Money Quotes and Good Perspectives

With all this talk about the Iraq War, and whether or not to leave the soldiers in or not, I thought the NY Times did a fabulous job today of having two columnists give opposing viewpoints. But what differentiated today than most other days from most other papers was that these op-eds that called for the removal of troops or the sending of more troops were not based in some Michael Moore or Limbaugh bullshit. Both articles were based on the human need for life and love to exist. They literally speak to the human soul. What I also love about these pieces is that they both do not play the he said, she said game. The blame game lies with the public, with us, with the viewers, and with those who do nothing but abstain ourselves from guilt. Politics are second in importance in their arguments. Instead, it is about nothing more than the love for human life.

Conservative argument: Savagery's Stronghold by David Brooks
Liberal argument: Other People's Blood by Bob Herbert

Speaking of NYTimes, Thomas Friedman wrote an interesting article a few days about called, "A Well of Smiths and Xias," which talks about the enormous diversity in the American public school system. His money quote is the following:

"America is still the world's greatest human magnet. We are not the only country that embraces diversity, but there is something about our free society and free market that still attracts people like no other. Our greatest asset is our ability to still cream off not only the first-round intellectual draft choices from around the world but the low-skilled-high-aspiring ones as well, and that is the main reason that I am not yet ready to cede the 21st century to China. Our Chinese will still beat their Chinese."

And another money quote is regarding sports. One of the top reasons for why ESPN columnist, Bill Simmons, believes the Mavs will win: BAD KARMA for the Heat. Mainly the following:

"Pat Riley: Took the Knicks to Game 7 of the Finals in '94 and the conference semis in '95, then stabbed their entire fan base in the back by jumping ship to their archrival (in especially sleazy, underhanded fashion). Bring up Riley's name to any diehard Knicks fan -- they react like Jennifer Aniston finding out that the Pitt-Jolie kid was born two days before "The Break-Up" came out. They can't handle him.
(BAD KARMA RATING: 9 out of 10)

Pat Riley, Part II: Stole the team from Stan Van Gundy, then apparently had him whacked -- we haven't seen the Hedgehog since. Just a crazy turn of events. Combined with what happened with the Knicks, Riley's bad karma almost can't be calculated. Still, I'm going to try. (BAD KARMA RATING: 19 out of 10)"

Great work, Simmons!