Hank Kalet

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner has pulled out of the presidential sweepstakes — no loss, really, too much of a centrist for my tastes, too bland. Odds remain that Hillary Clinton will be the nominee, which is bad news for the party (if there is a more polarizing figure these days, I’m not sure who it is).

I like Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold (no surprise, right?).

Here is how I rank them based on my own preferences:

Could easily vote for:

1. Russ Feingold, U.S. senator from Wisconsin
2. John Edwards, former vice presidential candidate and former U.S. Sen. from North Carolina

Some trepidation:

1. Al Gore, former vice president, but not running (or so he says)
2. John Kerry, former presidential candidate and U.S. senator from Massachussets
3. Tom Vilsack, governor of Iowa
4. Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico
5. Christopher Dodd, U.S. senator from Connecticut

Yuck:

1. Evan Bayh, U.S. senator from Indiana
2. Joseph Biden, U.S. senator from Delaware
3. Hillary Clinton, U.S. senator from New York.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

The basketball preseason opens tonight for my beloved New York Knickerbockers, so forgive me a moment of obviously unwarranted optimism — it’s likely the only chance I’ll have to be optimistic about the Knicks.

Five reasons for optimism:

1. Channing Frye — The young power forward showed last season that he will be a good player in the NBA, possibly an all-star. But he was a bit soft. So this year, he comes in bigger and stronger and could be the down-low presence the team needs.
2. Eddy Curry — The center has all the tools. The big question is whether he has the attitude. Freed from Larry Brown’s accusatory stare (and let’s face it, Brown was as much to blame for last year’s disaster as the players, the GM and ownership — it truly was a team effort), Curry might just find the confidence to shine.
3. The Marbury/Francis tandem — If these guys can find a way to coexist and play some D, then we could have one of the best backcourts in the league — especially with Jamaal Crawford developing into a solid performer.
4. Jamaal Crawford — Right now, he is the team’s best player. His defense has improved, he handles the ball well and he’s a streaky shooter. But he has game and is willing to take the big shot.
5. Isaiah Thomas — Thomas is bringing a fresh attitude to the team after a year of turmoil and bad vibes. This is his roster and he maybe the right guy to get it to play better.

Five reasons for skepticism (call this the reality-based category):

1. Isaiah Thomas — This is his team and it remains dysfunctional and badly constructed. If he comes to this job with the same lack of foresight and shapeshifting that he approaches roster building, then the Knicks are doomed to repeat last year’s debacle.
2. Marbury/Francis — If they can’t coexist, if they can’t share the ball with each other or the other important Knicks then guys like Frye, Curry and Crawford will not grow as players and the team will lose 60.
3. Eddy Curry — He proves to be the next Jerome James.
4. Jalen Rose — What is he doing here? His presence can only mean trouble down the road.
5. Dolan and Thomas — No one should have any illusions that these guys know what they are doing.

So there it is. At least I can watch the Mets.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Tyler Stanger died in a plane crash in New York City yesterday.

He was a flight instructor and the plane in which he was flying crashed into a high-rise apartment building in Midtown, killing him and another man.

Oh, did I mention that the other man was Cory Lidle, New York Yankee pitcher?

I didn’t have to because that has been the focus of all the coverage — whether it be on ESPN or Good Morning America, whether it is in the New York Daily News or The New York Times.

I need to state up front that this little rant has nothing to do with Mr. Lidle, a useful big-league pitcher. His death was unfortunate as are all accidental deaths, whether they occur in the air or on the ground, whether in a plane, a car or wherever.

My complaint is with the media, of which I am a card-carrying member, and the celebrity-obsessed culture in which we live. The Lidle angle has taken off, mostly because he was a C-level celebrity. That, in the culture we live in is enough to elevate him above the rest of us.

Again, no disrespect to Mr. Lidle, but he was one of two to die. And yet, Mr. Stanger’s life has been reduced to an afterthought:

It took The New York Times, for instance, nine paragraphs in its Web version to mention his name and The New York Post 13 paragraphs in its Web version. And Good Morning America only mentioned him in passing this morning. Even the Associated Press, waited five paragraphs to offer the name — even though it was the newest piece of information available in the story.

I’m not asking that we devote the same level of coverage to Mr. Stanger, or that we even present his biography — that info was not available (his name didn’t come out until this morning) . All I ask is that he be treated as important, that his name be in the first few paragraphs, that we recognize that he died in the same crash and that there are people who care as much about him as care about Mr. Lidle.

That’s all I’m asking.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

the second victim

Eric Alterman blogs on a report from The Washington Post that estimates that 655,000 more Iraqis have died since the invasion than would have had we left the country alone. And yet, where’s the outrage?

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

I’m not sure what to say about this aside from commenting on how odd it is and unfortunate;

Lidle dies as plane crashes into Manhattan high-rise

NEW YORK — A small plane with New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle aboard crashed into a 50-story condominium tower Wednesday on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, killing at least two people — including Lidle — and raining flaming debris on sidewalks, authorities said.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick