AUTHOR: D TITLE: Hulkster in the Hall of Fame DATE: 2/28/2005 09:37:00 PM ----- BODY:

The Hulkster is coming to Wrestlemania! Hulk Hogan, the muscle-bound grappler whose theatrics and fan following helped transformed professional wrestling from 'rasslin to sports entertainment, has been rewarded with a long-awaited spot in the WWE Hall of Fame and is expected to be at Wrestlemania to accept his award. It's about time the greatest wrestler in WWF history was inducted to its Hall of Fame. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: ASB and the DM DATE: 2/28/2005 05:21:00 PM ----- BODY: I wasn't planning on commenting on the ASB elections, but after reading the comments to an ASB Election article on The DM Online, I feel I should. * The DM should strongly consider barring anonymous comments on their feedback boards. While the boards are moderated by the editors to prevent abusive language, many absurd and mean-spirited posts by individuals shielded by anonymity still are still approved. While I advocate the spread of opinions and information, and believe a newspaper's website is a new and exciting way to encourage reader responses and insight, I think the DM has greatly missed the mark here. From reading the comment, it looks as if anyone , using e-mail addresses valid or not valid, can post. This just encourages vitriolic remarks from people with bad intentions. I think the DM should tighten up the rules on posting, and treat the boards almost like they would Letters to the Editor. The Jackson Free Press is a good example of a newspaper with a successful web forum where debate can be spirited but people usually remains courteous. * This is less of a criticism of the DM than it is of people who choose the DM message board to make accusations and personal attacks against people. Cal Wells is a great guy, and Rebecca Bertrand is a great girl, and while people may disagree with my assessment of them, they still shouldn't resort to some of the things that have been said on these message board threads. One reason people are hesitant to throw their names out there and get involved is because of the relentless badgering and blistering criticisms they're likely to receive from people -- people who are almost always faceless and nameless. * This problem may be overstated. It is quite possible that most of the spiteful folks are from a small yet vocal cadre of rabble-rousers. Their gripes are likely not representative of the greater community, but sadly, when people read the responses, these comments are what is imprinted into their memories. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: How Saddam's Regime Taught English DATE: 2/28/2005 03:42:00 PM ----- BODY:

I'll have a bigger picture posted on Flickr later. This drawing was discovered by Army soldiers following the invasion in 2003. This was how Iraqis taught English to their schoolchildren. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: TV's Top 50 Songs DATE: 2/28/2005 03:25:00 PM ----- BODY: Allen came up with a good list of classic TV Themes this weekend (I'd forgotten how incredible the MacGyver theme song was), and readers responded with some of their favorites. After consulting the discographies of several TV Theme Show CDs on Amazon.com to re-familiarize myself with some of the classic shows and songs of my youth, I have compiled a list. It's not a definitive list, and the methodology was not scientific. I left out daytime programming, cartoons, and recent primetime shows (because their theme songs are awful.) I just picked the songs ones I liked, not necessarily the shows I liked. So enjoy. 1. Dukes of Hazzard 2. Cheers 3. The Fall Guy 4. L.A. Law 5. The A-Team 6. Macgyver 7. Hill Street Blues 8. Growing Pains 9. Perfect Strangers 10. M A S H 11. Dallas 12. Charles in Charge 13. The Beverly Hillbillies 14. The Greatest American Hero 15. Batman 16. Gilligan's Island 17. The Brady Bunch 18. Welcome Back Kotter 19. Twin Peaks 20. Beretta 21. Blossom 22. Mission Impossible 23. Magnum P.I. 24. Doogie Howser M.D. 25. Perry Mason 26. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 27. Miami Vice 28. Murder, She Wrote 29. Family Matters 30. Matlock 31. The Jeffersons 32. Knight Rider 33. Friends 34. Moonlighting 35. The Addams Family 36. Leave It To Beaver 37. Knots Landing 38. Green Acres 39. WKRP in Cincinnati 40. My Two Dads 41. St. Elsewhere 42. Quantum Leap 43. Mr. Belvedere 44. Thirtysomething 45. The Golden Girls 46. Step by Step 47. Beverly Hills 90210 48. Andy Griffith Show 49. Just the Ten of Us 50. Bewitched ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Thank You, Allen Thigpen DATE: 2/28/2005 02:13:00 PM ----- BODY: I want to commend Allen Thigpen on the marvelous work he did as SNN's caretaker for past 72 hours. His elegant writing and unique sense of humor helped SNN achieve its highest weekend readership since becoming a blog. The post about Grant Gannon and President Bush had me laughing hysterically, and has to rank as one of the funniest items ever on the site. Every post was top notch. And despite Allen's comedic genius, I have luckily avoided being relegated to Wally Pipp status in the blogosphere. So now I return, with much to live up to. Allen, thank you again. While most backups would perform like Mike Tomczak in place of Jim McMahon or Coy and Vance Duke in place of the Real Duke Boys, you were like Frank Reich filling in for Jim Kelly in that wild-card game against the Oilers back in the early 90s. Journal tryouts are over. The Honor Code prevents me from commenting about it, and that's probably for the best. It's an experience best forgotten. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Back in the Saddle DATE: 2/28/2005 02:06:00 PM ----- BODY: It feels good to be back. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Allen TITLE: Signing Off DATE: 2/28/2005 12:41:00 PM ----- BODY: I'd like to thank Drew for allowing me to babysit his firstborn child over the weekend. I've thoroughly enjoyed hanging out here, providing updates and eating all the food in the SNN refrigerator. I hope I was able to keep those of you who visit the site on the weekends entertained. If anyone begins to feel a bit of separation anxiety, they can find me over at my livejournal. All are welcomed to visit and post their thoughts. Again, thank you Drew for the opportunity to take the wheel for a weekend. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Allen TITLE: Snoop Snubbed By The Academy DATE: 2/28/2005 12:41:00 AM ----- BODY:

It appears our generation's Charlton Heston will have to wait another year. Well respected thespian Calvin Broadus was passed over by the Academy for the best male actor award of 2004. Despite a pair of emotionally powerful performances in Soul Plane and Starsky & Hutch, Broadus could only sit and watch as the Oscar instead went to Jamie Foxx, star of Ray and 1997's epic motion picture Booty Call. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Allen TITLE: Star Trek Takes A Quantum Leap Off The Air DATE: 2/27/2005 02:10:00 PM ----- BODY: UPN recently announced they will be canceling Star Trek: Enterprise, the latest in a long line of lackluster Star Trek adaptations. This will mark the first time in 20 years a Star Trek series has not occupied a spot on any TV lineup. This also means actor Scott Bakula will be out of a job. You know, the guy from Quantum Leap. I remembered always liking the theme song to this late 80s/early 90s NBC show, so I decided to offer up my list of the top 10 TV theme songs of all time. This is off the top of my head, so feel free to add to or reorder this list: 1.) Cheers 2.) Hill Street Blues 3.) MacGyver 4.) Perry Mason 5.) Magnum P.I. 6.) Law & Order 7.) Welcome Back Kotter 8.) Quantum Leap 9.) Perfect Strangers 10.) The A-Team Honorable Mention: Matlock, Mr. Belvedere, Who's The Boss ----- -------- AUTHOR: Allen TITLE: A Prattmatic Leader DATE: 2/27/2005 01:04:00 AM ----- BODY:
Sigma Nu living legend and Ole Miss Law student Ryan Pratt turns 23 today. SNN and your humble guest blogger would like to wish the former Sigma Nu commander and Jackson Prep alumnus a happy birthday. Though he never attended Jackson Academy, I feel sure Headmaster Peter Jernberg would consider him a man of unquestionable "integrity." ----- -------- AUTHOR: Allen TITLE: Clarett Turns To Molasses DATE: 2/26/2005 11:56:00 PM ----- BODY:
Nearly a year after falling short in his legal tug-of-war with the NFL, Maurice Clarett crawled his way to a time of 4.72 seconds in the Combine 40. Analysts everywhere are saying this might not only cost Clarett a chance at the first/second round, but possibly a chance at getting drafted altogether. Personally, I think a team would be crazy not to draft him. Especially if they can get him as a sixth or seventh rounder. He's proven in the past (although it was some two years ago) that he can perform at a level higher than most. Plus, he'd be a steal as a late round pick. I'm not very educated in the ways of NFL salaries, but I'm assuming late rounders aren't entitled to (or even assured of) contracts above a particular dollar amount. Why not take a chance on this guy? If he turns out to be the next Lawrence Phillips, you could always just dump him off on the Raiders. Heck, he played in the Big Ten. I'm sure the Bears would love to have him. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Allen TITLE: SNN Video Game Exclusive DATE: 2/26/2005 12:03:00 PM ----- BODY: Through means I'm not at liberty to discuss, I've obtained early screenshots of what is perhaps this year's most highly anticipated video game release: Madden 2006. It's not due out for another six months, but EAsports has already hammered out a beta version of the game. Here's a sneak peak...
Look at the detail on those defenders' uniforms. I think I can see the fear in the receiver's face as he awaits the punishment that meets all who dare to go over the middle.
I probably don't have to tell you what this is. Mile High Stadium has never looked so pristine on a brisk October afternoon. Believe it or not, those first two were just from the cinematic intro. The game action is where EA spared no expense...
Here's David Carr in the shotgun. He's sending Andre Johnson in motion. They're playing Tampa Bay, whose donning the orange throwback uniforms. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Allen TITLE: Bush To "Grant" Americans A Bonus DATE: 2/25/2005 12:05:00 PM ----- BODY:
In a move considered both daring and far-fetched, George W. Bush has given his opponents on Social Security a little more to think about. The Commander-in-Chief has upped the ante on his reform package, offering all Americans under 60 years of age a week-long trial subscription to Grant Gannon's RebelGrove.com. In addition to privatized Social Security, Americans everywhere will reap the benefits of non-stop recruiting and game-day analysis for Ole Miss Rebel athletics. "We're in a dire situation here," said Bush. "Without reform, 40 years from now Social Security will be bankrupt. And so will Grant Gannon." The plan would give all Americans a week of free access to the internet's premier destination for comprehensive Ole Miss sports coverage. After the seven-day period expires, further access can be obtained by paying a "low monthly rate of only $9.95." The result, as estimated by the Federal Government, would be a revenue windfall in upwards of $50 million for the young Rebel Grove operator. Such possibilities came to light during an intense round of negotiations at Camp David, in which Gannon and the Bush team hammered out the details of the latest proposal. "I felt a real connection with the President," said Gannon. "Both George and myself have stood firm in the face of danger. Never once have I flinched when snapping pictures on the baseline at the Tad Pad." Considered by some to be a poor man's Gene Swindoll, Gannon has kept the Rivals-affiliated establishment afloat and its readers abreast of all breaking news, in and around Oxford, Miss. It was this hard work and dedication to one’s job that first caught the President’s eye. "Mr. Gannon is an embodiment of what all Americans are: hard workers who don't mind a government hand-out...or two." However, Bush's sweetening of the deal has done little to change the minds of his critics. Nevada democrat and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid insisted the time has not come for the President to "play games with our country's future." "Do you think Americans are going to want to pay $9.95 a month to read about Tommie Eddie's B.O.?" questioned Reid. "Besides, I think we all know what the loophole in this legislative fantasy is – Will Bardwell's free Rebel Grove accounts." ----- -------- AUTHOR: Allen TITLE: All Systems Go DATE: 2/25/2005 11:44:00 AM ----- BODY: I've just touched down on the SNN runway, ready to fill the void left by your usual narrator. I'd like to thank Drew for allowing me the opportunity to take the reins of his media empire for one weekend. I'd also like to wish him luck on his UVA Law Journal tryouts. A man who not only knows the Law, but can write it, is destined for success. -Allen- ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: For Now, It's The Thigpen News Network DATE: 2/25/2005 11:36:00 AM ----- BODY: Like a doting father leaving his child with another for the first time, I am reluctantly passing my baby onto someone else for the weekend. But SNN is great hands with Allen Thigpen. I'm sure you will all find yourselves thoroughly entertained by Allen. So I'll return on Monday afternoon, and should have a recap of my hellacious weekend. Later next week, expect a feature on a 2006 ASB Presidential hopeful, a write-up about my upcoming pilgrimage to Mississippi, and yes, the blockbuster announcement. But for now, I must depart. Thigpen, the show is all yours. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: .... And The Facebook Winner Is ....... DATE: 2/25/2005 11:17:00 AM ----- BODY:
Triple T Ranch: The Many Benefits of Mobile Home Living
Group Description: I created this group to share my passion for mobile homes. The Triple T Ranch (Trout Trailer at Taylor) is located just outside metro Taylor, MS. Yes, I live in a ####### trailer, and you should, too. Just because your house has bricks on it doesn't make you hot ####, you arrogant ########. That being said, I invite all who are trailer enthusiasts like myself to join this group. This group is also devoted to all things associated with mobile home living, such as mullets, Nascar, fear of tornadoes/high winds, year-round exterior Christmas lights, PBR, Miller High Life, general trashiness, and domestic violence. Get in where you fit in, ya'll. Atkins
This hilarious tribute to the luxurious living quarters of Ole Miss students Mac and Atkins Trout is without question the best facebook.com group in Oxford. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Random Photo of the Night DATE: 2/25/2005 01:07:00 AM ----- BODY:
Ben Thompson and Cody Harrell, Oxford, MS, 2000
----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Big Surprise ! DATE: 2/24/2005 10:14:00 PM ----- BODY: .... coming next week ..... ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: It's Bertrand DATE: 2/24/2005 09:53:00 PM ----- BODY: Rebecca Bertrand - 1370 Cal Wells - 1063 Bertrand becomes the first female ASB President in a decade. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Digital Rebel - An Ole Miss Mascot for the Future DATE: 2/24/2005 09:11:00 PM ----- BODY:

This is lame, I know.... In 2004, Ole Miss Athletic Director Pete Boone decided Ole Miss needed a stronger, more virile mascot than the white-haired and venerable Colonel Rebel. Now, Mr. Boone has his answer. With its strong, sleek body, its huge memory, and its unparalleled endurance, this sharp-shooting model will without question improve Ole Miss's image -- figuratively and literally. No, this new Rebel is not Rebel Brusier. It's not Rowdy Rebel. It's The Digital Rebel XT, and if it can do for Ole Miss what it's done for Canon, it'll be a very welcome addition to the Ole Miss team. With the assistance of an able photographer like Robert Jordan or even Grant Gannon, this Digital Rebel will capture the spirit of the Ole Miss community like never before, and with its interchangeable zoom lenses, will get up close and personal with all the fans, from the front row to the upper deck. And who knows, maybe the Digital Rebel could blind opposing teams' free throw shooters with its powerful hot shoe flash. Sure, the Digital Rebel does not have the tradition Ole Miss faithful so craves, but fans will have no problem getting their photograph taken with Digital Rebel. At less than $1000, Digital Rebel would be an inexpensive investment for The Athletic Department, and certainly a Rebel to be excited about. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: ASB Election Debacle 2? DATE: 2/24/2005 08:52:00 PM ----- BODY: Word out of Oxford is that no ballots in the ASB President run-off have been counted and the Elections Commission is dealing with serious allegations of voter fraud and voucher fraud. Does this sound familiar? UPDATE #1: The votes are being counted (thanks to JJ in Oxford for this update) UPDATE #2: Looks like Will Bardwell won't have to ride in to save the ASB after all -- at least this year. The vote totals will be announced between 8:15 and 8:30 CST. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Snow Day DATE: 2/24/2005 11:35:00 AM ----- BODY:

Today, Charlottesville is getting its largest batch of snow this winter. No class closing, but my awesome Criminal Invesigation professor Anne Coughlin bought doughnuts for those of us who braved the storm and came to her class. It's nice to have breakfast for a change. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Student Government Showdown on Thursday DATE: 2/23/2005 09:18:00 PM ----- BODY:
Rebecca Bertrand and Cal Wells

Haven't been in much of blogging mood today. Cal Wells and Rebecca Bertrand will square off Thursday for the ASB Presidency in an election observers expect to be extremely close. Who will win? ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Big News: Snyder Passing The SNN Torch DATE: 2/23/2005 11:34:00 AM ----- BODY: .... But only for this weekend


For Immediate Release February 23, 2005 Charlottesville, Va. - Drew Snyder, the mildly disgruntled law student and high-powered blogger for The Snyder News Network, is handing the reins of leadership to another. From this Friday afternoon to Monday morning, Allen Thigpen - a journalism graduate student at Ole Miss, contributing writer for the Commercial Appeal, and Snyder's fraternity brother, high school classmate, and former co-worker at The Madison County Journal, will be guest blogging for The Snyder News Network. "I'm really excited to have Allen on board. He's got a quick wit, a keen understanding of sports and culture, and impeccable integrity," Snyder said. "Back in '97, when my knee had fully recovered and was ready to return the gridiron, I entrusted Allen Thigpen with the clipboard of JA's statistician. He did a remarkable job then, and I know he'll do an excellent job with the blog." Snyder is leaving SNN for the weekend so he could devote his time to U.Va. Law journal tryouts, a rigorous 72-hour exercise that tests students' ability to write, analyze, and bluebook. "I knew there are a few fervent followers that read the site over the weekend, and I wanted them to having something to read. Plus, when I get writer's block and lose motivation after the first half-page of legal analysis, I'll have something to read, too." Thigpen is looking forward to the opportunity to be Snyder's first guest blogger. "I feel like a substitute teacher," Thigpen said. Thigpen has not announced what he'll be writing about, but expect some surprises from this versatile and comical wordsmith and former fantasy football champion. "He'll do an outstanding job," Snyder said. "I just hope people will take me back come Monday." ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Big Announcement DATE: 2/22/2005 11:00:00 PM ----- BODY: Announcement concerning SNN coming tomorrow .. stay tuned .. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: ASB Election Results DATE: 2/22/2005 10:55:00 PM ----- BODY: Thanks to a kind friend from The DM for supplying me with this information. President Cal Wells 982 * Rebecca Bertrand 946 * Dustin Todd 445 Run-Off Election Thursday Judicial Council Chair Kellie Bell 1175 Caroline Dye 1148 Amendment for Electronic Voting Yes 1916 No 151 Amendment to Raise Req. GPA for ASB Officers from 2.0 to 2.75 Yes 1687 No 365 ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: From Farce to Force, A Grass-Roots Campaign Redefines The Campus Election DATE: 2/22/2005 07:13:00 PM ----- BODY:
By Drew Snyder Law Weekly Staff Writer Rough Draft of Story Charlottesville, Va. – A UVA student council president’s campaign that began as a farce has become a political force. Powered by diehard supporters, the internet, word of mouth, and $8.75 in total campaign expenditures, Curran Jhanjee’s student council president campaign has redefined the student council election and is poised to redefine the student council itself. Starting today and continuing though March 2, UVA law students can log onto UVAVote.com and select their preferences for executive offices of the Student Council, the campus’s student governance organization. Students have four choices for president: Two-term student council representative Tom Gibson, Vice-President of Administration Greg Jackson, CLAS Representative Jequeatta Upton, and Curran Jhanjee, a building attendant in Newcomb Hall, the student union. A few months ago, the presidential election scuttlebutt was focused on Gibson, Jackson, and current Council President Noah Sullivan, who was pondering a second term. Curran Jhanjee was not even a footnote. “If you had asked me one month ago why I was running, I’d tell you I’m not,” he said Monday Night at the Student Council debate That debate, a raucous event dominated by an enthusiastic and heavily Pro-Curran crowd that wildly applauded after each of their candidate’s concise answers, illustrated the fervent following his candidacy has generated, and demonstrated just how quickly and emphatically the Curran campaign has rewritten the same old student council storyline. The idea to run started innocently enough late last spring when a small party of UVA students gathered at Coupe’s for dinner and drinks. Marveling that Jhanjee seemed to know everyone in the restaurant, the rest of the group joked with him that he should run for President of Student Council. But Curran Jhanjee was not a likely candidate. Many candidates began laying the groundwork for Student Council President the moment they set foot on Grounds, but Jhanjee had no political ambition. He had no council experience. Besides being awarded Newcomb Hall Employee of the Month, he didn’t have any prestigious honors to his name. And, like most students, he wasn’t aware of what the council did. The closest he had come to the student council office was when he worked across the hall in Newcomb. But Curran played along as his friends dreamed up an unlikely future in student government for the affable, but apolitical student. So Greg Scanlon, a Cavalier Daily political cartoonist and himself a maverick student council presidential candidate in 2004, set up a group on TheFacebook.com called ‘Run Curran Run’, dedicated to encouraging students to draft Curran Jhanjee for student council president. “I started the Facebook group to see how it’d go over with the rest of the school,” said Scanlon, who is now serving as his campaign manager. “Sure enough, word spread, and the group grew rapidly. People Curran didn’t even know started questioning him at parties and out at bars.” As momentum built, Scanlon and several other students set up a group blog, runcurranrun.blogspot.com, informing students on news about the council elections and providing accounts of their interactions with the potential candidate. With the election deadline nearing and the numbers of supporters ballooning, a few of Jhanjee’s most zealous followers put together Curranpalooza, a party on 14th street that would benefit the Shelter for Help in Emergency and to would be a last-ditch attempt to implore Curran to run. The event succeeded on both fronts, raising hundred dollars for The Shelter and convincing Curran Jhanjee to seek the presidency. The Curran Campaign had a lot of ground to cover in the weeks leading up to the election, but word has continued to spread. The Run Curran Run blog is drawing over 2,000 a hits a day and disenchantment with the Student Council, a body many students perceive as aloof and self-serving, is working in his favor. “Back in the 70's, they used to mix things up, but nowadays they mostly just placate the administration and dish out money to CIOs. If you could get someone in office that would fire people up – like {former council president and current professor} Larry Sabato did back then - I think it'd be pretty contagious,” Scanlon said. Chris Wilson, a former editor of The Cavalier Daily who joined Run Curran Run after his tenure at the paper ended last month, thinks Curran’s candidacy is about returning to grassroots activism in the Student Council. “Curran is the man who can attract the widest possible spectrum of students and breathe some life back into the student voice here at U.Va." But life after the election for Team Curran is not guaranteed. Gibson is expected pick up a substantial vote of Greeks, and Upton has landed a series of crucial endorsement from groups such as the The Black Student Alliance, The Inter-Fraternity Council, and the Queer Student Union. And history usually shows that the captivating outsider crashes in the end. But with a easy-going personality and a simple message, Curran Jhanjee has avoided the pitfalls of prominence thus far. Notoriety has not changed him. He follows the same daily routine and still wears his gray UVA sweater and his famous Pabst Blue Ribbon cap, the Curran equivalent of a power tie. In Wednesday’s Cavalier Daily, Curran talked about why he was running. “I believe that life is about the experience and that that experience should be fun. Student Council should be fun. Let's have fun.” Win or lose, Curran Jhanjee, UVA’s Everyman, is restoring fun to the Student Council. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: No.2 - JA Legends Fan Club DATE: 2/22/2005 05:18:00 PM ----- BODY:

Group Description: Do you ever look back on your days at JA and have certain people just seem to stick out due to their uniqueness? Ex. Taylor Thornhill, George Mayronne, Carr Stringer, C.R. Little, Michael Timmer, John Michael Saucier...Well this is the group for you if you have a deep appreciation for these so called "legends" of JA. This group is dedicated to their memory.

Bud Light presents... Today we salute you Chase Vanvelkinburgh....In your Adidas Sambas and your skinny frame, you know that achieving legendary status was more than an attitude, it's a lifestyle. Those days you spent in After school care and running club, others would try, but you dared to bear your last name, and make a legend in all of our minds, so crack open an ice cold bud light chase, for under that permeant seven year old look and long last name lies a true legend. Bud Light Presents... Real JA Legends.. Today we salute you Cole Trowbridge, in your firmly pressed Wrangler jeans and belt buckle, you achieved legendary status not simply by attitude, but by your cowboy like swagger, and your tardy excuse of "feeding the horses" one day. you dared to let us see the cowboy in you, as did your brother, so crack open an ice cold bud light cole, for we know under that tough, cowboy image lay an oridinary private school elementary student.
----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: No.3 - Chase Kinslow is My Hero DATE: 2/22/2005 05:06:00 PM ----- BODY:
A Facebook group dedicated to Ole Miss senior, KA, and Arkansas native Chase Kinslow. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: ASB Elections DATE: 2/22/2005 04:29:00 PM ----- BODY: The ASB Presidential Election at Ole Miss is today. Did any of y'all vote? ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: No.4: Fratdaddys and Sorostitutes DATE: 2/22/2005 11:58:00 AM ----- BODY:

A very obnoxious, elitist, and humorous facebook group. Group Description: This is for every Greek at Ole Miss who sports the Horse or Gator(if you don't understand this then don't even think about joining) at anytime of the day, croakies(this includes sunglasses around the neck at night), cocktails, red polo pants, bowties, anything North Face or Fratagonia, loafers, sandals year round, Z-71 tahoes, BMWs, being a partypic whore, forgetting test dates, skipping class every friday or actually scheduling your classes so you dont have to go on friday, runnin high tabs at the Levee/Library on Daddy's plastic and forgetting to close out your tab, croquet, intramural sports, and anything else that would make others only dream of being as cool as us. Check fratdaddy.com or fratty.net if you are not sure of your fratasticity or sorostituity. ATTENTION: GDI DISCLAIMER. If any of the following apply, this may not be the site for you. 1. You have bleached hair. 2. You have spiked bleached hair. 3. You are a GDI. 4. You are a GDI with spiked bleached hair. If none of these apply to you, then come in, look around, and frat hard. If you are a GDI, we encourage you to come in look around, and take something away from this experience. However, we do not give a rip about your criticism because if you were cool you would have pledged a frat in the first place. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: 2,200 Page Visits? DATE: 2/22/2005 09:48:00 AM ----- BODY: I looked at my Site Meter just a second ago ... it said I had 1,500 unique visitors and 2,200 page visitors yesterday. This is three times more visits than I've ever had before. This is probably a sitemeter mistake, but some big website could have linked me. Does anyone have an idea? ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Best Facebook Groups: No. 5 | STEVEN GODFREY IS THE MAN DATE: 2/22/2005 09:32:00 AM ----- BODY:

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Group description: This is a group for all those people who only went to class to pick up a DM on the way, and then only read it because of Steven's columns. Or,anyone who is going to miss reading his columns every day while eating their chicken buscuit in the union, or instead of listening to their biology professor talk about mitosis. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Gordon on Government DATE: 2/21/2005 07:12:14 PM ----- BODY: ASB President Gordon Fellows may not update his blog very often. But we have to cut the President some slack, because he is preoccupied making some really substantive contributions to Ole Miss as its top student leader. As a president's year in office comes to a close, many start to coast until April. But Gordon and his administration seem to have picked up more steam, with the implementation of the new Rebel Ride and discussion with the Mississippi Student Body President's council about streamlining operations on the 8 campuses. In a forthright, thoughtful column in Monday's DM, Gordon discusses the perception people have of student government and what students should do if they have gripes about the direction of the organization. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: The Twenty Best Ole Miss Facebook Groups: 6-10 DATE: 2/21/2005 06:35:00 PM ----- BODY: 6. Future Trophy Wives Group description:She's educated, classy, beautiful and dedicates her days to bettering her community through charity work and philanthropy, she has impeccable manners and etiquette, and uses her status to better those around her and manages to look amazing while doing so. Its Not Easy Being So Fabulous :)!!!! 7. Sigma Nu Alumni Louis Hengen. Andrew Buckley. Ken Ford. The Trouts. Pete Deweese. Ryan Revere. Brent Fletcher. Steven Kilgore. Paul Gould. Peyton Everett. Brennan Cain. And many, many more. The online gathering place for true legends. (Note: There are more Sigma Nu Legends. Many more. They just aren't on TheFacebook.com) 8. MBA Sux A group for jaded MBA students. 9. I Love Napoleon Dynamite Come-backs Paying homage to classic lines from Napoleon Dynamite, such as "your mom goes to college," "follow your heart. that's what i was always" "how much you wanna bet i can this football over them mountains" 10. It’s OK To Think Eli Manning is Cool …. Seriously Group description: Have you ever been star struck because you saw Eli one night at The Library? Do you get annoyed when people in your dorm talk about how much Eli sucks, just because they're jealous of his talent or money or ability to seduce women? Does your heart ache every time an inconsiderate Eagles linebacker sacks poor Eli? If so, join this group and we shall spread his popularity like wildfire. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Another Workplace Violence Incident in Mississippi DATE: 2/21/2005 02:55:19 PM ----- BODY: Less than two years after the tragic shooting at Lockheed-Martin, workplace violence has happened again. Early Monday morning, a 20-year employee shot and wounded two co-workers at Northrup Grumman in Pascagoula. What triggered this rampage by 41-year-old Alexander Lett is unknown at this time. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Chisholm Heads to Iraq DATE: 2/21/2005 01:16:06 PM ----- BODY: Clinton native Brad Chisholm, a member of the CHS Class of 2001, Buckster's enforcer, and US Marine left for Iraq Sunday morning according to Tangy's blog. We're pulling for Chisholm, and we're proud of him. I talked to him through email about a week ago and he seemed ready for what was ahead. We'll miss him while he's away, but his seat at Thursday Night Cozumel will be waiting for him upon his return. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: The Twenty Best Facebook Groups: 11-20 DATE: 2/21/2005 11:16:00 AM ----- BODY: 11. People Who Poke Allen Crain Allen Crain, a senior from Holly Springs and quite possibly the biggest facebook fan there is, is the subject of this group, created by close friend Gordon Fellows. It doesn’t have many members, but it’s still funny. 12. I Went to Public School, *****

There are fights in the cafeteria, half your class went to community college, and textbooks were printed before you were born. If you feel like you're the only student at Ole Miss who didn't go to Prep, JA, Christian Brothers, MUS, etc, then welcome aboard. Group Description
This group is the most popular at Ole Miss, with over 1200 members. 13. I Went to Private School, ***** JA, Prep, and the kids from the Memphis schools dominate this list of nearly 800 or so students. 14. Ann Coulter is An A$$ Steven Kilgore was a member of this group, which bashes the tendentious and sassy conservative pundit.
This group is for anyone who thinks Ann Coulter is an idiot/liar/hypocrite/nutjob/nazi/possible man. This group is dedicated to discussing why Ann Coulter sucks so much and if anyone ever needed a good slap upside the head with a cinder block, its her!From Group Description
15. I’m Voting for Cal Chris Wilson, the Joe Trippi of ASB politics, is making Cal Wells into a conservative and sane version of Howard Dean. This unofficial Cal Wells for ASB President facebook group has attracted over 400 students, a very impressive feat. Tomorrow, they’ll see if this clicks and mortar campaign strategy translates into electoral victory. 16. Ole Miss Girls are the Hottest in the World, But They’re All *itches
“This organization is dedicated to all the women at Ole Miss. Athough they are all attractive, they all are also completely stuck on themselves.” The Group Description
While the creator of this group should be scolded for his silly generalizations, you have to slightly admire him for not fearing the wrath of several thousand girls who have been lumped together under a highly derogatory term. 17. I’m Too Old For This Certainly, a group I’d be a part of it if I was at Ole Miss. For grad students, twixters, and people who should have probably stopped engaging in this type of revelry four years ago. 18. Croft Institutite Rips Me A New One … Over … And Over …… And Over Dedicated to struggling Croft students.
That Crazy Japanese Man and his obession with Microsoft Excel. The mind-numbing lectures about confucian thought and its affects on German naval strength in the jazz age. Study Abroad. Senior Thesis. Dr. Metcalf. Sweden. This a support group for all who know the pain that is the Croft Institute. As Scotty says, we're all a family in the Croft Institute. From the Group Description
19. Saved by the Bell Including Gordon Fellows in its membership, the Saved by the Bell facebook group pays homage to Mr. Belding, Kasey Kasem, Max, the homeless guy in the mall, Jeff the Jerk, Johnny Dakota, Stacey Corossi, Jessie Spano, Tori, Rod Belding, and all the other legendary characters that comprised this Saturday morning institution. 20. DG Fried Friday This group is for all you who indulge in Delta Gamma Fried Friday for lunch. It's not so much about the food, as it is about fun. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Best of The Ole Miss Facebook -- Introduction DATE: 2/21/2005 10:50:00 AM ----- BODY: “Like many addictions, it begins innocently enough. A tentative experiment here, a repeat visit there. Before too long, only the strong survive.” The New York Times’s Peter Abblebome writes. The addiction Abblebome is talking about is TheFacebook.com, possibly the biggest phenomenon to hit Ole Miss in decades. More popular than Lacoste is today, Bring Back Colonel Reb stickers were one years ago, and wallabies were 4 years ago. Some in-state rivals and other detractors might say thefacebook.com is the only thing that may define UM students more these days than its student body's inflated sense of self-worth of privilege. So what on earth in TheFacebook.com for those of you out of the know? The website bills itself as online directory geared toward connecting people in varying social networks at colleges and universities. What started 13 months ago as a website with five Harvard students is now the most popular way to either network or waste time for a million college students at around 300 colleges, from Yale to the University of the Pacific, from McGill to the University of Mississippi.
Students sign up from their campus e-mail address (only school networks are accepted) and are able to visit the listing of everyone who signs up at their school, with thumbnail links (just name and picture) to students at all the other colleges. List members can peruse one another's pictures, sexy and glamorous, ironic and cool or goofy or obscene, and most important, play status roulette, checking out who has the most and coolest friends. In a bit of online Darwinism, students can ask anyone they know, sort of know or would like to know to be on their official friends list with no guarantee they'll say yes.
When I arrived at UVA in August, TheFacebook.com was already going strong. I accepted an invitation to join in September from a law student who used TheFacebook.com during his senior year at UNC-Chapel Hill. After perusing TheFacebook.com for a while, I decided this would be a great procrastination tool. And where else could I gawk at college sophomores without being labeled a creep? But much to my chagrin, TheFacebook had not been added at The University of Mississippi. And when I conducted a search for alumni from my high school on TheFacebook.com, I found I was the only one. I hoped it would eventually catch on at Ole Miss and elsewhere. And did it ever. TheFacebook.com arrived at Ole Miss in October or November, receiving a lukewarm reception at the start. Tech-savvy pioneers like Lenwood Brooks, Palmer Houchins, and Sam Wells signed up, and soon, when the masses realizes TheFacebook.com was a socially acceptable activity, throngs of UM students had joined TheFacebook. Instead of reading the great books or joining a campus organization, students could sit in their dorm room or apartment and check the latest beautiful Chi O to add her picture to TheFacebook. The bandwagon began to roll. Freshmen and sohpomore, more curious to make new acquaintances and possibly more dependent on technology since their early years, almost all joined. Juniors jumped in, and a few seniors besides Lenwood signed up. ASB President Gordon Fellows hopped on the bandwagon and soon had 300 friends. In late November, the DM’s Martin Bartlett wrote a story about TheFacebook craze, discussing all the followers the it had won. But Margaret Bardwell, sister of Will, was not one of them.. “If you want to know who sits next to you in biology, why don’t you just ask them?” she said in the paper. “Maybe they should put down their computer and their video games for a little bit and go outside.” But Margaret forgot that it’s cold outside in the winter, even in Mississippi, and she too could not resist The Facebook’s force, joining in January. By 2005, more of my fellow hasbeen graduate students had entered the fray. Steven Kilgore, Russ McNees, Andrew Buckley, and Cassie Norton were in. Even alums – Paul Gould and Louis Hengen – had joined using their alumni accounts. Brent Fletcher, a non-conformist who valiantly resisted the herd mentality, relented, signing off the Ole Miss spirit board long enough to join in the fun. I’d say thousands of students from Ole Miss are on TheFacebook now, and popularity is not faltering. In a few months, the novelty will wear thin, and people will discover other tools of procrastionation. But for now, TheFacebook.com is the best show in Oxford Town. To honor TheFacebook.com, I’ve compiled a list of the 20 Best Facebook Groups from The University of Mississippi. There wasn’t a scientific criteria used to select this list. I just picked what I thought was funny and clever. I’ll start with 11-20 and work my way from No.10 to No.1 throughout the day. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Author Hunter S. Thompson commits suicide DATE: 2/21/2005 08:16:36 AM ----- BODY: Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, who wrote the cult classic "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," fatally shot himself in the head Sunday at his home near Aspen, Colorado.
Thompson, 67, was associated with the "New Journalism" movement of the 1960s, in which writers took a more novelistic and personal approach to their subjects. His account of a drug-fueled trip to cover a district attorneys' anti-drug conference as a writer for Rolling Stone magazine was the seed of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," perhaps his best-known work.
I always felt Thompson was one of the most overrated journalists in America. But he drew a fan following because of force of personality from his rebel image. Thompson seemed to attract a younger crowd of aspiring writers who enjoyed his tales of drugs, destruction, and liberalism. He was a lot more hip than say, George Will, and a crowd of people gravitated toward that. Our condolences go out to Thompson's family. It's shocking that he would end his own life, but to his credit, he was a performer up to the very end. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Paris's Hilton Address Book Hacked DATE: 2/20/2005 04:29:00 PM ----- BODY: While I will say think computer hackers should be the first people cast into hell on Judgment Day, this creative computer has decided to inconvience Paris Hilton instead of the rest of us. Some hacker broke into Paris Hilton's sidekick, and has broadcast the e-mail addresses and phone numbers of Paris's friends, including such notable celebrities as Andy Roddick, OJ Lawyer Robert Shapiro, Eminem, Anna Kournikova, Usher, Nicky Hilton, Ashley Olsen, and Lindsey Lohan. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Mississippi, Tort Reform, and Book TV DATE: 2/20/2005 01:33:00 PM ----- BODY: Frank was flipping through the channels this afternoon and stopped on C-Span's Book TV. Todd Bucholz, economist and author of "Bringing the Jobs Home", was discussing tort reform. Bucholz researched the impact of jackpot justice on state economies and his research revealed that states that tilted toward plaintiff's lawyers and and awarded large verdicts tended to grow 1/3 slower than other states. He used Mississippi as a example. Calling Mississippi a great state that has done as amazing job of producing some of America's best writers and entertainers, he said the state has been stymied by huge plaintiff's awards and this Jackpot Justice mentality. He talked about Governor Haley Barbour's effort to implement tort reform, and seems hopeful Barbour's reforms will produce positive economic results for Mississippi. I hope he's right. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: NASCAR Feuds DATE: 2/19/2005 09:24:00 PM ----- BODY:
With the Daytona 500 on Sunday, and after Thursday's on-track skirmish and off-track squabble between "young guns" Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, I've decided to talk a little more NASCAR. CNN/SI has come up withTop 10 Feuds in NASCAR History. Some great lines that have come out of these classic feuds. "They finally figured out how to put the hood behind the wheel" -- Darrell Waltrip, referring to Dale Earnhardt in the 1980s "Jimmy Spencer is a decrepit ole has-been" -- Defending Nextel Cup ChampionKurt Busch "I used to think fighting was just part of the post-race show" -- Bobby Isaac "He went to beating on my fist with his nose. That's my story and I'm sticking to it." -- Bobby Allison, on his infamous 1979 brawl with Cale Yarbrough ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Greg Little Turns 27 DATE: 2/19/2005 09:13:56 PM ----- BODY:

littletark, originally uploaded by drewsnyder.

"You don't look that old," an employee at the Bossier City Battle Wings headquarters told Greg Little when he came in this morning.

Greg, always gracious, did not fire her. (But she should not expect a hefty bonus should the Battlewings win the AFL2 championship).

Today, Battlewings GM and fellow blogger Greg Little turned 27. It is unknown how Northern Louisiana's Theo Esptein will celebrate the grand day, but since Sharpie's has experienced a resurgence in popularity in the area, I wouldn't surprise to see them there. {If you meet a girl and see claims to be in college at Louisiana Tech. Remember, it's a trap}

So I've once again cooked up a wish list for any of y'all out there that are in the giving mood for Greg. (And though I've done this twice in two days, don't expect me to make a habit of sending birthday shout outs unless you send cash in the mail, have given countless shout-outs about SNN on your blog, or are as wicked hot as the Swalm)

Greg's Birthday Wish List:
- Billy Joe Tolliver or Josh Booty on the Battlewings roster
- A date with Diane Swalm
- An autographed commerorative Michael Watson Charity Bowl football jersey
- 2 All You Can Drink Gift Certificates to Wet Willie's (he needs one for his friend)
- Papa Shango's sorceror's staff
- An 8 by 10 photograph of LittleBlog Valentine Leighton Batte and me, taken at 1999 JA Prom
- His Youth

What Not To Get Him
- An All-Expenses Paid 7 Day Vacation to Ruston, Louisiana
- The Body Oil Sid Vicious used to rub on himself before coming to wrestling matches
- Enron Stock.
- Louisiana-Lafayette Official Wifebeater
- Tickets to a Dallas Stars hockey match
- The AARP Bulletin

----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: 5 Questions with Charlie Ross DATE: 2/19/2005 11:39:00 AM ----- BODY:

Eupora native Charlie Ross, currently a GOP State Senator for Rankin and Madison counties and attorney for Wise Carter who is heavily rumored to be running for Lt. Governor in 2007, is currently featured on 5 Questions, The Magnolia Report's interview section. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: At Ole Miss, a Quiet Election Season DATE: 2/18/2005 03:15:00 PM ----- BODY: The University of Mississippi's Associated Student Body, the campus's student government, is holding its spring elections next Tuesday at various poll locations around the university. Anyone new to Ole Miss, don't worry; election day is easily identifiable. Look for the packs of fresh-faced, smiling sorority girls and insouciant fraternity boys, stationed at various heavily-traveled parts of the campus, standing and holding 8.5" by 11" campign posters and either yelling at passerbys to support their candidate or chatting amiably among themselves. The Daily Mississippian provided a brief round-up during the upcoming campus election, only their second about the election during this campaign season. Over the past 18 months, the campus newspaper has provided increasingly less coverage to student government. Whether this scant coverage is the result of apathetic journalists, apathetic student leaders, or a combination of both is a question I cannot possibly answer, but one that needs a resolution. I only realized this after I began reading UVA's student newspaper, The Cavalier Daily. UVA's student newspaper provides extensive coverage of the Student Council, UVA's student governing group, and has even set up a website in conjunction with the Student Council to record the votes and attendance of members of the group's legislative body. While most students and the student media realize that their campus's student government organization isn't an omnipotent policy-making body, the organization should still receive more than token coverage. People will always complain about the ineffectiveness of student government. That's just the nature of college students, and the nature of Americans toward any form of government, for that matter. But a student government organization certainly won't improve its efficacy if it receives neither positive nor negative attention from The Fourth Estate. The media, especially a daily student newspaper on a mid-sized college campus, has sizable audience and a large soapbox. That soapbox should be used to inform that audience, and at times, to advocate. A newspaper should not cut back on coverage if it is dissatisfied by the accomplishments of an important group. It should take that group to task. Likewise, if the newspaper is content with an organization, it should praise that group for its positive contribution. The student population deserves to know one way or another; they have very few ways to find out otherwise. I won't argue with those of you who will invariably say that they should give no coverage to student government because the organization is a waste of money and manpower. Look, in the grand scheme of life, student government is insignificant. But a college campus is a microcosm for the world, and a student newspaper should cover its students and their institutions as if what transpires there has sway over the fate of humanity. Now that's out of the way, I may return later this weekend with an update on some of the Ole Miss legends that are throwing their face(book) into the thick of the election by endorsing candidates or by joining a candidate's thefacebook.com election group. Will Bardwell 2006. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Byram Cup, NASCAR Fantasy Racing DATE: 2/18/2005 02:45:00 PM ----- BODY:

NASCAR rolls back into the sports world this sunday, with The Great American Race, The Daytona 500. And while Sal Passalaqua may not like the Confederate Flag, he appreciates the sport of the Confederate flag waving crowd. I read on his blog that there is NASCAR Fantasy League, called The Byram Cup. I did not know NASCAR had join the sports you could have a fantasy league for, but it seems to make sense and would be easier to play than sports played more than once a week, like the NBA and Major League Baseball, as well as easier to play than sports played more than once every two years (NHL). Anyone, best of luck to Sal, Ginn, and the other in the Byram Cup, and my apologies to the team that got stuck with Ken Schrader and Morgan Shepherd. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Passalaqua: Get That State Flag Out of My Face DATE: 2/18/2005 02:18:00 PM ----- BODY:

Sal Passalaqua, South Jackson native and former Ole Miss student, is lambasting Mississippi's state flag over at his new blog, The Pendulum. As all of you know, Mississippians went to the polls in April 2001 in a statewide flag referendum. Many people complained that the confederate battle flag in the upper left hand corner was a simple of hate, slavery, and oppression. But most voters disagreed, or if they didn't disagree, still preferred the current design. The old design won by a 2 to 1 margin, carrying 80%-90% of the vote in some of the state's rural counties in Northeast and South Mississippi. The issue has died down over the last four years, but Sal has not forgotten. Here's what he had to say about The Confederate Flag in the upper left hand corner:

The Confedarate flag is obviously a symbol of hate and oppression. In the documentary this flag was flown at Klan rallies, tattooed on members of the Nazi Party, and hung in the basements and headquaters of these hate groups.
I wanted to thank Hardy Case, whose post about Sal's post brought this to my attention. Hardy says the flag is a racist symbol. How does the confederate emblem in Mississippi's state flag help Mississippi? It's been four years since this divisive election, and the question remains. But the question is not 'if Mississippi will change the state flag' but when. Love it or loathe it, Mississippi's flag is on death row. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: To Bardwell, On His Birthday DATE: 2/18/2005 01:39:00 PM ----- BODY:

Will Bardwell, Meridian's star sports reporter (I apologize in advance for the lame pun), has hit the 24 year mark today. We at SNN want to wish this Brandon native, former most powerful man on campus, and Mississippi blogging pioneer a happy birthday. These are a few ideas I came up with that would make much appreciated birthday gifts for my good friend: Rocky Balboa's gold and black from the 3rd movie An Eli Manning New York Giants Jersey (a Kurt Warner Jersey won't suffice) Crazy Hardy's Sausage Bread Wrestlemania: The Box Set Iron Chef Season 1 DVD An Accordion to Go With His Kilt Dick Molpus for Governor '95 Campaign Collectibles Open Records from the Lafayette County District Attorney's Office Democratic National Committee Trading Cards Orioles Baseball: The Music, Vol.2 Autographed 8 by 10 photo of Ace Atkins A Lifetime Supply of Quizno's Subs A Pabst Blue Ribbon Baseball Cap A Co-Host Position on The Ben Ferguson Show A Decent Fantasy Football Team Here are things NOT to get him: A Life-Size Cutout of former WWE Intercontinental Champion Irwin R. Schyster Zell Miller's A National Party No More Pictures of Donald Rumsfeld sunbathing in the French Riviera A Gordon Fellows Comedy CD Judge Dredd Collector's Edition DVD A Haircut from Rick Stansbury's Barber A Haircut from Ari Fleischer's Barber Jim Cornette's Tennis Racket A 12-Month Subscription to The National Review A Lock of Hair from Tommy Gunn's Mullet in Rocky V A RebelGrove.com Subscription (he has 7 already) The Best of The Daily Mississippian, 1999-Present The Jason Giambi Guide to Physical Fitness ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Harvey Johnson is the best Mayor in Jackson history DATE: 2/17/2005 03:04:11 AM ----- BODY: I don't say this, but a thread on The Jackson Free Press's website does. I'm out of the loop on Jackson municipal politics, and won't have a vote in this upcoming election. But with former WLBT news executive and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Chief Frank Melton challenging, "The Best Mayor in Jackson History" as some claim, may have a legitimate challenge. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: For Philadelphia, Freedom Comes With No Wires Attached DATE: 2/17/2005 02:42:52 AM ----- BODY: Philadelphia hopes to add internet access to its entire city.
If Mayor John F. Street has his way, by next year this 135-square-mile metropolis will become one gigantic wireless hot spot, offering every neighborhood high-speed access to the Web at below-market prices in what would be the largest experiment in municipal Internet service in the country.
This is the most ambitious project in Philadelphia since Buddy Ryan tried to implement the 46 zone defense. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: TSN's 2005 NFL Mock Draft: Rodgers's Neighborhood DATE: 2/16/2005 09:58:00 PM ----- BODY:
2005 Mock Draft (The Sporting News) 1. 49ers Aaron Rodgers, QB, California 2. Dolphins Cedric Benson, RB, Texas 3. Browns Derrick Johnson, LB, Texas 4. Bears Braylon Edwards, WR, Michigan 5. Buccaneers Alex Barron, OT, Florida State 6. Titans Erasmus James, DE, Wisconsin 7. Raiders Ronnie Brown, RB, Auburn 8. Cardinals Alex Smith, QB, Utah 9. Redskins Heath Miller, TE, Virginia 10. Lions Kevin Burnett, LB, Tennessee 11. Cowboys Antrel Rolle, CB, Miami 12. Chargers * Carlos Rogers, CB, Auburn 13. Texans David Pollack, DE, Georgia 14. Panthers Elton Brown, G, Virginia 15. Chiefs Adam Jones, CB, West Virginia 16. Saints Travis Johnson, DT, Florida State 17. Bengals Thomas Davis, S, Georgia 18. Vikings Charming Crowder, LB, Florida 19. Rams Marlin Jackson, CB, Michigan 20. Cowboys ** Jammal Brown, OT, Oklahoma 21. Jaguars Mike Williams, WR, Southern California 22. Ravens Troy Williamson, WR, South Carolina 23. Seahawks Dan Cody, DE, Oklahoma 24. Packers Shawne Merriman, DE/OLB, Maryland 25. Broncos Carnell Williams, RB, Auburn 26. Jets Brodney Pool, S, Oklahoma 27. Falcons Marcus Johnson, OT, Mississippi 28. Chargers Adam Terry, OT, Syracuse 29. Colts Shaun Cody, DE, Southern California 30. Steelers Brandon Browner, CB, Oregon State 31. Eagles Anttaj Hawthorne, DT, Wisconsin 32. Patriots Justin Miller, CB, Clemson
Observations: Marcus Johnson in the 1st round? I knew he was talented. Didn't realized he was 1st round talented. Kudos to Coffeeville. On the other hand, The Chicago Bears continue their decades long obsession with drafting Michigan players. Edwards would be better than David Terrell, but won't be a gamebreaker. Will they ever learn? Rodgers would be one of the weakest first round picks in recent memory. But this entire draft is thin. I'm shocked by how late Mike Williams and Cadillac Williams are predicted to go. Williams will be a gamer. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: NHL Grounded for Season DATE: 2/16/2005 02:59:00 PM ----- BODY:
Will Bardwell sums it up perfectly on his blog:
In a victory around which all Americans can rally, the National Hockey League canceled the 2004-05 season today when it could not reach a mutually beneficial labor agreement with its players union. That means there will be no hockey highlights on ESPN to interfere with college basketball, the NBA playoffs, Major League Baseball, and anything else that pops up through the end of June.
----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: New Square? DATE: 2/16/2005 11:33:00 AM ----- BODY: Board of Alderman concerns have delayed The New Square Project. What's up with this New Square project? What is it supposed to look like? Is there a website with pictures? ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Bashful Brother: Dan McGwire DATE: 2/16/2005 07:51:00 AM ----- BODY:

Clark asks an interesting question about Mark McGwire's mysterious brother ... yes, Mark McGwire had a brother who was an NFL quarterback. And even if Big Mac and Jose Canseco weren't shooting steroids together, they do share one thing in common: they had brothers that foundered at the professional level. Mark McGwire's brother was Dan, a 6'7" quarterback who led San Diego State to respectability in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His height and arm strength convinced the Seattle Seahawks's owner that McGwire was the man to replaced the long-time QB Dave Krieg, and when the Seattle Seahawks were on the board, they wasted little time in making McGwire their 1st round pick, No. 16 overall. But Dan was a disaster at the NFL level. He started four games, throwing 2 touchdowns and six interceptions. His dreadful NFL career soiled the reputation of beanstalks and visor-wearing passers in the eyes of NFL executives for eternity. You wonder if the Seahawks would have been a little happier with the other top quarterback on the draft board that year, a gunslinging quarterback from the Mississippi Gulf Coast named Brett Favre, taken at No.33 by Atlanta. Woops. Seahawks gave up on McGwire just two years after selecting him when they drafted Rick Mirer No.2 overall. That's another sad story for another time. McGwire was eventually by Seattle and wound up briefly in Miami. He faded into oblivion, but returned in 1998 as the only one of Mark's brother that showed up for his record-breaking game. "My other brothers were working at the time, and they couldn't get away," Mark explained to Time Magazine.

As of 1999, Sport Magazine rated the all-time quarterback flops ... Some can throw the bomb. Some are bombs. Since the QB class of '83, 26 teams have drafted a quarterback in the first round, or used a first-round pick to acquire a QB in a supplemental draft. Of those 26, nearly half would be considered bombs. Here are the seven worst first-round QB selections from the last 15 drafts (to inch]de last year's No. 2 overall pick, Ryan Leaf, would be premature): 1. Andre Ware Lions, 1990, No. 7 overall 2. Heath Shuler Redskins, 1994, No. 3 overall 3. Kelly Stouffer Cardinals, 1987, No. 6 overall 4. David Klingler Bengals, 1992, No. 6 overall 5. Dan McGwire Seahawks, 1991, No. 16 overall 6. Todd Marinovich Raiders, 1991, No. 24 overall 7. Rick Mirer Seahawks, 1993, No. 2 overall
On an unrelated note, I found this quote in an old Sports Illustrated article. It's former 49ers coach Bill Walsh, comparing Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf.
The oft-quirky Walsh was the only one of the six experts who said he wouldn't take Manning with the first choice. "I'd pick another top player," he says, "and then I'd take [Michigan quarterback] Brian Griese in the second round. I think he could have the tools to be special."
----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Who Are You? -- Beta Version 1.1 DATE: 2/16/2005 01:01:00 AM ----- BODY: I'm taking Clark's idea and trying out a few people.

Who is this guy? ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Bledsoe Booted from Buffalo DATE: 2/16/2005 12:44:00 AM ----- BODY:

Drew Bledsoe, a real-life version of Any Given Sunday's Cap Rooney, was given a second chance to revive his career in Buffalo. Now, he'll have to hope three times is the charm. The Buffalo Bills will release Bledsoe later this month, handing the reins of the team to 2nd year quarterback J.P. Losman, a gifted but unproven 1st round pick from the 2004 NFL Draft. Bledsoe, the first overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, might find his fountain of youth in Dallas, where Owner Jerry Jones and Head Coach Bill Parcells are in desperate need of a serviceable quarterback while they pray Drew Henson pans out. (Better keep praying - a lot) The bigger question is -- will Haydn Roberts stick by his beloved quarterback, or will he too toss Bledsoe out for Losman? Bledsoe won't be the only quarterback looking for work over the next few weeks. Cleveland Browns Quarterback Jeff Garcia will be released, and Tampa's Brad Johnson and Brian Greise, St. Louis's Chris Chandler, New York's Kurt Warner, and Miami's Jay Feidler will soon follow. With possibly the exception of Bledsoe, any team that relies on one of these guys for its starting quarterback next season is in a world of trouble. The only good they'll be doing is positioning their team for the Matt Leinart sweepstakes. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Blogger Woes DATE: 2/15/2005 03:38:00 PM ----- BODY: If Google is supposedly so great, they should try improving their hot new product, Blogger.com. Blogger has been painfully slow for the last few days, often crashing without warning. This sudden crash -- sounds like what's going to happen to Google's stock price in a couple of years. But with that said .... not much happening today. Krugman writes a good column in today's Times; Slate debunks rumors that Judge Rehnquist is deep throat; Lassiter at WitterOn writes a hilarious piece about country boy Marshall Dyllon. I'll be back with more later. This week, I have to draft a brief for Legal Research & Writing imploring the court to allow transsexual marriage rights. So I'll be changing over to a different style of writing for a while (no pun intended.) ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Record-Shattering Monday DATE: 2/15/2005 02:19:00 AM ----- BODY: The blog was teeming with activity today, so I thought I'd check SiteMeter and see how busy it was. Well, as it turns out, because of Diane Swalm, the repartee of the commenters, a rapid burst of posts, and readers just like you, SNN has set a new record for single-day visitors in the blog era, shattering the previous record set last Thursday by nearly 50. Not since SNN's glory days of Fall 2000 have so many people dropped by in one day. For once, Alex Blagg is right. Blogging is not about the number of readers one attracts each day, but readers are certainly a welcome complement. I'm not sure what it says about our society that hundreds of people a day are trading their time to read the banter of a guy who is not particularly witty, profound, cosmopolitan, controversial, or articulate. But then again, millions watched Phil Donahue during his prime. And millions more have bought Jessica Simpson's music. Who said you'd have to have talent to draw a crowd? Only in America. I can't say I really expected a such a resurgence last March when I started the European travelogue. But blogging has been more therapeutic than I ever anticipated, and an ideal way to stay connected to people back in the motherland. Law school is very time-consuming, and people wonder how I have the time to blog. But law school is still school. Most of the time, the work involves reading, so I'm either in front of a computer of near it. The beauty of blogging is it takes no time. In no time, I can sign on, type in a few quick thoughts or yank an interesting story from The New York Times website, and publish. Presto! There's a post. And the clever responses from readers do the rest. It's late, and 9:00 AM class comes awfully early, so I'll cut this post off now. Just want to send out a final shut out to readers. Keep expressing yourself. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: The Worst Performances by the NFL's Best: Pro Bowl 2005 DATE: 2/14/2005 11:40:00 PM ----- BODY:

I was eating dinner and flipping through the channels Sunday Night when I came across a football game on ESPN. It was the NFL Pro Bowl, the annual showdown in Honolulu between the superstars of the NFC and AFC. The game has little meaning. There are only nominal benefits to the conference that wins, and the game is the Sunday following the Super Bowl. Most people have gotten their football fix for the winner. Only diehards remain. But any viewer, diehard or not, expecting memorable performances from this amazing collection of talent would be sorely disappointed on this night. As dropped balls and blown coverages piled up, the sloppy and lackluster game had the intensity and fan interest of an old Blue-Gray game at best, and at worst, a junior varsity scrimmage. This poorly-executed pick-up game with pads was without question an embarrassment to the NFL, though not nearly as miserable as the NBA All-Star game, an embarrassing showcase for a league that’s an embarrassment in itself. The Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning was one of the few players who looked to be playing hard, throwing three touchdowns and gaining MVP honors. But even Manning couldn’t escape the ire of the fans. A caller from ESPN Radio landed this blast on Manning.
“Yeah, peyton manning had a great game last night with three touchdown passes...oh, wait, that was a meaningless game too.”
But even in a meaningless contest, Donovan McNabb was still sucking wind from last week’s Super Bowl. The Eagles Quarterback had a horrific outing, something like 1-8 with 1 interception. In two weeks, this guys goes from earning comparisons to Steve Young to earning comparisons to Ryan Leaf. Life can go downhill fast. But what bothers me more than the low quality of the play is the low quality of players on the Pro Bowl rosters. This is supposed to be the Pro Bowl, a compilation of the NFL’s elite. Instead, we're treated to the NFL mid-card. When Vince McMahon puts together Wrestlemania, he gives the fan a pretty good match for the main event. He doesn't give us Faarooq vs. Savio Vega. But that's what we get in the Pro Bowl. Rudi Johnson, a mediocre ball carrier for Cincinnati, somehow made the team and was the AFC’s leading rusher. Rudi is not the first name that comes to mind when considering the AFC’s premier running backs. And Jerome Bettis, who rode the bench most of the season for the Pittsburgh Steelers save goal line opportunities, made it as well. By the end of this contest, I was expecting Ty Detmer to be handing off to Heath Evans and throwing passes to Chris Doering. I understand football is a grueling sport,and by the end of the season, few players are lucky enough to genuinely claim 100%. But while guys like Randy Moss sit out for hangnails and chapped lips, what looks no better than cast from The Replacements is called in to play the game. (These actors do look the part – the tacky Pro Bowl jerseys are almost identical to the ones from that wretched Keanu Reeves movie.) The only moment etched in my memory from the last two decades of Pro Bowls is an ugly one – New England Patriots running back Robert Edwards’s gruesome knee injury during a beach volleyball game Pro Bowl week. Edwards was a gifted young running back with limitless potential. Had it not been for shifting Hawaii sands, Edwards might have been one of NFL’s best, a runner so talented and in-demand he could sit out of the Pro Bowl so fans could be treated to a running display from a substitute like Travis Minor or Travis Henry. So, reflecting on this game, the Pro Bowl has given four things: bad football, career-ending injuries, a blog post, and most beneficially, a reprieve from the garbage ESPN would have shown in its place – like Tilt. Come on, Michael Madsen – you’re better than that! ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: The President's Valentine Of Justice DATE: 2/14/2005 01:06:00 PM ----- BODY:

Alberto Gonzales was sworn in as Attorney General, , a heartbreaking moment for liberals on this day of love. But for conservatives and President Bush, Gonzales will be an able companion for the next four years. I'm fine with Alberto as AG, but Federal Appeals Court Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson remains my preferred choice for Rehnquist's replacement. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Rebel Ride Rides Again DATE: 2/14/2005 10:58:00 AM ----- BODY:

Plaudits to Ole Miss student body president Gordon Fellows, whose tireless labors have helped result in the rebirth of Rebel Ride, an evening trolley service for the Ole Miss / Oxford community. UPDATE: What Others Are Saying

"Good work, Gordo" - Aaron Kidder, Rants and Cravings commenting board"

It is a great victory for President Fellows and especially for the students and citizens of Ole Miss! Attawaytogo Gordon!" - Hardy Case, The Politico

----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Diane Schwalm, SNN's Valentine DATE: 2/14/2005 01:00:00 AM ----- BODY:

Diane Swalm may spend her days crunching numbers as an accountant for Harper, Rains, and Knight in Jackson, Miss. But at SNN, we can only think of one number that does this twenty-four year justice: 10. Intelligent and unpretentious, sophisticated and simple, self-assured and self-effacing, provocative yet refined, this tantalizing brunette embodies the paradoxical qualities of the idealized southern belle. The Deep South is blessed with brainy and beautiful 20-somethings, but Diane Swalm possesses one rare feature that sets her apart from the rest – she’s single. A single girl with these extraordinary qualities deserves special attention on Valentine’s Day. So today, Diane Schwalm has been named The Snyder News Network’s 2005 Valentine. The criteria used to select the Valentine were not overly difficult. The choice would be a woman in her early-to-mid 20s who is charming, pretty, witty, and most importantly, unattached. (I didn’t want a boyfriend with a jealous streak flying to Charlottesville to defend his lady’s honor by trying to pummel this gridiron gladiator turned online pundit.) As SNN Valentine, Diane receives no official prize. There will be no candy, no flowers, no gift certificate to an upscale lady’s clothing boutique, no lucrative modeling contract for her. All this overwhelmingly male audience can offer Diane is our admiration, our stares, and if she’s willing, a date anytime she pleases.

--- Profile ---
Name: Diane Swalm Age: 24 Childhood Home: Brookhaven, MS Current Residence: Clinton, MS Childhood Best Friends Y'all Might Know: Val Hall High School: Brookhaven Academy, 1999 College: B.A., Accounting, Mississippi College, 2003 Master’s Degree: M.A., Accounting, University of Mississippi, 2004 Occupation: Accountant Most Likely To See Her Out on the Town At: Schimmel’s, Cozumel "Diane's ability to be one of Jackson's most active socialites and a top accountant, all while maintaining most-wanted bachelorette status, is what St. Valentine's Day is all about." -- Josh Kyle, Ole Miss Law student
----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: After Hours: Feb Club DATE: 2/13/2005 12:59:00 AM ----- BODY:

Every year, UVA Law turns the year's shortest month into its longest party. Feb Club is comprised of 28 parties, each with a unique venue and theme. The North Grounds Softball League, a consortium of softball sluggers and social butterflies, sponsors the event. I'm not sure who provides the cold beverages. Maybe the NGSL. Maybe the hosts. Maybe our activity fee. All I know is no money has changed hands (except at the Anything for a Dollar Party). Some students attend all 28 parties, and are rewarded by shout outs in the school newspaper and school-wide recognition. One 1L, a Californian named Azar, is the last man standing from our first-year class. He seems to have the commitment to go the distance. The best party I've attended so far was this past Thursday's Edward Fortyhands, where two 40 oz bottles of malt liquor were taped to each hand of the partygoer. I arrived just after the last 40 oz had been taped to a hand. I was able to capture some pictures of the spectacle and even a classic pic of a guy wearing a pink popped collar polo shirt. Saturday evening's party, Havana Nights, was one of the more well-attended events, held at an old two-story house behind some sketchy apartments a couple of miles from the law school. Driving up to the house, I thought I was going to Boo Radley's gloomy old house in To Kill a Mockingbird. Dressed in a linen shirt and sporting a new thin red mustache, I was proud to have made a meager effort to dress up for one of the parties. I immediately realized that the same people go to every party. After 10 minutes of fighting through the sea of people, chatting with a few familiar people, blocking the way of the girl who had been bellowing 'Get out of my way! I own this house!' to the crowd, and unsuccessfully searching for a cup, I decided I'd rather head back to the apartment, enjoy a glass or two of sweet tea, think about studying, and call it a night. Tomorrow is Adam Greene's Bar Mitzah, a tribute to UVA Law's outgoing Student Bar Association President. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: The Great American Playwright Dies at 89 DATE: 2/12/2005 11:13:00 PM ----- BODY:
Arthur Miller, Moral Voice of American Stage, Dies at 89.The New York Timesprovided the obituary. Miller, who wrote Death of a Salesman and married Marilyn Monroe, was the best in his business for nearly half a century, showing us through theatre a unique vision of our flawed country and its boundless potential for reinvention. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Possible Posts DATE: 2/12/2005 09:18:00 PM ----- BODY: Ok. Test. Test. Test Test UPDATE: I am trying out some new things here. Stay with me. My website In the next few days, readers can expect a few of these possible posts from SNN. - The Official SNN Valentine - An aswer to Ross v. Mississippi - A fascinating post about RSS Readers - Complaints about an upcoming brief for Legal Research & Writing - More semi-interesting blather ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: The Search for Sweet Tea is Over DATE: 2/12/2005 08:59:00 PM ----- BODY:
Freshly-brewed each day from a premium blend of tealeaves. Available sweetened with real cane sugar.
People often ask me if Charlottesville, Virginia, is a northern or a southern city. I usually answer northern. One of the main reasons why is the city's scarcity of sweetened tea. This delicious southern beverage, along with good barbeque and Mexican food, is extremely hard to locate, so difficult that until today, I had not had a glass since I came to Charlottesville. But this Saturday, I had an urge for some good sweet tea. After a Google search and a look on the Charlottesville tourism website of the C-ville restaurants allegedly offered sweetened tea, I thought I might have to travel to one of the adjacent rural cities for the beverage. However, my search was easier than expected. Acting on a tip from a Virginian exiled five years in Atlanta, Georgia, I was told that The Fashion Square Mall, Charlottesville's miniature version of Jackson's Northpark, had a Chick-Fil-A underneath its roof, and that Chick-Fil-A had sweetened tea so popular they sold it by the gallon. So I went with my informant to this mall, which looked like any other mall on a Saturday Night. It had the 70's exterior, a JC Penney Store, a Foot Locker, the security guards driving golf carts through the gigantic parking lot, the packs of obnoxious adolescents, and yes -- A Chick-Fil-A that served sweet tea. I was reintroduced to two things I hadn't seen in quite a while -- the annoying shopping mall and tea with sugar. This sweet tea was the nectar that would keep my thirst for home quenced until my trip home next month. Chick-Fil-A Sweet Tea rivals McAlister's, and after two satisfying cups of tea in the restaurant, I bought a gallon to take back to the apartment. And that's the end to this story. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Open the Books, Dudes DATE: 2/12/2005 08:37:00 PM ----- BODY: Recently, SNN caused controversy in the City of Clinton, as this writer accused Ole Miss baseball player and infant blogger Bradley Lum of incorrectly claiming membership in "The Dudes", an informal but prestigious cadre of Clintonians of which The Thew, Josh Kyle, Oon Kyle, Jim Hurt, Cray Pitts, Don, and others are official, undisputed members. To quell this online firestorm, I am requesting that The Dudes open the books to high-level associates such as Charles Ezelle and others, if they have not already done so, and decide once and for all if Lum's devotion is large enough to warrant an official spot on your roster of excellence. While I understand a decision of this magnitude could alienate long-serving associates in the Confederacy of Dudes and disrupt tranquility among this vibrant social network, the time has nonetheless come for The Dudes to make clear decisions on who the group wants to be as it tramps through the 21st Century. As a non-Clintonian and lifelong outsider, I can get away with having the hutzpah to make this sort of demand from The Dude's Founding Fathers. For The Dudes, tough decisions must be made if they want to fend off challenges from other emerging social cliques on I-20. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Update on DM's Politicians and CCC Article DATE: 2/11/2005 05:17:00 PM ----- BODY: The more I examine this DM article about politicians and the CCC, the more reckless and inflammatory it appears (probably why the list was published online, and not in the newspaper) I'm not real sure why The DM is accepting the conclusions of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and even if they are valid, some of the accusations seem so minor and detached from the actual group involved that it certainly doesn't deserve press. And when a list starts including benevolent leaders such as Congressman Wicker, you really have to question its accuracy ..... ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Granville on MSN DATE: 2/11/2005 01:10:20 PM ----- BODY: From running to romance, Granville has a take on everything. Granville is quoted in this MSN article about relationships. Not surprisingly, Granville has been featured several other times in the media. Besides being featured prominently on SNN during its early years, Granville has been quoted on MSN, The Village Voice, and was interviewed on NBC's Saturday Evening news edition. When reporters need a quip from a common man, Granville is the runner they run to. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Happy Birthday Grant Gannon DATE: 2/11/2005 01:02:00 PM ----- BODY: Grant Gannon, an online sports journalist and proprietor of the popular Ole Miss sports site RebelGrove.com, is 24 years young today. Give Grant a birthday present and yourself a chance to talk about Ole Miss sports by subscribing to his website. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Chancellor Speaks in Eupora DATE: 2/10/2005 10:42:00 PM ----- BODY: Robert Khayat, Ole Miss's long serving Chancellor, > spoke in Eupora this week to members of the Rotary Club. He spoke about the commitment to higher education, BLUEPRINT MISSISSIPPI, and academic cooperation between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. It's commendable that the Chancellor is making appearances in the rural counties as well as in the large and prosperous urban and suburban centers. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Another Bad Wrestling Move DATE: 2/10/2005 10:26:00 PM ----- BODY:

In 1985, Steve McMichael was a ferocious defensive tackle on arguably the best defense in the NFL History. McMichael, Defensive Ends Richard Dent and Dan Hampton, and fellow tackle Refridgerator Perry comprised the most fiercesome front four in football. This football four horsemen and fellow The Bears dominated throughout the regular, and pounded the hapless New England Patriots in Super Bowl. Tom Brady was still in grade school then. McMichael and his bunch terrorized Tony Eason, Craig 'The Pony' James, and other Patriots. But sadly, McMichael and the Bears dominance would not last forever. The former Defensive Tackle still wanted the limelight, however, and would try his hand at wrestling. The result was not pretty. McMichael was to wrestling what Rick Mirer has been to the NFL. RD Reynolds has a great piece about McMichael on Wrestlecrap.

I don't know who, exactly, was the brain surgeon that thought unleashing Steve McMichael on the wrestling world was a good idea, but I'd like to believe that Satan himself has a special section of hell awaiting them.
McMichael was added to the Four Horseman, the most prestigious stable in wrestling. Maybe the smarts at WCW thought McMichael would have the same chemistry that he had with the Bears. But the thrill was gone. McMichael was miserable. Rick Martel or V.K. Wall Street were more worthy of a bid to The Four Horseman than Mongo. Reynolds some Mongo's career up quite nicely in the end.
The biggest contribution McMichael ever made to wrestling was the introduction of his wife, Deborah. Yep - Deborah of "Puppies" fame. She promptly divorced the chump, went to the WWF, and married "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. In the car industry, that's called "trading up."
----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Shooting Off at the Mouth DATE: 2/10/2005 06:29:30 PM ----- BODY: Bradley Lum, the newest blogger on the block, has committed a grave error in the close-knit Clinton society by proclaiming himself "a dude." The Dudes, a secret Clinton society established in late 20th century, have not, to this writer's knowledge, opened their books. For Lum, a known associate of "The Mikes" - a rival to "The Dudes", to claim membership without formally being "made", his presumptuous and reckless statement could jeopardize his prospects when Dude leadership officially selects new members. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Haley Barbour and the CCC DATE: 2/10/2005 05:47:00 PM ----- BODY:

Senior Field Co-ordinator Bill Lord holds the Blackhawk rally in Blackhawk Mississippi once every four years before state elections. The rally raises money for buses for a local private schools, and is co-sponsored by the CofCC. Haley Barbour (now MS Governor) spoke at the most recent rally. (from the ccc website)
The Council of Conservative Citizens, an alleged hate group founded in Mississippi, has been tied to several Mississippi politicians, including Governor Haley Barbour (pictured here on the CCC website). The Southern Poverty Law Center has compiled a list of the Mississippi politicans supposedly connected to the CCC, and Ole Miss's Martin Bartlett has written a brief story about it. The list is published online. As Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes has received heavy criticism for inviting black separatist Imari Obadele to a Jackson City Council meeting, local politicians should be wary of associating with groups and people that have are part of supposed hate groups and espouse radical ideologies. However, the DM's list is very vague. It gives names, but provides little in the way of information on how these politicians fraternized with the CCC. Speaking at a rally in Carroll County that is partly sponsored by Bill Lord, a field rep for the CCC, should not necessarily warrant a stern reprimand without understanding the context of the Blackhawk event. That rally has been going on for decades and draws all types of folk from rural Mississippi. The event raises money for Carroll Academy. I imagine even a progressive luminary as William Winter attended this rally in his campaign days. I went to Blackhawk, the rally sponsored by the CCC member as a child in 1987 and 1991, and don't remember anybody in hoods, though I do remember the politicans like Pete Johnson and Kirk Fordice shaking hands and people enjoying some excellent barbeque chicken. Other bloggers, such as Young Republican Executive Committee member Hardy Case, have denounced The Daily Mississippian for publishing the CCC list. I agree that more information is needed. You can't just say claim a political leader is cozying up to a racist organization without actually saying what's been done. But I agree with the Southern Poverty Law Center that groups like the CCC should be avoided. These backwater viewpoints aren't beneficial -- and certainly not indicative -- of the Mississippi of the 21st Century. Mississippi leaders in this day and age don't need to reach out to these types of groups, and even if they did, they shouldn't. Pacifying and pandering to radical groups is not in the best interest of Mississippi and represents weakness and opportunism in so-called public servants. As Haley Barbour likes to say, "Mississippi Can Do Better." ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Yoste for Alderman DATE: 2/10/2005 05:14:13 PM ----- BODY:

Maj. Geoffrey Yoste -- family man, businessman, military man, and academic -- has released the website for his Oxford Ward 6 Alderman campaign. Yoste has served in Washington, served in the military, served as a faculty member for Ole Miss, and has served as an one of the officers in the local Rotary Club. A charismatic person with his priorities in the right place, Yoste has worn many hats, and they've all fit well. A young man who brings a wealth of real-world experience to his Alderman campaign, Major Yoste epitomizes the ideal public servant. He's personable, concerned, intelligent, and not dependent on politics for his livelihood. As a vibrant college town and self-proclaimed center of the Southern renaissance, Oxford should expect versatile and knowledgeable city leaders who reflect the aspirations of its citizens. Major Yoste fits the bill. If you've ever been interested in helping on a political campaign at the grassroots level and you're in the Oxford area, get involved in Major Yoste's campaign. He's definitely a leader worth working for and learning from. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Three-PeAT? DATE: 2/10/2005 05:10:13 PM ----- BODY:

Can the Patriots win a 3rd consecutive Super Bowl? As long as Rohan Davey is not their starting QB, it's possible. Sound off with your opinions. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Plugging the Brain Drain DATE: 2/10/2005 02:06:43 PM ----- BODY: Keeping Iowa's Young Folks at Home After They've Seen Minnesota Iowa, like Mississippi, is losing their young people to other states. Their state legislature is considering eliminating state income tax for people under 30. The New York Times > Opinion > This New York Times op-ed piece is an interesting look at what states at doing to keep their young people at home. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Future King Getting Hitched DATE: 2/10/2005 10:23:01 AM ----- BODY:

Charles and Camilla are getting married after their quarter-century courtship. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Virginia Law Review Goes Online DATE: 2/09/2005 12:56:37 PM ----- BODY: Here's anoter reading option for those of you that enjoy heavier fare. The Virginia Law Review has gone online. I still prefer TheFacebook.com, but is you want to read about "Enforcement Costs and Trademark Puzzles", this is the place. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Pitching Lum's blog DATE: 2/09/2005 11:16:00 AM ----- BODY:

Bradley Lum, the secret weapon of Mike Bianco's Ole Miss baseball team, is joining the saturated blogging market. Blog of Lum , like many of the new blogs, will cover a myriad of topics, from sports to politics to news of the weird. Lum has giant aspirations for his blog, and I wish him well. I recommend he allow his brother Tyler 'Sloth' Lum to guest blog regularly and to provide sentimental commentary on his days as Hillcrest's student body president. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: ABC News: Va. Bill Sets Fine for Low-Riding Pants DATE: 2/09/2005 10:48:09 AM ----- BODY: Low-riders, betware. The Virginia House of Delegates is putting a price tag on your saggy style. A recently passed Virginia bill sets fines for low-riding pants. A $50 fine will be levied against anyone who displays his or her underpants in a "lewd or indecent manner." Not sure if this will work. Go to any beach in America and you'll find some folks in ill-fitting swim trunks and bikinis that look pretty lewd and indecent in them. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Send pictures DATE: 2/09/2005 09:29:37 AM ----- BODY: If you've got any particularly awesome photographs you think deserve a spot on SNN's rotating thumbnail bar, send them my way. I'll be updating the photograph database periodically, taking out some unpopular pictures while adding others. Currently, the most popular picture is 'girl with dog'. Either this audience really loves golden haired beauties ... or golden retrievers. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: thefacebook.com DATE: 2/09/2005 09:16:03 AM ----- BODY: during an insomniac-plagued evening and early morning, i renewed my friendship with thefacebook.com, 'poking' members at random and inviting new friends -- some people i knew -- some i didn't. but not everyone has jumped on thefacebook bandwagon yet .. i'd like to see these ole miss college students join thefacebook.com ..... brent fletcher, ryan pratt, onlooker blackjack green, amy a, aimee woodrick, natalie makamson, peter glover, chuck trayal, davidson stoneburner, racheal roberts, a few more of the good-looking girls who graduated from ja 3 or 4 years after me but i don't remember, mr. rutledge, granville's brother michael, catherine werne, amanda lynch, roach, and everybody else who goes to ole miss .... so what's thefacebook.com for those of you out of the know? good question. more on that later. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Dog Gone: Darren Williams Booted DATE: 2/08/2005 10:18:51 PM ----- BODY: The beleagured Mississippi State football program just took another shot in the solar plexus. Darren Williams, a junior who safety who has been one of Mississippi State's most consistent performers during the last two seasons, has been kicked off the football team, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. Williams will likely enter the NFL's Supplemental Draft or transfer to I-AA program. In 2001, Darren Williams was one of Mississippi's top prospects out of Clarksdale High School. He started early as a freshman, and all indications pointed to Williams enjoying a long and prosperous college career with an ultimate destination of NFL Sundays. This bizarre dismissal is another is a long line of exits by prominent MSU football players. Nick Turner, Antonio Hargro, Marvin Byrdsong, Kyle York, Kenny Kern, Rickey Wright, Devrick Hampton, Richard Burch, and Eric Fuller are no longer affiliated with the Mississippi State football team. The numbers have thinned out to a point where Croom may have to consider moving Michael 'The Kid' Henig to the defensive line. Not really, but at this rate, ironman football is a possibility. I commend Sylvester Croom for weeding out the troublemakers in his football program. David Cutcliffe became lax in his discipline late in coaching tenure, and this lack of discipline off the field translated to lack of discipline on it. Croom and the Bulldogs have taken some huge steps back, but a chohesive unit is more effective than a confederacy of talented yet troubled superstars. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: How UGA became white chick u. DATE: 2/08/2005 05:01:25 PM ----- BODY: The University of Georgia is on the mind of Creating Loafing Machine. The webzine took an a interesting look into UGA's female culture, where "the classic female student .... has her roots in the 1950s." "Many of the UGA chicks are, indeed, blond and blue-eyed girls who grew up in the wholesome, affluent suburbs - just, presumably, like Barbie. But their brains, not their looks, account for their admissions success." The article also looks at UGA's good problem: so many people are moving to Georgia's urban core that academic entrance standards have skyrocketed, substantially boosting Georgia's place among distinguished public universities but leaving many rural students and children of alumni without the option of attending Georgia's flagship university. These rejected students go to lower-regarded schools: Georgia Southern, Valdosta State, Auburn. The merit-based admissions policy has resulted in a huge percentage of white females from the affluent suburbs. Black students at UGA are almost nonexistent -- only 6%. So, it seems, Georgia has become the new best place in America to find intelligent, attractive southern belles. But some might add vapid to that list of descriptions. Yet some prospective students are turned off by UGA's homogenous culture.

Megan Fraley is one of them. She grew up in the part of Smyrna that's now called Vinings. Megan went to Campbell High School, played the viola and was on the softball team. During her junior year of high school, she started looking at colleges. A HOPE scholarship recipient, she seriously considered UGA and Georgia Southern. But something in Athens made her feel uncomfortable. She found a majority of white suburban kids driving around campus in their BMWs with Greek bumper stickers plastered to the windows. That made her nervous. "I didn't want to be just another white kid from suburban Atlanta," Megan says. She solidified her decision during a 'Dawg football game. In the fall of her senior year in high school, Megan traveled to Sanford Stadium. She wore a UGA football T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. Megan says when she arrived, she got funny looks, and the looks came from females in "their heels and red and black cocktail dresses." "I couldn't believe I was an outcast for not dressing up for a football game," Megan says. "I mean, it was a football game!" Without a second thought, she chose Georgia Southern. She realized there was no diversity at UGA, and that she didn't want to be a preppy Greek. Even though only 34 percent of UGA students go Greek, their influence outweighs their numbers. At Georgia Southern, Megan says her peers came from across all of Georgia, and weren't just suburban, Atlanta-born, upper-middle-class snobs. Now an operations manager with a transportation company in Atlanta, Megan says she's happy she didn't attend UGA. "When I run into old high school classmates that went to UGA, it reminds me that I made the right decision," she says. "They're all annoyingly bubbly and snobby."
----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Dean For The Democrats? DATE: 2/07/2005 10:31:29 PM ----- BODY:
Howard Dean is SO 2003, but Democrats they the maverick Vermont governor can inspire the same fervor for Democratic candidates that he did for his own longshot campaign in the 2004 Democratic Primary. His last main adversary for the title of Democratic National Committee Chairman has dropped out the race, leaving the power of the Democratic Party in Howard's hands. Dean been listless since his campaign was derailed in the spring of 2004, and I question how effective Dean can in expanding the Democratic Party's base. He does stand a better chance of turning around Democratic fortunes than the DNC's current head man, the smarmy Terry McAuliffe. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Canseco Bashes His Old Baseball Brother DATE: 2/07/2005 10:19:42 PM ----- BODY:
Former major-league slugger Jose Canseco says in his upcoming book that he injected ex-Oakland Athletics teammate Mark McGwire with steroids and introduced several other players to the drugs. The long-awaited Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big is scheduled for release by Regan Books on Feb. 21, but publicist Paul Olsewski told the Associated Press in an e-mail that the release date might be moved up. Canseco and McGwire's manager during their days in Oakland, Tony LaRussa, disputes the claim. Rafael Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez also denied the claims. Canseco's credibility is as brittle as his body during his late career, but why would he come out with information that implicated himself as well as other major leaguers? I take Canseco's word with a grain of salt (or creatine), but for baseball buffs and gossip-seekers, this book will be a deliciously juicy read about baseball's darker side. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Media dramatization DATE: 2/07/2005 06:17:09 PM ----- BODY: Listening to NPR on the way back from school today, the reporter mentioned that this was the most violent day in Iraq since the election. I've heard over and over again news media talking about the most violent day since .... toss in event of your choice here (Paul Bremer's departure, February, the release of a hostage, yesterday). It seems like the media is trying to emphasize the fatality levels in Iraq, and when it's low, they come up with a new standard to measure the violence by. Of course, it's rough and dangerous over there and there is far too much mayhem going on, but the way in which the media reports the violence would have you believe every day is a record day for violence, which is far from the truth. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: More Proof the World's Not Fair DATE: 2/07/2005 04:22:00 AM ----- BODY:
New England Patriots pine-riding quarterback and former LSU standout Rohan Davey has two more super bowl rings than Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, Jim Kelly, Jim Harbaugh, and Donovan ... wait, scratch Jim Harbaugh. Davey's impressive career statistics (8 completions, 19 attempts) earns him a coveted place alongside Tommy Hodson as the most mediocre Bayou Bengal quarterbacks in Patriots history. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: A Poor Man's Dynasty DATE: 2/07/2005 03:11:58 AM ----- BODY:
Destiny certainly is a fitting label for the New England Patriots and their golden boy quarterback, Tom Brady. Four seasons ago, the Patriots began their season 0-2, and seemed headed for another year of mediocrity as Drew Bledsoe, an aging, immobile, poor man's Dan Marino, went down to injury. But Tom Brady, a young quarterback who was consistent yet unspectacular in his playing days at Michigan, was called in and almost immediately reversed the franchise's dismal fortunes. A controversial call in a divisional playoff game against the Oakland Raiders in icy Foxboro went the Patriots way, and since then, nearly everything else has too. Brady, once a poor man's Elvis Grbac, is now drawing comparisons to Joe Montana, and Bill Belichik, once a poor man's Bill Parcells, now has achieved more postseason success than his revered mentor. Romeo Crennel, a poor man's Dennis Green, is on his way to Cleveland to coach the Browns. And Charlie Weis, a poor man's poor man's Bill Parcells, has been chosen to turn around Notre Dame. And the New England Patriots, once a poor man's New York Jets, have now become a legitimate NFL dynasty. But this franchise and its players, even with three Super Bowl championships in four years, lack the flair of the 1980s 49ers or the bravado of the 1990s Cowboys. And that, I suppose, makes these New England Patriots a poor man's dynasty. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Radical Reconstruction DATE: 2/06/2005 06:35:52 AM ----- BODY: SNN is sporting its third new look in 11 months. This blog is getting more facelifts than Elizabeth Taylor. I don't think the blog was in dire need of a change, but I reasoned an update could be useful. I was dissatisfied with the old design in several ways; the top of the site was terribly done and the site's colors didn't seem to gel. These points of contention, along restlessness and that continuous drive for improvement, led to what you see here today. While there aren't too many monumental changes, a few are worth noting. I added the large top picture of Eupora's Main Street to give the blog a more personal touch. I plan to rotate this top logo periodically, adding other pictures of places and people that have been an important part of my life. I've added a listing of blogs I read regularly, and I expect to add a dozen or more of the best blogs and photoblogs within next week. On 'Friends and Associates', the names have been shortened in several instances to only a last name, a first name, or a nickname. Most of the abbreviated titles are already recognizable to the core audience. I don't anticipate the informal listings causing confusion, but if they do, let me know. Though the website has undergone significant design changes, the content will remain the same. (Sorry to disappoint in that respect.) I'll continue covering "the lurid carnival of American Life." So I encourage you to please email me or IM me with your comments and critiques on the new design. Maybe I won't grow bored with this design in a matter of weeks as I've done in the past. And that's that. Keep reading, and keep posting. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Anonymous Post Warning DATE: 2/03/2005 11:19:26 PM ----- BODY: For the people posting under handles such as "Rick Stansbury," "The Wagon," "Madkin," and "Xavier Mitchell," please email me your real name in the next 18 hours or your posts will be deleted. If you want to run your anonymous smack, do it on RebelGrove.com. Grant Gannon could use your money. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: JA Sending Two to D-1 DATE: 2/03/2005 11:04:26 PM ----- BODY: In the 1990s, JA produced as many Rhodes Scholars as Division 1 football players (1). But this year, the Ridgewood Road school can boast two division 1 signees. Offensive Lineman Reed Neely, the cousin of my former teammate and bowling kingpin Bo Allen, has committed to Ole Miss, while electrifying running back Corey Magee has signed with Ball State. I'm not sure if or where quarterback Adam Shaffer will continue his football career. Also .... Delta State has landed versatile Eupora High School Quarterback / Punter Lee Swindle, a Clarion-Ledger Top 40 recruit. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Where The Clarion-Ledger's Top 40 signed DATE: 2/03/2005 11:03:53 PM ----- BODY: Most of recruiting fanatics have seen this, but The Clarion-Ledger has published the list of where the Top 40 signed. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Stoking Bigotry DATE: 2/02/2005 11:36:27 AM ----- BODY:

Yeserday, I listen to Professor Michael Klarman give an eloquent and informative presentation on the civil rights movement. He talked about how amazingly far American has progressed on the subject of race in such a short amount of time but cautioning us not to forget the lessons of history. Klarman is right about the amazing progress we've made. We can see it in Mississippi and in communities all across the country. African-Americans are afforded the same rights as every racial group. African-Americans have risen to be judges, athletes, high ranking public servants, and corporate executives, titles considered unattainable just half a century too. Under the law, an african-american can say or do anything a white person can. He can even practice the same brand of angry populism that some of the most well-known oppressors of his race did during the struggle for civil rights example. A burly and boisterous example of an African-American George Wallace is Kenneth Stokes, a Jackson City Councilman who has spent the last decade deriding whites, stoking racial animosities, and providing a visible and and valid excuse for whites and blacks concerned with the city's leadership and its future. Hardy Case has an interesting post that brought to my attention Stokes's latest moronic move. In a despicable gesture, Stokes invited a Imari Obadele, a black separatist convicted in connection to the murder of a Jackson Policeman, to speak at a city council Meeting as an introduction to Black History Month. He's opposed annexation to Byram because the influx of white residents would dilute black voting strength and he refers to African-Americans who disagree with his views as "Uncle Toms," an unnecessary and disgusting insult for people only expressing a differing vision of the city than his own. We have a lot to go in terms of racial progress. But as Klarman said, we can learn from the history of the civil rights movement, avoiding the wrongs, and repeating the rights. So just as whites have recently risen up and through collective condemnation have marginalized the Preacher Killens of the world, now is the time for African-Americans to collectively marginalize Kenneth Stokes. In any community, people like Stokes should be pariahs, not public figures. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Wrap This War for In-State Recruits in Maroon and White DATE: 2/02/2005 11:12:37 AM ----- BODY: Mississippi State has landed 6 of the Clarion-Ledger's Top 10 recruits. 1. Derek Pegues - Mississippi State 2. Josh McNeil - Tennessee 3. Jimmy Johns - Alabama 4. Calvin Wilson - Mississippi State 5. Jerrell Powe - Ole Miss 6. Archie Simis - Mississippi State 7. Tim Holloway - Mississippi State 8. Anthony Johnson - Mississippi State 9. Louis Ellis - Mississippi State 10. Travis Sanford - Unsigned UPDATE: I clarified the headline. While a recruiting class can't be judged solely by the quality of in-state signees, no one can dispute that Mississippi State defeated Ole Miss within Mississippi's borders. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Bad Moment in the WWE -- The New Rockers DATE: 2/02/2005 10:21:15 AM ----- BODY:

This week, Wrestlecrap discusses The New Rockers, Vince McMahon's failed attempt to revive the magic of original rockers, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty. This new group of Rockers featured Jannetty, now washed up (and possibly drugged out), and Leif Cassidy, who was supposed to be a teen heartthrob. Hilarious read. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Top Recruit Signs With Bulldogs DATE: 2/02/2005 09:18:29 AM ----- BODY: Sylvester has caught the big cat. Derek Pegues, the versatile South Panola quarterback / defensive back and No.1 Most Wanted on the Clarion Ledger's Top 40 List, has committed to Mississippi State. Under the guidance of former Eupora High School head coach Ricky Woods, Pegues led South Panola to consecutive state championships. He's expected to play defensive back in Starkville, where he'll join a star-studded secondary that includes Darren Williams and Quentin Culberson. Hats off to Coach Croom. Put Derek, if you stole a Playstation 2 last weekend in Oxford, take it back to its owners. If you play good foootball, in three or four years, you won't just be able to buy a Playstation 2, you can probably buy part of Sony too. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: National Signing Day DATE: 2/02/2005 09:11:06 AM ----- BODY: As the great Southern thinker and Mike Dubose apologist Allen Thigpen so eloquently put, "National Signing Day is Christmas for the middle-aged white man." He left out Brent Fletcher and Brian Murphy, but he's close. National Signing Day is the biggest day of the year for scores of alumni and friends of the program who hope these 17 and 18 year olds will be able to transform their beloved program, providing them with joy in an oftentimes joyless life. I'm not following recruiting closely. But I'm sure I'll get IM's today from dejected or elated Ole Miss fans. And I'll keep y'all posted. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: T.O.'d DATE: 2/02/2005 12:43:00 AM ----- BODY: Sports media, please stop talking about Terrell Owens. There are other stories out there. Seriously. Heck, as much coverage and manpower these media outlets dedicate to this one thing, you'd think they could come up with more than will Terrell Owens play or won't he. Here's to pushing the Super Bowl up a week. I can't tolerate much more of the hype. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Toy Hostages? DATE: 2/01/2005 06:04:21 PM ----- BODY: Don't believe everything you read on the internet. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: CL Picture DATE: 2/01/2005 12:42:28 PM ----- BODY: Will try to get that link fixed. My bad. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Another Reason to Support Better Education DATE: 2/01/2005 11:16:17 AM ----- BODY: ... so the next generation of Letters to the Editor in The Clarion-Ledger won't be as asinine as the current batch. Some of them are clever and appreciated, but goodness gracious, most of them employ rage instead of reason and rely on completely baseless assumptions. ----- -------- AUTHOR: D TITLE: Stringfellow on High Court Makeup DATE: 2/01/2005 11:09:01 AM ----- BODY: Eric Stringfellow is galloping through the pages of The Clarion-Ledger on the diversity high horse again, advocating changes in Supreme Court districts to promote greater African-American representation. The only real issue I see here is whether to elect Supreme Court justices or not. The appointed system used by The Supreme Court has worked well and if implemented in Mississippi, would give the governor more real power. While I like having a voice in who will sit on Mississippi's High Court, the current climate of campaigning, where special interests, partisan affliations, and big money dominate, provides more ammunition for advocates of appointing judges. Appointed judges vs. Elected judges should be the debate. ----- --------