I haven’t posted in a few weeks but I’ve been watching. I’ll have more thoughts on the primaries soon, but tonight I found something that is worth watching. John McCain is the presumptive Republican nominee. I don’t plan to vote for him and while I disagree with many of his positions, I do generally respect him. However he has embraced John Hagee who has preached some incredibly anti-Catholic messages. You can see this on YouTube:

It’s been the buzz of the baseball world, but this past week former Senator George Mitchell released his report. It’s an understatement to say that the results are stunning. He did not have subpoena power and couldn’t compel anyone to talk to him and there was the fear that his report wouldn’t reveal much. It did. You can read a list of the players. There were the names of those we expected to be there (Barry Bonds) but there were also players I wasn’t expecting, like Paul LoDuca and Eric Gagne. It appears that many of the players listed were told where to get the steroids from other players.

Aside from the long list of players the other part of this that was so sickening was the implied complicity of management. I was obviously looking for the names of former Padres, but here is what I found with former pitcher Kevin Brown (it’s on page 216). These are notes from an October 2003 meeting of Dodgers officials:

Kevin Brown – getting to the age of nagging injuries . . . Question what kind of medication he takes . . . Effectiveness goes down covering 1st base or running bases. Common in soccer players and are more susceptible if you take meds to increase your muscles – doesn’t increase the attachments. Is he open to adjusting how he takes care of himself? He knows he now needs to do stuff before coming to spring training to be ready. Steroids speculated by GM

Those same notes quote this about pitcher Eric Gagne: “he probably takes medication and tendons and ligaments don’t build up just the muscle.”

There is much more but this gives a flavor. I’m troubled by this because it was clear that not only was there pressure on the players to use steroids, there was also winks and nods from management. There are a few superstars on this list (Bonds, Clemens, etc.) but there are many more “2nd tier” players who used this stuff not for records, but just to make the team. They are competing against those who are cheating and many felt they had no choice if they wanted to stay on a level playing field.

Lots of comparisons are being made to the 1919 Black Sox scandal (this is where 8 players for the Chicago White Sox took bribes to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds). I hope it’s not that serious; baseball had a very difficult few years and was only popular again with the rise of Babe Ruth. But the sense of betrayal is the same and I can’t help but feel that some of the fan base will simply leave. I won’t be one of them because I still enjoy watching the game and there are still the Tony Gwynn’s and Cal Ripkin’s out there.

We’ve been waiting for this for a long time, but word came out that Barry Bonds has been indicted on 4 counts of perjury and 1 count of obstruction of justice related to his testimony before the grand jury in December of 2003. You can read the text of the indictment here. If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat you have to download the reader to read the document.

It was about that time Barry changed his story from “I never took steroids” to “I never knowingly took steroids. The focus of the grand jury investigation was a company called Balco who Justice lawyers believed provided steroids to a number of athletes. Barry was given immunity so that he couldn’t be prosecuted for anything he told the grand jury (this prevents him from taking the Fifth Amendment) as long as he was truthful to the grand jury. Bonds was asked if he received steriods from Greg Anderson, a friend of Bonds who has an affiliate with Balco. He testified that Anderson administered a cream that Bonds believed was flaxseed oil.

This is all pretty dry stuff, but the bottom line is this: the indictment shows he knowingly took steroids and lied to investigators. Now he faces the possibility of prison time, all because he wanted the home run record enough to cheat. This shows not just a lack of respect for himself but also for baseball. I’ve written on this before on March 9, 2006. By the way Sports Illustrated has a terrific slide show on Barry’s growth chart.

Meanwhile, Barry is a free agent and is looking for a team that will pick him up so he can get 3000 hits in the major leagues. It doesn’t look likely now. Speaking only for myself as a baseball fan, I won’t miss him.

Last month I wrote a post on the sex abuse settlement with the Catholic Diocese of San Diego. In the negotiations with the victims Bishop Brom stated that the diocese could only afford to pay out $95 million without hurting the mission of the church. The final settlement was for $198 million and the share of the diocese will be about $107 million (the rest will come from insurance) which means that the diocese needs to close a gap of $12 million.

Most other dioceses have closed this gap by selling property or other assets; some have closed parishes. Bishop Brom doesn’t want to do this and appears to have come up with another solution: shake down your people. Last week he sent a memo to all the priests in the diocese; there is a link in an article in the San Diego Union Tribune. He asks all the priests of the diocese to donate a month’s salary to a campaign called “Embracing Our Mission” (though “Saving Our Mission” would probably be more accurate). This is the excerpt from the memo:

Since we cannot ask of others what we are unwilling to do ourselves, the deans [priests who represent a given geographic grouping of priests in the diocese] accepted the recommendation of the Presbyteral Council [a council of priests who advise the bishop] to invite every priest to contribute one month’s salary toward Embracing Our Mission. Retired priests will be asked to contribute according to their means. In this regard, you will soon hear from your dean.

The memo goes on to say that each pastor will receive a packet that they will mail to their parishioners “inviting them to make a generous contribution.”

The astounding part of this isn’t the fact that Bishop Brom is asking for money. Since we, the faithful, are essentially the only source of income for the church he really has nowhere else to go. The idea that the bishop can strongarm his priests in this manner is what astounds me. I, as a layperson, am asked to make a “generous contribution” but am left to myself to decide what it is. I certainly have no intention of donating a month’s salary because, simply put, I have bills to pay. But so do they. The mood of this letter to priests makes it sound like it’s far from a suggestion.

As for me, I doubt we’ll give the “generous contribution” but not for the reason you may think. It’s not a matter of “I didn’t cause the problem and shouldn’t have to pay for it.” I find that excuse a little thin. My primary concern is that the victims be compensated and that’s already taken care of. This “generous contribution” is to reimburse the diocese and I’m not sure that should happen. Bishop Brom (to my mind) doesn’t seem to “get it” in the sense of understanding why we are so upset with him. Perhaps the diocese should go through some penance and this may entail some selling of property. While I certainly want the mission of the church to go on, it should not necessarily be easy for Bishop Brom.

And by the way, Bishop Brom never states he will donate a month of his salary.

Yesterday the White House released a report to Congress on how President Bush feels about progress being made in Iraq. Congress asked him specifically to report on 18 pre-arranged benchmarks. You can read the full report; in addition I have listed the 18 benchmarks and how they were assessed by the President. According to news reports only 8 of the 18 have been rated as “satisfactory.” President Bush says he’s pleased by the progress. I don’t know anyone else who would be pleased with a success rate of 43% but that’s what we have.
These are the benchmarks:
1. Forming a Constitutional Review Committee and then completing the constitutional review.
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress toward forming a Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) and then completing the constitutional review.
2. Enacting and implementing legislation on de-Ba’thification reform.
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has not made satisfactory progress toward enacting and implementing legislation on de-Ba’athification reform.
3. Enacting and implementing legislation to ensure the equitable distribution of hydrocarbon resources to the people of Iraq without regard to the sect or ethnicity of recipients, and enacting and implementing legislation to ensure that the energy resources of Iraq benefit Sunni Arabs, Shi’a Arabs, Kurds, and other Iraqi citizens in the equitable manner.
Assessment: The current status is unsatisfactory, but it is too early to tell whether the Government of Iraq will enact and implement legislation to ensure the equitable distribution of hydrocarbon resources to all Iraqis.
4. Enacting and implementing legislation on procedures to form semi-autonomous regions.
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress toward enacting and implementing legislation on procedures to form semi-autonomous regions.
5. Enacting and implementing legislation establishing an Independent High Electoral Commission, provincial council authorities, and a date for provincial elections.
Assessment: There are multiple components to this benchmark, each deserving its own assessment:

• Establishing the IHEC Commission: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress toward establishing an IHEC Commission.
• Elections Law: The Government of Iraq has not made satisfactory progress toward establishing a provincial elections law.
• Provincial Council Authorities: The Government of Iraq has not made satisfactory progress toward establishing provincial council authorities.
• Provincial Elections Date: The Government of Iraq has not made satisfactory progress toward establishing a date for provincial election

6. Enacting and implementing legislation addressing amnesty.
Assessment: The prerequisites for a successful general amnesty are not present; however, in the current security environment, it is not clear that such action should be a near-term Iraqi goal.
7. Enacting and implementing legislation establishing a strong militia disarmament program to ensure that such security forces are accountable only to the central government and loyal to the constitution of Iraq.
Assessment: The prerequisites for a successful militia disarmament program are not present.
8. Establishing supporting political, media, economic, and service committees in support of the Baghdad Security Plan.

Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress toward establishing supporting political, media, economic, and service committees in support of the Baghdad Security Plan.
9. Providing three trained and ready Iraqi brigades to support Baghdad operations.
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress toward providing three trained and ready Iraqi brigades to support Baghdad operations.
10. Providing Iraqi commanders with all authorities to execute this plan and to make tactical and operational decisions in consultation with U.S. Commanders without political intervention to include the authority to pursue all extremists including Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has not made satisfactory progress toward providing Iraqi commanders with all authorities to execute this plan and to make tactical and operational decisions in consultation with U.S. Commanders without political intervention to include the authority to pursue all extremists including Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.
11. Ensuring that Iraqi Security Forces are providing even-handed enforcement of the law.
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has not at this time made satisfactory progress in ensuring that Iraqi Security Forces are providing even-handed enforcement of the law; however, there has been significant progress in achieving increased even-handedness through the use of coalition partnering and embedded-transition teams with Iraqi Security Force units.
12. Ensuring that, as Prime Minister Malaiki was quoted by President Bush as saying, “the Baghdad Security Plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation.”
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress in ensuring the Baghdad Security Plan does not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of their sectarian or political affiliations.
13. Reducing the level of sectarian violence in Iraq and eliminating militia control of local security.
Assessment: The Government of Iraq–with substantial Coalition assistance–has made satisfactory progress toward reducing sectarian violence but has shown unsatisfactory progress toward eliminating militia control of local security.
14. Establishing all of the planned joint security stations in neighborhoods across Baghdad.
Assessment: The Government of Iraq—with substantial Coalition assistance—has made satisfactory progress toward establishing the planned JSSs (joint security stations) in Baghdad.
15. Increasing the number of Iraqi security forces units capable of operating independently.
Assessment: The Iraqi Government has made unsatisfactory progress toward increasing the number of Iraqi Security Forces units capable of operating independently.
16. Ensuring that the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature are protected.
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress toward ensuring that the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature are protected.
17. Allocating and spending $10 billion in Iraqi revenues for reconstruction projects, including delivery of essential services, on an equitable basis.
Assessment: The Iraqi Government is making satisfactory progress in allocating funds to ministries and provinces, but even if the full $10 billion capital budget is allocated, spending units will not be able to spend all these funds by the end of 2007.
18. Ensuring that Iraq’s political authorities are not undermining or making false accusations against members of the ISF.
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made unsatisfactory progress in ensuring that Iraq’s political authorities are not undermining or making false accusations against members of the ISF.
Conclusion: President Bush is telling us to wait until the final report on September 15th but it’s hard to imagine that the other 10 benchmarks will have made much progress, especially considering that the Iraqi Parliament is planning to take off the month of August. You can see Press Secretary Tony Snow’s remarks on this at his July 13th press briefing.

Q Is the Iraqi government and the Iraqi parliament taking the month of August off?

MR. SNOW: Probably, yes. Just not —

Q They’re taking the entire month of August off, before the September deadline?

MR. SNOW: It looks like they may, yes. Just like the U.S. Congress is.

Q Have you tried to talk them out of that?

MR. SNOW: You know, it’s 130 degrees in Baghdad in August, I’ll pass on your recommendation.

Q Well, Tony, Tony, I’m sorry, that’s — you know — I mean, there are a lot of things that happen by September and it’s 130 degrees for the U.S. military also on the ground —

MR. SNOW: You know, that’s a good point. And it’s 130 degrees for the Iraqi military. The Iraqis, you know, I’ll let them — my understanding is that at this juncture they’re going to take August off, but, you know, they may change their minds.

It’s going to be a long, hot summer.