Boyd

AP:

A document obtained by Iran on the nuclear black market serves no other purpose than to make an atomic bomb, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday.

This has been a bad couple of weeks for obfuscation.

Taylor:

Far from being a cheap PR stunt for the bank, the new policy is a continuation of the application of its Randian corporate ethics. Bank Chairman John Allison IV has spoken at Objectivist gatherings and the bank has in recent years doled out millions of dollars in support for academic programs on the moral foundations of capitalism at colleges and universities across the Southeast.

The article also takes a shot at Amendment One from '04 that you, my fellow North Carolinians, passed 51-49. I assume you didn't know what you were doing at the time. Us 49ers will let you know how it works out.

Prager:

...it proves what people who perceive reality have been saying for decades: The great majority of Palestinians -- like the majority of Arabs elsewhere and like vast numbers of non-Arab Muslims -- want Israel destroyed. Even granting legitimacy to the argument that the complete moral, financial and political corruption of Fatah was partly responsible for the Hamas victory, those who voted for Hamas did not find that organization's terror, religious celebration of murder or charter calling for Israel's destruction an impediment to their vote.

Friedman:

On Tuesday night President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address and map out priorities for his last three years. The direction in which America needs to go is obvious: toward energy independence. If Bush steps up to that challenge, this speech could be a new beginning for his presidency. If he doesn't, you can stick a fork in this administration.

It is beyond me as to why the Dems haven't tried to get to the right of Bush on Homeland Security. Instead, all they seem to have been concerned about up until now is making sure any new jobs created are unionized. Bush's whole approach, with which I agree, is to go on the offensive against terrorism. However, that doesn't mean that we can't also get better at defense and energy independence is a vital part of that. The administration is vulnerable here. Why don't the Democrats see it? This is the kind of opposition we need - opposition that makes the country better, not opposition that ensures its members retire wealthy by staying in power as long as they want.

Let us take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief that we have Alito and not Miers.

CNN:

The Senate confirmed Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court on Tuesday by a vote of 58-42, a day after an attempt by some Democratic senators to block his nomination fizzled.

Let us also take a moment to regret the ineptness of the Democrats and their propensity to pick all the wrong fights.

She was kidnapped and is now part of a harem in the Middle East. Better than being around Nate or her mom or her brother I suppose.

Regarding a Danish newspaper publishing cartoons depicting Muhammad in an unflattering light:

AP:

"This is cultural terrorism, not freedom of expression. The repercussions of such irresponsible acts will have adverse impact on international relations."

There's a long way to go. I don't think anyone realizes how secular we really are.

Update: Esmay wonders at the relative lack of art mocking Islamic symbols vs. the abundance of art that mocks Christian symbols. No question it's less dangerous to mock Christian symbols. And admittedly, there's less of a market in the US for the mockery of Islam than Christianity. However, it just seems so easy that you'd think someone would be doing it.

Will the Kos Kids give up now that they've been proved ineffectual or will they dig in?

Kos vows to dig in:

We lost the cloture vote, but that was — despite some of your best wishes — a pre-ordained conclusion. But that doesn't mean we lost on the bigger picture.

What you guys accomplished the last week was amazing — the outpouring of emails, letters, faxes, and phone calls was unprecedented for the netroots and particularly surprising given how weak our issue groups organized against Alito. We should've played a supporting role to strong efforts by NARAL, People for the American Way, and others. Instead, we ended up being pretty much the entire effort.

Far be it for me to give Kos advice, but tantrums are not appealing. I know they feel good and I know it's fun to type curse words and insults, but in the end, you can't convert it to action. You'll never appeal to enough people.

And I don't even think you get credit for the 25 no votes today. That whole effort got rolling after the NYT editorial at the end of last week. You've been calling for a filibuster for weeks, yet the MSM got it done in a couple of days, doomed though it was.

More here and here.

When I was a teenager giving my parents a hard time, I'd hear from time to time to just wait until I had kids of my own. I'd see how it is.

Thought I, ha, I've got this covered. What can my kids do to me that I haven't been through myself? After all, I'd seen it all and done some of it (wink)- heavy metal music, tight clothes, boys dressing like girls and vice versa, Madonna, Boy George, Motley Crue, grunge, staying out late, skipping school and on and on. Use your imagination. What else could there be? It had all been done before. Disco, hippies, new wave, punk, corporate rock, industrial, death metal, soul, R&B, country - I like everything. I'll hang with anyone. But there was one thing I didn't count on. The one thing I couldn't imagine a six-year old would seek out, would attempt to emulate. Yep. You got it. Rap. Gangster rap. How could this be? How is it possible that a six-year old would gravitate to this worst form of current, popular music? It's not even good rap these days. It's not Public Enemy or Ice-T or Biggie or Tupac even. The whole genre seems now to be who can play the bigger fool. Today's rap is to old school rap as hair metal was to heavy metal. Whatever rap's equivalent of grunge will be, it can't get here soon enough.

Fortunately, so far, I think I've been able to disguise my disdain for 102 Jamz. I know that if I fail in hiding this attitude, I am doomed.

You know that thing they do in Go Triad where they interview a band and ask one of the members what their favorite song lyrics are? I always wish they'd ask me. Of course, I guess I need a band to qualify. No matter. Now that I have my own publishing empire these days, I shall ask myself.

Q. Dave, what are your favorite lyrics.
A. Well Dave, they'd have to be from The Dangling Conversation by Simon and Garfunkel.

And you read your Emily Dickinson,
And I my Robert Frost...

Q. Kind of an odd choice, Dave. Do those lyrics have particular meaning for you, perhaps a desire to return to tenth grade English class?
A. No. They just make me cringe whenever I hear them. I have had the same reaction my whole life even before I knew what pretentious, baby boomer hippies were.
Q. It's a little unfair to hold lyrics against then twenty-something musicians writing forty years ago, no?
A. That's a reasonable question and I'd probably let it go if they'd recognize their foolishness and stop releasing the stupid song on greatest hits album after greatest hits album.

Peters:

The suicide bomber's willingness to discard civilization's cherished rules for warfare gives him enormous strength. In the Cain-and-Abel conflicts of the 21st century, ruthlessness trumps technology. We refuse to comprehend the suicide bomber's soul--even though today's wars are contests of souls, and belief is our enemy's ultimate order of battle. We write off the suicide bomber as a criminal, a wanton butcher, a terrorist. Yet, within his spiritual universe, he's more heroic than the American soldier who throws himself atop a grenade to spare his comrades: He isn't merely protecting other men, but defending his god. The suicide bomber can justify any level of carnage because he's doing his god's will. We agonize over a prisoner's slapped face, while our enemies are lauded as heroes for killing innocent masses (even of fellow believers). We continue to narrow our view of warfare's acceptable parameters even as our enemies amplify the concept of total war.

The second half of the essay is on China. The commonality between the current War on Terror and a potential war with China is that we're soft. You will never defeat will with technology.

Update: Good lord, I sound like Kurtz.

VDH:

...things must be going very badly for the terrorists to propose a ceasefire: "We don't mind offering you a long-term truce."

In truth, the winning side does not ask for a reprieve. Losing autocrats — whether the officers of the German army in the summer of 1918 or Hitler's cadre in the spring of 1945 — always "don't mind" sending out peace feelers in the 11th hour to salvage their power before they lose it for good.

Supposing for a moment that we did want to take Osama up on his offer, reckon he'd show up at the signing ceremony?

Leo:

Many on the left are clearly frustrated and baffled that they haven't been able to stop Samuel Alito, or to make the Republicans pay a political price for the many corporate and lobbying scandals. (That one is a mystery to me too.) The argument is that the press is accepting pro-Republican story lines, for example that John Murtha wants to "cut and run" from Iraq, while Bush is "steadfast." Since the public doesn't accept Democratic talking points on many issues, or so the argument goes, it must be the media's fault for presenting the stories or narrative lines incorrectly.

This is a very interesting development for the media. I see it all the time at Kos. They're furious at what they perceive as bias in the MSM in favor of the right. Amazing.

Nordlinger questioning Egyptian President Ahmed Mahmoud Nazir at Davos presumably because Angelina Jolie was unavailable:

After the session, I buttonhole him, to try out something on him: I have heard, from at least one Egyptian — from others, as well — that U.S. aid breeds resentment. I mean, no one likes to be dependent on anyone. Hands that feed get bitten. What about that?

Nazir says that he does not agree with this. The reception of aid does not breed resentment, he says. What people resent is U.S. interference, U.S. meddling: telling other people what to do. He mentions Afghanistan and Iraq (I don't argue with him, because this is not the time or place). Take the call for international observers of Egyptian elections: That is insulting to national pride.

Understandably.

What a problem this is. How do you use the great wealth, power and ability of this country to promote democracy and freedom throughout the world while minimizing resentment? Interfere too much and folks will oppose the US simply for our presence. Interfere too little and risk takeovers of countries like Afghanistan by terrorists. And forget stability for a moment, how do you liberalize the rest of the world socially? Religious freedom? Women's rights? Is there hope Islam will liberalize on its on?

Update: The culture wars in this country kill me. Folks fight to the death over inches. We're down to semantics, more or less, with regards to gays (as in marriage). However, being openly gay in the Middle East is a severe risk. Hell, being a woman in many parts of the Middle East is a severe risk. Imagine if all this energy we spend fussing with each other could be applied to making the folks in Iran and Gaza and elsewhere defend their positions. And maybe resentment is a necessary cost. We do a heck of a lot trying not to offend anyone. Maybe if you're on the right side of an issue, it's more their problem than yours if they're offended.

Cobb:

The dreams of Palestinian nationalism are about to come crashing down and their inevitable dependence will be made crystal clear.

The more I read and think about this situation, the more I agree with this sentiment. Clarity is never a bad thing and the Hamas victory makes it possible.

With this overwhelming victory, it's obvious that the Palestinian people are buying what Hamas is selling. There's no question that Fatah was inept and corrupt and some votes were simply in opposition to that ineptness and corruption. However, the strength of the victory shows that the Palestinian people are on board with a more militant approach. I watched a Hamas co-founder on Wolf Blitzer's show yesterday and Wolf kept trying to get him to commit to what would be an acceptable two-state solution. He was unwilling. It's fairly clear that the only acceptable solution to these guys is a Palestinian state that encompasses all of Israel. If that's what they want, so be it. It's time to quit coddling. If they want the destruction of Israel, let them try. Once they're crushed, they may be more willing to negotiate.

This whole thing brings to mind that scene in Gone With the Wind when all the Southern boys are eager for a fight and talking about how they'll whip the Yanks and Rhett is explaining to them how overmatched they are. They don't believe him just like the Palestinians don't believe they're in an impossible situation. They have no understanding of how patient the US and Israel have been with them. It's a shame, but it's a lesson they seem determined to learn the hard way.

GWTW:

RHETT BUTLER : I think it's hard winning a war with words, gentlemen.

CHARLES: What do you mean, sir?

RHETT: I mean, Mr. Hamilton, there's not a cannon factory in the whole South.

MAN: What difference does that make, sir, to a gentleman?

RHETT: I'm afraid it's going to make a great deal of difference to a great many gentlemen, sir.

Here's to hoping Nathan Tabor can make eminent domain a campaign issue, although it's hard to imagine anyone stupid enough to take the other side.

Tabor:

If you think Eminent Domain issues only happen in other states, think again. This is the story of Neubert Purser, 83, a decorated WWII veteran who had his precious land taken from him by Eminent Domain. His 72-acre farm on Matthews-Mint Hill Road in Matthews, North Carolina caught the eye of those in the town of Matthews who wanted it for a town park. They wanted it, and they took it, as easy as that. Neubert Purser has no recourse under the law, no legal way to stop them from taking his land.

Freeman:

With the high-paying jobs has come remarkable prosperity. As one measure (particularly savory to the Irish), consider Ireland's performance relative to the powerhouse of the Continental economy. As recently as 1991, Germany's per capita purchasing power was more than twice that of Ireland. As of mid-2004, Ireland's exceeded Germany's by 25,100 euros to 21,700 euros. Among the 25 members of the reconstituted EU, Ireland is now the richest country save only for tiny and anomalous Luxembourg. In just 15 years, Ireland has surged from last to first in a very fast league -- and in the process reversed a brain drain that had dragged on almost unabated since the potato famine of 1845.

How'd they do it?

All you big government types who like to solve problems with agencies and committees will love this one.

Create an independent and aggressive business development agency. Both adjectives are important. "Independent" because development agencies are often captured by legacy business. That is to say, existing companies have employees, investors, vendors and lobbyists -- what looks to politicians very much like a "constituency" to be served. The future, by contrast, has no identifiable support group. The captured development agency thus winds up betting on proven losers over against prospective winners -- in effect, aggravating the problem the agency was designed to solve.

All you government education types, this one's for you.

Design an education system for the 21st century. (I)n the emerging economy of the new century, the team with the most engineers wins. The Irish answer -- again, innovative rather than off-the-shelf -- was to establish a chain of regional technical colleges. (I counted 10 of them.) Each college is situated near a cluster of export-aimed companies and fine-tunes its curriculum quickly to meet evolving market needs. In other words, the new graduates are synched up tightly to the job openings.

Now for the one that matters the most.

Create a tax haven. Those may be fighting words in the citadels of entrenched bureaucracy, but to investors -- those unsentimental people who move capital around fluidly in this wide, wired world -- they are the sweet song of opportunity. The Irish knew that they had the workforce and they were betting that they could acquire the high-tech skills. What they needed was other people's money and the only way to attract it was to offer a higher return than investors could expect elsewhere. The one sure, upfront way to give that assurance was to cut the corporate tax rate -- and to cut it dramatically. Ireland's top tax rate on corporate profits, for all levels of government, is now 12.5%, roughly one-third of those of its major EU trading partners.

Via Volokh.

Bankrate.com:

I have a contract to buy a new town home for $800,000, but recently I learned that since I signed, the builder has reduced the price of the same type of town home by $100,000. I have a closing coming up and will be sitting there with a house which has already depreciated before I move in. If I put it on the market, will I get $800,000? Should I stay for a while or rent it out? I am confused and frustrated!

It's amazing how public attention moves from one market to another - tech stocks, oil, real estate just in the last few years. Sure would like to know what's next.

Additionally, how about this idiot thinking he's got a chance to get $800,000 if he puts it on the market when the one next door is going for $700k (although there's probably someone somewhere who likes his view $100k worth)? Here's an economic lesson - the value of something is what you can sell it for, not what it cost.

The place not the beer. I did something today I've only done once before in my life. Get your mind out of the gutter. I was seven when I did it the first time. Know it yet? I did it at the original Carolina Circle Mall. Yep, that's right. Ice skating! What better time? The Olympics are around the corner and there's a celebrity ice skating show currently on Fox that has yet to be canceled.

I'll say this, I think ice skating would be a lot of fun if you knew what you were doing. Seriously, it was great. Tracy's pretty good at it and the kids did very well.

In honor of Gate, here's a recap with a few extras.

Crowd Demographic: Aspiring figure skaters, hockey players, cub scouts, church groups, old people, young people. A lot of young people. In fact, if I were a fourteen year old boy, I'd be learning to ice skate and hanging out at the Icehouse. The ratio of fourteen year old girls to fourteen year old boys is in your favor.
Number of Britney Spears wanna-bes: None. Although there was one girl there who was a ringer for Avril Lavigne and one guy (I'm pretty sure he was a he) who was a ringer for Stephen Pearcy.
Number of women dressed like Britney that don't have the body for it: None.
Number of Women qualified for Golden Gate Award: I'm unqualified to judge this.
Redneck Quotient: None. It's ice skating for crying out loud youse guys.
Single Women with Kids: How can you tell?
Alcohol Consumed by Gate: None. He wasn't there as far as I know.
MF Worthy: Sure.
Number of Fights at location: None. Hockey was on tap for later. This was the free skate.
Number of times Dave fell: 0.
Number of times Dave almost fell: Hard to say, it was a continuous feeling.
Number of times the kids said the word 'zamboni': 637.
Yankee quotient: 50%.
Number of hockey sweaters worn by people who couldn't skate: 1.

Update: Could I be anymore sore? It's difficult to imagine.

Solomon:

My suggestion to ESPN would have been what I'd tell NBC News if it wanted to do a reality show with Donald Rumsfeld: "Don't."

More importantly, why does ESPN need an ombudsman? I think we've gone a little far with this. It's sports for crying out loud. It's only for fun - no matter how much Ed Hardin makes you think otherwise by sucking the life out of whatever he's writing about or by simply confusing the hell out of me.

Following this logic, how about an ombudsman for The Weather Channel? "I know Dan said it'd be 59 today, but it only reached 58. Rest assured, gentle reader, I'll be investigating." Better yet, how about an ombudsman for davidboyd.org? There'd be no shortage of work in that job. Email me your application along with photos and $75 processing fee to david@davidboyd.org.

Update: I really shouldn't make fun of Ed Hardin without giving an example of his work. After all, my fans not from the Greensboro area may be unfamiliar with his 'style.'

This is Ed Hardin from Seattle before the NFC Championship game:

Here in this mist, which shrouds Puget Sound and the surrounding area like gauze, a strange people inhabit the earth. They subsist on coffee and bad music and erect tall buildings over ancient burial grounds and await the next earthquake.

and...

This clash of cultures will meet this afternoon overlooking something called Qwest Field, which is really a stadium erected on the grounds of an ancient arena destroyed in a man-made earthquake only 24 years after being built.

and...

Seattle is a tough town, a place once inhabited by native tribes in what they assumed to be the most beautiful place on Earth. In fact, they assumed it was the Earth and everything else just mist. One day, out of the mist, came the white man from the East and everything changed.

He brought disease and religion and software and grunge music and Starbucks and football, roughly in that order. He persuaded the natives to vanish into the mist, then invited a half- million people to join him.

For those of you who do not read the Greensboro paper, it's like this all the time. It takes me twenty minutes to read his column. I start, get lost, start over, wonder if I'm in the sports section, go back, read the WSJ for a while, pick up in the middle, read it backwards and on and on. Now that I think about it, I don't know that I've ever finished one. Hmmm. Anyway, Hardin's choice of job as a sports columnist has to be the most inexplicable career move in the history of the world. Sports columnists are usually kind of dense, but loud and opinionated at the same time while being filled with self doubt. Watch any episode of The Sports Reporters to know what I'm talking about. Now, I'm not saying Ed Hardin is not dense, loud, opinionated and full of self doubt, I'm just saying that mosts sports columnists have these traits and actually like sports and like to write about sports or at least aren't bored by them.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't want Hardin replaced. Heavens no. I love trainwrecks. There's nothing I like more than to see public people totally mismatched in their job. One day, Hardin's going to flip and we're going to get a column about how he could've written the great American novel if only someone would've given him a shot and how NASCAR is the most idiotic form of entertainment in the South right behind rasslin' and how he really doesn't give a hoot who wins the Duke/Carolina game and how those news prima donnas don't have a clue as to how the world really works. Yep, it's just a few years and a half dozen more trips to the Martinsville press box until the inevitable meltdown.

Henninger:

I don't see how the Democrats have any practical or ideological incentive to stop the federal government's inexorable 70-year-long growth. This is what they want--more. For them, the Abramoffs of the world are reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh. By contrast, the Blunt-Boehner-Shadegg fight for the House leadership is an ideological argument over what Republicans should be...

If the Democrats are serious about reducing corruption, they'll offer a plan before the '06 elections like the Republicans did with the Contract with America. If they don't, they want you to replace the Republicans with them without any concrete assurances anything will change. In other words, they want a shot at the big money and they'll take their chances on hiding it and spinning it better than Republicans.

Update: Beware of plans that get politicians off the hook, but don't really do anything.

Salon:

Republicans said they would try to shut down the so-called 527 loophole, a funding mechanism that wealthy Democrats in particular have exploited. In apparent response, Democrats vowed to end no-bid contracts for companies like Halliburton.

AP:

A sometimes angry, sometimes tearful Winfrey asked Frey why he "felt the need to lie." Audience members often groaned and gasped at Frey's halting, stuttered admissions that certain facts and characters had been "altered" but that the essence of his memoir was real.

I have never cared less about a story in my whole life. Yet there it is in the newspaper everyday and on every news site I look at and on TV and on the radio. Why?

If there's a lesson to be learned, I suppose it's don't cross Oprah. She'll turn victim on you faster than you can think up new euphemisms for lying.

Update: Larry King has a panel tonight delving deep into this story. Didn't something happen with Hamas today? I'll be in the bath with a glass of Opus One and a razor blade.

Update II: Allen Johnson has been assimilated. Make it stop. Please. Make it stop.

It is obvious that this woman is too big to take down. She isn't Martha Stewart. Just give up the dream and get her off the front page and back to daytime TV where her path and mine never cross. For the love of humanity, hurry.

At the least, with their being in control instead of simply being a much strengthened opposition party, we'll have a great deal more clarity about the situation. We'll learn very quickly how reasonable they can be. They are the proverbial dog that catches the car.

So says Drudge in a headline complete with siren. Interesting timing if true since according to Kos, Alito has secured the support of Democrats Nelson, Byrd and Johnson.

Why would Kerry do this at this point? Political opportunism since it seems any chance of a filibuster is doomed at this point? Or he waits to get his marching orders from the NYT editorial page?

Come on, Kerry. If you were serious, you'd have started this effort way earlier than this point. On the other hand, this might be good. It might be the way to finally stop the filibustering of judges altogether.

Update: Even better he's calling for this from Davos. What a serious effort.

Folks are all over the map with regards to the elections.

Bernstein at Volokh:

Meanwhile, in my view, the gloves are off. If Hamas doesn't recognize Israel (and, more important, renounce terrorism) right away, I can't see any reason why Israel wouldn't be perfectly within its rights to destroy all PA government buildings, given that they are now the assets of a terrorist group that demands Israel's destruction.

I don't know what to think yet. Some folks say give them a shot at running a government, let them find it so difficult that they crumble. However, will they bypass trash collection for provoking Israel? Whatever happens, it seems at this moment that Israel is being backed into a corner.

NYT:

Judge Alito's refusal to even pretend to sound like a moderate was telling because it would have cost him so little. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., who was far more skillful at appearing mainstream at the hearings, has already given indications that whatever he said about the limits of executive power when he was questioned by the Senate has little practical impact on how he will rule now that he has a lifetime appointment.

and...

A filibuster is a radical tool. It's easy to see why Democrats are frightened of it. But from our perspective, there are some things far more frightening. One of them is Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court.

Did Alito and Roberts sound like a radicals? Are Scalia and Thomas radicals? What am I missing? Perhaps I don't know what the mainstream is. I'd like the NYT to define that term for me.

Plus I don't recall lifetime appointments being a problem until now. Maybe from now on the NYT can decide what's good policy and fight for it before it bolsters their side.

Only three more months before anyone sings a song!

I wasn't impressed with anyone last night, even the voice teacher's daughter. Maybe it sounded better in the room they were in.

I'm wondering when this show will jump the shark. Is it possible it jumped it when it was a segment on Star Search?

I really liked Chris Penn. As a tribute, I shall watch Reservoir Dogs the next time it's on. Although I probably would have anyway.

Stossel:

In public education, our land of the free is now a bunch of local fiefs, where petty-bureaucrats-turned-lords-of-the-manor decide whether you can get a decent education, and parents must go to them, begging for their children's future.

You rock you local homegrown bank powerhouse. I kiss you my financial darling.

IJ:

BB&T, the nation's ninth largest financial holdings company with $109.2 billion in assets, announced today that it "will not lend to commercial developers that plan to build condominiums, shopping malls and other private projects on land taken from private citizens by government entities using eminent domain."

In a press release issued today by the bank, BB&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Allison, said, "The idea that a citizen's property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided, in fact it's just plain wrong. One of the most basic rights of every citizen is to keep what they own. As an institution dedicated to helping our clients achieve economic success and financial security, we won't help any entity or company that would undermine that mission and threaten the hard-earned American dream of property ownership."

Volokh took note with an Atlas Shrugged reference which, of course, is always appreciated.

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

As if blogging weren't narcissistic enough, we have people inventing personality quizzes every five minutes. Via IP. Here's the quiz.

I wouldn't even be putting this up if I didn't like the car. Although the Quattroporte is my dream car of the moment. I'm quite sure it was a more sophisticated choice than the author of the stupid quiz allowed for.

Guarino reviews I Am Charlotte Simmons today. This is an excellent read. If you're a parent of a thirteen year-old girl you may want to peruse this book and perhaps recommend it to her. Wolfe nails the conquest-oriented nature of some young males, disguised until after the conquest of course, which is devastating to some unprepared young women like our heroine. She comes out of it fine, but it's a tough journey that may have been eased a bit if she wasn't so naive. You must have good intelligence in this battle, ladies.

Did Ben give him a tour of local Triad establishments while he was here?

Mr. Sun is live blogging. I'd live blog it too, but I'm not sure how that works.

Update: Only nine made it to Hollywood? And one was the fireman? Not too good. Pickler - it's on you.

Update II: Someone told me this morning that it was nine from the second day and more from the first for around thirty total.

And has their ever been more disparity in someone's speaking voice and singing voice than that seventeen year-old black girl? She was unbelievable.

One last thing, I don't care if that was a set up with the note holding guy saying he learned to sing from the Randy and Paula DVD. That was funny. I was laughing so hard, I couldn't breathe.

Madigan:

What should we do about Iran? We should do nothing.

Seriously. When a belligerent little foaming-at-the-mouth nation shouts about nukes, they expect us to pay attention to them. This encourages other belligerent little foaming-at-the-mouth nations to do the same. So let's not.

Imagine no reaction from the US; no attempts to appease Ahmadinejad; no threats to bomb, no threats of invasion, no sanctions. Maybe we can give them a gallic shrug. After all, Chirac is already doing the job of jumping up and down and shouting, a nice role reversal.

Iran's bellowing doesn't even deserve a shrug. We've been playing nuclear poker for more than half a century and we've walked away with the pot every time. This Ahmadinejad pushes his way into this high-stakes game and he thinks he should be treated with respect?

There's something to be said for playing it cool. Things may work out. In fact, they probably will. However, if we adopt this strategy, I think we ought to be prepared to kill a lot of people if a terrorist detonates a nuclear device somewhere in the world. If MAD is going to work, you've got to be willing to go through with the counterattack. There is no room for doubt.

Watched Cinderella Man last night. Quite good except for building up Max Baer as a ruthless villain. Doesn't Hollywood think that we can handle a multi-layered foil? Don't answer that. One other criticism - don't cast Renee Zellweger as a leading lady. She was fine in Jerry Maguire and Bridget Jones, but she is not leading lady material when the material calls for someone heroic. I'm sure the script was part of the problem, but she magnified the wet blanket effect of her character without elevating her admirable qualities.

Do you know who Max Baer Jr, son of heavyweight champ Max Baer, is? Jethro Bodine.

TSG:

The game made me feel the same way I felt while watching "March of the Penguins." I had always wondered what a penguin's life was like; once I knew how depressing it was, I wanted to sit in my garage with the car running. Sometimes it's almost better not to know these things. And Kobe's 81-point game was a little like that.

The point of the column is about Kobe. However, I want to consider the March of the Penguins angle. He's right. That is a depressing movie on a lot of levels. You wonder why these penguins don't move. I don't mean hop around, I mean relocate. Are you saying that during all this evolution that they were going through that one of them wasn't born that didn't want to spend six months in the winter standing on some ice with 100 mile an hour winds blowing, balancing an egg on his feet and starving to death and didn't say screw this and strike out to find some place a little warmer?

Kling:

Academic life offers an almost unique mixture of high autonomy with low risk. The position of tenured professor carries perhaps the lowest risk of job loss of any occupation in America. Meanwhile, as my college economics professor Bernard Saffran was fond of pointing out, being a professor means not having a boss. Your day-to-day teaching and research are free from bureaucratic oversight or management supervision.

For the rest of us, autonomy and security tend to be mutually exclusive. In fact, the trade-off between risk and autonomy is perhaps the most emotionally wrenching issue that we face in our careers.

It's hard to believe that taxpayers ever let themselves be talked into tenure. Why did anyone (except those benefiting) believe that reducing competition would lead to higher quality or higher productivity or anything else that is good? Take a look at my new favorite college which eschews tenure.

Update: Here's a WSJ article about Olin.

Reuters:

"Germans are at risk of dying out if the trend continues," said Harald Michel, managing director of the Institute for Applied Demography. He fears the German population could shrink from 75 million to 50 million by 2050 and further after that.

"The birth rates have been below the replacement rate for 35 years -- a lethal development," he added. "Germans could become an 'endangered people.' It's hypothetical now but we may have to think about 'the last German' at some point. The problem is compounded each generation. Children not born 30 years ago obviously aren't there to have children now."

This is a very interesting development and lends a nice little wrinkle to the immigration debate in our country. What a conundrum. After you flip the prosperity switch from having children to not having children, can you flip it back?

AP:

Four protesters briefly grabbed the Olympic torch from Italian track star Eleanora Berlanda as the relay passed through the Italian town of Trento on Monday.

The protesters known as "the disobedient ones" — demonstrators associated with the anti-globalization movement — nabbed the torch and relay escort runners took it back, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Putting aside this lame 'protest' of grabbing the Olympic torch for a moment, is there anyone who can explain what anti-globalization people are for? Or against? These guys seem to be good at getting on TV, but I'm clueless as to what they want. Is there a spokesman or a web site? Well, maybe not a web site since it is the 'world wide' web. A brochure, perhaps.

I saw this on PBS a few months ago. It was during one of their fundraisers when they break out the good stuff. I've been trying to remember the name of the DVD and I finally got it so I'm posting it here for future reference. I'm going to need something to replace the NFL next winter.

Brief synopsis - guy moves to Alaska, squats on someone's land, builds a cabin, lives alone for thirty years, films himself doing routine tasks, sells the whole thing to PBS, retires to a condo in Florida. Utterly and completely fascinating. And I'm feeling pretty happy about finding this site. Looks like I can get two DVDs and the book for about $60. I think the one DVD they were pimping on PBS was like $500. It may have included a mug and a totebag, but I can't remember.

Update: For a story about the Alaskan wilderness that doesn't turn out quite as well, try this.

I guess they think it's for a good cause.

JR posts about having to shut down blog comments on this post at The Chalkboard (And btw, shouldn't The Chalkboard be something like The White Board? It's not 1959 anymore guys.). The problem is anonymity. Yes, I realize many folks have good reasons for anonymity, but come on. It's more than cowardly to take an extreme stance on something or to call someone out and not be willing to stand behind it.

I will now put all my NFL energy into this!

Update: 21 seconds. I'm done with this too before I get too attached to my own abilities.

I was in school with a guy a few years back who said he gave up on the NFL when he had kids. Now he spends his Sunday afternoons at the park or wherever people go who aren't suckers.

This is what I'm going to do too. I'm not going to be a sucker anymore. I gave up TV when I was in college (I do regret missing the LA riots.), so I'm pretty sure I can do it again. Although this time I'm only proposing giving up the Panthers. They're the only team I really follow. They're the only team I make it a point to know when they're playing so I can watch. I'm done. I am so done.

Here's the thing. If they win the Super Bowl someday, I will not care near as much as I do when they lose. This is irrational and pathetic. I am so much happier when I pick a team to root for during a game or just before. In that circumstance I'm equally happy or equally sad when they win or lose and two hours later I've forgotten it altogether. I refuse to end up like one of these pitiful Red Sox fans who suffered all those years and then finally found redemption when some multi-millionaire bought the team and started spending obscene sums on free agents. Yeah, how's that feel Boston? Here's 200 hundred million dollars, now give me my trophy, my banner and my parade.

I'm not having it anymore. I am so much more logical than this. Here's an example. I was a huge NC State fan when I was a kid. I followed the 1983 championship team religiously. Including the roll that started by beating UNC in their second regular season meeting and beating Wake by one in the first round of the ACC tournament. When they played Pepperdine, I set my alarm for 1 am or whatever time the game came on, got up, watched it all (double OT) including the third best free throw shooter in the the NCAA (Redick like numbers - 96% or something) missing crucial free throws at crucial times for Pepperdine. Anyway the whole tourney was like that, just one miracle after another - Wake, UNC , VA in the ACCs and Pepperdine, UNLV, Utah, VA, GA and Houston in the NCAAs. I was happy for six months and then the euphoria started fading. I watched NC State basketball after that for a year or two during the Washburn debacle and then one day I decided that it would never again be as good as that 1983 run. Nothing would ever top it. From that point forward I'd watch basketball if it was on and I'd check the sports pages to keep up, but I never got emotionally involved with a team again. Until the Panthers.

The NFL is the best run sports league anywhere. They have parity through a sensible salary cap so whoever runs their team the smartest, wins. The game is made for TV. I went to a Panthers game once with free tickets (still cost me $100 after $20 to park and $6 beers and $5 hot dogs). During TV timeouts the teams stand on the field in their huddle waiting to come back from commercial. Thought I, why sit in a stadium waiting for a commercial to end when I could be at home on the couch watching the commercial. They're not going to start the game without me plus I'll keep my $100 and I won't have to deal with idiot security guards and traffic. And best of all, the players don't run the league like with the NBA and the owners and union aren't out trying to destroy the whole thing like with MLB. The NFL is a well executed concept.

So when Charlotte got a team, I got behind them. Followed them from day one - 7-9 first year, NFC championship game second year, Kerry Collins quitting, Fred Lane's wife killing him, Rae Rae in the car trunk in Nashville, George Siefert, Mark Fields, Sam Mills and the John Fox era. However, as I said, if they do win the Super Bowl, I just won't care as much as I do when they lose. I am done with them. Here's to you, Panthers. Good luck.

Go Steelers.

However, here it is.

- Live by Delhomme. Die by Delhomme.
- You can't put yourself in a hole by making mistakes early. Let the other team make the mistake. If they don't, at least you're close enough to do something about it at the end.
- Seattle's defensive line dominated and that was really what this was all about. Success in the NFL is determined almost solely by your ability to get pressure on the QB. A lot of people talk about turnovers, but it's pressure that leads to turnovers.
- Carolina was totally outcoached. They seem surprised that Steve Smith was drawing attention by three and four defenders. However, every pundit in America was saying that to stop Carolina, stop SS first. They should've had an answer. I can't understand Keary Colbert. How could he have been so good last year and so below average this year. And Drew Carter has great size and speed, but terrible hands.
- This is very similar to the regular season Chicago game. Seattle played with tremendous intensity. Carolina was inexplicably flat.
- Even though playing three games on the road didn't affect Pittsburgh, it caught up with Carolina. Especially due to the Chicago game which was absurdly physical.
- The Sports Guy picked Carolina. TSG has now picked twelve straight Panthers' games wrong. Do you realize how hard that is?

I can't hardly wait. Meanwhile, Seattle is full of doubt.

Seattle Times:

In this, the City of Self-Doubt, we have put our shaky confidence squarely behind the Seattle Seahawks, a professional football team we adored when freshly hatched, then all but abandoned during the rebellious years.

You've been in existence for thirty years, Seahawks, and you've never even sniffed the Super Bowl. Worst of all, you're soft and you're not playing Washington today.

Went to Marisol on High Point Rd last night. First time I'd been there although I've heard much about it over the years.

Fantastic. I can't recommend it highly enough. Everything was good - calamari, gnocchi, Caesar salad appetizers. Tuna, monkfish, grouper, beef tenderloin, lamb entrees. Desserts were out of this world. Wine list is more than fairly priced. Service was the best I've had in NC and maybe anywhere. Just an amazing experience all the way around.

One complaint. The waiters recite the main portions of the menu to you. This is just pretentious and silly. You do receive a menu with some appetizers and salads and a dessert menu and a cheese menu at the end, but additional appetizers and entrees are told to you. Who can remember six appetizers and eight entrees? Part of the fun in dining out is perusing a menu and considering the descriptions. Trying to remember what the waiter said is too much work. There is no reason to put your customers through this. If the menu changes extensively from day to day, buy a laser printer and some high quality paper from Office Depot.

Otherwise, everything else was perfect. What a restaurant.

Murdock:

Shadegg-DeMint would let insurers licensed in one state sell to individuals in the other 49. As such, Congress would use its constitutionally enumerated powers to liberate interstate commerce and transform 50 separate, closed markets for medical coverage into one open, national market for health insurance.

"Two-thirds of the uninsured have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, and most cite unaffordability as the top reason for why they are uninsured," said Shadegg, who hopes to succeed Rep. Tom DeLay as House majority leader. "Until consumers can purchase their health care like their auto, homeowners, or life insurance, we won't reform health care; we will only re-regulate it."

I'm blushing. Where have you been all my life Shadegg? Somebody remind me to dash off a thank you note to Abramoff for making all this possible.

Shadegg:

...our Democrat colleagues...continue to rely on old-fashioned, big government solutions to every problem. They believe that regulation and expanded federal power are the answer to every question, and that higher taxes are the way to pay for it. Their idea of America's future is the sort of socialist statism that has failed in many parts of the world.

Ronald Reagan knew that America is different. We can and should be the shining city on a hill - a beacon of hope and freedom. That vision inspired a generation of Republicans; we should honor him by continuing to make sure his ideals are our ideals.

I was reading something the other day about the ease with which Alito is going to be confirmed even though it's a possible step toward returning abortion decisioning to the states. What to make of this? Have pro-lifers changed so many minds that they're the majority? Did pro-abortion folks misrepresent the degree of support for their position in the first place? Did the gruesomeness of partial birth abortion and its subsequent defense by NOW and others turn off moderates?

I don't know the answer to any of these, but what I do know is that this is an issue that is no longer relevant to baby boomers hence it is no longer important.

AP:

Land conflicts, fluctuating crop prices and backward conditions in the countryside are threatening China's stability and its food supply, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in unusually blunt comments published Friday.

and...

One of the greatest threats to stability stems from seizures of farmland for property development and other construction projects...

I promise you that if you have Speed channel and you turn on the Barrett-Jackson auto auction over the weekend, you will be hooked.

TSG:

Q: How great is it to have a John Holmes on the PGA tour this year? I can only imagine the possibilities, like the first time David Feherty mentions that Holmes is "good with the long stick."
-- Kevin, Hanover, Md.

SG: Obviously, he's my favorite non-Boston professional athlete right now. I want to hang out with him for a weekend, follow him around on the course, make some Johnny Wadd jokes, make some long putter jokes, see if he's heckled at all by the gallery ... maybe I could even caddy for him, just so I could casually say things like, "Man, it's grueling carrying John Holmes' bag around" and "Careful, John Holmes, you don't want to use too much club here." And imagine if he ever won the Masters? How would Jim Nantz announce the winning putt with one of those trademark Nantz-like puns? Would he say, "Just like old times, John Holmes has worn out the field?" What about, "Put that thing away, John Holmes, you just won the Masters!" Plus, can you imagine a Masters ceremony with Hootie Johnson, John Holmes and a maniacally grinning Jim Nantz?

(You know what? If that happens, I'm done. I'm retiring. That's the comedy ceiling, right there. Nothing could top Hootie Johnson and Jim Nantz helping John Holmes put on the green Masters jacket. Nothing. I would have to quit my column and find another challenge in life.)

Human Events on Reagan:

Far from being a hard boiled realist, he dared to see far more optimistic outcomes for his policies in the course of events. For instance, he believed strongly in freedom and the goodness of the individual which fueled his naturally optimistic nature. He focused his 1976 campaign against an incumbent Republican president on the president's refusal to meet with the Soviet dissident, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn for fear of offending the Soviet Union. His belief in freedom as a universal imperative led him to implement a foreign policy that could not have been more distinct from detente, the then prevailing philosophy. President George W. Bush has borrowed generously from Reagan's views in this regard. Finally, he was fond of quoting the radical colonial leader Thomas Paine, "We have it within our power to begin the world all over again," hardly a conservative sentiment.

Husock:

Just as Cash's music doesn't hold a candle to Haggard's, so the drama of Haggard's life is more compelling and significant. One incident says much: In a television appearance with Haggard, Cash recalled one of his trademark prison concerts in San Quentin. Haggard remarked that he'd been there for the concert. When Cash noted that he didn't recall Haggard being on the bill that day, Haggard replied, "I was in the audience, Johnny."

Too few troops, bring troops home. Bad to attack Iraq, good Saddam is gone. Saddam no link to terrorism, fighting al Qaeda in Iraq. No blood for oil, oil prices at all time high.

How about a little praise once in a while that the US hasn't been attacked again since 9/11. How about a little credit for being as close to democracy in the ME as we've ever been. How about a sigh of relief that with Iranian nuclear ambitions, we have an ally next door instead of a threatened Saddam. More here.

Hewitt (via IP) on the majority leader race:

Will the collective effort matter? I am certain it already has, though the race is clearly up in the air. Information changes everything, and a previously closed system has been completely thrown open to public scrutiny.

Old media's interest has been narrowly focused on Abramoff and his money, and while the bloggers have spent considerable time on the corruption issues, so too have they brought important policy debates into the middle of the leadership contests.

Earmarking, for example, is not going survive this process as it used to be practiced. The openness movement is gaining momentum across the board.

Old media simply isn't as nimble, as well educated, or as competent in the delivery of rapid fire information and analysis as the networks of bloggers that organized this scrutiny.

Sometimes you don't have to argue. Sometimes all you have to do is make a practice known to the public. If it's indefensible, it will wither and die. Here's to more openness in everything government related.

This is pretty cool.

BET:

Though critics dismiss global warming as junk science, reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have continually found a discernable human influence on world temperatures.

That's bad news, especially for African Americans. Citing Katrina as a case-in-point, some environmentalists say global warming impacts minorities and the disadvantaged harder than other groups. If global warming gets worse, many African-American communities will be more vulnerable to breathing ailments, insect-carried diseases and heat-related illness and death. But asking Black folks to give up gas-guzzling SUV's and other bling is a tough sell.

What's the old joke about The New York Times headline? Asteroid Destroys New York. Women, Minorities Hardest Hit. And let's all do what we can to turn in our bling as quickly as possible. No more bling until further notice.

Reuters:

The United States dismissed on Thursday a conditional truce offered in a tape attributed to Osama bin Laden and said it "does not negotiate with terrorists."

In other news, the US has decided to continue to collect taxes.

Both home teams are favored by about three which is standard. In other words, the games are toss ups.

Denver/Pittsburgh - Plus for Denver is the thin air. Minus for Denver is Jake Plummer. Pittsburgh wins 28-20.

Seattle/Carolina - Seattle is an unknown to a large extent. They haven't played any big games all year (Washington doesn't count since they're half a team.). Last forecast for Sunday in Seattle I saw was sunny with a 20% chance of rain and about 45 degrees. Sorry land of software and coffee, but you will be exposed for the pretenders you are. Carolina wins 31-17.

Sell your gear.

Jenkins:

During bye weeks and summer vacations, when (Steve) Smith comes home to Los Angeles, the car seems to steer itself down Pico. He drives straight to the Taco Bell in West L.A., not for a chalupa, but for a reminder. He used to work that cash register. He used to sweep that parking lot. He used to scrub those floors.

"I just sit there and look at the place," Smith said Monday in a telephone interview from North Carolina. "I remember what it was like to be there. I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew that I was going to need a lot of determination and a lot of persistence to do something else."

CNN:

"It is obvious now that Bush has been misleading the people. It is better for you not to fight the Muslims on their territory and we offer a long-term truce.

"We are a nation that will not stab people in the back. We would like to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. There is nothing wrong in this approach. We are aware that the warmongers are against this option," the voice said.

Supposedly, my friends, those are the words of the great one himself - Osama bin Laden. Osama, good buddy, can we talk? You are in no position to offer terms. Get back on your donkey, pull your animal skin tighter around you, ride to the cave, finish up that will, put it in the explosion proof box, fire up the satellite TV, turn on I Love the 90s and wonder where it all went wrong.

Nordlinger has emails from readers on great names from the world of sport.

Charlotte Observer:

Representatives from baseball's Florida Marlins will visit Charlotte in the coming weeks as they consider relocating the team to a proposed uptown stadium, a real estate lawyer told Mecklenburg County commissioners Wednesday night.

Charlotte's turn to be used by MLB to get a new stadium in Miami.

TSG:

First of all, can you imagine what would happen if Bill Belichick sent New England's punting team out and Tom Brady tried to wave it off? Actually, I know what would happen -- Belichick would immediately call a timeout, furiously motion for Brady to come over, then chew him out on national TV. That's what would happen. Second of all, if you're the other Indy players, how can you respect your coach after that? Who's running the team, Dungy or Manning? Can you name another professional athlete in any sport who acts autonomously and directly disobeys his coach? Why doesn't the national media make a bigger deal out of this? What's the difference between Manning waving the punt team off the field and Terrell Owens questioning the competency of Donovan McNabb?

One positive outcome: The Tony Dungy "I can't believe my QB just hung me out to dry on national TV" Face. Eerily reminiscent of the scene in "Scarface" when coke dealer Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia's character) shows up at the Miami nightclub, sees Tony Montana with his arm around his girlfriend (Michelle Pfeiffer's character), makes the requisite "Get your hands off my girl" comment, and not only does Tony refuse to budge, he stares him down and fires back with something along the lines of, "Hey, maybe she needs a new man, Frank." And poor Lopez just stands there for four or five seconds with the castrated deer-in-the-headlights look, debating his options before skulking away. That was Tony Dungy in the Pittsburgh game. Not good.

It may have been a story if Manning hadn't made the conversion, but it should be a story anyway. I was screaming at the TV for Dungy to call a timeout and put Manning in his place. Until Peyton Manning wins some sort of championship in football (or even a big game), no coach owes him any deference.

Of course, if Dungy had the guts to show Manning who was in charge, he'd probably have gone for the first down to begin with.

AP:

"Turin is the English translation of the Italian word Torino," said Clara Orban, a professor of Italian at DePaul University. "Standard practice in the United States is if a city name has been translated differently, go with the English translation."

and...

The official name of the games is "Torino 2006," and the International Olympic Committee refers to the city by its Italian name. When the games were awarded in June 1999, then-IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch announced, "The hosts of the 2006 Games will be Torino."

This is going to be infuriating. Will the folks who use Turin be ignorant, provincial doofuses or will the folks who use Torino be politically correct, elitist snobs? Or maybe the folks who use Turin will have carefully evaluated the situation and determined Turin is less confusing to American audiences or maybe the folks who use Torino will be attempting to not insult the locals. Either way, folks are going to be self-aware when saying it and it's going to grate when hearing it.

Williams:

(The) explanation for the millions going to the campaign coffers of Washington politicians lies in the awesome growth of government control over business, property, employment and other areas of our lives. Having such power, Washington politicians are in the position to grant favors. The greater their power to grant favors, the greater the value of being able to influence Congress, and there's no better influence than money.

Put yourself in a position to grant favors, people will come asking.

Shadegg:

Republicans promised the American people two things in 1994. First, we promised to rein in the size and scope of the federal government. Second, we promised to clean up Washington. In recent years, we have fallen short on both counts. Total federal spending has grown by 33% since 1995, in inflation-adjusted dollars. Worse, we have permitted some of the same backroom practices that flourished in the old Democrat-controlled House. Powerful members of Congress are able to insert provisions giving away millions--even tens of millions--of dollars in the dead of night. The recent scandals involving Duke Cunningham and Jack Abramoff have highlighted the problem, but this is not just a case of a few bad apples. The system itself needs structural reforms.

Delusion, of course, as shown on American Idol parts 1-4. I don't mind the singing part of this show. There are usually 2-3 per night who are really good and I like the theme nights which get folks out of their comfort zone. But do we really need eight or more hours of the really horrendous people embarrassing themselves? I get it - there is an endless supply of Americans willing to do whatever it takes to be on TV. Jump the shark, already. Better yet, fall off the jump ramp into the shark pen and be torn limb from limb.

Update: Lenslinger has more on local hope Chris Daughtry.

Nordlinger:

Other Judiciary Democrats include Dick Durbin — the Pol Pot guy - Joe Biden, and Ted Kennedy. The worst face, or faces, of the Democratic party. You could argue, too, that they are the most representative: the purest Democrats, the heart and soul (such as they are) of the party.

By all reckoning, the Republicans should be on the ropes for next November. You got the sixth year of a presidency, you got Jack Abramoff - you got trouble. But then the nation has a chance to see these appalling Democrats in action, and we may - just may - scrape by.

The problem with voting Republicans out of office is that you have to replace them with Democrats. Anybody really believe that they've changed since 1994? Better to remake the party from within like with the Shadegg deal.

Adams:

When the UNCG protestors held up signs saying "UNCG Hates Free Speech" they were protesting a "free speech zone" policy that any seventeen-year-old taking high school civics would recognize as unconstitutional. Of the 200 acres on the UNCG campus, only two small areas are designated as "free speech zones" – areas designed to accommodate the expressive activities of 15,000 students.

What happened after the protest was predictable. UNCG issued "citations for disrespect" to the students which, in effect, sent the following message: UNCG students are not allowed to freely speak if they are going to say that UNCG hates free speech.

Free speech 'zones' imply that free speech is only allowed where it suits the whim of an administrator. Kind of defeats the point, huh? You might think that a university which hosts Tristan Taormino would be at the forefront of defending speech. Or you might think that this particular university is OK with dirty talk in a classroom, but not with speech that might actually get something done. Free speech 'zones' make it easy to silence your critics when you can dismiss them on a technicality rather than have to address the substance of their argument.

Miniter:

One reason the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994 did not prove to be the second wave of the Reagan revolution is that the dominant power in American government is the chief executive. And conservatives are still waiting for that second wave today because President Bush hasn't effectively and consistently used one of the most powerful tools of the modern presidency: the bully pulpit.

Reagan did it in his first inaugural address by proclaiming an end to the brand of liberalism that had largely reigned uninterrupted since the Depression: "In this present crisis government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."

Shadegg:

When I got elected in 1994 as a part of the revolutionary class of 1994, we based our campaign on two things: one, we were going to shrink the size and scope of government. We were going to reduce spending, we were going to cut taxes. We were going to decrease regulation. We were going to increase local responsibility. We were going to increase individual responsibility, and individual freedom, and of course, keep a strong national defense. But there was a second plank in that promise, and that was to clean up the backroom deals, to stop the ability of members to sneak language in, in the middle of the night, or to use their position of power to try to benefit themselves or their cronies. And the scandals of late, particularly the Cunningham scandal, demonstrates that we've failed in that. It's not just bad actors. We have procedures that those bad actors can take advantage of.

VDH:

In Iran, take away windfall oil profits, and the eighth-century theocrats running the country would be derided as impoverished Taliban clowns, rather than feared for their threats to wipe Israel off the map.

I'll agree to Hanson's deal.

If the left would push nuclear power and more drilling, and the right would push more mandatory efficiency standards and alternative fuels, the United States could cut its imports and collapse the world price.

Hitchens:

If all goes even reasonably well, and if a combination of elections and prosperity is enough to draw more mainstream Sunnis into politics and away from Baathist nostalgia, it will have been proved that Bin-Ladenism can be taken on-and openly defeated-in a major Middle Eastern country. And not just defeated but discredited. Humiliated. Is there anyone who does not think that this is a historic prize worth having? Worth fighting for, in fact?

If ifs and buts were candies and nuts...Seriously, of course it's worth fighting for. It's also true that pundits continually forecast the continuation of current trends, or at least the continuation of current conventional wisdom regarding trends - reach the tipping point and a whole new optimism will take hold in the region potentially giving us more options in Iran.

It pretty much comes down to this. You either believe people all over the world want to be free and will seize the opportunity and act logically and responsibly with this new power or you don't. That's not to say, of course, that the path to freedom will be easy or that there won't be people who attempt to co-opt power. It's that underneath everything we say and do there's a yearning not to be controlled and dominated. All the oppressed need is a catalyst and there is no greater legacy for America than to use our influence to be that catalyst whenever possible.

Moore:

Win or lose, Mr. Shadegg's candidacy will be a measuring rod of just how much trouble congressional Republicans really think they're in. It will also serve as a leading indicator of whether House conservatives will devote the next nine months of this term to slamming the brakes on a domestic legislative policy that has careened off course. The era when Republicans promised to make government smaller and smarter by abolishing hundreds of obsolete federal agencies seems a distant memory now in this era of Bridges to Nowhere. In the last five years, Republicans have enacted the largest increase in entitlement spending in three decades, doubled the education budget, nearly tripled the number of earmarked spending projects, and turned a blind eye toward the corrosive culture of corruption on Capitol Hill that seems so eerily reminiscent of the final days of Democratic rule in the House.

Perloff:

Super Bowl prediction: Panthers 28, Broncos 24. Dr. Z nails his preseason prediction. SI rules.

Update: Take a look at this from 8/16/05.

Peyton Manning is getting into Dan Marino territory. He's going to be nagged by questions for a long time. He could go 16-0 next year and he'll have tons of doubters until he gets to and wins the SB. On the other hand, he's one Nick Harper cut to the outside from being in the AFC Championship game and I'm that one cut away from being 8-0.

How about those Panthers? They dominated a deserving defense after all the smack the Bears' players talked this week - "We're not the Giants." Yeah, the Panthers only scored 23 on them. Chicago D overrated? Some. They caught Carolina earlier in the season on one of Carolina's many down weeks.

It's going to be fun at Seattle. Having had the kind of problems with Washington they had, I'd be worried if I was a Seahawk fan. DeShaun getting hurt is problematic, but Goings is capable and Robertson is a good back who no one knows about.

How is it possible to have a 1200 yard NFL running back attending your university who no one ever heard of while he was wearing blue? Kudos to Willie Parker for toughing it out when the people around him were obviously less than smart.

Bendel:

Andre Powell, the running backs coach at UNC, arrived at Chapel Hill with Bunting in 2001. He offered some thoughts on Parker's unfulfilling college career.

"In retrospect, we probably could have done some things differently with Willie," Powell said Monday. "But we were trying to develop our own style. When we got there, North Carolina was a finesse team, but we were bound and determined to be a (physical) running team. We wanted things done a certain way. We have more 1,000-yard rushers in our history than any other program. We hadn't had one since 1997. We wanted to get back to that."

Pure genius. Take a guy with 4.23 speed and make a power back out of him.

Dontcha just love it how "sports journalists" lament the fact that all they get is cliches from athletes? Yet, when they find an athlete who is entertaining they fall all over themselves to condemn the guy. "Sports journalists" are the worst of the politically correct. They're always a half beat behind. See Mitch Albom.

More here.