The Hammer

2003-10-18T15:18:00.000-05:00

ESPN censorship alert: If you go to ESPN's main page and use the search box above the menus at the left, you get redirected to the main page if you enter "Easterbrook" or "TMQ" or "Tuesday Morning Quarterback" or "Gregg Easterbrook." I also entered some non-sports related words, and everything else came up with at least some results, even if they were not sports related.

2003-10-18T15:08:00.000-05:00

More PC problems at ESPN: Gregg Easterbrook (Tuesday Morning Quarterback), which whom I have mentioned many times on this blog, may have just been fired by ESPN.

The Prof has some links and comments here.

Like I said with the Rush Limbaugh episode, this is ridiculous. I'm quickly losing all respect for ESPN. I think the problem (as many others are stating above) is that they are owned by ABC/Disney. They're too PC for their own good, and it's soon going to start affecting their broadcasting and reporting, and I believe it already has.

TMQ was one of the two best columns on ESPN (along with Bill Simmons), and one of the few reasons to check into the website for anything besides updated scores.

As as much as I don't like Tim McCarver, FOX's sports coverage is slowly overtaking ESPN. They're in no position to take them over anytime soon, but one has to wonder what kind of idiots are in charge at ESPN.

About the original controversy: I read the Easterbrook post on Kill Bill soon after it was posted. I cringed when he mentioned that the executives were Jews, because I thought it didn't really have anything to do with the issue of violent movies. I immediately knew this would blow up, and I was fairly sure that he would apologize or clarify his remarks. I did not remotely think that this would affect his TMQ column. Maybe Easterbrook understands the menace of political correctness now.

One of the worst things about this is ESPN's removal of the past TMQ columns and the erasure of his existence on their web site. I have a lot of friends that read TMQ and enjoy the column, but they don't read blogs and as of right now I'm fairly sure that they are not aware of this controversy. If ESPN doesn't notify their audience of their decision and reasoning, come Tuesday afternoon they're going to be overwhelmed with folks wondering where TMQ is. And then they're going to have to respond.

UPDATE: This page lists all of ESPN's Page 2 columnists, and Easterbrook isn't listed as of right now.

2003-10-01T23:20:00.000-05:00

Free speech squelched once again: I blame John Ashcroft.

UPDATE: Peter King weighs in. I agree mostly with his assessment of McNabb. And he's right that the quarterbacks generally get more credit than they sometimes deserve when their teams win.

Limbaugh's jab was directed at the media. The sports media may not be obsessed with race, but the general media is. It's probably their favorite subject next to themselves, as I've heard someone else put it.

Someone on the show should have called Limbaugh on what he said. Only they know why they did not. But I do not think we should forget that race is a very legitimate issue in professional football. Their absurd rule on interviewing black coaches for positions is Exhibit #1. How many jobs is Denny Green going to interview for anyway?

Here's a little more background on the original story.

In the end, I think Peter King is mostly right. What Limbaugh said may have been factually wrong, but it wasn't racist. It's not surprising to see Al Sharpton, Wesley Clark, and Howard Dean (all of whom want to govern this country) call for someone to be fired for exercising their free speech rights. They complain about the current administration stifling speech (without offering proof), yet have no qualms about doing it themselves.

UPDATE #2: Still no word on Al Sharpton's protest in front of Wrigley Field calling for the firing of Dusty Baker for his racist remarks. I'll keep you posted.

2003-09-17T22:36:00.000-05:00

THE HAMMER IS BACK!

Quit my job and am starting law school. Going to be a lot of work, but I'm going to try to keep the blog going. Probably keep mostly the same content (some legal stuff, current events, and of course, sports). I'll try to stay pseudonymous, but I'm sure I'll give out enough details along the way for someone to pinpoint my school, and possibly me as well. Let's get it on!

2003-02-28T18:38:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm just posting another apology for the lack of posts. Been really busy at work the past couple of weeks. I'll make no promises when I can get back to this, but I hope to do it ASAP.

2003-02-20T23:17:00.000-06:00

Apologies for the extreme lack of posts the past week or so. I'm making a major change right now, so I'm a little limited in time. But I'll try to get something going agan soon.

2003-02-12T10:30:00.000-06:00

Possible attack in DC soon: I hope this is wrong.

2003-02-12T10:29:00.000-06:00

Rabbi Michael Lerner presents his situation in today's OpinionJournal. Basically, he wasn't allowed to speak at an ANSWER rally because he believes in an Israeli state (and the other organizers, not just ANSWER, are going along with the ban). He seems surprised at the anti-Semitism on the far left. But if he's been paying any attention at all in the last 40 years, he'd be well informed of the intolerance of many on the left.

UPDATE: The Prof has more, including a link to ANSWER's reply.

2003-02-12T10:18:00.000-06:00

OpinionJournal reviews "The American Dream:"

For all the books that have been written about the American character, it's amazing how few have analyzed what exactly this dream actually means. Jim Cullen has brightly decided to investigate the concept, and the result is "The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea That Shaped a Nation."

Now it should be said that Mr. Cullen starts with certain disadvantages. He holds a Ph.D. in American civilization from Brown University and teaches at the expensive and exquisitely politically correct Ethical Culture Fieldston School in Manhattan. It's a challenge for anybody to write well about America from such a parochial milieu.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Cullen covers ground that will be immediately familiar to any New Yorker with a degree in American studies. He has sections on the Puritans, Lincoln, Martin Luther King, the growth of suburbia in the 1950s, Las Vegas and Hollywood. Meanwhile, he leaves out all those aspects of America life that don't appear on the famous New Yorker map of the U.S.

He has almost nothing to say about modern business. He has almost nothing to say about evangelicalism or Pentecostalism, arguably the most influential creed of the 20th century. (There are millions of American Pentecostals right now, starting from scratch about a century ago, and there will be, by conservative estimates, one billion Pentecostals in the world by 2050.) He has almost nothing to say about life in, for example, Texas, Georgia, Illinois and Arizona, which are not exactly unimportant parts of the country. Moreover, Mr. Cullen has that annoying Upper West Side habit of assuming that everyone within earshot shares his progressive views. He peppers the book with swipes at Republicans and conservatives that will make liberal readers feel good about themselves but will annoy everyone else.

And:

Yet he [Cullen] has intelligently spotted a core rift in the American body politic, and maybe in the global one too. On one side are those who believe that, despite its shortcomings, American society does offer "an open field and a fair chance," encouraging important virtues. On the other are those who believe that, though some get ahead through merit, the gospel of equal opportunity is basically a sham. The wrong people end up with money, power and prestige. The wrong human qualities get rewarded.

If you went around the world and separated the people who admire the U.S. from those who oppose it, I suspect that this would be the crucial issue on which the two sides divide. America is not just a democracy; it represents a certain culture of competitive mobility and the personality traits and aspirations that go along with that. And this book reminds us that politics is not merely a clash of interest but a clash of dreams.

2003-02-11T10:25:00.000-06:00

Details of Iraq's nuclear program, straight from the source. [reg. req'd.]

2003-02-11T10:21:00.000-06:00

The Prof wants to know what would happen if the US really were an imperialist bully.

2003-02-11T10:15:00.000-06:00

Here's an OpinionJournal article which hits the nail right on the head in discussing the problems with France and Germany.

Germany labors under heavy socialist policies--high taxation and crushing regulations that suppress growth. Its economy can barely employ German citizens, and many immigrants--a lot of whom are Muslim--are prohibited from working, forced to sit idle for years on welfare. Germany needs to do a better job at assimilating its immigrants. It can do that by cutting taxes, removing obstacles to business expansion and allowing immigrants greater freedom in taking jobs and starting businesses.

And then onto France:

Germany isn't alone in its blinkered priorities. French bureaucrats patrol the streets at night, looking for any business with the audacity to violate the 35-hour workweek. Meanwhile violent crime goes unchecked. Like other European countries, France refuses to assimilate immigrants. Consequently, there's a large population of Muslims--many from former French colonies--who are held in poverty collecting welfare checks for years.

France doesn't take crime seriously. Prisoners, even felons serving long sentences, are allowed to wear street clothes inside prison. This makes it relatively easy for prisoners to blend in with visitors and simply walk out the front door. That's how Ismael Berasategui Escudero, an alleged Basque terrorist, was able to trade places with his brother and escape from Paris's La Sante prison in August. Guards didn't even know he was gone until the brother stepped forward six days later.

2003-02-10T10:13:00.000-06:00

Peggy Noonan, on the war:

The anti-invasion people don't address what they think a man like Saddam will do in the future if no one stops him. Recently I asked a friend, an intellectual who is passionately antiwar and anti-Bush, what he thinks Saddam will do if we do not remove him. At first my friend dodged the question with anti-neocon invective, but when I pressed he admitted he had no idea what Saddam would do if he were not stopped--and he didn't care.

But you have to care. It's irresponsible not to.

And:

President Bush's foes warn of body bags. There will be body bags. But the question does not seem to be "invade and get body bags" versus "don't invade and no body bags." If that were so we'd all say fine, no invasion. The question is: "invasion body bags or noninvasion body bags?" Removing Saddam and taking losses, or not removing Saddam and waiting for the losses that will no doubt follow. Saddam is a body-bag bringer. Where he is, loss follows.

2003-02-10T10:03:00.000-06:00

Dumb Dave Matthews comes out against the war. Ooohhh, I guess I should rethink my position now that the honorable Mr. Matthews has given us his enlightened viewpoint. You know, I'd fisk this thing, but it's just the same tired arguments we've heard and debunked a thousand times before. Here it is in its entirety.

I hope this letter finds you all well and that in these uncertain times you find moments to be joyful.

I want to speak my mind about this war with Iraq, or I will choke on my conscience.

What is the motivation? Regime change? Shouldn't that be up to the people of the region and the people of Iraq? The only real threat from Saddam Hussein is to his neighbors and none of them support a U.S. invasion. Is it to stabilize the Middle-East? Wouldn't it only do the opposite by causing further death and suffering in a country that has had more than its share?

Is it to weaken Al Qaeda? Saddam Hussein is a genocidal maniac but he is not Al Qaeda. He is certainly more visible though. Is he our target because he is easier to identify than the illusive terrorist network? Surely it is more likely that an attack on Iraq would only strengthen Al Qaeda by feeding Anti-American sentiment. Putting out the fire with gasoline, so to speak. It is certainly not to liberate the people of Iraq who suffer under Hussein's rule, unless we call killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis liberation.

Saddam Hussein is a barbaric murderous dictator. I wish the world were free of him. But the answer is not to bomb this great culture of Iraq out of existence to stop him. Why must the children of Iraq die by the thousands to stop a tyrant? It is not justice. And if we kill him what will we achieve? We will have taken the most unpopular leader in the Middle East and turned him into the greatest martyr radical Islam has ever had. The U.N. weapons inspectors must be allowed to do their job thoroughly and any military action should be internationally agreed upon. We must not allow our government to turn us into a rogue nation.

I fear that our true motivation is about oil and our own flailing economy; about the failure to destroy Al Qaeda and about revenge. It is criminal to put our servicemen and women in harm's way and to put the lives of so many civilians on the line for the misguided frustrations of the Bush administration.

Bottom line: this war is wrong and this war is un-American.

Peacefully submitted,
Dave Matthews

What a fucking moron. You know, what I wrote above wasn't entirely true. Matthews actually presents some new, even dumber arguments than those I've heard before. And that's a pretty tough thing to do considering what we've seen from the anti-war left in the past.

2003-02-06T21:19:00.000-06:00

Steven Milloy finally weighs in on the Columbia tragedy, CFCs, and hints that we may be seeing the beginnings of a coverup. Read it.

2003-02-06T15:24:00.000-06:00

Finally, a sensible article on Title IX.

Football is not the enemy of the 30-year-old federal law that forbids sexual discrimination in our athletic arenas and our classrooms.

Who pays the bill for women's sports if there is no college football?

"You don't," Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds said.

2003-02-06T15:13:00.000-06:00

Sales taxes have come to the Internet. Don't want to sound alarmist or anything, but this will significantly hamper online retailing. I hope the overspending state governments are happy. Not that they'll use these extra funds for anything useful. It will just be wasted like the surpluses in the 1990s. Anyone want to bet that property taxes don't go down anytime soon?

2003-02-06T11:28:00.000-06:00

25 best Simpsons episodes ever? See for yourself.

UPDATE: Check out this site for all your Simpsons needs.

2003-02-05T16:20:00.000-06:00

Here's a Slashdot Q&A session with Kevin Mitnick.

2003-02-05T16:02:00.000-06:00

LeBron James has been reinstated by some judge who apparently has no respect for the rule of law.

[Summit County Judge James R.] Williams said James would suffer "immediate and irreparable injury" without a court order. He did not say why he overruled the OHSAA.

I think Jim Rome says it best:

Come on, man. You’re not 9 years old, you’re 18 years old. And if you really do have a 3.5 GPA as you say you do, you should be smart enough to know the difference between right and wrong. Taking the gear was wrong and he knew it. ‘ I thought they gave it to me as a reward for good grades?! That’s insulting. Don’t bring that around here. I don’t see them pulling math dorks off campus with 3.5’s and hooking them up with retro Wes Unseld gear. Hell, I made Dean’s list in college; why wasn’t there a fresh new Merkur waiting for me in front of my apartment when my report card came. Hell, maybe there would have been if my mother rolled up on some loan officer at the bank and said, “Hey playa, give me $30 GRR for my boy’s rig. I’m at the bank!”

Oh yeah, that’s right, I’m not going to be a star in the NBA. Believe me, LeBron knows exactly what time it is; he knows what’s going on. He knows how the game is played and how the system works. This whole, “I didn’t know; I thought they were rewarding me for my grades” is lame. He’s hip to what’s going on and trust me, those two jerseys are not the only gifts he has received. All the more reason that he should not petition for reinstatement. He has, but it’s a bad idea.

The guy should cut his losses short and just turn pro. This is not a fight worth fighting. Even if he wins, he still loses. The last thing this guy wants to be is seen going into and leaving the courthouse. It’s more unnecessary attention and unwanted pub. Plus, since he’s now chosen to go through with the petition, he’s going to have to open up his closet. He’s going to have to explain where the Dr. J., Pete Maravich, Kenny Anderson, Kareem Abdul-JaBlunt and Joe Namath throwback jerseys came from. And what about the cell phones and two way pager; where did he get those? Who pays for those?

Wise up LeBron, it’s over. You’re not an amateur and you haven’t been for quite some time. His supporters need to stop blaming the media for LeBron’s own decisions and he has to accept some responsibility and accountability. Turn pro, turn the page and don’t make it worse than it already is.

2003-02-05T15:47:00.000-06:00

What a bunch of whiners:

Democratic lawmakers will attempt to filibuster the nomination of Miguel Estrada for Washington's U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before a vote on his confirmation, expected as early as Wednesday, sources close to the Democrats' game plan told Fox News.

There's more:

On Wednesday, Kennedy told his Democratic colleagues, "If we allow a stealth right-winger on this court, we have only ourselves to blame."

"We must filibuster Miguel Estrada's nomination," he told lawmakers at the weekly Democratic policy lunch. "The White House is almost telling us that they plan to nominate him to the Supreme Court. We can't repeat the mistake we made with [Supreme Court Justice] Clarence Thomas."

What mistake would that be, Teddy? Putting a minority on the bench?

2003-02-05T11:21:00.000-06:00

Evil Overlord tips for success.

2003-02-05T11:04:00.000-06:00

Eugene Volokh scares some anti-Semites.

The Prof mentions it here and here.

2003-02-05T10:47:00.000-06:00

Lileks takes on the Greens' response to the SOTU address.

"We Greens say to the President and to Congress: Immigrants are not the enemy! Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people are not the enemy! People of color are not the enemy! It's time to stop your war on minorities."

I missed the part of the speech where Bush asked us all to herd cross-dressers into sports arenas and beat them to death with the hard spine of SUV owner’s manuals. I was unaware that people of color were the enemy. - I thought people of color were actually part of the administration, and that one of them was the son of Jamaican immigrants. But I live in a rarified world here in the middle of the city, and news of the Bisexual Pogroms has not yet reached my distant shores.

Speaking of the “war on minorities” - I’ve searched her speech over and over again for the words “Kurds” and “Shiites” and I can’t find it.

2003-02-05T10:40:00.000-06:00

An eyewitness account from North Korea:

Even worse, the South Korean government has largely turned a blind eye to the plight of their "brothers" to the north, and in many cases has actually hindered their escape. Our plans to cross the Yellow Sea were foiled in part by South Korean authorities who used surveillance, interception and minders to disrupt our plans. Read this again, for I wish to stress the shame of it: South Korean authorities worked actively to foil our attempts to bring North Korean refugees to freedom. But under South Korean law, North Korean refugees cannot be turned away. It is time for Seoul to live up to this promise.

And it's not just the officials. South Korean students spend their time and energy denouncing the presence of U.S. troops, instead of denouncing the evils of Kim Jong Il. What many foreigners fail to understand is that the student movement in Seoul is heavily influenced by North Korean propaganda, and quite possibly given logistical and financial support through spies from the North.

2003-02-05T10:17:00.000-06:00

The oil-for-blood myth, and Nelson Mandela, debunked once and for all.

2003-02-04T10:39:00.000-06:00

Could junk science over CFC's have weakened the shuttle?

2003-02-04T10:27:00.000-06:00

Posting has been light for the last couple of days, and will probably be that way for two or three more weeks. I'm in a big transition phase right now.

2003-02-04T10:26:00.000-06:00

Here's an interview with John Barlow, founder of the EFF.

2003-01-29T13:51:00.000-06:00

Thought for the day: Civil Engineers build targets; Aerospace Engineers build ways to remove targets.

2003-01-29T13:48:00.000-06:00

TMQ recaps some preseason NFL predictions.

2003-01-29T13:45:00.000-06:00

Slashdot links to an article on grade inflation at universities. I haven't read throught the comments yet, but you can bet there will be some arguing the relative difficulty of science/engineering courses versus humanities courses. And check out this page for some data.

2003-01-26T10:16:00.000-06:00

Bill Gates calls for research into diseases that affect the developing world. A good idea, and one that we could pursue. But we can easily stop one of the deadliest diseases in the world (malaria) by simply lifting the ridiculous junk-science fueled ban on DDT.

2003-01-26T10:12:00.000-06:00

The Sports Guy interviews Jimmy Kimmel.

2003-01-26T10:00:00.000-06:00

Check out the best crop circles of 2002. Don't miss this one.

2003-01-26T09:44:00.000-06:00

SUPER BOWL PICK:

Oakland -4.5 vs. Tampa Bay

With a win I can finish 6-5 in the playoffs.

2003-01-24T15:15:00.000-06:00

Will France single-handedly render the UN useless? They're trying.

If French U.N. promises are to be taken seriously, then what we have here is in fact Gallic contempt for the "international community" that the French claim to honor. They are not only encouraging Saddam to resist but they are also putting an American President into a position where he will have no choice but to act on his own and demonstrate how irrelevant to world security the U.N. Security Council, complete with its French veto, really is.
But perhaps we are taking all of this pacifist and "international law" jabbering far too seriously. The French, after all, don't worry much about international opinion when they want to dispatch their own troops to quell violence in one of their former colonies. Or when they want to sink a Greenpeace ship, as Francois Mitterrand did in the early 1980s.

The French veto on the UN Security Council is the last shred of world power this country has. It stands to reason that they would like to hang on to it and not waste it on a dictator in a third-world nation. But maybe they just can't pass up the money from those illegal contracts with Iraq.

2003-01-24T15:06:00.000-06:00

Problems with the public educational system? Who would've thought it?

Three years ago in New York, the percentage of black students who did not graduate from high school was 54%. In California, 41%. In Tennessee, 54% didn't graduate. And in Wisconsin, which is thought of as a fairly normal place, the percentage of black kids who didn't make it out of high school in the class of 2000 was a mind-boggling 59%.

This data appears in Education Week's annual report, "Quality Counts." Across the nation, the average non-graduation rate for black students is 45%. These numbers are surely the same year in and year out, which means that every June in America, largely unnoticed and unremarked upon, almost half the nation's black kids wash over the falls of our urban school systems.

Maybe we should raise taxes on the rich and throw some more money at it. Read the whole article.

2003-01-24T14:52:00.000-06:00

1000 horsepower?!?! Cadillac may bring back the V-16. Also seen at the Detroit Auto Show was the Dodge Tomahawk (see here and here), a motorcycle with a V-10 that can reach 400 MPH (!).

2003-01-23T20:07:00.000-06:00

Scott Ritter also engages in damage control:

Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter, a harsh critic of the Bush administration's push toward war with Iraq, suggested that recent news reports of his arrest in an Internet sex sting in 2001 were part of an attempt to silence him.

He said the publicity forced him to cancel a trip to Baghdad, where he said he would have offered an alternative to military action.

"The timing does stink. I was supposed to be on an airplane yesterday to Baghdad," he said.

What's stopping him? Get the hell over there if you want to go. Just be sure to stay when the bombing begins.

2003-01-23T20:04:00.000-06:00

Bill Clinton continues his damage control:

"I don't want to get into who did what when. What we did was good and if we hadn't done it, they would have 50 nuclear weapons today, and it would be a disaster because they would be under great pressure to sell them since they need money. So we did the right thing, but I think we need to do more now and I think we can do it diplomatically as long as we do it, but we have to be very tough about it and we have to proceed and I am hopeful, I think it can be solved," he told the crowd attending the Families USA Conference on Health Care.

They wouldn't have any nuclear weapons at all if his administration hadn't appeased them. Slick also goes on about how he's rich and he doesn't want a tax cut. There's a real simple solution to that. Just don't take as many deductions when you do your taxes, or send the IRS a check for what you would have paid under the old system. There's no law against paying more taxes than you're supposed to.

2003-01-23T11:34:00.000-06:00

A new axis of evil [link via Instapundit].

2003-01-23T10:59:00.000-06:00

I found "Disgusted Liberal" via Instapundit. I scrolled down through a few of his posts, and noticed this one whining about the possible repeal of the estate tax. He quotes Bill Gates Sr., who believes the estate tax is "vital to ensuring that each generation has an adequate incentive to build up wealth."

That argument is absolutely ridiculous. Even with an estate tax, most ultra-rich (in the billions) people manage to pass on a great fortune to their heirs, who never have to work again if they don't want to. They (the heirs) could also, in their lifetime, with smart financial planning, increase their fortunes by enough to ensure the same lifestyle for their children, ad infinitum (well maybe not, but at least for five or so generations, which would be over 100 years). So unless an estate tax approaches 100%, we'll still have this so-called "moneyed class."

And another point on this argument (and the argument posted by Disgusted Liberal, that class mobility is declining), the mere lack of wealth may provide an adequate incentive to build up wealth, but it by no means guarantees success. [Is the reverse also true? Does the presence of wealth suppress the desire to build up wealth? I don't think so.] "Building up wealth," in most cases, takes a certain type of person; one with an entrepreneurial spirit, a strong work ethic, and some kind of good idea that no one has thought of before. Rich and poor people alike can have these qualities. People who are capable of building wealth will find a way to do it, even if they are born poor. A rich heir may have the ability to act on their idea because they have this large fortune they can afford to invest (and lose). If they don't have that security, they may never take the chance. But the abscence of this rich person in no way, shape, or form increases the probability that the poor(-er) person will succeed. It may even act as a detriment, as a rich person could serve as source of capital for the poor(-er) person with the good idea and work ethic. The federal government isn't going to solicit innovative projects they can invest in; no, instead we're going to get the same worthless pork-barrel spending we have way too much of now.

One other advantage of repealing the estate tax is that some rich people don't pass all their money on to their heirs; instead, they create foundations or philanthropic organizations which help a lot of people in a lot of ways. Giving these organizations more of that money can only be a good thing; they are going to get a much greater bang for the buck than we'll get by giving that money to the federal bureaucracy.

Disgusted Liberal says that low upward mobility is a problem for the bottom 20% of Americans (he doesn't mention the other 80% of Americans), and the other problem is a lack of "overall mobility." I guess he enjoys people getting poorer and moving down the income brackets, because that increases "overall mobility." But I think his source doesn't adequately address the problem. Check out Table 3 in the appendix. Long term relative mobility looks pretty good for most people; even the bottom 20% had a better than even chance of moving out of the bottom 20% in the years 1968-1991. That's pretty good movement for one generation. Furthermore, the study doesn't take into account the vast amounts of wealth accumulated in this country in the 1990s, which would paint a much better picture of this mobility situation.

One caveat: I just skimmed through the study, and I don't have a substantial background in statistics, so my analysis may be a little off (it may be way off). But at first glance it seems reasonable to me.

2003-01-23T10:24:00.000-06:00

No liberal bias in the media? This poll by NBC and the Wall Street Journal shows that a great majority of Americans support Bush's stimulus plan:

The public is skeptical about whether President Bush new economic stimulus plan will do much to help growth in the economy, according to a new poll.

Only a third, 35 percent, say they expect the stimulus plan will be fairly effective or very effective at helping the economy. Another four in 10 said it could be "somewhat effective."

In other words, 75% believe the plan will be at least "somewhat effective." The headline for the article says "Poll: Most Don't Back Bush Stimulus Plan." In somebody's world, 25% constitutes "most."

2003-01-22T11:46:00.000-06:00

Why am I not seeing this evidence of Iraq's nuclear weapons program in any American newspapers?

2003-01-22T11:42:00.000-06:00

Steven Den Beste has some speculation on what could happen a few months after the U.S. occupies Iraq [link via Instapundit]

2003-01-22T11:41:00.000-06:00

One thought on the revelations about Scott Ritter and his prior arrests: Could some form of blackmail be involved in his decision to change his stance on Iraq? Just speculation, mind you, I don't have any proof. But it is a possibility.

2003-01-22T11:38:00.000-06:00

Noam Chomsky's against the war. What a surprise. But I must point out one fallacy, which he happens to revolve his entire argument around:

It is extremely unlikely that Saddam Hussein would use nuclear weapons, which is a recipe for instant suicide - except in a desperate reaction to an attack.

Hussein has declared in the past that if any Arab nation has nuclear weapons, Israel will be destroyed because they won't be able to counterattack everyone. See here and here and here and here and here and here.

I haven't found the quote I remember, but these links provide enough evidence that Hussein will use WMDs in situations besides a "desperate reaction."

2003-01-22T11:06:00.000-06:00

The Department of State opposes a democratic Iraq (in practice, if not in theory).

2003-01-22T11:03:00.000-06:00

Claudia Rosett discusses the UN "Human Rights" Commission.

2003-01-22T11:02:00.000-06:00

Is a Pete Rose apology and reinstatement forthcoming? ESPN's Jayson Stark has more.

2003-01-21T10:17:00.000-06:00

Neal Boortz walked off the Donahue Show last night! But if a radio host walks off a TV show, and no one is watching to see it, did it really happen? [link via Instapundit].

2003-01-21T10:10:00.000-06:00

Can Clinton be blamed for the current problems with North Korea? His administrations is once again in damage control mode, trying to place the blame on Bush II.

2003-01-21T10:03:00.000-06:00

ESPN relives some dumb Super Bowl questions:

Getting the details right is a reporter's job, but some overdo it. Rams receiver Isaac Bruce had been in a car accident in early December 1999. Before the 2000 Super Bowl, he told reporters the story, saying, in part, "When I flipped in my car, I called on the name of Jesus. That's the name that I know saves me. And when I did that, I knew everything would be fine." This exchange followed:

Reporter: ''Did you say 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus?' Or just 'Jesus?' ''

Bruce: ''It was one Jesus,'' he said. ''That's all it takes.''

2003-01-21T10:02:00.000-06:00

SUVs: a geek's worst nightmare:

I don't own an SUV, but now that they've been identified as the locus of evil, I'm thinking of getting one. And if I do, I figure I might as well let the inner wolf out for a rampage and get the most obnoxious SUV I can find.

My SUV, assuming Hummer comes out with a model for those who find the current ones too cramped, will look something like the Louisiana Superdome on wheels. It'll guzzle so much gas as I walk out to my driveway there will be squads of Saudi princes gaping and applauding. It'll come, when I buy it, with little Hondas and Mazdas already embedded in the front grillwork. Inside I'll install video screens so that impressionable youngsters can play Grand Theft Auto on the way to weekly NRA meetings. And there will be room in the back for tobacco lobbyists nibbling on french fries and endangered prawns.

There's more:

First, remember this is largely a civil war within the educated class. Nobody seems to assault pickup-truck drivers, even though some of the newer pickups look like wheeled aircraft carriers and their beds are surprisingly unscuffed. Nobody picks on minivans, though the Dodge Grand Caravan ES gets only 6 miles more per gallon than the Dodge Durango SUV. Remember also that, as Van Wyck Brooks, Santayana and others have observed, there have always been two educated classes. On the one hand, there's the genteel elite, which lives in a world of literature, ideas, refinement and modesty. On the other, there's the aristocracy of commerce, people who thrive through self-assertion, competitiveness, daring and magnetism. To put it in modern terms, there are geeks and jocks.

2003-01-18T10:53:00.000-06:00

Christopher Hitchens offers some advice for conservatives.

2003-01-18T10:48:00.000-06:00

What to do with North Korea: a proposal much worth your time.

2003-01-18T10:33:00.000-06:00

Here are some links to the real truth about ANSWER, the "organizers" of the "anti-war" protests occurring this weekend. Check them all out.

2003-01-18T10:31:00.000-06:00

For the two NFL games this weekend, I'll go with:

Oakland -7 vs. Tennessee
Philly -3.5 vs. Tampa Bay

I think Philly should easily cover, but I'm a little iffy on the Oakland pick. But with Tennessee banged up, and Oakland playing at home, I've got to give them the benefit.

2003-01-18T10:29:00.000-06:00

Bill Simmons discusses some behind-the-scenes action at The Jimmy Kimmel show:

I'm letting Adam Carolla write this paragraph, since he's in the office right now: "All right, here's my sports beef ... I don't like the hockey goalies who keep these water bottles on top of the net. Takes away from the game. First off, this doesn't exist in any other sport, where you get to hit the field with a beverage. People argue that you could become dehydrated, but when's the last time you became dehydrated standing motionless on a block of ice? It also opens the door to guys bringing snacks out there, that's next. They'll be bringing Chex Mix out there, or trail mix ... you could open a Pandora's Box. And does anyone ever test that water for steroids or amphetimines?"

(Imagine these tangents for six consecutive hours a day ... that's what it's like when Adam's shows up in the office. Nobody gets anything done. The man is a comedy menace.)

And read the column so you can get the link to the Neil Smith quotes from the Kansas City Chiefs post-game show this year. They're absolutely hilarious. Oh hell, I'll just give you the link myself (scroll down to the 1/6/03 entry).

And Simmons gives his picks for the conference championship games this weekend as well.

2003-01-16T21:15:00.000-06:00

Apologies for the lack of posts today. I'll try to get a few in tomorrow.

2003-01-15T16:43:00.000-06:00

Another update: Lessig has some more on Eldred. You can scroll up for another post, and also don't forget to read the comments.

For numerous links, check out Copyfight.

And here's Lawmeme.

As for my thoughts: I'll try to post some later, maybe tomorrow.

2003-01-15T12:27:00.000-06:00

Damn right. The NFL referees are made at the league, and for good reason. Some coaches are overreacting (Fassell and Cowher), when they have no one to blame for their losses but themselves. Plus, the referees are human. They're going to make mistakes. Hopefully they're on questionable calls, and don't occur in a situation that decides the game. But over the course of the season that's going to happen every now and then. But part of the problem isn't the referee. Many rules in the league are ridiculous, and it doesn't help that they make major changes year to year, and even sometimes during the season! Plus, the way instant replay is handled is ridiculous. Right now, a coach gets two challenges per half. Well, what if you get hosed on a couple of calls but win the challenges? The referee should then announce, "XXX is out of challenges. For the rest of the half we can royally screw them and there isn't a damn thing they can't do about it. They're not charged with a timeout."

2003-01-15T11:21:00.000-06:00

It's nice to see the Bush administration take a strong stand against racism.

You know, there's one thing I don't get about the diversity argument. Has anyone ever presented any evidence that "diversity" enhances the educational experience? I've yet to see a study that says so. If it's so obvious that diversity is crucial to education, it shouldn't be too hard to conduct a scientific study that proves it. So where is the proof?

2003-01-15T10:26:00.000-06:00

Today's front pages (link from Samizdata).

2003-01-15T10:14:00.000-06:00

An interesting story from the Supreme Court by Stuart Buck.

2003-01-15T10:00:00.000-06:00

Here's my next T-shirt purchase (link via Instapundit).

2003-01-15T09:47:00.000-06:00

An interesting post from Juan Non-Volokh concerning criticisms of Justice Clarence Thomas.

2003-01-15T09:45:00.000-06:00

Wow. The Supreme Court has upheld the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act, in a 7-2 vote (Stevens and Breyer dissenting). Lawrence Lessig has a one-line post. Having trouble finding more information. I'll update as soon as I get more.

UPDATE: Here are some more links, from Google News. I've yet to see this hit the blogosphere, but I'm probably not looking in the right places.

UPDATE II: Of course! Howard Bashman has more (scroll down). You can get the .pdf here.

UPATE III: Eugene Volokh makes a quick mention, with promises of more to come later.

2003-01-15T09:34:00.000-06:00

Some viewers angry about Miller Lite "Catfight" commercial: Aren't there more important topics we should be worrying about?

"Every time I see it, I cringe," says Laura Ries, an image guru. "It's explicit. It's degrading. It has no real message, except all men are idiots and all they think about are girls mud wrestling."

2003-01-14T11:02:00.000-06:00

Willis McGahee is declaring for the NFL draft. I think this is the right move on his part. Follow that link and you can see Mel Kiper Jr.'s projected top five draft picks.

2003-01-14T10:39:00.000-06:00

The technology industry has sold out:

The leading trade associations for the music and technology industries, which have been at loggerheads over consumers downloading songs on the Internet, have negotiated a compromise they contend will protect copyrights on movies and music without new government involvement.

Lobbyists for some of the nation's largest technology companies will argue under the new agreement against efforts in Congress to amend U.S. laws to broaden the rights of consumers, such as explicitly permitting viewers to make backup copies of DVDs for personal use or copy songs onto handheld listening devices.

It appears they did this just to get the government off their backs. They must be afraid of some legislation not going their way. The MPAA was absent from the meetings. And does it all have something to do with this?

2003-01-14T10:33:00.000-06:00

I haven't said anything about the Pete Townshend debacle, but here is an editorial from the Guardian about the veil of secrecy our societies place over child pornography.

And here is another one discussing the legal theories on child pornography.

And supposedly a few members of the British Parliament are also involved in this, but the police seem intent on keeping their names secret. Nothing like using an entertainer to publicize their cause, while letting others deal with it privately.

And as for the validity of Townshend's excuse, here is a copy of a piece he wrote a year ago (.pdf file). Or go to this page and click on "A Different Bomb."

2003-01-14T10:29:00.000-06:00

Democrats are being obstructionist? What a surprise!

Fox News has obtained an internal memo from Judiciary Democrats to Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. The memo urges Daschle to request that Bush judicial nominees not be considered until American Bar Association reviews are complete, reviews that Bush said he would not use when considering nominations, breaking a 50-year tradition.

Among the other suggestions, Democrats said that only one controversial nominee should be considered at each hearing; that one circuit court nominee be considered per hearing; that hearings take place only every three or four weeks; and that the blue slip policy — which allows any senators to hold up certain nominations — remain in effect.

What a joke. And half the country still votes for these sore losers.

2003-01-13T10:54:00.000-06:00

Did this kid think nobody would notice?

LeBron James is traveling like a professional player these days. And not just on the court.

James, the nation's most hyped player and expected No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft, is driving around Akron in a Hummer H2, a sports utility vehicle popular with many pro athletes.

James is still in high school.

2003-01-13T10:27:00.000-06:00

Victor Davis Hanson pens an article appearing in OpinionJournal today, which is so good I just about excerpted the whole thing. It's a little long, but absolutely must be read. One point:

For many, today's affluence is also accompanied by an unprecedented sense of security. Tenure has ensured that tens of thousands of professors who work nine months a year cannot be fired for being unproductive or mediocre scholars, much less for being abject failures in the classroom. In government at every level, job security is the norm. The combination of guarantees and affluence, the joint creation of an enormous upper-middle class, breeds a dangerous unfamiliarity with how human nature really works elsewhere, outside the protected realm.

This is an amazing point that is often overlooked. Many people on the far left in this country live in a world of little accountability; they then try to provide that security to everybody by absolving everyone of personal responsibility. But the world doesn't work that way. People must face the consequences of their actions.

2003-01-13T10:09:00.000-06:00

I went 2-2 over the weekend, running my playoff record to 5-3. Three games remain. But now I need to hit on a few points.

1. Bill Simmons and all the other columnists can now jump off the New York Jets bandwagon. The trend doesn't hold this year: no team with a backup quarterback gets hot at the end of the year and rolls through the playoffs. Sorry guys, one of the top four seeds is going to win it this year.

2. There's no crying in baseball, but there sure is a hell of a lot of crying in football. Why are these "tough guys" continually reduced to tears following a playoff loss?

3. What the hell is Bill Cowher's problem? You can't run into the kicker, ever. It doesn't matter if it's in overtime of a playoff game; the referees can't throw out the rule book and allow a free-for-all just because it's an "important" game. Head coaches need to make sure they watch the film before they whine about bad calls. And screw all that talk about how you "don't make that call in that situation." The biggest problem with officiating is that it is not consistent; using different rules in crunch time will just add to the inconsistency.

2003-01-11T10:22:00.000-06:00

For the NFL picks this weekend, I'll go with:

Saturday
Tennessee -4 vs. Pittsburgh
Philadelphia -7.5 vs. Atlanta

Sunday
San Francisco +6 at Tampa Bay
Oakland -5.5 vs. New York Jets

Not sure about the Oakland pick, but the Jets are the popular pick, so I'll go against the grain.

2003-01-07T19:54:00.000-06:00

Hey, 3-1 in the NFL! I'll get the picks for next week in later. Posting will be light or nonexistent until this weekend.

2003-01-04T14:58:00.000-06:00

I finished 15-12 on my college bowl picks against the spread. Not bad, that will make you a little money. For the NFL picks this weekend, I'll go with:

Saturday
N.Y. Jets -6.5 vs. Indianapolis
Green Bay -6.5 vs. Atlanta

Sunday
Cleveland +8 at Pittsburgh
N.Y. Giants +3.5 at San Francisco

2003-01-04T10:53:00.000-06:00

Mitch Artman on suing:

This is the new American concept of making it big. If you're too uninspired to make it through skill, too lazy to make it through diligence, too pessimistic to try hard twice a day, take the dough from someone who has.

Suing, in public perception and in practical use, has gone from being a tool anyone can use for protection to a plague no one is safe from. Anyone may enter this promiscuous lottery, no matter how weak their case. Unlike criminal cases, anyone can file suit for any reason the creatively depraved can conjure. All you need is the desire to

2003-01-04T10:42:00.000-06:00

The 2002 O.J.'s: for outrageousness and stupidity in the law.

2003-01-04T10:35:00.000-06:00

Here is the final AP poll. Looks like Kansas State got screwed (they won yet dropped in the poll), and TCU and Boise State should probably be ranked higher. The writers apparently did a reshuffling to take into account the entire season, not just the usual "move up if you win, move down if you lose" maneuvering. So why keep Boise State so low?

Here is the final coaches' poll. Boise State and Kansas State fare a little better in this one. But why is West Virginia still above Virginia? But otherwise, no complaints.

UPDATE: Jeff Sagarin appears to have his final rankings posted. Ohio State is #1 in the "BCS" version of his poll, but his "predictor" poll, the best single predictor of future games, has Kansas State #1. USC is #1 in the synthesis of the two polls. He has Boise State at 12 in the predictor poll.

2003-01-04T10:23:00.000-06:00

Here's more on "The Call:"

"I really thought that game was over," says UM secondary coach Mark Stoops. "Just like everybody else. And there's not another official in the history of the game that would make that call."

In the last two years, the Big 12 has issued at least two known letters of apology after games where Porter has made controversial calls.

By the way, I've read a few articles this morning that say the defensive player was holding the receiver before the ball got there. Bullshit. Whichever AP writer wrote that is flat out lying. Unfortunately, that is the story everyone is going to print. There is a replay from the camera in the corner of the endzone (right where Porter, the referee, was standing), that clearly showed once the ball was released the receiver wasn't touched until he missed the pass. Furthermore, the line judge was right there and in a much better position to make the call, yet he just signaled incomplete. Many in the media and the NCAA establishment will defend the call (they always do, no matter how bad it is), because they don't want to rock the boat. But any objective viewing shows that Miami was indeed robbed of the national title.

2003-01-03T23:45:00.000-06:00

One prediction: Ohio State fans will riot, even though they won.

2003-01-03T23:29:00.000-06:00

Well, folks, I don't want to say it, but it needs to be said. Miami just got FUCKED out of the national title. First off, I'm not a Miami fan; in fact, they're one of my least favorite college football teams. But that pass interference call in the endzone on fourth down in the first overtime was absolutely ridiculous, and the flag was thrown unbelievably late. I've got to call like I see it, and Miami just got the national title taken away from them.

Here are some other thoughts.

2003-01-03T10:27:00.000-06:00

This is pretty cool: Phil Gyford is serializing the diary of Samuel Pepys, and posting it as a weblog. But it's a 10-year project. Here is a story from the BBC, and the blog. Here is a Gutenberg etext page, if you just can't wait to read it. [link via Slashdot]

2003-01-03T10:18:00.000-06:00

Parents of clone may refuse DNA test: Oh, gee, what a surprise.

2003-01-03T00:10:00.000-06:00

Pejman has a couple of must-read posts. First, here is this one from a few months ago, concerning problems with Star Wars. Then go here for more on Star Wars. And then some more and some reader comments.

Finally, check out his year-end awards, which include this nice little bit:

7. THE PEJIE FOR MOST EGREGIOUS BLOGOSPHERIC INGRATES: Another tie; this one between Atrios and Hesiod Theogeny. These guys get multiple links and compliments from Glenn Reynolds (especially Atrios for the part he played in taking down Trent Lott), and they repay him by resorting to third grade invective when disagreeing with one of his posts. Atrios calls Glenn one of a collection of "conservative a**holes" (note to Atrios: Glenn is a libertarian. Ever hear of 'em? There is a difference) and Hesiod accuses Glenn of playing up to Bill Frist in order to get a federal judgeship (note to Hesiod: If Glenn or any other lawyer really wants a federal judgeship this badly, they aren't going to leave the massive paper and Internet trail that Glenn has left in order not to be "borked." You do know what "borking" is, don't you?). Apparently, this is the rhetorical device most often used on the Left when it finds itself bereft of arguments. And this is supposed to impress the rest of us . . . how, exactly?

Hey guys, do you even have the capacity to disagree without being disagreeable, or haven't you reached that stage of maturity just yet?

2003-01-02T15:47:00.000-06:00

Here are some more comments on in-class websurfing from the Prof.

2003-01-02T15:38:00.000-06:00

Martin Scorsese apparently took a few liberties with history in Gangs of New York.

2003-01-02T12:10:00.000-06:00

A story you must read, about Toe Nash, a name you will probably be hearing more of in the future.

2003-01-02T11:53:00.000-06:00

TalkLeft has a good post on Rangel's draft proposition:

We can't believe the number of "liberals" touting Rangel's obscene proposal to invoke a mandatory draft as a means of avoiding a war in Iraq--the faulty premise being if you put the sons of the rich at risk, perhaps the rich will come to oppose the war.

With all due respect to our "liberal" friends, this is sophomoric and dangerous to the futures of tens of thousands of American youth. What right do they have to call for the interruption of the lives of these young men who have done nothing to them? Most of these so-called "liberals" are too young to remember Vietnam--too young to remember the agony that every male college student went through the night of the draft lottery--the scenes in virtually every living room of every dorm and apartment from Berkeley to Ann Arbor to Boston and in between--the anguished cries of disbelief and rushed exits from the room when someone's number was called--all for a war that no one wanted to fight and that history now confirms we shouldn't have ever entered--the thousands of dead youths, the thousands of mothers whose boys came home in a box. We're not exaggerating, we were there and we lived it-- the war, the draft and the lottery--two of those we took the LSATs with never made it to law school, their numbers came up high and off they went--hopefully to Canada, but certainly not to the lives they had dreamed of and worked so hard for. When we went to our 20th high school reunion in 1987, the party opened with a a simulcast of a radio show hosted by a well-known disc jockey of that era acknowledging our reunion and reading off the names of the dead from our high school class.

How crass and unfeeling for these "liberals" to wish such a fate on an 18 - 26 year old who has done nothing to deserve it. So what if their parents have money? Is that their fault? How does that devalue their accomplishments and dreams? If these so-called liberals believe the war should be opposed, let them get out in the streets and demonstrate, get their hands dirty, risk an arrest. How how dare they sit on their comfortable rear ends from the distance of a computer screen and call upon others to do what they would never do themselves--forfeit their freedom in the name of a soundbite.

Sorry, but this is despicable. And anything but liberal.

Sorry TalkLeft, I excerpted the whole thing. But everyone should go there anyway to read the comments. [link via Instapundit].

2003-01-02T11:41:00.000-06:00

Students surfing the web or otherwise goofing off in class: this topic is providing a lot of fodder for the blogosphere today (it's a NYT article). Here's the link to Slashdot, where you can read some comments (including an interesting one about professors selecting the level of wireless blocking they want in their classroom). Here is the Prof's original post, and a later one which contains some thoughts from readers, and a tip for law school success.

I don't have a lot of experience with this, because no one in my undergrad used laptops in class (and I was an EE major). But as a law student wannabe, I'll soon see how laptops are used in the classroom, and I'm curious about it. I find it interesting that I can pull up a quick google search on a topic the class is discussing, that is, if I can do it without missing too much else. But I'm probably as easily distracted as anybody else, so that may also play a factor. Of course, one thing I've realized from my undergraduate days is how anal I am about attending class and taking notes. I could hardly willingly goof off in class for fear that I would miss something important (most likely I wouldn't, but I couldn't convince myself otherwise).

Instapundit is soliciting comments from his law student readers, so maybe he'll have more thoughts posted later.

2003-01-02T11:23:00.000-06:00

An official hat in the ring: John Edwards has announced that he'll seek the Democratic nomination for President.

"I run for president to be champion -- to be a champion for the same people I fought for all my life: regular folks," Edwards said in a press conference held outside his Raleigh, N.C., home.

"I think these people are entitled to a champion in the White House, somebody who goes to work every day seeing things through their eyes and who provides real ideas about how to make their lives better -- not somebody who's thinking about insiders or looking out for insiders," he said in a not too subtle jab at President Bush.

But can he pull it off? Can a multimillionaire trial lawyer (not the most popular people in the country) really claim to be looking out for the little guy?

2003-01-02T11:18:00.000-06:00

Foxnews has an article on web panhandling. I personally have never given money to any sites like those mentioned in the article. But it may apparently work for some people.

2003-01-02T11:16:00.000-06:00

The New Year's Eve bowl games dropped me to 9-10, but I roared back yesterday with a 5-1 day to go to 14-11 ATS. Two games remain. Here we go:

USC -5 vs. Iowa (Orange Bowl)
Miami -12 vs. the Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl)

I could go either way on these games. USC has been hot, so I'm going with them. But all the hype could have gotten to their heads. I haven't watched Iowa much this year so I can't tell how good they really are. As for the title game, I think there are equal chances of Miami blowing them out or OSU playing a close game. So I'll bet on the blowout.

2003-01-01T17:53:00.000-06:00

2002 was a record-setting year for Hollywood (and all this during a sluggish economy):

By the time the New Year's bubbly goes gone flat, Hollywood flicks will have combined to gross an all-time high $9.37 billion domestically, according to estimates released by the box-office tabulating firm Exhibitor Relations. The total reflects a more than 12 percent increase over last year's then-record $8.35 billion haul.

Actual attendance also was up--nearly 9 percent--with 1.6 billion tickets sold. That's the most admissions since 1958, when the only entertainment options were the 12-channel TV dial or the, um, fireplace.

Through Sunday, a record 22 films had crossed the $100 million mark--with fully seven surpassing $200 million. The previous best was set in 2000, when 20 flicks registered in nine figures. It's expected that Catch Me If You Can, which got half way to the magic mark in its first week in release over Christmas, will bring 2002's tally of $100 million (or more) films to 23.

2003 should be just as good, with another Lord of the Rings movie, two Matrix sequels, another Star Wars flick, another Spider-Man, probably another Harry Potter, and God knows what else.

And yet you can expect to hear much more of the same in 2003 from Jack Valenti, head of the MPAA, about how so much money is being lost by the studios because of piracy. Expect more calls for DRM, "plugging the analog hole," and a whole other slew of freedom-reducing restrictions in the name of protecting copyrights and stopping pirates. Arrrrgh, Mateys!

2003-01-01T10:51:00.000-06:00

For the New Year's Day games, I'll go with:

Michigan +1.5 vs. Florida (Outback Bowl)
Texas -10.5 vs. LSU (Cotton Bowl)
N.C. State PK vs. Notre Dame (Gator Bowl)
Penn State -6.5 vs. Auburn (Capital One Bowl)
Oklahoma -6 vs. Washington State (Rose Bowl)
Georgia -8 vs. Florida State (Sugar Bowl)

I'll get the other games later.

2002-12-31T09:07:00.000-06:00

I'm now 7-6 for the bowl games. Here are the picks for the New Year's Eve Games:

December 31
Iowa State +11.5 vs. Boise State (Humanitarian Bowl)
Washington -3 vs. Purdue (Sun Bowl)
TCU +5 vs. Colorado State (Liberty Bowl)
Fresno State +7 vs. Georgia Tech (Silicon Valley Bowl)
Tennessee +1 vs. Maryland (Peach Bowl)
Virginia Tech -11.5 vs. Air Force (San Francisco Bowl)

New Year's Day picks will come later.

Posting may be light today; I've got some other things on my plate.