A Blog for the People...
Tough week? Just remember:I get knocked down
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But I get up again.
And you're never gonna keep me down..
...
Don't cry for me,
next-door-neighbor.
*Chumbawumba, whose Tubthumping brings
to my mind Cool Hand Luke.
After Kyle Sampson's testimony to Congress today, the White House issued a statement saying President Bush stands behind Attorney General Gonzales.
And history shows us when the President confirms he's got your back, that means you're on your way out. I'm a conservative bettor (my own money, so I know it's worth:) -- and the AG is scheduled to give his own version of events in the coming weeks, right? -- so my bet is he's gone by the end of April. If not sooner.
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It's the honesty, stupid.
"We have a situation that's highly improper. It corrodes the public's trust in our system of Justice," said Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy.
"It's wrong."
The war machine springs to life.
Opens up one eager eye.
Focusing it on the sky.
Where 99 red balloons go by.
99 Decision Street.
99 ministers meet.
To worry, worry, super-scurry.
Call the troops out in a hurry.
This is what we've waited for.
This is it boys, this is war.
The president is on the line
As 99 red balloons go by.
99 Knights of the air
Ride super-high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a superhero.
Everyone's a Captain Kirk.
With orders to identify.
To clarify and classify.
Scramble in the summer sky.
As 99 red balloons go by.
99 dreams I have had.
In every one a red balloon.
It's all over and I'm standing pretty.
In this dust that was a city.
If I could find a souvenier.
Just to prove the world was here.
And here is a red balloon
I think of you and let it go.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Michael Phelps is turning the world swimming championships into kid's play.
The American earned his third gold medal with another world record Wednesday night, producing the biggest time drop in the 200-meter butterfly in 48 years.
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His 1.62-second improvement was the largest in the 200 fly since American Mike Troy lowered his own record by 2.6 seconds in 1959. Phelps also became the first man to go under 1:53 in the event.
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Phelps was going so fast, the red line that tracks world record pace was actually behind him. He cruised home nearly two body lengths and a world away from Wu, who finished in 1:55.13 for China's first medal of the meet.
"He is simply way too fast, way too fast," Wu said through a translator. "I couldn't see him."
There's a war outside still ragin' ...
Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, offered a similar argument.
“This bill should be named the Date Certain for Surrender Act,” Mr. McCain said. “A second-year cadet at West Point could tell you that if you announce when the end will be, it’s a recipe for defeat.”
But Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska broke with most of his Republican colleagues in endorsing a timetable and opposing the Cochran amendment. “There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq,” Mr. Hagel said. “There will not be a military solution to Iraq.”...
“Iraq belongs to the 25 million Iraqis who live there,” Mr. Hagel said. “It doesn’t belong to the United States.”
"It's now time for the Congress to step forward and establish responsible boundaries and conditions for our continued military involvement in Iraq."-----------
and peace to his people on earth!
Years ago when I was temping at Apple Computer, we came back from the company-wide winter break, and the usual banter was issued: "How were your holidays?"
One salesman piped up, "Anybody who responds negatively to that one -- time off, opportunities to be with family and friends -- there's something sad there." Sure, maybe depression rises at that time of year. But pretty much, I think he got it right. Likewise with good weather: if you can't be happy on a warm sunny spring day, find something good about life despite your troubles, well something clearly is wrong.
Yesterday and today too, judging by last night's pink skies, qualifies as one of those days. Some of us have the natural bred out maybe, scurrying about indoors and sticking to our pre-planned schedules so it doesn't matter much what the natural world is giving us that particular day. But luckily, not everyone. "You see the smiles in the children's eyes, the way that the old folks smile... Makes you wish it was Springtime every day."
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We've got a good roadtrip planned, and I've got at least one Florida observation on tap from the all too brief vacation. But that can wait for another day. Right now, the birds are calling, the car needs running, and life awaits.
Make it a great day yourself, eh? "This is life, the one you get, so go and have a ball!"
Labels: Spring
Don't think the money system is buying you top quality national leadership? Still don't see a presidential candidate worth voting for? Look backward, angel, to the election of 1940, when the Republican and Democratic candidates jumped in the race during the summer of that year.
The average voter had no influence, and didn't expect any, in 1940. When Republicans nominated Wendell Willkie a few days after France surrendered to Germany, Grand Old Party leaders saw a need for an activist manager rather than one of the isolationists they would have chosen in quieter times. Franklin Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented third term by a charade in which the Chicago sewer commissioner, at an offstage microphone, set off a demonstration by bellowing for him over the public address system. The "draft" that blew the nomination to FDR was known forever after as "the voice from the sewer."
Both of those nominations were rigged by bosses with Election Day in sight. Had nominations been frozen months earlier, neither candidate might have been on the ticket. It's hard to say when FDR decided anything, but in January, he gave every sign of being ready to go home. Republican bosses didn't like Mr. Willkie, but by June, they needed him.
Eventually, reforms came. Out went party machines and in came presidential primaries that force candidates to raise buckets of money, which makes them start early. A slight improvement would be to move the primaries to later into the election year, but tourism interests and the show-biz arm of the news media dictate the reverse. If trends continue, by mid-century, the Iowa caucuses for the next election will be held on the first Tuesday after the inauguration of the winner of the last one.
The reforms didn't replace political hacks with voters. It replaced nominations by voices from the sewer with nominations by checks from the penthouse. That's how we get the choices we get.
...
And although this is a fight I can lose,
the accused is an Innocent Man.*
...
Most folks wouldn't support this kind of "successful business plan" knowing the blood that would be paid to achieve it.
Special circle for the suckers who played true believer when they preached and promised about helping "Iraqi women and children" advance their country. Multinational corporations as saviors to protect and respect you?
Respect Life.
Iraq’s oil reserves — thought to be the second largest in the world — have always been high on the corporate wish list. In 1998, Kenneth Derr, then chief executive of Chevron, told a San Francisco audience, “Iraq possesses huge reserves of oil and gas — reserves I’d love Chevron to have access to.”
A new oil law set to go before the Iraqi Parliament this month would, if passed, go a long way toward helping the oil companies achieve their goal. The Iraq hydrocarbon law would take the majority of Iraq’s oil out of the exclusive hands of the Iraqi government and open it to international oil companies for a generation or more.
In March 2001, the National Energy Policy Development Group (better known as Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy task force), which included executives of America’s largest energy companies, recommended that the United States government support initiatives by Middle Eastern countries “to open up areas of their energy sectors to foreign investment.” One invasion and a great deal of political engineering by the Bush administration later, this is exactly what the proposed Iraq oil law would achieve. It does so to the benefit of the companies, but to the great detriment of Iraq’s economy, democracy and sovereignty.
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The foreign companies would not have to invest their earnings in the Iraqi economy, partner with Iraqi companies, hire Iraqi workers or share new technologies. They could even ride out Iraq’s current “instability” by signing contracts now, while the Iraqi government is at its weakest, and then wait at least two years before even setting foot in the country. The vast majority of Iraq’s oil would then be left underground for at least two years rather than being used for the country’s economic development.
Labels: Mideast Tomfoolery, Spring
A William Carlos William poem comes back to life.
Williams wrote "About a Little Girl" in 1921 after diagnosing Michael and Carl Lund's mother with leukemia when she was 11. Along with his literary career, Williams had a medical practice in Rutherford, N.J.
Lund said Williams was a friend of his mother's family, and thought after reviewing medical tests that she was likely to die. The poem contrasts a happy, outgoing "angel" of a child with the death he believed would overtake her.
As it turned out, Williams' diagnosis was wrong and the child, Marian Macy, lived until 2002 — two weeks short of 92. The poem, which Williams signed with his initials, WCW, was passed from Marian's mother to Marian, then to her two sons.
Robert Hamblin, director of Southeast Missouri's Center for Faulkner Studies, said he doesn't know why Williams didn't publish the poem.
"To find it at this late date," he said, "is wonderful."
Unlike the U.S. soldiers who die in this conflict, the names of most Iraqi victims will never be published, consigned to the anonymity that death in the Iraqi capital brings these days. Hayawi was neither a politician nor a warlord. Few beyond Mutanabi Street even knew his name. Yet his quiet life deserves more than a footnote, if for no other reason than to remember a man who embraced what Baghdad was and tried to make sense of a country that doesn't make sense anymore. Gone with him are small moments of life, gentle simply by virtue of being ordinary, now lost in the rubble strewn along a street that will never be the same.
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In its heyday, this street embodied a generation-old saying: Cairo writes, Beirut publishes, Baghdad reads.
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When the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258, it was said that the Tigris River ran red one day, black another. The red came from the blood of nameless victims, massacred by ferocious horsemen. The black came from the ink of countless books from libraries and universities. Last Monday, the bomb on Mutanabi Street detonated at 11:40 a.m. The pavement was smeared with blood. Fires that ensued sent up columns of dark smoke, fed by the plethora of paper.
Labels: Spring
One of my lessons cancelled yesterday, so I got in a nice long swim at the pool. Today, it's melting another 4 inches or so, and the grass patches and daffodil sprouts are showing. Running my errands, I'm kicking trash out of the gutters just to watch the water run faster. March 12, March 21 -- what's the difference?
Don't much follow basketball, so no bother to me the weekend's loss or rankings. Maybe they are overrated, but it would be interesting to see WI and FL match up, if only to see weaknesses exposed. WI plays a slow game, I'm told, but it's hard to get everyone to go along with that.
Labels: Spring
Cal Smith:
Hello Country Bumpkin...
Conway Twitty:
Tight Fittin Jeans
Van Halen:
Dance the Night Away
Whitesnake:
Here I Go Again
Conway and Loretta Lynn:
God Bless America... Again.
"The National Hockey League will not accept the use of a stick in the manner and fashion in which Mr. Simon used his Thursday night," league disciplinarian Colin Campbell said in a statement.
"As a consequence of his actions, Mr. Simon has forfeited the privilege of playing in an NHL game again this season, regardless of how many games the Islanders ultimately play."
The Islanders began the day seventh in the Eastern Conference, three points above the playoff cutoff.
Sing out, sister.
"...because we think the lyrics are so gorgeous and the tune itself beautiful..."
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Off of Upstairs at Eric's
Not on YouTube: "Midnight...'s rainin outside..."
Great song. No really
Classic.
"Give a little respect"
Come to me, cover me, hold me.
Do you remem-bah...?
The Circus.
Oh L'Amour!
Blue Savannah song.
"I like to read a murder mystery.
I like to know the killer isn't me."
... I just do.
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Then there's Electric Company. Turn on, who knows what you'll learn, seems to have been the theory.
EC Classic:
"It's the plumber. I've come... to fix... the SINK!"
" ... Pants on Fire ... "
"We're pleased that Professor Kaplan has finally submitted his account of what took place in the classroom on Feb. 15th. It's clear from the various accounts of what took place that day that there is a disagreement over what was said and the context of the remarks, but it's also clear that his remarks were deeply hurtful to some individuals, and for that, Dean Davis has apologized."
As to what happened in my Legal Process class February 15, the context is critical. In that class, I was doing my job as a professor of law. I was teaching my students that the law is an obstacle to, rather than an instrumental tool for, the needs of displaced ethnic groups.
Wondering what was behind that recent foreign swing by tough-talking Veep Cheney? Tom Blackburn's on it:
Giving press briefings in disguise should have given Mr. Cheney the chance to be talking about something else when the Libby verdict came in. The jury failed him, though, by taking too long. He got home ahead of the verdict.
He made news abroad. He threatened North Korea, with whom President Bush just made a sort of deal: "The regime in Pyongyang has much to prove." He threatened Iran: The president hasn't "taken any option off the table."
Those were blasts at the Axis of Evil. The world is used to them. But Mr. Cheney went on to threaten China, whose recent activities are "not consistent with China's goal of a peaceful rise."
That's a pretty sassy way to talk to nuclear power with a large military Establishment that, unlike ours, is not tied down in a foreign country policing a civil war and staving off admissions of error by the politicians who sent it there. Mr. Cheney's tough talk might be more credible if the muscle to back it up weren't getting sore in a war of the administration's own making.
The organization on campus representing free speech for academics* issues a statement, and two more former students offer their thoughts:
Ok, I support academic freedom, no prob. But what about some critical thought, too? If Kaplan's provoking students is a teaching method, it sucks. I had Kaplan in 1991. He was, and I assume still is, one who does not teach by "conventional" methods. I remember coming out of his classes angry, for all the baiting he did. I don't remember whether it was feminists, gays, liberals, or what particular group was the bait de jur, but it hit me where I lived. Did I learn more about criminal law because he provoked me? I don't think so. My lousy grade in the class proves it. Academic freedom, sure. But let's also be open to critique of methods. 6:39 PM
John Kindley said...
While in a comment above I expressed the wish that law students would speak up and have the courage to challenge their professors in class when they say something dubious and/or offensive, instead of running to the Dean and creating a media circus, I also have to second communitygal's observation above as a former student of Kaplan, about Kaplan's teaching style.
There did seem to be a lot of unnecessary baiting, and the free association lecture style, typically delivered while pacing back and forth, often seemed to smack more of the personal and subjective than the substantial and objective. I remember being surprised at some of the things he said in class on that score, and fellow students expressing dissatisfaction outside of class with things he said.
Oddly, I also remember once being surprised when he said something, in the space of about 15 seconds, that was actually quite lucid, insightful and substantial about the point of law or policy under discussion. Kaplan seemed to realize it was out of the ordinary for him too, as he followed it up with something like, "Now how about that?" I regretted that he did not lecture in that manner more often.
I hesitated to say this, because I have nothing personal against Kaplan and liked him, and I agree wholeheartedly with the Committee's statement. On the other hand, perhaps this very unfortunate incident will motivate Kaplan to re-evaluate his lecture style in a positive way. 8:56 AM
This song should get more than just funeral play, don't you think? Francis was an earthy man.
And to keep things balanced, here's a headbanger for the lunch hour. Because there might be a little Rob Ray in all of us.
Happy Monday.
Congratulations to the Fond du Lac Cardinals, who were superior in all aspects of their game to the Spartans. It's Fond du Lac's first state championship, after feeling the pain as runner up last year and working through it.
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More online commentary on the embattled Wisconsin law professor, from former students who have sat through this teaching style in recent years:
I had Professor Kaplan for two classes, both during my final semester of law school. Based on my experience with Kaplan and after following these stories in the news I would bet that these two things are true: (1) He totally said the things he is quoted as saying, and (2) Anyone who believed that when he said those things he was actually expressing his opinion or belief is an idiot that doesn't deserve to be in law school.
Kaplan's teaching method isn't exactly "traditional." It isn't exactly what I'd call "good" either, but that doesn't make him a bigot. He likes to get a discussion going, and he really likes to talk. In the course, you would read a bunch of books and articles about philosophy or jurisprudence, and then go to class and talk about baseball or something like that. The discussion is rarely very linear but it does relate back to the reading material, sometimes. But Kaplan wanted you to think. He did make outrageous statements to try to get you to respond to those statements. Everyone in the class with half a brain knew he wasn't serious most of the time.
I had Kaplan for a class on Law and Theology two years ago, and I can attest that the "10-minute rant" is definitely his forte. And he always skirted this line between genius and crazy. His references were so oblique, and strung together so rapidly, that it was difficult to keep up, let alone comprehend. I came away thinking that Kaplan was one of the most profoundly intelligent men I'd ever met; the depth of his knowledge was staggering.
So, naturally, I find myself wondering about the larger context of his Hmong commentary. I suppose making sweeping generalizations about the violent tendencies of a people is going to be offensive, at least to someone. But I'm still curious. I'm sure he had a point in there somewhere.
Two more superb games of well played hockey. It's $8 for the two-game sessions, money well spent.
Tomah was mighty impressive playing Superior. Back and forth goals, with Superior showing streaks. Tomah takes the lead midway through the second, before Superior nets one ... and then another. Tomah stays with them, only down one. Five minutes into the 3rd period, Superior scores short-handed. 5-3 final.
Tomah handled their loss as well as their wins. Their crowd support was tremendous -- community, not just chanting students. I suspect we'll be seeing them again; old ethics don't die easy. And I erred in not updating my information: two seasons ago, Tomah built a new rink with the hotel taxes generated in growing Tomah/Warrens. With upgraded resources in a committed community, you can build a team of winners. Well done.
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The second game was low scoring, 2-1 final in favor of Fond du Lac. It was a hard fought win, with solid shots and passing but neither team dominating. Some nifty defensive moves too. Lots of penalties, but no scoring on the power plays.
Tomorrow's championship game is on channel 27 if you're local.
Crazy days out there, eh? Let me address a controversy springing up here in Wisconsin:
A professor at the law school earns himself nationwide press for allegedly racist comments he made in class about the Hmong population. (Google search if you are curious). The dean listens to students, talks to the professor, and apologizes for the comments, stating the professor's words should have been better chosen to illustrate his point. So a simple case of miscommunication, right?
A session to discuss the matter was held on campus last night. Sadly, the professor chooses not to explain his remarks*, so that the miscommunication could be discussed openly in the marketplace of ideas. Instead, the rumor mill thrives as though the "truth" could be found by a majority vote, rather than considering and discussing honestly the facts at issue. Obviously, more information is needed.
Some now suggest the professor may be choosing an opposite tactic: modeling himself after Jesus**, a bit of performance art perhaps?
"You intended to compare Kaplan to Christ? Really?" So did you really intend to say that when someone models their behavior on Christ's they are purporting to be the equivalent of him? I'm simply pointing out that the behavior people are finding incomprehensible is a core example for behavior in our tradition.
12:41 PM.
Fwiw, I think you made a mistake in characterizing one of your links today.
Gerald Cox wrote a column recently in the Badger Herald. People write in online to comment. What you linked to, I believe, was a representation from an online "round up" of comments -- those 3 paragraphs being 3 separate comments the Herald editorial staff chose from the thread. Representative, well written, most in agreement with the Herald editorial? I'm not sure.
But I'm pretty sure Cox is a columnist, not a student in the class.
The event was set up as an educational session, with an expert who was supposed to teach about the Hmong experience, not as an examination of what happened in the class. The offended students were to be given time to state that they were offended but were not going to go into the story of why they were offended. That was made ABUNDANTLY clear to me before the meeting. To blame Kaplan for not showing up and CHANGING THE PLANNED SUBJECT is absurd. Get YOUR facts straight. You want things in context. THAT's the context. Now, care to reframe what you've said? 10:17 AM
Tomah looked sharp against Homestead, killing off power plays with solid defensive fundamentals. 4-2 final, they'll see Superior tomorrow night and will need to bring their D from the drop.
KM-Mukwanago came out flat for the first two periods, and it was just too late when they finally showed some spark. 2-0 Superior after the first, scoreless in the second, 2-1, then 3-1, then an empty netter when KM pulled their goalie (to add an extra man to the offense as the clock ticked down). Sealed.
Fondy played like the defending state champs they are,* outstanding in handling a strong Stevens Point squad. Fast, physical, some solid passing and shots on goal. Another empty netter, otherwise the 7-3 score holds.
Finally, Eau Claire Memorial quieted Madison West. Big schools, long benches. Lots of fans on both sides, lots of chanting: WeCan'tHearYou... 8-3 final. "Can you hear me now?"
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Tomah is a personal favorite. With no permanent rink, the team plays in the fairgrounds on a slightly non-regulation sheet of ice the program/parents/community build and disassemble each year. (The building size compromises the layout.) For the mechanics (example), community, defense, and for seemingly showing no nerves their first trip to state, I'd like to see them knock out the Sectional 1 champs. ... Superior is something like 5th in their home conference this year, but then they play in a MN conference against the Duluth schools and Cloquet. Sounds odd, but geographically and demographically it makes sense. ... Fond du Lac looked above and beyond tonight, and I think the Eau Claire score was inflated.
CORRECTION: Fond du Lac was last year's state runner up, losing to Univ. School Milwaukee. They got knocked out by Homestead in OT this year, early in the playoffs.
Labels: hockey
"Nothing you can do that can't be done. Nothing you can write that can't be run..."
