UConn James

UConn Donor Robert G. Burton Demands Return Of $3 Million Donation So, this is Connecticut's introduction to the kind of boosterism that demands a large say in what happens in the AD's office. With his 5% of the total cost of the practice facility on campus, I guess Burton thought he was buying access and that he was an important player in the football program. His letter --- which he sent to the AD, the governor, the current and incoming UConn presidents, etc. --- just makes him look like a petulant child. There are methods of making ones' case that a certain hire was not good for the program. As it stands, Paul Pasqualoni has an extensive resume with success at both the college and professional levels. Evidently, Bill Parcells thought enough of Pasqualoni that he brought him in at Dallas and then when he moved on as a quasi-GM in Miami. Burton, it seems, fancies himself a football man more knowledgeable than Bill Parcells --- he was, after all, a former 19th-round NFL draft choice out of Murray State --- who then somehow was successful in business. He chose to go with an argument that reads, "I'm taking my ball and going home!" Not the first time in the history of the world that a donor isn't happy, and it won't be the last. Asking for his money back now is like asking the Marines' Toys for Tots for his Battleship game donation back because he doesn't like the kid the Marines gave it to. That's not how a donation works, Mr. Burton. I'm not enamored with our AD Jeff Hathaway, either. But I give him credit on this for not allowing a donor to think that a few million dollars within the whole budget of a D1 school grants him any kind of hiring influence or veto power.

1) I want to "redouble" what the stimulus did... but simultaneously freeze spending. 2) I'm now totally *against* earmarks, after I was totally *for* earmarks. 3) Let me be clear. I'm willing to enact tort reform during my speeches, but unwilling to enact tort reform when it comes to actually enacting tort reform. 4) We must do what the Fiscal Commission proposed to reduce the deficit...... by not doing anything like what the Fiscal Commission proposed to reduce the deficit. Thank you to the members of this valuable group for sharing this plan --- that nobody read, no one wants to hear about, and which only potentially-suicidal politicians would want to follow --- at a few million dollars of taxpayer cost. 5) Social Security: 'Reduce benefits? No. Increase retirement age? No. Well... I'm sh-- out of ideas!' 6) Iran hasn't responded to sanctions, but my peeps in the White House told the NYT they sure as heck responded to the Stuxnet virus. Oh... wait, did I say that!? *AHEM* Let me be clear, that totally wasn't us! But still, I apologize on behalf of the American people. I don't know why I'm apologizing, but it usually makes me feel better. Quick... someone cue McCain for a cover version of "Bomb-bomb-bomb, bomb-bomb Iran (2008)." ‎7) Don't fear India and China --- they're partners for American innovation! When they steal our designs, infringe on our patents or reverse engineer our products and make them cheaper, people around the world will *still* buy American... because... it's... wait.... Are you sure about this, TelePrompTer? OK... if you say so! 8) Let me be clear. Jobs *will* come back to Main Street. When companies can't buy any more machines that do the work of five people --- without payroll tax, no Social Security tax, no HR costs, no health care coverage mandate.... Scratch that. Let me clear. Jobs will *not* be coming back to Main Street, at least as long as I'm president around here! 9) Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car! 10) I'm not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like I'm going to in 2012.

It doesn't take Encyclopedia Brown to wonder why the au pair didn't just pay for the hotel with her cash. Taking six steps when there was a way to take two usually means something's not kosher. Your friend is taking a trip down a river called De Nile. **** like this can hit the fan very quickly, and its landing place is indiscriminate. So yeah... I would update and send out my resume while I still have a job.

AH in "Love and Other Drugs".... meh. I think it was more the simplistic storyline and how the people are total caricatures (not that any number of other movies are not; "Black Swan" for instance). But there is a large amount of nudity.... I went into "Rachel Getting Married" not expecting much. I was completely floored. AH did a wonderful job with her wedding toast scene as Kim was spiraling downward. I think, most of all, it was the father's performance that was the key, and some of the best lines. The two daughters trying all along to win approval from their mother, when they finally realize that won't be coming, and all the nurturing they're going to get must come from each other (the bathing scene was a beautiful way to show the healing of their rift, catharsis, forgiveness/washing away of the past). All along, the camera was/we were like a ghost in the room watching something happening in real time. We proposed a movie discussion thread here on OTW, with RGM as among the first selections, but it never materialized....

First words after he steps through the pearly gates... 'All right you slackers! I want to see some bicep curls! You, Jesus, you've been up here 2,000 years with a nary a pushup. Get down on that cloud and give me 20!'

... and to add, has anybody ever seen the damage these little f---ers do when they get into attics? As someone who experienced this, my uncle in Maine has a big smile when he plinks them off with his Daisy air rifle.

Same here, and yet, with my bird feeder having become a squirrel feeder (scaring all the birds off in the process) I have less sympathy for this species in particular.

We'll have to see what actually happens to know what's happening. IIRC, when Dick LeBeau came in, Jerry Gray was still the DC in name, but.... Then again, those teams were Cleveland and Carolina. It's too early to say exactly what DW's role will be. I wouldn't assume anything based on a title. Remember that Bobby April was Asst HC in addition to ST duty... that didn't mean jack wrt his input in the offense or defense. As many teams define the role, it basically means that if Chan is out sick, DW acts as HC, and that others around there should respect his advice all the more. Not necessarily that he'll have a heightened input into play-calling, etc. Teams try to keep that very simple --- one guy calling plays. We'll see what shakes out.

Maybe it's the fluoridation! Link - Fluoride-Gate "Dr. Strangelove"

Whatever.... That was a pretty large assumption on your part. I don't think there's anyone who would describe MLK's assassination by saying he "left" rather than "he was murdered." There's nothing magical about it most of the time. Keep violent criminals in jail for the duration of their sentences! E.g. What doesn't happen in M!@#$chusetts among other places.

Now you're bending over backwards to mistake my meaning. I didn't mean "after MLK left" in the spiritual / when he died sense. That would be obvious to most people who can read without putting words into other peoples' mouths. I mean, after he left (and in some cases, while he was still in town) Albany, Birmingham, Montgomery to Selma.... This was at a time when the de facto Jim Crow practices were still going on in the early to mid 60s. I don't blame them for causing unrest, disobeying police and crowding the jails. They were fighting against bigoted unfair laws with a lot less verve than I would. The riots near and after he was killed stemmed more from economics/poverty and Vietnam than the overarching civil rights era. And anyway, this is the typical PPP thread where it starts talking about one thing and then drifts. As I've written before here, Alan Alda's Republican Senator Vinick character on "The West Wing" wrapped up my general thoughts on religion's place in governing: Now, this wasn't a situation where the governor was tip-toeing about a religious issue to gain votes. He was speaking out of ranks and from the heart, which is a very good strategy if a person's goal by the end of the speech is to end up putting their foot in their mouth. But I guess this governor figures it'll work for him. And it being Alabama where they love their preacher-politicians, it probably will. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulk3hDwxnmg

I did? Hmm.... Would you care to highlight where I wrote that? You're aware that riots/unrest (and to clarify, "unrest" is a broad distinction) occurred before 1968, right? You mistake yourself that I'm defending that rioting, or the LA riots. Note that I confined my remarks to while MLK was alive, not what happened after he was killed.

This man was at a party at the neighbor's house earlier that evening. It wasn't the neighbor. Having a dog probably would've prevented this whole situation. Even for a drunk, a dog's snarl makes for a great motivator to get the hell out.

You can't really expect an honest appraisal of the man, any more than one can expect an honest appraisal of George Washington. What we revere is the myth and simplification / five-second soundbyte of some of his public words and deeds, not who he really was. By necessity, that gets lost when a mythical/archetypal figure is created. Yep. He had some large flaws. But I don't know about "motivat[ing] the opponents of equality" as much as the supporters of civil rights. Bigots would hate whoever was among the leadership. Despite the nonviolence message, in many cities a few days or weeks after MLK left there were riots/unrest. I don't blame him personally for this, nor to a large degree, the rioters. If the political system that claimed to be democratic denied me the right to vote and other freedoms, I'd pick up a GD flamethrower! Back to the topic, tho, this governor is exactly the type of individual who creates a dangerous sidetrack for the Republicans. To broaden their base, they need to stop being the party of the Crazy Baptist Minister and focus on the economy/jobs, defense/national security, cutting spending and taxes, and balancing the budget. Whenever they've gone off their core and gotten sidetracked into religious and social issues, they've lost at the voting booth. People want good governance --- not good religio-moralizers.

I think that was when the Commie sub captain said, "Go to 110 percent on the reactor" in "The Hunt for Red October."

What's most annoying to me is not phrases, as such, but stupid trumped-up job titles. Stuff like, 'Business Acumen Enterprise Development Recruiter - Retention' or 'Associate Senior Initiative Application Strategist.' Does someone sit there and make these things up, or is it more like a lottery system where they have a cage full of vague business words, pull out six and mash them together? What the f--- does a 'General Regional Structural Compliance Risk Consultant - Claims' do? Why does everyone's business card have to sound so self-important d--che-baggy? Then again, when I worked construction b/w semesters of college, I was 'Vice President of the Men's Room' at the shop.

After what happened in Cheshire, Conn., I would NEVER vote guilty to anyone shooting someone who came forcefully and uninvited into their home.

OK, I preempted my line-up to watch "The King's Speech." It was good and I think Rush will be the most memorable part. I have an inclination to not like Ms. Carter --- I can't explain it, but there it is. Colin Firth was very good, just as he's been in many roles (he is the best Mr. Darcy ever captured on celluloid in the 1995 version of Pride & Prejudice). Certainly two thumbs up, but I wouldn't put it as best even for this year. Just, as I wrote previously, not sure it broke much new ground from "Bertie & Elizabeth." And that film was able to go a little deeper into the succession crisis (this placed a lot of stuff on Rush's character to both egg on and shoot down the notion of any "vaulting ambition" and the politics of Edward VIII's abdication was much more complex than what they papered over in this new treatment), showing the progression through the war until George VI's death. James Wilby really personalized Bertie much more than I got the sense in TKS. I'm sorry, I just don't need starpower to be wowed, and often in biopics like this, starpower is often a detriment.

Well, there is the 'CBS Scene' plaza in the Paytoilet* stadium. If the team were to start to slide and attendance drop, the network loses money. Conflict of interest much?!?

Perhaps people should just wait until this is properly adjudicated. And then, offer forgiveness. We are none of us without sin. Dink's Song - Bob Dylan/Jeff Buckley When a woman gets in trouble Everybody puts her down Looking for a good friend And none can be found

Toss-up b/w Goldfish crackers and cheese puff balls. It's been a while since I've had either --- I cut out snacking during the fall/winter to compensate for an increase in cold-weather 'comfort food' and less outdoor exercise.

So, after all the talk about cooling the political tensions, one week later a Tucson shooting victim is arrested for yelling at a Tea Party leader "You're dead!" and has been sent for a mental health evaluation. That new era for political civility didn't last very long, did it? It's hard not to sympathize with this guy... probably suffering from several conditions. From what we know of the shooter, tho, his anger is seriously misplaced.

Don't forget his illegal use of double- and triple-coupons at checkout!

*GASP* I thought that was lost in the Great Rosen Crash of '08!

I haven't seen it yet, but I just wonder what's in "The King's Speech" that wasn't in Masterpiece Theatre's treatment of the same subject with "Bertie and Elizabeth" (2002). Besides all the therapy swearing I've heard about....