Jan. 31: Congrats to teachers of the year

Congratulations to Jacquelle Sconiers, who teaches teens business and math at the Miami-Dade County Juvenile Detention Center, and Nicole Marsala, who teaches history at Coral Springs Middle School. They are the Dade and Broward teachers of the year:

http://cbs4.com/local/teachers.awards.broward.2.642636.html

A salute to them and the regional teachers of the year, who truly represent the best of the class.

Jan. 30: Election dropouts and umpire background checks

*McCain up; Giuliani and Edwards out

Sen. John McCain of Arizona was a gracious winner in the Florida primary yesterday. And former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani realized his one-state strategy was a bust; he's dropped out of the race and endorsed McCain.

Meanwhile, a surprise today: Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina also waved bye-bye, after first saying he was in it until the convention. No endorsement from him for now. Perhaps he's waiting to see if Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama can develop a little class towards each other in their contest for the Democratic nomination.


*Strike one

This is fallout from last year's National Basketball Association referee scandal:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-01-30-umpires-background_N.htm

Another speck of proof for how misguided Major League Baseball is. They have background checks on the one group of people in the game doing their jobs honestly. How about checking the players and owners?

Jan. 29: State of the Union fallout (Bush and non-Bush)

*Obama snubs Sen. Clinton



Is this how someone who wants to be president should act?



http://weblogs.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/blog/2008/01/by_frank_james_president_bush.html



Another reason I think Obama should have waited at least until after his first Senate term was over to run for president.



*The next endorsement.....



This endorsement business is starting to get ridiculous:



http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/01/28/obama_vs_clinton_and_now_toni.html





*Explaining blacks' affection for the Clintons



This column does a good job of explaining the connection African-Americans have felt to the Clintons:



http://www.sptimes.com/2008/01/27/Opinion/Behind_the_love_for_C.shtml



As we've seen recently, though, it's not a connection they can assume. To quote the late U.S. House Speaker Tip O'Neill: "People like to be asked."





*The forgotten man



Frank James also writes about the presidential election noise overcoming what President George W. Bush has to say. Indeed, Bush seems to be turning into The Forgotten Man (Who would have thought?). However, he still has a year to act. That must be remembered.





*Response to State of the Union speech



Also forgotten - sort of - in the flurry of presidential election news is the response to Bush's speech by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. Here's a link:



http://www.startribune.com/nation/14624062.html



Good and upbeat, I thought. Incidentally, she just endorsed Barack Obama. She's been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate.....



*Obama answers Israel questions



This from the Jerusalem Post:



http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1201523779464&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull





*Should religion matter?



Leonard Pitts asks that question:



http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0129pittsjan29,0,4580814.story



The answer is no, any more than race and gender should matter. However, with the deaths of almost 3,000 people on 9/11 still fresh in people's minds, as well as the war in Iraq and perpetual Middle East troubles, a Muslim won't get elected to the White House anytime soon. That's the reality. Pitts is right, though. The question is how long it will take this country to realize that.









*Mourning Margaret Truman Daniel



Margaret Truman Daniel, the daughter of President Harry Truman, has died:



http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBIT_TRUMANS_DAUGHTER?SITE=MABOC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-01-29-12-33-32



Indeed, she did establish multiple careers, the most successful one probably as a mystery writer. In 1992, when various presidential candidates were trying to compare themselves to her father, she respectfully told them to knock it off. She had a bit of her father's moxie.







*Montclair University journalists fight



Go, Montclarion:



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/nyregion/29montclair.html?scp=2&sq=journalism&st=nyt



And I'm not going to say a word about the student body president's last name......Actually, yes I am. If his name reflects his attitude toward the press, he may want to avoid politics after he graduates.



*Further screwing up of baseball....



The Hall of Fame game will be eliminated after this season because of schedule complexities:



http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080129&content_id=2358555&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb



Ridiculous to end a tradition that's gone on since a year after the first Hall of Fame induction. Then again, with the players from the "Steroid Era" starting to be judged, maybe there isn't much of a reason for Hall of Fame exhibition games for the time being.



*Marlins raise ticket prices


Speaking of paying for nothing:


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/content/sports/epaper/2008/01/26/a2b_marlins_0126.html


I've been a baseball fan since I was 10. Between the steroids and the atrocious way in which Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria runs his team and treats fans, I'm falling out of love with the game.





*Mosaic is restored



Cool story of the day:


http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2008-01-28-ancient-glass-israel_N.htm





*True partnership


Second cool story of the day, about a former UM star and his wife:


http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2008/01/29/balanced_lineman?mode=PF


Even though he plays for the Patriots (Remember, the Dolphins are in the same division and had the original undefeated team.)......


*Shalom!

Make way for a new TV network:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/tv/sfl-flbshalom0129pnjan29,0,6148031.story


*P.D.Q. Bach is Back

My favorite of Johann Sebastian's children (and the only fake one), courtesy of composer Peter
Schickele:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0125/p12s03-almp.html

My favorite P.D.Q. Bach composition is the "Minuet Militaire," complete with musical quotes from football team bands (at least the drums, the "hut, two, three" and the whistle).

Here's a Web site that has all the P.D.Q. details:

http://www.schickele.com/

Jan. 28: Vote no on slots in Dade

Tomorrow, voters in Miami-Dade County will decide whether to allow slot machines at race and dog tracks. Again, they should say no.

An early study on slots in Broward reports no rise in crime for the time being. But it is an early study. And there's a question of how Broward allocated its police resources to correspond with the changes taking place. You can handle something if you're ready for it.

With the property tax reform wave and a troubled economy hitting local budgets, though, will Broward's law enforcement be able to continue dealing with the situations created by increased gambling? History says no.

The television ads by the pro-casino forces have my least favorite line: That there is already gambling. Thus, the logic goes, let's add to it. It's a lousy excuse.

After Alex Penelas stepped down from the Dade mayor's post in 2000, efforts at creating a truly vibrant, non-tourism related economy in the county went with him. The construction economy created largely in the City of Miami had its fortunes ride on the real estate boom. We know where that's gone.

More gambling will just create more crime problems and gambling addiction in this community. Dade voters should say no to the slots on Tuesday.

Jan. 24: Wiretapping wrangle and GM's tumble

*Wrong number on wiretapping

One-half of the most disappointing Congress in recent memory may give in to the Bush administration yet again:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/23/AR2008012302179.html

Shame on Harry Reid. Shame on Jay Rockefeller, too.


*Why GM is struggling

With reports that General Motors is in danger of losing its 76-year-old crown as the world's number 1 automaker (It seems to have just barely edged out Toyota), it's worth looking at why GM is struggling.

I have a partial theory: What it's done to Buick.

In 2005, GM decided to eliminate the successful LeSabre, Park Avenue and a car that's been in my family for more than 30 years - the Century. Buick had also eliminated the Regal.

Meanwhile, Buick replaced those cars with SUVs that have sold poorly, and with two cars - the LaCrosse and Lucerne - that were more expensive and did not do well in some safety reports. Buick has had a long-standing reputation for safety and durability.

When I was going car shopping last year, Buick had started to slash the prices on those two models, suggesting that they weren't selling as well as had been hoped.

I stuck with GM, but bought a Chevy Impala, which has some features similar to the later-years Century. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Impala has been such a good seller. It reminds those veteran Buick owners of what got left behind.

Meanwhile, the bloodletting continues for Ford, which is offering buyouts to 54,000 workers.


*Differences on health insurance

The Republicans are wrong on this issue:

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN23648073

How many people in this country are at risk because they don't have insurance? How many workers in this country are stuck at jobs they don't want because they need the health insurance? And how many of the Republican voters who took part in this poll either are or know someone in this circumstance?


*Caring about the news

Good column in The Washington Post, responding to the creator of HBO's "The Wire":

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/23/AR2008012302350.html

I agree with Sara Libby. The interest in the presidential campaign is a reflection of what she's talking about. And it's true that people not only care, but they want good journalism.


*The worst Bond title ever

"Quantum of Solace?" What on earth does that mean?

http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1388284.php/New_Bond_film_gets_a_title!

This is James Bond, for heaven's sake, not Stanley Kubrick.

You don't follow titles like "From Russia With Love," "Goldfinger," "Diamonds Are Forever," "Live and Let Die," "The Spy Who Loved Me," "A View to a Kill," "Goldeneye," etc. with "Quantum of Solace." Not to mention "For Your Eyes Only," which this story comes from (and a great song, by the way).

Jan. 23: Secret Clinton resistance - by Clinton?

*Bill doesn't want Hill in the White House?

Jeffrey Dvorkin isn't the first person I've seen this theory - that former President Clinton does not want his wife elected president - from:

http://nowthedetails.blogspot.com/2008/01/journalism-is-overlooking-hillarys.html


*Door opening in Florida?

Discussion on WLRN radio in Miami about the upcoming Florida primary, about whether the Democratic leadership might let the Sunshine State out of the corner....or at least the candidates in to campaign for a day or two. If they want that money to flow in for the fall, (especially if Barack Obama, who hasn't exactly shown Florida voters any warmth with his recent comments, is the nominee) they'll open the gate, even if it's brief.


*Maybe it's that "killer tree" thing again....

Fewer hurricanes because of global warming?

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/389825.html

Maybe we're in an ice age, and nobody's told us....


*Employee assistance for actors?

Yes, we know they have millions of dollars, entourages and people telling them how good they are. But do Hollywood's finest have access to genuinely good mental health care if they need it? That's the question I'm pondering after the death of actor Heath Ledger at age 28.

Of course, a good mental health professional would probably tell them to ditch the entourages and the people who tell them how good they are.

Jan. 22: Thompson bows out; Clinton and Obama battle

*Case closed

Fred Thompson, who won the hype election when he got into the presidential race last year, has bowed out. Thompson had sought to be a Ronald Reagan-style candidate, but with apologies to the late Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen, Thompson was no Reagan. Wonder if "Law & Order" will take him back....

*Stop it, kids

They're members of the United States Senate, she was first lady and they're both running for president. But Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are going at it Hatfield and McCoy-style. Throw in former President - repeat, former President - Bill Clinton for an all-out mess.

This has the potential to be the frostiest crowning of a Democratic presidential nominee since 1980, when Ted Kennedy gave a less-than-warm greeting to President Jimmy Carter at that year's convention. We know what happened there....that Ronald Reagan guy won in November.

Clinton (or rather, the Clintons) and Obama should take a line from another Republican: A house divided against itself cannot stand.