Eason Jordan Resigns

Earlier this week, the Lord of Truth sent me the WSJ editorial on Eason Jordan's comments, authored by Bret Stephens, who attended the Davos conference of the World Economic Forum and reported on Jordan's comments for Opinion Journal's Political Diary. As noted previously, most of the mainstream media had ignored the story, so it was important that at least a few outlets were focusing in on Jordan's comments, other than bloggers like yours truly.

Before I had a chance to spend any more time commenting on the story, Jordan resigned....

CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan quit Friday amidst a furor over remarks he made in Switzerland last month about journalists killed by the U.S. military in Iraq.

Jordan said he was quitting to avoid CNN being "unfairly tarnished" by the controversy.

During a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum last month, Jordan said he believed that several journalists who were killed by coalition forces in Iraq had been targeted.

He quickly backed off the remarks, explaining that he meant to distinguish between journalists killed because they were in the wrong place where a bomb fell, for example, and those killed because they were shot at by American forces who mistook them for the enemy.

Now, there's plenty of conflicting reports as to what Jordan said or didn't say, since the WEF has refused to release the video of the proceeding. But the fact that Jordan chose to resign rather than face the heat from the story -- which heretofore had received less attention than a Brad Pitt date -- could lead one to conclude that the words on the tape would not help him.

Instapundit has a pretty good rundown of the comments around the blogosphere, and TKS has a reaction that mirrors mine. And Scrappleface has a pretty good joke up, although Ace of Spades might have hit the jackpot with this story...

Eason Jordan, a Chief News Executive at CNN, raised eyebrows and hackles during a panel discussion in which he suggested that bloggers "deliberately target" members of the mainstream media.

"I know of at least twelve journalists who have been targeted by bloggers," Mr. Eason is reported to have claimed. "And I know several journalists who say they've been tortured. They've had all sorts of mean things said about them, and let me tell you, that isn't anyone's idea of fun."

Asked precisely which journalists have been "targeted" by bloggers, Mr. Jordan seemed to backpedal, explaining, "I'm not saying this is necessarily part of blogger policy, coming down from the high command of Instapundit and Powerline and Hugh Hewitt. But there are definitely some bloggers -- individual bloggers, to be sure -- who are targeting journalists."

If Mr. Jordan thought that would end the matter, he soon found himself to be mistaken. Further acts of "torture" at the hands of bloggers quickly ensued, with entire pages dedicated to criticizing Mr. Jordan's remarks.

"It was inhuman," said a high-ranking CNN producer. "It makes Abu Ghraib look like the Bear Jamboree at Disneyland."

Before Dan Rather takes it and runs with it, that story's a joke. But the sad part of the whole affair is that some people think that Jordan's resignation is the result of the barbarian bloggers, and that his comments meant little. Check out the response from Steve Lovelady, the managing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review's CJR Daily, over at Jay Rosen's blog...

"The salivating morons who make up the lynch mob prevail. (Where is Jimmy Stewart when we need him ?) This convinces me more than ever that Eason Jordan is guilty of one thing, and one thing only -- caring for the reporters he sent into battle, and haunted by the fact that not all of them came back. Like Gulliver, he was consumed by Lilliputians."

VodkaPundit responds here, with an essay that's well worth reading, especially the ending...

We see you beind the curtain, Lovelady and company, and we're not impressed by either your bluster or your insults. You aren't higher beings, and everybody out here has the right--and ability--to fact-check your asses, and call you on it when you screw up and/or say something stupid. You, and Eason Jordan, and Dan Rather, and anybody else in print or on television don't get free passes because you call yourself "journalists."

You obviously don't like that reality, but it is reality, and you'd better start learning to live with it instead of tossing ad hominen insults at your critics.

We're not going away. Deal with it.

He's right about the last point. In the end, Jordan made a big mistake with his comments, but the bigger mistake was expecting the furor over them to disappear. Perhaps that would have happened ten years ago. Not anymore. And we're better off for it.

What Annoying Song is Stuck in My Head Today?

If I need to suffer with a song stuck in my head, why shouldn't you have to do the same? Sometimes they're good, most times they're bad... but no matter what, they make you suffer. So I like to share the suffering whenever it happens.

Thanks to this story (hat tip: Best of the Web), I have one song going through my head.

Here's Rupert Holmes...

I was tired of my lady, we'd been together too long.
Like a worn-out recording, of a favorite song.
So while she lay there sleeping, I read the paper in bed.
And in the personals column, there was this letter I read:

"If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
If you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain.
If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape.
I'm the lady you've looked for, write to me, and escape."

I didn't think about my lady, I know that sounds kind of mean.
But me and my old lady, had fallen into the same old dull routine.
So I wrote to the paper, took out a personal ad.
And though I'm nobody's poet, I thought it wasn't half-bad.

"Yes, I like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
I'm not much into health food, I am into champagne.
I've got to meet you by tomorrow noon, and cut through all this red tape.
At a bar called O'Malley's, where we'll plan our escape."

So I waited with high hopes, then she walked in the place.
I knew her smile in an instant, I knew the curve of her face.
It was my own lovely lady, and she said, "Oh, it's you."
And we laughed for a moment, and I said, "I never knew"..

"That you liked Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
And the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne.
If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape.
You're the love that I've looked for, come with me, and escape."

"If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
And the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne.
If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape.
You're the love that I've looked for, come with me, and escape."

You're welcome.

First Thing, Let's Kill All the Lawyers

Loyal reader RB tells us about a good idea coming from the swamps of New Jersey...

Concerned about high premiums for doctors’ malpractice insurance, New Jersey came up with an answer that is literally at the expense of the state’s lawyers, and the lawyers are not happy about it.

The state enacted a law last year requiring lawyers to pay $75 a year for the next three years to cover the cost of increases in medical malpractice insurance premiums. Doctors and other medical professionals have to pay the fee, too.

The New Jersey Bar Association doesn’t think the state’s 35,000 lawyers should be singled out to help doctors pay their premiums, and is suing to have the law declared unconstitutional. The gist of its suit, filed in Union County Superior Court, is that the law violates the equal protection and due process guarantees of both the state and federal constitutions, amounts to using public money for a private purpose and singles out lawyers in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner.

For the record, despite my chosen profession, I wholeheartedly support the law, at least until state bar associations start supporting meaningful tort reform and medical malpractice caps. I don't have the energy to determine whether such a law is unconstituional, but I'm guessing anything slamming lawyers has enough popular support to allow the amendment of the state constitution if necessary. Perhaps the Lord of Truth should start a petition drive in his home state.

Dirty Politics, the American Tradition

I often have debates with friends who lament the terrible nature of polirtical discourse in our country (granted, the debates generally contain the words "suck" and "idiot", but we're lamenting the discourse between our politicians, not between ourselves). By contrast, I tend to think our modern political discussions are pretty much par for the course compared to history. This article by Pejman Yousefzadeh points out that our esteemed Founding Fathers could ahve taught lessons to Jim Carville and Karl Rove...

And yet, Washington was oftentimes subject to some of the most vicious calumny imaginable -- calumny that almost caused Washington's retirement from politics after his first term, and impelled him to gladly quit the Presidency after a second term. The Father of his country was accused of being senile, a puppet in the hands of Alexander Hamilton, a closet monarchist who sought to become an American Caesar, and so on. These were not just occasional jibes but part and parcel of a concerted campaign in the Jeffersonian Republican press that sought to demystify the first President so as to make it easier to campaign against initiatives like the Jay Treaty, or the financial reforms implemented by Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury... So rancid was the campaign against Washington that he ended up breaking off relations with two fellow Virginians -- Jefferson and Madison -- because of the part they played in seeking to ruin Washington's reputation. When the first President of the United States finally passed away during the Administration of John Adams, his funeral was mostly peopled by Federalists. Thomas Jefferson -- then the Vice President -- actually boycotted the funeral.

...With Hamilton as the de facto head of the Federalists, and with Jefferson and Madison commanding the Republican political machine, political vitriol reached nearly frightening levels... It did not help that the angry political debate between Hamilton and Jefferson was colored by accusations of personal scandal. In one of his many pseudonymous writings, Hamilton -- who was an astonishingly prodigious writer and who probably would have celebrated the advent of the Blogosphere had he lived to see its development -- made what now appears to be clear and insulting reference regarding liaisons between Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings.

In revenge, Republican pamphleteers -- also writing pseudonymously and often -- gleefully harped on Hamilton's involvement in an adulterous affair with one Maria Reynolds, who collaborated with her husband James to garner hush money from Hamilton to keep the affair secret... Needless to say, all of this anonymous pamphleteering caused political opposition to spill over into blind hatred between the Founders. Hamilton and Madison -- once collaborators on The Federalist -- eventually became bitter enemies... Sometimes these pyrotechnics ended up leading to challenges to duels -- one of which, of course, ended Hamilton's life at the hands of Aaron Burr. Consider that: a former Secretary of the Treasury and the head of the Federalist Party ended up dueling with the sitting Vice President of the United States. And to think that we got excited when Vice President Dick Cheney told Senator Patrick Leahy to perform anatomical impossibilities upon himself.

I think Hamilton and Burr had to meet in New Jersey, because duels were illegal in New York. I'm guessing Cheney and Leahy in Arlington at 20 paces would be a good draw on pay-per-view.

The Whining Continues

Back in the day, yours truly often watched "Prime Minister's Questions" on C-Span. This was back in college, and I was introduced to the show by one of my roommates, the Priest of Parliament Lights. The show basically recaps the English Prime Minister answering questions from members of Parliament, which is something of an English tradition, from what I can tell. Typically, some member of the opposition (ironically, it was often a young Tony Blair) would start in with a smarmy comment disguised as a question, and then-PM John Major would respond with something snooty. After each one spoke, members of their own party would shout or mutter encouragement, almost like a Little League team chattering at the opposition. It's hard to explain why we enjoyed the show so much -- if you watched it, you might get it.

One of Major's favorite tactics was to wait until the latest inane "question" was completed, let the nattering subside, then stand up and state, "I refer the gentlemen to the answer I gave some moments before" in as dismissive a tone as possible. Again, you had to be there, but I thought this tactic brilliant. I actually considered using this during fraternity meetings (except that our Executive Board had no need of such verbal gymnastics, since everyone feared the Warden).

Why am I talking about this? Perhaps I should refer the Democrats to the answer I gave some moments before. Take a look at the Democrats' latest whining...

Senate Democrats demanded Thursday that President Bush order a halt to personal attacks on the party's leader, Sen. Harry Reid, and expressed regret they had failed to mount a stronger defense for his defeated predecessor.

"This is a new Democratic party," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said at a news
conference called to release a letter telling Bush to muzzle his "political operatives."

"...It says to the president, `you will not intimidate us'," added Schumer, who likened the attacks on Reid to political knee-cappings.

The letter itself was written in milder terms. "We urge you to keep your word about being a uniter and publicly halt these counter-productive attacks so that we are able to work together in a bipartisan manner and debate issues on the merits," it says.

Bush and the White House have denied responsibility for the attacks.

But Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, ridiculed that assertion, as Reid did earlier in the week.

"This is the Abu Ghraib defense, that a few renegade soldiers are responsible for their own behavior and the commanders are not accountable," said Durbin, second in the leadership behind Reid. His remarks were a reference to claims by military officials that a few low-ranking enlisted personnel were responsible for the shocking conditions at a U.S.-run prison in Iraq.

The letter to Bush was signed by all the Senate's Democrats except Reid, as well as Sen. James Jeffords, an independent from Vermont.

Reid was named to succeed the defeated Tom Daschle as party leader in December and quickly was attacked as an obstructionist by both the Republican National Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The RNC distributed a 13-page compilation of criticisms, dissecting Reid's voting record and accusing him of obstructing Bush's agenda over the years. One portion of the document notes that the Nevada lawmaker lives in a costly condominium when he is in Washington — a point that Democrats said has no bearing on policy disputes with the White House.

First, using Abu Ghraib as a reference is particularly stupid, unless Bush is convening Animal House-style hazing sessions in the Senate chamber for problem-child Democrats. We're not opposed to such an idea, although Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton would probably hide in the corner and cry.

Next, this document is apparently 13 pages long, and the Dems are angry about one point? Maybe folks back home in Nevada would like to know what kind of home Reid resides in. Besides, this is rich from a party that openly enjoyed Michael Moore mocking President Bush for taking vacations -- as if a President gets disconnected from the world on vacation -- and had their nominee attacking Mary Cheney during the election. Yeah, those both had a lot to do with the issues, guys.

Third, can someone stop and tell media-hog Chuck Schumer that most of America that does not reside in or around New York finds him to be really annoying? It's like he and Barbara Boxer have a competition going as to who can be the most abrasive.

Fourth, maybe instead of whining about these terrible attacks, Chuck & Co. would be better served to stop being obstructionists. Daschle opted to filibuster a number of President Bush's appellate court judicial nominees and tried to hold up legislation the President wanted to pass. The former was dirty pool in my opinion, but his actions in both respects were within Senate rules. The President's party attacked Daschle for his political choices, and he lost an election as a result. Reid may want to obstruct the President, but he will pay a price for such a choice. It would also be nice if he actually advanced a policy proposal or two of his own -- it might show he's about more than just being against the President.

Reid has now promised to fight Bush on judicial nominees in much the same way, and has issued not-so-veiled threats against the President's Social Security reform proposal, before the President made the proposal. He's free to do the latter (the former will likely get stuffed by Bill Frist), but he has to face the consequences of such choices. One of those consequences is that people will attack you for making such decisions. But these Democrats would prefer that no one actually knows what they stand for, lest they actually vote against them as a result. Wow, sure seems like a good idea.

Finally, the whining is amazing. They never learn. Last summer, they tried to counter the Swift Boat Veterans by whining about how it was terribly unfair, tried to tie Bush to the attacks, and sent Max Cleland to Bush's ranch with a letter. They never addressed the substance of the attacks, until the public was already convinced that the substance was true. Now, they're whining about how these claims are unfair, trying to tie Bush to the claims and sending him a letter (maybe Max Cleland is unavailable to deliver it this time). Again, they don't want to address the substance of the claims made against Reid. Who comes up with this strategy?

Somehow, I wish Bush would refer the Democrats to the results of November's elections. Perhaps then, they might understand that their strategy of whining incessantly fails at the ballot box.

Moore Problems

Now here's a story I didn't expect...

A FORMER close associate of Osama Bin Laden is to sue the film-maker Michael Moore for using his footage of the Al-Qaeda chief in the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.

Essam Deraz, an Egyptian, spent almost four years in Afghanistan filming Bin Laden at training camps and fighting, gaining unprecedented access to the terrorist leader.

He was the only person to film Bin Laden during the late 1980s and has the only footage of the Saudi exile in battle in Afghanistan.

Deraz has started legal action in Egypt and America to seek compensation for use of his footage in Fahrenheit 9/11, the biggest-grossing documentary in cinema history.

Deraz claims he had not signed a distribution agreement with Moore or anyone else. “I was the only cameraman with the Arabs. All of those shots of Bin Laden talking in the cave, talking into his walkie-talkie, they were all my work.

“I was there from 1986-89 and was in contact with Bin Laden on many occasions. I saw him in Peshawar in Pakistan and in Jalalabad in Afghanistan. The film clips in Fahrenheit 9/11 — five of them — were mostly shot in March and April 1989.

“I was wounded twice and on one of those occasions Bin Laden arranged for me to be taken to hospital in his vehicle. These are the only film clips ever taken that show Bin Laden on the battlefield.”

Film of the Arab mujaheddin fighting against the Russians in Afghanistan is rare because they did not take part in many large-scale engagements. The fighting around Jalalabad, shortly before the Russians withdrew, is one of the few occasions where Arab fighters were involved in large numbers.

Deraz, who worked for the BBC in the 1970s and lived in London, said he had no sympathy with Al-Qaeda, which had not yet come into existence when the footage was shot.

At the time it was Egyptian policy to support the uprising by Afghans against the Soviet forces that had invaded the country. Following his return to Egypt, he wrote a number of books about the anti-Soviet jihad and made three films.

He said: “Now I find that Mr Moore’s film is being distributed in America and in other countries and I have received nothing.”

If it makes him feel better, Moore wasn't nominated for an Oscar, although his film was very effective in helping to keep President Bush in office. What, that wasn't his goal?

What Annoying Song is Stuck in My Head Today?

If I need to suffer with a song stuck in my head, why shouldn't you have to do the same? Sometimes they're good, most times they're bad... but no matter what, they make you suffer. So I like to share the suffering whenever it happens.

Unfortunately, they leave the music in our gym here at work on at night, with the door locked so that you can't shut it off. Typically, I can turn up the TV to drown out the sound, but sometimes the music filters through, especially on the side of the gym away from the TVs.

That's where I was Tuesday night, when I got dragged back to a song that was played at every middle-school dance I can remember. It also makes us ask the question: whatever happened to Andrew Ridgeley?

Here's Wham, with Careless Whisper...

I feel so unsure,
As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor.
As the music dies...
Something in your eyes,
Calls to mind a silver screen,
And all its sad goodbyes.

I'm never gonna dance again,
Guilty feet have got no rhythm.
Though it's easy to pretend,
I know you're not a fool.
I should have known better than to cheat a friend,
And waste a chance that I'd been given.
So I'm never gonna dance again,
The way I danced with you.

Time can never mend,
The careless whisper of a good friend.
To the heart and mind,
If your answer's kind...
There's no comfort in the truth,
Pain is all you'll find.

I'm never gonna dance again,
Guilty feet have got no rhythm.
Though it's easy to pretend,
I know you're not a fool.
I should have known better than to cheat a friend,
And waste a chance that I'd been given.
So I'm never gonna dance again,
The way I danced with you.

What am I without your love?
Tonite the music seems so loud,
I wish that we could lose this crowd.
Maybe it's better this way,
We'd hurt each other with the things we want to say.

We could have been so good together,
We could have lived this dance forever...
But now, who's gonna dance with me?
Please stay.

I'm never gonna dance again,
Guilty feet have got no rhythm.
Though it's easy to pretend,
I know you're not a fool.
I should have known better than to cheat a friend,
And waste a chance that I'd been given.
So I'm never gonna dance again,
The way I danced with you.

Now that you're gone...
Now that you're gone...
Now that you're gone...
Was what I did so wrong?
So wrong that you had to leave me alone?

You're welcome.

Why Winning Elections Matters

For those who believe that politicians don't keep promises, the Social Security debate is proof positive that elections matter. Here's another example....

The U.S. Senate pressed ahead on Wednesday with a business-backed bill to curb class-action lawsuits, rebuffing attempts to soften the measure that is part of President Bush's push for sweeping legal reforms.

The bill, a bipartisan compromise which aims to shift most class-action lawsuits to federal courts, is expected to pass the Senate as early as Thursday. Opponents tried Wednesday to limit its impact, with little chance of stopping the measure.

But senators denied three attempts to carve out exceptions to the bill, refusing to exclude consumer, civil rights and wage cases or those filed by state attorneys general.

On each amendment, some Democrats joined the majority of Republicans to vote against watering down the bill.

"We have to keep amendments off this measure. They could possibly derail the whole bill," said Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican.

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have pledged to pass the measure as it now stands and send it to President Bush for signing into law.

Bush urged the Senate on, saying he wanted a "clean bill" sent to his desk as quickly as possible.
"The problem is people are filing suits all over the country in a state courthouse that's affecting people in other states," he said in an appearance at the Department of Commerce.

"They've come up with a reasonable solution that says interstate class actions ought to be conducted in the federal court," Bush said of the class-action bill."

Class-action lawsuits let plaintiffs combine claims into one suit against a common defendant. The bill would authorize federal courts to hear such suits involving over $5 million and involving persons or companies from different states.

Critics charge the bill is about letting corporate wrongdoers off the hook by moving complaints about defective products or corporate misbehavior into federal courts, which have been less sympathetic toward such cases.

Stanton Anderson, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's legal officer, predicted the bill could be law within a month, giving momentum to other measures Bush wants. These include caps on medical malpractice awards and limits on asbestos lawsuits.

This bill would have zero traction if John Edwards was sitting near the seat of power. And in many ways, it's similar to Bush's push on Social Security and private accounts. Kerry indicated during the election that he intended to make no changes to Social Security. Again, this is an issue which becomes part of the public debate simply because President Bush won re-election.

I mention this because I think it refutes the charge, often made, that the two parties are so similar that it does not matter who wins a particular election. There are plenty of actions that have taken place in the last four years that would not have happened with Al Gore as President, and we already have examples of how things are different due to the defeat of John Kerry.

I understand the argument from the perspective that everyday life won't change because one person or another will be in office, but it actually does change. The impact of policy decisions like the bill Congress plans to pass on class-action lawsuits will impact Americans in a number of ways, from small business owners to consumers to lawyers to alleged tort victims. And the impact may or may not be soemthing you realize, but it's there.

The policy differences between our two major parties may not seem that big, but they are significant. It's important not to lose sight of that in future elections.

What? You Mean It's Not Cancelled Yet?

The last hopes begin to die...

With just a little bit of hedging, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman all but issued a drop-dead date for saving what's left of the season: this weekend.

The lockout reached its 147th day Wednesday. If a deal is reached, Bettman said, there would be a 28-game regular season and the 16-team playoff structure would be preserved.

"It is clear to me that if we're not working on a written document by this weekend, I don't see how we can play any semblance of a season," Bettman said. "Obviously we will listen to everything the union has to say, but we've given all we can give and gone as far as we can go."

He hasn't gone to hell yet, which is where he should be condemned to if they force me to watch the NBA playoffs this summer.

Hee-Hee

I'm not expecting this billboard to appear during the Oscar telecast... especially if Michael Moore stands in front of it.

There They Go Again

From the "List of People who Aggravate the Crap Out of Me" file...

Ron Reagan, son of the late president and conservative hero Ronald Reagan, will co-host a new political talk show on MSNBC, the network said on Wednesday.

Reagan will host "Connected: Coast to Coast" from MSNBC.com headquarters in Redmond, Washington, MSNBC said in a statement.

The show, which will air twice daily, will base its other host -- Monica Crowley, a former Richard Nixon aide and Fox News analyst -- at MSNBC headquarters in New Jersey.

Reagan drew attention last year when he gave a spirited eulogy at his father's funeral condemning politicians for using their religion for political gain and for a speech on stem-cell research at the Democratic National Convention.

The show will premiere on Tuesday. The early broadcast will present developing news, while the later show will focus more on analysis and debate.

President Reagan, who served from 1981 to 1989, fought with Democrats on Capitol Hill over tax cuts and battled communism as well as a recession. His death touched off a national mourning not seen in decades.

First of all, saying Reagan "battled" Communism is like saying that Washington fought in the American Revolution. You might want to note who won the battle. Even I have to walk around acknowledging who won the Super Bowl on Sunday. And it's nice that Reagan's achievements get boiled down to battling Democrats over tax cuts and battling Communism. I can guess that when Jimmy Carter passes on, I won't be reading about how he battled malaise, the energy crisis and giant bunnies. People didn't mourn Reagan the way they did because of tax cuts. They mourned the man and what he meant to them.

Getting away from that to the actual story... it pains me to do this. I'm attacking the son of one of my idols. But Ron Reagan's last contribution to anything that proved successful was his cameo in Soul Man... although to be fair, I didn't catch his bit as a brothel owner on General Hospital. Regardless, I watched his act (okay, subjected myself to it) during the election run-up when I would try to watch his late-night show with Scarborough on MSNBC, or his frequent appearances on their panels. Scarborough had that look on his face one gets when they're trying to humor a dolt -- "if I keep smiling, no one will know how much I want to laugh at this idiot."

If he can get a show, I should change my name right now. Well, fine, put a bag over my head so I don't scare any children. But I'm reasonably confident that all twelve people who read this blog (we're up 20%!) could do a better job offering political insight than Ron Reagan.

Well, at least there's no chance anyone will hear his comments, since he's on MSNBC.

Irony Can Be So Ironic Sometimes

Here's hoping this schmuck didn't graduate from my law school...

The federal appeals court that ruled the Pledge of Allegiance was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion is being sued for allegedly displaying the Ten Commandments on its seal and courthouses.

The case was brought by an attorney who was admitted to practice before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in June. In his lawsuit against the San Francisco-based court, Ryan Donlon said the certificate admitting him contains the court's seal which unlawfully contains what he believes is a tablet object representing the Ten Commandments.

Cathy Catterson, the court's clerk, said the seal highlights a woman, known as "the Majesty of the Law" who is reading a large book. At her feet is a tablet with 10 unreadable lines on it — what Donlon believes is the Ten Commandments.

Catterson said the tablet has "the same shape" of the Ten Commandments but "you can't read the text of it."

It's a shame God never issued the 11th Commandment, which would likely be, "Thou shall not file useless ninny lawsuits unless thou wants my foot in his ass."

Keep On Trucking, Senator Kennedy

Somehow, I'm guessing this comic strip won't win any Pulitzers. But it should.

(hat tip: Best of the Web)

The Protection Racket Continues

It's about time I updated the story about Eason Jordan of CNN. The short version: the chief news executive at CNN, speaking at a conference of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, apparently claimed that American troops had targeted and killed a number of journalists. Conflicting reports exist as to whether and how much Jordan backpedaled from his initial comment.

Bloggers, like TKS, Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt, Mickey Kaus and Instapundit have been hammering the story for over a week. The MSM is finally starting to acknowledge the story, albeit so cautiously that it resembles the Eagles' two-minute drill. And with less skill, mind you: Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post is basically shredding his own credibility with a weak column that Kaus is absolutely tearing to shreds, and Kaus is no raging conservative.

Bottom line, the questions are these:

1. Did Jordan claim that American troops had intentionally killed journalists in Iraq?

2. If so, does he have proof?

3. If he does have proof, why hasn't CNN reported the story?

4. If he has no proof, then why is he making the claim?

5. Why won't Jordan lobby for the organizers to release the tape of his remarks?

Someone should ask these questions. Someone, like say, a reporter. Well, other than Scrappleface.

Hot For Teacher

Somehow, I'm guessing this story will get some news coverage...

A Warren County elementary teacher has been charged with having a consensual sexual relationship with one of her students, a 13-year-old boy.

Pamela Rogers Turner, 27, was charged Monday with 15 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and 13 counts of statutory rape. All the charges involved the same boy.

Turner teaches physical education and coached girls basketball at Centertown Elementary, a Warren County school with grades kindergarten through eight in McMinnville.

District Attorney General Dale Potter said investigators believe some of the offenses happened at the school and some at the boy's home.

Turner lived at the boy's house "for a brief period of time when she was moving from residence to residence," Potter said Tuesday. The boy's parents knew she was living there but didn't know anything about a sexual relationship, Potter said.

Well, that's a relief. For a second there, I thought the boy's parents had made some terrible error in judgment.

As for guys my age, here's how you know you're old: most of us are closer to having a thirteen year-old son than being a thirteen year-old kid.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished, Part II

An update on our recent case in Colorado, with a woman who's terrified of Good Samaritans...

Two teenage girls who got in trouble for surprising their neighbors with homemade cookies will not have to pay nearly $1,000 in medical bills for a woman who says she was so startled that she had to go to the hospital.

Radio station KOA-AM of Denver raised more than $1,900 from listeners Friday to pay the girls' $930.78 fine. The rest of the money will go to a charity dedicated to victims of the Columbine High School massacre.

The story unfolded when teens Taylor Ostergaard, 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitti, decided to bake chocolate chip and sugar cookies and place them outside their neighbors' doors with large red or pink construction-paper hearts that carried the message, "Have a great night" and were signed with their first initials: "Love, The T and L Club."

The trouble began when they approached the home of Wanita Renea Young, 49. Young said she heard someone banging on the door of her rural home late in the evening. She went to the door and saw "shadowy figures" but they refused to answer when she called out to them.

The teens said they did not answer when the woman called out because they wanted the treats to be a surprise.

Young said she was so frightened, she spent the night at her sister's home, then went to the hospital the next morning because she was still shaking and had an upset stomach.

The teens offered to pay Young's medical bills but she insisted on going to small claims court. Judge Doug Walker, after hearing the teens' explanation, awarded medical costs but declined to order punitive damages.

"The victory wasn't sweet," Young said. "I'm not gloating about it. I just hope the girls learned a lesson."

Meanwhile, Richard Ostergaard, father of Taylor, got a restraining order against Young's husband, Herb, in county court, claiming he continues to make harassing telephone calls to the Ostergaard residence.

Wanita Young said, "This has turned into quite a fiasco. It's something that never should have happened and it's just devastating. My phone hasn't stopped ringing. My life has been threatened and I'll probably have to move out of town."

I'm surprised this woman doesn't sue everyone who ever calls her. What lesson were these girls supposed to learn? That some people will sue over anything?

Harry Needs a Hanky

I better watch it before I say more bad things about Harry Reid. It might hurt his feelings...

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid on Monday urged President Bush to stop the Republican National Committee from calling him an obstructionist and criticizing his Senate record, a tactic the GOP used to help defeat Reid's predecessor.

Bush repeatedly has said he wants work with Democrats, most recently during his State of the Union speech last week, Reid noted in a speech on the Senate floor.

"Why didn't he stand and tell the American people last Wednesday that one of the first items of business we were going to do in Washington is send out a hit piece on the Democratic leader?" Reid said.

The Republican committee plans to send a 13-page document to more than a million people -- including in Reid's home state of Nevada -- analyzing and criticizing his votes and stances before he officially took over as Senate Democratic leader in January.

Ah, this from the man who basically promised that Social Security reform is DOA in the Senate, and threatened to continue trying to filibuster Bush's appellate court nominees. Sure, he's an obstructionist, but it's really mean to point it out. It's almost as bad as John Kerry's whining about the attacks on his Senate voting record -- God forbid anyone examine his actual public service.

Maybe the Democrats have figured out a way to get elected -- as long as no one knows what they stand for or did in office, people will be sure to vote for them! After all, who could deny the charisma of men like John Kerry and Harry Reid?

This Just In...

Please note, ESPN's Bracketology has Villanova as a seven seed as of this moment. And that was before we whooped St. Joe's and their pathetic oversized rat-faced pigeon mascot.

Oops, She Sued Them

I'm not sure who I should root for...

Britney Spears is suing eight insurance companies that rejected a $9.8 million claim she filed after injuring her knee during a video shoot last summer. Spears later had to cancel her 2004 summer tour.

The lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan says Spears and her company, Britney Touring Inc., paid the firms more than $1.3 million in premiums to insure her 2004 Onyx Hotel Tour through the United States, Canada and Europe.

On June 8, "while the policies were in full force and effect," court papers say, Spears hurt her left knee in New York during choreography for a video of her song "Outrageous." She had surgery days later to repair the knee.

Court papers say that after Spears canceled the tour, seven of the insurance companies, all in Britain, refused to pay. The other company, a French firm, did not respond at all, court papers say.

The seven British companies said that during a pre-tour medical exam on Feb. 5, 2004, Spears failed to tell them about a pre-existing left knee injury and surgery she had less than five years earlier.

I know we're all waiting anxiously to see this injustice cleared up.

I'm Not Wild About Harry

I haven't blogged nearly enough regarding the Social Security debate, but it's a combination of football obession and too much work that prevented me from pointing out a couple good links. first, we have George Will tearing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid a new one...

In December, Reid, speaking about President Bush's proposal for Social Security reform—a proposal Bush had not yet announced—said: "[Republicans] are trying to destroy Social Security by giving this money to the fat cats on Wall Street." Good grief. "Destroy"? The "fat cats" will not get fatter from the estimated 0.3 percent cost of handling the funds.

Reid's hyperbole suggests that Deanspeak is contagious. In Reid's televised "response" to the president's State of the Union address—written before the address—he disparaged the idea of voluntary personal retirement accounts funded by portions of individuals' Social Security taxes as "Social Security roulette." This is the crux of the Democrats' argument against Bush's plan: Equities markets are terribly risky—indeed, are as irrational and risky as roulette. Think about that.

Roulette is a game without any element of skill. By comparing the investment of some Social Security funds in stocks and bonds to gambling on roulette, Reid is saying that the risks and rewards of America's capital markets, which are the foundation of the nation's economic rationality and prosperity, are as random as the caroms of the ball in a roulette wheel. This, from a national leader, is amazing.

As Will points out, it's apparently not a dangerous enough form of roulette for Reid to skip participating in the federal Thrift Savings Plan. Maybe Reid just used the analogy to promote his home state's biggest industry -- the only other option is that he's an idiot. Well... maybe that explains that glazed look on his face during his response to the State of the Union. And he has to work with Barbara Boxer, which would drive me crazy.

The Lord of Truth sends along a much better analogy, using "Ants and Grasshoppers", one that makes more sense every time I read it...

Suppose that a "retirement genie" alighted on your doorstep and informed you that he had just taken the liberty of reorganizing your finances. To ensure your future safety, the genie transferred all of your savings into a special account with a number of features. First, you cannot touch the monies in the account until you retire. Second, if you and your spouse die, the money is lost unless you have school-aged children. Third, the minute that you retire you will be forced to convert your entire accumulation into an annuity that dribbles the cash out at a low monthly rate. Fourth, the account funds cannot be invested in a well-diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds, but must be parked in a single low-yield government instrument. Finally, you must contribute 12.4% of your earnings into the account every year.

It is hard to imagine that anyone would view these machinations as good news. Indeed, the constraints have a nightmarish quality to them. Since you cannot touch the money until you retire, you no longer have a rainy-day fund, or a down payment for a house. Those whose family histories include significant health risks are punished in one of two ways. If they die before they retire, they never get their benefits. Even when they survive to retirement, they are less likely to live long enough to make the annuity a good deal.

The constraint that the monies not be invested in a well-diversified portfolio violates standard professional practice. Finally, common sense and economic theory suggest that savings should be negative when individuals are young since incomes generally rise throughout adult life. It makes more sense to save when you have relatively higher income. The steady contribution path forces you to live a Spartan life in your youth, often relying on costly credit-card debt.

In the end, Social Security reform will pave the way for more entitlement reform. A better world awaits.

We Will Be Back... and We Will Win

It's days like this, I think of a great quote from the South Park movie...

The Mole: I can't help you. I'm grounded in my room for the next three days.

Kyle: So are we. Our parents think we're home right now.

Stan: Why are you grounded?

The Mole: Why? Because God hates me, that's why. He has made my life miserable. So I call him a c***-s****** a******, and I get grounded.

That's about how all Eagles fans, and Philadelphia sports fans, feel right now.

But life is like that sometimes. Sam Donnellon's column is right on target -- the Birds were flawed last night, particularly at QB, but they deserve a rematch. I believe they are the equal of the team they played. Many people claimed prior to the game that the Pats would be a shoo-in to beat the Eagles, and that they were clearly the superior team. After last night, I tend to disagree.

The Pats executed better, and had the benefit of experience. Some would say they were uncharacteristically sloppy at times, but I'd ascribe that to a superb defensive gameplan that shut them down for much of the first half. I'd also argue that the Eagles, unlike Pittsburgh or Indianapolis, outplayed the Patriots for significant portions of the game, and were done in by their offensive line's subpar play and their QB's scattershot accuracy. Despite all that, they were one play away from winning this ballgame.

Put it this way -- the Pats were a heck of a lot closer to playing their best game than the Eagles were to playing their best game. And yet, the Eagles lost by only three points. I'm sick of the stupid claim that four turnovers should have been six -- remember, the Pats had a fumble that was reversed as well, and the McNabb INT called back due to penalty immediately preceded his first actual INT -- so you can only have one, not the other.

The Pats are a GREAT team. They have a terrific coaching staff which adjusts on the fly and a ravenous defense that is very opportunistic. Above all, they have a fabulous Hall of Fame QB who plays big games better than just about anyone who's ever lived.

And yet, the Birds, despite an uneven performance from their franchise QB (he deserves plenty of criticism, but some of his throws, particularly the TD tosses to Westbrook and Lewis, were gorgeous) and the fact that their star wideout was playing on one good leg, played them down to the final snap. The effort was there, but the execution -- in McNabb's throws, or Johnson's 29 yard punt, or Akers' bad onside kick, or the time management, or Westbrook's failure to snag the last punt, or the defense's inability to shut down the screen game -- missed plenty of times. And they still had every shot to win the game.

I want that re-match. Bring it on, Patsies. We will be in Detroit next year, ready and waiting. And this time, the trophy's coming to Philly -- let's just see if you make it back to defend it.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial today sums it up nicely...

And, perhaps most inspirational for an Eagles crowd, from the immortal Animal House:

Bluto (John Belushi): "Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!... And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the going gets tough... the tough get going. Who's with me? Let's go! Come on!"

Otter (Tim Matheson): "... Bluto's right. Psychotic, but absolutely right... . I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part."

Bluto: "We're just the guys to do it."

E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles!

The Prediction

In case you're wondering, Bill Lyon has a nice column today summarizing what to expect tonight.

I think he's off on only one thing.

The final score.

Eagles 28, Patriots 17.

It's our night.

Win It for All of Them

I got an e-mail the other day from Alli's grandfather. Within 12 hours, it had morphed into the following tribute. Enjoy...

As the city celebrates and the Birds prepare the first of what will hopefully be many Super Bowls in the Reid-McNabb era, I think it's appropriate to remember all those past Eagles from our lifetime who never got a chance to play in this game or win this game but sure made their mark and helped make Eagles football and Eagles fans what we are today. Today is our day... but by extension, it's also their day.

So without further adieu...

Who Is This One For?

1. This one's for Randall "Let Me be Me" and his Ugly Flap, because he was Mike Vick and Donnie Mac before there was Mike Vick and Donnie Mac.

2. This one's for the day Randall signed his contract in the morning, fell behind 20-0 against the Redskins at RFK, then threw 5 TD passes in a comeback 42-37 win.

3. This one's for the first game back on Monday Night Football in 1988, when Randall took that hit from Carl Banks, put one hand down to steady himself, then sprang up and hit Jimmie Giles in the end zone.

4. This one's for Randall's 93 yard punt at the Meadowlands, which just kept rolling and rolling...

5. This one's for Ricky "For Who, For What" Watters, who gave Gruden the finger long before Chucky broke our hearts, and who refused to go over the middle long before Pinky "lost it in the lights."

6. This one's for Keith Krepfle, the only Eagle (so far) to visit the end zone in a Super Bowl.

7. This one's for Jaws, for enduring all the boos, the million sacks by LT, and moving on with class after leading us to our only big game before Sunday.

8. This one's for Wilbert Montgomery, the second-greatest Eagle running back ever, whose most famous run still makes you feel good inside.

9. This one's for Harold Carmichael, the greatest receiver ever to wear Eagles green, at least until we have two or three more seasons of T.O.

10. This one's for Big Daddy Hairston, Bill Bergey, Roynell Young, Jerry Sizemore, Guy Morris, John Bunting, Jerry Robinson, Louie Giammona, Tony Franklin and all the other 1980 Eagles who will now be known as the "first Eagles Super Bowl team" instead of the "only Eagles Super Bowl team."

11. This one's for Dick Vermeil, who will probably be crying with us when we win on Sunday.

12. This one's for Buddy's Boys -- "the Greatest D ever assembled" -- Clyde, Reggie, Seth, 'Dre Waters, Wes Hopkins, Byron Evans, Mike Pitts, Izel "Toast" Jenkins, Mike Golic, Eric Allen, Ben Smith, Todd Bell, Al Harris, Jesse Small and especially 1, 2, 3 J.B. # 99. Bring it Home for Jerome.

13. This one's for the Vet: the cats and rats, the holes in walls, the turf, and the legends.

14. This one's for the Bounty Bowl, the Pork Chop Bowl, the Fog Bowl, The Body Bag Game, the Inch That Stole Christmas, Fourth & One, the Pickle Juice Game, 4th & 26 and all the other classics over the years.

15. This one's for each of seven stops inside the three yard line against the Cardinals at the Vet, when Seth Joyner mocked Johnny Bailey.

16. This one's for the Eagles' 13-6 MNF football win in Houston in 1991, when the Eagles knocked out anything wearing a Houston WR uniform in the Astrodome, a.k.a. The House of Pain, leading to the immortal quote from Jerome Brown, "They brought the House, and we brought the Pain."

17. This one's for Arkansas Fred Barnett and Calvin Williams, Chris T. Jones, Freddie Solomon, Irving Fryar and Antonio Freeman. It ain't, however, for James Thrash, Charles Johnson, Na Brown, Dietrich Jells or Torrance Small. Sorry boys.

18. This one's for Fred Barnett's 93 yard TD catch in Buffalo, after Randall made future Hall of Famer Bruce Smith look silly by eluding a safety in the endzone.

19. This one's for Keith Byars, Heath Sherman and the wonderfully named Anthony Toney, for trying to run behind an offensive line that could best be described as "a work in progress."

20. This one's for Cris Carter, whose Hall of Fame career should have been entirely in Philly, because all he did was catch touchdowns.

21. This one's also for Mike Quick, who made the Eagles of the mid-80's watchable, until Buddy came along and Randall matured (to the extent he ever matured), and gave us a 99-yard TD catch against the Falcons in overtime for the longest play in team history.

22. This one's for Mike Mamula and his half-a-sack, Mike McMillan and all 5 foot 9 of him, Richie the K and his laminated sheet, the Doug Pederson Era, and Tommy Hutton who bobbled the snap on Monday Night in Dallas.

23. This one's for Sean Landeta, the best punter in team history, and John Teltschick, the craziest punter in team history.

24. This one's for Willie T, and Mike Zordich, two guys who could've played for Jim Johnson's defense any day (Ed. Note: ZORDICH? ARE YOU NUTS???).

25. This one's for William Fuller, the forgotten Pro Bowl defensive end who filled in the years between Reggie and Hugh.

26. This one's for Andy Harmon, who was one of maybe two Richie Kotite draft picks who made us cheer.

27. This one's for Rodney Peete and Ty Detmer, who made us smile in the mid-90's a few times, and not just because Rodney was married to Holly Robinson.

28. This one's for Lomas Brown, for guaranteeing victory for the Lions before we waxed them 58-37 in the playoffs. Thanks again, Lomas.

29. This one's for Ray Rhodes, if only because you know he cared about nothing else but winning.

30. This one's for the Swamp Fox, Marion Campbell, and the fact that he should have stayed defensive coordinator, much like Richie K. should have stayed offensive coordinator (just kidding about that last part).

31. This one's for Jeff Fisher (not to mention his porn star mustache), who should have gotten the job when Buddy was fired, and instead beat us to the Super Bowl by five years after waiting a few more years to get the job in Tennessee.

32. This one's for Bud Carson, who took the defense Buddy built and perfected it into the greatest defense ever in 1991.

33. This one's for Wendell Davis' knees, which the Bears receiver left behind at the Vet. Sorry, man.

34. This one's for Stan Walters and Merrill, who proclaimed it Groundhog Day in December because "They give it to Smith and they stopped him AGAIN!!!"

35. This one's for Tony Bruno, Tom Brookshire, G Cobb, Big Daddy Graham, Angelo, Arson Arnie, Joe Conklinm, Rhea Hughes and the Dirty 30, who always brightened the Monday morning drive because you knew someone was out there who shared your pain.

36. And it's even for Wolfman Eskin, and his "Stone Cold Mortal Locks", always there to infuriate you on the ride home.

37. This one's for Al Morganti, who created Wing Bowl and gave us something to talk about, care about and laugh about before all those Super Bowls the Eagles weren't in.

38. This one's for Mike Missinelli and Steve Fredericks, for Jody McDonald and Glen Macnow, Anthony Gargano and Steve Martorano, who let us rant and rave every day for at least 15 fall and winter endings to seasons that were less than satisfactory.

39. This one's for Herm Edwards, who gave us "The Miracle at the Meadowlands."

40. This one's for Clyde Simmons, who gave us "The Miracle of the Meadowlands II" in overtime by grabbing a field goal shanked off the back of our own lineman and running it into the endzone.

41. This one's for Vai Sikahema punching the goalposts and the ageless wisdom of B-Mitch.

42. This one's for Emmitt Thomas -- it wasn't his fault Rhodes likes "bend-but-don't break" so much.

43. This one's for Jon Gruden, because Chucky deserved to win his Super Bowl, just for dealing with Watters. But it's not for Dana Bible or Bill Musgrave.

44. This one's for Bobby Hoying, who was Ben Roethlisberger before there was Ben Roethlisberger.

45. This one's for "Who Framed" Roger Ruzek, Gary Anderson, and Chris Boniol, none of whom would stand a chance against David Akers in a street fight.

46. This one's for Luis Zendejas, if only because he was directly responsible for the Bounty Bowl.

47. This one's for Lester Holmes, Antone Davis, Bernard Williams, Jon Harris, Bruce Walker, Mike Bellamy, Alonzo Johnson, and all the other draft busts that we'd like to forget. But it's definitely not for Kevin Allen or Michael Haddix -- the former a criminal and the latter drafted instead of some guy named Dan Marino.

48. This one's for Steve Young. Why? Because in January 1999, his last-second TD pass to some guy named Owens beat Green Bay in a playoff game... which allowed a Packers QB coach named Andy Reid to interview for a certain job in Philly. If not for Young (and that no-name guy who caught the pass), we might be lamenting the Jim Haslett era.

49. This one's for Ricky Williams, just for proving that we're idiots and Andy Reid's pretty smart.

50. This one's for Bobby T and Troy V, who left just a little too soon but paved the way for Lito and Sheldon. It's not for Al Harris, who's still committing pass interference somewhere in Green Bay.

51. This one's for Damon Moore, who chased and finally caught Ron Dixon at the 4-yard line as the Giants tried, but failed, to pull an 80-yard hook and ladder to prevent us from winning the division for the first time in 13 years.

52. This one's for Brian Finneran, who dropped the pass that would have won Andy Reid's first game as a coach. We forgive you, Brian.

53. This one's for Timmy Hauck, a legitimate crazy hitter who held the fort until Damon Moore and then Michael Lewis were ready. It's not for Blaine Bishop -- some things we can't forgive and forget yet.

54. This one's for Brandon Whiting, who went to San Francisco in exchange for some guy named Owens.

55. This one's for Charlie Garner, the Lightning to Ricky Watters' Thunder.

56. This one's for Ted Plumb, the offensive coordinator whose greatest contribution was saving Buddy from choking on a pork chop.

57. This one's for Chad Lewis, for his two TD grabs in the NFC Title Game and his class and guts throughout the last seven years.

58. This one's for Tommy McDonald -- his irrepressible spirit, energy and passion.

59. This one's for Timmy Brown and his front teeth.

60. This one's for Duce, who, thankfully, took the Championship jinx with him across the state to Pittsburgh. DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCE!

61. This one's for Franklin Field, the site of the last real title won by this franchise.

62. This one's for the 700 level, because it scared everyone, including many of us who sat there.

63. This one's for every road game in DC, Dallas, Miami, Tampa, Hot-lanta, Charlotte and every other stadium where Birds fans show up en masse and take over to turn it into a home game for the green and white.

64. This one's for Jim McMahon, his shades, his 'tude, and his leadership.

65. This one's for Billy Campfield sprinting down the sideline for a huge TD against Chicago in the 1979 wild-card game.

66. This one's for Paul McFadden, our last barefoot kicker.

67. This one's for Santa Claus.

68. This one's for MNF in Dallas in 1979, when Jaws and Wilbert and Bergey and Carmichael and Bunting and the rest proved they'd arrived by beating Dallas, with help from Tony Franklin's 59 yard field goal.

69. This one's for Buddy's decision to rub it in against Landry and the Cowboys, by having Randall fake taking the knee and fire a pass for Quick to run up the score on Dallas. After Byars scored on the next play, every fan in Eagles Nation knew that our coach understood what we felt for the Cowboys.

70. This one's for the endless chants of DALLAS SUCKS, DALLAS SUCKS!!!

71. This one's for Steve van Buren and the 1948 and 1949 title teams, the only true dynasty in Eagles history.

72. This one's for Darnell Autrey and Chris Warren, who made us all realize how good Duce was.

73. This one's for Corell Buckhalter's knees, and N.D. Kalu's knee. Get well, guys.

74. This one's for Shawn Andrews, who will be as good a first round pick as we've ever had when he gets healthy.

75. This one's for A.J. Feeley, for going 4-1 down the stretch, dating Heather Mitts and getting us a second round pick from the Dolphins.

76. This one's for the arbitrator at UPenn who made it clear T.O. would be a free agent if he had to make a ruling.

77. This one's for Jon Ritchie, his great blocks and bloody forehead.

78. This one's for Kevin Turner, because it's not his fault he wasn't Tom Rathman.

79. This one's for James Willis, Mike Reichenbach and Barry Gardner, the mediocre middle linebackers who made us cherish guys named Evans and Trotter.

80. This one's for Don McPherson, the original Donnie Mac from Syracuse. Also the less talented one.

81. This one's for John Facenda, because he would be rooting for the Birds.

82. This one's for Bill Campbell, who called the last title win in Franklin Field.

83. This one should be for Chuck Bednarik, but if he keeps rooting for the Pats, it'll be for the first Birds fan to stop by his house and sing "Fly, Eagles, Fly" in his front yard after we win.

84. This one's for Ed Rendell and his snowballs from the upper deck.

85. This one's for Vaughn Hebron and Junior Tautilitausi, preseason phenoms who never fully panned out in Philly.

86. This one's for Barkann and the Comcast Sportsnet guys.

87. This one's for Ray Didinger, for being the unofficial historian of the Eagles.

88. This one's for Conlin and Lyon, Dolson and Ford, Ordine and Bowen, Hayes and Narducci, Steven A. Smith and Rich Hoffman, Smallwood and Domowitch, and all the rest of the beat writers and columnists who kept us laughing, screaming and crying for 20-plus years.

89. This one's for John Welbourn. Hope you're happy in KC.

90. This one's for Rocky Balboa. Just like in the movies, we're always the underdog.

91. This one's for Guido Merkens. Hey, it wasn't his fault he stunk.

92. This one's reserved for future retirement. This one's for the late, great Minister of Defense, who won a Super Bowl in Green Bay, but deserved one in Philly. We know he's smiling down on Philly's faithful today. God bless you, Reggie.

93. This one's for SignMan. We'd come up with someting, but it wouldn't be as funny as anything he would write.

94. This one's for the Eagles' cheerleaders, their dancing, their outfits and their lingerie calendar. It's also for Swoop, because cavorting with cheerleaders must be so tough.

95. This one's for the guy leaving the Linc last January after the NFC Title Game loss to the Panthers who looked at the camera and shouted through tears, "I hate you! You break my heart every time!" Because we all felt the same way.

96. This one's for a good pre-game meal at Chickie's and Pete's and a good post-game cheesesteak at Pat's.

97. This one's for Jeff Thomason... oh, wait, scratch that. He's back.

98. This one's for Jim Murray, the best Eagles GM before Banner-Reid.

99. This number's retired. One more time, it's for Jerome.

100. Lastly, most of all, this one is for all the Philly Phaithful of Eagles Nation who've invested their blood, sweat, cheers and tears into this team and never stopped believing that one day, some day, THIS DAY would arrive.

How sweet it is!!!

Now let's go beat the Pats!!!