| Democrats toughen up
Constitutional Law professor/lecturer at the University of Chicago. Illinois State Senate * Welfare legislation * Created the Earned Income Tax Credit program that gave over $100 million in tax cuts for families throughout Illinois over 3 years. * Expanded early childhood education * Enlisted the support of law enforcement officials to draft legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases. * Passed, with U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL), the toughest campaign finance law in Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and banned most gifts from lobbyists. * Barack Obama sponsored and passed legislation that expanded health care coverage to 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults.
Mora: Coaching in Seattle his ‘priority’
His decision came after the Redskins' owner had sent a plane to fly him east and then hosted Seattle's assistant head coach and defensive backs coach at the tycoon's guesthouse during two days of interviews. "I want to thank the Redskins organization and owner Daniel Snyder for the opportunity to interview for the head coaching position," Mora said in a statement released by the Seahawks. "The process reconfirmed that the quality of life for my family in Seattle is my first priority. This past year has been a great experience both professionally and personally for myself, my wife Shannon, and our kids. We are very happy members of this community and the Seattle Seahawks organization." Holmgren added Mora, 46, to his staff soon after he was fired as head coach of the Falcons on New Year's Day, 2007, after three seasons leading Atlanta.
Elling's Short Game
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Pardon the choice of words, but the imagery is of their own making. For Golfweek magazine, the noose tightened on Thursday. One day after the controversial cover artwork on Golfweek became the hottest topic in golf, a top PGA Tour official said that some of its advertising scheduled to run in the publication might be pulled. This week's cover image on the magazine is a hangman's noose, a provocative reference to the live comments uttered on the air Jan. 4 by Golf Channel broadcaster Kelly Tilghman, which caused a firestorm in golf circles. Already this week, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem and PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka have expressed either disappointment or outrage at the decision to feature such a controversial and racially sensitive image on one of the game's largest publications.
Critics peek inside Oscar
If the past few years (or the past few decades) are any indication, trying to predict who will get a nod is like trying to predict Kevin Federline's musical career.So this year, Fresno Bee movie critics Donald Munro and Rick Bentley are taking a different approach. Their lists are the actors and films that they would honor if they were selecting those to get the Oscar nods. Here's how they would hand out the 2008 Academy Award nominations.Donald Munro's picksBest picture"Hairspray": The feel-good movie of the year, perfectly pitched and so giddy in its forward momentum and cheery social message that you'll be dancing out of the theater."No Country for Old Men": It captures the Wild West tinge of underlying violence that boosted the United States in its early days and to an extent still forms the framework of our society: a country of wide-open spaces, boundless opportunities and a chilling tendency toward taking what you can get."Once": A perfect little musical love story about a struggling Irish songwriter, this low-budget charmer has the best soundtrack of the year."Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street": This pared-down version of the Broadway musical is so bloody economical that the film achieves an amazing double whammy: It gives you the chills and makes you sing at the same time."Into the Wild": Sean Penn's adaptation of the Jon Krakauer book about a young man (Emile Hirsch) who naively challenges the Alaska wilderness is a taut, superbly told and ferociously filmed adventure.Best actorJohnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd": He's a cut above, no doubt about it.Chris Cooper, "Breach": A clenched and compelling performance as a traitorous FBI officer who shrouds much of himself -- motivations, back story, moral center -- and yet keeps offering intimate glimpses.Don Cheadle, "Talk to Me": An endearing and moving performance from an actor who captures the charisma of a born entertainer.Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood": Among the most chilling personifications of evil ever portrayed on the big screen.
NEWS IN BRIEF
PASSPORTS: No final word yet on when U.S. citizens will need a passport or an as-yet-to-be-created alternative for land and sea border crossings involving Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. But the State Department is preparing now.
As early as next month, department officials will begin accepting applications for a "passport card" that is cheaper and smaller than a passport and good only in the circumstances noted above. The limited-use card, which lasts 10 years, will cost $45 for adults ($25 of that will be waived if you already have a passport, including one up for renewal). Children 16 and younger pay $35 for a five-year card.
And, a reminder: As of Jan. 31, to cross the U.S. border by land or sea into Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Caribbean (except for Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Giuliani's work for drug maker probed
Brownlee found himself on the telephone last year with a political and legal superstar, Rudolph W. Giuliani. For years, Mr. Brownlee and his small team had been building a case that the maker of the painkiller OxyContin had misled the public when it claimed the drug was less prone to abuse than competing narcotics. The drug was believed to be a factor in hundreds of deaths involving its abuse. .
Around The Campaign 2008 Sphere
Another in our series of special Election 2008 editions of our popular Around The Sphere link-fest where we offer readers links to weblogs of differing viewpoints — and give you our comments on some of the political issues raised. This version will only contain election-related links. It will appear several times a week until Election Day. The Great Confederate Flag Controversy Surfaces In South Carolina (Again) and lo and behold it's again being used against Arizona Senator John McCain who's losing ground to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who — coincidentally — is coming out in favor of it waving there (apparently forever). Booker Rising, a site that bills itself as a "news site for black moderates and black conservatives' but must be required reading for everyone, writes this: However, I'll take on Mr.
Scott Turner: Appreciating the gifts of Trustom Pond
Like bee swarms, hundreds of Canada geese crisscrossed the water. Cormorants glowed in the setting sun. Ducks produced beeps, peeps, honks, and squeaks, squawks and whistles. I saw coot, gadwall, scaup, bufflehead, widgeon, redhead, goldeneye, black duck, ruddy duck and three types of merganser. Some of the smaller waterfowl fed in a massed frenzy, looking like a scrum of rugby players. A northern harrier, also called a marsh hawk, passed overhead, as did a great blue heron, which croaked like a movie dinosaur. A rough-legged hawk hovered over the sand dunes near Moonstone Beach. I heard the rattle of a kingfisher. Nearby was a sandhill crane, noted by birdwatchers for weeks, but we did not see it. I caught up with my family at one of the observation decks, where a sea-freshened breeze rattled leaves on young white oaks.
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