World Sojourner : 3760

I’m reading an AP article on the vote and my blood is boiling. 

 Some finer exerpts…

More than two-thirds of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats opposed the bill.

> find their names, vote against them. 

The overriding question for congressional leaders was what to do next. Congress has been trying to adjourn so that its members can go out and campaign for the election that is just five weeks away.

> they want to campaign?  Wreck the economy and the future because they want a little R&R?

Republicans blamed Pelosi’s scathing speech near the close of the debate — which attacked Bush’s economic policies and a “right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation” of financial markets — for the vote’s failure.

“We could have gotten there today had it not been for the partisan speech that the speaker gave on the floor of the House,” Minority Leader John Boehner said. Pelosi’s words, the Ohio Republican said, “poisoned our conference, caused a number of members that we thought we could get, to go south.”

Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the whip, estimated that Pelosi’s speech changed the minds of a dozen Republicans who might otherwise have supported the plan.

> She hurt their feelings so they decided to vote against the bill?  Get over it, vote for the damn bill and worry about your ‘feelings’ later.  As for Pelosi, just for a moment - one fucking moment - think before opening your mouth.

And my favorite …

“We’re all worried about losing our jobs,” Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., declared in an impassioned speech in support of the bill before the vote. “Most of us say, ‘I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it — not me.’”

Go ahead, re-read it.  Let the implications wash over you like a water break on the WPA. 

Of all the self-centered, cowardly decisions - the House Republicans and Democrats who shot down this bill may have just doomed the United States to a second Great Depression.  Don’t they understand that this was about more than just CYA politics?

I’m stunned and appalled that they’ve let this happen.  It doesn’t matter if the general public ‘wanted’ this bailout or not.  A representative republic means that our ‘leaders’ make the decision on what is best for the entire country.

Will today mark beginning of the end of the US as a superpower? 

House defeats $700B financial markets bailout

Before rolling into some thoughts, I want to make a couple things absolutely clear -  first and foremost, I want a competitive, well coached team that brings pride to my alma-mater.  The academic ship has sailed, so we have football.

Second, I want a national championship because “the all time winningest division 1A football program without a national championship” title sucks and since my non-politically appointed MBA says you’re either growing or dying and pre-Stewart we’d already reached top 5/top 10 status on a yearly basis there are only a few more steps to the promise land.  Had I went to uM, well my objectives would be a little different.

The boys played well yesterday and beat an inferior MUooo squad handily.  How much different is a mid-major program and a good division II A school like Villanova?  The only way to really tell would be to see the two teams play, but for now Ste et al gets their first win over a division IA opponent this year and his second all time! err, all time.

The next games should mark his fate (my blog, my hope that we end the pain now rather than two to three years of mediocrity) with the less than impressive 1-3 Rutgers Scarlet Knights, cellar dweller 1-4 Syracuse Orangemen and #15 Auburn Tigers.  All three games are at Mountaineer Field so at worst we should be 4-3 (loss to Auburn) and at best 5-2.  Either of these options implies that the program is improving and Stewart may keep is job - anything else and let’s just pull the trigger on a firing - give the job to the current OC (as a test) and find someone qualified in the off-season.

I do not want him or the team to fail; far from it.  Let’s hope the first couple games were just newbie growing pains and I’m dead wrong.

But, since it’s my blog and hypothesis (that he’s unqualified and should be relieved of duty come end of season) I shall hold this position until the results prove me wrong.  I hope they do.  Please. Please. Please.

WVU plays Marshall University today in what is hokely called the Coal Bowl.   While I appreciate that coal is a major part of the states economic success picture naming the game the Coal Bowl is well, uninspiring.

Yet, I digress from the the real topic of this post.  UM (notably the sound most Marshall grads make when asked difficult questions) v WVU represents a major decision point for the administration of WVU - do we fire coach Stewart tomorrow or wait until after the Dec 14th bowl game in middle-of-nowhere? A loss to MU (notably the sound most Marshall girls make when standing in the cafeteria line) means that for the second time in his career Stewart will be fired after having only won two games as a head coach (for a career 3 against Division IIA and 1 against division IA).

A win and this program, which he and an incompetent administration more interested in ’stability’, and keeping a good-old-boy that Don Nehland actually likes avoiding the pressures of the big time football biz, continues its march to the walking-dead.  A loss and I think the pressure from the fans will become too much.  It’s unacceptable that a pre-season #8 team (let’s say top-twenty) loses to uM, Moo, Marshall.  A loss will solidify our greatest concern, which is that the team is devoid of leadership.

Leadership comes from the top and an all carrot golly you boys are so-precious mentality only works when the team is about the drink the cool-aid after a heart-ripping loss to Pitt and losing it’s famed coach (he was an ass, but a good coach).  So, it was perfectly understandable that Stewart helped the team cope with the losses.  Let me be clear on one point, Mountaineer Nation will forever be grateful for his leadership during the Fiesta bowl.  His work should have earned him a lifetime contract with the school.  Had we had a grass surface rather than astro-turf I’d have seen the city fathers letting Stewart cut the grass (which he would have gladly cut for free after his earnings from Apple were invested). The fact we made him head coach of a national program is unforgivable.

80% of alumni saw this coming and said something.   The other 20% saw it coming too, but didn’t want to admit it so they held on to some hope that surrounding him with high paid staff (even talented lieutenants need leadership and development) would balance out the glaring weakness at the top.  It didn’t.  It never does.  

Large and small donors (many who work in professional sports) and knowledge people went nuts at the decision, but were told by the administration that this was the best for the program.  Of course, this is the same administration that brought you MBA-gate.  Stewart needs to join Garrison in the happy-hunting ground of past-WVU leaders.

The real question isn’t if he should go, it’s when should he go?