Blog Has Moved

I've moved from blogspot.com to my own web space. Visit me over at Progressive Texan.

[Update 01/30/2007]: Due partially to my own stupidity and a little help from a domain name squatter, my blog is now gone after a year. I've removed the link and I will occasionally post here.

Astros' Magic Number: 3

With the Astros' win over the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 tonight, combined with the Phillies' 2-3 loss to the NY Mets, leaves the Astros with a magic number of 3.

As a result of the Astros' win, the NY Mets and the Florida Marlins were mathematically eliminated from the NL wild card race, leaving only the Phillies and the Astros in the race. The way each team looks right now, the Astros are set to win their second straight NL Wild Card title. This would likely set up a NLDS match-up with the Atlanta Braves for a second straight season.

While the Astros' offense is not quite what it was last year with Carlo$ Beltran on board, it certainly looks like the pitching is set to carry us far into the playoffs. Don't forget - playoffs in baseball are all about your three man rotation. Therefore, I have but three words for the rest of Major League Baseball.....

..... Clemens, Oswalt, Pettitte.

Hurricane Distraction - Back to Politics. Sorta.

Wow, that's pretty much dead on. I am a little disturbed that it's so close to socialist, but I'm not surprised.

You are a Social Liberal (70% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (21% permissive) You are best described as a: Strong Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Rita Now Headed Right for Houston

Not only is Rita now one of the most dangerous hurricanes to ever form in the Atlantic, but now it's knocking on my back door.

I'm still planning on staying until I hear evacuation orders, but this is certainly testing my resolution.

Rita now a Category 5

Category 5. Ouch:

WTNT63 KNHC 211955
TCUAT3
HURRICANE RITA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
255 PM CDT WED SEP 21 2005

DATA FROM RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT RITA HAS REACHED CATEGORY FIVE INTENSITY WITH ESTIMATED MAXIMUM SUSTAINED SURFACE WINDS OF 165 MPH. THIS WILL BE REFLECTED IN THE 4 PM CDT ADVISORY.

FORECASTER AVILA

Everyone get ready to settle in and ride this baby out.

Rita Approaching Category 5 Status

The National Hurricane Service is now reporting that a reconnaissance aircraft has measured 150 mph winds to bring Hurricane Rita very close to reaching Category 5 status (>155 mph).

Preparing to Weather Rita

At this point, I feel pretty confident in waiting out Hurricane Rita from the relative comfort of my Montrose townhouse. I'm basing my decision on a couple of factors:

• Forecasts of the storm have it making landfall a decent distance south of Houston (although this could change with little notice)
• The City of Houston will likely not issue even a voluntary evacuation order for the Montrose area
• My townhouse was built in 1973, shares the sidewalls with other townhouses, and seems to be built fairly well.
• I'm confident that even if power goes out, I'm in a densely populated area where CenterPoint Energy will make it a priority to restore power.

Tonight I'll brave the crowds at my local Kroger to stock up on water, canned and otherwise non-perishable food, extra propane for the grill, batteries, and plenty of beer.

In the meantime, I need to check with my landlord to see if he'll be doing anything to board windows. If not, I'll need to make a quick decision as to whether I need to board windows myself or just hope the wind doesn't blow hard enough to break any windows.

Rita Could Reach Category 5 Within 24 Hours

The National Hurricane Center's 10AM CDT advisory contains this frightening forecast:

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 140 MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RITA IS A EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS AND COULD REACH CATEGORY FIVE INTENSITY IN THE CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO.

I'm currently also listening to 740AM KTRH here in Houston to keep up to date on any developments during the work day.

Rita: Category 4 Hurricane and Growing

Rita has reached Category 4 status this morning with maximum sustained winds of 135 MPH. Based on the model projections above, it appears that Galveston/Houston will avoid a direct hit, but will suffer what meteorologicists refer to as the "dirty" side of a hurricane - the side where most of the rain occurs.

Still awaiting word from the City of Houston as to whether my area (Montrose) will be asked to evacuate. There is currently a plan to ask people in low lying areas of the city to evacuate tomorrow morning.

Rita Projected to Reach Category 4 Strength

The Houston Chronicle's SciGuy is reporting on his blog that Rita is currently projected to reach a very strong Category 4 status. The National Hurricane Service has also predicted that Rita will gain significant strength as it moves across the Gulf and will reach Category 3 status sometime Wednesday.

Perry Declares Texas to be a Disaster Area

The Chronicle is reporting that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has declared Texas to be a disaster area in anticipation of the damage that could be caused upon Hurricane Rita's landfall on the Texas coast.

Of course, Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt couldn't resist taking a shot at Louisiana officials in making the announcement:

A FEMA official is already at the State Operations Center, which went on full alert status today with 34 state agencies on site around the clock, said Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt.

"FEMA has already been part of this. They have offered whatever support we need,'' Walt said. "Texas is not Louisiana. You won't see that breakdown occurring here.''

Real professionalism, I gotta say.

Rita now a Category 2 Hurricane

The National Hurricane Center is now reporting that Rita has reached 100 mph winds, placing it as a Category 2 Hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson Scale.

Galveston Begins Voluntary Evacuations; Mandatory Evacuation Set for 5 p.m. Wed.

The Chronicle is reporting that Galveston officials have issued voluntary evacuation orders as Hurricane Rita continues on a course to strike the Texas coast just north of Matagorda Island. A mandatory evacuation will be ordered on Wednesday at 5 p.m. CDT unless the hurricane's projected path varies significantly from current forecasts.

The more I look at the evacuation map above and look at the forecasts, I believe I wouldn't be in too much danger holding out in my house. Unless I hear of any evacuation orders from the City of Houston, I'll be riding out the storm in the Montrose.

Thoughts on a Chief Justice Roberts

I honestly don't know where I stand on the idea of a Roberts Court after living through the Rehnquist Court. I didn't get much of a chance to follow the confirmation hearings, but I did catch some parts of hearings on C-SPAN's website and through media reports on the hearings.

One thing I do like about Judge Roberts: the far-left considers him too conservative and the far-right considers him too liberal. What's not to love about that?

My favorite aspect of Roberts is reflected in a recent editorial from The New Republic:

"I do not have an overarching judicial philosophy," Roberts told the hearings. It is impossible to imagine Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas uttering those words. And, he added, "I tend to look at the cases from the bottom up rather than the top down." This is a man animated by the law, not by the movement. He rejected the dogma that the Constitution should rigidly be construed in accordance with its original understanding, and he endorsed "a more practical and pragmatic approach."

Bingo.

Update: Hurricane Rita

As of 8:15AM CDT, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL is reporting that Tropical Storm Rita has now strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane.

The official projected path, as of 4AM CDT, has the hurricane passing just south of Galveston, possibly sparing us a direct hit. Of course, this projection should start to become more reliable in the next 24 hours as the storm approaches a point where landfall on the Texas coast falls within the 3-day projection as opposed to the less reliable 5-day projection.

It's our turn: Hurricane Rita

There was some concern that refugees from New Orleans would bring the chaos and crime of the city with them to Houston. Instead, it looks like they brought the bad weather.

The map to the right here is the projected path of now-Tropical Storm Rita (as of 10AM CDT). It is expected that this storm will become a Category 1 hurricane by later today or tonight. The Chronicle is reporting that the storm could be a Category 3 hurricane by the time it makes landfall. The high percentage target? Galveston, Texas.

If you're in the Galveston/Houston area, it would be in your best interest to get the plywood collected now and prepare to board up your windows and head for the hills (Texas hill country, that is).

I suppose if things start to look bad for Houston, I'll take an early camping trip to Lost Maples State Natural Area or enjoy the riverwalk in San Antonio.

Help out KPFT!

I'm sure anyone who reads my blog is well aware of the existance of 90.1FM KPFT. The station is located right in the heart of the Montrose and is a wealth of information from a progressive point of view. The best part is that it is commercial-free and listener sponsored.

Of course, the problem is that they need their listeners to help out now and then by becoming a paid member. I went ahead and pledged $35 to become a listener-sponsor, mostly because I've started listening to more shows through the new online archives. There are lots of shows I couldn't catch before because of time conflicts, but now they're all pretty much available anytime I want to listen to them (kind of like radio TiVo).

Anyway, if you have the means to do so, I highly recommend supporting a very valuable community resource.

Cindy Sheehan: Political Tool or Pissed Off Mom?

A casual scan of the blogosphere will reveal a dramatic range of opinions regarding Cindy Sheehan's protest camp along the road leading to Bush's Crawford ranch.

A good local example of the right-wing view on Sheehan is the series of posts on Lone Star Times from Owen Courrèges. The basic take from conservatives can be summed up as "listen to her message - it's ignorant and anti-Semitic".

Of course, much of the talk has centered on what many have perceived as anti-Semitic rhetoric. Let's review those "anti-Semitic statements":

"Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the army to protect America, not Israel. Am I stupid? No, I know full well that my son, my family, this nation and this world were betrayed by George Bush who was influenced by the neo-con PNAC agendas after 9/11. We were told that we were attacked on 9/11 because the terrorists hate our freedoms and democracy … not for the real reason, because the Arab Muslims who attacked us hate our middle-eastern foreign policy. That hasn't changed since America invaded and occupied Iraq … in fact it has gotten worse."

Owen's reaction:

"She also voiced vaguely anti-Semitic rhetoric when she alleged that the Iraq War was all about protecting Israel, i.e. a Jewish conspiracy (a similar opinion is frequently expressed by David Duke and his ilk)."

I'm sorry, but since when does criticism of United States foreign policy in regards to the State of Israel come even remotely close to being anti-Semitic? If Owen were to criticize Saudi Arabia or Iran, does that mean that he's anti-Muslim? Afterall, just as Israel is a Jewish state, Saudi Arabia and Iran are Islamic states.

The problem here is that conservatives have long attempted to stem criticisms of Israel by equating such criticisms to anti-Semitism. The problem is that most of these criticisms of Israel have nothing to do with Jews as a whole - the criticisms have more to do with the government of Israel itself and its policies. Moreso, in this case, Sheehan is not even criticizing Israel - she's attacking U.S. policy toward Israel.

Even more disgusting is Owen's comparison of Sheehan's statement to the rhetoric of former KKK grand dragon David Duke. While Owen says Sheehan doesn't get a free pass for losing her son to the Iraqi war, he does seem to want the State of Israel to get a free pass against any criticism on the sole basis that Israel is a self-proclaimed "Jewish state" (despite the growing Muslim Arab population that threatens to out-number Jews within Israel's borders).

Bar Exam Hell Over - Let the employment begin!

Finally! The bar exam is done. Hopefully that will be the last time I see the Texas Bar Exam.

Now I can finally join the full-time workforce and start earning an income again. My credit cards are just begging to be paid down, and they certainly will be over the next couple of months. Once I get that out of the way, it will be time to start looking at a new car. Then (*shudder*) my consolidated student loan will start coming in.

The great part about this is that there are no more tests. No longer do I have to go through the cycle of starting a semester, working through the semester, cramming for finals and then suffering through the finals weeks to come back down to an extended time off. Personally, I'd rather have a stable work environment where I'm going to the office 8-5, coming home knowing I've left everything at the office and I can just relax. Then, when I want time off, I can take vacation time when I want and actually have the money to do something interesting during that time off instead of sitting at home and playing on the XBox.

Now I truly feel like an adult.

Studying for the bar ... at the bar.

Yeah, so usually it might not be a good idea to study for a very important exam while drinking beer. In my experience, however, I find that if one drinks quite a bit of coffee while studying (as I have done at Kaveh Kanes in downtown today), then you really need to off-set the jitters resulting from the caffine.

In this case, I'm working practice MBE questions with Bar/Bri's StudySmart software on my laptop at the Flying Saucer (also in downtown) while sipping on a much needed Saint Arnold's Amber Ale. Signs of a problem to some? Yeah, probably. A proven method of studying for any task? 8 years of higher education tend to support this theory.

I figure it's better than taking up smoking again, much as I did while writing my thesis in undergrad. Plus, beer tastes much better than cigarette smoke.

Thoughts on Karl Rove

I have to say that I have always respected Karl Rove. I don't agree with the man's politics, but I deeply respect his political talents.

Now it seems as if "turd blossum", as Bush likes to call him, has fallen into a hole from which he can't seem to escape. Many have equated Rove's lawyer's poor attempt to play damage control to Bill Clinton's "I didn't inhale" defense.

To make things worse, the White House has now completely stonewalled the media on the issue, claiming that they cannot discuss "an ongoing investigation". Hmmm.. Oddly enough, that didn't prevent White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan from categorically denying that Karl Rove had anything to do with the leak of the identity of Valerie Plame as an undercover CIA agent. What were your exact words there, Scott?

QUESTION: Weeks ago, when you were first asked whether Mr. Rove had the conversation with Robert Novak that produced the column, you dismissed it as ridiculous. And I wanted just to make sure, at that time, had you talked to Karl?

McCLELLAN: I've made it very clear, from the beginning, that it is totally ridiculous. I've known Karl for a long time, and I didn't even need to go ask Karl, because I know the kind of person that he is, and he is someone that is committed to the highest standards of conduct.

QUESTION: Can you say for the record whether Mr. Rove possessed the information about Mr. Wilson's wife, but merely did not talk to anybody about it?

McCLELLAN: I don't know whether or not -- I mean, I'm sure he probably saw the same media reports everybody else in this room has.

QUESTION: When you talked to Mr. Rove, did you discuss, did you ever have this information?

McCLELLAN: We're going down a lot of different roads here. I've made it very clear that he was not involved, that there's no truth to the suggestion that he was.

Then there was yesterday:

QUESTION: Does the president continue to have confidence in Mr. Rove?

MCCLELLAN: Again, these are all questions coming up in the context of an ongoing criminal investigation. And you've heard my response on this.

QUESTION: So you're not going to respond as to whether or not the president has confidence in his deputy chief of staff?

MCCLELLAN: You're asking this question in the context of an ongoing investigation, and I would not read anything into it other then I'm simply going to comment on an ongoing investigation.

Riiiight.

Bar/Bri and the Texas Bar Exam

I'll admit that I originally considered not taking a bar exam prep course at all, opting instead to do self-study and prepare myself by using study guides.

Two problems with this idea: 1) The bar exam is graded on a curve of sorts, so I would be immediately at a disadvantage by not having the exact same instruction as the vast majority of people taking the bar in July. 2) I'm not the most motivated person in the world when it comes to studying for something, so I couldn't rely on myself to study completely on my own without having some semblance of structure.

So I opted for Bar/Bri, and one week into it I have to admit that this prep course may very well be worth it. It covers pretty much every little detail that could possibly be tested on the bar exam and gives some great perspectives on how to get the most points out of the essay questions.

My only gripe so far is that whoever planned the location for this course should never be allowed to plan anything beyong a pizza order from this point forward. We're located at the Arabia Shrine on North Braeswood, which has quite a bit of parking, but it is clearly insufficient for the number of students enrolled in Bar/Bri. The actual ballroom used for the class isn't much better, with people relegated to sitting anywhere they can find a spot, even in the lobby outside of the ballroom (thank God for the speaker system piping the lecture out there). Honestly, the obvious problems with this venue just had breach of contract written all over it when I first showed up to the course.

Enough bitching about the little problems with Bar/Bri. Everyone seems to have learned to cope with it, and it turns out that that trouble is worth the breadth and depth of knowledge the lecturers are able to impart.

Nuclear Option Averted - Senate Compromises

CNN is currently reporting that seven Democrats and seven Republicans have brokered a deal wherein the option to filibuster will remain.

It looks like Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen's nomination is going to move forward to an up-or-down vote before the entire Senate, presumably tomorrow on the basis of Sen. John Cornyn's (D-TX) motion for cloture.

I'm glad that some sort of compromise has been reached in this situation. I simply can't foresee the drastic change in the judicial landscape that would happen over the years as the normal politic cycle produces Democratic majorities in the Senate, followed again by Republican majorities, just as we have seen over the last 150+ years.

Bobby L. Warren, Jr., J.D.

Wow, three years really do fly by quickly when you're suffering through a course of study that really hasn't changed much in the last 150 years.

Law school: Done. Bar Prep Course: On deck. Bar Exam: Looming. Am I scared? Not really.

In 24 hours, I'll be walking a stage in Hofheinz Pavilion at the University of Houston and picking up a piece of paper that will eventually be a Doctorate of Jurisprudence.

In about 28 hours, I'll be drinking a beer, eating some BBQ and partying with friends. That's the part I'm really looking forward to. Graduation is merely a prelude to the real celebration.

Limbaugh: Senate Compromise Nothing More Than "Punting"

Courtesy of the Drudge Report, I found this article on Rush Limbaugh's website providing some insightful detail about a possible compromise regarding judicial nominations before the Senate:

It would involve having a half dozen members of each party sign a memo of understanding that would bind all of them to certain actions on judicial nominations. The six Republicans would agree to block Majority Leader Bill Frist's plan to invoke the nuclear option and to give up trying to seek confirmation of three of the seven federal appeals court nominees who were filibustered in the last Congress. For their part the six Democrats would pledge to allow votes on the other four nominees, and vote to cut off filibusters on all other judicial nominees named by President Bush for the next year and a half, except in 'extreme circumstances,'

Really, this seems to be a rather reasonable approach, given current circumstances. Republicans get to push through a large chunk of judicial nominees while the Democrats can claim to have fought off the "nuclear option" of eliminating the filibuster from judicial nominations.

Instead, Limbaugh paints this as simply "punting":

I'm told that Specter is ready to go for this. These guys on our side, folks, I just don't understand it. They are so afraid of upsetting long-standing Senate tradition. I'm having trouble keeping up with this. "Long-standing Senate tradition" is what the Democrats have violated. The filibustering of judges is unconstitutional. It undermines the president and the Senate's constitutional powers. And why? Because a small minority of leftist senators refuse to abide by the election results. That's all this is -- and our guys on the Republican side, at least some of them, apparently, don't care to fight that out. I think this is going to be a litmus test, folks. You talk about litmus tests? We want the Senate to defend the Constitution.

Oh, come on now Rush, stop popping pills for one second and come to your senses about this. There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that mandates that a simple majority of any legislative body should be able to make all decisions. Super-majority threshholds (decisions usually requiring something more than 50% + 1) are common in many procedural aspects of the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and nearly any other democratically elected legislative body. The only mention of judicial nominations in the constitution is in Article II where the President may nominate "with the advice and consent of the Senate ... judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law". Funny, I don't see that part about only requiring a majority of the Senate to get the "advice and consent" part.

Let's face it folks, it's entirely up to the Senate, as an independant legislative body within the U.S. Congress, to determine how it gives its "advice and consent". It appears that they are close to coming to agreement on how to do so in this instance, which is certainly better than having any majority force it down the throats of a minority.

Two Down, One to Go.

First Amendment Law and Trusts & Wills are out of the way. Products Liability on deck and Secured Financing in the hole.

Here's the problem: Those last two exams are but 6 credit hours compared to the 80-something credits I already have. Law school has one of those mixed blessings known as the mandatory grade curve. Basically, to earn a grade outside of the B range, you have to do either really great or really badly. Going through the motions and avoiding looking like a booger-eating moron earn you the requisite B, B- or B+. B's are pretty much my specialty (I've earned a couple of A-'s and a couple of grades in the C-ish range, so they cancel each other out).

With that in mind, where is the motivation to care? If my GPA dips by 5 hundreths of a point, will it really concern anyone trying to hire me? No. Do I care enough about the subject matter of my two remaining exams to actually put forth more than the minimum effort? No.

So here I sit, with one exam tomorrow morning and my last exam on Wednesday, yet I have done very little studying for either exam. In fact, I'll be learning Secured Financing sometime between Noon tomorrow and 2pm on Wednesday.

And so, for now, I blog.

DeLay's Real Problem - breach of "Contract With America"

Jonathan Gurwitz of the San Antonio Express-News has an article in today's Houston Chronicle reviewing the troubles Tom DeLay's political moves and the possible problems they could present. Gurwitz argues that most of the problems DeLay has encountered in recent years will not be his downfall. Instead, each of these small problems lead to a much bigger problem:

DeLay's problem, instead, arises from a contract he signed in 1994 and which he posts on his congressional Web site among "the great documents of freedom."

The Contract With America committed a new Republican majority not only to bringing new policies to Washington but also to transforming the way Congress and its leaders work.

Its first sentence pledges to rebuild "the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives." It calls for respecting the values and sharing the faith of the American family, restoring accountability to Congress and ending its cycle of scandal and disgrace.

Cozying up to influence peddlers like Jack Abramoff, however, can't but destroy public bonds of trust. Few Americans will share the value of all-expenses-paid trips abroad or have great faith in $473,801 in payments to family members. Sharing in Washington's imperial excesses does nothing to restore accountability or end disgrace.

For anyone who truly believes in the Contract With America, "the Democrats have always done it" is not an excuse, it's an indictment. Republicans, with DeLay in the vanguard, promised a breath of fresh air in 1994. Ten years on, the House leadership has a familiar, musty smell. And that is DeLay's problem.

It has been some time since I've seen the Contract With America invoked. Perhaps it is time someone reminded Republicans of the promise they made in the early 90's. It may be hard for them to honestly say they have kept that promise.

Al Edwards' "Cheerleader Booty Bill"

Is there not already enough on the Texas Legislature's plate? It seems that Al Edwards now wants the House to consider whether there should be legal limits on "sexually suggestive" cheerleading in Texas public schools.

I think the real rationale can be found here:

In the meantime, Edwards has been doing the talk-show circuit, promoting his cheerleader bill on programs such as the "Today" show and "The O'Reilly Factor."

"I've carried this message everywhere that I can carry it," he told reporters. "We want to see something done."

Seems like Edwards is just fishing for a little publicity here and knew that something this ridiculous would be sure to find its way onto the news wires (and blogs, for that matter).

Casey: Death of Texas Campaign Finance Reform Sure to Ignite Perry/Hutchison Primary

Rick Casey has an excellent article available online, presumably for the Sunday edition of the Houston Chronicle, covering the impact of the death of a bill intended to bar "secret corporate money from being used in the last days of an election to attack one candidate or praise another."

Casey does a great job highlighting the campaign staff for both Perry and Hutchison and their ties to prior campaigns using tactics similar to what this bill would have banned. His guess is that the death of this bill means that these tactics will be in full bloom in the days running up to the GOP primaries.

I for one will be greatly interested in how that primary turns out. Of course, whoever comes out of that bloodbath will have former U.S. Representative Chris Bell and Kinky Friedman ("why the hell not?") to contend with.

Pope as Head of State

The New Republic Online has an interesting article (subscribers only) about the impact the Roman Pontiff has as the Head of State for the Holy See (Vatican City). While I agree strongly with the premise that the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church have significant impacts on international issues, I think that perhaps the authors are off-base in presuming that the Holy See's treatment as a sovereign nation gives the Church clout:

Most troubling, however, is that the bizarre practice of treating the Roman Catholic Church as a country has serious political implications for women's equality, gay rights, and reproductive freedom. Of course, the Holy See unjustly bans women from holding key Church posts; but the Vatican's fictive statehood allows it to promote its retrograde gender values in multilateral forums as well. For example, during negotiations for the first follow-up conference to the International Conference on Populations and Development, the Holy See advocated for replacing the term "respect for women's rights" with "respect for women's status." Also during this conference the Holy See spoke out against the use of emergency contraception for women who were raped by Serbian forces in Kosovo and successfully blocked all mention of this important provision from the final conference document. When ratifying the children's rights convention, the Holy See claimed that the convention would "safeguard the rights of the child before as well as after birth." And during negotiations on the International Criminal Court, the Holy See pressed to exclude "forced pregnancy"--the practice of ethnic cleansing through rape--from the list of war crimes.

Nations don't just give other nations positions of power and respect within the international community just because they claim to be nations. Rather, could it be the fact that over 17% of the world's population is Roman Catholic? Perhaps the fact that the sole superpower left in the world has a population wherein 1 in every 4 citizens is Roman Catholic? See, the issue isn't the recognition of the Holy See as a nation. It is the fact that other nations recognize the power that exists in a well organized hierarchy which wields significant sway over the members of the Church.

Bush pledges to make Social Security benefits progressive?

President Bush actually piqued my interest when he dropped this one in his news conference last night, as reported by the New York Times today:

Mr. Bush, in his television news conference on Thursday night, proposed that benefits for affluent future retires be trimmed so that retirees who were less well off could be protected.

Wow! Admittedly, he had me hooked on this one. Perhaps, just perhaps, Bush has decided that he needed to make some moves to reach across the isle and get some bipartisan support for social security reforms. Afterall, support has been tepid at best. Then we get this mixed message:

Today, the president's chief spokesman, Scott McClellan, said early news accounts had left the impression that cuts would apply "to everybody across the board."

When asked who would be defined as "affluent" under Mr. Bush's proposals, Mr. McClellan said, "Well, we're going to be working with Congress on those issues."

I suppose we'll see exactly what this means when Republicans present their draft proposal in the coming days.

Mainline Protestant Leaders Call Bush's Budget "Unjust"

The Episcopal Church USA, in conjunction with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, and United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society issued a press release today decrying Bush's FY06 budget, stating that it reminded them of "the Gospel story of Lazarus and the rich man and noted that the 2006 budget had much for the rich man but little for Lazarus".

Particularly poignant was this paragraph:

As we view the FY '06 Federal Budget through our lens of faith this budget, on balance, continues to ask our nation's working poor to pay the cost of a prosperity in which they may never share. We believe this budget remains unjust. It does not adequately address the more than 36 million Americans living below the poverty line, 45 million without health insurance, or the 13 million hungry children. Worldwide it neither provides sufficient development assistance nor adequately addresses the Global AIDS pandemic. Therefore, we ask Congress to reject this budget and begin anew.

Amen.

Rockets collapse in the 4th Quarter

So much for showing maturity in what could have been a death blow to the Mavericks.

Although the Houston Rockets led by double digits early in the 4th quarter, they somehow managed to blow that lead and allow the Mavs to take a significant lead late in the game.

What ultimately killed the Rockets in this game was free throw shooting. The Rockets went to the charity stripe 23 times to the Mav's 33. Worse yet, the Rockets only hit 17 of their free throws for 73%, while the Mavs hit 28 free throws at a 84% clip. This of course, doesn't account for the Rockets purposefully fouling the Mavs with 24 seconds left in the game in a futile attempt to stop the clock and climb back into the game. The free throw scoring margin of 11 points easily put the Mavs over the top.

While I have all the confidence in the world that the Rockets will learn valuable lessons in this game and eventually win the series, I'm concerned about the Mavs building momentum and somehow tying this series going back to Dallas for game 5.

Van Gundy will surely have this team ready to come back on Saturday.

Rockets go for 3-0 tonight

It's times like these that I wish the NBA had not instituted the seven game series format for the first round of the playoffs.

With the Dallas Mavericks in town tonight for Game 3 of their series against the Houston Rockets, I think we'll really get to see what these Rockets are made of. Afterall, the Rockets have had tremendous success on the road (25-16 this season). The Rockets fared only slightly better at home with a 26-15 record. I wonder if this team will be able to keep their focus and get a crucial win at home. I'm not asking for a sweep - just get one at home so we can finish the Mavs quickly and get some rest before the next round.

In typical Van Gundy fashion, the coach has a nice take on home court:

The problem for too many players is they (think) ... 'We're going home now,' or, 'We're going to be playing in front of our fans,' like that's going to do it. 'We're going to be playing in front of our fans.' All right, that'll be a big help in playing against Nowitzki. That mind-set is so immature.

Tip-off is coming up soon - let's see if the Rockets can bury the Mavs in a hole from which they won't escape.

Let the blogging begin!

Although I've had this blog account through blogger.com for quite some time, I haven't really utilized it. After reading blogs on a daily basis for a couple of months now, I figured that it was time to finally subject the blogosphere to my ramblings.

I'm sure I'll use this space mostly as a soapbox for my opinions on politics, culture and other items of interest out there in the real world.