But Graham Harrell set some records for passing yards in the process.

Hats off to Harrell and the Red Raiders anyway. You have us the best year in TTU football history.

Now, get drafted, Graham (and please, get drafted by a team with a good O-Line!!)

No other college QB has thrown more TD passes than Graham Harrell. Read more…

Sometime later, he walked off the floor of the chamber into his office as President of the Senate and considered the last week's happenings. Much remained to be done, starting with finding out exactly why Ben Benton had been taken to the hospital and held incommunicado for nearly a week and working through exactly where Robertson's renegade crew could be found now. The coup had failed without so much as a whimper, although the appearance of Major Wilson, Timothy NMI, armed with the sniper rifle Hardesty had confiscated from Robertson's Marine had livened proceedings in the chamber up considerably. Read more…

Obama won. He's going to be inaugurated in 3 weeks. I"m not thrilled, but I do think it's a far better outcome than we could have had, had we been about to swear in Sarah Palin and John McCain (troll prophylactic: I regard Palin as unfit to serve. While of all the GOP candidates who attempted to run, I found McCain the least nauseating, it must be faced that he remains pro-war, anti-choice, pro-big oil, anti-labor, and pro-big-business. Bless his heart.)

But there are people out there who think it's a horrible, awful, no good, very bad thing -- and while many here at Corrente might find solace in such allies, I cannot -- no, I shall not.
Why? Well, maybe it's because the enemies of Barack Obama -- those who are NOT my friends, those whose beliefs I cannot espouse -- because of 'pro-lifers' like Fr. Frank Pavone. Excerpts from a screed Pavone recently put forth follow. My question is, how much like these lunatics do we want to become, in our opposition to Obama?

Grave Mistake and an Abiding Hope
by Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life
Americans have made a grave mistake in electing Barack Obama to the presidency.

Yeah, friar? How so?

The man elected to the Presidency said during the campaign that he does not know when a human being starts to have human rights.

Hmm. That's not the meaning I got from the statement Barack Obama, president elect, actually made.

"I think that whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade," Obama quipped.

Pavone goes on:

Governing is about protecting human rights; to do it successfully, you have to know where they come from, and when they begin. The President-elect has already failed that test miserably.

At which point I'm sure I'm now a hellbound heathen, but let me just throw this right back at you, friar.

Human. Rights.

Including those of women, girls, and homosexuals; transgender and bisexual persons.
Whose rights your church does not recognize. Read more…

it's not too late to turn the corner on one aspect.
Between 1895 and 1910, ELECTRIC CARS made up nearly a third of the vehicles on the roads.

It's possible that Spindletop is to blame for the decline in electric cars. Between that and the Gingrich/Clinton budget stopping the SSC in its tracks, much that has worked against the public good is often blamed on my home state. Read more…

No, I don't want to talk about the Cowboys. (Hello, Jerry? You're one-for-three on the "reforming" outlaws list, and Pacman Jones can't hold onto the ball any better than the big-mouthed whiniest butterfingered "wide receiver" in the NFL. You've got a coaching staff, a quarterback, a pretty good OL, a not-too-shabby -- remember the stands they made against the 'Skins and the Steelers, on the tail-end of this graceless season? -- defense, and a kicker. You're ok for next year on running backs, but you need some special teams help -- and Roy Williams will need somebody to take the heat off him in the far downfield next year. No. 81 ain't it.)

I want to talk about aircraft maintenance and how outsourcing it is putting lives at risk on major carriers, how Southwest chose not to follow this trend because it was already having static with its BFF the FAA, and the shameful way controllers are being treated in this country. I'll never be able to afford live tickets to a Cowboys game, but sometimes you have to ride airplanes to get from point A to point B on time.

Make no mistake about it. The anti-union frenzy Reagan started is alive and well and unless Read more…

As if a serious financial recession weren't enough, the people of the Appalachians received yet another unwelcome, and un-re-gift-able, "present" early this week when a coal-ash pond collapsed.

Photo by J Miles Carey, Knoxville News-Sentinel

Fifteen houses looked like the one in the photo Monday morning. Imagine that at Christmas. Read more…

Christmas is approaching and I'm apt to be off the blogs until 26/27-12-08, so I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday. Merry / Happy / Joyeaux, all; and may FSM and Ceiling Cat grant you a grand solstice!

Developers, and real estate promoters, are the shiznit when it comes to making money for themselves. But when it comes to running companies they bought via outright confidence games, guys like Sam Zell pretty much suck. So now Tribune Media's in the tank, hundreds of jobs are gone, several news outlets are shutting down ... and Sam Zell's gonna get MONEY!! Hat tip Jim Hightower.

Hardesty looked at her charges. “Come on, guys. Have a little faith.”
Taylor nodded. “I do. I just ... think we could use some help.”
“Trained, adult help,” Bidwell added almost under his breath, and Hardesty laughed out loud.
“Den leaders,” she murmured.
Bidwell caught her eye in the rearview mirror and winked. He checked the dash, frowned, and said mildly, “We need gas.”
“Yeah, I ...” Hardesty swallowed. “...burned some, this morning. Let's go ahead and fill up.” Read more…

Anybody know how to darn socks, turn cuffs and collars, or make a rag rug?
Backpackers, particularly those interested in very lightweight gear (and those interested in very low-cost gear) have developed ways to take (empty) cans and build camp stoves, cookpots with lids and stands and windscreens -- you can carry nearly no-cost-but-labor gear that, for under 4 oz mass, will provide hot water, tea, cocoa, coffee, soup and noodles, rice or oatmeal for one or two hikers for a weekend if you frequent WhiteBlaze or similar forums.

OPEC cut production by 2 million barrels a day during their session today.
What with the Madoff scheme and the bailout failure, Read more…

if a guy has a lung collapse in a football game on Sunday and flies home Monday, how is he even considered for playing the following Sunday? What is this, Terminator, the NFL?

So, amid the razzle-dazzle-frazzle of the TO-Witten 'controversy' and with a NY win a sure bet to kill their playoff hopes this year, what did Tony Romo do Sunday night? What he does. "I play football for the Dallas Cowboys."

He cowboyed up in a major way for this one, kids. Twenty completions out of 30 passes, two for touchdowns; sacked three times in the first half and again in the second, beaten-up from being flung all over the field like last year's rag doll on Christmas morning (hat tip to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram's Gil LeBreton for the metaphor) he still managed the presence of mind to shove the football over the end line, out of bounds, confining the oncoming NY Giants' defense to a safety instead of a touchdown should one of them spy and fall upon the loose football.

But the D did another stellar job, and not least among the standouts is Terrence Newman, the cornerback whose two interceptions (one very late, admittedly) helped seal the deal.

A better showing in the 20-8 win over the (somewhat hampered by the losses of Brandon Jacobs and self-inflicted season-ending injuries to Plaxico Burress) Giants than Eli Manning managed, even his critics will say of Romo this week. Granted, Manning's not used to being knocked down, time after time after time after time after time after time, and again; but eight sacks and two interceptions were hallmarks of the effort the Cowboys' defense turned in for this contest.

DeMarcus Ware's week-long mantra must've been "meet me at the quarterback." Bradie James accepted the invitation to that party, too.

William Perlman, USS Presswire photo Read more…

Congratulations to a number of football teams and players.

I dearly hope last night's dustup between the Giants and the Cowboys (20-8! Dallas!)
didn't seriously hurt the participants on either side; bruised egos go with this game as surely as NFL linemen spill each other's blood on the turf every ball game. But onward and upward first, and I'll be back for the Cowboys shortly.

Congratulations Graham Harrell on winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, annually given the nation's best college football quarterback! The criteria for the award alone suggest to me that it's not just a consolation prize for a young man mentioned as a Heismann hopeful, but a genuinely important award:

Determination of the Award will be based upon the on-field performance of the nominees, as well as their character. To be a Golden Arm Award Winner, these quarterbacks must demonstrate good citizenship off the field, and do their best to maintain the ideals of good character, morals, and values that Johnny Unitas upheld in his lifetime and career.

To be eligible for this Award, all candidates MUST be completing their college eligibility this season to be eligible for The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Candidates are judged upon character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, leadership qualities, and athletic accomplishments. They MUST also preserve a positive public image above reproach by avoiding legal issues or other types of scandal.

(If only you and Mike Leach had been given a tour of the Obama White House, rather than the Bush White House, to go along with the award, how much sweeter would the rewards be!) To steal a bit of Don Williams' Lubbock A-J article on how the post-award trip to the White House did go, I'll note that normally close-mouthed Texas Tech athletics department personnel did vouchsafe some information to Bush:
Harrell threw for 4,747 yards and 41 touchdowns during the regular season, but he suffered two broken fingers in the regular-season finale against Baylor and underwent a complicated surgery the next day to repair multiple fractures.

Let me add a personal note to Graham Harrell, whose career I got to see start in spring football more years ago than I care to admit: That you're in company with the Manning brothers and Rodney Peete, not to mention David Carr, Carson Palmer and Brady Quinn, suggests to me that the NFL draft may be worth watching this year, just to see where you're invited. I have enjoyed watching you at Tech, and I want to wish you the best of all possible futures.

Congratulations too, to OU's Sam Bradford for winning the Heismann this year. I sincerely hope next year's competition is NOT reduced to Bradford's second award vs. Tebow's second award. Enough said about that? Hardly. Many deserving players never got considered for the Heismann; that's not unusual at all. That (BCS related) politics and the respective schools' money and fame did figure in which players were seriously considered, however, above and beyond the performance of the players on the field and above and beyond their importance to their teams' seasons must be repeated. Must be called out as the mockery of competition it is. Colt McCoy and Chase Daniel in the Big XII conference ALONE deserved more serious consideration than did either a 2nd award for Tebow or a 2nd-consecutive Sophomore Award. Enough already. Either honor the spirit of the award, which is supposed to go to the MOST OUTSTANDING MAJOR COLLEGE PLAYER every year, or quit giving the thing out (hat tip TTU coach Mike Leach for that suggestion btw).

And again, congratulations to the Borden County Coyotes, and to the undefeated Muleshoe, Texas, football team, both of whom won state titles Saturday, now being celebrated right here in my hometown even though both of these teams are from an hour and a half away.

Borden County's victory came with 4:18 left in regulation, as UIL rules will kick in to prevent a complete annihilation of an overmatched squad in six-man football. Go Coyotes!

And finally, last but not least here, congratulations to the Muleshoe team whose play brought the first state championship trophy ever to their school. Wes Wood and company had an excellent season. Fifteen wins, no losses, and a Grand Prairie finale that saw them shellac Kirbyville.

GO MULES!!

Image courtesy of Muleshoe ISD's team web site. Read more…

As an Air Force vet who's proud of my service, I find this story absolutely appalling.

I also think that if the economy weren't in the toilet the new supervisor at this courthouse wouldn't be so quick to force an experienced and well-liked employee to take down his flag.

Photo Credit: Jessica Griffin, philly.com

But then again, politics is all about one-upsmanship, isn't it? Especially when you get to show off just how big a butthat you can be in your new supervisory position.

'cause if they do we all should have voted for McPalin.

Wilson vanished into the van. Hardesty looked at her passengers with a glint in her eye. “Gentlemen,” she said mildly, “when Tim rejoins us we are indeed going somewhere. Boss, do you know how to get to Bethesda?”
Bidwell nodded.
“Good. You'll be driving, then. Taylor, you stick to your dad like you were Velcroed on, hear me? We've got about a half a snowball's chance of making this work. I want to be sure the two of you are absolutely safe.”
“Angela ...”
“I know. But one of us has been tracked consistently since we all met up. You're not wearing or carrying anything you had, and neither is Taylor. I'm not. So who does that leave?”
“You had that cell phone.” Read more…

quoted today:
War is inevitably tragic, inefficient, and uncertain, and it is important to be skeptical of systems analyses, computer models, game theories, or doctrines that suggest otherwise. We should look askance at idealistic, triumphalist, or ethnocentric notions of future conflict that aspire to transcend the immutable principles and ugly realities of war, that imagine it is possible to cow, shock, or awe an enemy into submission, instead of tracking enemies down hilltop by hilltop, house by house, block by bloody block. As General William Tecumseh Sherman said, "Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster." Read more…

I could say a lot on the subject. Pictures being worth 1,000 words --

GO

Beat the Sooners! Beat 'em! Beat 'em! Beat 'em!

On to other matters.

So as is often the case, money is more important in the final result than integrity, courage, dedication, commitment, or the quality and tenaciousness of a team, a player, a performance, a season. OU has a bigger 'rep' than TTU (or Texas? Well, thanks to weeks of hype from ESPN and the AP, maybe so) and is thought to be able to draw more ratings, travel money and souvenir spending out of its alumni base (admittedly, there's a bigger population to draw from). So it's OU vs Missouri this Saturday for the Big XII championship. Chase Daniel's a Texan, but he plays ball for Missouri: they recruited him, and at the beginning of the last two seasons, touted him for the Heismann.

Graham Harrell spent four and a half hours in surgery Sunday morning to fix his hand; Harrell, Tech standout receiver Michael Crabtree, and McCoy, legitimate Heismann contenders, being dismissed by the ESPN/AP/BCS 'ratings' in favor of a second award for last year's winner, Florida field general Tim Tebow (whose performances early this season were a distraction as well as a disappointment, and whose team is not unbeaten -- indeed, does not have as good a record as UT-Austin or Texas Tech this year -- and OU quarterback Bob Sanderson; the FITH decision the BCS used to send OU to the Big XII championship game despite a head-to-head 45-35 loss to U-Texas-Austin earlier in the year ...

If Obama can get us a legitimate playoff system I might join the OFB.

Meanwhile -- take a look at some guys who are far more deserving of the annual award for the year's best player in major college football than is Tim Tebow of Florida, whose position will probably actually get him a second Heismann.

Chase Daniel, of the Mizzou Tigers:

Colt McCoy, of the Texas Longhorns:

Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree:

Graham Harrell, after Saturday's game in which his hand was broken in 9 places:

Of them all it is the OU quarterback, named to first-team all-Big XII but not to the All-
America selection, who is most likely to unseat Tebow in the Heismann race.

That's a shame, really. There are far more deserving players out there.

And lest you think my bias is too much toward my alma mater, why in the hell isn't either Ball State or Boise State being noised about for a national championship? All those two major college teams did was go undefeated this year -- something that has eluded not just OU and U-Texas-Austin, but also every BCS team except Alabama. Read more…

As Jim Hightower points out in his blog entry, while the prices don't increase for some commodities at your grocery store and the packages look the same, the amount of product is dropping -- sometimes dramatically.
Then there's the excellent "Mouse Print" web site, which reveals the fine print (in readable fonts) behind many retail, coupon and online offers. You could do worse than read both sites regularly, folks, if you -- like me and many others -- want to avoid waste and scammage.

Angela Hardesty considered her options. At the moment they appeared few and bleak, but that hadn't stopped her before. The car ahead of her slowed; Hardesty shoved the stick down and pulled to pass on the wrong side, blowing off the sudden storm of horns. She had a destination and a deadline, and the ratio of success she could expect depended directly on covering the distance under the time limit.
“Long way to go,” she muttered. “Short time to get there ...” Read more…

Bidwell blinked. “I thought she was out front.”
“TV's on. No sign of her.” Wilson walked to the window, peered out. “Damn. Car's gone, boss.” He turned back toward the bathroom and his eye fell on Hardesty's backpack. “Uh oh.”
“What?”
“Where'd this come from?”
Bidwell, still carrying the dripping cotton ball, peered over Wilson's shoulder. “Never saw it before.”
“I have,” Wilson said with a sigh. “It's issue. Looks just like the ones Regent One procured for the whole team ...” his voice trailed off and he shook his head. “What was she thinking?”
“Who?” Bidwell took in the alarm on Wilson's face. “You're not talking about Angela.” Read more…

Terrell Owens' season has been anything but golden, until today, when he collected seven catches for more than 200 yards and a touchdown.

But with another game Thursday, and rookie running back Felix Jones gone for the season, can the Tony Romo to TO connection save the Cowboys' season?

Stay tuned, sports fans.

The picture pretty much tells all there is to tell.

The Sooners must now beat the Cowboys to score a berth in the Big XII title game.

I am glad there were no serious injuries, except to pride, in Saturday night's smashup.

it began as a sunny day, filled with hope. I will not speak of how it ended here. I am surprised that no one mentioned this anniversary earlier, though.

Working for the State of Texas in the area of public health I learned that you can in fact pick up valuable knowledge in online courses -- and get a really good idea of what you need to brush up on periodically. Hence my intrigue with "Our Fading Heritage."

I challenge you all:
take the Civics Test at this site, and then take a look at the results recently. Compare your score to the most recent national averages if you'd like, and come back and discuss your results here.
We can't know where we want to go unless we're clear on where we started, and where we are now. Read more…