Scooby Doo gets Indicted

I was having dinner with my kids, Anna (6) and Cameron (3). I asked them what they thought of Scooter Libby being indicted. They kept responding with, "Scooby Doo did what?"

I'm wondering if the rest of the country will pay equal attention and not know the difference between a man named Scooter and a cartoon dog. We'll see. Had Karl Rove been indicted, it would have been an even bigger story. That's who everyone wanted to go down. The indictments against Libby said nothing about the actual CIA leak. I thought the whole investigation was about who leaked Valerie Plame's name? These indictments do nothing to solve that mystery. I'd certainly like to know who leaked the name (although I'm still not convinced this is as huge a story as it's being made out to be).

If the roles were reversed, would Republicans be up in arms about all this instead of trying to deflect attention from it and saying it was not a big deal? Of course they would be. That's partisan politics for you. Always has been, always will be. Don't worry too much about it, you'll live longer.

Bush will now deflect attention away from this with his next Supreme Court nominee. I think it's pretty much assured that it'll be a judge WITH EXPERIENCE! I predict a Latino or black female.

Go Sox!

Okay, the Series is all set. It's the Sox v. Astros. It's the other Chicago team versus the team that plays across the parking lot from the Katrina refugees. Look for "W" to make an appearance when the series returns to Houston for games 3-5.

I would really like the Sox to take it. End their long drought. Back to back Sox victories, just different colors. At the same time, this is the first time Houston has made it. They recovered fine after what was a devastating loss in game 5. It would be neat to see Roger Clemens on the mound one more time notching up a series victory. I will say Sox in 6, with Chicago winning it all at Comiskey Park (sorry, that's what it's called, I can't get used to calling it US Cellular field) and setting off a wild celebration that only Chicago can do (i.e. turning over cars, etc.).

Benjamin Totals His Car.

Over the weekend, my nephew Benjamin smashed up his car almost beyond recognition. However, he walked away from it completely unscathed. This despite the fact that it was completely his fault. It was all intentional.

Yes, Benjamin competed in a demolition derby at the Van Wert County (OH) fairgrounds. I had never been to one before, so it was kinda cool. It's pretty simple. You start your cars and just start ramming everyone else. If there's any strategy, it's do back into the other cars. Hitting from the front puts one in danger of blowing their radiator. There were some pretty aggressive drivers. Some cars got airborne, climbed up on other cars, and got smashed against the concrete barriers. All in good fun of course. As a participant, this would have to surely fulfill some sort of little boy fantasy of causing as much destruction as possible but not getting in trouble for it. Benjamin went out fairly quickly the first time around, but the second heat, he was in the top 10 (of about 20 drivers).

I was there with my wife and Cameron. Anna stayed in South Bend with her grandma. She wouldn't have liked it. Cameron liked it a lot. When we got back, he was in his toy car having his own demolition derby. Oh boy, here we go.

Over the River and Through the Woods, to Training I Go.

For the past two days, I attended a management training series sponsored by Indiana University. The training took place at Bradford Woods, a large piece of property owned by the University just south of Indianapolis. Two or three individuals from each IU campus are selected each to attend this series. So, I was pleased when my Vice Chancellor recommended that I attend.

The first day was spent in a series of outdoor team building challenges. If you are in management, you probably know the type I'm describing. All the activities are designed to instill concepts of what it is to be a team and to then take those concepts back to the workplace. We had a great facilitator, Stewart, a long time U.S. citizen but who is originally from England. What is it about the English accent that immediately causes one to take notice and listen more intently? I don't know, but even beyond the accent, Stewart made the whole day go very fast and I didn't feel like I was just being given some regurgitated lessons on how to be a great leader. My favorite activity involved Stewart taking our group of 10 into a wooded area. On a tree he wrapped a bandana. Our job as a team was to go back to our starting point (a few hundred yards away) and return to this place. Oh yeah, we had to do it blindfolded, and after Stewart spun us all around and totally threw off our sense of direction. We actually made it back to the tree, and in pretty good time.

It was nice being around other University professionals that share my same commitment to higher education. I'll be back once a month until next April.

Bush & the Supreme Court: Round 2

Wow, the Republicans are freaking out over Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court. I guess there are a lot of folks that felt Bush owed them an ultra-conservative justice that would more or less guarantee a reversal of Roe v. Wade. Bush definitely pulled this pick from left field. I don't get too worked up over Supreme Court picks, because all too often they don't end up voting how everyone thought they would. Remember, 7 of the 9 justices are Republican appointees. David Souter and Sandra Day-O'Connor were both conservative "locks" that didn't vote the way people thought they would. They turned radical and based their decisions on the Constitution and the law. Hey, now there's a concept. I am hearing bits and pieces of Miers' background. She claims to be an evangelical Christian, which should drive the Democrats nuts. But they are enjoying the Republicans fighting amongst themselves right now and don't want to spoil the fun, so they aren't coming out against her very much.

I was much more comfortable with John Roberts. He'll make a good Chief Justice, but make no mistake about it. He's a conservative. This is where Bush has his legacy. No matter how he leaves office, he'll have two Supreme Court nominees to his name. Remember how Nixon left office in disgrace? But who did he leave behind? Yes, Chief Justice Rehnquist, who served 30 years after Nixon resigned. That's a legacy. If you are a liberal, you better hope the other 7 Justices stay healthy, especially Bader-Ginsburg and Breyer. Bush has three more years to go.

Okay, now it's time to watch baseball.

I don't watch baseball from April to September. But now, I will tune in. It's playoff time. This is when it gets interesting. I'm not sure how we can top last year, with the incredible Red Sox comeback against the Yankees and then winning it all after such a long drought. But we'll give it a go. The team I would like to see take it all this year are the White Sox. They have sort of gotten looked over when discussions turn to teams that have gone years and years without a championship. The last time they won a World Series was 1917. That's been a while. Their drought is almost as long as the Cubs and (before last year), the Red Sox, but they don't get as much credit for their misery. I have an uneasy feeling the Red Sox will take them out quickly, but here's hoping. In the National League, I think it would be funny if the Padres get to the Series. They are just two games above the .500 mark. They wouldn't have even been in the running had they been in any other division. But they will never get past the Cardinals. So, let's go with a White Sox/Cardinals World Series with the White Sox beating the Cubs at bringing a World Series title back to Chicago.

Oh, did you see that my football Cardinals won yesterday. Beat the 49'ers down in Mexico City.