Hats Off to Former Marine Lance Corporal Ned Seath

At nine A.M. Eastern time this morning, ex-Marine Ned Seath received the Navy Cross in honor of his "extraordinary heroism" during the Vietnam War.

Here's the blurb I got from POLITICO this morning that told me about it:

BRAVO ZULU to former Marine Lance Cpl. Ned Seath, who receives the Navy Cross today for heroism in a battle almost 45 years ago. On July 16, 1966, Seath was in Vietnam with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, when one of his unit's machine-gunners was hit. Seath dashed through enemy fire to retrieve the man's weapon and was wounded by mortar rounds dropping around him. But he cobbled together a working M60 from parts of two broken guns and "stood up, fully exposed to the enemy," to deliver "withering fire, ultimately repelling the enemy's assault," his citation reads.

 Seath also has four Purple Hearts from wounds in Vietnam, and according to this article plucked from the Grand Rapids Press, he was also presented with a Bronze Star that he had earned in Vietnam but never received.

Apparently, his case lay fallow until 2003, when a fellow Marine who was with him on July 16th looked Seath up and discovered that he'd never been formally recognized for saving the lives of the men under his command. Eight years and some hassle later (although the article skips over that part), here we are. Some more details on the process can be found in this article.

Wow. I'd salute him if I'd earned the right to do so. As it is, thank you, Corporal Seath. Thank you very much.

Memories of the White House (Kinda Sorta)

I saw the Oval Office once. I went to the White House, walked around the West Wing after hours with a staffer in one of the outlying buildings, and spent a half hour or so completely geeking out. I saw the Sculpture Garden, the door to the Situation Room and the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware River. And most importantly, I got to peek inside the office where the President works. That was fantastic. But today, it’s hard for me to remember exactly what I saw. I remember the massive desk that was presented to the President by a Queen of England for I can’t remember what reason; I saw the sofas and the chairs and the rug and the shape of the famous room. I saw all these things, but since that time, my memory has been corrupted by the hundreds of times I’ve seen the Oval Office in popular media. The West Wing, X2, a dozen dozen films, every one where the President is portrayed. And those memories corrupt my memories of the real thing. I remember being there, I remember seeing the Office and the desk and the Secret Service guard outside, but how can I be sure what I remember and what was only fiction?

The one thing I do remember is that, incongruously, there was a little nightstand outside the Office itself, with a couple of laminated photographs on it of Presidents and their children at play. There was one of Kennedy’s son running around in the Oval Office, and I think another one of them outside on the White House lawn. That’s the only thing I can really say was uniquely mine.

Weird. I don’t know.

Natural Gas is Less Climate-Friendly Than We Thought. So What?

This isn't the newest news, but back in late January, investigative journalists at ProPublica revealed that natural gas may release more carbon then we thought into the atmosphere. The mechanics and measurement of carbon released by a given energy source are very much up for debate, and according to the latest method from the EPA, natural gas may be a lot dirtier than we think it is.

Here's a nice, big block quote from the meat of the article:

The EPA’s new analysis doubles its previous estimates for the amount of methane gas that leaks from loose pipe fittings and is vented from gas wells, drastically changing the picture of the nation’s emissions that the agency painted as recently as April. Calculations for some gas-field emissions jumped by several hundred percent. Methane levels from the hydraulic fracturing of shale gas were 9,000 times higher than previously reported.
When all these emissions are counted, gas may be as little as 25 percent cleaner than coal, or perhaps even less.
Even accounting for the new analysis, natural gas—which also emits less toxic and particulate pollution—offers a significant environmental advantage. But the narrower the margins get, the weaker the political arguments become and the more power utilities flinch at investing billions to switch to a fuel that may someday lose the government’s long-term support.

 The thing here is that it's not just the burning of the a given fuel that causes carbon emissions. A lot of analyses of the nuclear industry in particular look at the total life cycle of the fuel--carbon and other greenhouse gases that are expended in the processes of mining it, transporting it to refinement plants, refining it, trucking it to power plants--which the EPA also takes into account. The news here is that some of those ancillary emissions are higher then we thought, and that can damage gas's reputation as the clean fossil fuel.

Natural gas rig

Part of story for ProPublica is that the new measurements could hinder the way politicians view the gas, and we can extrapolate that to the role gas will have in President Obama's new energy policy. However, from my point of view, this isn't as big of a deal as it sounds like.

The thing about this story is the larger background: the fact that U.S. electricity usage is projected to increase around 30% in the next twenty years (as I found in the background knowledge for my nuclear research project). That's a huge gap, and something has to fill it. We have proposals that could squeeze more electricity out of the system we've got now; the idea for a smart grid, which is gaining traction, would make our power grid more efficient and make it easier for individual houses to generate electricity themselves, for themselves. And improving our power lines so that we lose less electricity in transit could cover more of that demand, but it won't cover all of it.

We'll need more large power plants to generate electricity at a centralized location and transmit it to different communities, without any doubt. And the thing about power generation on a large scale is that there's no perfect source. Every method has its drawbacks. Gas has the aforementioned emissions concerns, as well as the potential dangers of "fracking", or hydraulic fracturing of shale rock to draw out gas. Coal is just dirty,  'clean coal' remains uncertain and old oil-fired power plants are even worse. Nuclear plants generate waste and are expensive to build (more so than these other). Solar and wind are both unreliable by definition, and each have their own carbon concerns. Geothermal power is difficult to get to, and hydropower is only usable in very specific places (mostly the Pacific Northwest in this country).

The point is, there's no free lunch in power generation. Every source of electric power has its own drawbacks. Short of cold fusion, we are not going to find a power source that is able to meet the U.S.'s, or the world's, energy needs without these drawbacks. So even though natural gas produces more emissions then previously thought (and a lot of the waste and emissions described in ProPublica come from our infrastructure, not a property of the gas itself), that's not a reason to automatically discount it. It's still cleaner then coal, there are still massive reserves of it in this country, and it's still a major part of the U.S.'s energy future. Keep that in mind when reading articles like ProPublica's. (At the same time, don't discount information like this, which we will have to account for when the government hands out subsidies for new plants.

What Happens Next

The Packers will have a busy offseason.

We’ve seen how Super Bowl winners and losers both get plundered for spare parts after they win their championships.

Jonathan Vilma and Jammal Brown were lured away from the ’09 Saints. Bryant McFadden and Larry Foote left the ’08 Steelers. Anquan Boldin, Antrel Rolle and Karlos Dansby all eventually departed Arizona. The Packers will have to deal with eager suitors for Cullen Jenkins and James Jones, among many others.

Re-signing Jenkins should be the priority for this club in the offseason, depending on how effective they think Johnny Jolly can be. It’ll be interesting to see how much money they’re willing to give Jones, as well as how much he’ll be offered by clubs that saw his big plays against Atlanta and his big drops against Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

There’s no indication that Donald Driver will hang up his cleats, but if he does (or his $5 million salary is deemed too high for a No. 3 WR) and Jones leaves, the Packers will be forced to take a receiver high in the draft.

Also on draft day, the Packers will have decisions to make on their offensive line. Chad Clifton coming back for another year would help, but the Packers will have to figure out if Bryan Bulaga can be their long-term LT. We also need to find a permanent fixture at RT if that’s the case. A dedicated return specialist might be in the mix, along with competition at kicker.

Daryn Colledge, long regarded as the weak link on the offensive line, should face fierce competition in training camp from a T.J. Lang fully recovered from wrist surgery last offseason.

The Packers will have an abundance of players in training camp, including a barbershop quartet of OLBs (Walden, Zombo, Poppinga, Jones) and a bouquet of strong safeties (Bigby, Peprah, Burnett, Smith). I’m excited to see what Frank Zombo looks like in his second season of transitioning from defensive end to OLB. Additionally, this might be the year that Thompson spends a high pick on a complement to CMIII (Casey Matthews, anyone?)

A.J. Hawk’s $10 million-for-this-year contract will need to be restructured. If a salary cap is reinstated, the Packers will be spending a ton of their money at ILB (Chillar, Barnett and Bishop all have fairly recent new contracts) and may consider trading one of them away.

There’s also the question of front office and coaching turnover. Safeties coach Darren Perry will be getting interviews this offseason, and D-line coach Mike Trgovac’s name has also come up in talking about vacant coordinator positions. Dom Capers isn’t going anywhere, despite all the media blather about him, but linebackers coach Winston Moss has been ‘assistant head coach’ for some years now and probably deserves his time in the sun. Director of pro personnel Reggie McKenzie might be ready for bigger things as well, and QB coach Tom Clements was a hot interview last offseason. It’ll be up to Thompson, McCarthy and Mark Murphy to make the right hires to replace any of these gentlemen who leave.

Not to mention, the NFL and the NFLPA still have to hammer out an agreement so there can be football at all in 2011.

A lot of teams have a hangover the year after the Super Bowl. That competitive spirit can dry up; the goal has been accomplished, and for awhile, you’re kings of the world. The team can lose some of its chemistry in the next year. This isn’t an uncommon failing; nobody’s repeated in the Super Bowl since the ’04 Patriots.

I don’t think this will be a problem for the Packers. I’ve been thinking about this since before the NFC Championship, in a dreaming, what-if kind of way, and I really don’t think that’ll happen to us. The Packers are unique. Not just in coaching and team chemistry, not just in Aaron Rodgers’ competitive spirit and desire to win, but in the players that are coming back from injury next year. Finley, Grant, Barnett, Neal and all the rest will want to get a Super Bowl ring of their own. That spirit will take the team a long way.

But you know what? These are concerns for another day. A week, a month, three months from now… that’ll be the time to talk about this. That’ll be the time to speak of money and contracts, of departures and coordinators.

For now, the Green Bay Packers have won the most cherished prize in sports. For now, Packer Nation can celebrate. We won the Super Bowl. That’s not something that will ever go away.

AAAAAAAAAAAA

We won the Super Bowl!!!!!


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

(fast-forward three or so hours)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

(Sorry, y'all. Come back sometime soon for cogent comments.)

AAAAAYES!!!!!!!!!

Hooooooly Crap We're Almost Here

Whew. It's Friday afternoon-journey-into-night as I'm typing this, and we are almost at kickoff. Or close enough, anyway. Maurkice Pouncey is out, Aaron Smith is out, Erik Walden is questionable and Frank Zombo is probable. I'm going nuts over here. (Before I forget, here's two good links for information.)

THREE THINGS THE PACKERS HAVE TO DO TO WIN THIS GAME

1. Protect Aaron Rodgers. Pick up the blitzes, account for Troy Polamalu, give him time to find the Packers' receivers downfield against the Steelers' average corners. The Packers will run just enough for the play-action fake to have some credibility, so use it when it's there. The Steelers have three men on defense that can make the game-changing play on any given snap: Polamalu, James Harrison and LaMar Woodley. Shutting down two of them is damn near impossible, but if the Packers can minimize their impact, they have a solid chance here. Rodgers will have to be as elusive as he was against Atlanta or New York, and more so.

2. Get Roethlisberger on the ground. We all know that Roethlisberger is one of the hardest quarterbacks in the league to sack; 6'5", 241 and incredibly strong, he can throw the ball with defenders draped all over him. Much has been made this week of the Packers sacking Big Ben five times in 2009, but missing five others. Cullen Jenkins, this year, has missed more sacks then anyone I've ever seen. The Packers will get pressure against the Steelers' offensive line; that's a given. But "pressures" won't win this game. Sacks will, and forcing Roethlisberger into terrible throws. A few turnovers would help the Packers immeasurably.

3. Be the toughest motherfuckers on the field.

The Steelers will hit you. They will go out and act like the toughest team on the field, and usually, they are. Everyone saw Hines Ward break Keith Rivers' jaw. Everyone saw the hits James Harrison leveled this season. That's part of the Steelers' personality. That's what they're known for. They're brutal and they're confident. The Packers aren't going to break the Steelers' resolve, particularly not with experience.

What they have to do is to be the ones left standing at the end of the play.

The Packers need James Starks to fall forward. They need John Kuhn to have that will and that resolve against his former team to get the tough yard and hang onto the ball. They need to make the Steelers pay for each and every time they want to carry the ball, pass the ball, catch the ball. Every time Rashard Mendenhall gets a carry, get a hit on him. Every time Desmond Bishop gets an opportunity for a big hit, let him make it. The team needs to intimidate the other side, to stand up to the Steeler mojo and throw it back in their faces, to play Packer football from the '60s. Yes, we need the big plays from Rodgers to Jennings and Jones and Nelson and yes, we need to force turnovers, but it all starts with being the most physical team on the field. If you can outfight the Pittsburgh Steelers, you can do damn near anything, including win this Super Bowl.

Clay Matthews will be extremely hard for the Steelers to contain. They have two backup tackles, a backup center and subpar guards. We just have to bring down Big Ben.

(Shameless self-promotion; that's my compilation).

I don't remember what I picked as the last score, but my pick hasn't changed. Packers over the Steelers, 27-20.

Mock Casey Hampton Article

It’s not often that a nose tackle in a 3-4 defensive scheme, widely considered the most anonymous and least rewarding position in that defense, becomes a media darling. Packers NT B.J. Raji, however, cannot be squashed into this particular mold.

In just his second year, the former first-round pick has 7.5 sacks in 19 games and catapulted the Packers to the Super Bowl with a ponderous pick-six against the Chicago Bears. He even has a nickname of his own, “The Freezer”, in the tradition of Chicago’s outsized William Perry and “The Refrigerator”.

It’d be easy to forget about the Steelers’ Casey Hampton in all that glitz, wouldn’t it?

<Insert quote from Hampton here>

The stalwart 10th-year pro hasn’t produced Raji’s flashy stats this season. He has just one sack and twenty tackles, and doesn’t have a fancy nickname or line up as a supersized fullback, as Raji has done on occasion. But he has been immovable in the middle of the Steelers’ line, and has anchored their top-ranked run defense.

<Insert quote from Dick LeBeau/the Steelers’ D-line coach here>

Hampton is an inch shorter then Raji but outweighs him by 23 pounds. He routinely occupies two or more blockers, unselfishly allowing outside linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley to make plays. Opponents have abandoned even the pretense of running at Hampton. In the AFC Championship Game six days ago, the Jets’ (X) carries up the middle went for just (Y) yards, sixteen of them on one play. Hampton was in the middle when the Jets failed on three running plays from the two-yard line and turned the ball over on downs.

<insert quote from teammate here>

Hampton, a five-time Pro Bowler, doesn’t make waves in the media either. He declined to be interviewed for this article, or at least he would have had I asked him. The story practically writes itself. However, the point holds well. Don’t forget about Casey Hampton, and look for constant double-teams on him whenever the Packers try to run the ball.