The border issue — is it actually Obama's #Katrina moment?

Yes, wingnuts have said more than once — eight previous times, at a minimum, Dave Weigel says — that "X is Obama's Katrina moment," and every such pronouncement has been wrong.

That said, this time, the mainstream media, a left-of-center online blog and news site, the Daily Beast, and a good fellow liberal blogger, are all saying that Obama blew this one.

Let's start with the MSM of NBC. It notes:

This is not the first time the White House has dug in its heels on an optics-related critique.

Tis true. That is part of what's contributed to the "eight previous times" list of Weigel's.

The Daily Beast goes from there:

I usually try to ask myself what I’d be saying if a Republican did X, and if a Republican did that, I’d be teeing off. It’s not defensible. ...

And this is pretty far afield, but keep an eye on Aleppo in Syria. Aleppo has been a stronghold of the more legitimate opposition to Bashar al-Assad. It might be about to fall to Assad’s forces. This, two weeks after Obama announced a big aid package for the moderate rebels. Syria is Obama’s biggest foreign policy failure—he should have delivered that $500 million to those forces long ago, but he delayed. When Assad’s recapture of Aleppo is consummated, Obama is going to look played again. 

That delaying is a pattern. I don’t understand it. I covered New York mayors. When a crisis hits, you go. 

Most people this side of Benghazi-slavering wingnuts will miss Aleppo, or forget about it in short time, but the problems on the border are a different issue. That's especially because Obama just asked Congress for an emergency appropriation.

It's also right in the mix of ongoing debate about who's going to get the Latino vote in the future, and Texas Democrats' problems with voter turn out.

Finally, friend Perry:

Obama is letting them tar him with this.  He could put a stop to it by simply going to South Texas.  Yes, he would have to endure being with Rick Perry for several hours, probably the worst punishment imaginable, but to just keep to his fundraising schedule is simply awful.  Not as awful as detaining children in crowded conditions with the threat of deportation... but everybody has to suffer a little now.

Bingo. This is half of what's wrong. Compare his Jan Brewer moment in Arizona a few years ago. Obama gave her the "optic" of finger-pointing at him, then moved on.

Go to the border. And, visit American citizen Hispanics in the Valley. Listen to them and their concerns as well as Anglo ones. Drum up some capital.

Then go near an actual crossing area, while making sure to invite Rick Perry and Greg Abbott to go with you. Ask both of them what they would do about the political problems in Central America causing this. Put them on the spot, not yourself.

I've noted Obama's previous "optics" failures myself.  This one may not be "Katrina," but, contra Weigel, it's more serious than the others.

The man is sometimes just an idiot on stuff like this.

Witness that the NSA phone-snooping on German Chancellor Angela Merkel wasn't enough. Nor was recruiting a German intelligence agent to go double. No, now there's apparently a second physical spy on Germany. (facepalm)

#Cardinals trade rumors flying — Jake Peavy? Please, no

As the Cardinals struggle with injury to Michael Wacha and an uncertain-to-unlikely return, along with the longer-term loss of Jaime Garcia and the balky back of Shelby Miller, and as it seems that Tampa Bay is being greedy on what it wants in return for David Price, as it showed the A's in rejecting their offer last week, which included hot SS prospect Addison Russell, the Birds are rumored to be looking elsewhere for an arm.

Namely, Boston. Namely, Jake Peavy. (The Post Dispatch has more.)

And, I say, barf me.

That said, I don't think this baby has any legs. Not a peep about this out of, say Rosenthal. It’s prolly more ESPN hot air mixed with a BoSox trial balloon to see what fish bite.


Yes, he's long indicated interest in the Cardinals. But, an ERA+ of just 86 (with an FIP of 4.81 showing it is that bad) and a WHIP of 1.437? Peavy is replacing AA (now AAA) callup prospect Marco Gonzales with those numbers, but nothing more. He's not been above average, if that, the last two years, and been a very good or better pitcher since his Padres days.

Rumored asking price? Allen Craig.

Nope. Even though Craig is still struggling this year, either Boston eats about half of Peavy's contract or else throws in another player.

And, they're not trading Brock Holt, let alone Xander Bogaerts. And, contra one Cards fan commenting at NBC, I'll pass on Will Middlebrooks.

Mike Napoli would replace Craig in platooning 1B with Matt Adams, and could be, theoretically, asked to go behind the plate again, but, he's $16M each of the next two years.

If the Sox want a straight-up trade as a salary dump, I'd give them Peter Bourjos, but not much more.

Or, swap salary dumps. The declining Matt Holliday, if he'll waive his no-trade, for Peavy plus, say, Mike Carp, plus prospects. That opens full-time play for Oscar Taveras for sure. And, since Holliday's contract runs through 2017, this wold be a good long-term move.

I know that's an off-the-wall idea, but, Holliday's back's gotten more balky this year, and his general rate of decline has increased. Plus, without a good defensive CF out there every day, his increasing lack of range becomes more visible too. In the AL, you wouldn't have to DH him every day; you could mix LF and DH and maybe get him to learn 1B.

Anyway, if Cards are lucky, this may not happen for other reasons. Twitter rumors say the Braves and Brew Crew are also both kicking the Peavy tires. 

Also, the ESPN rumor, which Derek Goold has now given a good, swift kick, is coming from ESPN. Take it with a big grain of salt, especially as other sports outlets haven't provided any confirmation.

As for Rays management? Your Price clock is ticking. Not the July 31 clock, which, in your greed, is likely to pass by without result.

No, your March 31, 2015 contract. With the start of next year's season, Price, with a new team losing the QO right, officially enters rent-a-player stage.

Texas redistricting battle could go through half of decade

The three-judge panel in San Antonio hearing the challenge to the Texas Lege's redistricting of Congressional, state house and state senate seats has released the latest update on its timetable.

Between the phases of the trial and the appeals, is the Texas GOP going to try to spin things out through even the 2016 election? It wouldn't surprise me.

Anyway, at least we know when to fire up the popcorn.

The capitalist GOP becomes socialist over 2016 confab

This time, it's over the 2016 Republican National Convention. The party is tagging Cleveland ahead of Dallas as its choice.

Why?

It thinks that a Dallas convention might leave it holding the bag on cost overruns while, per the story, Cleveland will cover the whole shebang.

That's called socialism, specifically, corporate socialism.

Beyond that, two other points.

One, if this is such a worry of the RNC, does that mean that political conventions are like the Olympics — money-losing blood-sucking leaches? Why would any city vie for the dubious honor of hosting one, in that case?

Two, if this is what normally happens, why would a somewhat struggling Rust Belt city like Cleveland seek out this dubious honor?

Beyond this, I'm going to be disappointed at not seeing Ted Cruz become combustible on a national stage in his own backyard. 

And, maybe that's the real reason the RNC doesn't want to come to Dallas. It wants to keep the crazy aunt wingnuts halfway in the attic. Could you imagine Open Carry Texas showing up at at Dallas convention? Reince Priebus would crap his pants.

Guns at #Target and #Starbucks versus #TexasOpenCarry

Many liberals, like this reporter at Mother Jones, are doing cartwheels over Target banning guns from its stores.

Only problem? Target, like Starbucks a few months back, actually did no such thing.

Its actual statement:
Our approach has always been to follow local laws, and of course, we will continue to do so. But starting today we will also respectfully request that guests not bring firearms to Target -- even in communities where it is permitted by law.
Two basic, easy-to-follow thoughts, quite logical and simple, unless you're the type of "liberal" suffering from something like Battered Obamiac Syndrome.

"Respectfully request" is not an "order" or anything like it.

And, the first sentence, like good gun control people know about the first clause in the Second Amendment, is the controlling sentence. Note there that Target says it has followed local laws on guns and "we will continue to do so."

In short, nothing has changed at Target besides it now telling folks like Texas Open Carry, "Please, please, pretty please, don't bring your guns here."

And, "liberals" like the MoJo reporter, and many others, are dumb enough, or desperate enough, to actually fall for this.

I wasn't. Within an hour after the announcement, I Tweeted Target, calling bullshit until the company announces an actual policy change. So far, I've not been contacted back and no such policy change has been announced.

Again, Starbucks did similar last year, asking people not to bring guns there but NOT announcing a policy change.

You cannot, cannot, believe that any company wants anything other than what Starbucks wanted last fall, to be kept out of the crossfire, pun very intended, and nothing more -- until that company STATES a formal policy (and enforces it) rather than ASKS somebody not to do something.

Period and end of story.

And, Target and Starbucks aren't going to change until they get more pressure.

And, that was exactly the idea of Texas Open Carry all along. They've wanted to massively, in-your-face publicize this. And, the only way Target and Starbucks can get out of the crossfire is by officially refusing the crossfire's coming to their stores.

So, if you've contacted Target to thank them, way to go. You played right into their hands and sent the wrong message. You need to write again. And, in the future, you need to put down the hymnal and stop singing Kumbaya to Target, Starbucks, Chipotle and anybody else until they stop "respectfully requesting" and start changing actual policies.

#Cardinals GM John Mozeliak is out of line on Jaime Garcia

So, Mozeliak is boo-hooing that oft-injured lefty starter Jaime Garcia didn't talk to him personally, although he did talk to Cardinals training staff, before deciding on thoracic outlet surgery. (It's a decision with which I disagree, given Garcia's shoulder history; I think he should accept reality and retire, if nothing else, but that's another story. Now, if the surgery helps him in the "real world," then, by all means, do it.)

Here's the key:

Issues clearly extend beyond Garcia’s shoulder to a rupture of trust. Mozeliak chafed at Garcia’s handling of the situation and seemed blindsided by disclosure of the condition and the decision for surgery. Garcia had questioned the club’s treatment of his shoulder as far back as two years ago.

Mo and his complaining seems to be a two-way issue on communication, as the story notes, and as commenters about it on NBC also note.

That said, per the P-D piece linked at top, the communications issue, on the team side, has involved more than just Mo:

Relationship between team and pitcher began to fray when Garcia sensed distrust from manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan upon his return from Tommy John surgery.

Garcia has long been described as immensely gifted but obsessively routine-oriented. Sensitive to organizational suggestions that he lacked toughness, Garcia attempted to pitch with shoulder discomfort in the 2012 division series against the Washington Nationals.

And also per the story, different opinions on medical and training care have involved other players:

Garcia’s situation was one of several that became a tug-of-war between longtime Cardinals medical supervisor Dr. George Paletta, the Cardinals training staff and team Injury & Performance Specialist Dr. Clayton Skaggs, a chiropractic who heads a Kirkwood institute that counts numerous former and current Cardinals players as clients. ...

The roiling medical rift appeared to resolve itself when the Cardinals announced this spring they were turning over all player care to Mercy Hospital, their official medical provider.

So, it's pretty complicated. More than Mo's telling us in a sound bit.

Speaking of, where have we heard communications issues with Mo and a pitcher before? (With manager Mike Matheny also possibly involved.)

Oh, less than a year ago, in a case which also involved the general public and fandom. 

As a Cards fan, I think Mo has very little room to complain, not just because of looking petty here, but because of how he (and a bit, Matheny) handled Shelby Miller in the postseason last year.

How long before we hear something like Miller’s current back problems were why nothing was said about why he was on the postseason roster but not actually pitching?

After Mo levels with We the Fans about what truly was up with Miller last fall, only  then does he have room to complain about Garcia in my book.

Beyond that? Re the P-D piece, which I recommend reading in full:

My No. 1 takeaway, on the “trust” issue, is to say this sheds hints of light, if not a lot, on Oscar Tavares and his ankle, and the team’s handling of it, last year.
My No. 2, as noted above, is wondering more of what we weren’t told about Shelby Miller last fall.
My No. 3 is, is this worse than MLB average? The communications and trust problems on medical issues? If it is, word will circulate to potential free agents, etc.