|
|
|
|
A Few End-of-the-Week
Comments Part Two of Four By Dave Andrusko As is our habit, I'm ending the week with a smorgasbord of items, most of which we have not written about this week. Let me start by encouraging you to read "Today's News & Views," particularly the item that refers to what promises to be a powerful episode of NBC's "Friday Night Lights."
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (at least according to the New York Daily News) has "told relatives and friends he plans to stay on the high court for at least three more years--through the end of Obama's first term, sources said." Given Obama's first two nominees--Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan--it'd be good idea to give the most pro-abortion President ever the fewest possible opportunities to reshape the Court in his own image. Speaking of Obama, judging by public opinion polls, the electorate is catching on to the fact that the man was/is hopelessly overrated. (See http://www.nrlc.org/News_and_Views/July10/nv070810.html).That commonsense appreciation has yet to make its way into the ranks of "leading presidential scholars," according to CBS News. The Siena College Research Institute has conducted five surveys since 1982 asking "238 presidential scholars to rank the 43 U.S. presidents on a number of characteristics." According to these scholars, Obama, who has been in office for an hour an a half, is in 15th place. Amazingly that puts him three slots ahead of Ronald Reagan. By contrast, President George W. Bush was ranked 39th by these scholars, above only Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin Pierce. All I can say is (a) let's see where Obama is after 2012 and (b) Wow! Like many of you, I have been watching the World Cup. Tragically, goalkeeper Bruno Fernandes, one of Brazil's best-known soccer players, in is in high-security jail in Rio "after allegations that he masterminded the abduction and execution of his former lover," according to the Guardian newspaper. Edson Moreira, the homicide investigator in charge of the case, told reporters that "According to witnesses he accompanied Eliza [Samudio] to her sacrifice and to her death." When Samudio, a former model and actresses, became pregnant "Police believe the 25-year-old player was infuriated by her decision to keep the child, who is now four months old, and claim that Samudio was lured from Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte, around six hours away by car, where she was killed by a former policeman named as Marcos Aparecido dos Santos," the Guardian reported. The details surrounding Fernandes' alleged involvement are incredibly gruesome. On a more uplifting note, I would to really encourage you to purchase CDs from NRLC 2010 (see www.nrlc.org/convention/NRLC2010CDOrderForm.pdf). Every convention is outstanding in its own way, but this gathering in Pittsburgh was as good as it gets. You will want to purchase individual CDs and perhaps the entire set. Finally, a heads up. My family is going on vacation a week from next Monday. While I'm gone we'll be mostly running items that our readers have liked the most, judging by the email, although there will be items that are new. Have a great weekend. Talk to you Monday. Please send all of your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are now following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha. |
