GOP Still Trying to Ban Early Voting

Democracy is overrated anyway! Maybe we should just ban that instead. 

Wenger Loses to Mourinho, What Else is New?

Wenger might have won the shoving match with Mourinho on the touchline yesterday, after a heavy tackle from Ivanovich on Sanchez led him to charge the referee, but he again lost the war – still unable to beat Mourinho in 12 tries. In fact, Arsenal have now lost 17 of their last 21 away matches against the other top five sides over the past five years. This is where the Gunners and Wenger seem to fail over and over again and the reason many, including me, have grown weary of the 65-year-old and his growing tactical myopia. Arsenal did show renewed resiliency in hanging with a very physical Chelsea throughout much of the match yesterday, but two mistakes from Koscielny proved costly.

The first came in the 27th minute, when the Gunners again gave the ball away in midfield, before Eden Hazard slalomed past several defenders before being tripped in the box from Koscielny, who stuck his leg out rather than trying to cut off the angle for what looked like a sure goal. The penalty was called, the yellow card offered and then Hazard walked up and coolly finished as Szczesny went the wrong way. Arsenal responded well though, with some clever passing leading to some near chances, including a heavy touch that took away a good chance from Wilshere after a great through ball from Cazorla. Wilshere was pretty disappointing throughout and again showed a tendency to shrink under the brighter lights of big games.

Yet Arsenal went into halftime only a goal down and started the second half brightly, pressing up, controlling possession and getting off a few decent shots (though from distance and off target). The heavy tackling continued as well, and it was surprising that Martin Atkinson did not go to his pocket more often, particularly as Oscar committed one cynical tackle after another (he was finally booked late, but should have been off the pitch by then). Fabergas began to grow in stature as the second half continued though, dispossessing Ozil and others on several occasions before a perfect 50-yard pass to Diego Costa led to the game-killing second goal. Koscielny was out of position on the play again, but really should have been able to outpace Costa to the box. Instead he ran along him and watched helplessly as the Brazilian chipped over a charging Szczesny. And that was that. Arsenal had lost again, and have now failed to score in three straight games against their London rivals. Three thoughts on the game.

1. Ozil in the Middle: Malcolm in the Middle was a Fox comedy based on a dysfunctional family and their brilliant son. Is that to be the case with Ozil as well? Watching him play, I still think he outclasses all of the other players at Arsenal (bar maybe Sanchez and Ramsey at their best), but that he is just not as effective on the wings. Yes he played there quite effectively for Germany in the WC, but they have a different team, more talent in the attacking third and a more solid defense behind. Ozil was brilliant in both the 3-0 and 4-1 victories over Aston Villa and Galatasaray. Playing on the wings, he was a bit player in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham and the 2-0 loss yesterday. Why Wenger can’t see what the rest of the football world sees is hard to explain, but increasingly apoplectic-inducing to fans. Play him in the middle already!

2. Whimsical Wilshere Weariness: though Arsenal players interchange so often it is difficult to be sure who is playing where, it appears that Wilshere took Ozil’s spot in the middle. And while he made some good runs and some good tackles, he was less than impressive in a big game yet again. On form and barring injuries, I just see him as a player that should not be starting the big games. With Ramsey out, I understand him getting starts, but Ox looked great Wednesday and should have taken that spot in this fixture. Or put Cazorla in that slot. The reality is that if the rumours are true regarding Khedira, when Walcott returns, it is hard to see where Wilshere plays? Should he play ahead of Cazorla, Ozil or Ramsey? Even Ox?

3. Wenger Gets Physical: While I would have liked to see Ozil in the middle of the pitch, one thing that Wenger can’t be faulted for in this game was not preparing his players for the physical battle. The Gunners pressured the ball across the pitch and had real fight and determination until the second goal arrived. Yet they still lost a big game to a top-five rival on the road in a season where they have not been picking off lower tier opponents with quite the acumen of recent years. Wenger may very well pick up the DM he needs in the winter window, but the title race seems all but gone after only seven games and the Gunners have also exited the Capital One Cup. This squad is not good enough to win the Champions League and their success in the FA Cup will come down to the draw, some luck and the games surrounding those ties. In other words, Wenger might have improved parts of a team that led the league for longer than any other last term, but might go without a single trophy for the 9th time in 10 years. Is that a coach who should worry about his job? Anywhere but Arsenal that would be the case, but Wenger has the kind of job security that most dictators would envy – and it’s time to start shoving him toward the exit door if things don’t improve rapidly and markedly before the season ends.

We now head into the international break and then some winnable fixtures before a matchup with a clearly rejuvenated Manchester United. One hopes no new injuries crop up in those international games and that the Gunners start to put the pieces together to win a run of fixtures.

Three Things: Arsenal Win 4-1; Welbeck Shines

Arsenal have gone through one of the oddest undefeated starts to a season in recent memory, winning only two games in the league while drawing the other four. In the Champions League, they were crushed by Dortmund before getting dumped out of the Capital One Cup at the first hurdle (against a surprisingly impressive Southampton). So back at the Emirates in an almost must-win game, with injuries plaguing the team at key positions, they faced a Galatasaray team suffering through its own early season Blues. But it was the Gunners that took the game by storm, finding themselves up three nil at halftime, and cruising 4-0 with about 30 minutes left. And then the old Szczesny, the one we see less and less of these days, decided to make an appearance, coming out to try to collect a through ball that he had little chance of grabbing, instead fouling the player and being sent off as the penalty kick was rewarded. One might remember the same thing happened against Bayern last year, costing the Gunners any real chance of a victory in the Round of 16.

In any case, after giving up the spot kick, Ospina settled in and performed admirably, with four or five quality saves on the way to a still relatively comfortable 4-1 win. It was exactly the sort of victory Arsenal needed before the key matchup with Chelsea Sunday. And it saw the emergence of Welbeck as a force that could propel the Gunner’s attack to new heights. Three thoughts on the game.

1.    Welbeck Arrives: right after Welbeck signed for the Gunners in one of the surprise transfers of the summer window, he scored a brace for England in their game against Switzerland. It brought hope that maybe his wasteful ways in front of goal would finally be over. And then he did just that through his first few games for the Gunners, missing three great chances against Dortmund, a couple of more the following week, and then an absolute sitter against Tottenham (that Ox thankfully passed into the roof of the net behind him). But he did get his Arsenal account off rolling with a goal against Aston Villa and came into this game knowing he was facing a shaky defense. And he performed with real pace, power and poise, taking three of his five chances in the game, with two to the far corner one on one with the keeper and a third a nice scoop chip of the diving keeper. It was a coming out party for Welbeck, his first hat trick as a professional. Let’s hope it’s the beginning of a purple patch for the young Englishman!

2.    Ozil in the Middle: Mesut Ozil is a much better player when at his preferred number ten position. That was obvious as he decimated an, until then, strong Aston Villa defense. Why Wenger threw him back out on the wing against Tottenham is anyone’s guess, but he might have gotten the message after that draw – moving him back to the middle and watching him put on a great display, with five key passes and an assist to show for an impressive performance. It was made even more impressive in my mind, as he looked dead tired, with his languid style seemingly pushing defenders to miss the opportunity to crowd him on all but three occasions. He is certainly best in the middle and should stay there for the rest of the season.

3.    Pace is the Difference: Arsenal went into the game with several key injuries, beyond the long term ones to Giroud and Debuchy. Ramsey is out 3-6 weeks, Wilshere didn’t start, Monreal is still out, Diaby played a game and must now rest for six or eight months and Arteta is out for three weeks (I think). Many worried about the team sheet and who would start. Welbeck was a lock through the middle, and Wenger finally came to his senses and put Ozil in the #10, but would he start Suarez after he sat out the first half against Tottenham? Would he put Flamini in the middle, or consider giving Bellerin another chance at right back and moving Chambers into the DM role? Wenger more or less did what people expected, and it worked a treat. Sure Prandelli lined his team up wrong from the start, but the Gunners took full advantage. The most impressive thing, and something that was missing the past two seasons, was the pace at the front, allowing players to get behind the defense. Welbeck’s clever movement saw him outrun the defense on three occasions, Gibbs dribbled past defenders, Ox and Sanchez simply outran them and Ozil seemed to be the metronome we expected from the start. Pace matters in football today, particularly in the EPL, and Arsenal finally have it in spades, not even counting the soon-to-return Walcott.

We should not take too much from one game against a relatively beatable opponent from Turkey, but it certainly showed the finishing, resolve and will to win that seemed missing in other games in the young season. No it is on to Chelsea and the hope that the momentum carries them to a momentous victory! 

Political Ads Today

Starting with the infamous Willie Horton ad political operative Lee Atwater used to help George Bush comeback to win the Presidency from George Dukakis, political advertising campaigns have disavowed any dedication to accuracy or truth. While democrats are certainly involved in their own rhetorical strategies to convince voters, it is the GOP that has stretched the truth to the point where it is hard to tell the difference between it and pure fiction. Among the worst perpetrators of this misinformation campaign (or creating “necessary illusions,” as Noam Chomsky would put it) is Karl Rove and his acolytes. In recent weeks, he has again reversed the politicians position of his opponents, used inaccurate statistics to attack them and simply misrepresented the truth (see here, here, here and here). Some political cartoons deconstructing political ads …

Arsenal Draw 1-1 with Tottenham

Arsenal fell behind to Tottenham in the 56th minute, when a strange Szczesny throw out to Mertesacker led to an error by Flamini and a Spurs goal. But in the 74th minute, Ox tied it up with a nice pass to the roof of the net from close in, after some good work from Alexis Sanchez. The Gunners appeared poised to take the game from here, but were unable to unlock a solid Tottenham defense and ultimately settled for yet another draw, their fourth in the first six games of the season. While Arsenal dominated possession and had 14 corners and several free kicks, they did little with any of them and some fine saves from Hugo Lloris ensured that Tottenham earned a well-deserved point. Three thoughts on the game, all related to questions surrounding Arsene Wenger and whether the Gunners will ever compete for the title while he is still in charge …

1. Tactics: Ozil again started away from his favored #10 spot, as Wenger appeared to set the team up in a 4-1-4-1, with Sanchez on the bench. The Gunners did dominate the game, but often found themselves rushing back to stop counters that could easily have led to goals but for poor final balls from the Spurs attackers. Ozil was solid with his passing, and Wilshere was bright at times, but the Gunners had trouble creating any real scoring chances. Welbeck looked largely isolated ahead of a game that was played more in the midfield. It was an odd North London Derby overall, with Pochettino apparently convinced that the only way to compete with a more technically gifted team was to essentially “park the bus” and play on the counter. He is known for pushing his players to press high up the pitch, but doesn’t seem to have the personnel to do that at the moment. Instead the Spurs sat back for long spells of the game and Arsenal had trouble finding the necessary space. When they did, Younes Kaboul and Hugo Lloris combined to stop the threat on all but one occasion. The two should probably share player of the match for their performances. But the question becomes why Wenger didn’t replicate the formation from the Villa game, where Ozil dominated and created many chances. Ozil looked bright throughout, and had several crosses that could have led to goals. But he was better in the second half surge, playing more centrally. Wenger needs to move him back and trust in his best player.

2. Flamini Flaming Out: Arsenal brought in a new trainer, but appear to be suffering through the same problem that has plagued them for years – too many injuries undermining team chemistry and showing the lack of strength in depth beyond the offensive side of the ball. Arteta went out early with a knock, replaced by Flamini, whose error helped Tottenham score the opening goal. It wasn’t his fault alone, but when a ball comes to you that close to goal, you can’t dawdle on the ball, and he did just that. Flamini was a feel good story last season, coming back to the club on a free and playing well as the Gunners rose to lead the league for most of the first three quarters of the season. But his form has dipped considerably, and Arteta seems slower as well. Neither can dominate the defensive midfield at the moment and it thus restores the question of why Wenger has failed to sign a world class DM for seven long years now. Song did the job adequately in his final season, but was then sold and has never been replaced. This is the kind of ineptitude by a manager that would generally get them sacked, but Wenger now claims he will make Diaby into a DM, even as the Frenchman can’t seem to put together more than two or three games without another career-threatening injury. Will Wenger finally sign a player in the winter? Probably, just in time to secure fourth place yet again.

3. Sanchez Benched: Alexis Sanchez has been in good form over the past month or so, scoring the opener against Leicester, the go ahead goal against Man City and the opener in the losing effort Tuesday in the Capital One Cup against Southampton, where he scored a sublime free kick. And yet he found himself on the bench, alongside Cazorla, at the start of the game. Cazorla later came on for an injured Ramsey, who looks set to miss a spell with a hamstring problem, and Sanchez came on for Wilshere in the 62nd minute. From the moment he stepped on the pitch, the Gunner attack seemed to come to life and they were level a little over ten minutes later, largely because of his patience in the box. The Gunners kept threatening from here, but were unable to get past a stalwart defensive effort from the Spurs. One wonders if Sanchez had started and Ozil played in his preferred #10 from the start, whether the Gunners could have secured all three points, as most expected.

And so Wenger and Arsenal seem poised to again struggle to win the “trophy” of fourth place, to maybe squeak out of their group in the Champions League in second place, before losing in the first knock out round and hopefully to make a run in the FA Cup (since the Capital One Cup is already gone). Is this really acceptable to fans? Wenger has finally opened the purse strings and brought in some world class talent, in Sanchez and Ozil, surrounded by young players that could really grow to that level themselves (Ramsey, Wilshere, Welbeck, Gibbs, Ox and Chambers) and a back line that is relatively solid (Mertesacker and Koscielny, and Debuchy when he returns). But his failure to make those two final moves – for a DM and CB cover – has already cost them several points this year. And it’s not like he didn’t know about these needs from the start of the summer, particularly after he sanctioned the sale of Vermaelen. One wonders whether it is obstinacy, senility or some combination therein – but I, for one, cannot wait until the day he retires.

Looking at the season so far, one could argue that the Gunners have shown character in several games – coming back from 1-0 down to take all three points in their opener, going from 1-0 down to take the lead against City, coming back from 2-0 down to draw even with Everton and scoring the equalizer today. On the other hand, one could also look at the fact that they conceded an equalizer against City that cost them two points, an equalizer against Leicester City that cost them the same, two goals against Southampton after leading to exit the Capital One Cup and failed to finish off teams that looked ready to wilt, in Everton and Tottenham. The Gunners are still undefeated, but four draws in six games is nothing to cause great cheer in North London. Next up is Chelsea, and the Gunners really need to at least get a draw there if they want to stay relevant in the title race. First up is Galatasaray on Wednesday though, a necessary win if they are to get out of the group and restore some faith that they have not taken a step backwards from last term. COYG!

Culture of Victimhood

Money in Politics

"It is necessary that laws should be passed to prohibit the use of corporate funds directly or indirectly for political purposes; it is still more necessary that such laws should be thoroughly enforced." Teddy Roosevelt

What do we do when these laws are gone?