First Monday in October - some assigned readings

Note, this is an updated and more extensive list than the one I originally posted on myspace.com.

As everybody who took my steet law class knows (or should remember) the "First Monday in October" is when each yearly session of the Supreme Court of the United States starts. As that date is almost upon us, the old history teacher has some assigned reading (optional, of course - but the content will be on the test!) regarding our nation's highest court:

"The Dissenter" New York Times Article written by Jeffrey Rosen on the court's oldest justice John Paul Stevens.

"The Brethren" First published in the 1970's, still an excellent look at the inner workings of the court, and a good history lesson behind current issues still in the news, such as abortion and executive priviledge. Written by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong.

"The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America" As the title says, this is a history that shows how the personalities and relationships between justices has had an effect on law (and therefore our lives) since the founding days of the court. Written by Jeffrey Rosen, along with Thirteen/WNET.

"The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court" A look at the court and the men and women who have served on it over the past two decades. Written by Jeffrey Toobin.

"The Supremes' Greatest Hits: The 34 Supreme Court Cases That Most Directly Affect Your Life" A quick study of some of the major decisions of the court their practical relevance to you and me. Written by Michael G. Trachtman.

"A People's History of the Supreme Court: The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped Our Constitution (Revised Edition)" Written by Peter Irons. A populist look at how the court has dealt with the rights of minorities over its history.

"The Courage of Their Convictions: Sixteen Americans Who Fought Their Way to the Supreme Court" Also by Irons, a look at some individual court cases and the real life people behind the events that led to the SC's decisions.

"Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court" This book covers the Harriet Miers nomination and subsequent nomination and confirmation of Samuel Alito and the resulting changes for the Supreme Court. A very good book (as are all of the above) written by Jan Crawford Greenburg.

I could go on, but I'll stop here for now, though I'll probably have another list later in October. If you're not a reader (for heaven's sake, why not???!!) then you might at least want to rent a good little movie called "First Monday in October" and watch it. It gives a humorous look at court, but it came out in 1981 and basically predicted Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's elevation to the court (and it wasn't too far off on how her views subtly changed over time once she got on the court either). At any rate, a good movie, but try to read one of the books if you can. For those who are financially impaired like myself, try the local library, although I'm sure the authors would appreciate your buying a copy.

Best wishes, later,

Upset no. 3!!! Go Duke football! Duke 20 Northwestern 14 !!!

Being as how I always root for the underdog ( I once had a statue of Saint Jude, patron saint for lost causes on my desk) I've been quietly rooting for the Duke Blue Devils football team and their head coach Ted Roof to get a win or two under their belt. I was impressed with Roof back when he was with Georgia Tech.
When I woke up this morning scanning the college football scores on line, there it was!! Duke 20, Northwestern 14! Way to go Blue Devils!!! The only thing that could have made this weekend better would have been if Arkansas had beaten Lou Saban...oh, well, I guess you can't have everything.
Seriously, congratulations to Coach Roof and the football Blue Devils.

Go Wildcats!!! Upset no. 2 - Kentucky 40, 9th ranked Louisville 34

Another college team I'm following and supporting this year is the Kentucky Wildcats. I've actually been a closet Wildcats football fan ever since the time years ago when my hometown guy Bill Curry was their head coach and his wife was a history teacher at the school. I've liked present coach Rich Brooks ever since the days when he was with the Atlanta Falcons, and there's the personal connection as well. One of the defensive backs is the son of a good friend who used to work at my school with me.
Anyway, it was great to see the Wildcats beat 9th ranked Louisville in a barn burner last night 40 - 34. Way to go Kentucky Wildcats!

Go Bulldogs!!! (of the Mississippi State variety)

One of the collegiate football teams that I'm rooting for this year is Mississippi State. Two reasons, first I'm a big fan of Bulldog Head Coach Sylvester Crooms, whom I think is a real class act. Second, one of the defensive linemen for the team is the son of one of my best friends, a lady who teaches at my school. She's also a class act, as is her family.

Anyway, Mississippi State beat Auburn (at Auburn!) today 19-14 for their second win in a row. Here's a link:

Mississippi State 19, Auburn 14

Go Bulldogs! Of the Mississippi State variety, that is

A Bad Idea

It was a bad idea in 1980 for the United States. Ditto for the Soviet Union in 1984. Likewise for many of the African nations in 1976. I'm talking about boycotting the Olympic games of course. The idea of an Olympic boycott is spreading again due to China's human rights abuses at home and its support of oppresive regimes in Sudan, Myanmar and North Korea.
Some U.S. legislators are calling for a boycott, as are some Canadians . This has stirred some voices against the idea of a boycott as well, most notably in Germany.

My take is that boycotts never work. In fact, I think they are counterproductive. I remember watching the 1976 Montreal Olympics. My heroes from those games are John Walker, Lasse Viren, and Ivo van Damme, but they could just as easily have been Mike Boit, Miruts Yifter, and Filbert Bayi; all great African athletes who lost a chance to bring world attention to their respective countries and the plight of black South Africans suffering under apartheid by their NOT competing at Montreal. Likewise I thought the U. S. made a major mistake by not sending a team to the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Instead of changing Soviet policy at the time we simply gave them a propaganda coup by allowing them to claim that we were afraid to send a team.

And of course our past and present economic boycotts against countries such as Iraq, Cuba, North Korea and other countries have worked so well, right? No, actually in most cases, trade and interaction work more towards changing regimes than adopting boycotts and sanctions. I'm not saying that we shouldn't speak out against China's human rights policies - we should, but staying home from the 2008 Bejing Olympics won't help anyone in China or Sudan, while engaging in constructive engagement and reaching out through competing in events such as the Olympics (even as commercial and bloated as the Games have become) just might be of help in the long run.

Class Acts

This morning Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia won the New York City Half Marathon (thats 13.1 miles for the non track fans out there) in a time of 59 minutes and 24 seconds, easily beating American 10,000 meter national champ Abdi Abdirahman by more than a minute. I've always admired Gebrselassie, ever since he won the Olympic 10,000 meter race in the Atlanta Olympics back in 1996. He's a great runner, on a par with all time greats like Paavo Nurmi, Emil Zatopek, Vladimir Kuts, and Lasse Viren as far as career accomplishments go, but that's not the main reason I like him. Throughout the years he's been a fierce competitor on the track, but also a graceful and giving champion off it. Brian Cazeneuve of Sports Illustrated has written a good article that shows both sides of the man, the runner and the person who wants to help his countrymen accomplish things of more lasting import than simply running. I recommend it to those of you who realize that success can be found as much in helping others as in your own individual accomplishments.

Post July 4th thoughts

The nation's birthday has come and gone, Major League Baseball's All Star game has happened, the immigration bill died in congress, and two former Presidents are briefly in the news. Regarding the July 4th holiday, we had a subdued celebration this year. I had planned on marching with the local Democratic party organization in the local parade, but was unable to make it. The teen moralist vegetarian has started working, the pre teen animal whisperer is trying to find a veterinarians office that will let someone her age volunteer, and the saint is looking for work in her field (computer networking).

I'm officially "off" for the "summer" (basically the latter half of June and the first half of July) but have been going in to school anyway to make sure that records, schedules, and reports are caught up before school starts up again in early August. Have had time to read a few good books though, among them Departing Glory: Theodore Roosevelt as ex-President, by Joseph L. Gardner (a 1973 book that still holds up very well), and 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs -The Election that Changed the Country, by James Chace, whose previous books include a biography of Truman's Secretary of State Dean Acheson. I enjoyed both books, interesting to see how progressive Theodore Roosevelt became after he left the White House, among other things. Next up is a more recent (2005) biography of TR's post Presidential life and activities, When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt After the White House, by Patricia O'Toole to see how it compares with the other two books.

As I mentioned earlier, two brief news notes of past Presidencies, "Lady Bird" Johnson, President Lyndon Johnson's wife passed away. She was a proponent of conservation causes, and was a dignified First Lady and had lived to the age of 94. My prayers go out to her family.

In another news item I noticed that the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and birthplace is now under Federal control and the new director, Timothy Naftali is promising that the Library will attempt to portray a more objective view of the Nixon Presidency and Watergate than the Library had when it was privately run.

In closing, I wish I could say that I was disappointed that the Immigration Reform Bill didn't pass, but any finished product was going to be so far right wing and bigoted that the country is better off. Interesting how some folks claim "amnesty" includes fines, back taxes, and other legal penalties when applied to hard working people who came to this country for a better life, but then blithely support a convicted individual like "Scooter" Libby not having to serve any time. Guess there's "amnesty" and then amnesty.

God Bless, till next post.

Immigration debate shows true colors of right wing

I've been busy for the last few months with both my real life job and my graduate studies in history, but I can't put off weighing in on the Immigration bill debate any longer. The right wing groups in the Republican party (and a few right wing Democrats) remind me of the anti-integration groups of the 1950's and the 1960's. Back then the same rhetoric was used against liberals who wanted the laws changed so that a minority of our society could be allowed to take full advantage of American citizenship. The George Wallaces and the Marvin Griffins and the Strom Thurmonds of that era sounded very similar to the Tom Tancredos and the John Cornyns and the Tom Coburns our own era. Lest anyone thinks that I'm oversimplifying or unjustly demonizing those who don't support President Bush and the majority of the Senate on this bill, I offer as evidence the following article from the New York Times "President’s Push on Immigration Tests G.O.P. Base" (NYT Registration required).

My favorite quote from the article? Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma). "We are not all that stupid." Oh, yes you are Senator, don't underrate yourself. Here's a nice website on the good senator.

This date in history

Perusing the New York Times this date in history web site page for February 23rd I came across some interesting tidbits. Today's the 52nd anniversary of the first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine. Growing up my father always told me that Jonas Salk was one of the true heroes of the modern age, and I agree with that assessment. Like all historic figures there is some controversy over some of Salk's actions, but the bottom line is that he led the effort to give the world a workable polio vaccine and refused to patent it. His memory deserves the thanks of millions for that act alone.

Also, American educator, writer, and civil rights leader W. E. B. DuBois was born on this date in 1868. DuBois was another truly great American who fought against racism his entire life. The fact that he left this country at the end of his life, discouraged by racism and soured by what he considered our system's failure to bestow true economic, social, and political equality on all our citizens is a stain on our country's history, not a blemish on DuBois himself. Historian David Levering Lewis wrote a magnificent two volume biography of DuBois. W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868-1919 won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Biography as well as the Bancroft and Parkman prizes. W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century 1919-1963 won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. I highly recommend both volumes for a clear look at this complex man and the times he lived through.

Random Thoughts 02-11-07

1. The whole Anna Nicole Smith saga is kind of sad to me. Not making any judgments about her lifestyle or what may have caused her death, but it's still a sad story. That's all. I think when she lost her son was the part that really struck me. For a parent to outlive their child is about the worst thing I could imagine.

2. Along that line, I was rooting for Tony Dungy and the Indianapolis Colts to win the Super Bowl, and I was quite happy to see them victorious, but as I was watching the award ceremony I couldn't help but think that Dungy would probably trade it all just to get his older son that died last year back. The thing about Dungy, though, is that he's a Christian man who "walks the walk" and lives out his faith. I'm sure that has sustained him, in fact he has said as much. Still, it made the Super Bowl victory a little bittersweet to me. Dungy has been a role model of mine ever since I read a Sports Illustrated story about him and his measured calm leadership style back in the early 1990's. He's a class act.

3. I've always been one who was basically ambiguous about the Pro Bowl. I hardly ever watch it, but I thought it was a good way for the league to celebrate it's stars and treat them to a Hawaiian vacation and week long get together. However I'm starting to think it may be time to jettison the game, just like the league did the "runner up championship game" decades ago. The risk of injury may be too much. Drew Brees injuring his elbow yesterday and the memory of the Robert Edwards injury years ago all make me wonder what the owners and coaches are thinking about it. Of course Edwards injury happened while just playing touch football in the sand in the week running up to the game, and Brees should be well in a couple of months, but it seems that anything that lessens the chance of injury is what would be best for the players. And along that line, is Ben Roethlisberger still riding a motorcycle?

4. I recently saw one of the best films I've seen in a long time, "Pan's Labrynth" directed by Guillermo del Toro. It's a mix of horror, fantasy, and a realistic (sometimes graphically so) war story, but to even try to describe it that way is an oversimplification in my mind. Basically it's the story of a young girl named Ofelia who is thrust into the horrors of 1944 post civil war Spain when her mother marries a cruel Army Captain who is stationed in a wilderness area in the north of Spain trying to subdue a local band of rebels. Ofelia is a bookish young girl who loses herself in a fantasy world. Whether or not the world is true is ambiguous, but the twin plots of Ofelia's adventures and the conflict between the Captain and his men with the rebels and their sympathizers make for a riveting story. I saw it about a week ago and still can't get it out of my mind. I highly recommend it, but a warning it's rated R for graphic violence and adult language. It's a film for adults and teenagers, not young children.

5. I'm back in graduate school after a decade long hiatus, so my blogs will probably be infrequent for a time. This time I'm working on an M.A. in American History and the course I'm in right now is History of the American South since 1865. Great course, great teacher. I'm really enjoying it, but since I'm a little behind on my reading I'm cutting this piece short. Perhaps later I'll comment on the 2008 Presidential race and the Iran and Iraq situation. A lot is going on, but my main focus for now is American post civil war Reconstruction and the advent of Jim Crow in the southern states.

Random thoughs 01-07-07

Just a few random thoughts on a rainy Sunday morning:

1) Is the world better off with Sadam Hussain hung? My gut reaction is no. I'm becoming more and more anti-death penalty. In this case, we have one thug hung by other thugs, the better for the original thug to become a martyr. In the meantime more of our troops die defending the Iraqui government, a group that seems unable to control itself. I say it's time to let these guys fight it out for themselves, since they seem so determined to continue in civil war.

2) Harriet Miers is quietly resigning to go back to private life. It was my support of Ms. Miers for the Supreme Court that earned me the appelation of "worst blog on the web" from another reviewer blogger. I still think she would have made a good Supreme Court Justice. Anyone who has studied the Court's history knows that many of the "best-prepared" nominees turned out to be mediocre Justices while some of the "least-prepared" turned out to be great. In Ms. Miers case we didn't get to find out, mainly due to her moderate politics rather than any thing else.

http://www.omgn.com/nexus/?p=634/

Hastings deserved better

DeWayne Wickham of USA Today has a good take on why Alcee Hastings should have been the choice as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee despite his betrayal by his Democratic leadership and colleagues. In an op ed piece entitled "Hastings paid penance and deserved better" Wickham summarizes Hastings service on the committee since 1999 and shows that Hastings did indeed deserve better treatment.

Civility

A recent encounter between President George Bush and newly elected Senator from Virginia Jim Webb has made the news. Apparently the exchange took place while at a White House reception for newly elected members of congress. To make a long story short, the President asked Webb how his son (who is serving in the military in Iraq) was doing. Webb replied that he'd "like to get them out of Iraq". At this point Bush is supposed to have replied "that's not what I asked you", followed by Webb's reply that "that's between me and my boy". Later on Webb is supposed to have said that he felt the urge to punch the President.

In a partisan dichotomy of responses to the encounter, most Democrats are taking Webb's side while most Republicans are taking Bush's. George Will immediately pronounced Webb a "pompous poseur" while Eleanor Clift lauded him for not "sucking up to power". However, as I often explain to my son ( a.ka. "the teenage moralist pacifist leftist vegetarian" at our house) you can't always label or categorize people or their responses to different stimuli. Peggy Noonan had a really good article in the Wall Street Journal basically poiniting out that President Bush was the one out of line. No one has ever been able to accuse Ms. Noonan, a former speech writer for President Reagan, of being either a liberal or a Democrat. One point I particularly liked that was made by Noonan was when she asked if one could visualize Abraham Lincoln responding the way Bush did. In case I need to spell this out, one could not. They'll probably start calling Noonan a RINO too now, and cast her to the outer circle along with me and the other apostates. Oh well, she's a parent as well as a great writer, so she's proven she can take the tough stuff that life throws at you.

Just for the record, I basically still like President Bush personally. Even though I no longer consider myself a Republican, I'm not one of those folks who get their kicks out of personally attacking the man. I believe he's sincere about "compassionate conservatism", I think his motives for attacking Iraq were just what he says they were, and I think he's the only Republican besides South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham who "gets it" on immigration. Having said all that, he was wrong in this contretemps with Senator elect Webb, just like he's wrong about Iraq and the rest of the middle east. I'm afraid I agree with Noonan and Clift on this one.

Forgiveness

I must be too forgiving a person. As usual I find myself in the minority opinion regarding a couple of prominent people in the news who've messed up in the public eye, one recently, the other years ago. To whit, Atlanta Falcon QB Michael Vick and Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings.

Vick of course, lost his cool after Sunday's Falcon's loss to the New Orleans Saints, giving fans "the finger" as he left the field. He released an apology fairly soon after, but he's been raked over the coals by letter writers to the local Atlanta paper and by sports writers across the board. Hastings apparently can't outrun his past impeachment as a federal judge, since Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has found it the better part of political expediency to deny Hastings in his bid to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, despite his having the seniority for the post.

The conventional wisdom on these two gentlemen seems to be that (1) Vick is a spoiled brat who should take being heckled and booed and insulted and like it, because after all, he's paid a lot of money as a pro athlete, and (2) that Hastings is a an impeached former judge who should never be allowed any post of power because of his same impeachment from years ago. As usual, I find myself at odds with the almighty CW.

In Michael Vick's case, he's human and he's still very young. Football is an emotional game, and from what I saw last Sunday, Vick may have been one of the few Falcons playing with any amount of courage and heart. He also seemed to be one of the few who was actually upset by the loss. That doesn't seem spoiled to me. I'd WANT my quarterback to be upset when we lose. To castigate him for doing something I was tempted to do last week to the redneck Newnan truck driver who honked his horn at me (after tailgating me for several miles) simply because I was going the posted speed limit seems a little much to me. Simply put, Vick shouldn't have given the obnoxious fan the finger. He did, he aplogized, and he didn't hide from the media later on. Give the young man a break (and some decent receivers and linemen while you're at it.)

In Alcee Hasting's case, I'm reminded of the time when congress tried to keep Adam Clayton Powell out of office, or the time when the Georgia legislature tried to do the same thing to Julian Bond. Hastings is a duly and legally elected member of Congress since 1993. He was never found guilty in a court of law for any actions as a judge. By all accounts he's served on the Intelligence committee faithfully and honorably during his tenure in Washington. His impeachment in the House of Represetatives was overturned in Federal Court only to lose on appeal when the Supreme Court said Federal Courts had no jurisdiction in the case. It's a travesty that he was bypassed for the Chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee. If I didn't know better I'd swear it's because he's of African-American descent.

Let me make a point here before I get castigated for the previous remark. I'm just a fat old white guy starting to lose his hair, but I've been around long to see this kind of thing for years now. Examples? Plenty, just off the top of my head. Maynard Jackson doesn't get the Democratic National Committee Chairmanship in 2001. Herman Cain can't win the Georgia Republican primary for Senator in 2004. Andrew Young can't win the Georgian Democratic primary for Governor in 1990. Sylvester Crooms can't get the coaching job at Alabama in 2003 (just for fun, ask Alabama if they'd take him now?). Kweisi Mfume can't get win the Maryland Democratic primary for Senator this year. Republican Michael Steele can't win the general election for same. Harold Ford, Jr. can't win the election for Senator from Tennessee in 2006. The list goes on and on. In every case I've mentioned one can make a logical case why race had nothing to do with the outcome. Maybe so, but it sure does seem that the law of averages would fall a different way just once in a while. In the case of Hastings, he deserved the Chairmanship, pure and simple. He didn't get it. Maybe next time, but if I were a member of Congressional Black Caucus I'd be mad about this one.

Not that they should give the House Democratic leadership the finger or anything though...

What Would Jesus Do?

Apparently the Christian Coalition of America, a conservative Political Advocacy Group, has a different answer to the "WWJD" question than the Rev. Joel Hunter. Hunter is a pastor of a nondenominational megachurch in Longwood, Fla., and had been the choice for CCA President until the group's Board of Directors decided that Hunter's ideas about expanding the group's mission to deal with such issues as poverty, AIDS, global warming, and the death penalty were just way out of line for a group with Christian in their name.

In a Washington Post story "Second New Leader Resigns from the Christian Coalition" dated for Nov. 29, 2006, it was reported that several CCA state organizations, Georgia's among them, had broken away from the national organization because of differences with Rev. Hunter's planned agenda of broadening the group's focus to actually deal with some real world problems in a Christian compassionate way.

While there may have been more to the story than that, since the article indicates that some of the problem may have been a resistance on the part of Roberta Combs, chairman of the coalition's four-member board, to part with control of the organization, I still think it's sad that the dichotomy between liberal and conservative has gone to such lengths in this country that a person such as Hunter is "radicalized" for his beliefs. Some of his apparently "far out" ideas include items such as a consideration of raising the minimum wage and an opposition to the death penalty. I guess that the CCA now has posited their own answer to the proverbial WWJD and apparently it doesn't include ministering to those with AIDS or on death row, among others. The good folks of the CCA might want to go back and read Matthew 9:9-13 and see what it says about reaching out those in need. Just my opinion.

Post Election Thoughts

It's taken me this long after the election to get onto our home computer, between the "bogarting" of it by the teen age moralist and the sainted spouse and the pre teen cat whisperer. Maybe it's time for us to get more than one of the "infernal machines"? Incidentally, do I show my age by using the term "bogart" to mean monopolization? Guess I listened too much to my "Easy Rider" soundtrack album back in my youth.

I was happily surprised by the Democratic pick up of both Houses of Congress Tuesday. As I wrote right before the election I was pessimistic about us picking up the Senate and also about the chances of some statewide Democratic incumbents in Georgia. Thankfully Thurbert Baker and Michael Thurmond were both re-elected, although Thurmond's race was much closer than it should have been. As I've often said and wrote, Michael Thurmond has done an excellent job of running the Georgia Department of Labor, and for him win by anything less than a landslide speaks ill of Georgia voters. Instead of 54 plus percent he should have won with 60 or 65 percent. Still, I was quite happy to see this deserving intellectual leader returned to office for 4 more years. In Thurbert Baker's case, he won with 57 percent of the vote. One interesting fact I noted about Baker's re-election was that he had a majority in most of Georgia's counties. The fact that my home Coweta county gave 57 percent of it's vote to Baker's opponent told me all I need to know about how Republican and "red" Coweta county is at this point in it's history. Hopefully that will change over time. It seems kind of sad that the birth place of one of Georgia's most progressive Democratic Governors would be so conservatively Republican. I'm speaking of Ellis Arnold of course, who as Governor from 1943-1947 was far ahead of his time. Of course Arnold's reward for being so progressive and liberal was that he was never again to win an election in a long lifetime after 1947. Sometimes I despair of my home state and it's politics. Stil in all, a good night to be a Democrat nationally, and a better night than I had hoped to be a Georgia Democrat, with at least some Dems winning statewide races.

Odds and Ends - Election Countdown

A little over a week ago, the teen age vegetarian moralist and I went to hear a University of Georgia history professor speak about the south. Dr. James C. Cobb is quite an interesting speaker and historian. Seems like a nice guy too. I've added his blog

Cobbloviate

to the list of my favorite net voices. My advice to the 2 or 3 fans I have who read this blog is that you should check out Cobb's thoughts on the body politic. His take is that next Tuesday's election will be about average or below average historically for out of power party gains during 6th year mid-term elections. He also posts a link to op-ed writer Charles Krauthammer's recent piece documenting why that probably will be the case. Sadly, I think both men are correct. I don't see major gains for the Democrats, probably winning the House, but not by any landslide, while I'm afraid they'll fall short in the Senate. I already figure my lone vote against the tide of Georgia Repulicanism won't make a major difference as the GOP takes over more statewide offices. I'm hopeful Michael Thurmond can survive, but I won't be surprised if he's voted out. Sad, but not surprised. The man's only done the best job ever as the state's labor commissioner and his reward will probably be to be booted out for Republican Brent Brown, but I guess we'll see whether or not that's the case come Tuesday evening. I sincerely hope I'm wrong on this one, kinda like I am weekly on my pro football picks.

Speaking of football, there was some poetic justice in the collegiate gridiron world this weekend, with Mississippi State defeating Alabama. Sylvester Crooms is the man the Tide should have hired as their head coach years ago, and I enjoyed seeing his team stick it to his former school.

Sorry for the hiatus

Recent real life obligations and obstacles have kept me from posting of late, among them family illnesses and computer monitor death (thanks to one of our cats, but that's a story for another time). I've had a lot of thoughts about much of the recent news in the political and sports worlds. I won't try to catch up on all of them, but I will say that the Mark Foley scandal depresses me in the way that the Republican leadership apparently failed to confront the situation. Another reason that November 7 is looking more and more like a Republican debacle.

I haven't read Bob Woodward's book State of Denial yet, but it's on my list. I was a major George Bush supporter when he became President in 2001 and I've been one of his more loyal supporters even as I've been drifting away from the Republican party in general, but Iraq is looking more and more like a terrible mistake. I was discussing Woodrow Wilson yesterday with my historian wannabe son. When I mentioned how Wilson refused to listen to any criticism of his foreign policy an image of Donald Rumsfield came to mind. It starting to look like the decisions of George Bush's Presidency may have as many negative consequences as that of Wilson, a really disturbing thought.

Football is here!

One of my favorite months of the year has finally arrived, September, with its opening weekend heralding in high school and college football, while next weekend will see the advent of the NFL regular season games. Also, although I haven’t attended a meet since the last time I coached it in 1987, I’m sure another one of my old favorites, cross country, is in the midst of its inaugural contests. While the temperature still climbs to the 80’s down here during the day, the faintest touch of fall seems to be in the night and morning air. Of course that later feeling could all be simply wishful thinking on my part.

I no longer coach, and I rarely even go to games anymore, since no one in my family shares my passion for the sport, but I do keep up with the sport religiously, mostly on the internet but also through the mediums of radio and, to a lesser extent, television. Like many other Americans I’m in a fantasy football league. Computer woes forced me to miss my draft, and I’m still off line as I type the text of this blog, so I won’t know who my fantasy players are for a bit, but I already know who I’m rooting for in the sports world, just as I know whom I’m rooting for in the political one. Like the poet I’m a mass of contradictions when it comes to my choices, but I’m old enough not to let it worry me anymore.

To start with, I’ll still root for my hometown Atlanta Falcons, although I’ve lost most of enthusiasm for Mike Vick. I really thought last year would be the year he would breakthrough as a quarterback, but it didn’t really happen. Neither did he show the maturity or leadership I would have hoped in adversity. Hope springs eternal, but if he doesn’t make major strides this year then it might be time to look elsewhere, D. J. Shockley anyone?

I’m not quite as big a Jim Mora fan as I was once either. Of course I readily admit that I wanted us to hire interim coach Wade Phillips or Lovie Smith back when Arthur Blank was checking out replacements for Dan Reeves. That didn’t happen, but if we don’t at least reach the playoffs this year then it might be time to send out resume requests again.

Still, all in all, I’m a birds fan, and I plan to especially cheer lustily every time Warrick Dunn, Patrick Kearney, Ed Hartwell, Rod Coleman, John Abraham, Grady Jackson, Keith Brooking, DeAngelo Hall, and Shockley are on the field. If my preferences seem weighted to the defensive side of the ball that’s because it was my favorite side to play in the meager couple of years that I played the sport in high school. When it came to coaching I preferred working with the linemen so my preferences show that also.

In the non Falcons NFL world, this year I’m rooting for wide receiver David Boston to have a big comeback year and play well for the Tampa Bay Bucs. Boston has had a lot of problems over the last few years, many of then his own fault perhaps, but I’m a big fan of underdogs and comeback stories. If that biblical father could let the prodigal son come back then who am I to deny the same chance to some of football’s prodigal returnees?

In keeping with that theme, I’m also rooting for Marcus Vick to stick with the Miami Dolphins and get some playing time, along with hopefully some new found maturity and judgment. I’m pulling for the position switchers, such as former Penn QB Michael Robinson, now a running back for the San Francisco Forty-Niners, and former Missouri QB Brad Smith, now trying to make the New York Jets as a receiver. For what it’s worth both had good games here at the end of the preseason, as did the younger Vick and the veteran Boston.

Among the bigger names in the sport, I’m a fan of Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens, hoping he can make a comeback to his 2000 yards plus year of a few seasons ago. Hopefully Jamal has grown up some and also recovered from injuries. Ed Reed is another Raven I’m cheering on. I’ll always root for Tiki Barber of the Giants, as well as his brother Ronde of the Bucs. I’m pulling for Georgia Southern alumni Adrian Peterson of the Chicago Bears (ok, hardly a big name, but a stellar kid with a lot of heart – check out his bio sometime) as well as Bears back up QB Brian Griese, son of Bob Griese of my beloved early 70’s Dolphins team fame.

I’m cheering the New Orleans Saints when they’re not playing against my Falcons, because that city (beloved of my wild partying youth) needs some good news. Along that line I’m especially rooting for Drew Brees, whom I cheered for in San Diego, and rookie Reggie Bush, to both have great years.

On the coaching side I have my definite favorites that I try to follow and urge on. Sean Payton of New Orleans is one of the ones I’m rooting for. Another is Art Shell, long a favorite of mine when he was here with the Falcons as a line coach. Art has made a comeback with the Oakland Raiders, and I’m with him this time through the proverbial thick and thin. I just hope Al Davis feels the same way. I’ve already mentioned my liking Bum Phillips’ son Wade, and I hope he and his defense have a great year in San Diego, maybe leading him to another head coaching gig.

Every year it seems there’s a coach that’s been unfairly treated or blamed for things that weren’t his fault. That’s the nature of the business, all the way from high school to college to the pros. Because of that I like to pick at least one coach each year whom I root for simply because I think he was given the shaft. In this year’s category of “he was wronged” I nominate what will probably be an unpopular choice with many, but as any reader of this blog knows I don’t mind being contrary or controversial. Heck, I’m the same guy who thought Mike Price was done dirty by Alabama, which is one or two reasons I’ll never cheer for the Crimson Tide again (failure to hire Sylvester Crooms is the other, in case you’re wondering). I’m also the guy who felt that George Leary was done dirty by Notre Dame, but since they then turned around and screwed Tyrone Willingham I figured that showed what character (or lack thereof) resided in the leadership of that supposedly hallowed institution. Liking present head coach and former Patriot Charlie Weiss, along with his assistant Bill Lewis (who was screwed by Georgia Tech several years ago himself) is the only reason I even consider rooting for ND from time to time nowadays.

At any rate former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice is my choice this year as the guy who was done dirty. While Mike wasn’t perfect, Minnesota’s owners never treated him right, showing little support and vastly underpaying him while he was there. Also, as supposed savior Brad Childress is now discovering in Minnesota so far, it’s very easy to say “we won’t have any scandals or controversies on this team” but a little bit harder to actually have that happen. Suffice to say I’ll be cheering Tice on this year in his stint as an assistant coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, while I’m secretly enjoying every little bad thing that happens in Minnesota.

There are other coaches that I annually support, among them the Seahawks Mike Holmgren, Pittsburgh’s Bill Cowher, (yes, I suffered emotional trauma during last year’s Super Bowl, since I wished both could win), the afore mentioned Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears, along with Romeo Crennel of the Cleveland Browns. I ask you, how can you not like football coaches with names like Lovie and Romeo?

Finally, the coach I’m really rooting for this year is Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts. Dungy has been a class act for years, and he deserves to take a team to the Super Bowl. Will the Colts make it this year? I think so, but we won’t really know till the playoffs, will we? That’s what makes the sport so much fun. Stay tuned.

Mickey Spillane passes, R. I. P.

One of the more controversial and best selling authors of hard boiled private eye fiction passed away Monday. Mickey Spillane (March 9, 1918 - July 17, 2006), creator of tough guy Mike Hammer and star in his own right of many of the popular Miller Lite commercials. I was never into his books as much as I was Raymond Chandler and Walter Mosley and others, but I loved those covers with his second wife posing on them. Man! Seriously, Spillane was an interesting complex man who contributed more than his share to American pulp and pop culture. Coach takes a moment to salute him.

Mickey Spillane obit on yahoo

Spillane obit at cbs