A lot of shoveling yesterday, and a lot of Doans today. My back is killing me and I'd rather stay home and take it easy, but the office calls. Fortunately, I have a very good chair ($1,000 chair that I got for $100 because the manufacturer put dark gray handles on it instead of black--but you can't see the difference). I'm hoping for a light week at the office, so I can coast into Christmas with my heart on an even beat, but I'm not holding my breath.
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I'm surprised the Colorado shootings haven't gotten more press, what with this background setting:
The ultra-religious home-school curriculum that Matthew Murray ranted about in Web postings before he opened fire at two Christian centers forbids dating, rock music and "wrong clothes." It advises young men and women to live at home until their parents release them and counsels parents to choose marriage partners for their offspring.
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Quote of the Day: “I wouldn't sell you my child for a million dollars and I wouldn't give you two cents for yours.” The second part is a bit harsh, but the overall accurate sentiment is there.
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Man, talk about a kick in the nerd crotch, and at Christmas of all times! CBS is shutting down Startrek.com.
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Let's hope the trend moves north to the NBA: Tattoos, baggy pants and tank tops are out. Smart blazers and university recruits are in. It's an extreme makeover for Central America's gangs. Facing harsh crackdowns by government security forces and citizen vigilante groups, they are trying to lower their profile.
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Remember the story of the woman who got arrested for swearing at her toilet? Well, the ACLU helped her and now she's free. None of that surprises me, but I am happy to have found a picture of the little princess . . . and the toilet. The toilet is cute.
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You may have heard that the world's oldest man died. You may not have heard this part: Nestor reportedly put his long life down to the fact that he had never been married. Definitely plausible.
Aside: I'm really bummed that I missed the chance to meet the last living Greek from the Trojan War, not to mention a descendant of Neptune and a witness of centaurs in battle. He was one of the older kings at Troy, so I assumed he died years ago.
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My former professor Douglas Kmiec ponders the possibility of Justice Clinton. Excerpt:
Before dismissing the possibility of Justice William Jefferson Clinton, it is worth recalling a bit of history--most notably, the history of another former president who landed on the Supreme Court, William Howard Taft. Taft would come to love his fellow justices and the court so much that he later described them as his ideals "that typify on earth what we shall meet hereafter in heaven under a just God."
That seems a little strong for Bill Clinton, but Taft and Mr. Clinton are not without their similarities. For example, both started out in life as law professors--Taft at the University of Cincinnati and Mr. Clinton at the University of Arkansas. Mr. Clinton also shares with Taft a warm, gregarious personality that is well received at home and abroad.
There are also differences. Taft never had his law license suspended (Mr. Clinton's suspension for "serious misconduct" formally ended in 2006), and Taft had extensive judicial service on lower courts before the presidency. Indeed, Taft always preferred the judiciary over the executive office, assessing his own presidential term as "a very humdrum, uninteresting administration" that failed to "attract the attention or enthusiasm of anybody." President Clinton's service, by no one's calculus, was uninteresting.
