TC the Terrible

Did you have any doubts which businesses would be the first to reopen?

“It’ll be better than ever,” said Jason Mohney, the owner of four strip clubs on Bourbon Street, the bawdy and tacky haven for tourists in the heart of the French Quarter.

They were the first ones to use pop-up ads, the first to figure out real time web-casts and video feeds, and the first to implement secure credit card transactions on the web. You had to know that they would be the first to get back to work in New Orleans.

I wonder if they give discounted lap dances to members of the response teams?

One sure way to get this town’s attention is to start talking Redskins football. Never mind that the leader of the free world lives here, and never mind that we have a real baseball team for the first time in three decades. The biggest attraction in town is wearing crimson and gold, so it follows that the biggest debate in town is who should be the starting quarterback. It’s not like those silly hearings over at the Capitol on the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, after all that only shapes our lives for the next couple of generations. This is the Redskins, the thing that really matters in this town.

One of the overnight visitors to the blog made some coherent comments about why Brunell is the right guy to under center against the Cowboys come Monday night. Notice that I said his comments were coherent, not that they were right, just that he was able to make a point using correct spelling and grammar. Let’s take a look at what he said, and why he’s wrong.

His (I guess it was a guy) first point – “Brunell was a pro-bowl quarterback”. The key word here is was, because it was more than just a couple of years ago that Brunell had real value as a starting quarterback. Brunell is past the point in his career where he can lead a team to the playoffs. His role now should be to go in when the real quarterback is hurt, or holding out for more cash. His favorite plays all either involve handing the ball off, or dinking out a three yard over the middle pass. Neither of those inspires awe in a defense or stretch the field, two of the things it takes to score points.

The second point – “he (Brunell) looks relaxed and confident when he throws and Ramsey looks anxious and unsure”. Brunell could look poised in the pre-season when he was facing the second and third stringers. He was okay against the Bears on Sunday but he didn’t have the look of a leader. Favre and McNabb don’t have a very composed look most days either, but they do look like leaders and they find ways to win. Standing still in the pocket and being in charge are two different things. Brunell stands still in the pocket but he is not in charge.

Point number three – “At what point do you stop waiting for the potential to materialize?” I’d say we were watching that potential materialize in the first quarter. Which quarterback was it that showed he could make mistakes and shake them off to command a scoring drive? Which one actually got the ball into the end zone? That would be Ramsey. Brunell was the guy who was satisfied with field goal range and not willing to take a chance on the big play.

Final point – “. . . and since he is a hall of fame coach. . .”. I used to run the mile in six minutes flat, but those days are behind me. Gibbs HOF resume is behind him too. The application of football fundamentals has changed over the last decade and Coach is still playing catch up to the new game. He’s shown that he needs help with getting and keeping talented players in this new generation. I think he is in the process of turning this team around and as soon as he gets a winning quarterback he’ll be there.

In the world of today’s NFL you have to take chances if you are going to win games. No doubt that Joe Gibbs thinks that the QB switch is going to make them a better team. But how can you not notice that Brunell looks and plays like an old man, and there are not many old men that are willing to take chances. Gibbs needs to get over his fascination with Brunell, sooner rather than later.

What ever it is that Gibbs thinks he sees in Brunell had better be there Monday night. Because this is the Cowboys. The team that the Redskins love to hate, but can’t seem to beat. The team that is honoring three of their own by putting them in the “Ring of Honor” at halftime, perfectly timed to rub the ‘Skins noses in the misery of the past decade. It’s an owner taking a cheap shot at a rival owner.

And we are using a washed up and injury prone quarterback to defend the honor of our team. Can somebody please explain that to the rest of us?

Watching the President last night made my stomach twist into knots. First off it came off was an oversized case of ‘too little – too late’ in my book. Second we’ve heard all this rhetoric before; almost four years ago to the day.

It was only a couple of days after the World Trade Center was destroyed by terrorists that W. stood in the rubble and promised us that we would chase down the criminals that did it; no matter where they fled or how long it took us. Now he’s using almost those exact words to promise New Orleans residents that we will re-build their town. Oh yeah, and the same goes for all of you guys in Mississippi and Alabama that are turning into a national afterthought.

There is no secret that I’m a fan of W. I think that he was the right choice for America in both 2000 and in 2004. He had my support to kick Saddam out of Iraq, and he continues to have my support to attempt to introduce a more just form of government into a region that so crucial to our medium and long term national interests. I also support his attempts to straighten out the problems with FEMA and the other national agencies that didn’t respond quickly enough to Katrina.

What I don’t support is the underlying promise in last night’s speech to enlarge the size of the Federal government and become more intrusive into the rights of the individual States. There is no way in hell that we can have “one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen. . .” without creating an even larger, less responsive system of government. Granted, the President did say that it would all be under local control with the primary bids and work being given to businesses from the disaster areas. But all of the promises, programs, and monies will come with Federal oversight. Some people see that as keeping the system honest and cutting down on cronyism, but I see it as making the government bigger. Mark my words, there will be at least three new agencies created before this is over and when was the last time we shut one of those down for good?

I have a hard time getting my head around the idea of “a broader role for the armed forces” too. Somebody needs to talk to the President about the concept of posse Comitatus before this gets out of hand. There is a very good reason the Framers of the Constitution didn’t want the Executive Branch to have the authority to use Federal troops to enforce the law. I have yet to hear a good reason that we should let them do it now. Two hundred plus years haven’t changed the nature of mankind enough to change that part of our nation.

It’s a basic tenant of the conservative philosophy that less government is better. The speech last night seems to throw all of that right out the window.

My best friend is a huge fan of the Big Easy. He thinks we should do whatever it takes to rebuild the city. And rebuild it stick for stick, brick for brick, the way it was before Katrina hit shore. We should put all the drunks and beggars back on their usual street corners and party on like nothing ever happened. I’ve said before that I think we need to put our heads where our hearts are before we start spending any serious money to rebuild the Crescent City. I agree that the name and general location need to be salvaged, but we need to do it the right way and I’m not sure anyone is listening to that message yet.

My closing thought is this. For all of those who find fault with the President on a daily basis, can you name another official at a high level of any government that would have taken the fall for all the screw ups of the last 18 days? W. did last night.

“Four years after the frightening experience of September 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency. When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I as president am responsible for the problem, and for the solution.”

For those of you that have never seen that before, it was a sign of leadership. He could have passed the buck, argued over definitions, or simply denied any liability. Instead he stood up in public and took a round to the chest. Like him or not, he takes as good as he gives and that is a nice change of pace in this town.