Mason Nation Swelling

The out-of-the-shadows history of the university is being told far and wide. It began in an old elementary schoolhouse with 17 students in 1957. Now George Mason University's sprawling Fairfax campus serves nearly 30,000 students. The jolly tale of George Mason's march through this spring's version of annual hoops madness -- which will end happily, or not, in Indianapolis -- has captivated the nation.

As well, sports fans everywhere are now discovering the subtle charms of Jim Larranaga (pictured left), the author of the NCAA’s best Final Four underdog story ever. That’s good because Coach Larranaga, who has been doing his job the same way for a long time, deserves this time in the spotlight.

While most other college head coaches occasionally whine or show anger after games in the media room -- for some it's more than occasionally -- Larranaga's habit is to praise what he sees as praiseworthy and skip the rest. Yet, he is at the same time quite forthright in answering tough questions. This is a coach who consistently sets a good example for his players.

Like the rest of the greater CAA family, VCU Rams coaches, players and fans here in Richmond have been familiar with how rugged Larranaga's teams have been/always are for a good while. In the Big Dance's competition it's said the referees frequently allow more contact -- they let 'em play. For savvy teams that aren’t shy about a little contact that can be a boon.

For well-coached players who can adjust their moves to how closely the officials are calling a particular game another advantage can be taken. For example, nimble Jai Lewis (pictured right) has been using his 275 pounds quite deftly to get his way on the floor, just on the right side of what is being allowed. All the Patriots have been working this aspect of the NCAA tournament so adroitly it’s been quite a treat to watch.

Sportsbook.com says 16 states are betting more on both UCLA and LSU to win it all. Florida is the favorite in 12 states. Mason has only six. Each school's own state is backing it. Curiously, the states other than Virginia that lean toward the underdog Patriots are Hawaii, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Dakota. South Dakota? To see the color-coded map of all 50 states click on this link -- Not Larry Sabato.

With the tipoff of Saturday’s 6 p.m. tilt pitting George Mason against Florida only one day away, after defeating Connecticut in overtime there's no reason for the swelling Mason Nation to fear the Florida Gators. Meanwhile, here are some links to stories that might help with savoring the anticipation of April Fools Day:

AP: Larranaga loving Cinderella ride to Final Four
USA Today: Larranaga well-equipped to orchestrate Mason's run
The Charlotte Observer: Larranaga turns to UVa days for strategy
South of the James: For Black Alumni, George Mason’s Basketball Success is Even Sweeter
Richmond Times-Dispatch: GMU, before the big time
Yahoo Sports: Mason means business

Photos: Larranaga - USA Today; Lewis - SLANT

Music Memo from Page Wilson

This notice came in from my friend Page Wilson:

"We just celebrated our 10th anniversary at our current Swamp home. Twice a year we come to you looking for support in the form of your becoming a member of Your Community Idea Station, 88.9 FM WCVE. For two hours, this Saturday evening is your magic moment.

"T'were it not for WCVE, the Out O' the Blue Radio Revue would not be on the air. I hope you will pick up the phone and become a member.

"VCOM, the Virginia Coalition of Motocyclists, will be answering the phones once again. You don't have to break the bank to have an impact, letting the folks who make our show possible that you appreciate our little Saturday evening foray into the Chickahominy Swamp world of Purebred American Mongrel Music.

"Thank you in advance for your support on this very important mission: to keep great music on the airwaves. 1-800-478-8440."

Insulating Bush

Here’s an eye-opening National Journal article by Murray Waas (thanks to a heads-up from Waldo Jaquith) that's worth a look. In “Insulating Bush” Waas shines a new light on the spy-outing aspects of the Bush administration’s pre-invasion propaganda to sell WMDs-in-Iraq as reality, come hell or high water.

“...The New York Times later reported that White House aides ‘had choreographed every aspect of the event, even down to the members of the Lincoln crew arrayed in coordinated shirt colors over Mr. Bush's right shoulder and the Mission Accomplished banner placed to perfectly capture the president and the celebratory two words in a single shot.’

“On May 6, in a column in The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof quoted an unnamed former ambassador as saying that allegations that Saddam had attempted to procure uranium from Africa were ‘unequivocally wrong’ and that ‘documents had been forged.’ But the column drew little notice.”

A Brief History of Future Shock

by Travis Charbeneau

As our scene opens, we live much like our ancestors lived, in the fixed and perfect world God made. Then the aliens arrive. Their technology is nothing short of miraculous. Their values, to the extent they seem to have any, are appalling. We expect God to blast them at any moment, but He doesn't -- evidence of either God's favor or (can it be?) His impotence before the alien God/gods (again, if they have any).

But worst of all is the sheer culture shock: so many ancient assumptions abruptly dashed.

The Sun, for example, clearly circles the Earth -- yet the aliens convincingly demonstrate the opposite. Then they show how our obviously flat planet is in truth round. Further, Earth is not the center of the universe, but merely one of many worlds circling one of many stars. Perhaps worst of all, the aliens say we are not the center of the universe; not even mini-gods as we'd been taught for millennia. No, Man is just another animal ... descended from monkeys!

It's too much. We feel ... alienated. Our fixed and perfect world has been yanked from beneath our feet. We wish we could go back to the happy days before the aliens arrived. Their dizzying assertions and proofs are convincing, but even if they have the truth, we'd really prefer some comfort.

Minor variations on this scene replayed throughout the 15th century and Europe's "Age of Discovery." Columbus played the alien to indigenous America; Magellan to the Pacific. Etc. But less noted is the fact that the "Age of Discovery" itself was playing the alien to Europe. Beginning in that same 15th century with The Renaissance and continuing with Galileo, Newton, Darwin, we were speedily deprived of our flat Earth, our center at the universe, our divine exceptionalism. Natural science played the alien to Western Civilization. In many respects, Columbus was only marginally less befuddled by culture shock than the "Indians" he mistakenly discovered.

Natural science was sufficiently alien to the faith-based medieval mind that those who got too far out in front were burned as heretics. Unlike Galileo, Newton didn't face the Inquisition, but both overturned their respective worlds. Darwin likewise escaped the stake, but remains so radically offensive that many "moderns" still prefer comfort to his truth, just another skirmish in our notorious "culture wars."

The Bottom Line, however, has forever had the last word. However offensive, natural science enabled technologies that made for industries that created the Universal Comforter: wealth.

Natural science would therefore win many friends to further the terrible upsets of the Industrial Revolution, regularly overturning our world. From the Renaissance onward, humanity has been increasingly alienated by "too much change, too fast." In 1965 Alvin Toffler branded this variety of culture shock "Future Shock," and eventually published a best-selling book of that name.

"Future Shock" itself came as a shock, especially in America. Americans had invented the future. We loved the new and disdained "the Old World." Americans were supposed to take accelerated change as the norm and be very comfy indeed with the technology, consumerism and "progress" that had so powerfully raised our standard of living. And in 1965 we were still riding the crest of post-war prosperity and global economic hegemony. Apart from the stale Cold War, a new Civil Rights movement and early tremors from Vietnam, there wasn't much to be upset about.

Of course, "The Sixties" had not quite happened by 1965.

The Berkeley Free Speech Movement had only begun the previous December. The "Summer of Love" was two years off. What we'd come to see as the fruition of Beat sensibility, "the Movement" against "the Establishment," had yet to grow long hair and head out for the commune "back to Nature," a Hippie take on "traditional values." Among those values were doubts about technology and suspicion of consumption and "progress." The Sixties were very much an effort to come to terms with Future Shock.

In vital respects, the effort failed. Hippies morphed into Yuppies. Boomers came to power. Idealistic Aquarian values, to the extent they existed, were co-opted by orthodontia bills, tuition for the kids, and by 2005, the woes of retirement planning. Doubt and suspicion yielded to the Universal Comforter, plus stock options. But Future Shock persists and accelerates. Terrorists knock down New York.

We owe Communist China 242 billion dollars. Cell phones sprout from our very ears. The upset of "too much change, too fast" today provokes extreme "traditional values" reaction, complete with the old desire to "get back" to this or that Golden Age.

Western fundamentalists long for a return to the Fifties at least, if not some version of the 19th Century. Fundamentalists in the "Developing World," assaulted simultaneously by Western "progress" and the Future Shock that comes bundled with it, long for a return to the 10th Century. Neither can return even five minutes, leaving both to suffer violent, perhaps terminal nostalgia.

Should genuine, ET-style aliens land tomorrow, we might expect to be well-prepared as 500-year veterans of culture shock. But, clearly, we're not. Bred by natural science, the aliens have already landed, and they are us. And, despite all the nice, cozy money -- for those who have it -- many still prefer comfort to truth.

-- 30 --

Note: The photograph of the author and the copy below are from Charbeneau's web site.

"Travis Charbeneau is a freelance writer and musician living in Richmond, Virginia. As an essayist, Travis has written for Alternet and Copley News Service and appeared independently in Utne Reader, Newsday, Esquire Magazine, In These Times, The Detroit News, Keyboard Magazine, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and many other periodicals. His essay 'My Story' won a 1985 PEN award."

No Slack for SubGenius Mom

It's 2006, already, and yet we read this: "Mother pokes fun at religion; loses son."

Outraged by a Church of the SubGenuis parody of a Mel Gibson movie with a relgious theme -- "The Passion of the Christ" -- a Rochester judge with a black hole where his sense of humor ought to be took a mother's child away from her. The woman, Rachel Bevilacqua, was subsequently ordered by the judge, James Punch, to stop blogging about the case. For an off-the-wall story that will leave you wondering -- what the hell?! -- go to Beginnings.

J. R. “Bob” Dobbs, depicted right, is the cartoon pipe-smoking SubGenius logo/mascot. Although he was said to have been killed in 1984, the Church claims he has returned from the dead on numerous occasions.

Picasso and Powell

by F. T. Rea

In February of 1981 I saw Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” with my then-11-year-old daughter. When the Museum of Modern Art’s elevator doors opened the sight of the 25-foot wide masterpiece was so stunning the doors began to close before the spell was broken.
A few months later, what remains history’s most celebrated piece of anti-war art was packed up and sent to Madrid, Spain, upon the 100-year anniversary of Picasso’s birth (1881-1973). There it remains. However, a large copy of “Guernica” hangs on the second floor of the United Nations building -- a tapestry donated to the U.N. by Nelson Rockefeller’s estate in 1985.

On the occasion of then Secretary of State Colin L. Powell’s February 5, 2003 presentation -- underlining his president’s impatience with U.N. members seeking to avoid, or delay, war in Iraq -- the tapestry was completely covered that day by a blue drape. Powell apparently realized that even a replica of that particular piece had to be avoided for a backdrop of any photographs of him on that fateful day.

With the recent passing of the third anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, when I think of what has been uncovered by investigations into the run-up to the invasion, I still wonder how much of what Powell said that day he knew had been ginned up by propagandists to sell a dangerous policy based on bad ideas.

*

In some ways little has changed at the heart of arguments concerning war and occupation since France's army -- as driven by the empire-building vision of Napoleon Bonaparte -- was an occupying force in Spain.

Overwhelmed by the brutality of France's campaign of terror to crush the Spanish will to resist, Francisco Goya (1746-1828) -- a well-connected artist who had much to lose -- took it upon himself to remove the romantic veil of glory, which had always been draped over portraits of war in European art.

Documenting what he saw of war, firsthand, the images Goya hurled at viewers of his paintings and prints radically departed from tradition. Instead of heroic glorification Goya offered horrific gore. The art world hasn’t been the same since.

Following in Goya’s footsteps artists such as Honore Daumier (1808-1879), Georges Rouault (1871-1959), Frans Masereel (1889-1971), Otto Dix (1892-1969), among many others, created still more haunting images illustrating the grittier aspects of modern war.

In the midst of the Spanish Civil War, with the storm clouds of World War II gathering, Spaniard Pablo Picasso created “Guernica.”

On April 27, 1937, to field test state-of the-art equipment, Adolf Hitler loaned a portion of Germany's air force, the Condor Legion, to a fellow fascist dictator -- Spain’s Francisco Franco. The mission: to bomb a small town a few miles inland from the Gulf of Biscay; a Basque village that had no strategic value whatsoever.

The result: utter terror.

Bombs rained on Guernica for over three hours; cold-blooded machine gunners mowed down the poor souls who fled into the surrounding fields.

Four days later with grim photographs of mutilated corpses on the front pages of French newspapers a million outraged Parisians took to their streets to protest the bombing of Guernica.

That same day Picasso, who was in Paris, dropped everything else and began sketching studies for what became “Guernica.” As Spain’s government-in-exile had already commissioned him to create a mural for its pavilion in the upcoming Paris World’s Fair, the inspired artist already had the perfect place to exhibit his statement -- a shades-of-gray, cartoonish composition made up of a terrified huddle of people and animals.

When the fair closed “Guernica” needed a home. Not only was the Spain of Generalissimo Franco out of the question, Picasso decided it wouldn’t be safe anywhere in Europe. Thus, the huge canvas was shipped to the USA and eventually wound up calling MOMA its home until 1981.

*

Colin Powell, a former four-star general, who, unlike some of Bush's frisky neoconservative experts, knows war from the inside out. It seems the Secretary knew something about art history, as well. Six weeks before the invasion of Iraq, he apparently retained a firm grasp on the potential of “Guernica” to cast a bitterly ironic light upon his history-making utterances. That, while he lost his grip on what had been his honor.

Instead of resigning because he disagreed with the Bush policy, Powell said, “We also have satellite photos that indicate that banned materials have recently been moved from a number of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction facilities...”

Powell accomplished his mission, such as it was. Now he lives with what it wrought, three years later, and counting.

-- 30 --

Webb Endorsed by Clark

The Daily Press reports: “Gen. Wesley Clark, former democratic presidential candidate and NATO Supreme Allied commander, today endorsed Jim Webb in his race for the U.S. Senate.”

According to Webb's campaign web site, Clark said, “Jim Webb is a real leader Virginians can count on. He will put the interests of the people of this great state first and will take his fight to the floor of the Senate. He won't back down from any challenge and he will focus on the job he is elected to do. The people of Virginia deserve a full-time Senator and there is no doubt Jim Webb is the most qualified person for the job. Jim is the only candidate with the experience and skills to broaden our party and defeat George Allen.”

This news buffs Webb’s already impressive military/public service credentials. It’s also easy to believe that Virginians who were attracted to the retried four-star general’s 2004 run for the presidency will probably like Webb.

Photo from Webb campaign web site

Motordrive Kitty

In the spring of 1985 I visited New York City. While there I bought a 35 mm Nikon, to replace a camera that had been stolen, and something I'd wanted for a long time -- a motordrive. For the first month or so back in Richmond, I took the Nikon with me all the time, aiming my new lens at whatever I came across.

These two almost identical prints of a sleepy cat in a storefront window on Main Street, taken a fraction of a second apart, probably made better use of the rapid fire capability of the motordrive than most of what I shot then.

Mason? Why Not?

You say you’ve broken out in green and gold? Have you caught Mason Madness? Maybe you’re looking for a reason to believe the Patriots could win it all? Look no further.

It says right here that with what Jim Larranaga’s suddenly Cinderella assortment of players from the DeeCee/Baltimore area -- a hodgepodge? -- has already accomplished, there’s no real reason for them to fear Florida. After Connecticut, sure, bring on LSU or UCLA.

In covering VCU basketball over the years I’ve seen Mason play at the Siegel Center and at the Coliseum during the CAA tournament a bunch of times. While this year’s team must be the best one Larranaga has assembled, chemistry-wise, this Mason team is a lot like every squad that he has coached -- they beat their opponents in many small subtle ways. They hustle.

To tell the truth, it’s always been a little baffling to me when they win. The top teams in the CAA usually seem to have the Patriots out-manned, but they are consistently one of the best teams in the league, anyway.

Consequently, I’ve figured for some time that Larranaga must be a hell of a coach.

While most other coaches occasionally whine, or even show anger after games in the media room, Larranaga praises what he sees as praiseworthy and skips the rest. Following a win, or a loss, he acts like a man -- a gentleman -- who is grateful to have a good job doing exactly what he likes best. And, he is at the same time forthright in answering tough questions. This coach consistently sets a good example for his players. His "sudden" success is the product of doing it the right way for a long time.

Below are links to a few stories about George Mason’s dream run to the Final Four:

Yahoo Sports: Why Not George Mason?
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Seniors' moments carrying GMU
Sports Illustrated: Don't bet against them

Photo from GMU

Illegal immigration = cheap labor

It seems every news story about illegal immigration I hear or read contains at least one sentence tantamount to this odd phrase -- “they (meaning illegal aliens/guest workers) are here doing work Americans are unwilling to do.” It doesn’t matter if it's NPR or CBS, the Richmond Times-Dispatch or the Washington Post. They all are using that language.

Well, it seems to me that obligatory disclaimer is propaganda, and little more. Even stories willing to challenge the bizarre Bush administration's border policy, which is happy to wink at America's mounting illegal immigration problem, don’t seem willing to question whether our society truly needs these hungry workers from parts unknown.

Moreover, are we to blindly accept the presumption that the American economy’s need for these foreign workers trumps other concerns, such as national security, or worries about the effect this phenomenon is having on the take-home pay of American citizens?

Why don’t the news stories say what's what? Aren't undocumented workers frequently willing to work less money? America's labor force is more than willing to work for a living wage. Then again, desperate people will always do what they must.

Bottom Line: Isn’t it also true that lowering the standard wage for blue collar jobs in this country is a lot more important to the Bush administration and its corporate bedfellows than guarding our borders?

20 Answers from Webb

Raising Kaine presents 20 questions of, and answers from, Democratic senatorial hopeful James Webb.

Mason Madness

The last weekend of March and CBS was broadcasting an Elite Eight overtime game, a George Mason vs. Connecticut match-up. Whoa! What could it mean?

Yes, that George Mason, somewhere up in Fairfax. The underdog Patriots, coached by rather unglamorous Jim Larranaga. You remember straight arrow Larranaga, don't you? He was an assistant under straight arrow Terry Holland at Virginia -- the only coach and school from the Commonweath of Virginia to have made it to the Final Four, until now.

Cinderella is still dancing and having a ball. It's the last weekend of March and now preseason polls don't matter any more: Geo. Mason 86, Connecticut 84 (OT).

The Patriots big man, Jai Lewis, shown above rebounding in 2006 CAA tournament action, scored 20 points, grabbed seven boards and dished out three assists in 41 minutes on the floor against the Huskies.

Links to stories about Mason, the first CAA member ever to kick in the door to the Final Four, are below:

AP Story
Box Score
The Mason Gazette

Art Gallery at the Biograph

This story comes from the Biograph Archives, the web site devoted to the history of the Biograph Theatre (1972-87), where a number of new posts are up.
The staff art show that hung during the Biograph's second anniversary party on Feb. 11, 1974 -- which featured the well-attended "The Devil and/in Miss Jones" prank -- included various works by several then-current employees and some former staff members, too. Most of those who worked there in the early days were artists of one stripe or another. This piece, by yours truly, was made to hang in the space of the lobby’s gallery that usually featured the artists' statements.

I also had a couple of pieces in the show. One of them sold and that was fun. Another piece was stolen. That was a bummer and a weird kind of violation.

Although most of the art shows that hung in the gallery displayed the work of local/VCU-connected artists, that was not always the case. In the first three or four years, when the walls of the lobby regularly featured shows that changed every couple of months, or so, occasionally art by then-renown artists, usually printmakers, was on display. Among them were Ernest Trova, Robert Indiana and sculptor George Segal.

From Ernest Trova's Falling Man series

In the summer of 1978, the same time as the Rocky Horror Picture Show began its five-year run at midnight, we had a show up that was memorable for an odd reason. It was a group of silkscreen prints and paintings by Barry Fitzgerald, who drove a cab and sometimes played keyboard in a popular local band, Single Bullet Theory.

Fitzgerald’s work had a pop art, reaction-to-advertising look. His droll sense of humor showed in a series of a half-dozen similar paintings. Each had a large line drawing in black against a background of a flat field of a single color. The renderings were done in the sparse style of a government pamphlet. Each had the same girl, Lois, coughing as she faced the viewer. Each had a caption written across the bottom of the colored panel which explained that Lois was choking on something. I think Barry was asking about $100 apiece for them.

Let’s say the first one was blue. It might have said, “Lois chokes on a gumdrop.” I think one of them did say that. The next one could have been yellow, it would have said something like, “Lois chokes on a pocket watch,” and so forth. The only other caption I remember had Lois choking on an Egg McMuffin; that one I’m sure of.

One day a man claiming to be a lawyer called me to say I had to take the Egg McMuffin piece down, pronto. He told me he was a local guy, who’d been talking that day with an attorney for the McDonalds fast food empire. He asserted that if I didn’t take it down McDonalds was going to lay some legal action on the artist, the Biograph and me.

For my part, I said something like, “What!”

The caller explained that it wasn’t a matter of Fitzgerald saying anything against McDonalds’s signature breakfast sandwich, which was fairly new then. No. The problem was that McDonalds wanted to protect the use of the words “Egg McMuffin.” They didn’t want it to become a generic term for a sandwich made by anyone using the same ingredients, etc.

Then I must have said something like, “What!”

Anyway, the threat finished with how I better do what the caller said, because all the law was on McDonalds’ side.

Well, I called a friend who is a lawyer to ask him what he thought. He said I ought to buy the painting. Then I told Fitzgerald what had happened. He loved it. We decided to leave it up.

So, what happened? Never heard from the wannabe McDonalds lawyer again. For a long time I've wished I had bought the painting.

Mason Wins!

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Carrying the ball for many college basketball fans who enjoy seeing Billy Packer and other business-as-usual hoops experts made to look/smell like windbags, after they carped about a mere CAA team receiving an at-large bid, George Mason methodically finished off Wichita State: Mason 63, Wichita St. 55.

Now Mason advances to Sunday's NCAA action, the Elite Eight. Below are links to stories about the Patriots' Sweet Sixteen victory over the Shockers:

Associated Press: "...There were questions on Selection Sunday about whether the Patriots belonged at the Big Dance as an at-large choice from the Colonial Athletic Association, in part because the team lost two of its last four games. Think they belong now?"

AP Box Score

The Mason Gazette

Oxymoron: Modern Afghanistan - Updated

In the American political game winning points is frequently a matter of opportunism. Any story that flashes across the wire is another chance to bash one’s opponent. When "shit happens" it's always the other guy's fault. There’s a bunch of people earning a good living because they can take almost anything that happens, on any given morning, and turn it into a little bomb to throw at the other side of the aisle in time for the afternoon news cycle. Almost.

Every so often a story comes along that must baffle even the most hardened of spin doctors. Don't believe me? Try this one: Where’s the red state/blue state angle on the bubbling brouhaha in Afghanistan over Abdur Rahman’s trial, set to begin next week? Rahman is apparently facing execution for committing the crime of converting from Islam to Christianity. Click here to read the story from Reuters.

“...Virtually everyone interviewed in a small sample of opinion in several parts of the deeply conservative, Muslim country on Friday said Rahman should be punished. Several clerics raised the issue during weekly sermons in Kabul Friday, and there was little sympathy for Rahman.

“‘We respect all religions, but we don't go into the British embassy or the American embassy to see what religion they are following,’ said cleric Enayatullah Baligh at Kabul's main mosque. ‘We won't let anyone interfere with our religion, and he should be punished.’ Analysts say they doubt the man will be executed and his case could hinge on interpretations of the new constitution, which says ‘no law can be contrary to the sacred religion of Islam.’”

While I can’t say Rahman’s problem makes President George Bush’s policy in Afghanistan look bad, neither can I say it makes it look good. All it does is make me shake my head with wonder at how different that part of the world is from what makes sense to me. It seems to me that people from the Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan region of the globe are more different from us in America, culturally, than people from China, or Peru, or Iceland, or you name it.

It reminds me of listening to a woman who had just come home from a Peace Corps tour of a year or so in Afghanistan in the early 1970s. Here’s how it went: She was quite disillusioned, not so sure the mission of the Peace Corps was even workable in some places. Her story was that the people she met, at various levels of society in Afghanistan, would all steal anything of hers she turned her back on.

This woman, who was about 25 and a liberal, said the people there -- even those who needed help from the modern world the most -- generally considered Americans to be fools for coming there to try to change anything. Anything.

That was then, this is...

Update (TUESDAY, Mar., 28): Afghan Convert in Hiding After Release

"...Abdul Rahman, 41, was released from the high-security Policharki prison on the outskirts of the capital late Monday after a court dropped charges of apostasy against him for lack of evidence and suspected mental illness.

Irish Festival

This note about the Irish Festival came in from musician/radio host Page Wilson, the emcee for the Irish Festival, which will take place on Richmond's Church Hill, Saturday and Sunday (March 25 & 26):

Benefiting St. Patrick's Church, at Broad & 25th Streets. This 21st annual two-day street festival is full of music, food, dancing, children's activities, and general foolishness, involving celebrations of the Emerald Isle. Your last chance this year to get green!! There's a small cover charge; I think it's $2 or $3. I'll be playing a set around 4 p.m. on Saturday, Recklessly Abandoned onstage with Jay Gillespie, Brian Sulser, and Charles Arthur; and will be there both days helping emcee the main stage.

Saturday’s Main Stage Schedule:
10:00 a.m. -- Parade
10:35 -- Irish Dancers
11:00 -- King Golden Banshees
11:40 -- Irish Dancers
12:10 p.m -- The Sommervilles
12:45 -- Powder Keg
1:20 -- Tinkers Dam
2:05 -- Ex-Patriots
2:50 -- Poisoned Dwarfs
3:35 -- Kelly Kennedy
4:15 -- Page Wilson with Reckless Abandon (pictured above)
5:05 -- Bart Chucker Band
6:00 -- Uisce Bethea

Sunday’s Main Stage Schedule:
10:00 a.m. -- Blue Line Highway
10:35 -- Floating Folk Festival
11:15 -- Dave Alltop
11:50 -- The Atkinsons
12:30 p.m. -- Crossroads Dancers
1:00 -- Ominatago
1:30 -- St. Baldrick's Headshaving
2:00 -- Harrison Deane Band
2:45 -- Susan Greenbaum Band
3:25 -- Gary Gerloff Band
4:05 -- Janet Martin Band
4:55 -- SUAS
5:45 -- Andy & Cindy

Photo Credit: F.T. Rea

A Look at Perspective

by F.T. Rea

After decades of driving small station wagons over the same city streets, about four years ago your narrator switched to using a bicycle as his primary ride. Perched on the seat of my 30-some-year-old ten-speed, exposed to the elements and staying alert for signs of a physical threat, I began to notice things mostly ignored rattling around town in metal boxes on wheels.

Now, with my legs in a little better shape, I'm often struck with how much difference a change in perspective can make.

Last year I came upon an accident involving several vehicles. As I negotiated my way around the debris on Floyd Avenue the sobbing of a young woman caught my attention. She was seated at the wheel of one of the wrecks; her hands clutched her face. When I came within a few feet of her mangled vehicle, the sound of despair pouring out of her caught me off-guard; it pierced my practiced detachment. Although I didn't know her, for a few seconds my heart raced as if she was dear to me.

If I'd been in a car I probably wouldn't have seen or heard her. Pedaling away it dawned on me that it had been a long time since I had been that close to a young woman crying inconsolably.

A few days later riding across a small bridge over the expressway, a car nudged me close to the railing and I glanced over at the traffic going by under the bridge. The sense of being up high and close to the drop-off flipped a caution switch in my head.

After a deep breath I enjoyed a private laugh at how much I've changed over the years, with regard to heights. Somewhere in my mid-30s, the daredevil boy who had once climbed the WTVR tower for grins was body-snatched; he was replaced by a nervous bozo quite uncomfortable with heights.

Where we are provides a specific perspective. A high perch can allow us to see more, in a way, but that obscures small details which can mean a lot. An automobile expands our range, but it also seals us off. While time can reveal new truths, the process usually puts a new set of blinders on us, obscuring the old truth.

As the bicycle chain churned smoothly, I wondered if I'll ever get too scared to ride my bike across bridges like that one.

Photo Credit: F.T. Rea

James River Film Festival Schedule

More notes in from the Richmond Moving Image Co-op about the evnets remaining in this year's James River Film Festival:

What: A Reception (sponsored by the Virginia Film Office and the Virginia Production Alliance) where you can meet the festival's guests
When: Friday (tonight) 6 p.m. -7:30 p.m.
Where: Plant Zero Art Center
Tickets: Free Admission; Cash Bar
Note: The public is cordially invited to meet festival guests: producer/animator Ray Harryhausen, composer/guitarist Gary Lucas, experimental animator Martha Colburn, filmmaker David Williams, and members of world jazz ensemble Hotel X over hors d’oeuvres and drinks.

What: James River Film Festival Juried Competition Finalists
When: Friday (tonight) 8 p.m.
Where: Plant Zero Art Center
Tickets: Admission $5
Note: Annually the James River Film Festival hosts a national competition for original short films (30 minutes or less) in any genre (narrative, experimental, documentary, animation), juried by Richmond area filmmakers and professionals. Join us for this premiere screening of our jury’s selections and the announcement of cash award winners (up to $2,000!).

What: Ray Harryhausen screenings with introductions
When: Saturday at10:30 a.m."Jason and the Argonauts"
When: Saturday at 2 p.m. “The Art of Motion”
Where: Byrd Theater
Tickets: Programs are $7 each
Note: Dan Neman’s RT-D article.

What: Gary Lucas with Hotel X
When: Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
Where: The Canal Club
Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door
Note: Hays Davis' RT-D article

Thomas: Standing on a rooftop...

Helen Thomas, surely the doyenne of DeeCee political beat reporters, was called on at President George Bush’s Tuesday press conference. That in itself made news. The room came alive. It was the first time in years the sitting president had deigned to recognize the venerable Thomas thusly; her punishment was apparently over.

Never short on pluck, Thomas promptly told Bush he’d be sorry. Once she asked her question about the origins of the war in Iraq, it was obvious she was right. She followed up when Bush tried to bob and weave. The prez shouted her down, almost. It was good theater. Click here to read Thomas’ column that reacts to that Bush press conference.

“...Bush says he ‘will settle for nothing less than complete victory‘ but admitted that 'more fighting and sacrifice' are needed. He remains optimistic ‘because slowly but surely our strategy is getting results.’ He couples that statement of hope with the warning that the terrorists 'will attack us again.'

“He told a news conference Tuesday that future American presidents and Iraqi governments probably will have to decide when to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq . In other words, we will remain at war in Iraq at least through 2008 and beyond. In the run up to the war, reporters heard almost daily from White House officials trying to make the link between ‘9-11 and Saddam Hussein,’ though the president later acknowledged that he knew of no link between the two.

“Now Bush claims that the terrorists have made Iraq the ‘central front’ in the war on terrorism. Not so. That designation was first heard in the White House press room when the administration was running out of credible rationales for the war.”

Wall of Hair?

Once known for creating a “wall of sound” as a pop music hit-maker/recording engineer, now Phil Spector, 66, is perhaps going for a wall-of-hair look. Pictured left, Spector is charged with murdering actress Lana Clarkson in his Southern California home on Feb. 3, 2003. Now, according to AP:

“A [Los Angeles] judge agreed Wednesday to postpone the murder trial of music producer Phil Spector until September, noting that prosecutors and a defense attorney have scheduling conflicts."

The trial had been scheduled to begin on April 24, but apparently one of Spector's attorneys has to be in New York then for a federal trial. Clark, a B-movie actress who starred in such cult classics as “Barbarian Queen,” was 40 years old on the night she died, after working a shift as a hostess at the House of Blues on Sunset Strip. Police say she went home after work with Spector, who is now free on $1 million bail.

James River Film Festival Notes

This notice about the 13th James River Film Festival came in today from the Richmond Moving Image Co-op's James Parrish:

Naked Testimonials: The Films of Martha Colburn
(2 hour program) Thursday (tonight), 7:30 pm, at Plant Zero Art Center. Admission: $5

Experimental animator Martha Colburn makes things move and morph using a variety of techniques to create colorful, layered patchworks of bizarre and striking imagery -- soldiers in Iraq receiving delicate cosmetic surgery, skeletons superimposed over couples making love, spiders with women’s faces and shadowy phalluses. Combined with her hypnotic soundtracks, Colburn’s visuals emerge as “naked testimonials of our times, and of her generation’s” according to avant-guru and filmer, Jonas Mekas, who connects Colburn’s work to the found-image-collage tradition of Stan Vanderbeek, Dick Preston, and Bruce Conner in the 1960’s. Colburn’s dynamic, self-taught style has found its way onto screens in museums, galleries and microcinemas worldwide! Join us for this very special evening of Colburn favorites followed by a Q&A session with the filmmaker.

Born in Pennsylvania, experimental animator Martha Colburn divides her time now between Holland and New York City, and has exhibited her films at the Sundance, Rotterdam, and New York Film Festivals, the Museum of Modern Art, and galleries in Europe, New Zealand and China.

For more information about the film festival visit the RMIC web site or call (804) 232-7642. Festival programs are available at Chop Suey Books, Video Fan or Plan 9 Music.

CAA 6-1 in Tournaments

This postseason mid-term report card came in from the CAA's Rob Washburn:

Counting both postseason men's basketball tournaments, heading into tonight's NIT quarterfinal game between CAA teams Hofstra and Old Dominion, the CAA has the best post-season winning percentage (.857, 6-1) of any Division I conference. The CAA also trails only the Big East in number of teams remaining in post-season play with three (Hofstra, ODU and NCAA Sweet 16 participant George Mason). Here are the won/loss records for the conferences at this point:

CAA: 6-1 (.857)
Big East: 15-6 (.714)
Missouri Valley: 7-3 (.700)
Pac-10: 6-3 (.667)
SEC: 9-5 (.642)
ACC: 10-7 (.588)
C-USA: 4-3 (.571)
Big Ten: 6-8 (.429)
Atlantic 10: 3-5 (.375)
Big 12: 3-6 (.333)

Update: ODU (24-9) defeated homestanding Hofstra (26-7) by a score of 61-51 on Wednesday night in Hempstead, N.Y., to advance to the NIT's semi-final round at Madison Square Garden.

VCU Tennis Notes

This in from Phil Stanton, VCU’s Sports Information Director:

Following its four victories in winning the 2006 Blue-Grey Classic, in Montgomery, Ala., the VCU men’s tennis team is ranked No. 17 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s national index. This marks the third Blue-Grey title for the Rams in the last four years. VCU plays again on Sunday, Mar. 26, hosting Brown at 1 p.m., at its home facility, the Thalhimer Tennis Center.

The undefeated VCU women’s tennis team (18-0) is ranked No. 21 by the ITA. The women return to action on Friday, Mar. 24, with a 1 p.m. match against Hampton also at home. Both tennis teams are coached by Paul Kostin.

Webb's Strong Suit

Since the mid-1980s hundreds of my commentaries on politics have been published under various mastheads. Hardcore rightwingers are usually sure I’m a liberal, perhaps even a communist. Yet, plenty of lefties disagree sharply with my views on this, or that, and get angry about it. Libertarians tell me I’m one of them. I tell them I’m not.

With my political writing, I'm usually trying to point out an angle others may be missing. In the long run I want to change minds and being the voice of a political party doesn't facilitate that end. So, there you have it, I like to call 'em as I see 'em. Although I’ve been a maverick of a sort for a long time, in some ways, my credentials as a longtime supporter of Democrats go back a good ways, too. See below:
The handbill above is one I did for a fundraiser at the Biograph Theatre, a Fan District repertory cinema I managed, 1972-83. (R. Crumb's trucking man style was deliberately imitated in the McGovern caricature trying to appeal to hippies.)

The other movie theater operators in town and lots of other know-it-alls told me I was crazy to take sides in politics by sponsoring a McGovern benefit. That was still in our first year of operation at 814 W. Grace St. Soon they learned the Biograph was going to be something different from business as usual in Richmond. It was as independent a cinema as it got, in the heyday of art theaters.

James Webb is said to be a maverick. That scares some people. Not me, I like a guy who does his own thinking.

Today I think Webb’s candidacy is probably the best chance Virginia Democrats have had in a long time to reconnect with the authentic roots of their own party -- the Commonwealth’s workers and families who live off their paychecks, everyday people.

There’s a shift in the wind now. A lot of voters who had drifted toward the GOP during the last two decades, because it seemed more modern or righteous to them, have recently had their faith in Republican leadership shaken. Some are now looking for a new style of leadership. Will the Democrats open their arms to welcome these voters, some of them wandering former Democrats? Or will the Democrats bog themselves down with petty disputes over who is or isn’t a “real Democrat,” or who was wrong on this issue or that, back when?

When Webb says the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan has left him, I recognize he’s speaking for a whole lot of others, too. Some of them would like to vote for a president who won't break the bank -- maybe a Democrat. The cynical and short-sighted style of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney must have a lot of smart Republicans thinking about crossing to the other side of the aisle. That’s good. The panel above I did for STYLE Weekly, as part of a five-page spread on the colorful four-way Robb/North/Coleman/Wilder senate race in 1994.

George Allen, who actually said Democrats had “soft teeth” and “whiney throats” at the 1994 Republican convention that nominated Ollie North, is no longer in the catbird’s seat. Times have changed; his proteges Jim Gilmore and Jerry Kilgore don’t look so good anymore. As a Bush yes-man in the Senate, now Allen faces an election that should have everything to do with the Bush administration’s failed policies and inept performance.

OK, on a debate stage, can you imagine semi-glib George Allen referring to James Webb as a whiner? Not likely. (I never have figured out what that "soft teeth" thing was. Like chalky, or rubbery? Or what?)

Democrats who want to defeat Allen should 86 the challenges to Webb’s sincerity. They ought to take the man’s word when he says he has found a home in the Democratic Party. Turning the authenticity of his donkey credentials into an issue is not unlike calling him an imposter, or an infidel.

Have Democrats gotten so inward-looking and shrill they want to be seen as tantamount to a flock of religious zealots demanding utter conformity?

In truth, "authenticity" is probably James Webb’s strong suit. Webb’s rich real life experiences in several fields offer a rather stark contrast to what Allen has actually done on his own. Smart Democrats who want to win should be licking their chops at the prospect of Allen having to contend with Webb.

Bird Flu Is Punishment?

Is God going medieval over same-sex marriage?

Pat Robertson, a well-known American preacher with his own TV show, has said that God sometimes sends storms to punish certain wicked places that don’t do enough to limit homosexuality. Heaven forbid, gays should marry one another! Thus, in Robertson's view, Hurricane Katrina hit a bulls-eye in devastating New Orleans.

As a man of the cloth, who wouldn't just make stuff up, Robertson shakes his jowls and says he gets his weather reports directly from God. (See image above)

Does this worry Robertson's followers? Nope, fundraising is better than ever. Now, in another sign that the postmodern God's pendulum is swinging retro on punishments in the new millennium, a “prominent sage,” Rabbi David Basri, who preaches a form of Jewish mysticism called Kabbalah, has pinned the spread of bird flu in Isreal to God’s punishing far-left political parties which have been “strengthening and encouraging homosexuality.”

Spring has sprung, snow is in the forecast for the Fan District today, and somewhere it must be raining frogs...

Why Can't Basketball Coaches Behave?

Richmond Times-Dispatch sportswriter Paul Woody has written a short column on basketball coaches that I wish every university president in the country would read and consider.

“...College basketball coaches spend too much time hollering at and reacting to the officials. It is foolish to think that does not have an effect on the players and, to some degree, the fans. And it is preposterous to think that officials in a championship tournament are out to "get" either team. More needs to be done to stifle the verbal abuse coaches dole out toward the officials. Head coaches should spend most of the game seated. Now, they stand whenever they wish. Some never bother to take a seat. They prowl the sidelines, instructing players and yelling in the ears of the officials as they sprint by the bench.”

To me, Woody is right on the money. The behavior of too many basketball coaches during games is outrageous. Are they playing to the television cameras? Coaches abuse the refs and their players in the name of leadership. Sometimes they just throw fits, or chairs. In some cases it’s plain to see a crazy coach is making his team crazy, too.

Example: Pete "The Panic" Gillen (pictured above), when he roamed the sideline talking in tongues at Virginia (1998-2005), acted like a nut during the games. His moody teams frequently reflected that on the floor. The mystery remains why he lasted so long.

Photo Credit: F.T. Rea

Baugh's Powell Award - Updated

UPDATE: Here's the link to a more in-depth piece about David Baugh by Tom Campbell in today's Richmond Times-Dispatch

*

TUESDAY, Mar. 14: Some lawyers travel the low road to make a name for themselves -- they use television commercials with jingles. That, while a few still take the high road to get noticed in a world with too many lawyers in a hurry. Richmond attorney David Baugh has won an award for demonstrating his love of the Constitution, as reported in this article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

"The Virginia State Bar will honor Richmond defense lawyer David P. Baugh on April 26 with the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Pro Bono Award for 2006. Baugh, 58, was selected for representation of First Amendment cases, his zealous defense of indigent criminal defendants and his work in teaching other criminal defense lawyers..."

Kudos to Baugh; he represents his profession well. Below the reader will find an interview that ran in the March 2005 issue of SLANT.

Walking With Baugh
by F. T. Rea

Like successful lawyers can sometimes be, David P. Baugh is not afraid to be garrulous, even galling, when he thinks something important is at stake. In a courtroom he’s a tough customer, yet, Baugh is also a bit of a dreamer, who calls the Constitution his “religion.”

Consequently, where others saw only indefensible evil, Baugh recognized chances to shore up a basic principle he says he cherishes -- in the USA everyone is entitled to a fair trial. To make that talk into more -- a walk -- at times Baugh has represented notorious clients, charged with heinous high-profile crimes. “Most lawyers don’t get the opportunity to take on such cases,” said Baugh in his roomy office on Cherry Street in Oregon Hill. “Criminal lawyers don’t represent people; we represent a set of principles.”

By “such cases,” no doubt, Baugh was referring to two of his clients, in particular. In 1999 there was the unrepentant cross-burning Ku Klux Klan official, Barry E. Black, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Then there was Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-‘Owhali, card-carrying follower of Osama bin Laden. For his role in the 1998 bombing of the American embassy in Kenya al-‘Owhali received a life sentence in 2001, supposedly, with no chance of release.

In pursuit of taking stands Baugh has served a little time (five days for his 1991 courthouse scuffle with then-Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Morrissey) and he has served on the Richmond School Board. I met Baugh shortly after he began his law practice in Richmond in 1983. Over the years talking with him about politics has always been interesting, because he is not the least bit shy about saying what he thinks, off the top of his head.

During the interview that preceded the Q and A section below a new aspect of Baugh was revealed to me. It was a side of him I hadn’t seen before -- the proud son, with big shoes to fill. His father, Howard L. Baugh (who grew up in Petersburg), was one of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, who flew P-40s and P-51s in World War II.

The unpracticed warmth in the son’s voice, as he spoke of his father’s military adventures and the medal, France’s Legion of Honor, that was bestowed upon him in a ceremony in Paris last summer, underlined his adoration for his father. “He was always my hero,” said Baugh.

SLANT: As men you had to work with how difficult were Black and al-‘Owhali? Were they in any way similar?

BAUGH: Mr. Black and Mr. al-‘Owhali were zealots, persons driven by a cause. Both were very polite and gentlemanly. There was an initial phase of distrust, but that is to be expected. Due to the nature of the defense, I did not have to work with Mr. Black. The facts were set and uncontested. The sole reason for the trial was to make a record from which to appeal and challenge the statute. With al-Owhali -- a death case -- there was much more work and the need to get the jury to understand the defendant’s perspective to assess the morality, or immorality, of his actions.

S: To prepare for the al-‘Owhali case what did you do beyond gathering facts, to better understand your client’s mindset, and al-Qaida’s motives and its way of operating?

B: For the al-‘Owhali case I tried to read the Koran. Impossible! I did read history books, a lot of Internet information from that area and a wonderful book, “Teach Yourself Islam,” from a woman in England. This 250-page book exposed me to my ignorance and the general ignorance of the West, concerning this religion. When I understood these things I could understand the framework upon which my client’s logic was laid.

S: What does the general public in this country need to better understand about al-Qaida’s nature?

B: In [al-‘Owhali’s] trial, Al-Fadl [a former member of al-Qaida] testified: ‘You cannot understand al-Qaida unless you understand Islam. We have more people willing to martyr themselves than we have targets.’

One of the realities of democracy is the need for a well-educated and informed population. [In America] news programs are a collection of sound bites, and the news is slanted. Everyone concerned with the preservation of the world should spend some time learning about Islam and the truth about it.

S: What’s your stand on the military tribunals, rather than trials, for the Guantanamo detainees?

B: The entire policy reminds me of a lousy Nazi movie and [it] reflects a lack of faith in the brilliant philosophy of our constitution -- which is not merely a list of rules, but more accurately, our morality, our moral rudder which guides us and who we are.

S: What’s your reaction to the call for Constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriages and flag-burning?

B: The proposed same-sex marriage ban and flag-burning amendments would undermine the constitution from within. The sole purpose of the bill of rights is to protect us from our government and the majority of ourselves. When the majority and the government suggest amending to limit rights, rather than expand rights, it should be viewed with great suspicion.

S: Regarding Virginia’s laws and practices, what needs to be changed right away?

B: Virginia needs to be more inclusive. The laws preventing full restoration of convicted felons need changing. These laws are not odd when one considers Virginia’s history of trying to limit the voting base to property owners and whites.

S: Finally, regarding politics, are there any more runs for political office in you?

B: I was on the school board and lost reelection. I still feel that the school system is the key to the resolution of the nation’s woes. Democracy requires a well educated and informed populace. The quality of students being graduated from America’s schools is pitiful, by and large. Basic information is not known to most and information which is not directly related to some paycheck is deemed unnecessary.

If I could spend more time in Richmond, instead of following my practice around the country, I would run for that office again. We cannot make all parents good parents. Therefore [at school] we must expose younger children to that to which they should be exposed. We need to shape a new perspective.

Illustration by F.T. Rea

Patriots Humble Heels

George Mason's smothering defense was too much for defending NCAA champion North Carolina today, as the underdog entry from the CAA ended the season for the ACC bluebloods: Mason 65, North Carolina 60.

The success that Mason, as a so-called “mid-major,” has demonstrated by making it to the Sweet Sixteen, as an at-large entry, is especially sweet to fans of the CAA. The brand of basketball played in the Colonial, where the players generally stay for four years, is appreciated by true fans of the game, who like to believe that teams still win games, not stars. Well, ask the Tar Heels.

In the ACC, Big Ten, etc., the best players usually leave in a hurry. George Mason doesn’t have anybody on its roster likely to be drafted by the NBA. North Carolina always has several. However, today the best team won. Kudos to the Patriots head coach Jim Larranaga.

And, kudos to the CAA’s commissioner Tom Yeager, who is pictured above talking with referee Karl Hess. Yeager worked long and hard to see this day.

James River Film Festival

The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s movie reviewer Dan Neman previews the 13th James River Film Festival, which runs from Monday, Mar. 20 throiugh Sunday, Mar. 26 (events are at vaious locations):

"The James River Film Festival has never been mainstream. It has always been on the fringes, showing independent, artistic and experimental movies to the small but dedicated art film crowds. This year, the festival's 13th, is no different. The films to be shown from Monday through March 26 tend to provoke extreme reactions, whether favorable or not. One of the guest speakers, Ray Harryhausen, has come to be revered after a career during which he pleased his fans more than the critics, who often found his films schlocky and cheesy..."

For anyone interested in volunteering to work with the Richmond Moving Image Coop during the week-long festival the chance is still there, if you act quickly. The message below is from the RMIC:

Volunteers only need to work one event to receive their volunteer pass and obtain free admission to all festival events! A volunteer meeting will be held Sunday, March 19 at 4:00 p.m. at Plant Zero. You will need to sign up for volunteer slots before attending this meeting.

Contact Kirsten Hirsch, Volunteer Coordinator: kahirsch@vcu.org

Warner's Momentum - Updated

That Mark Warner is being boosted by Daily Kos sure isn’t going to hurt the former Virginia governor’s move to become a player on the Democratic Party’s national stage. Warner is busy doing what a candidate ought to be doing at this point, he’s putting his ducks in a row and weighing his options. Kos is helping with the ducks and that’s going to mean a lot of young lefties and other political junkies in all sorts of places are getting to know Warner, a guy they might not notice otherwise.

New York Times Magazine cover March 12, 2006
The following editors' note was posted on the N.Y. Times web site on Wednesday, March 15, 2006: The cover photograph in The Times Magazine on Sunday rendered colors incorrectly for the jacket, shirt and tie worn by Mark Warner, the former Virginia governor who is a possible candidate for the presidency. The jacket was charcoal, not maroon; the shirt was light blue, not pink; the tie was dark blue with stripes, not maroon. The Times's policy rules out alteration of photographs that depict actual news scenes and, even in a contrived illustration, requires acknowledgment in a credit. In this case, the film that was used can cause colors to shift, and the processing altered them further; the change escaped notice because of a misunderstanding by the editors.

Calling Warner the Anti-Hillary, as some now like to see him, is an easy lede but mostly it's trick to cast him as a gimmick. But those propagandists trying to brand Warner in that fashion, to hobble him, are probably in for a surprise -- unlike so many politicians, with Warner's natural aw shucks style, the build-up doesn't outweigh the performance.

As he proved in Virginia, the more you see of Warner, the more you like him. Although she has lots of powerful friends, can the same be said of Hillary Clinton?

From Kos:

"While just about all the 2008 contenders from both parties ignored Austin's South By Southwest (did they even know it existed?), the Warner campaign was busy building support. Warner hails from the tech industry an thus has credibility in this field. And his tech people were working it, recruiting the smartest and brightest industry execs to serve on advisory panels or work the campaign.

"While most of the other campaigns will hire the same ol' consultants doing the same ol' crappy websites (and thinking that "blogging" is cutting edge and hip), Warner's people were scouring the conference for the interactive technologies of tomorrow, the stuff that will truly be cutting edge and hip in 2008. By then, blogging will be downright institutionalized.

"The goal was clear -- locking these supporters up early not only gives the Warner campaign a frighteningly effective talent pool to draw from as the election heats up next year, but also deprives rival campaigns of their talents."

Joe Morrissey, Still Battlin’

Joe Morrissey, Richmond’s erstwhile feisty little dickens is in the news again. STYLE Weekly is reporting that after a cooling off period wa-a-ay out of town, Richmond's former Commonwealth’s Attorney and star of thousands of TV commercials has become a celebrity in a hurry down in Australia. Yes, Australia.

"Last week a Supreme Court justice in Sydney, Australia, reviewed the application of Richmond’s expatriate and pugnacious former top prosecutor, Joseph D. “Fightin’ Joe” Morrissey, to practice law in that country. When he applied to work in Australia, he had failed to mention his troubled past in Richmond to authorities. A former Richmond commonwealth’s attorney and notorious defense lawyer here, Morrissey was stripped of his license to practice law by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in 2002 for unprofessional conduct."

Illustration by F.T. Rea

Claude 'Kleptomeister' Allen's Role Model?

Thanks to a posted heads-up -- “Weisberg launches damning attack on Bush, via Claude Allen” -- from J.C. Wilmore at The Richmond Democrat I read an excellent piece in Slate, ostensibly about President George W. Bush's top advisor on deep discounts, Claude Allen.

With this shoplifting scandal about to break Claude "Kleptomeister"Allen quit his White House job last month. No, Claude is not related to Sen. George Allen. However, both Allens are tied directly to another deep-thinking Republican who isn't exactly welcome at the White House anymore, either, Jim "Shark Task Force" Gilmore. Ah, but that's another story.

The Slate piece, "Claude Allen's Mentor," by Jacob Weisberg, is brisk and sarcastic. It’s ripping entertainment for those who really don't like Bush and his neocon henchmen one bit.

“...The president has expressed his shock and disappointment. How could one of his top appointees, a devout Christian who passed a series of FBI background checks, have been a common thief? But the more we hear about what Allen is accused of, the less it sounds like kleptomania and the more it sounds like an application of Bush economic policy.”

Wilder: R-Braves 'Walking Away'

“Mayor L. Douglas Wilder says the Richmond Braves are unwilling to work with the city on building a new ballpark. The team ‘is now turning its back and walking away from the people of Richmond,’ Wilder said this afternoon,”as reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Why has it come to this?

Enough of milking the public's reaction to the Maymont bears' bad luck. Let's hear the mayor tell us the unvarnished truth about what has happened over the last couple of years with regard to where the R-Braves ought to play baseball.

Hack Attacks vs Webb's Sizzle

James Webb comes across as his own man. Just the thought of such a creature scares the hell out of hacks on both sides of the aisle. So, Webb and anyone -- such as Leslie Byrne -- who sides with him from now on is going to be attacked. Like it or not, the pattern has already been established.

In an age marked by bland conformity, an authentic maverick with some natural charisma could have sizzle enough to break the mold and get most of his power directly from the voters. That, instead of having to cut all sorts of deals with party insiders and petty poohbahs.

No doubt, strange bedfellows will find one another, plots will hatch and attacks will come from every angle. It’s like everybody in politics today is working from smarmy Karl Rove’s low-road playbook -- using surrogates, attack the opponent’s strong suit with whatever truth or fiction might stick long enough to work.

My hope is that Webb’s ardent supporters will not take the bait to play the game in that same go-for-the-throat style. There’s a long campaign ahead and restraint needs to be used, sometimes. You can’t run the whole marathon of a race like it’s a sprint.

In order for Webb to win he needs to emphasize how different he is from the run-of-the-mill politician. He needs to flush out new voters. If his supporters and aides act just like Republican pit bulls, using the same nasty tactics, it will do much to obscure the differences between their honorable man and George Allen, whatever he is.

That’s exactly what the Republicans need.

The GOP wants voters to see Democrats as just as dirty as their guys, in every way. Note the way the Jack Abramoff scandal is being furiously sold by Republican propagandists and rightwing commentators as touching both parties equally. That’s just one example of the same strategy.

It's no wonder Webb had to think long and hard about running. He was tough as nails as a young man on a mission. Now we'll all see just how good of a fighter he still is, as a man in his 50s, accustomed to calling his own shots.

Labels That Don't Stick

The language of politics is always worth thinking about, again. Like votes, hopefully, every word counts. Along those lines, “Labels That Don’t Stick” is a piece I wrote for STYLE Weekly a couple of years ago. (Click on the link to read the whole piece)

"...In the contemporary American political game, when players call themselves or their opponents 'liberals' or 'conservatives' they are probably just trying to jerk you around by what they see as your shallow understanding of the situation. Today's political issues divide along many lines. There are urban vs. suburban arguments. There are differences that split generations, classes, lifestyles and you-name-it. Trying always to frame such issues in a left-right context tortures the truth."

The Miller Fix?

Wanting to know more about Harris Miller and having noted from Lefty Blogs that the candidate has a new web site, I clicked on the link. The first thing I saw was a head-scratching, boring blurb in bold type at the top of the page: “We Can Fix Washington." Then this: "Together, we can clean up Washington and refocus our government on the right priorities.”
Without going any further, I cringed and wondered: who in the world would put such banal, vague copy up as the most important thing for a viewer to see? Was it a joke? Would a serious player approve of such a lame message? It was like a Saturday Night Live parody of political pap written by a focus group for a bland candidate with nothing of his own to say.

Out of respect for a sharp politician that I like, Mark Warner, who is said to be close to Harris Miller, I’ve been wanting to keep an open mind on the Miller candidacy. Although I lean toward his opponent, James Webb, I’ve declined to say/write anything against Miller, himself. But the stuff coming out of his campaign seems quite bush league, so far. I wonder what Warner thinks of it.

Supposedly, Miller has some party regulars, pros, among his advisors. Well, it isn't showing.

The Fallback

Writing for the New York Times, Matt Bai provides a savvy analysis of the Democrats’ race for the 2008 presidential nomination, as it pertains to Virginia’s Mark Warner. “The Fallback” is worth the time to read.

“...The Democratic field now emerging, on the other hand, is looking a lot like Gladys Knight and the Pips -- and you can guess who gets to be Gladys. The party's insiders, expecting Clinton to be a virtually unstoppable force, seem to be falling in line behind her, which means there will be only so much additional money and organization left over for those who would challenge her. But more than anything, Democrats will tell you that they are desperate to win next time around, and a lot of pragmatic activists and voters worry that Clinton is simply too divisive a candidate to take back the White House. (In a Gallup poll in January, 51 percent of respondents said they would definitely not vote for her.) These Democrats are actively shopping for a candidate who can derail Clinton before the party, as they see it, dooms itself to yet another near miss. And so the conventional thinking holds that there may only be room for two serious candidates by the time the primaries roll around: Hillary and the anti-Hillary. What Mark Warner needs to do now, just as his rivals do, is to begin making the case, as subtly as possible and before most of the country has even started to think about 2008, that the senator from New York is the wrong candidate for the party — and that he's the only guy who can stop her.”

Donkey Poseurs

In his comments about a previous SLANTblog post, “Is Miller Going High Road, or Low?” Conaway Haskins, of South of the James, suggests some Democrats seem "programmed to lose," even "afraid to win."

Well, I agree with him.

It seems to me this attitude began to have sway in the donkey party when many lefty Dems in the 80s had no real answer for Reagan’s success in building the big tent the Republicans have used ever since. They were baffled. Instead of confronting the Reagan-thinking directly on the issues of the day, they preferred to strike a pose that said -- "We were correct about Vietnam and Civil Rights, we’ll always be correct, no matter the issue. One day you’ll see that’s so. We’ll wait..."

They are still waiting.

Still wrapped up in striking backward-looking poses. Still living in the Glory Days when their causes were cool. Still quibbling over syntax and purity, still losing elections.

Now some of them are foaming at the mouth over what a thoughtful man, James Webb, may have said over 30 years ago about the subject of women serving in combat zones. Never mind how much has changed since then, to them Webb can never be a "real Democrat" if, as a young man, he believed something that is now out of style.

You know what, dear reader, most of the men that I know of the liberal persuasion, who are also combat veterans of Webb’s generation, still think women shouldn’t be in combat zones. (By the way, most worry about how young men will act under fire in a co-ed foxhole, rather than whether or not women can fight.) Sorry, but it's true and I've asked lots of them about this. Are the purists going to drum them out of the party too, as being anti-feminists?

Are we really going to say that a group of 50-some-years-old men, with firsthand experience in all-out combat, should be branded as "less-than-real Democrats," because on one issue they might have a generational prejudice? Then again, is it a silly prejudice, or a belief that was forged in a crucible?

Those are fair questions?

Honest people can debate them without calling their opponents barbarians or fools, and attempting to ostracize them. A political party that can’t hold together while such differences are settled by time is going nowhere fast.

Those Miller partisans attempting to brand Webb as unworthy in this particular way are perfectly willing to lose to George Allen in November as long as they can say they struck the right, or is it left? pose, again. Winning and governing isn't what they are about. What they are about is something to ponder, too. Can you dig it?

Cox Extends Pact with Braves

With the temperature in the 80s again today in Richmond, and baseball season not far off, the good news comes for Atlanta Braves fans -- manager Bobby Cox has signed an extension of his contract.

CAA Sends Two to NCAAs

Tonight the Colonial Athletic Association got the news it wanted, two of its members were named to the field of 65 teams going to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Two additional CAA schools were invited to join the field of 40 in the National Invitational Tournament.

The winner of the CAA tournament, UNC Wilmington (25-7), is seeded 9th in the NCAA’s Atlanta Regional bracket and will face George Washington (26-2), the 8th seed on Thursday in Greensboro. That took care of the league's automatic bid. Then George Mason (23-6) was added as an at-large team in the Washington, DC bracket. Mason, seeded 11th, will face 6th-seeded Michigan St. (22-11) in Dayton on Friday.

ODU (21-9) and Hofstra (24-6) received bids to the NIT. The VCU Rams (19-10) were left out of the field. In spite of VCU's No. 81 ranking, according to the latest RPI, it was excluded from the two post-season tournaments, which included 105 schools.

Is Miller Going High Road, or Low?

Who, in his/her right mind, really thinks knowing the precise date of James Webb’s conversion to the Democratic party is actually important in determining his potential to become a good senator? What Democrat, in their right, or left, mind doesn’t want disillusioned Reagan Democrats or progressive Republicans to join their ranks today?

Webb, quite correctly, says the Republican Party has moved to the right. So now the man says he's a Democrat, and happy about it. I say welcome aboard.

Yet, if one took seriously the catty chatter from some purebred Democrats -- who see themselves as way-more-donkey-than-thou -- newcomers can't necessarily be full members right away. No doubt they see Webb’s maverick streak as a threat, instead of an asset. They have recently sought to undermine his campaign with silly distractions that smell faintly of a swift boat-like strategy.

Well, it says here that if candidate Harris Miller wants a future in Virginia politics, beyond just being a well-connected guy, he should put the kibosh on this sort of thing, pronto! Chalk it up to bad advice, fire somebody and swear off such tactics from here on. Show some class.

Yes, I suspect that Webb, a populist, will win this primary because he will have widespread appeal. But that remains to be seen. I also think the Democrats, with any good candidate, are rather suddenly in an improved position to win back this seat in the US Senate, unless they self-destruct.

For the Democrats, what's it going to be this year, high road, or low?

Virginians need to see a clean campaign of ideas from both Webb and Miller. How about a campaign that makes everyday people see the plain reasons why they should trust today’s Democratic Party more than today’s GOP?

Rebus Called Up

Although Rebus was surprised to be called up from the cartoon reserves to serve in the Cartoon War, he's flattered that anyone remembered him. The panel above shows him reacting to the startling notice for him to return to active duty.

Rebus, depicted below at the top of Biograph Theatre Program No. 53, is best known for his role as the Biograph's official spokesdog. Drawn by yours truly he made his initial appearance on a Midnite Show handbill in what was that storied Fan District cinema's first year of operation (1972). His name, Rebus, came a few weeks later -- it started as Uncle Rebus, then Uncle was quickly dropped -- when he reappeared in a single panel that I drew for my own amusement. It was titled: "Have a Good Time," which had become the Biograph's motto.

A month-or-so later, that single panel has grown into a nine-panel comic strip, called "Rebus Wakes Up." It was subsequently published by VCU's student newspaper, The Commonwealth Times, which morphed into a pulp comic tabloid called "Fan Free Funnies" for three issues in the spring of 1973.

What is a rebus?

It’s a word puzzle. The viewer sees a line drawing of an eye, then a plus sign, then the letter “c”, then another plus sign, then the letter “u.” Decoded that means “I see you.” Such little puzzles, usually somewhat more complicated, were common in publications aimed at children in the 1940s and '50s. The original Rebus comic strips all had little rebus puzzles in them, somewhere.

In the 1970s a circle of area artists was into drawing cartoons, making short animated films and even making large cartoon paintings. Inspired by “underground comix,” there was a scene, of sorts, in the Fan District then which revolved around cartooning. In some ways it was a precursor of the illustrated fiction wave that began to be noticed about ten years later. Anyway, in such a make-believe world, Rebus was a minor celebrity ‘toon, perhaps along the lines of local pitchman who appears on TV frequently selling sofas, promoting community events, etc.

Rebus continued to pop up on Biograph handbills and programs all during my tenure as the Biograph’s manager (1972-83). Rebus also helped out with other projects, such as my 1980s Rock ‘n’ Roll promotions with Chuck Wrenn; we called our partnership Lit Fuse Productions.

Later, to make my then-girlfriend laugh -- she thought Rebus was a chump -- I did a black humor series of small paintings called "Documenting the Death of Rebus." In each piece he was being killed off in a different way. Then she moved out.

Undaunted, Rebus made a rousing comeback in a series of 'toons published in SLANT (1985-94), doing some of his best work. As well, he has appeared on various posters, calendars and T-shirts. etc., I've produced over the years since.

Jeff Capel, 79-41 and updated

Update (FRIDAY, March 10): VCU has extended Jeff Capel's contract two years, keeping him with the Rams until 2012. See quotes below.

CAA Sidebar Two:

The men’s basketball coach at Virginia Commonwealth University, Jeff Capel, has solidified the Rams program in the four years he’s been head coach. Capel is already an established success at an age, 31, that most Division I coaches-in-the-making are still assistants.

Early in the Hofstra game Coach Capel reminds his players they, too, need to score points.

Capel says he loves Richmond. We’ll see. Because the offers for jobs elsewhere are going to keep coming.

It’s no secret Capel, who as a player started at Duke for four years, can coach. With a father who has coached at the collegiate and professional levels, Jeff’s pedigree is legit. He spent part of last summer as one of two assistant coaches of the Gold Medal-winning USA entry in the World University Games in Turkey.

Capel’s overall record to date, 79-41, is an improvement on what his three VCU predecessors, Mack MacCarthy, Sonny Smith and Mike Pollio accomplished in their first four years on the job. And, they all had prior head-coaching experience. By the way, only Smith lasted longer than four years. Sonny compiled a 136-127 record over nine seasons (1989-98); he is VCU’s all-time winner as a coach.

The gamble VCU took with replacing the overly seasoned windbag, MacCarthy, with a green but talented Capel has paid off. So, kudos to VCU President Eugene Trani for his vision, and I congratulate Capel for making his boss look good.

Now what?

Can Capel go on to establish VCU as the best team in an ever-improving Colonial Athletic Association? Or, frustrated with his inability to recruit quality big men to play in the Fan District, will he start listening to those offers? Will he start thinking he may have taken VCU as far as he can?

Nick George hits a sweet jumper in the Coliseum

Next year Capel loses Nick George, his most valuable player for the last two seasons. But he has a real comer on hand in freshman point guard Eric Maynor. Swingman Jesse Pellot-Rosa has the potential to become an all-conference player.

If Capel could travel through time and plug in a young Bernard Harris (VCU 1970-74) or Ren Watson (VCU 1975-79), he’d have a squad that would scare a lot of people. Alas, quality big men are in short supply at the mid-major level.

Having no idea whatsoever of what Jeff Capel’s personal or professional goals might truly be, I won’t guess at how long he is likely to coach at VCU. But I can say that as long as he does, VCU is lucky to have him. Capel is a class act.

Photo credit: F.T. Rea

Update quotes:

Regarding his contract extension Capel said, "I am very excited about remaining at VCU. We have done so many great things and have built such a strong foundation with the help of all the VCU fans. It is truly an honor to be part of such a remarkable program. I cannot thank the VCU family enough for its passionate support."

"Jeff is an asset to VCU athletics and the entire University," said University President Dr. Eugene Trani. "We feel the contract extension solidifies and assures the stability of the future of one of VCU's very important programs."

Skinn should walk the plank

CAA: Sidebar One

The Colonial Athletic Association once again put on a good show with its postseason men’s basketball tournament. Just prior to the tournament’s start it was announced that the CAA will continue to stage the event in Richmond through 2012, which reads as good news to me. This year’s champion, UNC Wilmington should represent the league well in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

On Sunday the Seahawks will learn from the NCAA who and where they will play next. As well, the CAA will find out if it really has arrived, to the extent that it can generate an at-large bid for a second, or perhaps even a third member school.

The CAA’s commissioner Tom Yeager saw his vision realized in 2006, when the league brought Georgia State and Northeastern aboard to expand to 12 members. Both new teams won games at the tournament. Even the Old Lefthander, Charles “Lefty” Driesell (pictured above, still objecting to calls by the refs) showed up at the Coliseum to cheer on his Panthers (Driesell coached Ga. State from 1996-2003). So it has been a good year for Yeager.

At this desk, I have just two bits of advice for Commissioner Yeager, regarding the CAA’s just finished tournament:

Unsolicited Advice No. 1: Figure out a way that prevents George Mason’s little hoodlum of a point guard, Tony Skinn, from suiting up in Patriots colors again. Whether it’s handled by the conference or the school doesn’t matter.

Having watched Skinn play for three seasons at Mason I can’t say that I’m surprised that he would do something cheap on the floor. But what he did to Hofstra’s star guard Loren Stokes -- a very deliberate, sneaky punch to the groin -- was beyond the pale. That was surprising, no, shocking.

The video replay of the incident makes what happened all too clear. Put it this way -- if you don’t issue a strong statement on this occasion, what would it take? Would it make a difference if Stokes’ injury prevented him from playing the next day, or ever?

Just because it appears Stokes was not seriously injured doesn’t let anyone off the hook. The act was what it was. Coming on the heels of two other nationally noticed incidents of the worst kind of sportsmanship, perpetrated by collegiate athletes on state football teams -- UVA’s Bill Butler and Va. Tech’s Marcus Vick -- now we see a George Mason player do something that maybe tops them. It was creepier, anyway, if not more dangerous.

If the Patriots win, and Tony Skinn appears in a second-round NCAA game, or in the NIT, you know that awful low-blow video clip will play many more times. So, maybe it would be better for both the conference and George Mason to make it absolutely clear that such behavior will not be tolerated, and it will be punished severely.

Sorry, a one-game suspension is just not enough in this case. Skinn should walk the plank; he’s a senior, so it’s a moot point as to whether his suspended status ought to extend beyond this year.

Unsolicited Advice No. 2: Down in the CAA Zone, 86 the hotdog eating contest (pictured right) for next year.

Not so fast, union-busting breath

At the bottom of the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Editorial Page today is an item billed as: The Bottom Line. In its entirety it reads as follows:

“A House of Delegates committee vote against Danny LeBlanc's nomination as Secretary of the Commonwealth is a direct consequence of the Kaine administration's threatened smash-mouth tactics against Republicans opposed to tax hikes.”

No argument is made in support of this pronouncement.

One might be left to wonder if the anonymous writer, speaking on behalf of the newspaper’s editorial department, is applauding the House committee’s unprecedented move, or not. That is, unless one is familiar with what the chief of the editorial staff, Ross Mackenzie (depicted above), has written about trade unions over the decades, going back to the bad ol’ days of the Byrd Machine.

Or, maybe even a new reader of the RT-D can see there's a telltale clue in that one sentence opinion piece. It is the word “direct.”

Direct, in this case, not only says there is linkage between the stated cause and its effect, it also suggests that the connection is natural, something one would expect to be there. In other words, the RT-D is saying that Gov. Tim Kaine should have known better and he only brought this on himself.

Well, sitting at my desk in the penthouse of SLANT Towers, I must throw a penalty flag on that deceptive play. As Johnny Carson might have said, “Not so fast, union-busting breath!”

The unprecedented thumbs-down vote on a Virginia governor’s traditional prerogative to appoint the people he wants for his cabinet is not something anyone should have expected, because of the meaning of the word “unprecedented.”

If Virginia’s House Republicans are at odds with Kaine over roads and taxes legislation that should have nothing to do with rejecting an appointment. That is, unless one wants to use any monkey wrench in the box to do any injury possible to the enemy, or simply to strike a partisan pose.

The logic of saying “direct consequence,” would say to me that it would also be OK to set fire to a neighbor’s mustache, because he’s a Dallas Cowboys fan. Or, it’s fine to pour ink into your boss’ fish tank, while he’s out to lunch, as payback for the obnoxious bumper stickers on his monster-sized SUV. And so forth...

Plus, if there’s one topic RT-D (and the Richmond News Leader) editorials have consistently foamed at the mouth over, for as long as I can remember, it’s trade unions. According to Mackenzie, the union movement -- rather than having brought a measure of dignity to the working man's life -- is, and always has been, the spawn of Satan, or communists, whichever is worse.

Bottom Line: The rejection of Danny LeBlanc is about his union background. It’s not about roads or taxes.

'Toon by F.T. Rea

The Barry, the Shame

If there’s a harder guy to like in baseball today than long-ball machine Barry Bonds, well, I can’t think of him right now. The Barry’s contempt for the National Pastime’s fans and history is palpable in his every appearance on television. Now a new book is about to be released on Bonds, "Game of Shadows," that should convince a few more stubborn Giants fans to see him my way.

This AP story tells more:

“...Authors Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, who led the newspaper's coverage of the BALCO scandal, recount in remarkable detail the specifics of Bonds' drug regimen, which they write started in 1998 with injections of Winstrol, a powerful steroid also linked to Rafael Palmeiro. According to the book, Bonds was using two undetectable designer steroids, informally known as the cream and the clear, plus insulin, human growth hormone and other performance enhancers by 2001, when he hit 73 home runs for the Giants to break Mark McGwire's single-season record of 70 set in 1998.

“The seven-time NL MVP enters this season with 708 homers, seven shy of passing Babe Ruth and 48 from breaking Hank Aaron's career mark.”

Babe Ruth remained silent on the Bonds-on-steroids topic. Better not ask crusty old Hank Aaron, he might tell you what he thinks.

Webb Throws Hat In

Today, in Richmond, James Webb threw his hat into the ring. Finally, Webb has officially become a candidate in the Democrats’ June senatorial primary, seeking the party’s nomination to face Republican incumbent George Allen in the general election in November.

When the Democratic party was winning more elections than it has in recent years, it was a lively bunch that allowed for differences of opinion within its ranks. Honest debate and fair compromise were seen as healthy aspects of a vigorous political party. Since allowing that natural style to degenerate into bitter arguments over syntax and purity tests, many Democrats have been so busy striking poses they couldn’t be bothered with the gritty business of winning elections.

My hope is that James Webb’s candidacy can lead Virginia Democrats out of that swamp. Then, too, I see that some of Webb’s rabid supporters are already insulting Democrats who oppose them in overblown ways that may make coming together after the primary more difficult. That won’t help defeat Allen, either.

If Webb can make most anti-Republicans realize that staying at home on election day, or throwing in with third parties, has been steadily electing Republicans -- politicians with an agenda that is heavily weighted toward enlarging and protecting the fortunes of the super wealthy -- then Webb will once again be an American hero.

For my money, the richest people in a society aren’t intrinsically better suited to make decisions for one and all. But the neoconservatives of the Republican Party sharply disagree with me on that. How about you, dear reader?

However, my fear is that if Webb wins the primary, those anti-Republicans who easily found ways to not support Al Gore and John Kerry will again seize on arcane differences they have with the nominee, so they can turn their backs on him, too.

Yes, Webb’s maverick streak could be a problem for the more-donkey-than-thou wing of the Democratic Party. If Webb can overcome this problem he should defeat George Allen in a state -- make that a “commonwealth” -- that’s nowhere near as conservative as it was when it elected Democratic governors Chuck Robb, Gerald Baliles and Doug Wilder in the 1980s. Think about that...

Bonus incentive: If Allen loses I suspect he’ll move back to Southern California and we’ll be rid of him for good.

Photo Credit: Washington Post

CAA Champs: UNC Wilmington

For the fourth time in the last seven years UNC Wilmington has come to Richmond in the first week of March and left town with a bid to the Big Dance in hand. The Seahawks took an early lead on the Hofstra Pride in the CAA championship tilt at the Coliseum, then withstood a furious second-half comeback -- UNCW hit 11 straight free throws down the stretch -- to win the tournament: UNCW 78, Hofstra 67.

Now Wilmington (25-7) must wait until Sunday, Mar. 12, for the NCAA's selection committee to name its opponent and the site of their first-round match-up.

The Seahawks were once again paced their junior guard T.J. Carter, 6-3, 195, who scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Carter's 52 points and 26 rebounds in three games made him an easy choice as the event's Most Valuable Player. Beckham Wyrick scored 12 points; Wyrick and John Goldsberry, who added nine points and 10 assists, both earned all-tournament honors, too.

Hofstra was paced by Loren Stokes' 26 points and Carlos Rivera's 16. Both were named to the official all-tournament team, as well as Northeastern's Shawn James.

Hofstra (24-6) will be considered a team "on the bubble" until the field of 65 for the NCAAs is announced. Due to its improved national standing the CAA seems poised to join the conferences which send more than one member to the NCAA tournament.

George Mason (23-6), because of its sudden fall from grace in Richmond, may have popped its bubble. Tony Skinn's now infamous deliberate punch below the belt of Hofstra's Stokes, documented by the camera on Sunday night, certainly won't help the Patriots' cause. Thus, Mason may have to forget expectations and settle for a trip to the NIT.

Whereas, ODU (21-9) surely will hear from the NIT's committee and be glad for a chance to play again. Northeastern (19-11) and VCU (19-10) are waiting, hoping to hear from anybody.

CAA Tournament: Low-lights

George Mason's senior point guard Tony Skinn is a player with a style I've never particularly liked. Am I surprised by his low blow -- punching an opponent below the belt -- in yesterday's semi-final action at the Coliseum? No, not all that much. For the details of this story, read Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Paul Woody's account of how Mr. Skinn embarrassed his school yesterday and what his coach did about it.

"...Some things are bigger than a basketball game, though, and George Mason coach Jim Larranaga acknowledged that last night.Two hours after George Mason had lost a semifinal game in the CAA tournament to Hofstra, Larranaga recommended to George Mason Athletic Director Tom O'Connor that senior point guard Tony Skinn be suspended for the Patriots' next game."

Kudos to Mason's coach, Jim Larranaga, for doing the right thing with Skinn, right away. That, in marked contrast to what Va. Tech's football coach, Frank Beamer, did last season with his badboy ex-quarterback, Marcus Vick, when Vick deliberately stomped on an opponent's leg and stayed in the game, nonetheless.

wagging the blog

Lists can be fun. Passing the time making up one’s top ten favorite movies, to compare with others, is a harmless diversion. That is, if killing time is the goal. Arguing over who were the ten best basketball players of all-time in the Atlantic Coast Conference is, for many, a better way to make a happy hour pass than discussing the merits of the line item veto. And so it goes.

But best political blogs? Rating blogs by colors? Most influential bloggers? I pick you and you pick me... Horsefeathers!

That sort of malarkey, which there has been a raft of lately, reads like the bleatings of wannabes trying to get into a fraternity they fear mightily is way too cool for them. What ever happened to that tangy Groucho Marx spirit, when he cracked that he wouldn't want to be a member of any club that would have him as a member?

Now some of the so-called "political bloggers," are so vexed with virtual life, as it has become online, they ask: Are there too many blogs? In other words, maybe YOU should stop blogging? Do they want to clear the air in search of truth, or so there will be more time for us to read THEM?

The self-absorbed bloggers -- is that redundant? -- who are promoting such notions, as if they should be part of any real political debate, should probably go back to masturbating in private. Please! As well, the fretting bloggers should maybe consider leaving the top ten list-making to Letterman and wags in bars.

Baseball and Real Estate

OK the bad idea for a new baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom has fizzled and is no longer in play. Now comes what seems to me to be another bad idea for a new baseball stadium at the old Fulton Gas Works. However, this time Mayor Doug Wilder is not asking tough questions of the developers. No. This time he's on board with the movers and shakers behind the scheme.

What's the difference? I wish I knew.

So far we know less about the new deal, but on the face of it this one sounds like it might be nearly as bad as the aforementioned fizzler so many know-it-alls told us a year ago was a done-deal. The Richmond Braves general manager, Bruce Baldwin, was issuing ultimatums last spring. I wondered then how many hats he was wearing in that big deal, which seemed to be more about real estate than baseball.

Now, I wonder how the newest big deal is different. Isn’t it, too, mostly about real estate and who makes the money? Bill Glass, writing about the real estate aspects of the situation for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, seems less than convinced of the merits of the latest effort to replace The Diamond. His words ring true for me. That, while I'm a baseball fan, as well as a loyal Atlanta Braves fan, too.

"...Time Warner owns both the Atlanta Braves and the Richmond Braves. It is no secret that Time Warner is trying to sell the teams. My question is this: What incentive is there for Time Warner to spend its money for a new stadium when it plans to sell its baseball teams?

On the other hand, if there is a commitment to build a stadium without their dollars, doesn't it stand to reason that the value of the team increases to the benefit of (guess who) Time Warner?

Although there have been no details regarding the financing of a new stadium, you can bet that it will be the taxpayers who are on the hook.

CAA: Championship Notes

According to the CAA's voting its two best coaches for the 2005/06 season are meeting in its championship game. Last week UNC Wilmington's coach, Brad Brownell (pictured left), was named as Coach of the Year at the conference's Thursday night pre-tournament banquet. Hofstra's Tom Pecora came in second in the voting, which was done by the league’s coaches, sports information directors and members of the media.

Coach Brownell, in his fourth year as the Seahawks head basketball coach, came to Wilmington in 1995 to serve as an assistant under Jerry Wainwright. Brownell was also selected as the CAA’s best coach for the 2002/003 season. Coach Pecora is in his fifth season running the Hofstra program.

The minutes on the floor in a tournament begin to really add up on the third consecutive day of play. Pecora played only six men today; Brownell went 10-deep.

Three of Pecora's best players have had little or no rest in two nights of action. Out of a possible 80 minutes of play in two games Carlos Rivera has played them all; Aurimas Kieza has 79 minutes; Antoine Agudio has 78. Whereas, Brownell has only one player, John Goldsberry, with over 60 minutes on the floor in the two tilts. Brownell's other key players are down in the 50s in minutes played.

Before the championship game starts tomorrow night both of these coaches will have already made many of the decisions which will determine its outcome.

Photo Credit: UNC Wilmington

CAA Tournament: Day Three

Game 9: Playing against the stingy defense of the Seahawks of UNC-Wilmington, Jose Juan Berea, pictured left, scored 17 points and dished out five assists for Northeastern. Sounds good, but with what he got in the way of help from his teammates it wasn't nearly enough to extend the Huskies run in the CAA tournament: UNC W 69, Northeastern 54.

Perhaps the six-for-19 field goal performance from the league's 2006 Player of the Year, Berea, was really the more telling stat. Wilmington, which earned a first-round bye, thus advances to tomorrow night's championship game by defeating an opponent playing for the third consecutive day.

The victorious Seahawks were paced by Beckham Wyrick's 11 points/17 rebounds and Todd Headley's 14 points/nine rebounds.

Game 10: Carlos Rivera played every minute of the game, scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in leading Hofstra to a place in the championship game, the last CAA men’s basketball game of the 2005/06 campaign: Hofstra 58, Geo. Mason 49.

Now the scenario that will test the expanded CAA's supposedly improved clout. In some minds George Mason's record (23-7) and RPI standing (No. 23 in last week's index) merit an at-large invitation to the Big Dance. Now the CAA's champ, with the automatic bid, will either be Hofstra or Wilmington.

So, will Mason get the call? The last time the CAA got two berths in the NCAA tournament was in 1986. Navy, led by David Robinson, won the postseason tournament and the University of Richmond was the at-large team invited. Actually, that's the only time it has happened in the league's history.

Game 11, the Final Round, to be played on Mon., Mar. 6:

The CAA tournament's championship game will begin at 7 p.m. at the Richmond Coliseum. It will pit the event's No. 3 seed, Hofstra (24-5), against the No. 1 seed, UNC-W (24-7). The Seahawks have won the CAA tournament three times (2000, 2002, 2003). Hofstra became a member of the CAA for the 2001/02 season; this is its first appearance in the league's championship match-up. ESPN will carry the contest live.

Prediction No 3: In the last game Wilmington's depth should be a factor.

CAA Tournament: Day Two

In the photograph above, shot at the 9:54 mark of the first half of game 6, Northeastern's shot-blocking sensation Shawn James (No. 21) was called for fouling ODU's Alex Loughton. It looked like all-ball to me. Nonetheless, the only upset of the second day of competition in the CAA's tournament at the Coliseum was the second game, in which Northeastern, seeded 5th, topped Old Dominion, the 4th seed.

The final scores for CAA Tournament Day Two were:

UNC-W 69, Delaware 56
Northeastern 71, ODU 63
Geo. Mason 61, Ga. State 56 (OT)
Hofstra 72, VCU 66

The top performances of Day Two, stats-wise, were:
Jose Juan Barea (Northeastern) - 20 points, 9 assists
Alex Loughton (ODU) - 14 points, nine rebounds
Jai Lewis (Geo. Mason) - 12 points, 13 rebounds
Antoine Agudio (Hofstra) - 34 points, 4 assists
Nick George (VCU) - 28 points, 12 rebounds
In the photograph above Geo. Mason's senior Jai Lewis, 6-7, 275, grabs a rebound with 1:20 remaining in regulation time of game 7.

If you draw a line from the top of the "5" you can see on Lewis' uniform horizontally to the right, the bald man sitting on the aisle in the stands is Coach Charles "Lefty" Driesell. At times it seemed Lefty, who once coached Georgia State, 1996-2003, was the only fan the Panthers from Atlanta had in the room. With attendance in mind, the CAA's officials had to be happy the heavily-favored Patriots escaped with a victory, as Mason is the only Virginia team remaining in the field of four.

Sunday's Schedule for Day Three:
Game 9 at 3:30 p.m. - Northeastern (19-10) vs. UNC-W (23-7)
Game 10 at 6 p.m. - Hofstra (23-5) vs. Geo. Mason (23-6)

Prediction No. 2: These four teams will all surely play more basketball after this tournament, somewhere. With this a particularly good year for the conference, RPI-wise, ODU (21-9) will probably look pretty good to the NIT, too. The Rams of VCU (19-10), the league's sixth place team, may even be on the NIT bubble. And, today I look for the two semi-final games to be low-scoring affairs.

If the refs let the defense-minded favorites, the Seahawks and Patriots, muscle their opponents, both could win convincingly by taking the air out of the ball. But if they can't shake the underdogs loose, if the games are called tight or shooters get hot, it could be trouble for the top-seeds in both cases. That's because the Huskies and the Pride both have all-star playmakers who can always get off a good shot.

Photo Credit: F.T. Rea

Laura Loe

Last night I saw an usual art opening at the Rentz Gallery, at 1700 W. Main St.: “The Spirit of Life.” It was unusual because there was so much recently-done art from just one artist. And, it was unusual because I liked it all so much, without any reservation. The Laura Loe show was a knock-out. The overflowing crowd was interesting, too.

Laura Loe (do click on her site's link to see more) is an artist who has hit her stride. Her confidently composed paintings explode off the wall. And, get this -- they sold off the wall, too. Loe's paintings were still selling like hotcakes when I left the gallery.

With the opening of the Andrew Havenhand show at Main Art, one block to the east (also last night), suddenly the Fan District art gallery scene seems to be holding its own against other parts of town.

CAA Saturday

Friday's Results:
Delaware 52, Drexel 49 (an upset)
Northeastern 74, JMU 56
Ga. State 72, Towson 64 (another upset)
VCU 62, Wm. & Mary 59 (whew!)

Diminutive guard Herman Favors (No. 50) paced Ga. State's upset of Towson with his 20 points. Heading into the second day of CAA competition at the Coliseum the top performers on the winning teams from Friday’s opening round games, stats-wise, were:

Harding Nana (Delaware) - 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks
Shawn James (Northeastern) - 24 points, nine rebounds, nine blocks
Jose Juan Barea (Northeastern) - 17 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists
Herman Favors (Ga. State) - 20 points, four rebounds, seven assists
Jesse Pellot-Rosa (VCU) - 10 points, five rebounds, three steals

Today's (Saturday) Schedule:

12 p.m. - UNC-W vs.Delaware
2:30 p.m. - ODU vs. Northeastern
6 p.m. - GMU vs.Ga. State
8:30 p.m. - Hofstra vs. VCU

Prediction No. 1: Every smart CAA fan in town, except Hoftra's, will be rooting for VCU on Saturday night. Nobody wants to play the Pride.

Photo credit: CAA

Road to Empire Darkening, Narrowing

The cosmic clock of history is ticking on how long the USA can continue to stubbornly follow its imperial policy in Iraq. The road under that policy's wheels is paved with what were once seen as good intensions. Now events have trumped policy.

Maybe you once thought it was a good idea to up and depose a dictator halfway around the world, to look for his supposedly hidden weapons, and to replace him with an invented-out-of-thin-air democracy. However, no matter what you might have once believed about the honesty of the invasion of Iraq's planners, that was then. Get over it.

Today, William F. Buckley is on target with his observation: "Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans."

Yes, events that we here in Virginia strain to understand are now driving the bus in Iraq. America's wishful ability -- with its empire-building policy, and its military might -- to influence the moves of the runaway bus is fast fading out of the picture. Hey! poor old Uncle Sam isn't even on the bus, anymore, he's running along beside.

If you're old enough to remember, don't you have that Vietnam-era sense of dread that news of what’s actually happening over there, trouble-wise, is being systematically minimized by official sources? So, I wonder how long we truly have before the irritant of America's ongoing occupation of Iraq splatters the conflict across borders into a regional religious war -- Sunnis vs. Shi'ites.

Meanwhile, I have no trouble picturing the last American helicopters taking off, with disposable people clinging on... and dropping off. How long does America have to get its military forces out of Iraq before it's way too late?

Justin Raimondo, writing for Ether Zone, opines on all that with his "On the Road to Empire":

“As Iraq descends into chaos and the nascent Iraqi state implodes even before it is born, support for a continued U.S. military presence in the region is plummeting: a new poll shows a whopping 62 percent of Americans think the war is going badly, up from 54 percent just last month. The really shocking news for the administration, however, is that a Zogby poll, conducted in cooperation with Le Moyne College, shows 72 percent of U.S. troops serving in Iraq believe we ought to get out by the end of the year...”

CAA Honors

From the Colonial Athletic Association:

Northeastern University senior guard Jose Juan Barea was named as the Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball Player of the Year for 2005/06 last night at the league’s pre-tournament awards banquet in Richmond, Va. The selection was made by the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media, who also named UNC Wilmington’s fourth-year head coach Brad Brownell as the season's Coach of the Year. (Pictured above are Barea and CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager.)

The 2006 CAA All-Conference Team:
Jose Juan Barea, Northeastern, Sr. (G) 6-0; 170
Nick George, VCU, Sr. (F) 6-6; 205
Jai Lewis, George Mason, Sr. (F) 6-7; 275
Harding Nana, Delaware, Sr. (F) 6-8; 230
Loren Stokes, Hofstra, Jr. (G) 6-3; 175

Barea made an immediate impact in his first season in the CAA, leading the league in scoring with 21.4 points per game. He ranks second in the nation this season among Division I schools, with 8.4 assists per game. Plus, he's the only D-I player to average better than 20 points and eight assists per outing.

Click here to read more about CAA awards.

• Click here to follow any CAA tournament game's statistical story live.

CAA Tournament

The Colonial Athletic Association, which has staged its post-season men’s basketball tournament at the Richmond Coliseum since 1990, has officially accepted the City of Richmond’s proposal to continue to host the event through 2012. (VCU's all-conference senior forward Nick George is pictured right.)

Tom Yeager, the CAA's only commissioner since its 1985 birth, said, “In our opinion, Richmond’s commitment to the CAA provided the unquestioned best opportunity to nurture and showcase the conference’s premier event."

Yeager went on to tout the estimated $25 million impact on the metro area's economy the tournament should provide during its five-year contract extension. Meanwhile, here's the schedule for the 2006 version of the CAA Men's Basketball Championship, to be held March 3-6, at the Coliseum:

Friday:
Game 1 at 12 p.m. - Drexel (15-15, 8-10) vs. Delaware (8-20, 4-14)
Game 2 at 2:30 p.m. - Northeastern (17-10, 12-6) vs. JMU (5-22, 2-16)
Game 3 at 6 p.m. - Towson (12-15, 8-10) vs. Ga. State (6-21, 3-15)
Game 4 at 8:30 p.m. - VCU (18-9, 11-7) vs. Wm. & Mary (8-19, 3-15)
Saturday:
Game 5 at 12 p.m. - UNC-W (22-7, 15-3) vs. Drexel/Delaware winner
Game 6 at 2:30 p.m. - ODU (21-8, 13-5) vs. Northeastern/JMU winner
Game 7 at 6 p.m. - GMU (22-6, 15-3) vs. Towson/Ga. State winner
Game 8 at 8:30 p.m. Hofstra (22-5, 14-4) vs. VCU/Wm. & Mary winner
Sunday:
Game 9 at 3:30 p.m. - Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6
Game 10 at 6 p.m - Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8
Monday:
Championship Game at 7 p.m.

SLANTblog will be providing daily coverage of this event. Stay tuned.

Photo credit: F. T. Rea

Art: What It Is

by F. T. Rea

In a Richmond, Virginia courtroom about 20 years ago I witnessed an entertaining scene in which an age-old question -- what is art? -- was hashed out in front of a patient judge, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the parade of exhibits and witnesses the attorneys put before him. The gallery was packed with paint-speckled-blue-jeans-wearing art students, gypsy musicians, film buffs, and various other stripes of weekend anarchists. The defendant was a handbill artist.

At the crucial moment a popular college art professor was testifying as an expert witness. He was being grilled over just where to draw the line between what should be, and what should not be, considered as genuine art. The Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney asked the witness if the beat-up piece of paper in his hand -- the offending handbill, which had gotten its creator busted -- could actually be "art."

“Probably,” shrugged the prof. “Why not?”

The flyer, promoting a midnight show at an area cinema, had been posted by the theater's manager on a utility pole near a college campus. Rather than pay the small fine for breaking The City’s law forbidding such posters on poles in the public way, the manager opted for a day in court. His defense had his attorneys attacking the statute itself as overreaching. They asserted their client had a right to post the handbill and the public even had a right to see it.

The stubborn prosecutor grumbled, reasserting that the flyer was no more than “litter.”

Eventually, having grown weary of the high-brow vernacular being slung around by the witnesses supporting the theater manager, the prosecutor tried one more time to trip the clever witness up. As Warhol's soup cans had just been mentioned by the art expert, he narrowed his eyes to ask, “If you were in an alley and happened upon a pile of debris spilled out from a tipped-over trashcan, could that be art, too?”

“Well,” said the witness, pausing Jack Benny-like for effect, “that would depend on who tipped the can over.”

The line went over like Gangbusters. The courtroom erupted into laughter. The obviously amused judge fought off a smile. The crestfallen prosecutor gave up. The City lost the case. Although I got a kick out of the crack, too, I’ve always thought The City's mouthpiece missed an opportunity to hit the ball back across the net.

“Sir, let me get this right,” he might have said, “are you saying the difference between art and randomly-strewn garbage is simply a matter of whose hand touched it; that the actual appearance of the objects, taken as a whole, is not the true test? Furthermore, are you telling us that without credentials, such as yours, one is ill-equipped to determine the difference between the contents of a trashcan and fine art?”

Yes, the prosecutor gave up too soon because, whether the wise-guy professor admitted it, or not, that is exactly where he was coming from. A smarter lawyer could have exploited that angle.

Still, the prosecutor’s premise/strategy that an expert witness could be compelled to rise up to brand a handbill for a movie, "Atomic Cafe," a green piece of paper with black ink on it, as “un-art” was absurd. So, the wily artist probably would have one-upped the buttoned-down lawyer, no matter what.

Perhaps the question shouldn’t be -- how can you tell fake art from real art? After all, any town is full of bad art, and good art, and all shades of in-between art. Name your poison.

Rather, it’s probably better to ask -- what is worthwhile or useful art? Then you become the expert witness.

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