The 1st year…

Well I can’t believe it, but it’s been a year since Barack Obama rode the wave of change to the office of President.

No, this is not going to be a ‘coulda woulda shoulda’ column, nor is it going to be an ‘Obama is the best thing since sliced bread’ piece either.

It’s going to be yet another piece on the further disillusionment of a formerly idealistic young(er) American.

My disillusionment is not solely directed at Obama, but I to omit the fact that I am utterly underwhelmed by him and his administration would be dishonest on my part.

However, the roots of my melancholy lie in the politics that rule the day. They are the same politics that have ruled the day for as long as I can remember. They are the same politics I thought I was voting-out when voting for Obama.

So here we are a year later and as usual, the American political machine has left me confused, unfulfilled and wondering why I even bother.

But for me, politics are a lot like women, though I rarely get the end-result I am looking for, I am utterly intrigued and keep coming back for more.

So most Sunday mornings I sit on my couch, sipping overpriced coffee in a high-rise apartment downtown, seemingly in the lap of middle class luxury, watching the political pundit shows and get pissed-off.

I saw a snipit of a speech, from of all people, Jon Voight, that I think perfectly illustrates the return to the ‘business as usual’ ’us versus them’ politics that I thought Obama’s election would curb.

Voight stated that Obama is: “Taking America apart piece by piece" and suggesting he "had 20 years of subconscious programming by Reverend Wright to damn America."

It’s the old tactic of extremism. Nowhere is there a shred of evidence to back Voight’s rants, but there he was on national TV getting face time spreading nothing more than gossip.

Now I understand politics, and there is always going to be an element of mud-slinging and creative license taken when anyone is out drumming for support, be they Republican or Democrat. Where I draw the line is at lying or defamation/character assignation. Simply put, neither has a place in American political discourse.

And here’s the odd thing about this whole Jon Voight issue, this personal attack on Obama was given as Voight was trotted out by Republicans to defeat Obama’s universal healthcare bill. I have hard time seeing any logical line of reasoning that leads from universal healthcare to Obama’s former pastor.

Now, for what it’s worth, I’ve always thought of Jon Voight as a less-than-stable individual. I didn’t know of his conservative leanings until I saw the snipit of his speech. So while I don’t think all Republicans are zealots in the vein of Voight, someone decided to put him behind a podium with the proposed healthcare bill planted squarely in front of him.

This ploy to paint Obama as a leftist Black Panther anarchist ideologue is bypassing the real debate and downright silly. Where is the substantive debate? What are the legitimate Republican objections to the bill in its current incarnation? *You can see my prior post on lack of objectivity in the media as to why modern discourse has been oversimplified to sound bites instead of full disclosure.

In debate, you address the issue being debated, not the debater. This critical aspect of political debate seems to have been forgotten by those taking part in modern political discourse.

I, while on-board with the idea of universal healthcare, am not sold on the bill in its current incarnation. I thought some disclosure was due, as I hammered Mr. Voight pretty good there. But oddly enough, he and I agree in our displeasure with the bill. Though I will note that our reasons for disliking the bill most assuredly vary greatly.

Later-on in the political pundit show, I saw a discussion between a democratic governor and a Republican Party representative and was again appalled. Here were two grown men, seemingly respectable enough, who were so embittered and entrenched on their respective sides that neither would let the other so much as finish a sentence. I felt like I was watching two 4-year-olds try to out tantrum one another. It was a downright pathetic display from both gentlemen.

My how far the mighty have fallen…if our elected officials are unwilling to listen to anyone but those of their own ilk, how can they be true representatives?

I voted for Obama because I thought he represented a break for the ‘tow the party line at all costs’ style of politics that had caused Washington to grind to halt. But it looks like I was wrong. Obama has yet to exhibit the coalition-building and reaching across the aisle that won my vote.

I guess I should have known better. He’s got three more years to win it back, but at this point, Obama’s lost my vote.

Week 8 wrap-up.

At least we are playing Detroit next week, sigh.

The Seahawks played a team in the Dallas Cowboys that ranks among the NFLs Elite.

The game was a great measuring stick to illustrate how far the former perennial playoff team has fallen.

The Hawks are lucky in that no one seems to want to break out and win the NFC West, but at this point, I don't see where the Seahawks can make-up the 2 games they trail the division leader by.

I'll still be watching, but much in the same way my parents would watch my little league games when I was a kid. See, I was terrible, but they still watched...I now am getting an idea of the sacrifice they made.

Funny what you'll do for love.

A topsy-turvy ride.

The seats at Qwest Field better come with those roller coaster safety bars.

Sunday was definitely a ‘turvy’ low after what had been a ‘topsy’ high the week before.

Last week I said that this Sunday’s game against defending NFC West Champion Arizona Cardinals could be a statement game. And it was.

It just wasn’t the statement I was hoping the Seahawks would make.

The injury bug can only be invoked so many times, the truth of the matter is that this Seahawks team was essentially the same squad that beat Jacksonville a week ago.

So I ask- Do injuries affect intensity of those still on the field? Because I saw little to no intensity on either side of the ball at any point during the game. Our running backs are healthy right? So why aren’t they moving the ball when no one else is?

I am one unhappy Seahawks fan. But I still love them.

Previously I referred to the Hawks as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Sadly I think we know which one to expect for the remainder of the season.

I am upgrading to 30-packs at Safeway. If this past Sunday was any indication, 18 beers may not be enough to endure an entire game, let alone an entire season.

News Flash...

Earlier this week I stayed home sick. Something about a sore throat and my being a phone answering monkey just didn’t jive. So while sitting on my couch, nursing said sore throat, I came across the cable news channels. And remembered why I now keep the fact that I earned a journalism degree under wraps…

The hubbub of the day was the tiff between the Obama Administration and Fox News. For those unfamiliar with the story here is a link for a breakdown.

In short, the Obama Administration has taken-on Fox News and labeled them ‘opinion journalists’ and ‘a wing of the Republican party’ basically alluding to the fact that Fox is anything but ‘Fair and Balanced.’

Now I am not going to get into the political stupidity/public relations debacle this fight will prove to be for the Obama Administration, that sentence gives you and idea of where I stand, but what I am gonna delve into is the lack of true journalism (at least as I was taught) in America today.

*Disclosure: I am willing to note the irony of a blogger/poorly-researched but ideological rant writer like myself discussing such matters as objective journalism. But I am not now, nor have I ever purported to be, a reporter. I am not employed by any journalistic outlet and therefore see no problem with my pointing-out flaws in the world as I see it. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, I just am up-front about when I am sharing mine and don’t try to mask anything I post here as ‘objective’ reporting.

So I ended-up spending more of my sick day than I’d like to admit, watching the cable news channels. In doing so, I came to one conclusion- Fox News is not alone in its naked political bias. MSNBC would have to be considered the 'Yin' to Fox News 'Yang.'

It’s not a shock that I disagreed with a lot of the points and was off-put by some of the tactics employed by Fox’s talking-heads.

What surprised me was my reaction to MSNBC.

Now I am a liberal, and a pretty left-leaning semi-socialist one at that. So MSNBC should feel like home. It should be my own little bastion of sanity in a sea of partisanism and over-the-top headlines. But somehow, I didn’t feel at home, at all.

In fact, I was more disgusted by MSMBC than when I was by Fox. I felt lost, betrayed, bamboozled. It’s kinda like finding-out the girl you’ve been seeing smokes or is an unquestioning Bible-thumper…just a game-changing realization.

One historical note, American Journalism started as an unapologetically partisan endeavor. Newspapers were founded to disseminate information of a partisan nature to inform those who were party members and recruit more to the cause. So for American journalists to show their political stripes is no less an American tradition than apple pie or blowing things up on the 4^th of July.

But as with all things American, there has been progress. The idea of objectivity wound its way into the fabric of American journalism within the past hundred-or-so years. Much to the betterment of society. Such things as food safety, monopoly-busting and government accountability can all be directly attributed to strong reporting by transformative journalists.

Objectivity is a tough goal. It is like utopia, something to strive for, but something that can never really be obtained. As long as there is a human being tapping-out a story on a keyboard, their personal feelings/opinions/stances will leech their way into a story. Whether it be the questions they ask, how they frame a quote or the overall tone of the story, there will always be a subjective element to journalism. It’s just one of the character flaws of being human. And that is just fine.

What has been lost, or at least what I haven’t seen in journalism and the cable news networks of late, is an honest attempt to keep that subjectivity at bay. And that is worrisome.

As America continues its cultural shift towards a culture of consumption, this progression of journalism to nothing more than a steady stream of Youtube clips with talking head ‘reporters’ noting how ‘Awesome’ they are, makes perfect sense. American society is fading away from its former spot at the center of the world ideological and political stage to that of a decadent and crumbling empire. The American empire is perfectly content to rest on it laurels instead of continue with the spirit of progress and improvement that allowed it to gain that seat at the top in the first place.

I have always been a firm believer in the concept of journalism/the media as the fourth branch of government. Especially as American politics have grown from a network of local municipal/state governments to a national-scale political scene. Given that backdrop it becomes even more critical for strong, objective reporting. For example, how else would I, sitting here in my little apartment in Seattle, be kept abreast of what is happening in Washington, DC? Government has gotten to big to be accessible by the average American, this is where journalists must step-in.

I don’t need someone to tell me my opinion. I need someone to give me enough information so that I can form one.

Then again, maybe I am the odd man out. Perhaps Americans are just too busy to care anymore. They seem to be OK with being told what products to buy by advertisers and how to look by magazines. Why not be told how to vote?

It does leave a lot more free-time to watch Youtube and hit the mall…

Maybe Mike Judge had it right in Idiocracy, but I am not so sure that’s an America I want to be a part of.

Will the real Seattle Seahawks please stand-up?

Say what now?

If last week at Indianapolis was a drubbing, then this week was the antithesis of drubbing.

But…how good is this Jacksonville team? They, like my vaunted Seahawks, have been up-and-down all season. But, the Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional football team and to hold any professional team to zero points is impressive.

Props to the Seahawks defense, I just wish they could maintain that high level of intensity from week-to-week. I realize that David Garrard is no Peyton Manning, but that difference is exacerbated when you get some pressure on the quarterback, as the Hawks did on Sunday. It looked like the Seahawks receivers traded gloves with the Jaguars as there were many drops by the Jags receiving corps. And how about the Hawks defensive rookies? Aaron Curry, undaunted by NFL-imposed fines for aggressive play, was back to his buzz around the field and disrupt all in his wake style of play. But most of all congrats to Nick Read, the rookie defensive lineman out of Oregon who was supposedly too small for the NFL, just keeps proving the doubters wrong. Read recovered a fumble for a touchdown late in the game that just sealed the deal and put a stamp on the strong effort by the defense.

OK, I was wrong. There, I said it.

I, along with Nate Burleson and TJ Houshmandzadeh and well everyone else, have missed Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback. Previously I said that the offense looked better with Seneca Wallace at the helm during the San Francisco game (where Hasselbeck was injured) and I stand corrected. *For what it’s worth, I have since jumped-off the support Wallace bandwagon and onto the Mike Teel is the starter-in-waiting boat. Simply put, to be a playoff caliber team the Hawks need Hasselbeck under center.

This game was fun to watch. The offense was high-flying. The defense was all over the place and Olindo Mare even remembered how-to kick. The rushing game was less than overwhelming, but when Hasselbeck is on his game through the air, the lack of a strong running game is bearable, not OK, but bearable.

Overall, after a couple weeks…OK, pretty much the entirety of the season of worrying…beating St. Louis doesn’t count, I am reinvigorated for the season. This win couldn’t have come at a better time. The Seahawks are facing defending division champion in the Arizona Cardinals. Beating a division rival is always important, especially one that was in the Super Bowl last year. A win against the Cardinals could be an announcement that the Hawks are back in the NFC West. This Seahawks team has been a bit of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this season, a win next week could go along way to setting the precedent as to who this team really is…

But that is next week, for now I am simply going to enjoy what was one heck of a complete game from the hometown squad.

On the decline.

There’s no easy way to say it, but yesterday’s Seahawks game against the Indianapolis Colts was simply put, a drubbing.

The game was more of a clinic than a contest.

Watching the clinic, I was reminded me of another game that took place at Qwest Field. In that game, it was the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer getting schooled by FC Barcelona, arguably the best soccer team in the world.

The games had more in common than both sports being called Football. The Sounders versus Barcelona game was an example of one team simply being better at all aspects of the game and playing at an entirely higher level than their opponent. The Sounders lost the game 4-0, which is the soccer equivalent of a 35-0 rout in an American Football.

I must admit, I am a Payton Manning fan. He simply plays the game as it should be played. He appears to have a respect/love of the game that is rarely seen among the largely spoiled landscape of professional athletes. And as much as it hurt to watch Manning pick apart the Seahawks defense, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the display of offensive prowess.

Making matters worse was watching the Seahawks offense stumble, fumble and rumble their way through the game. I had previously stated that Seneca Wallace seemed to have a decent command of the offense and appeared able to get the offense in situations where they could score. But the command I spoke of seemed to disappear yesterday as Wallace looked hurried/lost as he continued to force throws and make bad decisions- Like running out-of-bounds for a loss instead of throwing the ball away. I like Wallace because of his potential as a multi-threat quarterback, but after six years, as a back-up, it seems fair to think that potential would have been realized. One would think that the lost look in Wallace’s eyes would go away with some playing time, yet it hasn’t.

Maybe it’s time to start letting rookie Mike Teel have some time under center. While I can appreciate leaving Wallace in the game to get some confidence-building yet meaningless touchdowns near the end of the game. Perhaps letting the rookie get a few live game reps would have been prudent.

The defense kept the Hawks in the game early. And after the Hawks got a field goal near the end of the half, I thought the Hawks had kept themselves in the game. However Manning reminded everyone of why he’s #3 on the NFL’s list of career touchdowns. With a mere minute and twenty-two seconds on the clock after the Hawks field goal, Manning drove the Colts downfield for the dagger in the heart touchdown.

Sure enough, the Hawks didn’t get blanked, props to Olindo Mare for doing his job. But the Hawks really did look overmatched, outplayed and out of their element.

Last week I asked if the Hawks were a team on the rebound or a perennial power in decline.

I have been in denial up to this point, but after seeing an actual perennial power in action, the answer is pretty clear.

The Hawks are a team in decline.

And while there is a lot of season left, it may be time to use that dreaded word: Rebuilding. And start angling to obtain/stockpile young talent or allow the youngsters to get some playing time.

A week of Hope.

If the 49’ers game last week was a crash back to reality, then this week’s loss to the Chicago Bears offered a bit gentler of a landing.

This was a game Seattle should have won. A couple of kicks here, one less botched call there, and this was a W for the Hawks. But even in the loss there were signs of hope.

First off, the bad- Kicker Olindo Mare missed not one, but two makeable field goals. In his defense, the kicks were not ‘gimmies’ but they were decidedly makeable. And for a kicker of Mare’s experience, he should have made them. Not to focus on the negative, but I have been utterly underwhelmed by Mare ever since the Seahawks acquired him. Replacing Josh Brown, who was pretty clutch during the Hawks Super Bowl run, was a tall order. Regardless, Mare simply hasn’t been up to snuff. It may be time to release the old veteran whose best days are clearly behind him.

With that off my chest, it’s now time to get to the hope I saw on the field yesterday.

Seneca Wallace has shown that he can move the ball efficiently. The offense actually looked better this week than the early in the 49’ers game with Matt Hasselbeck at the helm. To be fair, the receivers seem to have learned how to catch. As I noted last week, this was an area in which the Hawks had to show some improvement to have a chance to win. And they did. Not only that, Wallace was able to get the ball to Nate Burleson who made some plays after the catch, another point I made last week.

Wallace’s performance was not perfect, as he did make some back-up quarterback mistakes, one of which resulted in an interception. But those wrinkles will be ironed-out with experience. Overall, the offense showed that it can move the ball and put the Hawks in position to win. It is no one’s fault that the kicker blew the kicks, well, besides Mare. I am encouraged by the fact that the Hawks can move the ball, regardless of who the signal caller is.

The running game, bolstered by some success in the passing game, didn’t look as anemic as it had in the game against the 49’ers. The ground game this year looks to be more about big runs than a steady game that produces 4-5 yards per carry. I’d rather have a running game that can reliably convert on 3rd and 3. But then again, I was raised watching the Chuck Knox-era Seahawks. For those who aren’t familiar, Knox was known as ‘Ground’ Chuck for his devotion to the ground game. If you have a controlling ground game, it’s much easier to control the clock. But as long as the running backs are producing touchdowns, I am not gonna complain.

The defense looked better. The tackling was better, which is not saying much, as it was atrocious in the 49’ers game. There are still too many missed tackles at first contact. But the defense definitely seemed to have kicked-up the intensity, which is a welcome sign. The linebacker corps, now anchored by rookie Aaron Curry did a more than serviceable job considering Curry was the only starter on Week One. The back-ups of Will Herring/David Hawthorne/DD Lewis made the loss of (franchise player) Leroy Hill and (Pro-Bowler) Lofa Tatupu not only palatable, but the group was actually fun to watch.

This season has been a tough one to figure-out, perennial powers seem to be fading and upstarts seem to be filling in the voids.

The real question is: Which side of the coin are the Hawks on?

Are they a perennial power on the decline (which they look like to me) or are they a team on the rise after overcoming the injury bug that has plagued them the past couple of seasons.

Here’s hoping I am wrong.

Hopefully the injury bug has hit early and the Hawks will be a stronger team come the second-half of the season as the returning players are fresher.

Again, there’s that hope…