In America, he'd be directing FEMA

Nice shout out from Ron Davis at Chatter yesterday. Ron's one of Springfield's most relentless and respected bloggers (at least I think that's what the Blogaroni Award means.) He's also one of our city's bigger media critics, so his words about GO are appreciated.

But with that recognition comes added pressure to keep this blog updated and relevant, so here goes.

I've decided to put the running stuff LAST in each of my posts, as it will likely be of interest to the fewest people. I found the link to my Team In Training donation website. Click here to send me some much-needed moolah. I'm going to put a list of donors in a sidebar... as soon as I have some donors. Hugs and kisses (if you're hot and my wife isn't looking) in advance.

I'm not a news-a-phile. I mean, I keep track of current events but rarely do I obsess over foreign happenings or what's going on in the Bush White House. But yesterday, one story made my jaw drop: The execution of former Chinese State Food and Drug Administration head Zheng Xiaoyu.

From the New York Times.

Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), dominated television and print news a day after he was executed for taking some 6.5 million yuan ($850,000) in bribes to let medicine companies slip past his regulatory net.

The People's Daily, voice of the ruling Communist Party, said the punishment was intended to deter other wayward officials.

"Corrupt elements will be thoroughly investigated no matter who they are, how high their post, or how deep they hide, and there can be no appeasement or softness," the newspaper said.

Basically the guy took kickbacks in exchange for approval of substandard products, drugs, etc. For this he was executed. I'm not saying the execution was right or wrong. Eastern cultures have a complicated sense of shame and honor that I am not qualified to judge. Here was the kicker:

But even as the media cast Zheng's punishment as a sign of the leadership's commitment to curing graft, reports described a system of kickbacks and favors that went back a decade without public exposure.

If China's ambition is to be the next U.S., it's well on their way. Granted, approving potentially deadly pharmeceuticals is more blatant an offense than, say, taking soft money for your war chest. But is it THAT far from leaking the name of a CIA agent? Is it THAT far from being painfully, painfully incompetent when thousands of people are stranded in a football dome? Is it THAT far away from sending soldiers off to die on flimsy evidence? I'm not sure it is. Don't read this as a call for Scooter Libby to get the chair... I wouldn't want that to happen. But the man's sentence was commuted.

My incredulity sparked a brief but interesting e-mail flurry with my boss, during which I asked the question (or something to this effect): Can a country with such a deep-seeded sense of honor and shame really compete as a global superpower? To which Greg replied "Bring back Eisenhower!" I'm no historian, but it really does seem like our collective national shame went out the window when Marilyn Monroe did her little dance for JFK. It started with a feather boa; world domination ensued.

Enough on China, and I promise I won't get too heavy here too often. How 'bout that All-Star game, huh? I sat there for four hours waiting for Albert Pujols to hit--figuring he was being saved for a clutch situation at the end of the game, and then watched as a g-d Philadelphia Phillie few out with the bases loaded to end the game. Pujols had a right to be mad at his manager, Tony LaRussa, for not playing him, though the St. Louis paper's story gave his comments a bit more context than the national jokers, and bothered to mention that Pujols was in a fairly good humor during his interview. Still, no excuse. My favorite Cardinals blog, vivaelbirdos.com, got pretty animated today. I think, whether or not the Cardinals turn it around this year, it was the end of Tony LaRussa, or the beginning of the end, anyway.

You do not mess with El Hombre.

Tuesday's run was ho-hum. I tried to mix things up a little bit and run through a nearby neighborhood rather than going straight to the Greenways. It was sort of a mistake. People like to park their cars across sidewalks and trash cans smell icky. I ran about 3/4 of a mile on Golden Avenue, not remembering that there is no sidewalk on Golden just north of Battlefield. In all I went about four miles, with the usual big hill at the finish. Saturday's a longer nine-miler. We'll see how that goes, as I plan on mixing in several hills. My abs say thank'ya!

Peace.

M