What Tip O'Neill should have said is this: all externalities are local. Turns out that deer deterence also enfuriates neighbors.
Excerpt:
Jim Boswell, a third-generation Christmas tree farmer in central Montgomery County, insists that he's tried just about everything to stop the deer from devouring his evergreens.
But his neighbors didn't like his shooting, much less crouching in the bushes with a crossbow. Deer-repellent spray didn't work. And the local deer population, he says, has a knack for scaling six-foot fences.
In desperation, Boswell shelled out $500 for the CritterBlaster Pro, an electronic device that emits "harassment sounds" that promise to "irritate animals and bird pests so they leave - for good!" The screeching, beeping, whistles and noises that mimic animals in distress worked perfectly.
Too perfectly.
His neighbors in Skippack Township became as irritated as the deer - resulting in a $674 fine last month for Boswell for disturbing the peace. It also has triggered a court challenge that promises to test the state's Right to Farm Act and how far municipalities can go in regulating noise intended to protect crops.
"I am just trying to make a living the old-fashioned way - by farming." said Boswell, 45, whose family has been growing Christmas trees in the Skippack area since the 1940s. "I just want to sell my trees."
Like other farming states, Pennsylvania has laws aimed at protecting agriculture. In 1982, as housing developments began eating away at suburban farmland, the state enacted the Right to Farm Act to protect farmers from new residents who might complain about the smells and sounds of farming in their developing neighborhoods.
The law states that any municipality with a nuisance ordinance must exempt agricultural operations that do not have a "direct, adverse effect on the public health and safety."
Then, last year, the Agricultural, Communities and Rural Environment (ACRE) law was passed, giving farmers and the state attorney general the right to bypass local courts and go directly to Commonwealth Court to try to invalidate ordinances that unfairly restrict agricultural operations....
Boswell said farmers need the ability to protect themselves not just from crop predators, but from local officials and pesky neighbors. "It's like the Hatfields and the McCoys in this township," he said.
Boswell has nothing but praise for CritterBlaster, and he hopes to resume using it for a second season by the time the deer become a problem again in the fall.
"This thing has worked better than anything we've tried," Boswell said of CritterBlaster, which can be set to emit up to eight different "harassment sounds" at varying intervals from four speakers.
Mona Zemsky, marketing manager at Bird-X Inc., which manufactures the device, said the CritterBlaster can be played at decibel levels of up to 112 - but she said owners should be considerate.
"Not only do we have to share the environment with the deer, we have to share it with our neighbors," said Zemsky, who pointed out that many of their customers are in completely remote areas.
Boswell said that he kept the device at 55 decibels or below - at about the sound level of an air-conditioner - and that he couldn't hear it when his windows were shut.
"I was out there, and I heard it, and it certainly is annoying to me," said Skippack Township Manager Theodore R. Locker Jr., who filed the complaint against Boswell.
Neighbors said the device kept them up at night, scared their children, and drove dogs crazy.
"It sounds like hell," said neighbor Wayne Arena, who lives near the back of the 11-acre tree farm.
Arena and another Grange Avenue neighbor, Philip Burke, said the animal-in-distress sounds were the worst.
"It's a very annoying, disturbing sound that goes on all night long - I mean from dusk to dawn," said Burke, who said he sent Boswell a letter signed by 13 neighbors asking him to stop....
Burke said they all would relish some peace. But he said that Boswell shouldn't get "blanket protection" under farm-protection laws because he had encroached on their neighborhood.
"He's not the only one with rights," said Burke.
What is the right solution? That is, what would the Coase theorem dictate if there were not high transactions costs? I have always thought there is an interesting relation between Coase and Kaldor-Hicks (or Potential Pareto, or the Compensation Principle, or Cost-Benefit Analysis). The difference is that Coase makes the prediction that people bargaining will FIND the correct solution, if they are not thwarted by transactions cost. Kaldor-Hicks requires government action.
In this case, given the profit margin on a tree farm, I bet that the harm to the neighbors would be greater than the benefit of the noisemaker to the tree farm. But it would be interesting to see if the neighbors would pony up the amount of damages caused by deer. And that is what would have to happen, if the law is held to mean that the tree farmer is exempt.
In other words, maybe there should not be a tree farm there, if the noisemaker is the only feasible way to keep deer out (though I like the "crouching in the bushes with a crossbow" solution). But it is not clear that the farmer should bear the costs of the externality. Externalities are reciprocal; if the tree farm had no neighbors, there would be no problem.
So...what is the right thing to do here? Tell the neighbors to shut up? Force the farmer to turn off/down the noisemaker?
(Nod to RL, a human externality. A positive one, mind you)
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Durham Bulls Game
Extremely excellent night at the DBAP last night. Why so great?
1. We have a partial season's ticket plan, for the four of us. Our seats are 17 rows up, right behind visitors' dugout, even with pitcher's mound on third base side. Shaded, under cover if it rains. The view from our seats. Lines at the beer/hot dogs/whatever stands are not too long. And stuff is cheap: $5 for a 20 oz beer, $2.50 for a hot dog, $3 for peanuts. I have trouble going to a MLB game now, because the seats are usually bad and the food/drinks so expensive.
2. The Bulls were playing the Columbus Clippers, Yankee farm hands at AAA level. The Clippers' pitchers were okay, normal size, and could throw hard. But their infield was composed entirely of hobbits. If a Bulls player was on base (and they left 11 players on base!), the Clipper holding him on looked like a ten year old. I checked their stats sheet on the CC web site, and it is pure fiction. It lists Russ Johnson and Andy Cannizaro both as being 5'10". I think not. Johnson is maybe 5'9", and Cannizaro is 5'7" with stiletto heels on.
3. The Clippers hit 8 doubles. When was the last time you saw ONE TEAM hit 8 doubles in a game? Those hobbits were jacking the ball. 3 or 4 of those doubles would have been homers in a regular park (The DBAP has a 32' high "blue monster" in left field, where down the line it is just over 305')
4. Foul ball went into the Clippers' dugout. Clippers (must have been one of the few non-hobbits) stood on top step, turned around, and looked for a kid to give the ball to. Sees a cute kid, about 6, hat too big for his head, but gamely holding up his glove and doing the beg-for-the-ball-with-those-Bambi-eyes thing that kids are good at. Clipper rolls the ball across the top of the dugout, straight toward the cute kid. Dad stays back, to let kid get ball. BUT GIANT FAT YANKEE BASTARD DAD FROM TWO SEATS DOWN lunges for ball, grabs it because his fat yankee bastard arms are longer than cute kid's arms. And then does a dance of victory. Now, this is the south. We don't hold with that bullshit. Enormous boos, people standing up and yelling. And the Clippers are mad, too. Most of the players are standing up on the steps (hobbits may have been on the rail), yelling at this guy. FYB dad quickly hands the ball to HIS kid. Points at kid. Yells at kid to hold up ball. Kid looks around, starts to cry, because people are going nuts booing at him about this ball. FYB holds kid up, like a fat white Michael Jackson on the hotel balcony. Boos subside, but kid is crying hard. Clippers find another ball, roll it across dugout roof to cute kid, who nabs it this time unmolested. Fans cheer wildly. FYB guy tries to hide under his Yankees hat (remember, Clippers are Yankee farm team, so for all I know this guy is an actual fan...of the CLIPPERS, I mean). Interesting thing about all this: FYB is white, and the cute kid/dignified dad are black. No question whose side the south was on this night. All you FYBs: get on I-95 north, and keep driving until you either hit New Jersey or a bridge abutment, we don't much care which. Nor for that matter are we sure there is an important difference.
5. Raymond, the mascot for the Devil Rays (the Bulls parent org) was at the game. He was pretty funny, I have to say. Good motions, and pantomime, lots of energy. But poor Raymond. He is a major league mascot for a team that has never had a winning season, and whose attendance figures are spotty at best. But, he gets to dance with hot chicks, Bruce Springsteen style. He picked this one woman, an extraordinarily fit and trim woman, and as soon as she got up on top of the dugout it was clear Raymond was in way over his head. She had on these white pants (I THINK they were pants, it may just have been paint), a leopard skin top that was off one shoulder, and an attitude that pretty much shut Raymond down. She looked and acted like a runway model playing with a child. Now, Raymond gamely went on with his act, but I was struck by the power of feminine haute hauteur. Big crowd pleaser, though. I know I was pleased.
1. We have a partial season's ticket plan, for the four of us. Our seats are 17 rows up, right behind visitors' dugout, even with pitcher's mound on third base side. Shaded, under cover if it rains. The view from our seats. Lines at the beer/hot dogs/whatever stands are not too long. And stuff is cheap: $5 for a 20 oz beer, $2.50 for a hot dog, $3 for peanuts. I have trouble going to a MLB game now, because the seats are usually bad and the food/drinks so expensive.
2. The Bulls were playing the Columbus Clippers, Yankee farm hands at AAA level. The Clippers' pitchers were okay, normal size, and could throw hard. But their infield was composed entirely of hobbits. If a Bulls player was on base (and they left 11 players on base!), the Clipper holding him on looked like a ten year old. I checked their stats sheet on the CC web site, and it is pure fiction. It lists Russ Johnson and Andy Cannizaro both as being 5'10". I think not. Johnson is maybe 5'9", and Cannizaro is 5'7" with stiletto heels on.
3. The Clippers hit 8 doubles. When was the last time you saw ONE TEAM hit 8 doubles in a game? Those hobbits were jacking the ball. 3 or 4 of those doubles would have been homers in a regular park (The DBAP has a 32' high "blue monster" in left field, where down the line it is just over 305')
4. Foul ball went into the Clippers' dugout. Clippers (must have been one of the few non-hobbits) stood on top step, turned around, and looked for a kid to give the ball to. Sees a cute kid, about 6, hat too big for his head, but gamely holding up his glove and doing the beg-for-the-ball-with-those-Bambi-eyes thing that kids are good at. Clipper rolls the ball across the top of the dugout, straight toward the cute kid. Dad stays back, to let kid get ball. BUT GIANT FAT YANKEE BASTARD DAD FROM TWO SEATS DOWN lunges for ball, grabs it because his fat yankee bastard arms are longer than cute kid's arms. And then does a dance of victory. Now, this is the south. We don't hold with that bullshit. Enormous boos, people standing up and yelling. And the Clippers are mad, too. Most of the players are standing up on the steps (hobbits may have been on the rail), yelling at this guy. FYB dad quickly hands the ball to HIS kid. Points at kid. Yells at kid to hold up ball. Kid looks around, starts to cry, because people are going nuts booing at him about this ball. FYB holds kid up, like a fat white Michael Jackson on the hotel balcony. Boos subside, but kid is crying hard. Clippers find another ball, roll it across dugout roof to cute kid, who nabs it this time unmolested. Fans cheer wildly. FYB guy tries to hide under his Yankees hat (remember, Clippers are Yankee farm team, so for all I know this guy is an actual fan...of the CLIPPERS, I mean). Interesting thing about all this: FYB is white, and the cute kid/dignified dad are black. No question whose side the south was on this night. All you FYBs: get on I-95 north, and keep driving until you either hit New Jersey or a bridge abutment, we don't much care which. Nor for that matter are we sure there is an important difference.
5. Raymond, the mascot for the Devil Rays (the Bulls parent org) was at the game. He was pretty funny, I have to say. Good motions, and pantomime, lots of energy. But poor Raymond. He is a major league mascot for a team that has never had a winning season, and whose attendance figures are spotty at best. But, he gets to dance with hot chicks, Bruce Springsteen style. He picked this one woman, an extraordinarily fit and trim woman, and as soon as she got up on top of the dugout it was clear Raymond was in way over his head. She had on these white pants (I THINK they were pants, it may just have been paint), a leopard skin top that was off one shoulder, and an attitude that pretty much shut Raymond down. She looked and acted like a runway model playing with a child. Now, Raymond gamely went on with his act, but I was struck by the power of feminine haute hauteur. Big crowd pleaser, though. I know I was pleased.
Friday, July 14, 2006
20 years: My Gain, Her Loss
It's official: The Gingerella-Munger union has now lasted two decades.
We went to Wrightsville Beach, stayed at Shell Island, and had a great time going for walks on the beach. Sunsets were fantastic:
And my wife....amazing. Two kids, married 20 years, and still hotter'n a two dollar pistol. You're the best, dear!
We went to Wrightsville Beach, stayed at Shell Island, and had a great time going for walks on the beach. Sunsets were fantastic:
And my wife....amazing. Two kids, married 20 years, and still hotter'n a two dollar pistol. You're the best, dear!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Shotgun Mike Munger
I found an old letter from my Dad to me, when I was in college (late 1970s). In some boxes full of books and notebooks.
He mentioned they had gone to a drive-in (!), and had seen "Ma and Pa Kettle Go To Town."
In that movie, there is a character named (my dad swore) "Shotgun Mike Munger."
I had forgotten about the letter, and knew even less about the movie. But I went and checked, and darned if it isn't so.
In particular, this movie contains the following bit of dialogue:
Pa Kettle: I thought you might be a traveling salesman. A lot of them visit farms, you know.
Shotgun Mike Munger: Yeah, I've heard stories about them.
I read a review of the movie. The review claims:
Ma and Pa Kettle Go To Town seamlessly picks up where The Further Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle leaves off.
Oh, those cliff-hanging sequels. No point starting in the middle. Now I have to watch the whole series just to see where "Shotgun Mike Munger" gets his motivation.
Now, it DOES get better. Shotgun Mike was played by Charles McGraw. And Charles McGraw played "The Preacher" in "A Boy and His Dog," one of the finest movies in history. So Charles McGraw had two highlights to his acting career: playing the Preacher, and playing Mike Munger. Who would have believed it.
Thanks, Dad. And thanks to Charles McGraw. Here, "Shotgun Mike Munger" is shown grabbing "Front Porch Anita Ekberg."
He mentioned they had gone to a drive-in (!), and had seen "Ma and Pa Kettle Go To Town."
In that movie, there is a character named (my dad swore) "Shotgun Mike Munger."
I had forgotten about the letter, and knew even less about the movie. But I went and checked, and darned if it isn't so.
In particular, this movie contains the following bit of dialogue:
Pa Kettle: I thought you might be a traveling salesman. A lot of them visit farms, you know.
Shotgun Mike Munger: Yeah, I've heard stories about them.
I read a review of the movie. The review claims:
Ma and Pa Kettle Go To Town seamlessly picks up where The Further Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle leaves off.
Oh, those cliff-hanging sequels. No point starting in the middle. Now I have to watch the whole series just to see where "Shotgun Mike Munger" gets his motivation.
Now, it DOES get better. Shotgun Mike was played by Charles McGraw. And Charles McGraw played "The Preacher" in "A Boy and His Dog," one of the finest movies in history. So Charles McGraw had two highlights to his acting career: playing the Preacher, and playing Mike Munger. Who would have believed it.
Thanks, Dad. And thanks to Charles McGraw. Here, "Shotgun Mike Munger" is shown grabbing "Front Porch Anita Ekberg."
What are we to conclude from this?
From an email from Kevin Lewis, at Berkeley:
Relative Salary of U.S. Senators and Law Firm Partners
Year ........Senatory ...Mean law firm partner
1954.......... 12,500 .......10,258
1976 ..........44,600 .......55,000
2002 .........150,000 .......593,800
(nominal dollars; source: Journal of Economic Perspectives)
What does it all mean? I would say that it means it is better to profit from rent-seeking in terms of $$ than in terms of votes, if you like dollars. So rent-seekers who love money become law partners, and rent-seekers who love power sort into politics. But neither senators nor law firm partners get fired very often. The system works for everyone except the citizens...
Relative Salary of U.S. Senators and Law Firm Partners
Year ........Senatory ...Mean law firm partner
1954.......... 12,500 .......10,258
1976 ..........44,600 .......55,000
2002 .........150,000 .......593,800
(nominal dollars; source: Journal of Economic Perspectives)
What does it all mean? I would say that it means it is better to profit from rent-seeking in terms of $$ than in terms of votes, if you like dollars. So rent-seekers who love money become law partners, and rent-seekers who love power sort into politics. But neither senators nor law firm partners get fired very often. The system works for everyone except the citizens...
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Odds and Endings
1. Simon Spero wins the headline contest.
2. Materazzi admits he insulted Zadane. Defends self by claiming he doesn't know what a terrorist is, so he wouldn't have used THAT insult.
3. North Carolina's solons pass the "All Off You Vill Say Der Pledge, Unt You Vill Like It!" legislation. But not before elbowing each other out of the way, like pigs at a trough, trying to claim credit.
4. Kevin Morrison, one of our cool grad students in Poli Sci at Duke, publishes a very nice op-ed in the News and Observer. Good ON ya, Kevin!
2. Materazzi admits he insulted Zadane. Defends self by claiming he doesn't know what a terrorist is, so he wouldn't have used THAT insult.
3. North Carolina's solons pass the "All Off You Vill Say Der Pledge, Unt You Vill Like It!" legislation. But not before elbowing each other out of the way, like pigs at a trough, trying to claim credit.
4. Kevin Morrison, one of our cool grad students in Poli Sci at Duke, publishes a very nice op-ed in the News and Observer. Good ON ya, Kevin!
Monday, July 10, 2006
State of Things: Biopolitics
Interesting radio show today, which I got to participate in.
But the interest was mostly from Jedidiah Purdy, at Duke Law School.
His article.
MP3 of the broadcast should be up here, soon. (I'm guessing at that URL, so bear with me).
But the interest was mostly from Jedidiah Purdy, at Duke Law School.
His article.
MP3 of the broadcast should be up here, soon. (I'm guessing at that URL, so bear with me).
I Pledge Allegiance to The Constitution....
...Which means I don't have to pledge allegiance to any flag.
I have been getting more than a little push back on my little letter to the editor of the N&O.
It started with big man Saunders's column. A little over the top, but sound on fundamentals, as Barry usually is.
Then, my letter:
A loyalty oath
There is an old adage in debating that you lose a debate as soon as you compare your opponent to Hitler. But your man Barry Saunders did it (column, July 4), and still won the debate.
The reason is that requiring a pledge, or a loyalty oath, really is at the core of what fascist, nationalistic or totalitarian regimes stand for. Saunders was dead right, so the Hitler comparison is not wrong.
I bet he didn't hear a lot of support for his view. So, let me say this. If there is going to be a patriotic hanging, let my body swing beside his on that hastily constructed, flag-draped gibbet. Requiring the pledge is the opposite of real patriotism, in a nation that values freedom.
Michael Munger
Chair, Department of Political Science, Duke University
Durham
I have been doing some local TV shows, on the strength of this radical view. Strange that this view is so rare, or radical...
Thomas Jefferson, in the Declaration, said this:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...
How can we withold consent if we are required to pledge allegiance? How can government tell us what to think, but still be dependent on our consent? Answers: we can't, and it can't. Say the pledge if you want to. Burn the flag if you want to. The people should not fear their government. The government should fear the people.
I have been getting more than a little push back on my little letter to the editor of the N&O.
It started with big man Saunders's column. A little over the top, but sound on fundamentals, as Barry usually is.
Then, my letter:
A loyalty oath
There is an old adage in debating that you lose a debate as soon as you compare your opponent to Hitler. But your man Barry Saunders did it (column, July 4), and still won the debate.
The reason is that requiring a pledge, or a loyalty oath, really is at the core of what fascist, nationalistic or totalitarian regimes stand for. Saunders was dead right, so the Hitler comparison is not wrong.
I bet he didn't hear a lot of support for his view. So, let me say this. If there is going to be a patriotic hanging, let my body swing beside his on that hastily constructed, flag-draped gibbet. Requiring the pledge is the opposite of real patriotism, in a nation that values freedom.
Michael Munger
Chair, Department of Political Science, Duke University
Durham
I have been doing some local TV shows, on the strength of this radical view. Strange that this view is so rare, or radical...
Thomas Jefferson, in the Declaration, said this:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...
How can we withold consent if we are required to pledge allegiance? How can government tell us what to think, but still be dependent on our consent? Answers: we can't, and it can't. Say the pledge if you want to. Burn the flag if you want to. The people should not fear their government. The government should fear the people.
Bourke's Corner Kick
Heartfelt props to Bourke Report.
My man B connected up my rant about TNR with my query about Materazzi, and provides an excellent link to boot (soccer joke).
Check this excerpt:
Just before the last period of overtime (before the penalty kicks) when I watched the game earlier on ABC the camera was focused on the stadium ceiling. But when I came home and watched the replay of the game on Univision right before Zidane goes back on the field it appears the French coach grabs his arm to tell him something, Zidane pulls it away and snarls something at him.
The reason I even mention this is that Zidane's timing seemed to be completely awful! A bit too awful. Zidane leads the team to the final, knows full well he is a premium penalty kicker, and head-butts the Italian player in front of the whole stadium right before the penalty shoot-out! He had to know he would get kicked out for that. He not only left France with a man down but also weakening their chances to score during a penalty kick situation.
I propose that the argument on the pitch was secondary. The real reason was because of some unknown altercation between Zidane and the French coach. Zidane was angry and decided to get back at the coach by getting thrown out of the game in a flamboyant way.
World Cup soccer differs from professional wrestling only in that no one pretends professional wrestling is real.
My man B connected up my rant about TNR with my query about Materazzi, and provides an excellent link to boot (soccer joke).
Check this excerpt:
Just before the last period of overtime (before the penalty kicks) when I watched the game earlier on ABC the camera was focused on the stadium ceiling. But when I came home and watched the replay of the game on Univision right before Zidane goes back on the field it appears the French coach grabs his arm to tell him something, Zidane pulls it away and snarls something at him.
The reason I even mention this is that Zidane's timing seemed to be completely awful! A bit too awful. Zidane leads the team to the final, knows full well he is a premium penalty kicker, and head-butts the Italian player in front of the whole stadium right before the penalty shoot-out! He had to know he would get kicked out for that. He not only left France with a man down but also weakening their chances to score during a penalty kick situation.
I propose that the argument on the pitch was secondary. The real reason was because of some unknown altercation between Zidane and the French coach. Zidane was angry and decided to get back at the coach by getting thrown out of the game in a flamboyant way.
World Cup soccer differs from professional wrestling only in that no one pretends professional wrestling is real.
Hand of God, Headbutt of the Minotaur
From the media of France (via UTV), on Zidane's unbelievably dumb headbutt:
L`Equipe, whose front-page headline was `eternal regrets`, condemned Zidane`s act of violence.
`Zinedine,` they queried, `the most difficult thing this morning is not to try to explain why Les Bleus, your Bleus, lost the final of the World Cup which they could have won, but to explain to millions of children around the world how you could let yourself go to the point of charging at and head-butting Marco Materazzi.
`During the match in Berlin`s Olympiastadion where so many pages of sports history were written, you were Ali, the genius of the ring, the greatest.
`But not Ali, nor (Jesse) Owens nor Pele, men that you were about to join among the most brilliant sports legends, ever broke the rules the way you did.
`Why also, weren`t you on the pitch to console your friends Lilian Thuram and Fabien Barthez after the loss?
`You left them alone, just like the millions of kids who were inconsolable in front of their television set.
`Zinedine, you must be a very unhappy man this morning. You are also going to have to explain your gesture to your four sons.
`It was the last image you left as a football player, Zinedine. How could this happen to the man you are?`
Le Figaro called Zidane`s head-butt `odious`.
`The final of the World Cup against Italy symbolised Les Bleus` performance during the competition,` the paper added.
`First there was a shaky start, then an attractive performance before we suffered again a lack of offensive punch.
`Zidane`s gesture was unacceptable and sanctioned properly.
`Thuram spoke about a real suffering and pain after the match. The captain must feel exactly the same way as his exit looked even more sad than the defeat.`
Broadsheet Liberation called the defeat `cruel` while Le Parisien preferred to concentrate on Les Bleus` achievement of reaching the final, with the headline `Merci` splashed across their front page.
I had been rooting for France. This was dangerous; my Italian wife was not pleased. But when Zidane pulled that stunt....amazing. I want to know what Materazzi said....what COULD he have said? After the incident, I switched to France, but it was really all ruined. As Le Parisienne put it: "The blue angel turned into a devil." Say it ain't so, Zidane.
(by the way, "minotaur" is not a compliment....)
L`Equipe, whose front-page headline was `eternal regrets`, condemned Zidane`s act of violence.
`Zinedine,` they queried, `the most difficult thing this morning is not to try to explain why Les Bleus, your Bleus, lost the final of the World Cup which they could have won, but to explain to millions of children around the world how you could let yourself go to the point of charging at and head-butting Marco Materazzi.
`During the match in Berlin`s Olympiastadion where so many pages of sports history were written, you were Ali, the genius of the ring, the greatest.
`But not Ali, nor (Jesse) Owens nor Pele, men that you were about to join among the most brilliant sports legends, ever broke the rules the way you did.
`Why also, weren`t you on the pitch to console your friends Lilian Thuram and Fabien Barthez after the loss?
`You left them alone, just like the millions of kids who were inconsolable in front of their television set.
`Zinedine, you must be a very unhappy man this morning. You are also going to have to explain your gesture to your four sons.
`It was the last image you left as a football player, Zinedine. How could this happen to the man you are?`
Le Figaro called Zidane`s head-butt `odious`.
`The final of the World Cup against Italy symbolised Les Bleus` performance during the competition,` the paper added.
`First there was a shaky start, then an attractive performance before we suffered again a lack of offensive punch.
`Zidane`s gesture was unacceptable and sanctioned properly.
`Thuram spoke about a real suffering and pain after the match. The captain must feel exactly the same way as his exit looked even more sad than the defeat.`
Broadsheet Liberation called the defeat `cruel` while Le Parisien preferred to concentrate on Les Bleus` achievement of reaching the final, with the headline `Merci` splashed across their front page.
I had been rooting for France. This was dangerous; my Italian wife was not pleased. But when Zidane pulled that stunt....amazing. I want to know what Materazzi said....what COULD he have said? After the incident, I switched to France, but it was really all ruined. As Le Parisienne put it: "The blue angel turned into a devil." Say it ain't so, Zidane.
(by the way, "minotaur" is not a compliment....)
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