January, 2006 archive

Hail to the Redskins, Hail Victory!

All seriousness aside, many times, when a coach gets fired in big league sports, it’s really not the coach’s fault. The team just can’t afford to fire all the players.

Joe Gibbs is an exception (not that he was ever fired–but that he is a coach who can change a team). When he left the Redskins the first time, the team was basically the same team the next year. And they fell into the cellar and stayed there for what seemed like forever.

Gibbs has the ability to take good players–and good players are a dime a dozen in the big leagues–and turn them into a great team.

No, this year’s Skins are not a great team. I will be surprised if they survive the first round of the playoffs. But the difference between the Redskins of the past decade and the Redskins of this year is the return of a great coach, a coach in the tradition of Amos Alonzo Stag, Knute Rockne, Joe Paterno, Weeb Eubank, and Bear Bryant.

(aside to you Eaglettes out there–the T. O. decision shows how corrosive choosing the wrong person can be. Great coaches look to the long term. It’s as true in sports as it is in politics.)

And, oh yeah, did I mention? The Redskins are the only NFL team with a fight song that anyone can remember.

This is good. I’m going to add it my links.

Looks like the New York Republicans are considering providing it:

Donald Trump is considering running for governor, a leading Republican said Friday. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno on Thursday suggested that a big-name candidate could be flirting with entering the 2006 contest. On Friday, he confirmed to News Channel 10 in Albany that he had been referring to Trump.

Bruno told the station he had spoken to the real estate developer and TV personality about a possible run.

There are no secrets, not even innocent ones:

Information captured by the National Security Agency’s secret eavesdropping on communications between the United States and overseas has been passed on to other government agencies, which cross-check the information with tips and information collected in other databases, current and former administration officials said.

From today’s Washington Post:

CHICAGO, Dec. 31 — In a spirited duel over prayer, members of the Indiana state House are at odds with a federal judge who ruled that the daily invocation appeals too often to Jesus Christ and a Christian god.

Ceremonial prayer in the Statehouse or other such venues is not nearly so permicious as prayer and religion in public schools. Indeed, one could argue that, if anyone needs prayer, it is our elected representatives incongruously assembled.

Yet, this statement from Clarence Brown, one of the Indiana legislators whose prayer helped spark the suit, gives me something to chew on:

“I wanted to share the word. That’s what I’m supposed to do,” Brown said. “I have to do what Jesus Christ says for me to do as a witness.” And, apparently Mr. Brown prays quite eloquently:

Brown’s prayer included thanks to God “for our lord and savior Jesus Christ, who died that we might have the right to come together in love.” When the prayer was finished, (Brian) Bosma (speaker of the House–ed.) announced that Brown would “bless us with a song.”

As Brown led the rollicking tune, some members and staffers clapped and sang along.

I’m not sure whether his attempting to gain converts from the legislative pulpit constitutes “establishment of religion.” I think one could make a strong argument that, given the forum and the audience, it does not–at least not in the same way as requiring the teaching of religious doctrine to school children; it does, nevertheless, show a motive beyond that of asking the God “bless this house in its endeavor to steer this state.”

It is notable, though, that the plaintiffs in the suite included “a Quaker, a Methodist and two Catholics.” This suit was clearly not anti-Christian–no atheists here. It would seem to be more indicative of divisions within the Christian community of where rendering unto God stops and rendering unto Caesar starts.

Everyone!

And I guess I get to spend it troubleshooting. For starts, I’ve changed the appearnance theme back to the default. I’ll keep poking at this until I figure out what broke IE, but the blog works in IE now.

That rules out that any of my plugins are causing it, so it’s one of the edits I made in one of the *.php files.

Enjoy.