NCAA 2007 Custom Covers

A public service from your humble propagandist, for the people of the great state of Alabama, who HP knows are passionate about their football:

I went to this site to print out a custom cover for my copy, and I think you should show some school spirit and do likewise.

I'll even make it easy for you:

Alabama: 18 Covers, featuring Kenneth Darby, Ramzee Robinson, Juwan Simpson, John Parker Wilson, and Tyrone Prothro (Yes, they have Prothro's catch).

Auburn: 9 Covers, featuring Will Herring, Kenny Irons, or for those AU fans who want to go old school, Bo Jackson.

Unfortuntely, this site doesn't yet have any custom covers for UAB or Troy. If I find one, I'll let you Blazers and Trojans know.

Assorted Thoughts

I agree, FoxNews. I'm not a huge fan of any of the cable news networks (I usually find the minimalist style of CNNHN most palatable), but I've been keeping up with the Olbermann/O'Reilly feud from afar. Long story short: O'Reilly's hit on a formula that works and has made him the most watched cable infotainment program in the nation, while Olbermann's show does little but remind us how much we miss the team of Olbermann and Dan Patrick on SportsCenter. Throw in a Nazi reference, and you've got an obsessed dude that should of stuck to what he was good at.

Gov. Riley will most likely be appointed the job to implement Alabama's new voter registration system after Secretary of State Nancy Worley wasn't able to get it done by the time she was allowed. The U.S. Justice Department sued her, and A.G. Troy King was required to defend her. What was his suggestion? "Uhm, yeah, I think Gov. Riley should do it, too." Oh, and by the way...she won her primary. This is only slightly less disturbing than the Larry Darby embarassment.

Cheers: The NAACP and President Bush

Ok, George W. Bush finally spoke in front of the NAACP. After several "scheduling conflicts", he finally stood up in front of a group that has major issues with many of his policies. After growing a reputation for only speaking to groups of "friendlies", President Bush took a definite chance by scheduling this engagement.

NAACP chairman Julian Bond has expressed displeasure tonight on his Colbert Report appearance on his feelings that the President avoided the real issues that his coalition cares about...namely the war in Iraq and judicial appointments. Chairman Bond had been none too pleasant toward the President in comments at the convention before Bush's speech.

But Bush came anyway. And Chairman Bond, and more importantly, the audience, received him cordially.

No real questions were answered, no real solutions were offered. However, this appearance was a step (a small step, indeed, but a step) towards something we need much more of.

This "something" is politicians receiving their critics head-on, listening to their opinions, and then working to obtain the compromises which have, in the past. helped our country progress as a nation and as a society.

In a perfect world, President Bush would follow up his largely symbolic appearance with further, more meaningful dialogue with the NAACP and other groups who have been adverse to his policies. I'm none too optimistic about this actually happening, but we can dream. This isn't all the President's fault...he can't force a one day paradigm change. But this can be a stepping stone, if those in power on both sides choose to use it.

The Auburn Academic Scandal: The Students Get It

Auburn University is an asset to the state of Alabama. Over the past few days, I've seen some Alabama fans express their potential delight at SACS coming in and jerking AU's accreditation. I've done my best to explain to them that such a measure (which, I assure you, won't happen) doesn't help anyone. It doesn't help Auburn, it doesn't help the University of Alabama, and it surely doesn't help the state of Alabama.

What do I want out of the story? Change. Change that assures that AU finally gets a president that doesn't have "interim" before his title. Change that assures SACS has no reason to ever put one of our two largest universities on probation. Change that assures that when AU scores well on the APR score, they did it the right way.

And based on this article, that is apparently what at least some Auburn students want as well.

Gay Marriage Amendment Fails in the U.S. House

The U.S. House of Representatives voted down a proposal to move forward with a Constitutional amendment barring gay marriage. Not only would such an amendment be discriminatory, but would also be a move that anyone with any grasp of national politics would understand as being an exercise in futility. To amend our constitution to ban gay marriage, a winning vote in the House would have to be followed up by a 2/3rds majority vote in the Senate (which it most likely would not get) and a 3/4ths majority vote from the states (which it definitely wouldn't get). In short, the doomed process would be a massive waste of taxpayer money on something that, in the grand scheme of importance to our current society, is a political posturing non-issue.

I'm sorry to report that all seven of Alabama's representatives voted to go forward with this legislation. I understand why they did it; coming on the heels of the state referendum on the issue, there is no doubt that the vast majority of each representative's constituency wanted this attempt to pass. However, it would have still been good to see one of them stand up and say, "I respect the votes of the people of Alabama on their statewide gay marriage referendum, but this amendment is not for the best of our entire nation."

Am I asking the representatives to vote against their personal feelings on gay marriage as well? I don't think so. Even if one is personally against homosexual marriages, one can still recognize several truths which would make a constitutional amendment against the practice unwise. For one, an argument can be made (quite strongly, I believe) that such an amendment would effectively make homosexuals second class citizens. History has taught us that doing such is, almost without fail, later proven to be the poorest of practices. One can also take my earlier economic approach, as a common sense assessment of national sentiment toward the issue shows us that this amendment would be doomed from the beginning; even if it staggers off Capitol Hill, it is nearly impossible to realize a situation where thirty-eight states would pass the proposal.

Bush Offers Simple Solution to the Middle East Conflict

Mr. Scrushy Goes To Nassau...

Or not.

Good call, Judge Coody.

Red State Diaries and Politics in Alabama had it first.

Auburn Fan Compares Latest Scandal to 9/11/2001

Posted without comment...

Link

Wait. No, I can't help myself. I have to comment.

If such a thought ever enters your mind, be you a fan of Tide, Tigers, Bulldogs, or the Akron Zips, go get help. Immediately.