Team Mitt: Reality has gone missing.

It's amusing:

"They are instead trying to find anything else to divert from the fact that these last four years have been tough years for our country." -- Mitt

And then there's the propaganda:

"It's been a great trip." -- Stuart Stevens, Mitt adviser

"By any reasonable standard, Romney's trip has been successful." -- conservative Powerline Blog

Reality has gone missing.

Just a reminder WHY green energy is important.

With solar panels on your roof, at least you can keep your air conditioning running, when that blackout hits on those hot dog days of Summer.




Worst traffic nightmare?

Almost full circle: Redd transfers to USC.

Silas Redd sent his fax in, and USC officially announced that Silas Redd is a Trojan.

Let's turn back the clock to two Summers ago, shall we?

• "USChadenfreude:Boohoohaha."  "Celebrations of USC’s impending NCAA sanctions, evidence that justice reckoned can taste as sweet as victory." - Notre Dame Magazine
• "Conversations with USC went back and forth. They were trying to convince me USC still was a good place to go. You can say what want, but the facts are the facts." - Seantrel Henderson
• "Kiffin should be more worried about what now looks to be is lying, conniving and selling snake oil to recruits rather than leaking news about getting "livid" at the NCAA." - SB's BruinsNation

Indeed, Notre Dame, schadenfreude is exactly right.  The circle is nearly complete, and USC, still under sanctions, has grabbed former Rivals 2010 #44 player Silas Redd from Penn State, in free agency, and is looking to make a run for the National Championship.

And imagine the irony of Seantrel Henderson's request to be released from his LOI to USC, then end up at Miami, suspended for a game, having lost his starter position, and staring down the barrel of a NCAA decision that may be shortly forthcoming.

By the way Bruins, you haven't benefited one bit by USC sanctions, and you have a new head coach yet again.  Lane Kiffin is assuredly not preoccupied by your concerns.  Your trash-talking can be filtered down to nothing more than rank jealousy.

Hell yeah, it's been a great off-season for Trojans.  Now the hardest part comes: preparation and work to win every game.  Once every game has been won, USC will have fully completed that circle.

Fight On.

Three gaffes in a day, all in Poland.

I give you three gaffes in one day, Poland edition.

• Today, while leaving the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a press aide for Mitt got testy.  At first, he was trying to keep the press from shouting, by telling them, "This is a holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect.”  But then he lost it and shouted back at them to "shove it", and "kiss my ass".  I don't think he understood the irony of his actions, even though he apologized for his outburst.
• Then in a speech over Poland's (questionable) economic success, like I predicted earlier, Mitt failed miserably, when he stated, "today, as some wonder about the way forward out of economic recession and fiscal crisis, the answer once again is to ‘Look to Poland."  But as I pointed out, if Poland were a success, why do they have higher unemployment and a net negative population growth over the last 12 years?
• And in the same speech, Mitt said that, "[In Poland] a march toward economic liberty and smaller government has meant a march toward higher living standards, a strong military that defends liberty at home and abroad, and an important and growing role on the international stage."  But as I pointed out the other day, Poland's government is responsible for 72.3% of all healthcare expenditures, while the US spends just 47.7%.  And as the WaPo noted, all Polish state universities are 100% government funded.  Surely Mitt's team would have known this, before they wrote his speeches.

What a wonderful European vacation it has been.

Here's something to ponder about: Mitt probably spent money from his offshore accounts, not his American accounts.  Why?  Because it's the only way he can avoid paying taxes from his accounts in the Caymans, without publicly acknowledging how much money he has parked there.  And, he has to rely on money earned from his primaries, until after the GOP convention, which likely forces him to look to his own pockets.  Truly, all-American guy, eh?

Predicting the next Mitt gaffe: Embracing Poland's economy.

According to the WSJ, Mitt's going to give a speech tomorrow "lauding Poland's relatively robust growth and spotlighting how a Romney presidency would tighten ties with the central European country."

So I thought I'd provide advanced critique of yet another Mitt gaffe.  Of course if we know what he's going to be talking about, then it's not really a gaffe, but rather a sign of blatant ignorance of the facts.  So onto the critique in two sets of charts.

A comparison of demographics, annually 2000 - 2012 (World Bank via tradingeconomics)

Something is not quite right in Poland, don't you think?  Poland's population is still down 0.66% over the last 12 years, while the US' population has increased 10.4%.

12 years of unemployment rates, monthly. (EU)

Two things to note, right?  First is, that Poland's unemployment drop nearly corresponds to its population decrease.  The second thing to note, is that under Obama, unemployment did rise, but it also fell, and is lower than the first full month after the stimulus passed, and is lower than when he first took office, but Poland's unemployment rose and now sits 1.7 percentage points above the US rate.

NOTE: I would have compared labor participation rates, but the European Union's stats indicate that Poland's numbers are unreliable.  That does raise concerns that Poland's figures for unemployment might be manipulated or otherwise poorly tracked, but the EU did not flag it as such.

You'd have to be a fool to want to wish this sort of economy upon America.  What in the world was Mitt thinking?

I'm not even going to bring up the GDP/capita or the US' purchasing power over Poland.  This is just nuts that, of all people, Mitt would distinguish Poland's economy as something worthy of embracing -- I thought he had a business degree?  I have an idea: Let's encourage conservative Republicans to MOVE to Poland!

Mitt's foot firmly planted in mouth.

Why can't Mitt keep his mittens out of trouble (or his feet out of his mouth)?

Another day and just more gaffes and contradictions.  This morning at his fundraiser in Israel, Mitt stumbled into two controversies.

Contradiction and Gaffe in One Fell Swoop

He spoke about how healthy Israelis were, and how the US needs to work towards achieving what Israelis have done.  But as Ezra Klein notes, almost all of that was achieved by strong government control over prices.  The Kaiser Family Foundation's 2009 ranking of nations by government spending as a percentage of overall healthcare expenditures shows that Israel's government was responsible for 60.3% (ranked 81st in the world) of all healthcare spending, while the US government was responsible for 47.7% (ranked 110th in the world).

By the way, on his three-nation trip, Mitt's been to the UK (84.1% government spending as percentage of total healthcare expenditures) and is off to Poland (72.3%).

No doubt, US conservatives are wondering why Mitt brought up Israel's health care system, when it makes the US' heavily privatized system look terrible.

A Factually-Challenged and Racist Gaffe

In the same breakfast fundraiser, Mitt also spoke to the economic differences between Israelis and Palestinians, saying that, "As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality."

How he managed to get his facts wrong, I have no idea.  The difference in per-capita GDP is more like $30,000, but the greater issue is the means by which Israel utilizes strict control over border crossings between Israel and Palestinian-controlled areas, preventing Palestinians from achieving economic sustainability.  And that's without mentioning the billions the US has given to Israel -- $3.0B in 2011, to be precise.

Imagine how the Palestinian economy would look like, if it were the recipient of $3.0B for just a single year? Yes, the US does give the Palestinian Authority money -- $526M in 2011 -- but nowhere near the amounts the US spends on Israel.  Put into perspective, the US gave Israel more than 3x per person ($418) than the Palestinians ($131).

It doesn't take into account the dual-citizenship Israelis enjoy, either.  Nor does it consider the resettlement funds provided by American evangelical churches.

Importantly, Mitt failed to use the opportunity to separate the difference between areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority and that of Hamas.  If Mitt were to have ever drawn a line in the sand, it should have been between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

Congressional Research Service - U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians

To Palestinians, his remarks smacked of racism, although the real issue here is, that Mitt just can't open his mouth without creating more international tension.  There is no diplomacy in Mitt's language and actions, just an egocentric projection.

What debt? Mitt offers to spend money we don't have.

How much is Mitt willing to spend, to move the US Embassy in Tel Aviv 35 miles to Jerusalem as a symbolic gesture?

Mitt Romney committed the US to spend money to do just that, yesterday, and I wanted to know how much money that would involve, so I did some quick research.

• Latvia: $96M - 1
• Romania: $100M - 2
• Morocco: $187M -3
• Baghdad: $600 ~ $750M -3, 4
• London: $1B - 5

In 1995, Republicans tried to allocate over $100M for such a relocation to Jerusalem.  That was years before 9/11, and of course excludes the cost of today's dollars, taking inflation into account, and was never meant to account for the full cost of relocation.

$1B seems like a lot of money for an embassy in Israel, until you realize that the cost of living in Jerusalem is significantly higher than that in most of Europe and the US.  So let's say you build a heavily fortified structure in the middle of disputed territory that is likely to be subject to mortar attacks: do you think it'll be cheap?

I don't.
I think it'll cost in the neighborhood of $1B to move the US Embassy in Israel, all of 35 miles.
But leave it to the media to leave this issue unchallenged.

1. US Embassy Latvia mission site
2. BBW
3. Washington Diplomat
4. Wikipedia
5. Fox News

IKEA LED light bulbs.

They don't show up online, but in-store, there are many different types available.  I was there today, and found a variety available for $9.99, including a medium base 4.5W 200 lumen bulb that was perfect as an appliance bulb.  The equivalent, a 25-watt 210 lumen incandescent from Philips, uses much more energy, and oddly is expensive, all things considered.  If you buy it, it might outlast your appliances, at 20,000 hours!

Based on 3 hours a day (impossibly long), the 25-watt incandescent would cost you $3.01 a year to operate, while the IKEA LED would cost you $0.54 a year.  The payback comes after just a few years, regardless of how often you open that fridge door.

Both are rated at 2700K, so the color will be similar...and why I bought one to try it out.  At $9.99, that bulb was priced just right.

2013 USC class finally complete?

Just announced, Torrodney Prevot, a 4-star Rivals defensive end ranked 74th in the nation, announced his commitment to USC.  As the 18th commitment, that would presumably make him the 18th and final recruit for USC's 2013 class, but of course it's a long time between now and LOI signing day next February.  Still, it should come as no surprise that USC's class is full this early in the recruiting season -- those scholarship slots were limited in supply, making them hot commodities.

Let me show you how big of a gap USC has in recruiting.  Of the current Rivals 100, USC has more players than anyone else:

uncommitted	23
USC	14
Michigan	7
Texas	7
Florida	6
Ohio St.	5
Alabama	4
Auburn	4
LSU	4
Notre Dame	4
Stanford	3
Clemson	2
Florida St.	2
Oklahoma	2
Penn St.	2
Virginia Tech	2
Washington	2
Arizona St.	1
Georgia	1
Maryland	1
Oklahoma	1
South Carolina	1
Texas A&M	1
Vanderbilt	1

And if today were LOI signing day, USC would create history with the first and only class to be filled with just 4- and 5-star recruits.  And, USC's class would have the highest point total - 3103 - ever.

History, baby.  Our 75 > Your 85.

Holy Mittens...Romney has screwed over America.

Who is this guy, anyway?

Today, Mitt Romney told Israel that the US' "highest national priority" is to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, and he scolded President Obama for arguing with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

What the heck is going on?

Apparently it isn't absolutely clear for Mitt: OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY IS TO PROTECT THE UNITED STATES.  It isn't to stop others from building a nuclear weapon, or to protect other nations from nuclear weapons.

And how dare he chide the President of the United States of America into subservience of Israel!

We are friends with Israel, we have a strong relationship with Israel, but we absolutely reserve the right to disagree, period.

IKEA / Ideabox.

Remember the whirl  earlier this year online about the IKEA-centric Ideabox house?  Called the AKTIV house, it's now sitting outside near the Portland IKEA, open for viewing and sales.  I was driving past it, coming from IKEA, when I saw it, and figured I had to stop and check it out.

Romney's team gives Israel green light to attack Iran.

The Obama Administration and the American military must be seething angry at Mitt's senior national security aide, Dan Senor, for making a public statement affirming that Mitt Romney would back up Israel if they unilaterally attacked Iran.

That is a vile attempt to put the Obama Administration into a corner, having to publicly speculate which side it would support, if Israel were to launch a unilateral attack against Iran's nuclear facilities, and it basically gives Israel the green light.

There was zero qualification for Mitt's support of an attack against Israel, and it comes less than a month into the EU and US oil sanctions that have cut Iran's exports by as much as 40% without a resulting oil price shock.


Simply reading David Sanger's book, one would know that the issue of attacking Iran's nuclear facilities is far more complicated than simply firing some rockets.  Mitt's political team is playing a dangerous game by pushing the issue front and center, boasting as if they're tough guys.


I am frustrated by the amateurishness of Mitt's team, and by the constant unforced errors they've committed in such a short time.  I do not want this man in charge of our national security, as he is dangerous and takes political rhetoric lightly, as if he can have a do-over and change his mind, the second after he's made a mistake.

Serendipity Saturday.

It may have been related to minimalist design in Architecture by Werner Sobek, but this Dwell tweet perfectly applies to USC football.

“Reduction equals refinement” —architect Werner Sobek bit.ly/MrsOcH
— dwell (@dwell) July 28, 2012

Note: It's early Sunday morning and I meant to post this earlier; I was waiting for USC recruiting news that never came...as in perhaps a new commitment like Silas Redd....but it wasn't meant to be, and by the time I got back home, it was Sunday morning.

Losing interest in Olympics.

I think everyone was excited at the thought of what the convergence of internet and social media would mean for the 2012 Summer Olympics.  This is what happened: disconnectedness.

London2012 has bugs all over the place, with links to nothing.  There is no clearinghouse for tweets from athletes -- you have to subscribe to individual athletes.

It's a cluttered mess.

And NBC continues to delay content and wall off the live streams to people who pay for cable TV.

It's completely underwhelming.  I could accept begrudgingly the tape delay content, but geez, you can't tell if it was 2000 or 2012, by the broadcasts.  Give me more data on the screen, and show me tweets as you go, what people were saying at the time that it was live, for goodness sake.

For instance, right now I'm watching May-Walsh playing sand volleyball, and all they're showing is the score.  What gives?  Show me the kill rate, the number of errors, show me the location of where players were aiming for, give me the data, NBC.

Everyone has larger screens with higher resolution, so you can actually FIT more information on the screen, but the folks at NBC and the IOC are clueless old farts.  The old farts at IOC and NBC are doing their best to make the Olympics the same, boring affair, every two years (Summer and Winter).

Who says racism in America doesn't exist?

In the heart of the South, the First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs in Jackson, Mississippi allowed s minority group within its ranks, to prevent two African-Americans from getting married at their church.

Shame all around.

Mitt raising money in Israel: Living in the gray zone.

According to ABC News, Mitt's holding a fundraiser in Israel, trying to raise money from Americans like Sheldon Adelson, who happens to be under investigation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

That has to raise the eyebrows of people in government, especially the Federal Elections Committee and the Department of Justice.  But this further illustrates the detachment Mitt has, and how his own party has been forced to continually resolve a growing cognitive dissonance of a man who only plays in the gray zone.

Just imagine if Barack Obama had held such an event overseas: Republicans would be howling about potential violations of the FEC laws against foreign money involvement in elections and the FCPA, and there would be hearings immediately held in Congress.

2012 Olympic opening ceremonies: things that stood out.

Five things about the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics that stood out for me:

• There was lots of music from Underworld...the techno-trance-beat...and of course Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy among many.
• I think the Queen must go to sleep when it turns dark...otherwise they wouldn't have had the mismatched 007 bit jumping out of the chopper in the middle of the day, landing in the stadium at night.  Either that or someone made a planning boo boo.
• I think they pulled just about every British celebrity they could find to participate, except Sir Elton John and the Osbournes, and the Stray Cats, and Wham, and...  You know, I think the director has a thing against the 80s.
• When those bicyclists-as-doves came out -- symbol of peace no less -- don't you wish they played John Lennon's "Imagine"?  You know, "Imagine" is in the top 100 all time songs in most everyone's list, including the RIAA, and Rolling Stone magazine.
• My informal count is that about 80% of everyone at the ceremony had a smart phone.  Of that 80%: 60% iPhones; 30% Androids; 10% No One Cares.

You know, China spent a bunch of money that no one will do, for another decade at least.  It's difficult to come after what the Chinese did in Beijing.  UK did its best, but there's no way you can compare...except that Olympic torch holding the eternal flame, was magnificent and outshined Beijing.

Can someone explain, however, why Mitt picked Phelps over Lochte?  The PROPER answer, would have been: "I got to be honest, Matt, I hope an American wins, and if both Phelps and Lochte are on the stand at the same time, I'll be extremely proud."

Hasn't anyone told Mitt about "backsides"?

OMG, are you kidding me? Friday morning with Matt Lauer, Mitt repeated the same gaffe, talking about being able to look out the "backside" of 10 Downing Street.

The first time he said it, translated, Mitt said that he could look out the butt of the Prime Minister.  This morning, translated, Mitt said that people are going to be in the butt of the Prime Minister, watching beach volleyball.

Seriously folks, why isn't anyone on Mitt's team culturally aware of the meaning of "backside"?!?

Goof once, okay.  Twice?  This is downright embarrassing.

Jason Hatcher picks USC...class keeps getting better.

Jason Hatcher, defensive end from Louisville, Kentucky officially selected USC, and continues the trend of every member of USC's 2013 class ranked within Rivals' 300.

He says he'll be a 4-3 hybrid end...presumably in the form of Clay Matthews and Nick Perry.

What a crazy recruiting year it's been for USC, and the 2012 football season hasn't even begun.

---

Rivals 2013 class rankings immediately updated: 2,945 points. USC's possibly one recruit away from going over 3000 points -- a significant milestone in that USC's the only school to get over 3000 (2006 with 26 commits, 2010 with 20 commits).

Even walruses need love.

Walrus calf stranded...gets love from humans.

Why the US economy is slow.

It boils down to this one chart from PK's blog, if you think about it.

This is the FRED chart showing the same, except a wider view. You can see how real government spending is down, even while private investment has recovered as the previous recession.

So why hasn't the economy taken off, exactly as Conservatives have insisted would occur if government spending decreased?

Conservative pundits about to insist there's a conspiracy in data that shows government spending is down, in 3....2.....1....

England to Mitt: SHUT UP!

Mitt's trip is really not going well.  It's the day before the Olympic opening ceremonies, and Mitt's repeated gaffes are front and center, instead of the anticipation of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Talk about insulting all of the UK.  Mitt seemed quite clueless when he spoke about, "looking out of the backside of 10 Downing Street."  Are you kidding?  The backside Mitt, really?  Translation: Mitt was looking out of the ass of the Prime Minister's residence and headquarters.

The UK's Guardian has a full rundown of the long string of gaffes Mitt has made in just the last two days; I don't recall any American politician ever having committed so many gaffes in such a short period as to draw so much anger and mockery.

"The comparisons with Romney's trip to Europe and Obama's visit at almost exactly the same stage in the electoral cycle four years ago are almost too embarrassing to mention. Obama wooed a quarter of a million people in Berlin while Romney was mocked by the British prime minister." - The Guardian UK

"Mitt Romney is perhaps the only politician who could start a trip that was supposed to be a charm offensive by being utterly devoid of charm and mildly offensive." - UK Telegraph

I hear there's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we're ready. He wants to know whether we're ready. Are we ready? - Mayor of London

Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere. - Prime Minister Cameron

I don't think Mitt can keep his mouth closed long enough to stop the gaffes from coming, though.

Looks like President Obama is going to have to cross the Atlantic and smooth things over with our friends in Britain.

Once again, Mitt - aka right height trees - Romney strikes.

I sure would have loved Google Fiber here.

Google Fiber opens up in Kansas City (Kansas and Missouri) soon (45 days).  There is a small catch: you have to get your neighbors to pre-register (with $10 prepayment that gets applied to your first bill) to get a critical mass of customers if you want to be one of the first neighborhoods to receive this service (or you can wait).

There are three different packages to choose from, none of which have any data caps:

• $120 - Gigabit Internet + TV
• 1Gbps up/down;
• $300 construction fee waived;
• Free Nexus 7 that is used as your remote control;
• Free TV box - a digital TV tuner;
• Free storage box - a 2TB DVR+NAS;
• Free network box - a gigabit router with WiFi;
• Free 1TB Google Drive cloud storage.
• $70 - Gigabit Internet only
• 1Gbps up/down;
• $300 construction fee waived;
• Free network box - a gigabit router with WiFi;
• Free 1TB Google Drive cloud storage.
• $0 - 5Mbps Internet only
• 5Mbps up / 1Mbps down;
• You have to pay the one-time $300 construction fee (with optional $25/month installments);
• No additional Google Drive storage;
• Free network box - a gigabit router with WiFi.

That's not a bad deal for the free package, all things considering.

Note that the IP TV channel listing is currently absent FSN and ESPN.

Anyway, I sure wish they were here in Portland instead of in Kansas.  I'm officially jealous.

Romney campaign's foot in mouth: the international trip of irony.

Mitt Romney thought he'd go around Europe to contrast his criticism of Obama's foreign relations against his own abilities.  And then it backfired (not necessarily all of his doing).

First, the UK's Daily Telegraph reported that it was told by Mitt's advisers that, because of Mitt's heritage (color), he had better understanding of the special Anglo-Saxon relationship between the US and UK.  Mitt then tried to distance himself from his anonymous adviser (sometimes known as political operatives used to spread FUD.)

Then he opened his mouth to comment on the Olympics travails of the British.  Questioning British enthusiasm for the Olympics, he asked, "Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment? That's something which we only find out once the Games actually begin."  He followed that gaffe up by commenting on the state of the Olympics security woes, "It's hard to know just how well it will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting."

It was only after meeting with PM David Cameron, that Mitt changed his tune, saying that, "I expect the games to be highly successful."  It took the Prime Minister's explanation, for Mitt to understand that he had made a gaffe, apparently.

So while Mitt thought he'd be proactive and parade around like an international leader, all he's done is expose that he was born with a silver spoon and foot in his mouth.

Those trees in Detroit are still just the right height.

Tough morning - Twitter and Gtalk outages.

Not that it matters, but when two popular means of online social networking are suffering outages, it's probably a tough morning for many.

Penn State's brush with a 4-year death penalty.

According to ESPN, the NCAA leadership had actually approved a 4-year death penalty for Penn State.

Did your jaw drop?

Imagine what would have happened if PSU had received a 4-year death penalty rather than the already-difficult 4-year post-season ban and scholarship reductions -- a decade from now, we'd be asking, "Penn State has a football team?"

The NCAA basically gave the PSU president an ultimatum: accept our lesser sanctions, or face a prolonged investigation that would probably result in a 4-year death penalty that was already approved by the NCAA leadership.

Well no wonder Penn State had signed onto the sanctions when it was revealed, eh?  Having a leg cut off is better than your heart cut out.

Reading list, July 2012.

Okay, so I've gotten through Paul Krugman's End This Depression Now! and David Sanger's Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power.

I keep trying, but I can't continuously read Cass Sunstein's Worst-Case Scenarios, and I'm stuck right at the halfway point.  Meanwhile I still have Thaler and Sunstein's (yes the same guy) Nudge.  I'm looking forward to "Nudge", but my expectation is that it is verbose where it doesn't need to be for a limited subject.

And in my queue is Thomas Mann's It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism. The library queue is very long, and I've finally dropped down to #11, which is amazing considering that when I popped my name into the queue (just before the book release) it was already up to 90+.

Pssst. Intel SSDs are cheaper now.

I don't know how long it'll last, but for the past week or so, Newegg has listed the Maple Crest series / 330 SSD 120GB for $99.99.

Apparently it comes as a kit, too, so if you're looking to install it in a desktop, you're going to save a little extra.

I know that this isn't as cheap as other brands, whose 120GB SSDs were previously listed as low as $80, but to see an Intel SSD this low is remarkable. And I'd grab one, too, if I hadn't placed other things ahead of my priority list, namely some expensive software and my shiny Nexus 7 tablet.

Of course, the price could always drop further, and I'm sure it very well could.  But for now, the $100 price tag is the lowest I've seen, and more importantly, take not of the lack of 1- and 2-star reviews.  It's the SSD that you know you want.

KGW happily doling out Oregon GOP's political propaganda?

Eyes rolling.

Since yesterday, with the arrival of President Obama in Portland for a fundraiser today, KGW has been following a propaganda on how Oregon might be a swing state, and building up on it with false assertions.

Rebroadcasting an interview with Oregon GOP chairperson Allen Alley, comes the following scenario: if Mitt can win five battleground states, then Oregon - with what he suggests has just a single-digit lead for Obama - could become a focal point.

• First, as I've showed before, Mitt's behind in all but two battleground states, and in some of those states, he's down big.
• Second, the last poll conducted - now a month old - shows Obama up by 8 points with 10% undecided.  That's a lot of ground to make up, for all of 7 electoral votes, from a state that has voted Democrat in SIX straight presidential elections.
• Third, if anyone else in the rest of the nation actually thought that Oregon was a potentially competitive race, they'd be doing a lot more polling than just 5 in the last 13 months.  Compare that to what pundits think is a battleground state - Nevada - and you'll see that there were 5 polls in less than 3 months.

Talk about wishful thinking... or desperation.  Sure, anything can happen between now and November 6th, but I've said it before, this election is solidly going in the Obama direction.  And finally, RCP has overlaid past elections to compare to this year's.

What a competitive race looks like (Kerry vs. Bush)

What the 2012 election more closely resembles.

The thing to pay attention to, is the bottom half of each graph, where a solid blue shows a net lead (from the aggregation of several national polls) for the Democratic candidate, and a solid red shows a net lead for the Republican candidate. The top one indicates 2012, the bottom indicates the comparative election cycle. I think the solid blue speaks for itself.

Even if the gap is small - for now - the 2012 tracking is about as positive for Democrats, as you can possibly get, given the state of the economy. It's absolutely mind-boggling that a Republican opponent is doing so poorly.

But what's disappointing, is that KGW took Allen Alley's statements at face value without question, and rebroadcast it.

And by the way, why hasn't KGW told you about the current NBC / WSJ poll showing Obama up 6 points -- is it because it doesn't fit their false narrative of a competitive race?  I think so: instead of revealing this big gap in the head-to-head poll, reporter Laurel Porter only gleaned from that poll that Romney led Obama in opinions about whether that candidate had policies that could best improve the economy.

Repeat: an NBC affiliate selectively chose to highlight a subset of a major poll from its parent network, rather than report the headline statistic from that poll.

Isn't that a clear case of bias?  But wait, there's more.

Laurel Porter has been using video from Greg Walden, Oregon's sole Republican in its congressional representation, who says that Obama doesn't understand how small businesses operate.
Are you sitting down, ready to laugh?  Here's the kicker:


Greg Walden voted AGAINST the 2010 Small Business Jobs Act, which expanded the group of people who could qualify for a loan, as well as raised the caps on (both large and micro) loans, administered by the SBA, and for companies who wanted to export their goods.

The very lending facility that small businesses rely on to grow, Greg Walden voted against.  This wasn't even an omnibus bill, and Greg Walden voted against it.  This wasn't a big spending bill like the ARRA stimulus bill that produced an increase in SBA money available for lending.  This was a bill that targeted SBA programs and funding, and Greg Walden voted against it.  No retort or questions from Laurel Porter to Greg Walden about his politically-charged vote against the SBA.

For shame...everyone.

Romney's campaign made another oopsie.

In a rush to respond to Obama's assertion that small business owners didn't build a business on their own, Mitt's campaign trotted out and used the experience of Jack Gilchrist.  Only problem is, Jack is the recipient of government-backed loans, including support from the SBA, and federal contracts worth millions.

And this quote from Jack made me crack up.

"Defense business is a good way to help the economy. But the President wants to cut the crap out of the defense budget."

You see, conservative people actually understand the value of government money spending as stimulating THEIR businesses and bottom line, or in other words, Keynesian economic policies work!  But when it comes to government spending on other projects and people, they see it as proof of government waste and crowding out the private economy.

Just more cognitive dissonance on the right.

via Think Progress and New Hampshire Union Leader News

Thought of the day: The buck stops here.

The buck stops here.

It's supposed to be the antithesis of "buck passing", where blame is passed on to someone else.  Instead of pointing fingers, one assumes the blame.

But since the 80s, it seems to have been redefined -- used to rebrand or market the facade of responsibility without assuming responsibility.  When a CEO today says that "the buck stops here", frequently he / she is saying that he / she is keeping the money earned, while passing the blame on to someone else or generalizing the blame, e.g. the company made errors in judgment.

Amazon going for broke: to offer full mobile lineup.

Word out is that Amazon is planning a whole range of mobile devices, not just a replacement Kindle Fire.  Reuters says that Amazon will introduce a 10" tablet, and of course there's been speculation the last month that they'll introduce a smart phone based on Android.

Meh.

What I don't like about Amazon's ecosystem, is that it is closed off...in other words, it has no access to the Google Play (formerly Android Market) Store.  For a lot of other Amazon customers, it's great news, but I'm gravitating towards the Nexus line and the perks of getting OTA updates fresher than anyone else, as well as being full-in on the Google ecosystem.

An important thing to note, however, is that Amazon is doing what Nokia could have done, and they probably would have succeeded in doing: using Android as the base OS, but reskinning it for their own purposes.  This is clearly a growing trend as noted industrial design firm Frog is currently doing with its Feel UX for Sharp Aquos.  Alas, Stephen Elop is a stubborn man, stuck to his bias for all things Microsoft.

Penn State: Death without death penalty.

NCAA just announced its sanctions against Penn State (for which Penn State agreed to), for covering up the pedophile, Jerry Sandusky.  Well it was no SMU-style death penalty, where the complete suspension of a season occurred.  With the length of time of these penalties though, a similar outcome is probable:

• $60M fine (equivalent of 1 year in football revenue), reserved for programs to assist victims of child molestation and towards prevention;
• 4 year post-season ban (starts 2012-2013 season);
• 4 year 10 scholarship/year reduction from the maximum 25, and a cap of 65 total scholarships each year (starts 2013-2014 season);
• All players are allowed to transfer and play immediately, and any player remaining at PSU but not playing, will be allowed to keep their scholarship;
• All wins vacated since 1998;
• 5 year probationary period.

If the metric to measure this against, starts with USC as the baseline, then this is about right.  After all, what happened at USC pales by comparison.

But more importantly, this hits the legacy of Joe Paterno hard, by eliminating all those wins he earned, going back to when Jerry Sandusky was coaching defenses at PSU.

Does it punish athletes unfairly?  Yes and no -- none of the current football players knew what was going on, nor could they have done anything to stop it.  They are however allowed to transfer and play immediately.  For those who do stay at Penn State, the free-agency rule hurts them most.

Few teams could survive what happened to USC, let alone thrive, but the PSU 4-year post-season ban means no one on this Fall's squad will play in a bowl, EVER.  As much as they'd like to believe in team unity, no one wants to live under a 4-year post-season ban.  Incoming freshmen will transfer, knowing they won't ever be able to play in a bowl game -- inherently a 5-year scholarship sanction.

No one thought USC could do what it has done -- namely challenge for a national championship in the middle of scholarship reductions and following a bowl ban -- but Penn State's down to 65 in 2013 - 2016.  At USC, 75 > 85, but USC's recruited well, and PSU hasn't.  No way can Penn State ever say 65 > 85.

The Penn State football program is as good as dead.

No death penalty for Penn State?

Come now, you cannot have a stronger case of a lack of institutional control, than what the Freeh Report outlined.

Everyone's talking about these penalties being "unprecedented", but that might have more to do with HOW the penalties were assessed and not its severity.  Rather than go through the COI, apparently the NCAA granted president Mark Emmert the ability to bypass the ordinary process and hand down sanctions directly and immediately.

If you want to talk unprecedented penalties, look no further than USC.  No one in the history of the NCAA received sanctions as harsh as USC did, for what amounted to unexceptional violations (in light of what happened at Ohio State, North Carolina and Miami.)  With everything that was alleged to have occurred at USC (three players: a tennis player making long-distance phone calls for free; OJ Mayo getting paid by a would-be agent; Reggie Bush getting paid by a would-be agent), the protection and cover-up of a prolific child molester at Penn State, by far, is exceptionally egregious.

Well, we'll see Monday morning, at 6:00 am PDT when the NCAA officially announces what's coming down.  If the death penalty is off the table, I just don't see the sanctions themselves as being "unprecedented".

-- via ESPN

Preordering Nexus 7 16GB was worth it.

After all the complaining about how Google fumbled on the shipping of Nexus 7 16GB tablets, I have to say that it was worth it in the end.

They're out of stock at the Play Store, so there is a lot -- and I mean a loooooot -- of demand for the 16GB version (so much so that people are reselling theirs at a profit, on eBay.)  Oddly enough, Google chose to provide just the 16GB models for initial sales to outside retailers, so in a way, they pinched their own supply.  This incidentally points out that, sans external memory slot, people will go for the largest capacity available -- a conclusion I came to, myself.

I haven't downloaded music to it, and it's possible that I never will.  The glory of being all-Android, is that my music collection is accessible, streaming from mostly anywhere.  So when I don't have WiFi, I just use my phone to stream to my headphones.  But also, I have a chunk of my music stored locally on my phone's external memory, just in case.

After holding and playing with the tablet for three straight days, every time I grab my phone now, I see my phone as just a phone.  That is to say, even with its 4.52" screen, my Galaxy S-II phone's screen is minuscule for reading, by comparison, and I am starting to wonder why I read so much from my phone.

Angry Birds is better on a tablet.  So is Draw Everything.

But not everything is capable of running on Jelly Bean / tablets.  I'm getting crashes and odd bugs on various apps, even though the Play Store insists that it's compatible with JB -- it's a trial and error thing.

And you would think that weather app widgets, by now, would have been adapted to take advantage of the larger screens of tablets.

One final thought: I do miss Samsung's TouchWiz UI.  Having an extra two home screens and the quick ability to go back and forth between them with ease, is the downside of having stock Android.

---

Oh, and I thought I'd chime in on battery life...you can't play Angry Birds continuously for 6 hours. I tried, and it just doesn't fly.

More on that BS over the CBS/NYT poll.

Where's the supposed backfiring of the Obama campaign's attack on Mitt's missing tax returns and Bain?  Like I said before, we have to wait a while to see clear evidence that there was any trend.  All those newscasters and media pundits are talking out of their rear ends.

Rasmussen Tracking 7/17 - 7/19 Obama +1
Gallup Tracking 7/13 - 7/19 Obama +4
FOX News 7/15 - 7/17 Obama +4
CBS News/NY Times 7/11 - 7/16 Romney +1


(via RCP)

Some laughs.

A better IKEA catalog.

Ahem.  Now with VR.  (Not yet available, though.)



via Engadget

Understanding the BS commentary over the CBS/NYT poll.

I detest how simplistic the media is, and how much they overreach on conclusions.  The latest CBS/NYT poll shows Mitt Romney with a one point lead, which has led many news folks to openly conclude that the attacks by President Obama on Mitt's Bain and taxes issues, have failed.

BULL!

The only means to compare any single poll, is to compare to that pollster's previous polls, because they all use different methodologies.  The last CBS/NYT poll was in May, and in that one, Mitt was up by 3 points.  If you take the margin of error (between 3~4 points -- varies between the two polls) into account, there might not have been any movement in the polls.  If you ignore the margin of error, then President Obama is gaining on Mitt.

But looking at any one given poll is, as I've said before, useless.

So let's look at the freshest polling from around the US.  Some will find it incredulous that FOX News' poll released yesterday, showed President Obama with a 4 point lead!  Wait, there's more.  50% of those polled, said that he deserved to be reelected.

Are we to assume therefore, that Obama's benefited hugely, in one day, from the attacks on Mitt's Bain and tax opaqueness?

No.

But taken in as a whole from all the polls tracked by RCP, Mitt has been stuck behind President Obama for a very long time.  Over the next few weeks if we see all the polls shift one way or the other, we can then start to draw some conclusions about the effectiveness of each campaign's tactics.

Uh. Why did Nokia's stock go up?

I get that some people might be excited that Nokia sold more phones than the previous quarter, but the gain was in their feature phones, only.  Their smart phone sales declined 14%; go back to the prior quarter before Stephen Elop arrived and changed directions, their smart phone sales have declined 64%.

It's not like they turned a profit in either Devices and Services unit, or the whole company.  And considering that it won't be until Q4 when a WP8 phone will be available, Q3 could be bloody.

Most everything looks bad: lower sales volume of smart phones, lower revenue from smart phones, bigger loss in the devices and services group.

Just about the only positive light is that the company as a whole eased up on the losses...but it's still hovering around the one-billion Euro loss level.

---

UPDATE: I thought I should add some perspective here. In Nokia's earnings, they reported 4M Lumias were sold. If they sold a total of 10.2M smart phones, that means that Nokia's WP phones are STILL underperforming Symbian and MeeGo handsets. But that is not enough mocking...they need to be thoroughly flogged. 4M Lumias in a quarter compared to:

• 1M activations of Android devices A DAY.
• 50M smartphones sold in a quarter by Samsung.

And of course, things will not get better.  Jelly Bean phones will be selling like hot cakes for the back-to-school rush next month.

It is going to be a very gloomy 3rd quarter for both Nokia and RIM.

Some quick impressions on Nexus 7 tablet.

Getting out during lunch, the box was already sitting there -- less than 12 hours between the time I received the email (1:07 a.m.) and when it was dropped off.  No unboxing videos -- like you need to see another one of those.

I opened it up, plugged it in to charge -- it had just half a charge -- but I couldn't wait, so I turned it on and logged into my WiFi.  I've been playing with it...mostly getting all my apps sync'd and just finished installing the Jelly Bean 4.1.1 update.  I've been playing with it ever since.

First thing: If you want to screen capture on the Nexus 7 tablet, you have to press the volume down button and the power button at the same time and hold it for a second.  They're adjacent to each other, and it's awkward trying to do this with one or two hands.  It works well on my GS-II phone where the volume and power buttons are on opposite edges, but it's difficult when they're on the same side.

Next thing: Adding widgets is not the same.  Normally you'd just press and hold down the background; in the tablet, you press on the big round icon with the little squares -- the applications button -- and at the top you swipe sideways to switch between apps and widgets.  You then hold and drag the widget to the home screen.

Important (for me): Starbucks app is not compatible with Jelly Bean!  Whaaaaaa?!!!?!?!

So of course, if you live a Google-based lifestyle, having everything sync'd is beautiful.  That goes for having your Chrome bookmarks, your Gmail, even your Apps.  It's quite a wonderful experience IF you live a Google-based lifestyle.  Not everyone wants a Google-based lifestyle (in other words, those with extreme privacy fears), but if you don't mind, it's incredible.

Yes, Project Butter makes the experience slick as the iPad.

You will notice the screen lag when you use drawing tools on this tablet.  I've complained about the lag before on the Galaxy Note, and this tablet is no exception.

Video -- specifically Youtube -- is perfect; you can't ask for a better video experience, really.

Angry Birds is a lot more fun on a tablet.

Google Currents is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!  I didn't really use Currents all that much on my phone, but it looks and works really well on the Nexus 7 tablet.  This might be my new *thing*.

Yes, it's worth buying this tablet.

You can use the pattern lock, face recognition or the slide.

Widgets are added differently .

Google+ is a lot better on a tablet.

Update on my Nexus 7 tablet order.

Early this morning -- as in 1:07 a.m. PDT -- while I was asleep, I received an email from the Google Play Store that my tablet had been shipped.

When I woke up this morning, I read the email and was thrilled, thinking okay, tomorrow morning I'll get it.

I clicked on the UPS tracking, and that's when I realized that the package was already in town, on the truck, out for delivery.

Bravo, Google!

Now I need to go outside and find the truck driver -- a benefit of living in downtown is that all you need to do is walk a few blocks and you'll eventually run into the UPS truck -- rather than wait for the afternoon delivery.

Speaking of crazies...Michele Bachmann

Oh boy, the Summer heat has definitely turned Republicans into zombies.

Michele Bachmann has gone on the deep end of McCarthyism and insisted that there is a "deep penetration in the halls of our United States government" by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Nuts, nuts, nuts!  And she's not even a cute, fuzzy squirrel.

USC 2013 class -- on its way to EPIC.

Here's a look at the past 11 years (and 2013's) of Rivals #1 classes.

USC has two slots left, and when (not if) they fill them up, they could very well push past the 3000 point mark, and perhaps the highest ranked Rivals class, ever.

Just 18 recruits allowed, and the Trojans are pushing a best-ever Rivals class.  EPIC!

Year	#1 Class	Points
2002	Texas	2792
2003	LSU	2626
2004	USC	2908
2005	USC	2631
2006	USC	3010
2007	Florida	2959
2008	Alabama	2836
2009	Alabama	2786
2010	USC	3003
2011	Alabama	2632
2012	Alabama	2621
2013	USC	2836*

* - Still 2 slots available.

UK Judge spanks Apple big time.

Engadget's story is rapidly going viral online, getting over 740 Google+ +1s in two hours:

A UK judge who earlier ruled that Samsung's tablets did not copy Apple's iPad, has now instructed Apple that it must advertise this fact on its own website and in the newspaper.

Better print extra copies of newspapers...a lot of people are going to want to use it for demonstrations at Judge Lucy Koh's court room.

And Max makes it 16 for 2013 USC.

I think every USC fan is screaming a collective, "IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!"

With space disappearing fast and time running short, Max Redfield (#37 Rivals / #37 ESPN) officially announced that he was verbally committed to USC this morning, making it 16 recruits in a class limited to 18 scholarships for 2013.

Mission Viejo four-star safety Max Redfield commits to #USC Wednesday. "There's no greater feeling than being a part of the Trojan family."
— Gerard Martinez (@gmartlive) July 18, 2012

When the USC coaches toss out comparisons for Cravens/Redfield to Lott/Smith, that means a lot in the history of USC football #wearesc
— WeAreSC.com (@wearescstaff) July 18, 2012

The end is drawing near.  There should be a lottery for fans to pick the final 2 recruits who select USC.  I say it'll be Vernon Hargreaves III and Matthew Thomas...or maybe that's wishful thinking on my part.  :D

To my family in Arizona: I can't visit you anymore.

I just can't do it. I can't go to a state with a crazy governor and sheriff who are out of control.

Maybe it's the heat that fried their brains -- Lord knows I hate the heat down there.  I don't know what the heck is wrong with these people and that bizarre Jared Loughner guy who shot up a mini mall trying to kill former Representative Giffords.

Shit, I hope it's not infectious...are they zombies, without brains down there?

Did you get the Nexus 7 email of unfulfilled expectations?

I just got it 10 minutes ago, and I'm calling it the Nexus 7 email of unfulfilled expectations :

Hello, 

We wanted to send you an update on your Nexus 7 pre-order. We’ve had incredible demand for the new tablet and are shipping them as quickly as possible. If you placed your order by July 11, it will ship this week and we’ve upgraded to overnight shipping so it arrives sooner. Orders placed after July 11, will ship next week with overnight shipping. 

If you’d like more detailed information on device shipments, please reference our online Help Center http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2667319 

Thanks for your patience. Your Nexus 7 will be on its way soon. 

The Google Play Team

You could say that I'm a bit disappointed.  I thought it was going to be an email saying, "Congratulations, we've just shipped your order, and oh by the way, we're so happy you stuck with us, we're doubling the $25 Google Play Store coupon to $50!!!"

But all was for naught, I got the apology letter with the consolation prize of overnight shipping, instead.  :P

Rupert Murdoch's WSJ propaganda machine in full swing.

William Safire is probably rolling around in his grave at the thought of Rupert Murdoch spewing out propaganda.

Mitt's newest title.

Mitt Romney,
All-American, *legal* tax-cheat, innovator 

Ruh roh...not all Nexus 7 preorders are shipping.

In the last few hours, the Play Store Q/A Help section was updated:

When will my preorder ship? 

We're now shipping Nexus 7 preorders. Many US and Australia preorders are scheduled to ship by July 17th. UK and Canada preorders have also begun shipping in waves.

Google isn't able to make their self-imposed deadline, so they've now backtracked and changed a single word from "all" to "many".

I guess this means I won't be getting my Nexus 7 until at least next week.  I'm starting to have strong regret that I didn't just preorder it from Staples and save the shipping cost.

---

Update this afternoon: The Play Store order page (not the Q/A Help page) shows:

IN STOCK
Delivered in 3-5 business days. Applicable shipping and taxes calculated at checkout.

So the moral of the story is, I shouldn't have preordered it last week, because if I had ordered it today, I'd get it at the same time?!?  WTH?

---

Final update on this post:

Well, it looks like someone got stung! Less than 6 hours and they changed their Q/A Help page with extremely specific shipping information:

An update on Nexus 7 shipping status

We’ve had incredible demand for our new Nexus 7 tablet and are shipping them as quickly as possible. When your device ships you will receive a notification from Google Play with a shipping tracking number. We will have all orders processed and shipped soon - thanks for your patience.

Below are more specific details by country. If the below information is not true for you, please reach out to our support team so we can investigate.

In the US: We’ve shipped all standalone Nexus 7 8GB orders (e.g., those without a case, charger or Nexus Q). By the end of day on July 19 (PDT), we will have shipped all standalone Nexus 7 16GB orders placed through July 11 (PDT), and upgraded these orders to overnight shipping. We will process the remaining standalone Nexus 7 16GB orders by the end of next week with overnight shipping.

If you ordered your tablet with a case, charger or Nexus Q, your Nexus 7 will ship this week with overnight shipping, in some cases ahead of the rest of your order. Don't worry - the rest of your order will be on its way shortly.

In Canada: We’ve shipped all Nexus 7 8GB orders. We are in the process of shipping Nexus 7 16GB orders and will ship them in 1-2 weeks.

In the UK: All Nexus 7 8GB orders will ship by July 20 (BST). All Nexus 7 16GB orders placed through June 30 (BST), will ship by July 20 (BST). The remaining Nexus 7 16GB orders will ship next week.

In Australia: All Nexus 7 8GB and Nexus 7 16GB orders will be fulfilled by the end of day on July 19 (AEST) and will arrive in 3-5 days.

Quick commentary: So they shipped stand-alone 8GB models -- the lowest-priced option -- while those of us who paid an extra $50 for 8GB (talk about over-pay, right?!? but 8GB standalone is not enough) have to wait an extra week?  Man that blows goats -- yes, a real meme.

What they should be doing is offering free shipping, considering that: A. Their self-imposed deadlines keep slipping; B. They're obviously making up some sort of profit just from volume alone; C. Retailers are offering free shipping; D. How can they possibly charge for shipping, when Apple doesn't, not even for refurbished models?

It's these little annoyances that have me wondering who's in charge...are they trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

McCain speaks...but doesn't say much.

Political reporters are mostly useless these days, don't you think?  Rather than ask McCain if he thinks Mitt should release his tax records - the records that McCain has already seen - they ask him why he didn't pick Mitt over Sarah Palin.

Fair enough, if this were 2008 or even 2009.  But this is 2012, and the question should have been, "Having seen Mitt's tax records, do you think he should release them?"

Come on kids, stop prancing around the issue.  Make McCain mad if you have to, but get him to answer the tough question.

John Sununu shows his true colors: racist.

Oh no he didn't?!?! What the hell was New Hampshire's Republican (former) governor thinking, when he said that President Obama needed to"learn how to be an American"?

I wouldn't be surprised if John Sununu was a closet birther.  And this is coming from a guy who was born is Cuba, no less!

I didn't think it possible, but Republican politicians are finally shedding their outer skin and revealing themselves as ingrained racist bigots.  It also suggests that the Mitt campaign is getting extremely desperate, as it calls for civility, but shows none.

Penn State deserves the death penalty.

It was slightly less than a year ago (August), and I was talking to a neighborhood friend over the upcoming college football season.  The big elephant in the room was Jerry Sandusky and Penn State football.  We both agreed: no way should Penn State cancel its season, period.

What Sandusky had done was inexcusable.  That it happened, as we had thought at the time, right under the noses of officials, was a sign that they had no control over their athletic program.  No one, not PSU's opponents not even PSU's own athletes should have to endure the spotlight of a molester haunting their experiences on the field.

And then last week, when the Freeh Report came out, it was even worse than we thought.

The evil was deeply ingrained up and down the chain with everyone having lied, including Joe Paterno himself.  Up until 2011, most everyone who paid attention to college football respected JoePa for all that he accomplished and had done while at PSU.  For a while, there were many (not me) who openly questioned the appropriateness of JoePa's fired last November.  With the Freeh Report, we found out that not only did he know about Sandusky's molestation of kids, but that he both lied and tried to minimize Sandusky's actions.  Astonishingly, some people still think JoePa has been unfairly attacked!

Predictably, those who look bad in the independent report now want to conduct their own review of the facts.  I call that BS, and just more proof that Penn State deserves, more than any other program in the history of the NCAA, the multi-year death penalty.
No one should be allowed to downplay what Sandusky did or how the university's employees enabled Sandusky to rape children.

There is only one way out: STFU and take responsibility for your actions, or a lack thereof.

The state of PAC-12 recruiting for 2013...yes, it's a big gap.

USC's got a huge talent gap for their 2013 recruiting class, and the only way to illustrate this is to show the current classes, according to Rivals:

Rank	School	5 *	4*	3*	Total
1	USC	3	12		15
14	Washington		5	11	17
18	Arizona		2	11	22
30	UCLA		2	9	11
38	Oregon	1	2	4	8
39	Stanford		5		6
43	Colorado		1	7	12
55	Cal		1	6	8
57	WSU		1	5	10
60	ASU		1	5	6
70	Utah			4	6
90	OSU			2	3

So what happens if Paul Harris gives his verbal on Tuesday?  He'd be USC's lowest ranked recruit....at 214 in the nation.

To put that into perspective, every current verbally committed USC recruit and Paul Harris are all ranked higher than every recruit in the current classes of UCLA, Arizona, Colorado, Cal, WSU, Utah and OSU.

That's crazy, right?  How in the world did Lane Kiffin and USC draw so much highly ranked talent, even while under the most-severe sanctions since SMU's death penalty?

---

Update Tuesday morning: Paul Harris picked Tennessee. That may be a good thing though, because most people were wondering why USC would take 4 receivers, when it had greater needs in the secondary and the D-line. USC's already stacked for the next 2 years at WR with Agholor, Lee, Farmer, etc.

---

Update Tuesday afternoon: According to tweets, Paul Harris says he changed his mind at the last minute.