No, that’s not a cloud on the horizon — it’s smoke from the Willow wildfire in the Tonto National Forest, northeast of where we live. (Official info here and here.) Here’s a more zoomed-in view:

(more…)

Damn.

Long-time, legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski may be headed to Los Angeles to replace Phil Jackson as the Lakers’ head coach. Interesting!

Bill Cosby speaks, again:

In his remarks in May at a commemoration of the anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education desegregation decision, Cosby denounced some blacks’ grammar and said those who commit crimes and wind up behind bars “are not political prisoners.”

“I can’t even talk the way these people talk, ‘Why you ain’t,’ ‘Where you is’ … and I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk,” Cosby said then. “And then I heard the father talk … Everybody knows it’s important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can’t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth.”

Cosby elaborated Thursday on his previous comments in a talk interrupted several times by applause. He castigated some blacks, saying that they cannot simply blame whites for problems such as teen pregnancy and high school dropout rates.

“For me there is a time … when we have to turn the mirror around,” he said. “Because for me it is almost analgesic to talk about what the white man is doing against us. And it keeps a person frozen in their seat, it keeps you frozen in your hole you’re sitting in.” …

Cosby lamented that the racial slurs once used by those who lynched blacks are now a favorite expression of black children. And he blamed parents.

“When you put on a record and that record is yelling ‘n

You can watch Governor Rell’s inaugural address here. The transcript, again, is here.

UPDATE: My mom reports via e-mail: “I crossed the border of Connecticut on Route 84 today about 2 p.m., and the Jodi Rell name was on the ‘Welcome to Connecticut’ sign (only 2 hours into her governship).”

Heh. Hooray! (You think the state employees who maintain the highways are glad to see Rowland go?)

A hat tip to Andrew for sending along Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen’s review of Fahrenheit 9/11, which includes the following warning to Democrats and liberals everywhere:

The case against Bush is too hard and too serious to turn into some sort of joke, as Moore has done. The danger of that is twofold: It can send fence-sitters moving, either out of revulsion or sympathy, the other way, and it leads to an easy and facile dismissal of arguments critical of Bush. During the Vietnam War, it seemed to me that some people supported Richard Nixon not because they thought he was right but because they loathed the war protesters. Beware history repeating itself.

Cohen also makes this excellent point, with which I empathize and agree whole-heartedly:

The case against Bush need not and should not rest on guilt by association or half-baked conspiracy theories, which collapse at the first double take but reinforce the fervor of those already convinced. The success of Moore’s movie, though, suggests this is happening — a dialogue in which anti-Bush forces talk to themselves and do so in a way that puts off others. I found that happening to me in the run-up to the war, when I spent more time and energy arguing with those who said the war was about oil (no!) or Israel (no!) or something just as silly than I did questioning the stated reasons for invading Iraq — weapons of mass destruction and Hussein’s links to Osama bin Laden. This was stupid of me, but human nature nonetheless.

Alas, Cohen, says that “some of that old feeling returned” while watching F911:

It is so juvenile in its approach, so awful in its journalism, such an inside joke for people who already hate Bush, that I found myself feeling a bit sorry for a president who is depicted mostly as a befuddled dope. I fear how it will play to the undecided.

Well said, Richard, well said.

I think it’s Andrew, rather than Sean, who should be encouraging me to see Fahrenheit 9/11. But perhaps he should wait until late October before suggesting it. If Cohen’s analysis is anywhere close to correct, seeing this propaganda flick is the one thing that might tempt me to vote for Bush — or rather, to vote against anyone who would associate themselves with such crap (as the Democrats have, alas, been doing).

This paragraph, though, succinctly explains why I’m not inclined to waste my time and money seeing it:

Moore’s depiction of why Bush went to war is so silly and so incomprehensible that it is easily dismissed. As far as I can tell, it is a farrago of conspiracy theories. But nothing is said about multiple U.N. resolutions violated by Iraq or the depredations of Saddam Hussein. In fact, prewar Iraq is depicted as some sort of Arab folk festival — lots of happy, smiling, indigenous people. Was there no footage of a Kurdish village that had been gassed? This is obscenity by omission.

“Obscenity by omission,” a.k.a. “Moore Lies!”

Spider-Man 2 earned $40.5 million yesterday, setting records for the biggest opening day (topping the first Spider-Man) and the biggest opening Wednesday (topping Return of the King), and moving into third place on the list of biggest single days (behind Shrek 2’s fourth day and the first Spider-Man’s second day).

Here’s an article about Spidey’s sequel-icious success.

Meanwhile, there’s a wee bit of controversy over whether Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 actually deserves the “highest-grossing documentary ever” title that was bestowed upon it after its fantastic opening weekend. Frank J. of IMAO writes:

Some are saying that Fahrenheit 9/11 set records for a documentary, being the first ever to debut in the number one spot and already having the highest gross for a documentary with $21.8 million over the weekend. I looked it up, though, and it is total bunk. If marginally staged events filmed for entertainment value is what makes a documentary, then Jackass: The Movie actually set those records. It debuted at number one with a gross of $22.8 million. It also had less erroneous assertions than a Michael Moore documentary.

He adds, “Whether Fahrenheit 9/11 will have the long lasting political effects of Jackass is yet to be seen.” Heh.

Best of the Web says F911 actually made a bit more money in its opening weeding than Jackass did in its, but once inflation is factored in, it’s a tie: $23.92 million to $23.92 million. Recount! Recount! Flor-i-da! Flor-i-da! :)

IndieWire says the “documentary” category exludes “performance/concert films, IMAX movies, and of course, the reality hit Jackass.” But in all seriousness: why is that an “of course” statement? Why is it so obvious that Jackass isn’t a documentary? It seems to me that, well, it sort of is.

Our long, um, statial nightmare is over. John Rowland is a private citizen again (and a private citizen under federal investigation, at that). Jodi Rell is the governor of Connecticut. Yay!

Live webcast here.

Okay. Back to work now.

UPDATE: I’m watching the webcast while I work. A very good speech. She’s mincing no words. “It has been a time of profound disappointment and disillusionment. It has been a moment in history that we never thought we would see, and fervently hope we will never see again. … We must, and we will, recommit ourselves to ending the culture of corruption that has plagued our state for far too long.” She is now announcing Executive Order #1, a big new ethics-in-government initiative.

More later.

UPDATE UPDATE: Transcript:

The time to heal has begun.

Yes, our trust has been broken. Our faith in government has been shaken. Our belief in the inherent virtues of public service have been called into question.

We have been tested. We have been tried.

But there can be no doubt, with this historic transfer of power today, that the very principles upon which our constitution, our laws and our system of government are built are far stronger and far greater than the frailties and failures of any one individual or group of people.

Today we chart a new course. Today, we begin to restore faith, integrity and honor to our government. It is our solemn obligation. It will be our lasting legacy.

I deeply believe that public service is a noble and necessary cause. For generations, indeed for more than two centuries, well intentioned, virtuous men and women have served our state well.

We cannot allow the actions of a relative few to tarnish all who serve, or more significantly, to discourage future generations from answering their call to service.

We must and we will recommit ourselves to ending the culture of corruption that has plagued our state for far too long. …

Let the message be clear: From this day forward, if you are entrusted with public office, you will uphold the highest standards of public integrity and ethical principles.

“This is all theater, the real criminal is Bush,” declares the deposed tyrant. He also called the Kuwaitis “dogs.” Story here.

The Command Post has more on Saddam’s big day.

In other news… no Weapons of Mass Destruction there, either.

Jodi Rell replaces John Rowland as governor of Connecticut in exactly one hour. NBC30.com promises a webcast of her swearing-in.

Here is the Hartford Courant’s article about Rowland’s final day in office.

And now… Guys Gone Wild.

Drudge was right. Here’s the Boston Globe article:

John F. Kerry spent yesterday in isolation at his wife’s 90-acre suburban farm, working on his convention acceptance speech amid signs that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee may announce his choice of a running mate here as early as next Tuesday. …

”We’re hearing it’s going to be Tuesday,” said [an] adviser [to one of the possible vice presidential choices], who spoke on the condition that neither he nor his boss be identified.

Speculation has focused on three candidates — Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, US Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, and Senator John Edwards of North Carolina — but Kerry has limited all concrete information about his search to a tight circle that includes his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and James A. Johnson, the Washington banker heading his search committee. In recent days, Vilsack has been the focus of a media boomlet, but Kerry aides say other candidates including US Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and former senator Sam Nunn of Georgia remain possible choices. …

Among the potential running mates, Edwards was on vacation with his family, Gephardt was in Washington, and Vilsack was in Des Moines. Other possible candidates include Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, who was in his home state, former Army general Wesley K. Clark of Arkansas, who was in St. Louis for a fund-raiser, and Senator Bob Graham of Florida, who was traveling outside the country.

No mention of Hillary in the Globe story.

I’m still predicting Gephardt and rooting for Edwards.

One day… five thousand, one hundred twenty-seven hits. Not bad. :) More here.