Le.  Tour.  De.  France.

Well, just to prove you don’t need wet weather and cobbles to make Le Tour dangerous (why yes, I am in favor of keeping the cobbles sections), yesterday on regular roads we had 2 huge crashes that injured 14 riders, more, may I point out, than in Stage 5 with the cobbles.  Three had to withdraw on course, Xabier Zandio of Sky, Jesús Hernández of Tinkoff, and Egor Silin of Katusha, and Stef Clement of Belkin will not start.  By contrast on the cobbles we only lost 2.

People are also grousing about the spectators getting too close to take ‘selfies’ but the fact is they have always been getting in the middle of the course and pressing in from the sides to take pictures so it’s really the same as it’s always been.  It was a bit damp, but it always is in Belgium, and there was a strong cross wind that broke up the main group of riders into 2 smaller groups which helped shape the race.

The fireworks came in the final kilometer when it became clear that Giant-Shimano had lost a little of it’s leg speed.  Though commentators initially blamed Kittel’s disappointing finish to a puncture he later admitted he had simply run out of gas.  Starting at the 1 km mark it looked as if the race was Michal Kwiatkowski’s but André Greipel attacked from the middle of the lead group and held off a very late charge from  Alexander Kristoff.  Once again Peter Sagan overcame a crash to finish a very respectable 5th.

So on the day it was André Greipel, Alexander Kristoff, Samuel Dumoulin, Mark Renshaw, and Peter Sagan.  Marcel Kittel finished 84th, 54 seconds back.  64 riders finished on the lead time including Jakob Fuglsang in 15th and Vincenzo Nibali in 18th.  Alberto Contador finished 20th.

In the General Classification it’s Vincenzo Nibali, Jakob Fuglsang (:02), Peter Sagan (:44), Michal Kwiatkowski (:50), and Fabian Cancellara (1:17).  There are only 3 other riders less than 2 minutes back.  In the Points championship the leader is Peter Sagan (217), Brian Coquard (137), Marcel Kittel (135), Alexander Kristoff (117), André Greipel (91), and Mark Renshaw (87).  Their nearest competitor is 32 points behind.  In the Climber competition not much has changed, Cyril Lmoine (6), Blel Kadri (5), Jens Voigt and Nicolas Edet tied at 4.  Team rankings are Astana, Belkin (4:18), BMC (6:05), Sky (6:17), Trek (7:22), Cannondale (9:03).  Everyone else is over 10 minutes out.  Youth competition has boiled down to 4 riders, Peter Sagan, Michal Kwiatkowski (:06), Roman Bardet (1:27), Tom Dumoulin (1:41), and Thibaut Pinot (2:40).  Everyone else is over 11 minutes out.

Épernay / Nancy is about 146 miles long.  It’s another mostly flat sprint stage with the Sprint Checkpoint about 2 thirds of the way through.  At the end of the stage there are 2 Category 4 climbs, Cote de Maron and Cote de Bofflers.  They expect showers on and off, we shall see.

Transcript

Transcript

Le.  Tour.  De.  France.

Well, it rained and as a consequence they scrapped 2 of the 9 cobbles sections, 1 km at Mons-en-P V Le that was rated the highest difficulty and 1.4 km from Orchies to Beuvry-la-Forêt, leaving just 7 and reducing the overall length from 15.4 km to an even 13, not that it made any difference.  Even the main roads were treacherous at best, Chris Froome, defending champion and a favorite this year, had to withdraw before the cobbles crashing twice before the midpoint of the race.  Marcel Kittel dumped it on a roundabout (what we would call a traffic circle).

Others surprisingly survived.  The eventual stage winner, Lars Boom, races what’s called cyclo-cross which routinely covers terrain much more difficult than this but Fabian Cancellara who won the the Paris-Roubaix which is runs entirely on this very route and other stages like it, finished a disappointing (for him) 5th, a little over a minute behind.  Not that he didn’t improve his position in the General Classification.  Other winners on the day were Jakob Fuglsang, Peter Sagan (who survived a crash at the very end), Michal Kwiatkowski, and Cyril Lemoine.

The big loser was Alberto Contador who finished almost 3 minutes behind the stage winner and over 2 minutes behind Vincenzo Nibali who is now openly talked about as the favorite.

Twelve riders had to be treated for injuries, many more opted to work with their trainers, Ariel Maximiliano Richeze joins Chris Froome on the sidelines and will not start today, the 6th drop since the start of Le Tour.

On the stage the winner was Lars Boom of Belkin.  Jakob Fuglsang and Vincenzo Nibali of Astana finished 19 seconds behind (Fuglsang is Nibali’s lead-out rider) and Peter Sagan, Fabian Cancellara, and Jens Kelikeleire a little over a minute behind.  Only 4 more riders finished within 2 minutes.

In the General Classification the leader is still Vincenzo Nibali with Jakob Fuglsang a mere 2 seconds behind.  Peter Sagan is in 3rd (:44), Michal Kwiatkowski in 4th (:50), and Fabian Cancellara (1:17) 5th.  There are only 3 other riders within 2 minutes and 13 under 3 minutes.  Alberto Contador is 2:37 behind which he could make up in the Mountains but it’s a while until we get there.  In the Points contest Peter Sagan leads with 185, Marcel Kittel has 135, and Bryan Coquard 121.  In 4th Alexander Kristoff has 85 and in 5th Vincenzo Nibali with 53 only 3 ahead of Mark Renshaw.  There were no categorized climbs.  The Youth competition is led by Peter Sagan, Michal Kwiatkowski (:06), and Mateo Trentin (:20).  No one else is within a minute.

Today’s stage, Arras / Reims, is basically a tour of World War I battlefields and while scenic is not likely to be very interesting.  It’s about 120.5 miles long and has 2 Category 4 (least challenging) climbs.  The section before the first climb (a little over halfway) is very flat with the Sprint Checkpoint coming after the first climb but before the ascent at Chermin des Damas which looks as tough on the map as any of the 2 rated climbs but obviously isn’t.  Then a long flat across a plateau, a descent, the last rated climb which is scored at the first peak of a saddle, and then a final descent into more flat at the finish.

THE POLITICS AND ECONOMICS OF INEQUALITY: A LECTURE TO THE TOP ONE-TENTH OF 1 PERCENT

Robert Reich

Thursday, July 3, 2014

The irony of talking about inequality with an audience composed almost entirely of the richest one-tenth of 1 percent of Americans was not lost on me. When I suggested that we return to the 70 percent income-tax rate on top incomes that prevailed before 1981, many looked as if I had punched them in the gut.

But I stressed it’s not a zero-sum game, and they’d do better with a smaller share of a rapidly-growing economy – growing because the vast middle class and the poor had the purchasing power to get the economy back on track – than they’re doing with a large share of an economy that’s barely growing at all.

It’s crucial that America’s most powerful and privileged understand what’s happening, and why they must support fundamental reform.

Le.  Tour.  De.  France.

So first day in France and not only more sprinters, but the same guy won for the 3rd time out of 4 stages.  The day started without Andy Scheck who had ligament damage in a crash just outside of London in Stage 3 and had to withdraw.  It soon claimed Chris Froome, one of the favorites in the General Classification.  Thomas Voeckler staged a breakaway to claim the Sprint checkpoint but he was caught up 16 km from the finish.  Shortly after the 30 km mark from the end of the stage Lotto had a crash that involved 3 of their own riders forcing one of them, Greg Henderson to withdraw and severely hurting the team’s chances as he was considered the primary setup man for André Greipel.

About 15 km from the line Peter Sagan had a fall that dropped him all the way to the back of the field.  He staged an amazing comeback though to finish 4th.  Giant-Shimano delivered the victory to Marcel Kittel but in a far less convincing fashion than in the previous stage as Katusha made a strong challenge.

Top Stage finishers in Lille were Marcel Kittel, Alexander Kristoff, and Arnaud Demare with Peter Sagan in a miracle 4th.  All of the top 98 finishers were awarded the same time as Kittel.  In the General Classification Vincenzo Nibali continues to lead with 20 riders 2 seconds behind.  Top points awards for the stage were Thomas Voeckler with 20, Luis Angel Mate Mardones 17, and Peter Sagan with 15.  15 Riders scored points in the Sprint competition.  The overall point leader is Peter Sagan with 158, Marcel Kittel 135, and Brian Coquard 121.  Their nearest competition is 39 points behind.  There were 2 category 4 climbs yesterday  but Cyril Lemoine still leads with 6, Blel Kadri has 5, and Jens Voigt and Nicolas Edet are in a 2 way tie for 3rd with 4 each.  In Team results there were no changes with Sky, Astana (-00:12), and BMC (-00:14) are in front with only NetApp-Endura and Trek within a minute of the leaders.  No changes in the Youth championship either with Peter Sagan, Roman Bardet, and Michal Kwiatkowski still in a 3 way tie for the lead.

Today’s stage is the dreaded cobbles of Belgium which even when dry produce severe vibrations that can force injured riders, especially those with upper body injuries (like Chris Froome, left wrist), to withdraw in the best of times.  They can also produce punctures and other equipment failures that can take riders out of contention, at least temporarily.  When damp they are very slippery and nearly always cause crashes of greater or lesser consequence.  There will be 9 sections of cobbles.  Many riders won’t use this section to win and will merely be seeking to survive without too much damage, but it’s not impossible that we will see as many changes in the standings as we would if this were a Mountain stage.  The stage is 97 miles long and relatively flat with no rated climbs.  The 9 cobble sections start after the halfway mark with only the first coming before the intermediate Sprint line.

Le.  Tour.  De.  France.

As predicted a sprinters’ race with Marcel Kittel picking up his second stage victory and the teams of Giant-Shimano, Cannondale, and Omega-Pharma QuickStep dominating the final kilometer.  Peter Sagan wasn’t able to put much pressure on Kittel and was in fact losing ground to Mark Renshaw at the finish.

In the General Classification Vincenzo Nibal continues to lead with no less than 20 riders a mere 2 seconds behind after the 3rd Stage.  In the points competition Peter Sagan leads with 117, followed by Marcel Kittel at 90 and Bryan Coquard with 88.  Their next nearest rival is 41 points behind.  No climbing points were awarded yesterday so the leader in that contest is still Cyril Lemoine with 6, Blel Kadri has 5, and Jens Voigt and Nicolas Edet are in a 2 way tie for 3rd with 4 each.  In team results Sky, Astana (-00:12), and BMC (-00:14) are in front with only NetApp-Endura and Trek within a minute of the leaders.  Peter Sagan, Roman Bardet, and Michal Kwiatkowski are in a 3 way tie for the youth championship.

Today’s 102 mile stage starts in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage with is a Channel coast resort town and not anywhere near Paris Paris.  It’s flattish, but not nearly as flat as yesterday with 2 category 4 rated climbs.  Lille Métropole is just outside of Belgium where tomorrow’s racing will be.  It’s likely to be another day for the sprinters with the intermediate Sprint Checkpoint shortly before the day’s second climb.  It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Marcel Kittel will pick up his 3rd stage victory in 4 days since Giant-Shimano seems very highly organized and the ability to position your sprinter for the final kilometer more than almost any other factor seems to be determining element in the sprint stages so far.

Le.  Tour.  De.  France.

What?  Another day in sunny old blighty?  Must have misread my stage digest.  This 96 and a half mile stint has no rated climbs and even at exaggerated scales little elevation change so I expect it will be a good day for the spirinters.

Yesterday we had some crashes at the beginning one of which involved the day one maillot jaune, Marcel Kittel, but things eventually got sorted out before the first climb.  In the end the big teams (Sky, Astana, Tinkoff) were able to control the field and the final miles of the stage were a showcase for the three favorites, Alberto Contador (who peaked too early and didn’t look all that dominant), Chris Froome (who would have liked a win in front of his home crowd), and the ultimate leader Vincenzo Nibali who only has a 2 second margin at the moment but baring misfortune seems like he could easily become the prohibitive favorite.

So it’s the 4th Anniversary of The Stars Hollow Gazette going live which in blog years is a lifetime since so many go dark so soon.  I regret and mourn that since I’m not the ogre people paint me.

I came to blogging about 9 and a half years ago because I was looking for a place where I could interact with people without being ashamed to admit I was a Democrat.  What goes around comes around and now I am the one ashamed, not of my work or my principles which haven’t changed a bit, but of my faith in an institution so corrupt, capricious, and besotted with power and priviledge.

As my Cliffs Notes will inform you my character is static, shallow, and one dimensional.  I’m also cynical, insolent, and flippant.

Everything has an origin story and the question is how far back you start.

I choose to start here.  In late August of 2007 my reputation as a meta blogger was already established.  I don’t want you to think I’m making a big deal out of it, to me it’s perfectly ordinary.  I observed and reported and some of what I saw frightened me.  I consulted my mentor pyrrho and his attitude was publish and be damned, but he did also put me in contact with pacified who was creating a scoop blogging platform analog in Java.

The site was named jscoop at the time I joined (2005) but was renamed Soapblox when pacified chose to go commercial and by commercial I mean offer to host websites using his software at very, very reasonable rates.

So when buhdydharma saw that the primary season of 2008 was likely to create a large class of refugees and decided to create a site to serve them I was flattered and honored, but not surprised, to be asked to be part of that effort.  Number 9, last of the single digits.

And I think no one will contradict me that I was as influential as anyone in creating the structure of DocuDharma from the theme (relentless winter) to the still extant but currently unused mechanisms for scheduling and discipline (ask me about it, I dare you).

Which I have in spades as my regular readers know, so much so that I hardly even noticed the unexpected abscence that was caused by my insistence that those who ignored the reality of United States torture in Abu Ghraib were no better than the Good Germans who ignored the reality of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

No, what really hurt was when buhdy dumped me.

The proximate cause was that I enforced our clear rule (which still stands btw)- No discussion of Israel/Palistine without prior clearance.  To be fair, buhdy did approve to original piece, but it resulted (as I predicted) in a cascade of unapproved essays.

So I wrote a meta essay that said- stop.

I’ve never been afraid of playing the bad cop because I mostly don’t care what people think about me, but one of buhdy’s pets got persistently belligerent and I suspended them per protocol.

Well, I guess to some people principles matter and others not so much.  As I said, it hurt.

And now I want to talk about TheMomCat. Now I’m not quite sure how she would describe herself, but she’s one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever known and while The Stars Hollow Gazette would exist in one form or another because I’m also stubborn and can easily afford to self publish, it would not at all be the same place you’ve come to know and love.

Shortly after my really unexpected abscence she called me and said, ‘so we should set up a site.’

I’m on it.

‘Well, I’ve been in touch with GoDaddy and have a URL and I’m waiting on Soapblox for confirmation.’

That was quick.

Anyway it took about a month to get operational (including rejected theme- earth tones) and we started flooding the site with content- 8 and 10 am, noon, 2 and 4 pm.  buhdy could not keep up and in November of 2010 announced his intention to stop blogging and close the site.

While I like to attribute this to his proximate competition what I did not know (and was not interested in at the time) was his activities on other sites had alienated many people.

Well, so have mine.

It irks me a bit that when I offered to purchase DocuDharma on my own hook buhdy flat rejected me out of pique.  Frankly, my offer was much more generous than the one he ultimately accepted.  I’m arrogant you know, in that I don’t pretend that ignorant ideas morph gradually into the truth- you want a friend, buy a dog.

And it was a deep dig into the affections of TheMomCat who maintains the site mostly out of loyalty to me.

Sigh.  I don’t know what I’ve possibly done to deserve this, but I’m very grateful.

Now I’m Managing Editor of both sites.  What does that mean?

Well, for my enemies (whom are legion), it means I’m untouchable.  Even if you convince TMC I have a first purchase, I can exercise my option to buy for $30.  Too bad, so sad, yes I am gloating (and arrogant, let’s not forget that).

Surprisingly I am at once the good and bad cop.  Bad in the sense that I administer the thump and I’m not ashamed to sign my name and instead hide behind shadowy action at a distance or socks like Moderator 1 (kos) and Moderator 2 (Meteor Blades) who are both welcome to confront me on even ground but won’t because they’re cowards.

C’mon MB, you have an account, you can’t hide it from me- I double dog dare you.

Good for you dear reader in that I’m amazingly tolerant of vigorous debate, ask Armando.  Indeed I frequently find myself on the ‘troll hugger’ side in my discussions with TMC which I find mildly disquieting.

Our rules (the few we have) are clear and equitably enforced and that means of course that they bear no relationship at all to the ones I articulated in dkosopedia (one of the reasons they hate me is that I documented them.  Ready for that debate now MB?  I’ve called you a coward AND a liar.  And you sold my private email for spam.).

So on one level The Stars Hollow Gazette and DocuDharma are reactionary reflections of my pique and anger indulged by my friends and family.

I’m just being honest with you.  That’s one of the virtues of therapy and I am diagnosed as chronically depressed and anxious.  While I’ve been offered medications I’ve seen the side effects and rejected them.

But I also have a positive side that I hope is contained in my work which I take very seriously even though most of it is trivial trash.  You see, the important part is showing up.

I have strong feelings about scheduling.  If you look at any successful site what you find is that they change often enough to require repeated visitation OR they highlight an author of such reputation that their every utterance is to be cherished and savored.

Well, in honesty, I ain’t all that so I make up in volume where I fail in inspiration.

If you claim to run a daily blog you need to publish daily.  If you claim to run a ‘community’ blog you need to publish morning, noon, and night.

So I write tons of crap, which doesn’t bother me a bit since I’ve written a million (no joke here folks) lines of poetry for machines and thousands of newsletters, brochures, and flyers.

My other gig is making sure that you have the platform and prominence you deserve and I do the best I can.  The Stars Hollow Gazette and DocuDharma are frames for your work, not mine.

I’m the quirky sports writer, the Betty Boop and Jon and Stephen fan.  The instant I am finished I look back and can hardly believe the damage, but there’s always another deadline so I don’t linger long.

Twee…

Happy anniversary

Total number of posts: 10304 (7 a day)

• TMC- 5361
• ek hornbeck- 3081 (obviously I have some catching up to do, game on)
• mishima- 580 (beyond reliable, a friend I may never meet so I salute from a distance)
• Translator, aka Dr. David W. Smith- 347 (RIP, a staunch supporter and a blow, he had his own demons)
• BruceMcF-  117 (it’s not really about trains, it’s about economics)
• Edger-  112 (site editor, you should hire him)
• davidseth- 111 (el Bloguero)
• Anti-Capitalist Meetup- 84 (the second most underated diary franchise)
• RiaD 74- (RIP, you underestimated yourself)
• priceman- 64 (who knows where the good parties are at?  We do.)

Total number of comments: 45361 (31 a day)

But that is every day and spread across 7 diaries some of which get hundreds and others get nothing.  It’s different from what you’re used to (but is rapidly approaching the norm).

• ek hornbeck- 21129 (ahah! I told you I was mutual!)
• TMC- 17105 (thbbbbbpt!)
• BobbyK- 1675 (I’m going to stop characterizing people other than to say that while you may not know him, I do and he is utterly reliable)
• Translator, aka Dr. David W. Smith- 958
• seakit- 355
• Edger- 303
• BruceMcF- 300
• RiaD- 290
• Eddie C- 267
• joanneleon- 232

So 4 years,

Better spent I think than the 5 that preceded it.

Again?

And not even a Woodstock mosh pit mudslide.  Mediums and Hards on display.  Rosberg and Vettel, Hamilton unexpectedly low.  Gutierrez drops 10 places, unsafe release at previous round.  Chilton drops 5, unscheduled gearbox change.  Ericsson, Kobayashi fail to meet 107% requirement, race at stewards’ discretion.

Maldonado qualified 15th, excluded for fuel infringement.  We’ll see if they start 21 or not.

Coverage on CNBC since NBC/Universal refuses to drop Dancin’ Dave and his merry band of Beltway Buttkissers for anything except the most important sporting events.