Its Springtime in DC!

The air is getting warmer, the cherry blossoms are about to bloom, and the sweet sounds of Republicans invoking the Fifth Amendment can be heard floating in the breeze...

Sing it with me: "Zippity do da, zippity yay, my oh my, what a wonderful day..."

African President Cures AIDS

Who ever said African politicians were often corrupt, crazy, or worse? The Gambian President just cured AIDS with an herbal concoction that came to him in a dream, from his ancestors!

Ahhh, good times...

Apparently the college lifestyle hasn't changed too drastically since we've left. Couple of interesting and/or depressing points:

• The comparison date used by this study, i.e. the date considered "way back in the day", is our freshman year: 1993.
• Good news! We weren't just binge drinkers, we were FREQUENT binge drinkers. Apparently we were ahead of our time, according to the article. "The proportion of students who drink (about 68 percent) and binge drink (40 percent) has changed little since 1993. But there have been substantial increases in the number of students who binge drink frequently (take five drinks at a time, three or more times in two weeks), who drink 10 or more times a month, and who get drunk three or more times in a month." (Side note: if binge drinking is worse than drinking, and frequent binge drinking is worse than binge drinking [and is defined as above], how do they categorize what we did?)
• I dispute this remark: "'The percentage of kids who drink and binge drink is essentially the same between 1993 and 2005, but the intensity of the drinking has dramatically changed,' Califano said. 'There's an intensity to the consumption we see here that we don't see in the general population.'"
• "Now, he said, students are 'drinking to become intoxicated as fast as they possibly can.'" What the heck were we doing, sipping on mint juleps??
• "'It's getting more intense,' she said. 'Drinking games that were happening in private parties or houses or bonfires 10 years ago are now happening in public venues. That to me reflects a sort of larger acceptance of extreme drinking.'" Ahem, we brought "This game sucks!" and "Z" to the public sphere more than a decade ago, dammit.

The Ground Truth

Diana and I went to a public screening last night of the documentary "The Ground Truth". Holy shit, was it powerful. I don't care where you are on the political spectrum, what you think about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, or who you're going to back in the 2008 presidential elections... you should see this movie. It really made me stop and think about what it REALLY means to "Support the Troops".

Homework assignment: rent, Netflix, or buy "The Ground Truth". Watch it. Post your thoughts back here. Seriously, if you love America and you want to get soldiers' perspectives on what's happening, watch the movie.

No wonder the Bush Admin wanted to sell our ports to Dubai!!

Apparently, when he leaves office, the Vice President wants to rule the globe from a more centrally located throne...

They can't HANDLE the truth!

Who's head is next on the chopping block...YOU Lt. Weinberg??

One for Clay

No need to sweat when you cross the river anymore!

Funny, don't half your people have blonde hair and names like Juan Jose Richthofen?

Unsurprisingly, President Bush's trip to South American has not been met with entirely open arms. Leftists don't like him, Hugo Chavez is up to various shenanigans, and even the party of the President of Brazil is planning on joining anti-Bush demonstrations.

However, I found this particular section of the NY Times article on the trip, discussing one set of demonstrators in Brazil, particularly interesting:

"At an evening rush-hour protest in the central business district here, several thousand activists wore stickers showing Mr. Bush with a Hitler-style mustache and a swastika next to his head and the words 'Fora Bush,' or 'Bush Out.'

With the police standing by in riot gear, antiwar protesters mixed with unionists and environmentalists, who are concerned that harvesting ethanol from sugar could hurt the Amazon. A sea of signs read 'Adolf Bush' or 'Quit Playing With the Environment.'”

I mean, come on. When you think about the reaction of Brazil, and South America in general, when REAL Nazis washed up on their shore, this is pretty ironic. Or perhaps a cataclysmic show of gall and chutzpah. Now, I'm all for Bush-bashing and I'm generally amused by the vitriolic clown show that is Hugo Chavez, but this is a little much.

A Republican Against a Tax Cut?

Lest you think I'm referring to a lefty New England Republican, or a staunch conservative with a new-found softspot for maintaining revenue in order to provide vital public services, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disabuse you of the notion. I'm talking about Haley Barbour, current governor of the State of Mississippi and former RNC chairman.

What tax is he refusing to cut? The state tax on groceries (currently a whopping 7%). Why? Because the legislature decided to pay for it by upping the state tax, now currently the third lowest in the nation, on cigarettes.

As a name partner in one of the most successful lobby shops in DC before being governor, one with no less than 5 major tobacco companies on the client list, its looking a little like Barbour is governing with an eye towards the future. His financial future. Not so much the future of poor Mississippians (which isn't exactly a small percentage down there).

For shame.

Rector Powell? I hardly know her...Powell.

The complete text of a mass email from the College:

Dear Alumni and Friends of the College of William and Mary:

As you know, in early February the William and Mary Committee on Religion in a Public University was asked to present recommendations on the display of the Wren Chapel cross by mid April. The charge, while daunting, was accepted in the spirit you'd expect from the best among our College's alumni, faculty, students, and staff.

Last evening we received a unanimous recommendation from the Committee on a new compromise practice on the cross's display. We have accepted and will begin to implement it immediately. A joint statement from the Board of Visitors and the president, including the Committee's full recommendation, follows.

Michael K. Powell - Rector
Gene R. Nichol - President

JOINT STATEMENTOFTHE BOARD OF VISITORS AND THE PRESIDENT

President and Board Accept Committee Recommendation on Wren Cross

Following its meeting yesterday, the William and Mary Committee on Religion in a Public University unanimously recommended a compromise practice on the display of the table cross in the Wren Chapel. We accept and will immediately begin to implement the Committee’s recommendations, which we quote in full:

THE WREN CHAPEL CROSS SHALL BE RETURNED FOR PERMANENT DISPLAY IN THE CHAPEL IN A GLASS CASE. THE CASE SHALL BE LOCATED IN A PROMINENT, READILY VISIBLE PLACE, ACCOMPANIED BY A PLAQUE EXPLAINING THE COLLEGE'S ANGLICAN ROOTS AND ITS HISTORIC CONNECTION TO BRUTON PARISH CHURCH. THE WREN SACRISTY SHALL BE AVAILABLE TO HOUSE SACRED OBJECTS OF ANY RELIGIOUS TRADITION FOR USE IN WORSHIP AND DEVOTION BY MEMBERS OF THE COLLEGE COMMUNITY.

The cross will still be available, of course, for use on the altar during appropriate religious services. This practice is similar to that used by other universities with historic chapels, including the University of Virginia. Other religious symbols, which may be stored in the sacristy when not in use, will also be welcome during the services for which they are appropriate. Under this policy, the Wren Chapel will continue to play its unique historic and affirming role in the life of the College: a place of worship for our students and a site for our most solemn occasions.

The Committee's quick action was unexpected but deeply welcomed. Rector Powell stated, "The Committee membership recognized that further division among our broad university community is unhealthy and it worked intensely to come to a unanimous recommendation, having considered the wide range of sincerely held views of alumni, faculty, students, and friends of the College." President Nichol added, "This has been a challenging task for the Committee, but it has produced a compromise that allows for permanent display of the cross in the Chapel, while remaining welcoming to all. I fully embrace it."

We are grateful to the Committee, and especially its chairs Professors Alan Meese and Jim Livingston, for earnestly embracing this part of their charge. We look forward, as well, to their coming work on other important challenges.

Vive la Justice!

Admittedly, Scooter Libby has been thrown under the bus by equally culpable, senior political colleagues, but its nice to know somebody is getting nailed for this horrific example of dirty politics (even if his conviction for perjury does have the same ring as convicting Al Capone for tax evasion). Too bad they couldn't get Cheney. I guess those types slip away every time.

Ouch, that's not gonna help...

Well, at least Obama's ancestors didn't own Al Sharpton's ancestors.

Here's some sweet spin, though. Kudos to Bill Burton.

"Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the senator's ancestors 'are representative of America.' 'While a relative owned slaves, another fought for the Union in the Civil War,' Burton said. 'And it is a true measure of progress that the descendant of a slave owner would come to marry a student from Kenya and produce a son who would grow up to be a candidate for president of the United States.'"

Let's see if the 50% African-American constituency in the SC Dem primary buys the "progress of America" argument.