Jesus is No. 21 in 50 Most Powerful Men Under 38

Who's Got the Power? A Mag's Surprising Answer

• God is in the Details: We've just received Details magazine's long-awaited Power Issue, listing the 50 most powerful men under 38. But wait: Why age 38? Senior editor Brian Sarnham, who's 33, told us the non-round number was chosen "just to put an exclamation point on youth -- these people are really doing something before it's expected."

Almost halfway down the rankings we find a man so influential he only needs a one-word name. No, not Nelly or Usher, who are way up at the top of the list. We're talking about Jesus. That's right: He is the 21st most influential man under 38.

Which raises the question: Who's bigger than Jesus this year? The No. 1 spot goes to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal soldiers, who are clearly meaner than Jesus. The Google guys, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, claim No. 2 for being richer than Jesus. No. 3 is MoveOn.org visionary Eli Pariser, who helped raise the Dems from the dead, which frankly might have been a tall order even for God. Clocking in at No. 4 most powerful is White House communications director Dan Bartlett, who probably could have offered advice on keeping all four Gospel writers on message.

"The reason Jesus is on the list is partly tongue in cheek, but obviously there's Mel Gibson's film and his implications in politics as well as the 40 million evangelicals who vote," Sarnham explained. And take comfort: At least Christ beat out rapper Eminem, No. 22.

Table of the Lord by Ono Ekeh Review from Roundtable

ISBN: 1-4137-1010-7 www.publishamerica.com

Reviewed By Beverly Forehand

The Fenaarq, an enlightened and seemingly benevolent alien race, have determined that Earth is worthy of study and preservation. Guided by a council of Nobles, the Fenaarq have their own Star Trek-esque Prime Directive—planets with life forms capable of evolving into a god-like state are not to be contacted or contaminated with Fenaarq culture. Xameg, a brilliant scientist and non-Noble, believes that Earth has the potential of becoming a realm of gods and that the people of Earth, despite their current primal and violent state, could someday rival even the gods of the Fenaarq in their majesty.

Bulario, Xameg’s lover and the Chief Officer of the research vessel hovering over Earth, disagrees with his assessment, but is willing to present his findings to the Council for consideration. Bulario is shocked to learn that Xameg’s research has shown that the blood of the people of Earth is the key to their divine evolution. What Xameg fails to tell Bulario is that he believes this blood could be the key to the evolution of non-noble Fenaarq to a state of nobility or even divinity. Xameg, obsessed by the potential uses of this sanguinary ambrosia, stages a mutiny, taking a good part of Bulario’s crew with him to earth.

Once on Earth, they must assume human form and consume goody quantities of blood to maintain the integrity of their new bodies. Bulario, with the blessing of the Council of Nobles sets out to find the rapacious Xameg and stop his plan to harvest blood for his own personal uses. Bulario realizes almost immediately that she’ll need the help of the people of Earth if she is to stop Xameg and his cohorts without revealing the other Fenaarq and their sinister plans. Xameg, likewise, needs help to obtain blood regularly and to continue his research. Both Xameg and Bulario, unbeknownst to one another, infiltrate the Catholic Church.

Xameg finds the Eucharist, with its divine transformation of wine to blood, gives him an unlimited supply of super-charged blood that allows him and his crew to maintain their illusionary forms for greater periods of time. Bulario finds the Church’s infrastructure, network of contacts, and good-hearted interests meet her needs in her crew’s search and destroy mission. Bulario’s task is complicated by an illness which strikes her home planet, which could seemingly be cured by human blood, human politics, a double-agent in her own midst, and her own growing infatuation with human culture and the Church itself. Will Bulario be able to stop Xameg before it’s too late? Is there any hope left for her lover or has he abandoned the Fenaarq way completely? Will Bulario be willing to leave the planet and Church to which she has grown so accustomed when her mission is complete?

This is a fascinating book. It’s rare to find a novel that mixes the metaphysics, aliens, vampirism, and philosophy while maintaining a cohesive story line and interesting plot. The characters in TABLE OF THE LORD are compelling and well rounded. The "bad guys" are as deep and riveting as the heroes. I was reminded of Ellis Peter’s writing in that no character is completely irredeemable. And, in the end, this is a story about redemption. Although most of the main characters are alien, this is a story about the human spirit and its capacity for belief—what drives a man to have faith or to lose it? What would anyone be willing to sacrifice to be divine? Would it be worth losing one’s own soul?

Ono Ekeh’s novel raises many soul-searching questions about the Church, faith, the essence of the Divine, and our capacity to forgive. There’s quite a bit of politics scattered throughout this story—as the title implies. So, if you enjoy political intrigue, you’ll find plenty in the sci-fi thriller. Readers of sci-fi will find the Fenaarq intriguing and the pace of the novel is quick and entertaining. There’s a lot of philosophic debate for those willing to look deeper and read between the lines as well. This is a complex book that reads like a summer sci-fi novel. Despite it's deep reaching issues on religion and faith in general, this book doesn’t bog the reader down in semantics. Good work, Mr. Ekeh. I look forward to reading more of your novels in the future.

Well, thank you Beverly, I certainly wasn't expecting it. I do have another sci-fi novel in the works. It is at 53,000 words and presently 75%-80% complete.

Scientists have found sugar in space:

Sugar in space sweetens chances of life

Super snooper: The dish that found the sugar

By BBC News Online science editor Dr David Whitehouse

The Universe, it seems, could have a sweet tooth. Astronomers have discovered a simple sugar molecule in space. The discovery of the molecule glycolaldehyde in a giant cloud of gas and dust near the centre of our own Galaxy was made by
scientists using at 12 m (39 feet) radio telescope on Kitt Peak, Arizona, US.

"The discovery of this sugar molecule in a cloud from which new stars are forming means it is increasingly likely that the chemical precursors to life are formed in such clouds long before planets develop around the stars," said team member Jan Hollis of the Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, US.

"This discovery may be an important key to understanding the formation of life on the early Earth," said Phillip Jewell of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in West Virginia.
Building block "Conditions in interstellar clouds may, in some cases, mimic the conditions on the early Earth, so studying
the chemistry of interstellar clouds may help scientists understand how bio-molecules formed early in our planet's history," he said.

Some scientists have suggested that Earth could have been "seeded" with complex molecules by passing comets. These carry material from the interstellar cloud that condensed to form the Solar System.

Glycolaldehyde is an 8-atom molecule composed of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. It can combine with other molecules to form the more complex sugars ribose and glucose. Ribose is a
building block of nucleic acids such as RNA and DNA, which carry the genetic code of living organisms. Glucose is the sugar found in fruits. Glycolaldehyde contains exactly the same atoms, though in a different molecular structure, as methyl formate and acetic acid, both of which have been detected
previously in interstellar clouds.

And glycolaldehyde is a simpler molecular cousin to the sugar you stir into your coffee, the scientists say. Sagittarius B2 concealed the sugar. The sugar molecule was detected by its
faint radio emission in a large cloud of gas and dust called Sagittarius B2, some 26,000 light-years away, near the centre of our Galaxy. So far, about 120 different molecules have been discovered in such clouds. Most of these molecules contain a small number of atoms, and only a few molecules with eight
or more atoms have been found.

"Finding glycolaldehyde in one of these interstellar clouds means that such molecules can be formed, even in very rarified conditions," said Dr Hollis. "But we don't yet understand how it
formed."

This is a relief. I always wondered how astronauts were supposed to drink their coffee. The Washington Post had the same story and my favorite part reads thus:

Thus, while many scientists agree that life probably derived from a rich "primordial soup" concocted in the warm-water puddles of early Earth,. . .

What I wouldn't give to get a whiff of that thick, rich, juicy primordial soup: the soupe of all soups: the soup to put all soups to shame. Imagine this rich thick primordial soup with molecules of space sugar . . .hmm

How left or right handed are you?

Take the test: The Edinburgh Handeness Questionnaire.

Using the rating method of Oldfield, Laterality quotients range from 100 (right handed) to -100 (left handed)

This subject's (ME/Moi) laterality quotient is: 87.5Placing this
subject in the 6th right decile.

Saint Jude Novena Props!

Not fully official but there is light at the end of the tunnel. St Jude is as advertised, a friend for the difficult situation.

In an unrelated bit of news, I found that the most embarrasing situation possible is walking through Walmart at 10:30 pm with a plunger. (For the record, it was a result of potty disposals but it's hard to make that clear as you stroll through Walmart at night. As St Mary says, "he bringeth down the mighty.")

Dan Wasserman of the Boston Globe

Dan Wasserman of the Boston Globe

Hard News from the Washington Post

Change for the Worse
Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Page HE02


An abdominal X-ray showed a mysterious white bulge in the stomach of a man who appeared at a hospital in France with a swollen belly. After doctors rushed him to surgery, they found the source of the problem: $650 worth of change (inset photo). The stash -- French, British and euro coins -- weighed closed to 12 pounds.

The man had a condition called pica (from the Latin for magpie, a bird known for eating practically anything). People with pica have been known to eat ashes, hair, laundry detergent, chalk, soil, lime, charcoal, dust, paint chips, burnt matches, ice and soap. Metal objects, like coins, are sometimes favored.

In the United States, adult pica persists among some African American women, pregnant women, and women in the South. Some studies estimate the prevalence at 9 to 25 percent among women of childbearing age.

Some specialists think pica may be linked to mineral deficiencies. Others believe it is a cultural practice. It can also be a feature of mental illness. The French patient, a man in his early sixties with a history of mental illness, died of complications 12 days after the operation.

For all your novena needs:

St Jude Novenas and Other Novena Links

A Treasury of 94 Catholic Novenas

EWTN Novenas

Novena to St. Jude

Prayer E-book: Novenas

Treasury of Novenas

It seems there are a bunch of St Jude Novenas out there, in looking them over (and praying them) I liked this one:

Novena to Saint JudeTo Saint Jude, Holy Saint Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depths of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition, in return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked. Saint Jude pray for us and all who invoke your aid. Amen.

Say 3 Our Fathers, 3 Hail Marys and 3 Glory Be to the Father.

Publication must be promised.

Today's gospel reading is one of my favorites:

GospelLk 16:1-13 or 16:10-13

Jesus said to his disciples,"A rich man had a stewardwho was
reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said,'What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship,because you can no longer be my steward.

'The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do,now
that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that,when I am removed from the stewardship,they may welcome me into their homes.

'He called in his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said,'How much do you owe my master?'He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.'He said to him, 'Here is
your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'Then to another the steward said, 'And you, how much do you owe?'He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.'The steward said to him, 'Here is your promissory note;write one for
eighty.

'And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting
prudently."For the children of this worldare more prudent in dealing with their own generationthan are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

The person who is trustworthy in very small mattersis
also trustworthy in great ones;and the person who is dishonest in very small mattersis also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,who will give you what is yours? No
servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other,or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon."

or

Jesus said to his disciples:"The person who is trustworthy in very small mattersis also trustworthy in great ones;and the person who is dishonest in very small mattersis also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,who will trust you with true wealth? If you
are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other,or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon."

Kind'a messed up, isn't it? I love to watch preachers squirm about this gospel. I think it is straight forward. There is a practical wisdom necessary to survive in this world. Jesus recognized it. He tells us to that he is sending us out as sheep among wolves and for this reason, be "wise as serpents, harmless as doves."

PBS is doing a documentary called the Question of God. It's a documentary that chronicles the journeys of C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud.

I watched part of it yesterday and I suppose it was okay. They did quite a bit of re-enactment with actors speaking the words of C. S. Lewis and Freud. My wife was not pleased with that. I think she didn't like it because she had Anthony Hopkins, who played C.S. Lewis in Shadowlands, in mind.

One interesting thing about the program was that it made me think about the manner of conversions of 19th and 20th century thinkers in both England and Germany. You hear about the English conversions, but not much about Germans. Also the English route spiritual conversion tends to be very jumbled, earthy, experiential, and common sensical. The German conversions I can think of, from the early 20th century, Edith Stein, etc, tend to be more rational.

As part of the program, they had a panelist of atheists and Christians discuss questions. I thought it was quite interesting if not a touch cheesy. But, to my surprise, I agree with many of them, even the atheist. Rational proofs, so called, of God's existence are not a preliminary step to God. Belief in God demands a leap into an unknown realm. A rational or intellectual conversion may precede the actual faith conversion. What that does is open up intellectual space. But such a step is not necessary as a preliminary step. So much for Aquinas' five ways.

I am working on my next novel which I have tentatively entitled Children of Clay. Like Table of the Lord, it is sci fi. The difference this time is that this story is less inherently religious and I took the leap into time travel.

Time travel stories are always such a mess and there isn't much new to do with time travel. In this case, though, I focus less on the time traveling and more on the characters.

Right now I am at 53,000 + words. 50,000 is generally considered book length. What I do is struggle at first to complete the story and then I begin to rework it extensively. I stopped pressuring myself to come up with all the goods and explanations and mystery on the first run, I simply struggled through the first draft and then now I can research the book more comprehensively. One funny thing, for me anyway, was that a major idea I had for the book, I simply forgot to put into the story. So now I have a major story line that I still need to work into the story.


In addition to tackling time travel, I'm also touching on Mars colonization. But there again, the story is less about Mars and more about people. I completed the first draft in the spring and now I'm sitting around letting the characters percolate and in re-writing, interesting stuff is coming out about the characters. I tend to feel that stories improve the more they age. They seem to take on a life of their own internally and then when you go through the manuscript, there's so much that you feel you need to add.

ABC's Alias will be returning to TV soon which may explain the Milo Rambaldi (not Rimbaldi) hits I've been getting. For all your Rambaldi needs:

Excerpts from the biography of Milo Giacomo Rambaldi

Born in Parma in 1444, Rambaldi was educated by monks of the Vespertine order, and until the age of 12, was self-employed as a painter, sculptor and student of the arts. Introduced to Cardinal Alexander of the Roman Catholic church, during
his travels to Rome at the age of 18, he was retained privately as architect, consultant and prophet, when Alexander became Pope in 1492.

Despite this benefactor's wishes to see Rambaldi prosper, during his lifetime Rambaldi and his works receded from visibility by commandment of Archdeacon Claudio Vespertini, who feared the revolutionary implications of technologies defined in Rambaldi's belief system, and sought to have Rambaldi's works contained and eventually eliminated. He conflicted with Alexander VI on this one matter; a moot point at the time of the Pope's passing in 1503.

Vespertini commanded that the name Rambaldi be "washed" from all monuments and edifices throughout the period of 1470 to 1496, at which time he ordered that the Pope's engineer be
excommunicated for heresy, his workshop in Rome be destroyed, and that he be sentenced to death by flame, upon Rambaldi's declaration that science would someday allow us to know God.

Milo Rambaldi died a lonely man, in the Winter of 1496. He had no surviving spouse or heir. Shortly after Rambaldi's demise,
a second, "secret workshop" was discovered, in San Lazzaro, and was systematically torn apart by agents of the Vatican. In a movement to discredit his work and influence, plans and sketches were sold and traded for next to nothing by mandate during a private auction.

Since the 15th century, traces of Rambaldi's enigmatic work have turned up in various places around Italy, France, parts of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and even a museum warehouse in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1921. The design directive for many of these drawings remains unclear to this day, and has even inspired some impressive forgeries.

Agent Profile: Rimbaldi, Milo

A double whopper with cheese from Burger King has 1000 calories and 70 grams of fat.

This should be illegal.

This should be part of the pro-life fight.

I'm going to get me lunch--a whopper with cheese (I'm protesting needless calories and skipping the extra bun). Join with me in this fight.

Mayhem in Baghdad

Jubilant fighters and young boys swarmed around the burning vehicle, dancing, cheering and hurling firebombs. Several young men placed a black banner of al-Qaida-backed Tawhid and Jihad, led by terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,
in the barrel of the Bradley's main gun.

Suddenly, a U.S. Kiowa helicopter fired on the Bradley, trying to destroy it to prevent insurgents from looting weapons and ammunition on board, the military said. Witnesses said several
people milling around the Bradley, including a correspondent for the Arabic language Al-Arabiya television station, were killed. An Iraqi cameraman working for the Reuters news agency was also injured.

Al-Arabiya broadcast videotape showing its employee, Mazen al-Tumeizi, preparing to make a report. Suddenly, an explosion occurred behind him. He doubled-over and began screaming "I'm dying, I'm dying" and colleagues tried to help him.

Health Ministry official Saad al-Amili said 13 people were killed and 61 wounded on Haifa street. Scattered shoes, pools of fresh blood and debris littered the street.

I hope this isn't what it sounds like. It sounds like we fired at civilians in retaliation for the mortar attacks and the IED that disabled and injured our guys. If nothing else, just the tape of an innocent bystanding reporter screaming "I'm dying" is damning.

George Bush is a miserable failure. This Iraq thing is a mess and Bush ought to be ashamed of himself. Hopefully, he is sharp enough to realize the mess he has gotten us into.

I suppose like most political addicts, I can't help but be into polls. The funny thing, though, is that I flat out don't believe them. For one, their representative samples don't make sense to me and also, I just don't see how you can poll 1,000 people and get a sense of what America's thinking. State polls I tolerate a little more.

What people say about their vote is one thing and what they actually do is another. When the moment of truth comes, people are serious with their votes and vote based on what they believe is the right thing.

This was my firm belief in the dark days of the Democratic primary. I remember the one NH poll that had Dean at 42 and Kerry at 23. CSPAN was broadcasting the Arnie Anniston show, which normally is a radio talk show in the NH area. I remember that three analysts were on with her and there was the whole "stick a fork in Kerry" thing going on. In fact, I remember one of the guys saying, "Anyone heard from Kerry yet? It's going to be hard to spin these numbers."

At that point many had defected from Kerry's camp to Clark or Edwards and those of us left could not find much in the media to give us hope. Two things were important for me. First of all, the candidate showed absolutely no signs of giving up. He believed in himself. Secondly, I realized that I trust people to be ultimately responsible with their votes. I knew that regardless of what people said, they'd ultimately realize there was too much riding on this to make a protest vote.

Forgetting the partisans, there are too many Independents and swing Democrats and Republicans who would take a long hard look when its time to vote. I think people will be very responsible with whom they vote for. And I think when it is all said and done, Kerry will get the benefit of the doubt from people.

My feel is that in the last two weeks of the campaign, people will actually flood the candidates webpages and grassroots webpages to find out all they can about each candidate's policies and proposals and that's when they'll make up their minds.

Kitty's book? Mostly catty
BY CORKY SIEMASZKODAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

-->The new Kitty Kelley book that has the Bush campaign's underwear in a bunch is more catty than explosive. It does claim that President Bush snorted cocaine at Camp David. It does repeat rumors that he arranged an illegal abortion for an ex-girlfriend. And it does accuse First Lady Laura Bush of once being a pothead.

But the sourcing for these accusations is thin and there are no other big surprises in Kelley's much anticipated "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty." Instead, the 705-page tome obtained by the Daily News chronicles the rise of the GOP's First Family and likens them to a WASP-y Mafia clan. "Like the
hotheaded Sonny Corleone in 'The Godfather,' he became savage about avenging his father's honor and preserving the family's political fortunes," Kelley writes of Dubya after Newsweek suggested his dad was a "wimp."

The Bush family soldiers are retired CIA men loyal to the first President George Bush, who "worked to silence pesky girlfriends, talkative associates and grudge-bearing enemies."

"In Texas especially, the Bushes ruled," Kelley writes. "Even
people who disliked them did not want to run afoul of them socially." A worried White House has denounced the book as "garbage" and Bush's people have attacked the credibility of Kelley, best known for her gossipy tell-alls about Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra and Nancy Reagan. But all the buzz has made Kelley's new book a best seller even before it hits store shelves on Tuesday.

Most of the tawdry tales in Kelley's book have appeared in print before, but in retelling them she adds more kindling to the controversy that erupted when the ex-wife of Dubya's brother, Neil, claimed Bush and another brother snorted coke at Camp David during their father's term as President. "Not once,"
Neil's ex-wife Sharon says in the book, "but many times."

After that sensational snippet was leaked, Sharon Bush denied telling Kelley the story, but former Daily News editor Lou Colasuonno says he was there when she said it. Kelley's source about the First Lady's alleged pot smoking is a Texas public
relations man named Robert Nash who says, "She not only smoked dope, but she sold dope."

Kelley also claims that the First Couple went to pot parties on
the British Virgin Islands with Laura Bush's college roommate Jane Clark and her pal, Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.
To back up the much-rumored story of the younger George Bush getting an abortion for a girlfriend, Kelley cites Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt.

Kelley offers no new insights into Bush's controversial stint in the Texas Air National Guard. But the Bush that appears in her book is a mean ex-drunk who mistreats his wife, believes Jews can't go to heaven and is terrified of "looking wimpish."

Via Steve Gilliard's blog

I am extremely intrigued by the "Jews can't go to heaven" part. Even if George Bush doesn't feel that way now, the question is, did he ever think that way? When? and What made him change his mind? I think he'd owe it to the Jewish community to let them know when he started believing they are heaven worthy.

Clyde Drexler tops the ballot and is now in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Drexler is my favorite all time basketball player, probably athlete. During his tenure, I followed basketball like a madman. I had to read all the box scores, stats, schedules, everything. I was a huge fan of the Portland Trailblazers, of course, until Drexler left to go to Houston. Life was complete when Drexler won a championship with Houston in 1995.



When "The Glide" left the NBA, my interest in the sport dropped of the map and I haven't been able to generate much interest.

Clyde Drexler was truly one of the greatest and classiest basketball players to grace the game.

Check out the following pages for more on Drexler:

NBA histories: Clyde Drexler

NBA.com: Clyde Drexler

Sometimes I think Sting is a prophet. I can't help but think of President Bush and the Catholic hierarchy when I think of this song.


(Begin base line)
There is no political solution
To our troubled evolution
Have no faith in constitution
There is no bloody revolution

We are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world

Our so-called leaders speak
With words they try to jail you
The subjugate the meek
But it’s the rhetoric of failure

We are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world

Where does the answer lie?
Living from day to day
If it’s something we can’t buy
There must be another way

We are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world
Are spirits in the material world

ESPN's football power rankings have the Bills at #18. It took all I had to keep an invective laden bubbling stream of profanity from unleashing its fury at the ESPN site. And then I noticed the entry "If Drew Bledsoe can get back on track, the Bills could be the team to watch out for."

Oh such wisdom! ESPN, I love thee.

I find it very interesting and somewhat amusing when conservative pro-lifers feel like they are going to win in the end because they'll eventually have more kids or "pro-life" states have a higher fertility rate, or some sort of similar argument. As if to say that the beliefs of parents are inserted genetically and passed on into the kids.

There is never any guarantee what a child is going to believe growing up. Chances are if you give them truth and a thirst for truth and honesty, they'll turn out fine. Unfortunately, the conservative pro-lifers cannot claim the mantle of truth and honesty. It only takes an instant when someone realizes that arguments or facts were withheld from them and then the question becomes, why?

The great thing and scary too about being a progressive is that you commit to where the facts and truth take you, and you don't always like it, but you at least pre-commit yourselve to considering it. This differs from conservatism which pre-commits to dogma and ideology, and only embraces the unfolding of a new truth when forced.

I think the new frontier for the abortion debate is now about the intersection of legality and morality AND religious duty (which is not the equivalent of morality). We are clearly moving to understanding that social and common good is not the secular correlate of Christian morality, and neither is morality the correlate of religious duty, i.e., believing that the Pope is infallible may make you a good Catholic, but has absolutely nothing to do with if you are a good person.

As this debate proceeds, I think we'll make less stark distinctions, i.e. are you pro-life or pro-choice, and create a more fruitful context. The truth and the future are nothing to fear-conservatives need to know that.

For the first time in years, I am not ebulliently optimistic about the Bills. There are just too many question marks.

There's a new, brand new as in never a head coach before, head coach.

No one knows if Bledsoe is done.

Up and coming QB broke leg in pre-season.

Lawyer Milloy broke an arm and will be out for weeks.

Pass rush wasn't upgraded and no one knows if all these second rounders drafted to pass rush wil begin to live up their hype.

O-line is a mess.

The Good you ask?

Eric Moulds

Travis Henry

The #2 ranked defense in the NFL

Same defensive coordinator fourth year in a row

I'm looking for a 9-7 or 10-6 season. I do believe that if everything breaks right, we could be looking at playoffs baby!

I watched Kerry and Edwards last night and there is something to be said for joy, positivity and truth. Just watching them together gave me a good feeling as opposed to the Republican hatred and fear mongering.

I liked Kerry's speech. I'm glad he's going to get tougher, as long as he doesn't get muddy and dirty. You can't out-Republican the Republicans. They do negativity and hate pretty well and it is hard to improve on what they do. I think Kerry and Edwards need to do what they are comfortable with which is offering a positive and truthful vision to America. Kerry and Edwards have to win their way and not Bush's way.

When the St Louis Rams won the Super Bowl, everyone got into the "extreme offense wins Super Bowls" and everyone wanted to do it that way. And then the Ravens won, suddenly it was cool to have the adequate quaterback with a immovable defense. And then New England won, then it was cool to have no stars just a team, blah, blah. The key thing is that each of these teams won their way, playing to their strengths. And when the Bills win this year, it would be because the Bills are being themselves. I digress. Point is that Kerry and Edwards do not need to go into the gutter, they need to play their game their way.

I do think that Kerry needs to embrace himself a little more. Embrace the French thing, embrace the war protests, embrace the full senate record, the more he runs from these, the more of an opening he gives. Kerry speaks French, that is a good thing. Wouldn't we swell with pride watching our President regain respect and status in the world as he converses with world leaders in different langauges? Wouldn't we love to have a president who is an intellectual heavy weight and widely respect for his opinion qua opinion and not simply because he is the American president?

What if Kerry did an ad with clips and reports of Bush saying he made no mistakes, while we have a meter with the number of dead or injured rising and then it culminates in Bush admitting he made a mistake and then we cut to Kerry's 1971 testimony, "how do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"? I think that would rock.

This country and the world cannot take four more years of Bush-Chenney, we need change and we need it now.