In a bizarre case that could have a dramatic ripple effect on the sport, an Atlanta judge ruled this week that Georgia Tech must reinstate suspended cornerback Reuben Houston, who was indicted this summer on felony charges of conspiring to distribute and possess 94 pounds of marijuana valued at $60,000. In issuing his ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Gino Brogdon called the school's punishment "arbitrary and strikingly dissimilar to the school's treatment of other similarly situated athletes who have been accused of breaking the law." The former starter, who remained on scholarship and in school (he was briefly expelled) but off the team, could play as soon as Saturday's game at Miami. Said stunned Georgia Tech AD Dave Braine: "This decision will send shockwaves through college athletics programs around the country. Playing college football, especially at a school like Georgia Tech, is a privilege, not a right."
Apparently, it is a right.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Quote of the Day
"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory" -- George Orwell, Second Thoughts on James Burnham, 1946
Now This Makes Sense
An audiotape purportedly from the head of al-Qaida in Iraq said Friday the group's suicide bombers did not intend to bomb a Jordanian wedding party at an Amman hotel last week, killing about 30 people. The speaker on the tape, identified as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, also threatened to kill Jordan's King Abdullah II and bomb more hotels and tourist sites.
So we didn't mean to bomb the party, but we're planning on bombing more parties in the future.
So we didn't mean to bomb the party, but we're planning on bombing more parties in the future.
The Chief Astronomer
The Vatican's chief astronomer said Friday that "intelligent design" isn't science and doesn't belong in science classrooms, the latest high-ranking Roman Catholic official to enter the evolution debate in the United States.
The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was "wrong" and was akin to mixing apples with oranges.
"Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be," the ANSA news agency quoted Coyne as saying on the sidelines of a conference in Florence. "If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science."
This is interesting for two reasons:
1. The fact that the Vatican has a "chief astronomer". This position must be a holdover from medieval days.
2. That the "chief astronomer" appears to be a bit out of step with the Pope's recent comments on ID.
The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was "wrong" and was akin to mixing apples with oranges.
"Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be," the ANSA news agency quoted Coyne as saying on the sidelines of a conference in Florence. "If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science."
This is interesting for two reasons:
1. The fact that the Vatican has a "chief astronomer". This position must be a holdover from medieval days.
2. That the "chief astronomer" appears to be a bit out of step with the Pope's recent comments on ID.
McCain Sums It Up
Imagine Iraqis, working for the new government, considering whether to join the police force, or debating whether or not to take up arms.
What will they think when they read that the Senate is pressing for steps toward draw-down? Are they more or less likely to side with a government whose No. 1 partner hints at leaving?
The Senate has responded to the millions who braved bombs and threats to vote, who put their faith and trust in America and their government, by suggesting that our No. 1 priority is to bring our people home.
We have told insurgents that their violence does grind us down, that their horrific acts might be successful. But these are precisely the wrong messages.
Our exit strategy in Iraq is not the withdrawal of our troops, it is victory. Americans may not have been of one mind when it came to the decision to topple Saddam Hussein. But, though some disagreed, I believe that nearly all now wish us to prevail. Because the stakes there are so high - higher even than those in Vietnam - our friends and our enemies need to hear one message: America is committed to success, and we will win this war.
What will they think when they read that the Senate is pressing for steps toward draw-down? Are they more or less likely to side with a government whose No. 1 partner hints at leaving?
The Senate has responded to the millions who braved bombs and threats to vote, who put their faith and trust in America and their government, by suggesting that our No. 1 priority is to bring our people home.
We have told insurgents that their violence does grind us down, that their horrific acts might be successful. But these are precisely the wrong messages.
Our exit strategy in Iraq is not the withdrawal of our troops, it is victory. Americans may not have been of one mind when it came to the decision to topple Saddam Hussein. But, though some disagreed, I believe that nearly all now wish us to prevail. Because the stakes there are so high - higher even than those in Vietnam - our friends and our enemies need to hear one message: America is committed to success, and we will win this war.
I'd Just Call Them Gutless Cowards
PERHAPS THE biggest weapon in the arsenal of America’s critics is carefully selective amnesia. Conveniently forgetting important historical facts enables tactical amnesiacs to make claims about US policy that seem to support their contention that the country’s government is uniquely evil.The latest evidence that George Bush is a war criminal has apparently come this week with the acknowledgment that the US military used white phosphorus (WP) on enemy positions in Fallujah. This is deemed an outrage, something decent countries never do, yet more proof that the Bush-Cheney cabal is sedulously destroying the very foundations of American civilisation. . . .
In fact, WP is not a chemical weapon, not even banned by any treaty to which the US is signatory. It has been used by the armed forces in all countries in wars for decades. Indeed, if you look up the roll of US Congressional Medal of Honour winners, you will discover that quite a few received this highest military decoration precisely because they used “shake and bake” to such successful effect. . . .
But the “Bush lied to us” whine is much worse when it comes from the mouths of those who insisted only three years ago, in voting for the war, that they were taking a heroic stand in defence of national security. Half the Democratic members of the Senate — oddly enough, including all those with serious presidential aspirations — John Kerry, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden — voted for the war in 2002. The awful truth about many of these people is that their cynicism in distancing themselves from their support for the war is only matched by their cynicism in originally supporting it.
Let me be clear: some Democrats — Joe Lieberman springs to mind — supported the war for the right reasons, and continue to do so. Others — Ted Kennedy, Russell Feingold — opposed it all along. But most of those now recanting made a straight political calculation in voting to authorise force in the first place.
In fact, WP is not a chemical weapon, not even banned by any treaty to which the US is signatory. It has been used by the armed forces in all countries in wars for decades. Indeed, if you look up the roll of US Congressional Medal of Honour winners, you will discover that quite a few received this highest military decoration precisely because they used “shake and bake” to such successful effect. . . .
But the “Bush lied to us” whine is much worse when it comes from the mouths of those who insisted only three years ago, in voting for the war, that they were taking a heroic stand in defence of national security. Half the Democratic members of the Senate — oddly enough, including all those with serious presidential aspirations — John Kerry, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden — voted for the war in 2002. The awful truth about many of these people is that their cynicism in distancing themselves from their support for the war is only matched by their cynicism in originally supporting it.
Let me be clear: some Democrats — Joe Lieberman springs to mind — supported the war for the right reasons, and continue to do so. Others — Ted Kennedy, Russell Feingold — opposed it all along. But most of those now recanting made a straight political calculation in voting to authorise force in the first place.
This Would Not Surprise Me
I think the greatest problem in our society today is fatherlessness...and I mean biological fathers in the home, married to the child's mother. Step-parents and "next door guy" figures are great, but no replacement for the real deal.
In a controversial new book, Destructive Trends in Mental Health: The Well-Intentioned Path to Harm, the authors point out a study that showed ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) might be related to a lack of a positive father figure. Rogers Wright and Nicholas Cummings, two liberal psychologists who were prominent leaders within the American Psychological Association, have seen first hand how the organization has omitted important research when it did not fit in with their liberal dogma.
In a study described in the book, kids with ADHD were paired with male therapists due to a noted absence of fathers in this child/adolecent population. The kids were given behavioral treatment with the therapists and special attention was paid to developing a positive attachment to the male figure. At the end of the treatment, only 11% of the boys and 2% of the girls had to remain on medication. The authors of this sudy suggested that social forces may be major contributors to ADHD. Among these social forces are: "the absence of positive father role models; the presence of a revolving door for negative male role models brought into the home; poor parenting; the need for order in the classroom when teachers are severely curtailed in meting out discipline; and a declining appreciation in our culture of what constitutes normal boy behavior." This study was never given much attention by the mental health community as the "solutions" were not politically correct at they emphasized the deficit of a male role model.
In a controversial new book, Destructive Trends in Mental Health: The Well-Intentioned Path to Harm, the authors point out a study that showed ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) might be related to a lack of a positive father figure. Rogers Wright and Nicholas Cummings, two liberal psychologists who were prominent leaders within the American Psychological Association, have seen first hand how the organization has omitted important research when it did not fit in with their liberal dogma.
In a study described in the book, kids with ADHD were paired with male therapists due to a noted absence of fathers in this child/adolecent population. The kids were given behavioral treatment with the therapists and special attention was paid to developing a positive attachment to the male figure. At the end of the treatment, only 11% of the boys and 2% of the girls had to remain on medication. The authors of this sudy suggested that social forces may be major contributors to ADHD. Among these social forces are: "the absence of positive father role models; the presence of a revolving door for negative male role models brought into the home; poor parenting; the need for order in the classroom when teachers are severely curtailed in meting out discipline; and a declining appreciation in our culture of what constitutes normal boy behavior." This study was never given much attention by the mental health community as the "solutions" were not politically correct at they emphasized the deficit of a male role model.
Oil for No War Update
One of France's most distinguished diplomats has confessed to an investigating judge that he accepted oil allocations from Saddam Hussein, it emerged yesterday.
Jean-Bernard Mérimée is thought to be the first senior figure to admit his role in the oil-for-food scandal, a United Nations humanitarian aid scheme hijacked by Saddam to buy influence.
The Frenchman, who holds the title "ambassador for life", told authorities that he regretted taking payments amounting to $156,000 (then worth about £108,000) in 2002.
The money was used to renovate a holiday home he owned in southern Morocco. At the time, Mr Mérimée was a special adviser to Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general.
According to yesterday's Le Figaro, he told judge Philippe Courroye during an interview on Oct 12: "I should not have done what I did. I regret it."
But he also said that the payments were made in recompense for work he had done on Iraq's behalf. "All trouble is worth a wage," he is reported to have said.
Jean-Bernard Mérimée is thought to be the first senior figure to admit his role in the oil-for-food scandal, a United Nations humanitarian aid scheme hijacked by Saddam to buy influence.
The Frenchman, who holds the title "ambassador for life", told authorities that he regretted taking payments amounting to $156,000 (then worth about £108,000) in 2002.
The money was used to renovate a holiday home he owned in southern Morocco. At the time, Mr Mérimée was a special adviser to Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general.
According to yesterday's Le Figaro, he told judge Philippe Courroye during an interview on Oct 12: "I should not have done what I did. I regret it."
But he also said that the payments were made in recompense for work he had done on Iraq's behalf. "All trouble is worth a wage," he is reported to have said.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
A Per Diem In The NBA?
You bet. These guys are great.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Since when?
When the Knicks go on the road, hungry players take full advantage of a complimentary spread after the morning shootaround. There are plenty of choices along the buffet, enough to satisfy a wide range of appetites — from Nate Robinson's to Jerome James'.
After the game ends, there are more culinary delights.
Not long after the wheels go up on the charter flight, soups and salads are served. A choice of entrees is next. Then it's time for a little pie or maybe some cookies. It's all four-star quality, at least.
Here's the kicker:
The players get a $102 per diem every day a team spends away from home. It's been part of the collective bargaining agreement for decades. And some of them actually use the money to purchase food.
"How great is that?" Knicks guard Jamal Crawford said. "I want all of it, every dollar. If they're going to pay for your food, I'll take it. I need it. I want it. I don't have any complaints."
It's a seemingly ridiculous perk in a league where the average salary is more than $4 million.
Of course, for those who are making the NBA minimum of $398,760, it comes in pretty handy.
"When you have a long road trip, the best part about it is right at the beginning when you get that envelope with like $500 in it," Philadelphia forward Kyle Korver said. "It's great. When I was a rookie it was a huge deal. That's all I used; I lived off my per diem. I tried not to spend my paycheck."
Creative financial planning can make that money go a long way.
"Yep," said Robinson, a rookie guard with the Knicks. "What I try to do is go to some of the veterans' rooms, and when they order something I try to add something to the list."
It's a clever scheme.
"He's not kidding," said teammate Quentin Richardson, who usually picks up the newcomer's bill without complaint.
Anyone who has been around the league for a while knows how fast money goes early on. In most cases, rookies have a lot of people at home to pay back. The penny-wise avoid extravagance until a second contract is signed and job security is assured.
"I try to find a cheap little place around the corner, like a gas station, where I can get some chips or snacks," Robinson said. "That way I don't spend it all. To me it's a big deal. I don't consider myself rich. I'm still working to get where I want to be financially so I can take care of my whole family."
And they need to eat, too. Just ask Latrell Sprewell, who's now infamous for turning down a three-year, $21 million contract extension, implying that wasn't enough to feed his family.
It's probably worth mentioning that he actually paid to cater lunch for his Minnesota teammates after most practices last season.
Many of the other players who've cashed in are equally generous with their per diems. They use the money for tips. Hotel maids and restaurant staff are frequently on the receiving end. Locker-room attendants are known to walk off with a little extra change, as well.
A trip upstairs to fetch a box of popcorn before the game is normally worth $20.
"I usually give it to a trainer, or a massage therapist, or a coach and tell them to go out and get something good to eat," Knicks veteran Antonio Davis said. "It's just a way of saying thank you. I appreciate the per diem, I think it's something that's good. But when you make this kind of money, it's nice to give it to the people who don't make as much so they can go out and get something nice to eat."
Massage therapist? What a way to live.
Some of the league's high-maintenance coaches also negotiate a hefty per diem into their contracts. It's not unusual for marquee names to get upward of $200 daily.
Dry cleaning isn't cheap, apparently.
Most players while on the road usually pass the pregame hours close to the hotel, which makes room service a necessity. Snacks don't come to the door cheaply at the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles or the Four Seasons in Atlanta or the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C.
"I end up using all of the money," Crawford said. "I'm usually in my room the whole time, so room service is a big deal. I know some guys walk around looking for a place to eat that's cheaper than the hotel.
"They're all pretty expensive. Nice hotels, but everything's expensive. Sometimes salads are $25 dollars if you add shrimp or chicken. No way I would pay for that with my own money."
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Since when?
When the Knicks go on the road, hungry players take full advantage of a complimentary spread after the morning shootaround. There are plenty of choices along the buffet, enough to satisfy a wide range of appetites — from Nate Robinson's to Jerome James'.
After the game ends, there are more culinary delights.
Not long after the wheels go up on the charter flight, soups and salads are served. A choice of entrees is next. Then it's time for a little pie or maybe some cookies. It's all four-star quality, at least.
Here's the kicker:
The players get a $102 per diem every day a team spends away from home. It's been part of the collective bargaining agreement for decades. And some of them actually use the money to purchase food.
"How great is that?" Knicks guard Jamal Crawford said. "I want all of it, every dollar. If they're going to pay for your food, I'll take it. I need it. I want it. I don't have any complaints."
It's a seemingly ridiculous perk in a league where the average salary is more than $4 million.
Of course, for those who are making the NBA minimum of $398,760, it comes in pretty handy.
"When you have a long road trip, the best part about it is right at the beginning when you get that envelope with like $500 in it," Philadelphia forward Kyle Korver said. "It's great. When I was a rookie it was a huge deal. That's all I used; I lived off my per diem. I tried not to spend my paycheck."
Creative financial planning can make that money go a long way.
"Yep," said Robinson, a rookie guard with the Knicks. "What I try to do is go to some of the veterans' rooms, and when they order something I try to add something to the list."
It's a clever scheme.
"He's not kidding," said teammate Quentin Richardson, who usually picks up the newcomer's bill without complaint.
Anyone who has been around the league for a while knows how fast money goes early on. In most cases, rookies have a lot of people at home to pay back. The penny-wise avoid extravagance until a second contract is signed and job security is assured.
"I try to find a cheap little place around the corner, like a gas station, where I can get some chips or snacks," Robinson said. "That way I don't spend it all. To me it's a big deal. I don't consider myself rich. I'm still working to get where I want to be financially so I can take care of my whole family."
And they need to eat, too. Just ask Latrell Sprewell, who's now infamous for turning down a three-year, $21 million contract extension, implying that wasn't enough to feed his family.
It's probably worth mentioning that he actually paid to cater lunch for his Minnesota teammates after most practices last season.
Many of the other players who've cashed in are equally generous with their per diems. They use the money for tips. Hotel maids and restaurant staff are frequently on the receiving end. Locker-room attendants are known to walk off with a little extra change, as well.
A trip upstairs to fetch a box of popcorn before the game is normally worth $20.
"I usually give it to a trainer, or a massage therapist, or a coach and tell them to go out and get something good to eat," Knicks veteran Antonio Davis said. "It's just a way of saying thank you. I appreciate the per diem, I think it's something that's good. But when you make this kind of money, it's nice to give it to the people who don't make as much so they can go out and get something nice to eat."
Massage therapist? What a way to live.
Some of the league's high-maintenance coaches also negotiate a hefty per diem into their contracts. It's not unusual for marquee names to get upward of $200 daily.
Dry cleaning isn't cheap, apparently.
Most players while on the road usually pass the pregame hours close to the hotel, which makes room service a necessity. Snacks don't come to the door cheaply at the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles or the Four Seasons in Atlanta or the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C.
"I end up using all of the money," Crawford said. "I'm usually in my room the whole time, so room service is a big deal. I know some guys walk around looking for a place to eat that's cheaper than the hotel.
"They're all pretty expensive. Nice hotels, but everything's expensive. Sometimes salads are $25 dollars if you add shrimp or chicken. No way I would pay for that with my own money."
Black League Basketball?
Eric Williams was showing off a beautiful leather jacket in the Raptors' dressing room at the Air Canada Centre on Monday, a jacket packed with colourful logos from a series of basketball teams, including the Newark Eagles, Harlem Knights, Baltimore Crabs, West Philly Dancers and Cleveland Ebonies, the latter complete with a nattily attired fellow in a 1920's-style zoot suit.
His company, Eric Williams Apparel, was hoping to launch a line of merchandise celebrating what he called "Black League Basketball," he explained, adding the jacket was a prototype, something to bring the league, which he said existed from 1920-40, into the public eye.
"We have to understand where we came from," he said.
But there's little to understand here, except, maybe, that money trumps history. The league and teams, say several basketball historians, never existed.
His company, Eric Williams Apparel, was hoping to launch a line of merchandise celebrating what he called "Black League Basketball," he explained, adding the jacket was a prototype, something to bring the league, which he said existed from 1920-40, into the public eye.
"We have to understand where we came from," he said.
But there's little to understand here, except, maybe, that money trumps history. The league and teams, say several basketball historians, never existed.
This Is Sad
(CNN) -- Nearly three months after Hurricane Katrina forced tens of thousands from their homes, bureaucracy is creating a new tide of trouble for victims of the storm.
"We feel like we are citizens of the United States who are nearly forgotten," said Democratic Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
"It is a very frustrating thing. People are weary. They want to move on ... It's going to take us a while. And we still need help from Washington."
I think many of these people are so used to the government taking care of them that they're incapable of taking care of themselves. We've created a generation of people (at least in New Orleans) that are totally and hopelessly dependent on the gratuity of government. They have zero support systems (two-parent families, schools, businesses, functioning churches) to help them recover from a crisis.
"We feel like we are citizens of the United States who are nearly forgotten," said Democratic Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
"It is a very frustrating thing. People are weary. They want to move on ... It's going to take us a while. And we still need help from Washington."
I think many of these people are so used to the government taking care of them that they're incapable of taking care of themselves. We've created a generation of people (at least in New Orleans) that are totally and hopelessly dependent on the gratuity of government. They have zero support systems (two-parent families, schools, businesses, functioning churches) to help them recover from a crisis.
Education News
Story #1:
NEW YORK (AP) -- For decades, getting more students into college has been the top priority of America's higher education leaders. But what's the point, a growing number of experts are wondering, when so few who go to school finish a degree?
Just 54 percent of students entering four-year colleges in 1997 had a degree six years later -- and even fewer Hispanics and blacks did, according to some of the latest government figures. After borrowing for school but failing to graduate, many of those students may be worse off than if they had never attended college at all.
So let me get this straight: You want EVERYONE to go to college - even those who are woefully unqualified, yet are surprised when these same people don't graduate.
Story #2:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Four of every 10 teachers hired in city school systems have something troubling in common, a study contends. They may not be wanted by the schools.
Urban principals often are forced to hire poor performers or teachers who are just not a good fit, the study says, because of union rules that give preference to veteran teachers.
Overall, as many as 40 percent of urban teachers are hired with little or no choice on the part of their principals, according to The New Teacher Project. The group works with some of the largest urban school systems to recruit and hire teachers.
What? Lousy teachers? Unions pushing lousy teachers? Principals being forced to hire lousy union teachers? Pops never told me about this.
NEW YORK (AP) -- For decades, getting more students into college has been the top priority of America's higher education leaders. But what's the point, a growing number of experts are wondering, when so few who go to school finish a degree?
Just 54 percent of students entering four-year colleges in 1997 had a degree six years later -- and even fewer Hispanics and blacks did, according to some of the latest government figures. After borrowing for school but failing to graduate, many of those students may be worse off than if they had never attended college at all.
So let me get this straight: You want EVERYONE to go to college - even those who are woefully unqualified, yet are surprised when these same people don't graduate.
Story #2:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Four of every 10 teachers hired in city school systems have something troubling in common, a study contends. They may not be wanted by the schools.
Urban principals often are forced to hire poor performers or teachers who are just not a good fit, the study says, because of union rules that give preference to veteran teachers.
Overall, as many as 40 percent of urban teachers are hired with little or no choice on the part of their principals, according to The New Teacher Project. The group works with some of the largest urban school systems to recruit and hire teachers.
What? Lousy teachers? Unions pushing lousy teachers? Principals being forced to hire lousy union teachers? Pops never told me about this.
This Is...Well...Monstrous
From the "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish" files: This piece by Maria Eftimiades, "One Woman's Choice After a Prenatal Test Shows Down Syndrome, A Wrenching Decision." Here's an excerpt:
While I have no doubt there can be joys and victories in raising a mentally handicapped child, for me and for Mike, it's a painful journey that we believe is better not taken. To know now that our son would be retarded, perhaps profoundly, gives us the choice of not continuing the pregnancy. We don't want a life like that for our child, and the added worry that we wouldn't be around long enough to care for him throughout his life.
I'm sure pro-lifers don't give you the right to grieve for the baby you chose not to bring into the world (another euphemism, although avoiding the word "abortion'' doesn't take any sting out of the decision to have one). Only now do I understand how entirely personal the decision to terminate a pregnancy is and how wrong it feels to bring someone else's morality into the discussion.I was lucky. When I walked into the hospital, no one knew why, or cared. The nurses were kind and the doctor held my hand as the anesthesia took over.
As for that baby that will never be, I will remember him always. But I'm quite certain that I made the right choice for the three of us.
While I have no doubt there can be joys and victories in raising a mentally handicapped child, for me and for Mike, it's a painful journey that we believe is better not taken. To know now that our son would be retarded, perhaps profoundly, gives us the choice of not continuing the pregnancy. We don't want a life like that for our child, and the added worry that we wouldn't be around long enough to care for him throughout his life.
I'm sure pro-lifers don't give you the right to grieve for the baby you chose not to bring into the world (another euphemism, although avoiding the word "abortion'' doesn't take any sting out of the decision to have one). Only now do I understand how entirely personal the decision to terminate a pregnancy is and how wrong it feels to bring someone else's morality into the discussion.I was lucky. When I walked into the hospital, no one knew why, or cared. The nurses were kind and the doctor held my hand as the anesthesia took over.
As for that baby that will never be, I will remember him always. But I'm quite certain that I made the right choice for the three of us.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Is The Bust Coming?
NEW YORK (AP) - Much of the nation has had a lovely real estate boom for the past five years, but the house party is almost over and the cleanup won't be pretty.
That's the word from economists and investors who have watched housing prices march ever higher.
"The collapse of the housing bubble will throw the economy into a recession, and quite likely a severe recession," warned a July report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
In recent weeks, many major investment firms have concurred. Said a Lehman Brothers report, "(A) turn in the housing market is central to our economic forecast. "
"The demographic story behind the housing market boom, as we always thought, was a giant hoax," wrote Merrill Lynch & Co.'s North American Economist, David Rosenberg, in a recent report.
If housing prices decline sharply, the effects could be broad. Lehman estimates one-third of the past year's U.S. economic growth was a consequence of the housing boom. Housing construction is equal to 5 percent of the national economy.
A downturn in housing could mean more than 1.3 million lost jobs, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts, bumping up the national unemployment rate by 1 percent and the unemployment rate in house-mad California by 2 percent. Those numbers don't include likely job cuts in housing-dependent businesses, such as banking, furniture and building materials.
That's the word from economists and investors who have watched housing prices march ever higher.
"The collapse of the housing bubble will throw the economy into a recession, and quite likely a severe recession," warned a July report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
In recent weeks, many major investment firms have concurred. Said a Lehman Brothers report, "(A) turn in the housing market is central to our economic forecast. "
"The demographic story behind the housing market boom, as we always thought, was a giant hoax," wrote Merrill Lynch & Co.'s North American Economist, David Rosenberg, in a recent report.
If housing prices decline sharply, the effects could be broad. Lehman estimates one-third of the past year's U.S. economic growth was a consequence of the housing boom. Housing construction is equal to 5 percent of the national economy.
A downturn in housing could mean more than 1.3 million lost jobs, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts, bumping up the national unemployment rate by 1 percent and the unemployment rate in house-mad California by 2 percent. Those numbers don't include likely job cuts in housing-dependent businesses, such as banking, furniture and building materials.
Getting Closer To The Cross?
Hoping to show that it is not anti-Christian, Planned Parenthood's Lexington affiliate is bringing the organization's national chaplain to speak with area clergy this week. But so far, only a handful of religious leaders have agreed to meet with him.
David Bowman, board chairman of Planned Parenthood of the Bluegrass, said it hasn't been easy to spread the word about chaplain Ignacio Castuera's visit.
"Most church organizations would not give me names and e-mail addresses for their clergy," he said. "There were many organizations, both denominational and ecumenical, that didn't want to get involved."
Castuera, a United Methodist minister from the Watts section of Los Angeles and the first Planned Parenthood national chaplain, wasn't surprised.
"The closer Jesus got to the cross, the smaller the crowds got," the chaplain said. "This is pretty close to the cross because people have to take derision, ostracism, all that."
In 2003, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America provided contraception, HIV testing and other services to 2.8 million people and performed 244,628 abortions.
Castuera's position on abortion: "It's always a tragedy," he said. "I don't think it's a sin."
David Bowman, board chairman of Planned Parenthood of the Bluegrass, said it hasn't been easy to spread the word about chaplain Ignacio Castuera's visit.
"Most church organizations would not give me names and e-mail addresses for their clergy," he said. "There were many organizations, both denominational and ecumenical, that didn't want to get involved."
Castuera, a United Methodist minister from the Watts section of Los Angeles and the first Planned Parenthood national chaplain, wasn't surprised.
"The closer Jesus got to the cross, the smaller the crowds got," the chaplain said. "This is pretty close to the cross because people have to take derision, ostracism, all that."
In 2003, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America provided contraception, HIV testing and other services to 2.8 million people and performed 244,628 abortions.
Castuera's position on abortion: "It's always a tragedy," he said. "I don't think it's a sin."
The Pimp Is Back At It
This man went from speaking at Rosa Park's funeral to this:
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson called the Philadelphia Eagles' punishment of Terrell Owens "much too severe."
Jackson said in a statement released Friday that Owens could have been more professional when he publicly complained about his contract, his team and the Eagles' organization.
But Jackson said Owens' suspension without pay for four games and deactivation for the rest of the season is "much too severe for the charge" and hurts the athlete's NFL career at its height.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson called the Philadelphia Eagles' punishment of Terrell Owens "much too severe."
Jackson said in a statement released Friday that Owens could have been more professional when he publicly complained about his contract, his team and the Eagles' organization.
But Jackson said Owens' suspension without pay for four games and deactivation for the rest of the season is "much too severe for the charge" and hurts the athlete's NFL career at its height.
Me Thinks Zarqawi Screwed Up...Again
ZARQA, Jordan — A visit to the mosque that terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi attended as a child suggests that the Al Qaeda figure made a big mistake in plotting Amman’s triple bombings of 11/9. The sermon Friday at the al-Falah mosque from Imam Mustafa Suleiman was, in his words, about “the criminality of the attacks and how they were not in keeping with Islam.”
Mr. Suleiman said that from now on he will no longer allow Salafis, members of the ultrareligious sect of Sunni Islam percolating largely from Saudi Arabia, into his house of worship. After midmorning prayers Friday, he even urged his minions to cooperate with Jordan’s intelligence services when they come asking.
Mr. Suleiman said that from now on he will no longer allow Salafis, members of the ultrareligious sect of Sunni Islam percolating largely from Saudi Arabia, into his house of worship. After midmorning prayers Friday, he even urged his minions to cooperate with Jordan’s intelligence services when they come asking.
That Cowboy Chirac
From former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy:
As "youth" rioting continues through its 18th day, Chirac's enlightened, progressive government in France will propose extending from 12 days to 90 the "state of emergency" that enables police to impose curfews and search homes as needed. I wonder what they'd have said if a couple of cowboys like Bush and Ashcroft had tried something like that after 9/11. Here, we're having a national anxiety attack over court-authorized subpoenas for library records. After 3000 dead.
As "youth" rioting continues through its 18th day, Chirac's enlightened, progressive government in France will propose extending from 12 days to 90 the "state of emergency" that enables police to impose curfews and search homes as needed. I wonder what they'd have said if a couple of cowboys like Bush and Ashcroft had tried something like that after 9/11. Here, we're having a national anxiety attack over court-authorized subpoenas for library records. After 3000 dead.
The Myth of 9 to 5
"[W]hy is 9 to 5 to commonly used to describe a typical work day? Nationwide, about two-thirds of full-time wage and salary workers start their days between 6:30 and 9:29 a.m., according to Bureau of Labor statistics, but the greatest concentration get to work between 7:30 and 8:39. Quitting time for more than half of these workers was just as varied. They leave between 3:30 and 6:29 p.m., with the greatest concentration heading home between 4:30 and 5:29."
Yesterday Was Not A Good Day For The Bloviators
John McCain on Face the Nation:
SCHIEFFER: President Bush accused his critics of rewriting history last week.
Sen. McCAIN: Yeah.
SCHIEFFER: And in--he said in doing so, the criticisms they were making of his war policy was endangering our troops in Iraq. Do you believe it is unpatriotic to criticize the Iraq policy?
Sen. McCAIN: No, I think it's a very legitimate aspect of American life to criticize and to disagree and to debate. But I want to say I think it's a lie to say that the president lied to the American people. I sat on the Robb-Silverman Commission. I saw many, many analysts that came before that committee. I asked every one of them--I said, `Did--were you ever pressured politically or any other way to change your analysis of the situation as you saw?' Every one of them said no.
Doh? And then there's this from that old fool Jay Rockefeller:
SEN. ROCKEFELLER: Chris, there's always the same conversation. You know it was not the Congress that sent 135,000 or 150,000 troops.
WALLACE: But you voted, sir, and aren't you responsible for your vote?
SEN. ROCKEFELLER: No.
WALLACE: You're not?
SCHIEFFER: President Bush accused his critics of rewriting history last week.
Sen. McCAIN: Yeah.
SCHIEFFER: And in--he said in doing so, the criticisms they were making of his war policy was endangering our troops in Iraq. Do you believe it is unpatriotic to criticize the Iraq policy?
Sen. McCAIN: No, I think it's a very legitimate aspect of American life to criticize and to disagree and to debate. But I want to say I think it's a lie to say that the president lied to the American people. I sat on the Robb-Silverman Commission. I saw many, many analysts that came before that committee. I asked every one of them--I said, `Did--were you ever pressured politically or any other way to change your analysis of the situation as you saw?' Every one of them said no.
Doh? And then there's this from that old fool Jay Rockefeller:
SEN. ROCKEFELLER: Chris, there's always the same conversation. You know it was not the Congress that sent 135,000 or 150,000 troops.
WALLACE: But you voted, sir, and aren't you responsible for your vote?
SEN. ROCKEFELLER: No.
WALLACE: You're not?
Quote of the Day
From Rob Reiner (yes, Meathead) in the NY Times:
Reiner talked authoritatively about weapons inspectors and the National Intelligence Estimate, and he made reference, with evident satisfaction, to a poll showing that just 38 percent of the public thought the country was now headed in the right direction. The decibel level of his voice began to rise in anger, as if it were not I sitting across from Reiner on his couch but the president himself. "To me, the death of people at somebody's hands over the stupidity of this man is astounding!" he shouted at me. "When I hear that on the weekend of the Super Bowl an Iraqi expatriate was explaining to him the difference between Kurds and Sunnis and Shiites, it makes me want to cry. I want to cry!" (Reiner said he recalled hearing this anecdote on cable news or talk radio, though I wasn't able to find any reference to it subsequently.) "How do you send people into a region, the most powerful superpower in the world, when you have no idea what's going on there? I'm not an Arab expert. Fine. So read a book! Sit down and learn something!" At this, Reiner leaned forward and emphasized each word with a nod of his sizable head: "Read! A! Book!"
I love it when people, in the process of claiming someone else is stupid, clearly reveal their own stupidity.
Reiner talked authoritatively about weapons inspectors and the National Intelligence Estimate, and he made reference, with evident satisfaction, to a poll showing that just 38 percent of the public thought the country was now headed in the right direction. The decibel level of his voice began to rise in anger, as if it were not I sitting across from Reiner on his couch but the president himself. "To me, the death of people at somebody's hands over the stupidity of this man is astounding!" he shouted at me. "When I hear that on the weekend of the Super Bowl an Iraqi expatriate was explaining to him the difference between Kurds and Sunnis and Shiites, it makes me want to cry. I want to cry!" (Reiner said he recalled hearing this anecdote on cable news or talk radio, though I wasn't able to find any reference to it subsequently.) "How do you send people into a region, the most powerful superpower in the world, when you have no idea what's going on there? I'm not an Arab expert. Fine. So read a book! Sit down and learn something!" At this, Reiner leaned forward and emphasized each word with a nod of his sizable head: "Read! A! Book!"
I love it when people, in the process of claiming someone else is stupid, clearly reveal their own stupidity.
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