Billick Fired

Today, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti fired head coach Brian Billick.

Brian Billick was fired as coach of the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, less than a day after his team concluded a disappointing 5-11 season and less than a year after receiving a contract extension through 2010.

Players were told of the dismissal as they packed up their lockers at the team's practice facility.

Only a few weeks ago, Billick proclaimed that he would return in 2008, but Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who does not speak to the media during the season, made no public statement to that effect.

"I just changed my mind," the owner told The Baltimore Sun on Monday. "I can't explain it to you. It's the toughest decision I've had to make."

Now, I'm not an NFL owner, but to me, this doesn't make any sense. They still have to pay him, and who else is out there looking for a job who can do it better? And I would think you would be able to explain it.

The only thing I think will work out is to promote Rex Ryan to head coach, and hire a young offensive coordinator.

Where ever Coach Billick ends up, I'll pull for him.

Party Time

My blog is 3 today.

Fair and Balanced?

Notsomuch.

Fox News is excluding Ron Paul from their Republican debate. No reason why, he's polling higher than some who are included.

I usually think the media-as-part-of-a-giant-government-conspiracy camp is a little nutty... but I'm starting to think there's more to it than just the FCC and White House approving scripts for ER.

Via The Agitator.

Update: This may not be true. One of the risks of the internet as a news medium is that incorrect information can run wild before a correction even shows up. Still haven't seen a correction in any major news outlet, however, so I'll leave this up. If it turns out to be wrong, I'll post accordingly, with some pithy comment about bloggers or something.

New Jersey, where the government will eventually run your life.

Two unrelated stories in the last few days regarding New Jersey and the overwhelming reach of the state government.

First, all pregnant women will be tested for HIV. Boy, I can't wait for national healthcare, because this is what it looks like.

A bill signed into law Wednesday by the Senate president, Richard J. Codey, in his capacity as acting governor, requires two tests for pregnant women, at the beginning of the pregnancy and again in the third trimester, unless the mother objects. If the mother objects, the objection will be noted and the newborn will then be tested for HIV, with the only exception being on religious grounds. Newborns will also be tested if the woman tests positive.

Then, if you are convicted of a sex crime, the state can limit your use of a computer and the internet.

The law prohibits anyone convicted of using a computer to commit a sex offense from using computers or accessing the Internet for part or all of their parole. It also allows the State Parole Board to impose Internet restrictions on sex offenders who did not use a computer to facilitate their crimes.

The law requires the parolees to allow unannounced examinations of their computer equipment and the installation of monitoring hardware or software. It also would require convicted sex offenders to tell authorities if they have access to a computer or other devices that can access the Internet and obtain written approval to use computers or the Internet.

Wait until they decide we should all be monitored. This makes Maryland look like a Utopia.

WWJD

This story confirms pretty much everything I think about organized religion... it isn't about what they say it's about.

Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests attacked each other with brooms and stones inside the Church of the Nativity as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning on Thursday.

The basilica, built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born, is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic authorities.

Any perceived encroachment on one group's turf can touch off vicious feuds.

On Thursday, dozens of priests and cleaners were scrubbing the church ahead of the Armenian and Orthodox Christmas, celebrated in early January. Thousands of tourists visited the church this week for Christmas celebrations.

But the clean-up turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church's section, touching off a scuffle between about 50 Greek Orthodox and 30 Armenians.

Palestinian police, armed with batons and shields, quickly formed a human cordon to separate the two sides so the cleaning could continue, then ordered an Associated Press photographer out of the church.

Four people, some with blood running from their faces, were slightly wounded.

It does remind me a little of trying to get my siblings to clean our house.

Hello

Work has been unreal, nonstop. I haven't had time to do anything but work. I had to go Christmas shopping on Saturday! (Mad props to the Target in White Marsh, though - fully staffed, made shopping on the biggest day of the year a pleasant experience).

I do have some things to say, and hopefully over the next few days, some time to say them.

The real cost of the drug war

Radley Balko (The Agitator) as been covering the Corey Maye case for quite some time (in all honesty, he's a big part of why Maye is no longer on death row). On Monday, he did a really nice job putting a face (several faces, actually) on the cost of the drug war.

Thank this war. The goddamned drug war. It is so incredibly senseless and stupid. And it’ll continue to claim and ruin lives, because too few politicians have the backbone to stand up and say after 30 years, $500 billion, a horrifyingly high prison population, and countless dead innocents, cops, kids, nonviolent offenders, decimated neighborhoods, wasted lives, corrupted cops, and eviscerations of the core freedoms this country was allegedly founded upon, the shit isn’t working. It’ll never work. It never has. It’s a testament to the facade of truth that is politics that no leaders from the two majors parties have in thirty years been able to say this. That maybe, just maybe, we’re doing it wrong. Maybe, just maybe, kicking down doors in the middle of the night and storming in with guns in order to stop people from getting high….isn’t such a good idea. Maybe, just maybe, the idea getting tips from racist, illiterate, drug-addicted informants about which doors, if you kick them down, will lead to drugs? Well maybe that isn’t such a sound policy, either. We can’t even get one of the leading candidates for president to say that. The safe position is always to advocate for more money, more government power, more militarism—and less freedom, less common sense, and less worry about collateral damage. Sensibility, honesty, or compassion? Too risky.

Take the time to read the entire post, it's very moving.

And think about this the next time you hear one of the candidates talking about his faith, and how he exhibits it. I'm pretty sure Jesus would have something to say to us about Corey May and Ron Jones.

Update

Been way too busy. I'll have some things to say shortly.