Wednesday

The Brevard High basketball team made it into the state playoffs by beating a team that had won their previous 61 games. Last night, the team started the first round of sectional playoffs, and, man, has this team gotten better. They never trailed Madison and were rarely ahead by less than five points. They pass well, but I was really impressed by the midpoint jumpers. Instead of launching three-pointers or barreling to the hoop to draw the foul (and risk injury), they would stop short, shoot, and make most of them.

After the game, we moseyed to Juan’s restaurant with another couple for mucho beer and enchiladas. So Tuesday went like this: work, commute, game, Mexican, sleep. A fine, fine day even if we did miss the Olympics. We’ll catch up on the games tonight as there is no new “Lost.” Again. I initially had no problem watching the show in batches – three weeks of new shows, two weeks of reruns – but there’s so much to keep track of now that I worry I’m losing interest. Thankfully, a dedicated (read: insane) group of people online help me juggle the subplots, and unfortunately, encourage me to come up with scenarios to tie it all together. We have our favorites: nanite technology, time travel, memory-swapping, unknown family connections. It’s sci-fi fan fiction run amok.

The Picture of the Day.
A sneak peek of the Academy Awards set, courtesy of The Envelope.

In the news
The destruction of the Shia golden dome in Iraq has crated a riotous frenzy and raised concerns of the growing civil war in Iraq. It’s considered impolite to suggest Iraq could crumble into such conflict, and many are aware that a few are trying to herd them there. I don’t think it’s inevitable, but it seems increasingly possible. Bombings in Iraq occur virtually every day, and some of our most prominent talking heads downplay the attacks by comparing Iraq’s death toll to the average murder rates in major American cities. That’s crap, it is. People are getting bombed in Iraq by the dozens weekly if not daily. That’s not crime. That’s terrorism. And if the Shia return with like means, then you’ve got civil war. I don’t know how long the Shia leaders can be placated to play the “big man.” And if Shiite Muslims begin to act despite their clerics’ admonitions, then those leaders do no good to the country or to our troops as a calming influence.

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Bush is threatening to veto a Congressional bill to counter the sale of port control to a UAE company. This would be his first veto, and it’s odd that he’s pull that lever over this matter. Rumors allege that he has financial ties to that company. Those rumors also raise the specter of Bush family ties to the Nazis in WWII, and anytime someone starts using the word “Nazi” when talking about a president, my eyes roll so far back into my head that they slide down inside my feet. It’s a shrill card to play in any argument. The ports have already been under the auspices of a foreign company (a British agency is selling the rights), and yet, in all the talk about port security during the last election rhetoric or the current complaints about porous borders, the notion of foreign-owned port management never came up. While the talking heads argue over racism derailing the contract, I still question any outside agency overseeing the ports. And here's a new twist: The White House now says Bush didn't know about the deal until after it was completed. Does this foreshadow a Cabinet secretary falling on his sword?