Hot off the press

Dean Strickman resigns

As I’m sure a lot of you know, Dean Strickman announced today that he plans to resign on July 1, 2009.

As always, we’re curious how the student body feels about it.

I want to caution everyone, however, that I will not tolerate personal or unfair attacks on the dean, though we do encourage warranted criticism. Just remember, before we give in to reactionary and self-pitying arias, that the dean has accomplished some magnificent tasks when it comes to FIU CoL–a lighting-fast accreditation, a debut in the third tier, to name a few–and our professional and academic lives are better because of him.

Posted in FIU CoL, Florida | 1 Comment »

Putting Things in Perspective

For those of you who think that getting a C in Property is the worst thing that could possibly happen to you, here is a story from ESPN.com about a guy, Rai Henniger, who I worked with at the Colorado Springs Sky Sox baseball team back in 2006.  Jerry Crasnick, whose book License to Deal is a good read, writes a touching piece about a guy that valued life and loved his job who, one day, found himself on the other end of a fireworks shell and lived to tell the story, or at least what he remembers of it.

And children, who have yet to embrace the concept of diplomacy, see his reconstructed face and get right to the point.

“Mister, what happened to you?” they’ll say.

“It’s from fireworks,” he gently tells them, in his new capacity as a walking cautionary tale.

It’s been precisely a year since a 2½-inch spherical titanium shell shattered Henniger’s face, turning Security Service Field into a makeshift battlefield scene, and a glance in the mirror is all it takes to remind him that his life will never be the same. For 17 years, he’s been the main community link for the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox — the senior vice president of marketing, on-field master of ceremonies and goodwill ambassador for the franchise. (Full Story)

Posted in General, Sports | 1 Comment »

I’m not part of the reality-based community!

I don’t dislike Hillary Clinton as much as the average Obamaphile. I would have no problem with her being president. But stuff like this makes me dislike her a little bit more everyday:

Clinton raised questions about Obama’s ability to connect with working-class Americans while dismissing economists who have said her plan to suspend gas taxes over the summer would do little good.

“I’m not going to put my lot in with economists,” Clinton said when asked to name an economist who backed her proposal.

“We’ve got to get out of this mind-set where somehow elite opinion is always on the side of doing things that really disadvantage the vast majority of Americans,” said Clinton, a former first lady who would be the first woman president.

Elite opinion? I’m not going to consult economists on economic matters? What the fuck?

I thought it was McCain who was running as Bush lite.

Posted in General | No Comments »

How come black preachers get all the attention?

E.J. Dionne wonders:

The catalogue goes back to Bailey Smith, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Speaking at a 1980 religious convention that was also addressed by Ronald Reagan, Smith declared that “God Almighty does not hear the prayer of a Jew.”

Reagan later asserted that he thought Jewish prayers were answered, but he was less than definitive. “Everyone can make his own interpretation of the Bible,” the Gipper said, “and many individuals have been making differing interpretations for a long time.”

Two days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Jerry Falwell, appearing on Pat Robertson’s ”700 Club,” declared: “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way – all of them who have tried to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen.’ ”

Robertson replied: “Well, I totally concur, and the problem is we have adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government. And so we’re responsible as a free society for what the top people do. And the top people, of course, is the court system.”

To their credit, many conservatives condemned Falwell and Robertson. The ministers backed away from their words, but Falwell’s retraction was, at best, partial. “When a nation deserts God and expels God from the culture,” Falwell insisted, “the result is not good.”

What’s telling is that neither preacher lost sway in Republican circles. Before Falwell’s death last year, John McCain actively courted his support, and Rudy Giuliani, one of the heroes of Sept. 11, welcomed Robertson’s endorsement of his own candidacy. “His advice is invaluable,” Giuliani said.

And, of course, there is the endorsement of McCain by the Rev. John Hagee, founder of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, who has called the Catholic Church “the great whore of Babylon” and “the anti-Christ.”

Whore of Babylon, huh? I don’t remember having that much fun at church.

Posted in Non Sequitur | No Comments »

SCOTUS Trivia

Congratulations to Jennifer Levin who won the SCOTUS Trivia prize drawing yesterday. A total of nine students submitted correct answers for this question. They are: Jared Stitz, Cristina Rivera, Jennifer Levin, Melisa Pena, Philip Santa-Maria, Cameron Bates, Kristin Carter, Evan Rosenberg and Brandon Hectman.

SCOTUS Trivia will take a little hiatus during the summer months–not unlike the Court itself–and will resume in the fall.

Posted in General | No Comments »

Hot off the press in your inbox

Now you can get the latest Hot off the press post in your email inbox by entering your email address in the subscribe field on the sidebar.

Posted in Blogosphere, Non Sequitur | No Comments »

Fair and balanced

Well, yesterday we spotlighted Obama’s preacher, and today we turn our attention to McCain’s preacher. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Pastor John Hagee:

Posted in Non Sequitur | 3 Comments »

Papa don’t preach

I used to think that Jeremiah Wright was mostly the victim of the 24-hour news network’s persistent disservice to journalism, but the latest round of video clips is making it harder to defend that position. The Reverend, instead of helping out the Obama campaign and laying low for the next six months or so, decided to go on a freelance media tour. This is what ensued (with colorful commentary by John Stewart):

And here it is, your moment of Zen:

And finally, an indictment of Wright, which is worth reading though I don’t completely agree with it, by Christopher Hitchens.

Posted in Non Sequitur | 2 Comments »

Musical interlude

Okay, your brain needs a break for the next 10 minutes. At least mine does.

A lot of people would say that Stairway is the quintessential Zeppelin song, but they’re wrong. It’s Kashmir. Robert Plant says it’s his favorite song. And in an interview with Rolling Stones he said it is the definitive Led Zeppelin song. Watch the video and pay attention to the interaction between the drums and guitar. If you can, try to focus your ear exclusively on the drums, then try to let the guitar in. You’ll notice that the guitar and the drums are playing at different beats. Aside from playing to a different beat, the guitar is also on a weird tuning, different from the standard EADGBE.

And yet, even with all its mutations, the song sounds like paradigmatic rock and roll.

I think it was the music critic from the New Yorker who said that Kashmir was possibly the shortest 8-minute song. He’s right. The song is so entertaining that it feels half that length. For example, compare it with the Paul McCartney clunker Maybe I’m Amazed, which is generally half the length, but because of its repeating, substandard guitar solos feels WAY longer.

The lyrics are awesome too:

Oh, pilot of the storm that leaves no trace, like thoughts inside a dream
You’ve the map that led me to that place, yellow desert stream
My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon, I will return again
Sure as the dust that blows high in June, when moving through Kashmir.

And are made even more awesome by the conviction with which Robert Plants sings them.

Okay, now get back to work.

Posted in Non Sequitur | 40 Comments »

Ornamental Testicles

For those of us FIU CoL students concerned about the Florida budget crisis ransacking our SBA budget…don’t worry! The Florida legistlature is working on it. Oh wait, no they’re not. There is a much more important issue to be discussed, debated and voted on. Perhaps it’s the foreclosure crisis? Nah. Could it be some relief for property taxes going through the roof? Not a chance. What about the disenfranchisement of Florida voters in the Democratic primary? Eh, maybe next month.

Two words that pretty much explain everything: Ornamental Testicles.

Florida lawmakers consider bill banning ornamental testicles

Posted in FIU CoL, Florida, General | 2 Comments »