Wednesday, June 1, 2011

NBA Finals - Lebron James Was Right About The Miami Heat



Game One of the 2011 NBA Finals is history,  the Miami Heat prevailed 92 to 84, and this blogger's still shocked the Heat are even there, let alone winning over The Dallas Mavericks.

Look, the decision in this space was to root for LeBron James, because last year, when Mr. James was making a big media show of his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavs, the word here was to go to the Chicago Bulls.

James selected the Miami Heat, saying he was going to South Beach, and making it sound like a vacation in the making. I wrote off LeBron at that point, figuring he was more interested in the honeys in the sand than getting a ring.

And LRMR Marketing's clients list potential in Miami? I really wrote that off. Chicago, with its incredible list of major corporations and marketing talent, is a hot bed for marketing companies - a perfect place for LRMR Marketing.

But what did I know? LRMR Marketing remained in Cleveland, not moving to Miami. And while LRMR exists, James, needing more fire-power, is with CAA.

Meanwhile instead of chlling on South Beach, LeBron put in hard work on the court. The result is not just the 2011 NBA Finals, but today's win. I'm rooting for him.

There's nothing wrong with wanting the best for yourself, and that's all James wanted for himself. James had the right idea in making a show of his decision to leave Cleveland, failing only at capturing the resultant web traffic revenue from the occurrence. Then James and the Heat caught hell for a flashy, smoky party to celebrate the merger of The Big Three.

I saw nothing wrong with it.

Then, Miami started out 9 wins and 8 losses, and this corner wrote them off for dead. But that's where the team found itself and its character, eventually playing better, and ultimately vanquishing the bully on the block, The Boston Celtics.

Anyone who can't like this story has something wrong with them.

Still, it's too early to crown the Heat. It's just Game One. But win or lose, at least applaud LeBron James for a job well done this year.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead - Credit President Obama




Osama Bin Laden Is Dead. President Barack Obama made the stunning announcement at 11:39 PM EDT Sunday, as this blogger sat in a position of stasis. For almost 10 years, the name Osama Bin Laden had become an indelible part of American Culture, and with an image just equal to that of Adolf Hitler.

The Mastermind of the September 11th 2001 events we call 9-11 and that led to the total destruction of the twin towers of The World Trade Center in New York City was on the run, seemingly forever.

Not any more...



And while the media points to a intelligence gathering process that started back in 2001, the truth is that America's political leaders in charge for much of that time wrongly focused American military resources on Irag, and not Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Now, almost a trillion dollars, and 4,000 lost lives by 2007, then-Senator Barack Obama, just starting what would become his successful presidential run, said that he would end the Iraq War, and go on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden right in Pakistan.

The statement led to a ton of criticism from his major presidential rivals. In a blog post dated Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at Zennie62.com, this blogger pushed-out for distribution what CNN's Ruben Navarrette Jr, wrote:

When Sen. Barack Obama suggested getting out of Iraq and moving "onto the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan," and then pledged, if elected president, to go into Pakistan if our military was in hot pursuit of "high-value terrorist targets" (read: Osama bin Laden), his opponents pounced.


Rudy Giuliani suggested that Obama should be more accommodating of Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Mitt Romney said that Obama was "confused as to who are our friends and who are our enemies." Sen. John McCain called Obama's remarks "kind of typical of his naivete." And Sen. Hillary Clinton said that Obama's foreign policy views were "irresponsible and frankly naive."

Now, fast-forward to 2011 and while Hillary Clinton is now Secretary of State, and Rudy Giuliani is semi-retired (or so it seems) Mitt Romney is talking about running for President, again. And Sen. John McCain doesn't seem to be in the mood of thanking President Obama, issuing this Twitter Tweet:

SenJohnMcCain John McCain
We finally got him, justice has been done. Read my full statement here http://tinyurl.com/3auckey...


Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), made the following statement this evening regarding the announcement made by President Obama that Osama Bin Laden has been killed:


"I am overjoyed that we finally got the world's top terrorist. The world is a better and more just place now that Osama bin Laden is no longer in it. I hope the families of the victims of the September 11th attacks will sleep easier tonight and every night hence knowing that justice has been done. I commend the President and his team, as well as our men and women in uniform and our intelligence professionals, for this superb achievement.


"But while we take heart in the news that Osama bin Laden is dead, we must be mindful that al-Qaeda and its terrorist allies are still lethal and determined enemies, and we must remain vigilant to defeat them."
That's great.  But never forget that it was McCain who wasted no time in saying then-Senator Obama was naive for wanting to go into Pakistan to get Bin Laden.  If McCain were POTUS, and not Obama, this day arguably would never have come. 

And the list of potential GOP Presidential Candidates who don't have the class to thank President Obama includes Sarah Palin and, of course, Mitt Romney, as of this writing.

What Were We Doing In Iraq?

All of this, this modern V-Jay Day, now brings back the question "What were we doing in Iraq?"   It was, indeed, not just the wrong war, but a costly war.   And we wasted years in Iraq while Osama Bin Laden gained enough time and money to have the giant compound in Pakistan constructed to keep him safe.  

Now, a revisiting of what the USA was doing over that time is in order, especially since it's clear Osama Bin Laden was no where near Iraq.

We got him.   In Pakistan.  

Stay tuned.