Saturday, June 14, 2003

Change is good. But it would be better if my comments would work. 7:21:02 PM    comment []

ACC expansion has an expanding list of opponents. In addition to the scorned Big East and Virginia’s attorney general, faculty members at ACC schools are making some noise.   From the NYT: "It's time to tell these professional sports managers at the A.C.C. that we are universities first," said Sue Estroff, the chair of the faculty at North Carolina, which, along with Duke, voted against expansion last month. "We are delighted we slowed this down. I hope it brings it to a grinding halt. I would like to hear nothing but the screeching of tires up and down the East Coast."   Is all this commotion explained by the Kate Winslet theory? 10:21:03 AM    comment []

Bill Keller gets it about right in this morning’s NYT: “Those who say flimflam intelligence drove us to war, though, have got things backward. It seems much more likely that the decision to make war drove the intelligence.”   The question remains: does it matter if our government spins the truth (or in the case of the African uranium, tramples the truth) to attain an important strategic goal? I think it does. But then again, I thought it was wrong for Bill Clinton to look us all in the eye and lie about blowjobs, and to lie under oath about things considerably less serious than going to war. I just don’t like being lied to by people who are supposed to be working for me. 9:43:36 AM    comment []

A cautionary tale for Greensboro from South Bend, Indiana, where taxpayers are getting stuck with the bill for a college football hall of fame that has failed to attract the promised crowds and ancillary benefits. This seems to be a case of poor planning and wishful thinking more than it is proof of an inherent lack of viability for sports halls of fame, but it shows why Dick Grubar and his group need the full support of the City, the ACC, and corporate sponsors if they go ahead with a local project. (Thanks to Ken Smith for the heads up.)   * * *   Will blog for food (continued): Josh Marshall is trying to sell ads on his weblog, pimping his readership numbers and demographics like a pro.    Marshall also posts a beautiful essay about loss, memory, and returning to the spot where his mother died years ago. 9:22:21 AM    comment []