Crosblog

...it's only fair to warn you, so will my wife and I. If you know of a good place for a blogger get-together, please let Karol know.

Tonight is poker night, as Maddy and I have been playing in the Texas Hold 'Em tournament at the Dixie Tavern in Smyrna. Maddy is well in the hunt to make the finals and compete for the trip to Vegas that is the grand prize. I have yet to register on the leader board. Time to face the facts - if poker were Saturday morning pro wrestling, my wife would come to the ring wearing a fancy robe, with an entourage and rock music blaring as the announcers sang her praises. I'd be the guy already in the ring with plain trunks and a mullet, whose name the announcer would get wrong.

But hey, you couldn't have the show without those guys, too, right?

Protests in Lebanon bear fruit.

The pro-Syria government of Lebanon is resigning, as calls for a complete Syrian withdrawl are getting louder and louder from an increasingly emboldened Lebanese populace.

And as an added side benefit, I can enjoy the moment without worrying if any politicians I hate will get any credit for this.

Elections were held over the weekend in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, both places with similar dynamics - ruled by fairly unpopular strongmen seeking to legitimize their rule with more or less democratic elections, but trying to make sure things turn out OK, you know, like they did for Hugo Chavez.

Neither election went particularly well, as independent observes have declined to categorize either as fair. The Kyrgyz election will have runoffs March 13, although, in a notable race, President Askar Akayev's daughter will have to face a runoff after she failed to cross the 50% threshold. (The younger Akayev has been considered a possible successor to her father, who at the moment, is saying he will not stand in Presidential elections in October. He's barred constitutionally, but these things have a way of changing when they have to.)

Tajikistan's election was apparently pretty much just outright stolen, as President Emomali Rakhmonov is claiming his crew won 80% of the vote. Opposition media was shut down, campaigning stifled by the authorities, the usual. Rakhmonov explains we should just chill:

Commenting on criticism of the elections, Rakhmonov warned Sunday it is "dangerous to force democracy" on a diverse and fractious society like Tajikistan.

Somebody get this bozo a television set.

Tip - Instapundit.

Also - Publius Pundit is covering pro-democracy movements worldwide. This'll be added to the blogroll.

Everyone who's of a mind to blog about the Oscars has already done it, so you should read them instead.

Start with Petitdov - who's pro-Clive Owen and less enthused with Salma Hayek. (On a wholly unrelated note - though I still think Owen would make a find Bond, I'm intrigued by the idea of Nip/Tuck's Julian McMahon taking the role.)

She also reminds me, as I mentally cycle through my political views, how grateful I am that nothing I believe in strongly will ever have to endure to vocal public support of Sean Penn.

Steve Silver (who's highly accurate Oscar Picks I happened to mirror) blogs pretty much the whole thing. He pans Chris Rock, props for Edna Mode presenting best costume, and yet another vote in the "For God's Sake, Sean, Pull The Stick Out!" Category.

Tim Robbins seemed to get a kick out of Rock's "boring us with his politics" intro. Robbins should have started by explaining his views on Social Security reform. That would have been hilarious.

And don't forget Dawn Summers. (who may be running down pedestrians even as we speak) Her succinct Oscar-blogging notes the grievous error that was Jake Gyllenhall shaving his head, also wishes Penn would remove his rectal redwood, and expresses polite surprise at Antonio Banderas singing, which I think is a polite way of saying he sucked monkey chunks. (He sings OK, though, at least he did in Evita, and during the "Far, Far Away Idol" portion of the Shrek 2 DVD.)

Chris Rock was moderately amusing, although I'd like to hear the stuff he wasn't allowed to say. And if Sean Penn's advocacy can do for Jude Law what it did for John Kerry, I look forward to seeing Law in my local dinner theater any day now.

Voice in Head: ...which differ from your political commentary how?

Me: Shut up! That's how!

Oscar night begins, and just to make sure I'm on record as being wrong, here are my largely uninformed predictions. (Of the nominated films - I've seen only Million Dollar Baby, the Incredibles, and Collateral.)

Best Picture:
Will Win: Million Dollar Baby
Should Win: Million Dollar Baby - Great movie, they love Clint, and it pissed off right-wingers. That's what we call a triple threat.

Best Director:
Will Win: Martin Scorsese - "The Aviator"
Should Win: Clint Eastwood - "Million Dollar Baby" - Time for the thinly-disguised lifetime achievement award.

Best Actor:
Will Win: Jamie Foxx - "Ray"
Should Win: Jamie Foxx - "Ray" - Other nominees should save money on pants. They won't have to stand up during the ceremony.

Best Actress:
Will Win: Hillary Swank - "Million Dollar Baby"
Should Win: Catalina Sandino Moreno - "Maria Full of Grace" - Just reading about how she did the scene where she swallowed the drugs deserves an award.

Best Supporting Actor:
Will Win: Morgan Freeman - "Million Dollar Baby"
Should Win: Thomas Haden Church - "Sideways" - Come on, it's Lowell from Wings and Ned from Ned and Stacy! This guy's earned an Oscar many times over.

Best Supporting Actress:
Will Win: Cate Blanchett - "The Aviator"
Should Win: Sophie Okonedo - "Hotel Rwanda" - Hotel Rwanda needs an award, and I don't think Cheadle has much of a shot in his category.

Best Original Screenplay:
Will Win: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
Should Win: "The Incredibles" - Fine, don't nominate Craig T. Nelson because the movie was animated. But the story still ruled.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Will Win: "Sideways"
Should Win: "Sideways" - As long as it ain't "The Motorcycle Diaries", I'm cool.

Compare to Steve Silver's probably more informed picks, or listen to Roger Simon, who actually voted in the darn thing, and probably got a bunch of cool screener DVD's.

Since the upcoming Superman movie has gone with an unknown in the lead role - apparently the brains behind the long-rumored Wonder Woman movie are doing the same.



Meet Satu Rautaharju, who probably hasn't done anything you've heard of, unless you watch "Dawson's Creek." (And, hopefully, you didn't.) She looks like she might fit the part, though. Hopefully they've burned the wretched scripts that were oozing around back when Sarah Michelle Gellar was in the running.

Stephen Mobley deserves to be executed. He shot John Collins in the back of the head during a robbery of a Domino's while Collins was on his knees. While in prison, he said he was going to apply for a manager's job at Domino's after he got out because he heard there was an opening. His execution is scheduled for Tuesday. The Board of Pardons and Paroles held a clemency hearing today.

I think Mobley's sentence should be commuted to life in prison without parole.

John Collins' family apparently support Mobley's sentence being commuted.

"If both of John Collins' parents and the rest of John Collins' immediate family, are asking for Mr. Mobley's death sentence to be commuted to life without parole because his execution will cause them more pain, or for any other personal convictions through which they are now going, I defer to them and will respectfully join in their request," - that's from the prosecutor who convicted Mobley.

It's common to say victims have the right to feel however they want to feel, which really isn't saying anything at all. Everyone has the right to feel however they want about anything - this is America. The question is whether how they feel matters or not in deciding what to do with the person who victimized them, and it's cynical, hypocritical, and unsympathetic to say that victims who agree with you are courageous or have special importance in the process and should be listened to and those who don't "have every right to feel the way they do," but are too blinded by grief to have their views taken seriously by the rest of us.

I think Stephen Mobley deserves to be executed. But the people who know better than anyone else what Mobley did when he took John Collins from the world are asking for mercy.

That matters a great deal, and I hope the state of Georgia spares him.

You scored as Buffy Summers. You are a very strong individual. You do, however, have some trouble admitting how you truely feel. You've experienced a lot during your life, but you more than manage. Always willing to help, you're a great friend. Buffy Summers 58% Xander Harris 50% Willow Rosenberg 50% Rupert Giles 50% Dawn Summers 50% Anya 50% Tara Maclay 46% Spike 21% Which Buffy The Vampire Slayer Character Are You Most Like!? created with QuizFarm.com

Bill Cosby may joke about the football team, but Temple University usually has a pretty good basketball team, mainly because of their coach, Hall of Famer John Chaney. Unfortunately, this isn't one of Temple's better years, and it may be getting to Chaney. While losing to St. Joseph's, Chaney got upset, thinking that St. Joe's was getting away with fouls, and decided to do something about it, sending in Nehemiah Ingram, who doesn't usually play a whole lot, but he is a big guy. Ingram fouled out in four minutes, which was his job. In the process, one particularly hard foul sent St. Joe's senior forward John Bryant down hard. Philadelphia sports fans have a certain reputation, and Temple students certainly lived up to it that night:

Temple's loyal fans took the bait. They cheered as Bryant lay on the floor, rolling in pain. A few fans spit on him.

And, when everyone thought Bryant just had an owie-boo-boo, Chaney was equally conciliatory:

The opportunity for getting off as easy as he did should have been lost the moment he responded to a question about Bryant's injury Tuesday night.

"That's what happens," he said. "I'm a mean, ornery, son of a bitch. You understand? When I see something wrong, I try to right it."

John Bryant's basketball career is over. His arm is broken, and a miraculous recovery puts him back on the court in 3-4 weeks. While St. Joe's has been playing pretty well recently, almost nobody thinks they'll still be playing at the end of March. Chaney now grasps he goofed:

"I'll call him and tell him I'm sorry it happened. If I get permission from his coach [Phil Martelli], I'll call him and wish him the very best."

To punish himself, Chaney will suspend himself for Temple's next game, and in deference to Chaney's legend, the Atlantic 10 seems okay with that, although that was before they heard how seriously Bryant was injured.

Sportswriters apparently disagree, thinking that Chaney has finally crossed the line, and needs to go:

With the X-ray that confirmed Bryant's broken arm, Chaney's equity should be gone. It probably should have been gone long before, but hey, Chaney didn't really choke Gimelstob. And he didn't really kill Calipari. And he didn't really beat up a heckler at that Philadelphia banquet.

Well, guess what? This time, he really did it. Chaney really hurt Bryant. No, he wasn't the one who gave the airborne Bryant that fateful and unnecessary shove, but he might as well.

I concur. Coaches have no business using players the way Tony Soprano uses Silvio and Paulie.

The Chicago Tribune has a good update on this soon to be infamous story about the man suing his ex-girlfriend for allegedly deceiving him into getting pregnant.

As Mithras "I Can't Think Of A Clever Nickname At The Moment, But I'm Working On It" rightfully points out - what the guy says happened ain't necessarily what happened. The court just ruled that if his allegations were true, that could be the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, but it can't be theft, because it was a gift. (If that counts as a gift he gave her, I think a lot of men's Christmas and birthday shopping just got a lot easier.)

In any event, the woman wants to make it clear that, in her view, her ex is full of it:

But the lawyer for Irons, who also is a Chicago physician, says the baby was conceived the usual way and that Phillips has concocted a story to get out of paying child support.

So now they get to have a trial about this. The common view, which I share, is if it's he said-she said, he loses, because her version of how she got pregnant makes a bunch more sense, which means he's going to need someone to back up his story.

Both parties to a lawsuit in Chicago received legal victories today...

A woman accused of using her lover's sperm to impregnate herself without his knowledge can be held liable for the unwitting father's emotional pain, the Illinois Appellate Court has ruled...

Phillips alleges that he and Irons, who practices internal medicine, never had intercourse during their four-month affair, although they did have oral sex three times.

His suit contends that Irons, without his knowledge, kept some of his semen and used it to impregnate herself.

But it wasn't a complete victory for the guy:

But the judges agreed with the lower court's decision to dismiss fraud and theft claims against Irons.

They agreed with Irons' lawyers that she didn't steal the sperm.

"She asserts that when plaintiff 'delivered' his sperm, it was a gift-- an absolute and irrevocable transfer of title to property from a donor to a donee," the decision said. "There was no agreement that the original deposit would be returned upon request."

In an effort to get out this decision promptly, the Illinois Appellate court blew through loads of precedent, quickly learning some of the litigants' arguments were just impossible to swallow.

Update - Some new info is out, including her side of the story.

1. Eason Jordan: Slanderer or Slanderee?

2. Jeff Gannon: Proof of all that is evil on the right or...who is he, again?

And, of course...

Dawn Summers: Evil or Crazy?

For those who have yet to make up their minds, I'd suggest you check out who she'd vote off the island on Lost.

Putin swears his system is democratic, or at least, not significantly less democratic than the U.S.

While I share the lack of confidence in Vlad the Impaler's rhetoric about freedom, given the fact that Russia has like, three independent media outlets left, this was a comment I appreciated:

Putin added: "We are not going to make up, to invent any kind of special Russian democracy. We are going to commit to the fundamental principles that have been established in the world."

Nice reference to the tendency of autocrats to come up with a unique definition of "democracy" under which they never get removed from power, such as Uzbekistan Buttmunch-In-Chief Islam Karimov and Turmenistan's Megalomaniacal Nutjob For Life Niyazov. Every time a leader says "our people have democracy", there should be a follow up question. "Really? How then, would they get rid of you, if they ever wanted to do such a thing." And Putin should probably have an answer ready for that one, just to be on the safe side.

They have a jury in the Michael Jackson case.

A Stone Mountain state rep is sponsoring a bill that would ban pit bulls in Georgia. Under the bill, the import and sale of new dogs would be banned, and dogs currently living in Georgia would be required to be neutered and muzzled when in public. Michael at Of The Mind suggests the bill may not be a bad idea. I must respectfully disagree.

I've personally met only two pit bulls in my life, and they were both perfectly friendly dogs. That limited anecdotal evidence aside, the problem with pit bull attacks rests with the owners, people who get it in their thick skulls that they want a vicious dog that scares the crap out of everyone. Ban the Pits, and the morons will still be with you, and they will still want a big scary dog, and they'll get a different one. Perhaps the most notorious dog-attack case in recent memory involved a breed called the Presa Canario, which is bigger than your average Pit and has a worse reputation. Ban the Presas, and the morons will move on to Rottweilers. And Rotts are in the top 20 as far as most popular breeds, so you can just forget trying to ban them.

If there's a problem with dog attacks, the solution is to make sure the owners are held fully accountable under both civil and criminal law. Training a dog to be violent isn't really that different from setting a bomb. If someone happens to be around when the dog, or the bomb, goes off, they're going to get hurt. Punish accordingly. Banning a breed of dog is sound and fury signifying nothing.

...you believe in boycotting those businesses that profit from deals with oppressive countries that disrespect human rights, but out of all the oppressive regimes you could target, only Israel moves you to act.

...or, if you think a Jewish reporter you've compared to a concentration camp guard because his newspaper has been critical of you is the one who needs to grow a thicker skin.

...the right to die. Stories about the case keep referring to it as being about the right to die, but that presupposes a number of facts. If Terri Schiavo never expressed any desire to die, and if she's capable of responding to her surroundings, and if there is the potential for her condition to improve if certain as yet untried therapies are attempted, and if Michael Schiavo's desire to have his wife die is motivated by something other than acting on her wishes, then causing her death should strike even right-to-die supporters as wrong. Every question raised above has at least some support, and the medical questions have doctors supporting each position.

This is hardly a true right-to-die case, such as Ramon Sampedro - whose story became the movie "The Sea Inside." If Terri Schiavo lives, it's no defeat for well meaning people who genuinely favor a person's right to end their own life. On the other hand, if she dies without a real inquiry into the legitimate questions raised about her condition and her wishes, it risks giving weight to the argument that the right-to-die movement is more concerned with hastening the deaths of those whose care would be expensive and burdensome than with respecting the privacy and wishes of the patient.

Which would be a shame, because this isn't a right to die case.

Iran is up to it again, jailing and intimidating people for expressing displeasure with the regime. Hat tip to Mithras, who has the story here.

And while Iran is in your thoughts, spare a moment to pray for those dead, injured, and missing in the earthquake that recently hit .

Robert Mugabe is 81 today! For his birthday, he got a renewal of EU sanctions.

May he get everything he deserves on his birthday, and more.

Apparently someone got ahold of Britney Spears' honeymoon pictures and sold them to US Weekly. Apparently Mrs. Federline is somewhat upset about this. Apparently this dispute is news, perhaps under the theory that time she spends complaining about the pictures is time she's not spending singing, which is a net plus for mankind.

I get that. What I don't get is why this is news in China and Malaysia.

Inspired by the Ukraine Revolution - democracy activists try to preempt a rigged election in Kyrgyzstan. Their election is Feb. 27 - hopefully word will get out either way.

Tip - Corner.

My question - what are people's thoughts regarding giving a boy the first name of "Truman"?

Prompted by test-driving the Baby Name Wizard's Name Voyager, which lets you see how popular various names have been throughout the ages. Apparently the peak years for "Gilbert" were in the 1930's. Link via The Corner.

Which is the better excuse? "Karl Rove did it," or "Is it because I'm a lesbian?"

Rove now has a green light to just go ahead and start installing mind control chips in people, in the middle of Times Square, at noon. "Yeah sure, he planted the CBS memos, he rigged the Ohio vote, he put a chip in your head that makes you want to invest your Social Security in the stock market...sure he did..."

Tip - Karol.

I'm 69% Southerner. This despite not being much of a NASCAR fan, although like any good American, I know it's fun when bad things happen to Jeff Gordon.

Tip - Southern Appeal.

1. We held the election already. Bush won. Michael Moore is dealing with it better than you are.

2. Freddie Prinze Jr., couldn't act like he was in pain if you drove an SUV over his foot. Cast accordingly.

Ralph Reed is running for Lt. Governor of Georgia.

Yeah, that turned out about the way you'd expect it would.

Contender for funniest line uttered by a guy who was completely serious:

“I’ve never seen anyone less amenable to listening to our point of view.”

Method of exposing oil traders to their "point of view":

When a trader left the building shortly before 2pm, using a security swipe card, a protester dropped some coins on the floor and, as he bent down to pick them up, put his boot in the door to keep it open.

Two minutes later, three Greenpeace vans pulled up and another 30 protesters leapt out and were let in by the others.

They made their way to the trading floor, blowing whistles and sounding fog horns, encountering little resistance from security guards. Rape alarms were tied to helium balloons to float to the ceiling and create noise out of reach. The IPE conducts “open outcry” trading where deals are shouted across the pit. By making so much noise, the protesters hoped to paralyse trading.

Stunned, truly stunned I am that the oil traders were so unamenable to such reasoned discourse.

Tip - Instapundit.

German Shorthaired Pointer "Carlee" is the Westminster Dog Show Best in Show champion, and to her credit, is a very impressive looking dog. Watching dog shows is usually a very frustrating time for those of us who own real dogs, since the prizes are usually won either by poodles who appear to have been groomed by frustrated hedge sculptors, or by tiny bits of fluff that technically, aren't even dogs. (Look, I'm not disparaging the merits of Papillons, Yorkies, Poms, or what-have-you as pets. They may be cute. They may be friendly. They may be well trained. Nevertheless, they remain rodents. Not dogs. Rodents.)

My breed, the Keeshond, went out early as usual. The Keeshond competes in the Non-Sporting group, which technically means "useless." Working, sporting, hounds - these dogs all have a purpose. My dogs desire to sit on the couch and watch TV has been sanctioned by the American Kennel Club itself. The Non-Sporting group was won by something called a Tibetan Terrier.



I presume that's the front end. In any event, soon after he won, Beijing issued a press release saying the dog was a Chinese Terrier, and had always been a Chinese Terrier, and anyone who said otherwise was violating China's sovreignty. I presume Richard Gere is on the case.

The Keeshond (which never wins these things) actually looked pretty good, I thought.



Of course, there's the name: "Laser's N' Sync With Trumpet?" What the blue hell is up with that? That dog needs to bite somebody.

And in any event...



"We could have taken all of 'em!"

I have a case going to trial today. It's a case where I cannot, for the life of me, think of any valid defense that can be raised. The supposed "slam-dunk" cases usually worry me more then the tough ones, because if I know it's a tough case, I also know why it's a tough case, and win or lose, at least I'll know I prepared accordingly.

Then I come to work, and I hear that earlier this morning, one of our policemen was killed on duty.

Some days just suck.

...what Robert Mugabe doesn't need from anyone. Zimbabwe's upcoming "election" sprang to mind when reading about the whole Belarus thing, since there's a similarity there: Both states have relatively strong neighbors who wield great influence, but have chosen to stand on the sidelines while the bad guy does bad guy stuff. In Belarus, the complacent neighbor is Russia, in Zimbabwe, it's South Africa, which is thrilled to hear that there is somewhat less political violence in Zimbabwe now.

Translation? "For a fat girl, you don't sweat much."

Morgan Tsvangirai, who in my mind can't get a Nobel Peace Prize quick enough, officially announced his campaign, running on the simple issue that Mugabe has wrecked the place:

Almost a quarter of century after independence, Zimbabweans are as poor as they were in 1970, fewer people have formal sector jobs now than in 1980 and life expectancy is lower than in 1960.

Mugabe's response? "White people like the MDC."

Mugabe's plans are to keep stealing elections and beating the crap out of the opposition to yawns from abroad. (Mugabe did throw off the chains of racist colonial oppression, you know. The fact that he is now a racist colonial oppressor himself...mildly amusing irony.) Eventually, the opposition will stop taking part in the sham elections, Mugabe will "win" in a "landslide", and everyone will conclude the opposition has no popular support. This plan had moderate success in Iran, and appears to be on the agenda in Venezuela.

Dawa Party leader Ibrahim Al-Jaafari apparently has the inside track, as the major parties in the United Iraqi list appear to have agreed on him as their candidate. And while they'll have to form a coalition to govern, as the top vote-getter, they'll certainly get to pick the PM, once the challenges are settled.

Which presumably means Interim PM Iyad Allawi is just that - interim. It'll be interesting to see if he angles to join the soon to be ruling coalition, perhaps with an eye on the President's job, or if he keeps his party in opposition, hoping to reassert himself after the United List builds themselves a record. (Nice thing about being the opposition party is the other guy's responsible for everything.)

Interesting look at the different approaches to supporting openness and democracy in Belarus by Peter Savodnik in Slate. To egregiously oversimply (but hey, what's a blog for) - the EU is working with the regime on various projects. Downside - this requires approval from a regime pretty much everyone admits has no plans of ever accepting any kind of real reform or accountability. Upside - they get to stay in Belarus. Meanwhile, the U.S. is supporting opposition parties and trying to groom prospective challengers to chief mucky muck Alexander Lukaschenko. Downside - they've been tossed from Belarus, and are now operating out of Ukraine and Lithuania. Upside - hey, this could actually work.

Despite being close by - the Ukraine solution probably won't work for Belarus. As Savodnik notes, former Ukrainian president Kuchma may not have been the biggest fan of true representative democracy, but he cared enough about world opinion not to send in the tanks when it became clear his country wanted his crew out of power. Nobody thinks Lukaschenko shares Kuchma's concern for world opinion. One guy who might care a little, however, is Vladimir Putin. Putin isn't bothered by authoritarianism per se, and while no fan of Lukaschenko personally, he's in no hurry to see him go, since he is anti-Western, and his removal would be seen as a weakening of Russia's influence.

Daniel Drezner is soliciting suggestions as to how to democratize Belarus. A couple of people suggest getting Belarus' neighbors to cut Lukaschenko off completely, which sounds like a pretty good idea to me. Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania all might be willing to go along, but Putin would be the sticky wicket. I'd like to think he could be encouraged to help develop a more responsible voice for the pro-Russian contingent that certainly exists in Belarus, but Putin seems to treat this sort of thing as a zero-sum game, and a democratic Belarus will probably be a less reliable ally than one run by an asshole who's nominally on your side.

It doesn't sound like Belarus is turning orange any time soon. Putin prefers a horrid, reliable ally to a free yet unreliable neighbor. Europe prefers stability and quiet, admittedly ineffective dialogue, and U.S. efforts to groom credible opposition face a leader more then willing to forcibly crush any efforts to remove him from power.

Congratulations, Alexander Lukaschenko - you've passed the global test.

Science has identified about 100 structural differences between the male and female brains.

That sound you hear is a highly educated biologist hitting the floor again.

Surely, we are now only days away from answering the the whole bathroom question.

16 years ago this week, Iranian ruler Ayatollah Khomeni called for the death of Salman Rushdie, cause, you know, he wrote a book. (And a mind-numbingly boring one, at that.)

Iran today: "Oh yeah, we're still totally on that."

But hey, at least they're more democratic than Iraq.

Theresa Heinz has stopped using "Kerry" as her last name.

Speaking as someone whose wife kept her last name, that whole taking your spouse's name just for the purpose of politics is just kind of ridiculous (and insulting). Of course, that's easy for me to say, since I pretty much ended any shot at a political career here a few days back.

...in completely meaningless game. In other news, sun rises in east, film at 11.

The Virginia plan to fine people for wearing low-riding pants.

Apparently after becoming national laughingstocks, (which I'm sure was entirely coincidental and had no bearing on the decision the decision they would have reached anyway), the Virginia State Senate killed the bill. Of course, if they had asked their kids, they'd have heard that the whole baggy look is passe.

The new look? "Hooker."

Challenging Al-Qaeda prisoners to theological debate.

How bout some Love Coupons?

Tip - Cube.

Serial rapist and murderer Michael Ross' execution is now set for May 11. An additional attorney has been engaged to advocate for the idea that Ross is mentally incompetent and should not be allowed to make the decision to withdraw his appeals. Ross' original attorney will continue to represent Ross, who, at the moment, still wishes to end his appeals.

...hey, they're getting married. Apparently most Brits are cool with that. And they should be. After all, isn't this a true triumph of love? The mind-bogglingly rich guy, who could be horribly shallow and date a parade of strippers and "aspiring actresses", has instead chosen someone somewhat less physically attractive, but with whom he has long had a genuine connection. (I'm aware His Royal Highness is not exactly Sir Bradford of Pitt himself, but come on. You're telling me a guy with his money couldn't walk into a Hooters tonight and have a pair of orange shorts on his headboard the next day?)

This is the fairy tale, people. Not that first one. "Blond Babe Marries Rich Older Guy" is not news.

Here is another take, which contains interesting uses of profanity.

If you saw WWE Smackdown last night, how cool was it to watch the Japanese fans blow the roof off the place for Funaki? This guy has spent the past 5 or 6 years as the absolute lowest guy on the totem pole, being the guy who gets the snot knocked out of him by someone trying to build a reputation, despite the fact that he's probably a better wrestler than 2/3 of the people he's made look good.

But last night, he was Stone Cold and the Rock put together. Speaking of whom, the Rock is apparently done with pro wrestling. It's all movies from here on out, starting with a turn as a gay country-music singing bodyguard in the film Be Cool. But we won't really know it's over until we see the phrase "..starring Dwayne Johnson."

...it makes the recipients very happen. In fact, Roman Polanski said after winning the Best Director Oscar in 2003 for the Pianist that he felt like a little girl...

(Note to Chris Rock - you can have that one for free.)

A few months ago, Roman Polanski asked a British court to allow him, a French citizen, to testify via video in a libel case concerning an incident that happened in the U.S. (but was printed in the UK, permitting a British court to consider the matter). Of course, the whole reason he's in France is to avoid being sentenced for statutory rape here in the U.S. (France will not extradite. The UK would.) I thought, along with almost everyone else, that the court would tell Polanski to either a.) Sue in France; b.) Sue in England and not testify, c.) Sue in England, testify, and face the consequences, or d.) Deal with it.

What the hell, said the Law Lords (gotta love that name). Let the man testify from France. The actual opinion may be found here. I think the upshot (it's long - I skimmed) is allowing video testimony is within the discretion of the trial judge, and this was an acceptable use of said discretion. (Which is usually how it works here, too. Anything within a court's discretion will usually ultimately be upheld, absent some sign of abuse of discretion. "That's not how I would have done it," doesn't qualify.) The court asks a few rhetorical questions - if Polanski were a fugitive from British justice, would Britain still have allowed him to testify from abroad? The dissenting justices think not. The question I couldn't help but wonder - how about if it were Germany, or Canada, that Polanski was ducking?

Super Bowl, Schmuper Bowl. The greatest event in American sports is the NCAA Men's Basktetball tournament. (Nothing against the women, but Tennesee and UConn are getting repetitive. Get a little depth, and we'll talk.) And, to offset the onset of March Madness, and to get a jump on getting stuff wrong, I'm picking the entire 65-team NCAA field:

Vermont (18-3) Boston U. (17-5) Cent. Florida (15-7) Boston College (20-1)
Syracuse (21-3) Connecticut (15-5) Georgetown (15-6) Pittsburgh (16-4)
Winthrop (18-5) Kansas (19-1) Oklahoma St. (18-3) Texas Tech (15-5)
Oklahoma (17-5) Texas A & M (14-5) Old Dominion (22-3) Utah (20-3)
Penn (12-7) Miami (OH) (15-5) Delaware St. (11-11) WI-Milwaukee (17-5)
Eastern KY (14-7) Holy Cross (17-5) Davidson (15-7) Alabama St. (11-9)
Gonzaga (17-4) St. Mary's (20-6) Duke (18-2) N. Carolina (19-3)
Wake Forest (19-3) Ga. Tech (14-7) Maryland (14-7) Miami (FL) (14-7)
G. Wash. (14-5) Portland St. (16-6) Illinois (24-0) Michigan St. (16-4)
Wisconsin (16-5) Minnesota (16-7) Pacific (18-2) Louisville (20-4)
Charlotte (16-4) DePaul (15-5) Cincinatti (17-5) UAB (16-6)
Niagra (15-6) Oral Roberts (17-5) Wichita St. (17-3) Southern IL (19-6)
F. Dick (13-9) Washington (19-3) Arizona (19-4) Kentucky (18-2)
Florida (14-6) Alabama (18-4) Miss. St. (17-6) Arkansas (16-7)
SE LA (16-5) W. Kentucky (16-5) Nevada (16-5) UTEP (18-5)
New Mexico (17-6) LSU (13-7) Notre Dame (14-6) UCLA (12-7)
S. Carolina (13-7)

Last team out - Arizona State.
I'll even throw in Delaware St. vs. Alabama St. as your play-in game. (Which is an affront to mankind. We do not need the 6th place team in the ACC so badly as to require the stupid play-in game. Tell the majors you're just going to have to have a winning record in your conference for once.)

At the moment, I have no idea how Illinois can blow this. Knowing the Illini, though, I'm sure they'll find a way.

We all scream for, or at, Howard Dean.

I want what everyone committed to democracy wants in an opposition party. A healty, vibrant organization that advances debate, challenges the conventional wisdom, and continually comes up short on election day. To that end, I think Howard Dean will do just fine. He's certainly preferable to Kerry as liberal Democrats go, and as far as doing the chairman's job, well, I can't improve on this comparison to the job's previous occupant:

I don't really know what this means since the only DNC Chair I really knew was Terry Mcauliffe and really a one-legged, retarded chimpanzee can do better than Terry Mcauliffe.

It's funny cause it compares Terry Mcauliffe to a one-legged, retarded chimpanzee - unfavorably. (Seriously - if the Democrats truly gave a crap about winning, this guy wouldn't have spent the last two years screwing up the 2004 elections, he'd have spent it cleaning off the tar and feathers from when Democrats took their frustrations from 2002 out on him.)

They don't really have a plan yet - do we offend conservatives with Democratic leanings who might vote GOP or leftists who might vote Nader or sit out? Which is fine, they have two years to do the math. (Hint - there's more of us then there are of them - you may want to talk to the people going after Joe Lieberman. Just a suggestion.)

Tip - Southern Appeal.

Jordanian man estranged from his wife meets a great girl online...

I'm seeing a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan vehicle here.

Via Sully.

Naked Karaoke.

..but there's all sorts of fun stuff out there. Like a rare interview with the President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov. In it, he explains why Uzbekistan is above such vulgar displays as the ones that occurred in Ukraine and Georgia. (That's the former Soviet Republic Georgia. I don't think Karimov has an opinion on the Victor Hill controversy.) They don't ask too many tough questions, (had to get the interview after all), but one gets a sense of Karimov's entitlement to power.

Via Winds of Change.

I've never been, but the spouse works for a Dutch company, and she's been to Amsterdam, and she likes the place. She was impressed that the beggars can hit you up in Dutch, English, and possibly other languages. What she saw of Amsterdam was clean, safe, and pleasant, which is pretty impressive, since Amsterdam's reputation for vice makes Vegas look like Omaha.

Anyway, it's all moot. The Netherlands is doomed. Jessica posts a couple of stories that suggest that the Netherlands may be willing to trade away its national identity and individual freedoms to avoid being offensive. A Dutch film festival has pulled the film Submission, (declining to stand up to those threatening violence over a film they find offensive), but is more than willing to show the other side. (Apparently the Jewish right to not be offended, somewhat less sacrosanct.)

And, two high school students were advised to remove the Dutch flags they had posted on their backpacks for fear of offending immigrant students. I'd like to think the part where the school told the potentially offended students to get over themselves just got left out of the story, but my faith in European diplomacy only goes so far. Although the question does present: If the national flag of the Netherlands is so dang offensive that you might be provoked to violence by its mere display, shouldn't you maybe not be in the Netherlands?

It's not like Holland is going to wake up one day and find their country has been turned into Saudi Arabia with tulips. They'll realize they have a culture too, and they'll defend it - remembering the words of Sir Charles Napier when told it was custom for Indian men to burn widows alive on their husbands' funeral pyres:

"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."

The sense that there's a crisis is finally starting to dawn. If they build the gallows now, they might not have to use it later.

A: Who cares?

Remember the guys who got arrested for telling lawyer jokes in a courthouse?

A grand jury has declined to indict the comedian. He still needs better material, though...

Lawyer 1: I just won a million dollar verdict!

Lawyer 2: Honestly?

Lawyer 1: Oh, why bring that up?

Southern Appeal links to an interesting discussion of one of the holy grails of Georgia politics, the HOPE Scholarship, which basically pays in-state tuition at any Georgia public university (or a partial scholarship to a private university) for Georgia residents. Marginal Revolution cites research showing that HOPE has not resulted in students attending college who otherwise would not, instead having as its main effect keeping students in Georgia who otherwise may have attended school out of state. The research cited also suggests that grade inflation is at work - high schools make sure students get the "B" average necessary to earn the HOPE award, and once at college, a combination of grade inflation and students simply ducking harder courses work to keep the average at the "B" level necessary to renew the scholarship. There's also a claim that students are spending the money on cars - which doesn't surprise me, since my own anecdotal observations are that plenty of HOPE applicants are people whose families could easily afford college on their own, but are using HOPE to attend the University of Georgia.

Southern Appeal defends the program. Under his analysis, HOPE is keeping top-flight students in Georgia, which is good for UGA, making it very difficult to get into, and sending high-quality students to other public GA universities, that they may not have otherwise considered. Also, by keeping top students in Georgia, Sims argues that helps keep top talent in the state, making it more likely that they'll settle down here, which is certainly worth something.

My big problem with HOPE is that we're paying for rich kids, too. And since HOPE is funded with lottery money, that means that the college tuition of the upper middle class is paid for with the rent and grocery money of the working poor. This newfound entitlement (and believe me, every high school kid in Georgia feels entitled to this damn thing) is getting expensive, and when lottery income takes a dip, everyone feels it. Some kind of modest means testing would to what the program should do - open the classroom doors to good students that can't afford it. And while I'm sure the Republicans currently running Georgia won't see it my way, not spending money on people who don't need it is the sort of thing conservatives should always do. And Democrats can help, too. After all, this whole HOPE thing was Zell Miller's baby. And he's evil now, right?

How do legislators miss stuff like this? In Arizona, rape is a class 2 Felony, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. (This seems pretty lenient to me. Here in Georgia, the penalty for forcible rape starts at 10 years in prison.) But the real problem is the treatment of spousal rape. In Arizona, raping your spouse (who are we kidding, your wife), is a Class 6 felony, punishable by no more than 1 1/2 years in prison.

Yet because that bill died, spousal rape remains a Class 6 felony and can be reduced to a misdemeanor. It carries a lesser penalty than arranging a dog fight.

And apparently, the momentum to fix it didn't really get started until something like this happened:

The 49-year-old woman was awakened around midnight by an assailant who choked her, dragged her by the hair and raped her so many times before the sun came up that she lost count, police say. When she asked if she would live, her attacker allegedly told her: "We'll see."

Prosecutors are taking the novel claim that the "spousal" defense is unconstitutional, and charging the guy with standard rape. I wish them well, but I suspect the courts will give this one to the defendant, and that's probably the result the case law requires. I'd like to be wrong, but taking an affirmative defense away is probably not going to happen, however odious said defense may be.

Different treaments for spousal rape are pretty common:

About half of the states treat spousal rape differently from other types of rape, according to the American Prosecutors Research Institute, the research arm of the National District Attorneys Association.

Some states give women less time to come forward with a claim against a husband, or require proof that force was used. Most non-spousal rape laws require proof only that the assailant lacked consent.

Tennessee says spousal rape should be punished by three to six years in prison, while other rapes carry eight to 12 years. In South Carolina, aggravated spousal rape involving couples living together carries a maximum of 10 years in prison; roughly the same crime committed by someone else can bring 30 years.

I guess I should be proud to be a Georgian, as Georgia treats spousal rape the same as any other variety of forcible rape.

Right-wing bloggers praising Barney Frank. How in the blue hell did that happen?

Basically, Eason Jordan of CNN said something in Davos about the US military "targeting" journalists in Iraq. How it sounded was basically "The U.S. is taking out journalists reporting on Iraq, deliberately." (Presumably to stop them from telling the truth about how John Kerry was right, right, right!!! Or something like that.) When confronted, by Cong. Frank, and others, Jordan backpedaled off the claim that the U.S. was assassinating reporters, and claiming instead that reporters were being shot at due to perhaps looking like insurgents in the heat of battle. At least one attendee has claimed that of course that's what he was saying. Congressman Frank has since reaffirmed that to him, it sounded like Jordan was accusing the U.S. of murdering journalists, and he's not the only one who was there who thinks so.

Jordan has claimed he was misunderstood, but his critics have noted that 1.) it's consistent with stuff he's said before, and 2.) it's not like Jordan hasn't been willing to put reporting the truth on the back burner before. (By some accounts, Jordan's claim made him quite the celebrity in certain circles at Davos.)

A transcript or tape would be nice, but apparently the powers that be aren't terribly sure the meeting was on the record. Well, until it's all cleared up, we can watch Michelle Malkin and Barney Frank, and hum "Opposites Attract," wondering which one is MC Skat Kat.

4 year old boy wants to rent a movie, so at 1:30 in the morning, he gets his parents' keys and drives to the video store and back.

Now, sure, it was dangerous, and he did hit a couple cars en route, but aren't you just a little impressed that he actually made it to where he was going and back?

You're very feminine, and you don't care who knows
it. You're not willing to let homophobes get
to you. You also like hats.


What band from the 80s are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

It's not entirely accurate, I'm afraid. I don't particularly like hats.

Tip to Dawn "U2" Summers and Alarming "The Pixies" News.

I was right enough. I was right on the winner, reasonably close on the score. As for the MVP, I think everyone who thought the Pats would win went with Brady, so I should get a point for going outside the box. (Of course, after watching the game, I thought the MVP would be Rodney Harrison, so maybe we should just move on.) And I was right on "American Dad." (Note to those inclined to dock me for not going far enough - I was being diplomatic. A full review of the show would probably have to include the words "suck", and "whale chunks.")

Good crop of commercials. My favorites were the Diet Pepsi with Carson, the Fed Ex ad, the first appearance of the monkey commericals, the "don't judge" ads where the guy talking on his hands-free phone got the crap beat out of him (I knew there was a reason I didn't want one of those things), and where it looked like he killed his cat. The "War of the Worlds" trailer was better than "Batman Begins." I liked the Bud spot with the troops walking through the airport (apparently shot right here in Atlanta), but I don't think one should compare that to monkeys in business suits.

Oh yeah, the game. I appreciate a laid back approach as much as the next guy, but could someone tell Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid that when you're down 10 and there's 4 minutes left in the Super Bowl, that might be a time you'd want to hurry up just a tad. Other than that, good game.

Patriots 20; Eagles 13.

The MVP will be Corey Dillon.

"American Dad" will disappoint.

Basically consist of drop your resume and application off, then you spend a few minutes talking with a table full of other applicants about whatever's on the producers' minds. In Maddy's case, it was Bush, the election, and gay marriage. She thought the only one at her table who made any kind of impression was a woman from south Georgia who claimed the Bible anointed George Bush as our savior.

Me: She said that?

Spouse: I may be paraphrasing just a little.

Unfortunately, she didn't get the call for a callback. So, instead, we went and saw "Hide and Seek," which I would suggest you not spend money on.

Open casting call here in the ATL for the Apprentice, with the added bonus that applicants will also be considered for a show featuring Martha Stewart. I would sooner drink lighter fluid, but the spouse believes she'd be a good match for the show, and she's right. (Wouldn't it be great if the crazy female contestant were Caucasian, just this once?)

We get there at 6:30 a.m., there are about 40 people in line. (Note to these people. You are insane. If you're the first person in line, your 15 minutes of fame come on the local news story about the auditions, not during the actual "Apprentice" show itself. You're a human interest story, like the guy with a birthmark that looks like Justin Timberlake. Only you have no excuse.) People who showed up at 8:30 got wristbands too. Everyone's dressed to audition for a Donald Trump show. (Just wondering - are short skirts and stiletto heels appropriate business attire in everyone's world, or just The Donald's?) Of course, since this is 6:30 in the morning, by dawn, none of these people can feel their legs, but in Type-A Personality School they teach you to suck it up and go.

Last year the AJC came and took a picture of the line and ran it in the paper. You can see me, but not her. Apparently, this is still somewhat of a sore point. Standing next to my wife are people who work in securities, marketing, and education. They're all very nice, and they all seem very successful in their chosen professions. Too successful to want to risk being humiliated on national television. Of course, there's always one person on every reality show who's got your spot. And the Apprentice has needed a crazy redhead for awhile now. She should be doing her interview as I post.

Well, the vast right wing conspiracy that accused Benon Sevan of taking bribes from Iraq now includes the members of the Volker Commission, as their preliminary report rips him a new one:

Volker said that Sevan repeatedly solicited payments from Iraq and that Iraqis paid the money in hopes of buying influence.

"Mr. Sevan placed himself in a grave and continuing conflict of influence situation that violated explicit U.N. rules, violated the standards of integrity essential to a high-level, international civil servant," Volker said.

According to CNN, the tenor of the report tends more towards the U.N. being jaw-droppingly incompetent, as opposed to corrupt, which according to Kofi Annan, isn't the sort of problem that requires anyone, particularly him, to lose their job:

Annan, who has called for U.N. reforms while some critics have called for his resignation, said, "When I talked of management changes I was talking about improved accountability, transparency and other additional changes that we are working on."

Annan said there might be changes in the U.N. senior staff following Volcker's recommendations. "We will be making some announcements and taking some concrete action very soon."

Stick around, Kofi. Captain Unilateral needs you. That sound you hear is probably Ian Williams' head exploding.

More prelimary analysis here, here, and here. (Not here.)

Woman charged with negligent homicide after allegedly giving her husband a sherry enema.

According to the story, the man was an alcoholic who couldn't drink alcohol because of ulcers and heartburn. And yet, a way was found.

Things you know you shouldn't think, but do...

You should've been gone
Knowing how I made you feel
And I should've been gone
After all your words of steel
Oh, I must've been a dreamer
And I must've been someone else
And we should've been over

Oh, Sherry, our love
Holds on, holds on
Oh, Sherry, our love
Holds on, holds on

Oh, I want to let go
You'll go on hurtin' me
You'd be better off alone
If I'm not who you thought I'd be

But you know that there's a fever
Oh, that you'll never find nowhere else
Can't you feel it burnin'
On-and-on

Oh, Sherry, our love
Holds on, holds on
Oh, Sherrie, our love
Holds on, holds on
Oh, Sherry

The Movement for Democratic Change will participate under protest in Zimbabwe's March 31 parliamentary elections. They will probably make a poor showing, since efforts to campaign are hampered by repressive laws on public campaigning, use of media, and flat out violent intimidation of voters.

But hey, Robert Mugabe appointed some people to an electoral commission to make sure things are "fair"! And to South Africa, which once inspired the world by peacefully transferring power in a highly turbulent time, thinks that's a pretty good step forward.

Currently, Mugabe bars Zimbabweans living outside the country from voting, which makes sense, because the people who left the country because Mugabe was a brutal repressive kleptocrat are unlikely to support the current President, especially when they live out of reach of ZANU-PF good squads. (They're trying to press the case in court. Call it a longshot.)

And, in other shining news, Mugabe has announced that foreign observers will not be needed, since the election will be policed by a wholly impartial, highly reliable group of civil servants who depend upon Mugabe for their livelihood.

Worst case scenario - MDC supporters stay home, opting out of the violence and fraud, and Mugabe's supporters win big. This gets reported worldwide as "Mugabe wins elections", and since the militias will do their part to prevent any Ukraining from going on, nobody sees any reason to complain abroad, and Mugabe retains power while presenting himself as "democratically elected", as the reasons people should doubt him fade from memory. Which is kind of what happened in Iran not too long ago.

Best case scenario - Voters wear orange, and dye their fingers blue, and cause the world to finally look past Mugabe's ability to talk like an Ann Arbor Poli-Sci professor and see him for what he truly is.

I sort of watched it...the TV was on, but I was in another room, making it to the final table in an online poker tournament. (Placed 5th.) I don't usually watch these things, anyway, as I lack the attention span to sit through a speech designed to be interrupted by applause every other line. I heard his statement about the marriage amendment, and I said "crap." I tuned out the whole Social Security stuff. I have a vague sense of supporting reform of some kind, but frankly, I have no plans to do the research that would give me any kind of informed opinion, so whatever you think is probably right. Somebody else thinks the exact opposite? They're probably right too.

Gee, if only there were some medium where people who did sit through the whole thing summarized it and gave the rest of us the gist of it.

Winds of Change and Kevin Drum will do nicely, among others. I watched the responses, and I'm going to try and be nice to Harry Reid in honor of my late-adopted New Year's resolution to cut conservative Democrats a little slack. He made his points, I though the "and that's coming from a Senator who represents Las Vegas" line was a good one, and in any event he's worlds better than Nancy Pelosi, who said little I agreed with, but made up for it by saying it badly.

The SOTU is one more reason Bush supporters should buy drinks for everyone who pushed the idea that Bush was stupid, since any speech where he successfully pronounces more than two four-syllable words is spun as a rousing success. (Tip from Republican conspiracy mongers: Your opponents are always evil geniuses. Always.) Joe Katzman explains it better than I could:

Bush communicates best in deeds, in tableaux that speak incredibly loudly. I'm trying to recall another politician who could match that particular style and gift. I can't. It's W's saving political grace and potential disaster point, all in one.

Point is, what Bush does has always been more eloquent than what he says. He was talking about this:

Of course, I don't know if it's fair to compare anyone's skill with words to that.

Cross-posted at Of the Mind

Jurors seem keen to serve on Michael Jackson jury.

Don't get me wrong. Jury duty is a civic responsiblity. Part of the price we pay to participate in this No Limit Hold'em game we call America is the understanding that we can be called to sit in judgement of our fellow man, should they be involved in a civil dispute, or be charged with a crime. Everyone who serves on any jury helps keep our system running, whether they sit on a multi-million dollar civil claim, a murder case, or a speeding ticket.

That said, isn't it just a little creepy to imagine people eagerly clamoring for their chance to spend the next few months of their lives listening to stories of child sexual abuse?

In honor of winning the "quote of the day" award at Clareified, I encourage everyone to check out Dawn's "Buffy Blogging". If you don't know what the row of numbers mean...well, congratulations, you have a life. Whoop-de-frickin' do.

Despite being in the decided minority, I stand by my selections. I liked Glory as a villain, and the line "We will bring you the beaten and battered body of Bob Barker!" never fails to crack me up. And why someone whose nom de blog is DAWN FREAKING SUMMERS doesn't rate the "Dawn" season of Buffy higher, frankly, makes no sense, which everyone should remember next election season when she tells you who to vote for.

Riley gets more crap than he deserves. Season 4's weakness stemmed from Adam's failings as a Big Bad, not Riley's as a love interest. In any event, there is only one word one can say to any who bash Season 4.

"Hush."

take the WHAT INTENTIONAL TORT ARE YOU test.


and go to mewing.net. because law school made laura do this.


Blame Dawn...

The fallout has begun on the simply beyond hilarious "Action Figure Kidnapping" hoax that many in the media fell for. (And some unnamed Ohio-voter-bothering-media outlets were falling for as recently as today...)

The Dragon Models "Cody" figure taken hostage is now appearing on eBay. (A search of "completed items" reveals no Cody dolls on the market prior to this.)

And, as a toy collector, I gotta admit, I want one. But I'll still try to get it the right way...by knocking kids out of the way at Toys'R'Us.

...read this story. It's about a stripper and her musician boyfriend who were mauled by a tiger driving through a Canadian safari park. They were awarded damages because their injuries harmed their abilities to work in their fields.

She awarded Cowles some $650,000 in damages, almost half of it to compensate for income she would have made as a stripper.

Her musician boyfriend, David Balac, won Canadian $1.7 million ($1.37 million), because his injuries left him unable to work as an accordion player.

I keep reading that, and I can't help but thing one thing, and one thing only...

How in the blue hell does an accordion player get a stripper girlfriend?

Ohio Supreme Court Justice arrested for DUI.

Officials at Dummer Academy consider changing school's name.

As for suggestions on a new name...

Saddam Hussein eligible to vote in Iraq election, yet did not.

Do those Republicans ever get tired of disenfranchising people?

There will be "elections" in Zimbabwe on March 31. The leading opposition party isn't sure if they will contest the election, since it's currently illegal for them to meet without the police present, and armed militia await the opportunity to smash any opposition rallies that do take place. On a brighter note, the government has stopped, for the moment, trying to convict opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of treason.

In other hopeful news, a long-banned party, Zapu, plans to sit out the election (so as not to split the anti-Mugabe vote), but will be mobilizing their own opposition to Mugabe as well.

And, of course, all the while, in the land that was once Africa's breadbasket, people face starvation.

While still presenting an outward face of unified resolved. (Cause the less resolute disappear), North Korea may be approaching collapse. Forbidden knowledge, such as how to get out of the country, is now an open secret:

Yet North Koreans confirmed that they knew that escapers to China should look for buildings displaying a Christian cross and should ask among Korean speakers for people who knew the word of Jesus.

Once again, those darn Christians just won't stop medding in state affairs.

And, perhaps not so coincidentally, comes word that the Norks are about to discuss succession, specifically, which of Kim Jong Il's kids gets the privilege of running their own country. Oldest son Kim Jong Nam is supposedly on the Dear Leader's shit list, which means the heir apparent is either 24 year old Kim Jong Chol or 22 year old Kim Jong Un, depending on who you ask.

North Korea also recently lost a gamble:

Bush’s re-election dealt a blow to Kim, 62, who had gambled on a win by John Kerry, the Democratic candidate. Kim used a strategy of divide and delay to drag out nuclear talks with the United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea through 2004.

And now, after the State of the Union, the Norks will resume nuclear negotiations knowing they're stuck with Captain Unilateral. Of course, whether they're desperate or confident, how the North Koreans respond to any situation is a crapshoot, but their posture at six-way talks and their handling of Kim Jong Il's birthday in a few weeks will bear watching.

Tip - Instapundit.

Well, not me, of course. That would be ridiculous. But Kevin Drum claims to divine great meaning from the following phenomenon - nearly all top-rated "liberal" blogs accept comments, while nearly none of the top rated "conservative" blogs do. (And, according to him, Little Green Footballs doesn't really count.)

I've been a part of a couple of interesting discussions in comment threads on both Drum's and Yglesias' site, since the majority of their readers are more than willing to answer questions and clarify points civilly. And while allowing public feedback is certainly admirable, I don't know that not making a place for the ear-rattling din of regular 100+ comment threads isolates one from interaction and self-correction. Blogging exposes one to other blogs, and plenty of people will point out your failings on their own blogs. I'm sure that many of the 110,000 Google results for "instapundit" and "full of crap" have nothing to do with Glenn personally being full of crap, but there's plenty of opportunity for oversight without having to host it yourself.

Besides, do the big guys really read those massive comment threads?