As I wrote after the American election, I was very pleased with the outcome of the Presidential and many of the Congressional races, but I was very disappointed with the passage of anti-gay marriage legislation in California. Well, here comes another mixed message.
Switzerland, which has the world’s most comprehensive legalized heroin program, saw the program become permanent Sunday with overwhelming approval from Swiss voters with 68% of 2.26 million voters approving.
The program, started in 1994, is offered in 23 centers across Switzerland. It has helped eliminate scenes of large groups of drug users shooting up openly in parks that marred Swiss cities in the 1980s and 1990s and is credited with reducing crime and improving the health and daily lives of addicts. The nearly 1,300 selected addicts go to one of the centers twice a day to receive the carefully measured dose of heroin produced by a government-approved laboratory. The addicts then keep their paraphernalia in cups labeled with their names and use the equipment and clean needles to inject under the supervision of a nurse. They also receive counseling from psychiatrists and social workers aimed to help addicts learn how to function in society.
However, as progressive as the Swiss are regarding heroin, the voters also rejected the decriminalization of marijuana. Does this make any sense? It’s like permitting people to drive Indy cars down the Interstate at 150 miles-per-hour, but banning Mini-Coopers. Sure, we’ll have the hard core drug addicts helped, but if one wants a doobie in the privacy of one’s home, it’s still illegal.
I don’t use any illegal drugs, but I do know one thing: the American “War on Drugs” is not working; has never worked; and will never work. All it’s done is incarcerate young black and Hispanic men and women, clogged up the courts, kept the police from more serious crime, and done absolutely nothing to stop people who want to get high do so. All this while two of the most addictive substances on Earth: alcohol and tobacco, go virtually unregulated. If you can drink (as long as you are not harming anyone or operating a motor vehicle), you should be able to smoke.
Who was it that said that insanity was doing something that didn’t work over and over again and never learning?

When I went to the driveway this morning, I found newspapers on steroids. Both the Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune were the size of Sunday papers, but unlike the Sunday editions, the actual papers were very tiny, but the rest were nothing but sales fliers for “Black Friday,” the traditional first shopping day of the Christmas season. (Why does it have to be “Black” Friday anyway? I’m black, and am a little insulted.) In this economy, however, consumer confidence is low, spending is down, the retailers are facing tough times or bankruptcy and liquidation. It is ironic. It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.
For years, my friend Wendi Walker and I have questioned how American corporations could farm out jobs abroad, pay sociopathic managers huge salaries as CEOs and then pay even more millions when they get fired, and still expect people to buy their useless crap? People have to have jobs, hopefully at reasonable salaries, and better yet, benefits, to feel comfortable enough to spend their money. But when American industries give all of their money to the managers at the top of the pyramid, and cut the jobs where people do the actual work – make the actual product – sell the product; it only makes sense that eventually you will have farmed all of the jobs out of the country and the people won’t have money to spend. But all of the famous economists, CEOs, and pundits seem to think that someone else will employ all of these people when they get laid off; that somehow, magically, jobs making the same amount of money will “appear” to the people they corporations lay off.
And on the other side, we pay the foreigners next-to-nothing to do the jobs the corporations don’t want to pay Americans to do, and then they wonder why the people in the other country hate us for paying them $1.00 per week? (Does anyone else see the irony in the terrorist attacks in India yesterday targeting British and Americans? But shouldn’t they be happy, they have many of our jobs in India? This may just be another group of Islamic fundamentalists upset that most of the world refuses to live in the 13th Century, but as the standard of living rises in India, isn’t it just a matter of time before the multinational corporations move their jobs elsewhere, to another part of the world that can be exploited?)
So, with gas falling from $5.00 per gallon in some places to $1.90; the banks lining up for money that, for once, has strings attached; the auto industry a shambles, and the CEOs, CFOs, traders, oil company executives, futures traders (the real scum that drove up gas prices) all looking around going “Oops! Sorry! We didn’t mean to kill the Golden Goose; we just wanted to give it a real brutal fucking without lubrication. We didn’t mean to fuck it to death.”
It’s for them, the retailers who believed that the American consumers’ greed would never end. To an outgoing administration that F’ed up so much that they are hardly seen in public and the leaders at last week’s G-20 economic summit didn’t even shake Bush’s hand. That’s what I’m thinking about on Thanksgiving.
But I AM thankful. For a recovering Indignant Wife; for two wonderful little girls; for a great family who has supported our wing of the family through the Wife’s illness; for a lovely home, great neighborhood, the best neighbors one could ask for. I’m thankful for a job that I enjoy and that gives me the latitude to take time to take care of the girls. Most of all, I’m thankful for the new president, who gives us hope, and appears to be a thoughtful leader who will be serious about the issues, not some ideological agenda that limits liberty, promotes fear, and makes us hated throughout the world. Things may be getting better, my friends, but we still have some hard times to get through. But to the economic leaders, sitting in their mansions, knowing that they got away with murder; to them, I hope they have indigestion from their turkey.

Usually when one thinks of Florida State football players, one thinks of Deion Sanders, a tremendous athlete and exceptional self-promoter, but not a great thinker. In fact, looking at former FSU players, you can see several great NFL players, but you would never think of them as scholars. The list includes Arizona wideout Anquan Boldin; Michael and Peter Boulware; Derrick Brooks; Jets’ wide receiver Laverneus Coles and the list goes on.
Most of the time, me and my “posse” (as The Indignant Wife calls my friends in the section at Northwestern football games) have fun looking down our noses at the players from the other schools, people whose SAT scores couldn’t come close to the intellectual power of the Wildcats. Too often, of course, that was the only advantage we had, since we couldn’t beat them on the scoreboard.
So, it is quite surprising and pleasant to see a true scholar athlete at Florida State, a young man who had to miss part of FSU’s game against Maryland because he was being interviewed for a Rhodes Scholarship. Safety Myron Rolle is a pre-med student and hopes to become a neurosurgeon, and was named one of the 32 men and women from across the United States announced Sunday as winners of the prestigious scholarships for study at England’s Oxford University. This year’s 32 Rhodes Scholars were picked from 769 applicants endorsed by 207 colleges and universities nationwide.
It is great to see a young black man excel in his athletic pursuits and in the classroom, and we all should wish him the best of luck.

Hello Everybody –
As always when I miss a few days, you may ask, where is this guy? On vacation again? Playing with the new baby?
Nope; not this time. The Indignant Wife suffered a ruptured appendix, but wouldn’t you know it, instead of getting peritinitis, it turned into an abyss and calcified. So, no big insurance settlement; no getting a nanny for the kids and playing. Like I told her, I did marry someone like my mother – too ornery to die.
Seriously, TIW has been in the hospital and I’ve been at home taking care of the children. Not much sleep, let me tell you. I have even a greater appreciation for what my wife and all nursing motehrs go through. (Actually, I marvel at the human condition. After three nights of no sleep, I would think that most people would seriously consider eating their young. But we don’t; isn’t that surprising?)
So, TIW is supposed to leave the hospital today, so hopefully everything will be back to semi-normal by the weekend, and I’ll have more to rant about here with you as soon as possible.

With the new James Bond adventure hitting U.S. movie screens today, I felt it a good opportunity to give you my own overview of the best and worst of the Bond films. I have been watching the films since I was five years old – my mother suffered, or more truthfully, her butt suffered through the first three films in a row at the old Empress Theater on the 6200 block of South Halsted in Chicago back when “Goldfinger” first came out. After that, either my mother or grandmother had to drag yours truly to the old Woods Theater in downtown Chicago (it was knocked down years ago; the Goodman theater stands there now) to see the new 007 adventure. For some reason, it was the Woods where the Bond films opened. (It was a cavernous old theater; maybe it was the biggest around?)
Some basic facts first: to me, Sean Connery was the first, and best Bond. He struck the right balance of menace and humor. Of course, he also had the best villains. While George Lazenby was stiff, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” is better than people give it credit for. Roger Moore went too far on the joking side and staying in the role too long. I think Timothy Dalton was a decent Bond but he had a hard time with the humor and the scripts weren’t the best. Pierce Brosnan looked the part and could do the humor and the melancholy of Bond but not as well as Connery. And I hated all of the people who attacked Daniel Craig before they had even seen “Casino Royale.” I always believe in giving the actor/director a chance, and if you see it and it sucks, then you can blast it to your heart’s content. Anyway, here is my breakdown, film by film on a five star scale with five being “Masterpiece;” four stars are very good; three stars means “passable;” two stars are “poor” and one star is “pathetic:”

The Connery Years (Part 1)
Dr. No (1962): Three and one-half stars. A good start; Kind of corny, doesn’t stand up that well; music (other than theme) generic, bland 1960s movie music.
From Russia With Love (1963) The best of series – the most suspense; great villians; the last step before the series REALLY went over the top.
Goldfinger (1964): three and one-half stars. The start of the phenominon; great villains; but Bond spends most of movie as prisoner
Thunderball (1965): Four and one-half stars. Only Bond film to win Oscar; underwater photography/battle excellent; great villain.

Time for Mockery
Casino Royale (1967): One star. David Niven, Woody Allen, and Peter Sellers all are “Bond” in a very unfunny farce. No plot to speak of.

The Connery Years (Part 2)
You Only Live Twice (1967): Three and one-half stars. Standard Connery, but story set in Asia and space. Still good; a personal favorite of mine. Connery quits for first time.

George Lazenby’s Turn
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969): Three and one-half stars. Better than people give it credit for; Lazenby stiff but passable; Broccoli surrounded model with great actors: Telly Savalas, Diana Rigg. Great Stunts, locations, action.

The Connery Years (Part 3)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Two and one-half stars. Lazenby quits; Connery given big money to come back. Nice to see Connery back; doesn’t hold up well over time. Interesting to see first gay couple I can remember in main stream film.

The Moore Years
Live and Let Die (1973): Two and one-half stars. Moore starts by trying to play straight; Bond is a real cad – seduces virgin (Jane Seymour) then leaves her; producers too influenced by blacksploitation craze, but Yaphett Kotto was good. Southern Sheriff one of worst characters ever in series.
The Man with The Golden Gun (1974): Two and one-half stars. Moore starts playing for laughs; Christopher Lee great, but Herve Villichaze and women weak. Southern Sheriff from Live and Let Die an embarrassment.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977): Three stars. Moore in better form; Barbara Bach gives edge; Jaws silly, but it works.
Moonraker (1979): One and one-half star. Worst of main series; Star Wars influence too heavy; “Jaws” returns as humorous foil.
For Your Eyes Only (1981): Three and one-half stars. Best Moore; Series returns to roots; more straight forward story. Nice to see Bond accept aging – turns down very young ice skater’s advances.

Moore vs. Connery (1983)
Octopussy: Two and one-half stars. Standard, passable Moore entry, but came out at nearly same time as Connery return after lawsuit over “Thunderball” ends.
Never Say Never Again: Three and one-half stars. Connery reminds us of why he’s best; sick villain, first appearance by Kim Basinger; movie only marred by worst music in film history.

Moore’s End (1985)
A View to A Kill: Two and one-half stars. Moore is very old and looks it; Christopher Walker plays usual kook; Grace Jones interesting, Tawnya Roberts not. Odd twist to have Patrick Macnee (John Steed from “The Avengers”) playing in a Bond film. Should have played Bond.

Grim and Gritty Mr. Dalton
The Living Daylights (1987): Three and one-half stars. Rating probably higher than should be but I was just happy to see an end to the Moore years. Dalton returns rough edge; AIDS scare limits promiscuity; Miriam D’Abo shrill and clingy.
Licence To Kill (1989): Two an one-half stars. Too long; too grim; not enough humor; hurt by release in summer of “Batman”

Remington Steele gets released
GoldenEye (1995) Three and one-half stars. Brosnan finally gets role; Not bad first try. Sean Bean makes good foil; Famke Jannsen is most memorable female villain in long time.
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997): Two and one-half stars. Michele Yeoh great as tough ally, but there’s no romantic spark with Brosnan; Jonathon Pryce character weak.
The World Is Not Enough (1999): Three stars. Sophie Marceau has psychotic edge; first female villian killed directly by Bond. Robert Carlyle also fine.
Die Another Day (2002): Three stars. Fortieth anniversary film; numerous in-references that Bond maniacs like myself appreciate; unnoticed by everyone else. Halle Berry very good; nice double cross twist.

A New Era
Casino Royale (2006): four and one-half stars. Brosnan fired to go in different direction. Craig solid; reworking of character works.

Of course, I haven’t seen Quantum of Solace, the Indignant Wife and I will get to the theater soon. But I stand by my ratings on the films.

I do like Bill Maher. I watch his HBO show every week; I enjoyed his old show; and I saw “Religulous” at the Toronto Film Festival and laughed out loud. I especially enjoy when Maher brings out the ludicrous, irrational, rantings of Republicans and the overly religious. However, for a couple of seasons now, Maher has taken the same “everyone should be like me” approach that he hates from the religious: eating meat.
Maher has joined in with the loopy people who run PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, in trying to turn all people into vegetarians. The latest idea – that meat processing is a leading cause of global warming. I hate to mimic Republicans, but while I believe that global warming is a serious problem, I don’t know if I believe that eating meat is causing the planet to overheat.
That said, I don’t know enough either way to say that it is true or false, but there are some things that I do know. First, people are, genetically omnivores, which means that we are meant to eat both meat and vegetables. Our teeth have adapted to rent and tear flesh. Nothing that the lunatic leaders of PETA can say otherwise. Our diet calls for a certain amount of protein, which comes, primarily from meat.
The PETA people want to treat animals like humans, so they think that the entire world should be vegetarians like they are. The animals are dying horrible deaths, they say; we should leave all of the animals alone, like the lions and other wild animals running around Manhattan in “I Am Legend.” Of course, this argument fails because if man is no better than animals, then we are no better than plants, and who says that plants don’t feel pain, or have “souls” or any of the things that people supposedly have, and they attribute to animals. So, perhaps, we shouldn’t intake anything except water, but then, what about the bacteria and other single celled organisms that live in the water? Perhaps mankind should just starve at the behest of a group of overzealous animal lovers?
If we need to make the meat processors of the world more “green,” I’m all for it. I’m sure that there are many smart people who will make millions of dollars coming up with processing facilities that are eco-friendly. You want to make the killing more humane, fine. You can treat them with lethal injections (as long as the meat is unharmed), or give them all pillows. Hell, the people from PETA can turn the Waldorf Astoria into the most humane abattoir in history. Bill, you and many people in PETA hate when Bible thumpers try and convince you to do as they say; don’t become like them. LEAVE MY STEAKS, CHICKENS, PORK, AND OTHER MEAT PRODUCTS ALONE!

My feelings on the University of Notre Dame are well known (you only have to look to the top of the site to gain insight), and, in the immortal words of Malcolm X, “the chickens are coming home to roost.” In other words, the Great White Hope, Head Football Coach Charlie Weis, is failing and despite 8 years remaining on his contract, the vultures are circling over South Bend.
Despite having never been a head coach anywhere, Weis, of course, was supposed to be the “savior” of the program: he was an offensive guru coming off coaching the offense for Super Bowl championship winning teams in New England; he was an ND alum; and he was white. Let’s not make any mistakes here: the Irish ran Ty Willingham out of South Bend quickly because they were never comfortable with the African-American head coach, hired only after it was proved that the head coach ND hired to take over the program, lied on his resume.
Willingham was quickly hired away from Stanford, found early success in South Bend, but it wasn’t enough because they weren’t in the national title hunt. Poor years followed, but ND had never fired a coach in his first contract with the school, not even the woefully overmatched Gerry Faust. But Willingham was, leaving for the University of Washington, where Willingham also failed to find success; he will be leaving at the end of this season.
Meanwhile, Weis’ rookie team posted the exact same record as the team did in Willingham’s first season. Fearing that Weis would be hired away from South Bend, the university hastily signed Weis to a 10-year extension. And Weis reportedly recruited good football players, but the team suffered through its first 3-win season in school history last year.
When ND defeated Michigan in its second game, the Domer alums and hangers on were already touting them for BCS consideration, or at least, a New Years Day bowl game. But Michigan is a team in transition (and will be ending a 38 year streak of bowl appearances this season), no one knew Michigan would struggle so. Three losses in their last four games including ugly losses to Pitt in overtime, and last week’s shutout loss to Boston College at home has the boo-birds out and the well-heeled boosters have begun looking for Weis’ head, or at least his job.
As I and many other college football journalists have stated for a long time, the days when a program could dominate, especially with high academic standards, are over. ND will never again be a powerhouse like the 1980s, or 1970s, or especially earlier in the last century. It is their unbearable arrogance that makes most ND alums and fans hated throughout college football. A little humility and more realistic expectations would be a great thing for ND and the rest of college football. But ND showed their true side in the Willingham incident, and maybe it’s the karmic wheel turning against the school in South Bend? If so, it’s certainly about time.