American Athens

Just a quick note: CNN just showed the results of a poll that asked the question, “Is President Bush a uniter or a divider?”
Uniter: 41%
Divider: 54%
That is all.

The 2006 Oscar Nominations are out today, and in what has been a yearly event since 1994 when, “Forrest Gump” beat out both “Shawshank Redemption” and “Pulp Fiction;” I have made a list of who will win and who should win the Academy’s Oscar in each of the major catagories (because, no one really cares […]

This just in from the Associated Press:
RALEIGH, N.C. - Army officials are investigating allegations that members of the celebrated 82nd Airborne Division appear on a gay pornography Web site, a spokeswoman said Friday.
Authorities at Fort Bragg have begun an inquiry into whether the paratroopers’ actions violated the military conduct code.
Division spokeswoman Maj. Amy Hannah declined […]

Today marks another famous person’s birthday, another giant of American history, a man (again) who altered the history of the nation and the world. Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office as the country was mired in the despair and suffering of the Great Depression, which at the time had no end in sight. He changed the […]

Every five year old harbors some desire to be an astronaut, to travel in space. My desire bordered on obsession. Being buckled into my seatbelt was preparation for blast-off. My bedroom became the shuttle. We pretended to walk on the moon every afternoon during recess. I likely knew more about the Apollo and Gemini missions […]

Just when you thought that the Bush Administration, particularly the activities of its tentacles in the NSA and DoD, could get no worse and counter to democratic principles, this happens:
U.S. forces in Iraq, in two instances described in military documents, took custody of the wives of men believed to be insurgents in an apparent attempt […]

Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a single game of basketball earlier this week. Only one person had ever scored more in a single game, Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points 44 years ago. Chamberlain’s game took place in a small arena in Hershey, PA; Bryant’s in Los Angeles. You might think to yourself, what […]

Billy: Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad that I’m not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my shoes tied tight, I hope I don’t get in a fight.
This is my last weekend before I return to school and love Jesus full-time, which means I can only do this even […]

Even counting the work done by myDD and Swing State Project, this is the most comprehensive compiling of polling data I’ve seen since the 2004 election. Over at dkos, user dreaminonempty has a thorough look at Bush’s approval ratings from November through January, complete with pretty maps. Even if the information as useless as I’ve […]

In an article in this morning’s Globe, Gov. Mitt Romney describes how his Mormon faith will help him win the Republican nomintation for President in 2008. While I’m skeptical that it will help him, I don’t think it will particularly hurt him either. That, however, is not the most interesting piece of the article.

When […]

Now, I haven’t read the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Review. I don’t plan to, either. The Washington Post’s Bill Arkin has, however, and responds to the theory that we’re in the early stages of what the document calls, ominously, “Long War.” That’s right, no longer War on Terror, but Long War. A twenty year military engagement confronting […]

Tim Tagaris at the DNC Blog combines two of my favorite pastimes: gambling and systemic Republican corruption. Bob Ney(R-OH18) once went to a London casino with a convicted felon and a high-stakes gambler. He went back another time. On that trip, Ney said he turned his $100 into $34,000 after two winning hands. Tim has […]

Booze news from statehousenews.com:
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 25, 2006..Lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a legislative ban on any restaurant or bar in Massachusetts from offering its customers the use of an alcohol vaporizer machine, the device used mainly in Europe and marketed as the “ultimate party toy.”
“This is about the epitome of irresponsible drinking,” Known as […]

I’ve spent the morning reading through the first papal encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love). I plan to have a long and thorough piece on it ready for Sunday, but I find it absolutely necessary to write a few things about it now, upon which I will expand in the […]

Via TBogg, Via his comments. 50 Most Loathesome People in America:
35. Michael Brown
Charges: Second fiddle to Bush’s Nero—except that while New Orleans sank, Michael Brown just fiddled with himself. A man of geological indolence, Brown makes lichens seem dynamic. Despite being woefully unqualified for his job as FEMA director, it was Brown’s lethal callousness that […]

I’ve not posted on the Washington Post’s ombudsman Deborah Howell and her comments on Jack Abramoff and Democratic donations, because, frankly, it’s damned irrelevant. Yes, she was incorrect when she wrote that Abramoff gave money to both parties. Yes, it was more than “inartfully worded” as Howie Kurtz said it was. Perhaps both had malicious […]

The Red Sox, for the past few weeks, have been trying to acquire Covelli Loyce “Coco” Crisp from the Cleveland Indians for Guillermo Mota and, drumroll, Andy Marte. For the past few days, it’s been rumored to be all over but the physicals. Well, hallelujiah, Mota failed his physical.

It’s not that I don’t think Crisp […]

All apologies to John McEnroe, but for the love of God:
In June, 2002, Republican Sen. Michael DeWine of Ohio introduced legislation (S. 2659) which would have eliminated the exact barrier to FISA which Gen. Hayden yesterday said is what necessitated the Administration bypassing FISA.
[…]
[A]s of June, 2002 — many months after the FISA bypass […]

It sounds rather counter-intuitive to say that Boston’s nine percent rise in homelessness might be a good thing both for the city and its homeless. And, indeed, it would be a much better sign for our society had the numbers gone down. But the jump in the counted number is not necessarily a jump in […]

This is it. The House version of the Patriot Act renewal includes this goody-bag for the unchecked executive:
(b)(1) Under the direction of the Director of the Secret Service, members of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division are authorized to–
`(A) carry firearms;
`(B) make arrests […]