferson knows he was nothing of the sort. I direct anyone who needs evidence to any of his writings on the subject, the fact that he has a version of The Bible without all the Super-Jesus parts, i.e., with all the instances of superpowers removed. John Adams was raised in Christianity but later in life had more of a neutral view of religion. He even rejected his father's request for him to become a minister because he thought being an attorney was more noble. James Madison wrote in 1792 that there was no specific religious sanction for American Government. Thomas Paine wrote (biased source notwithstanding)

The case, my friend is, that the world has been over-run with fable and creeds of human invention, with sectaries of whole nations against all other nations, and sectaries of those sectaries in each of them against each other. Every sectary, except the Quakers, has been a persecutor. Those who fled from persecution persecuted in their turn, and it is this confusion of creeds that has filled the world with persecution and deluged it with blood.

The amount of ignorance involved when people speak of the US founding fathers is staggering, albeit not necessarily exclusive to them. I have heard many times the quote of Albert Einstein, "God does not play dice with the universe," which is a paraphrase anyway, used as "evidence" (for instances of evidence consisting entirely of quote-mining) of Einstein's belief in a god, or as he was fond of saying, "The old one." In fact, upon being asked directly by Rabbi Herbert S Goldstein of New York, he replied, "I believe in Spinoza's God, Who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of mankind." He also said, "To take those fools in clerical garb seriously is to show them too much honor." So while he may have believed in some sort of god (which I dispute on the grounds that "pantheism" is a sort of middle ground so as not to say "I'm an atheist" whilst still expressing wonder at the natural world), he certainly had no love for organised religion.

Maybe I'm rare in this, but I'm not terribly fond of misquoting, misinformation, or selective quotations. I am a fan of context, and if someone says something ambiguous, asking another question or doing more research is warranted. I really abhor when people ignore things that don't agree with their already-held beliefs or pet theories. Not to say I'm innocent of it myself (to say nothing of rationalisation) but I am aware of it and try to find reality. I certainly don't stand up in front of small children and tell them known lies.

An open letter to ESPN's editorial department

Dear ESPN: All I ask is a little perspective.

On the front page of your MLB website, you have a photo of the Yankees jumping onto each other with the caption, "Their long, long title drought will soon be over. Why the New York Yankees are about to win their first World Series in almost a decade." Long, long title drought, eh? So long that it requires italics? Well, okay. Being from the Midwest originally I'm certainly familiar with long title droughts for my sport teams, but for the Yankees? Perhaps we can take a look at the record, yes?

Okay, the last time they won a World Series was 2000 according to Wikipedia (yes, I know, but it's quick and easy). Before that, they won in 1999, 1998, and 1996. Before that of course, the last time they won a World Championship was in 1978. Now THAT is a long, long title drought. Actually, no ... no it isn't. I take it back. That's an extended title drought, but not even a single un-italicised "long" one. If we take a look at other teams, I'm sure we'll find horribly longer ones, worthy of the italics and repetition.

To start with, let's visit Chicago's North Side. The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908 - that's 101 years. THAT, I daresay, is a long, long, long Series Drought. It's so long it's become infamous. The Cubs are still a very good baseball team, but they never seem to get past the playoffs. In fact, the last time they even PARTICIPATED in a World Series was 1945. Their losing streak is such a part of baseball that "Maybe Next Year" is the Cubs Fan's unofficial slogan.

Another team with a super-long Series Drought is the Boston Red Sox. Dubbed the "Curse of the Bambino," the Sox had not won a series since before the trad e of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1919 (the actual win was in 1918, throwing a bit of confusion onto the nomenclature, but anyway). The first time in 86 years they won a Series was in 2004 after they came from an 0-3 record in their playoff series against the Yankees to win, and then sweep the St Louis Cardinals.

Speaking of the Cardinals, before their most recent win in 2006 over the Detroit Tigers, they had not won a Series since 1982, a 24-year streak. Other teams with even longer failures to attain World Series trophies include the Cleveland Indians, San Francisco(New York) Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, and Detroit Tigers.

Some other teams in Major League Baseball have never won a World Series in their entire existences. These include the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos, and Seattle Mariners. Of those, only the Rangers, Nationals/Expos and Mariners have never even participated in a World Series.

So, dearest ESPN, if you would kindly do those of us who hate or don't give a shit about the Yankees the courtesy of cutting back on the hyperbole, we would much appreciate it. We do, after all, make up most of your viewing audience outside of New York and New Jersey. I expect to see reports of the Red Sox breaking their one-year losing streak, or even the Florida Marlins breaking their five-year streak, any time now.

Well, except for the thing about the Marlins, since they're not playing post-season.

Signed,

One of the 250m people who doesn't live in the New York area and is therefore sick of hearing about New York sports teams.