The World Around You

Dave Eggers, one of my favorite writers, has an op-ed in Saturday’s edition of the New York Times on the importance of AmeriCorps and the threats facing the program. He is absolutely right about the importance of this program and the continued funding of this program is essential. Yes, there was mismanagement, but the program works and it would be a shame to see it go away.

Daily Kos highlights an article that seems to spell big trouble for Tony Blair. The post even goes so far as to pinpoint the moment they believe will be remembered as the end of Blair’s career.

I’ve been saying for quite some time that Blair is poised to be defeated because of his faith in GW Bush. He is not on nearly the firm ground and his press has not been nearly has forgiving as the American press. I don’t know if this is truly the sign that the end has come, but the heat is certainly being turned up another notch.

Kevin at Wizbang posts this unsurprising revelation from the AP, “Hustler Publisher Files in Calif. Recall.”

Go Larry Go! (Ain’t politics fun?)

One of my mentors in college was a man named Michael Weinstein. Professor Weinstein was masterful at making students think outside the box, question their personal philosophies, and stand up for what they believed in. He also happens to be quite a gifted musical artist.

His exploits as a 60 year old punk rocker in the band Vortis are highlighted in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer this morning,

Vortis’ latest disc, “God Won’t Bless America,” is a mix of both - music and cheerleading, that is. The title track by the quartet - Weinstein, guitarist G. Haad, bassist Johnny Los and drummer Jim DeRogatis - is not only an uptempo dance-floor come- on, but also a call to arms:

“We’re reaping what we sow/ We’re paying for our crimes/God won’t bless America again/We’re on our own, we’re all alone.”

“God won’t bless a country that is not willing to own up to its wrongs,” says Weinstein. “And we’ve committed many wrongs.”

Most punk anarchists would make the charge and move on to the next slogan. Weinstein presents enough information to make a case before the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

For good reason.

Weinstein isn’t just any punk anarchist. He’s a 60-year-old professor of political philosophy at Purdue University who has written 23 books on politics and aesthetics en route to becoming an esteemed critic of everything from U.S. foreign policy to cyberculture to globalization.

Rock on Professor Weinstein!

The first ESPN/USA Today coaches poll of the college football season is out and the Purdue Boilermakers will begin the season at #22. The Auburn Tigers are at #6 with one first place vote. I’m ready for the season. GO BOILERS!

UPDATE: Steven at Poliblogger is excited about the season too.

This newsflash from Zogreb, Croatia should teach everyone a valuable lesson,

ZAGREB (Reuters) - A drunken Croat flasher got more excitement than he bargained for when he pushed his penis through a woman’s fence and her dog bit it, local newspapers have reported.

According to the story, he will be charged with “insulting the moral feelings of citizens” and “violation of public order”. The lesson is kids, keep it in your pants.

Ruben Studdard is suing the makers of the 205 jerseys he made famous on American Idol. According to this morning’s Birmingham News,

American Idol Ruben Studdard has sued makers of the 205 Flava Inc. jerseys, claiming the company wrongly profited from his image after he wore the clothes on the reality television series.

The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday by Birmingham attorney Byron Perkins and New York attorneys Tom J. Ferber and David S. Levine, seeks an injunction to stop the company’s unauthorized use of Studdard’s image in their advertisements. The suit estimates the company has made at least $2 million in sales after exploiting Studdard’s image and that Studdard is entitled to some of the profits.

The suit also says that the defendants have been unjustly enriched by using Studdard’s image without his permission and that they have unfairly and unlawfully exploited and capitalized on Studdard’s popularity.

The suit claims the company continues to profit from Studdard’s image by displaying photographs of him wearing the jerseys on its website even after his representatives asked the company to remove the images. Studdard wore the jerseys, which are emblazoned with the central Alabama 205 area code, on “American Idol” earlier this year on FOX.

Arnold Schwarzenegger will announce his intentions in the California governor’s recall election on Jay Leno next Wednesday (as posted by Political Wire, via reporting from TV Barn).