Dream big, little buckaroo.

Man arrested after trying to cash stolen check for $360,000,000,000.

Yes--$360 billion dollars.

Something tells me young Chas' mathematics grades were...suboptimal.

Where does the time go?

Louis was 15 lbs, 10 oz on April 19, when he turned four months. He's more than doubled his weight.

And yesterday he started rolling over.

Blink and he'll be crawling. Look away at the computer screen and he'll be walking. Go out to the deck and he'll be talking.

Too fast. Far too fast.

Re-valuing marriage.

Art Deco has a great point in his comment below:


There is so much to take a stand against: the unnecessary sexualization of adolescence, the witlessly jumbled order of the rites of passage which our youth are meant to pass through, the continuing elongation of the period of dependency in life of the young in the Occident, the severence of sex from its proper context, and the demotion of marriage. Every last one of these has a functional relationship to every other one.

Sexual experience is part of the foot race that young men are in with each other, and contemporary practice legitimated by common opinion and by the helping professions sanctions its frequent occurance in circumstances where young men are not under the constraining disciplines of having to earn a living or maintain a domestic life. The predictable result is a great many abortions and a great many bastards, not to mention the degredation of the sensibilities of the men and women so engaged. (My great-great grandfather had completed his schooling and apprenticeships and been fully responsible for earning a living for about eight years before he was married; he married at age twenty. Rather different from the biography of our seventeen-year-old studs of today).

O.K., we refrain from dirty jokes. That is not bad, but what needs to be done is to persuade young men to sit the foot race out and to persuade young men and young women that a decade or so of tomcatting about and of slopping about and of train-wreck relationships (with or without a bastard child as a souvenir thereof) is no way to learn to master the demands of adult life.

I think this is remarkably closely related to the discussion at Jeff's and Steve's about earlier marriage.

I think they are on to something, at least as far as getting married in the early 20s. I'll just add this to my other comments: if you really want to strengthen marriage, you are going to have to break the mentality that looks at men and women not as husbands and wives, not as fathers and mothers, but rather as units of productivity and consumption. There are strong structural disincentives to early marriage in our society right now, and they start with nontrivial concerns about providing for your family.

Self-policing.

Men, we have met the enemy, and it is us.

The problem isn't some abstract, like "the culture." Culture is driven by behavior, and we've let the behavior of men degenerate with nary a peep from the good men. The re-paganization of our society is happening on our watch. What are we going to do about it? Trying to build safe zones for our families is, at best, an incomplete, if ineffective solution.

Sure, it starts with tacking the dirty old man/men who impregnated 14 year olds in the Texas FLDS compound to the wall. Ditto the brother who pimped out his sister. May they reside where daylight has to be pumped down to them.

But it continues by ostracizing Roger Clemens if it is found to be true that he had sex with a fifteen year old. It is further followed up by doing the same to Billy Ray Cyrus for his boggling publicity whoring.

But it takes more than that. Demand better, of ourselves and our culture. It will take objecting to the dirty jokes, sexualized language and leering, even when they come from our friends and colleagues. It will take standing up for better standards in our own communities, even at the risk of ostracism to ourselves. And it will probably even require tactical, arms-length alliances with people who hate our very guts (gender feminists). Nevertheless, they have their own sometimes-screwy, sometimes-sound, reasons for objecting to the same problems and can reach people who won't give us the time of day.

When good men do nothing...

If he's supposed to be a member of "the best educated laity in Church history"...

...why is he reasoning like a tween?

So, unless the Pope personally hits you on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper and says "No! Bad Catholic! BAD!" you can assume it's OK?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in full agreement with Novak's analysis, either, but at least he's noting the incongruity.

On the other hand, Winters' core argument is borderline infantile. Yes, it's true that the Pope has removed no bishops for communing pro-aborts. However, that constitutes evidence of nothing, given that the bishop-removal rate is about zilch.

Maybe, just maybe, he expects Catholics of all stations to start thinking and acting like grown-ups, instead of hiding behind threadbare excuses.

Thanks to Jay for the links.

Reaction to last Friday's Galactica episode.

"So, Baltar's an Episcopalian now."

This spark within you I call "God."
God loves you just as you are.
You. Are. Perfect.

OK, ouch--two shot foul and a technical. But he certainly has found a religion suited to his intense self-love.

Any thoughts? Try to avoid spoilers in the initial part of your comments, or SAM and Hilary will descend upon me like the Furies.

Sometimes, I just get tired of religion, politics and culture.

Warning to Hilary--you may want to linger a little more at Steve's right now.

On to the post.

I have a love-hate relationship with our local quirky NFL franchise.

Stop. That's not accurate.

I have a love- HATE relationship with the Detroit Lions.

Every time I try to get out, they pull me back in.

I didn't get giddy about 6-2 last season, and with good reason. It was a mirage.

But here I am, talking about the draft. As much as it pains me to say it, it appears that Matt Millen's brain grew several sizes on Saturday.

The team has glaring needs, and management took a serious run at addressing them, instead of giving us the glitzy skill position picks.

Gozder "the Keymaster" Cherlius may have been a reach, but they need a right tackle. Jordon Dizon may have been a reach, but they need a space-eating MLB. I have to admit I'm most puzzled by the selection of Kevin Smith at the beginning of the third round, especially given his admitted drug habit and negligible work ethic. But who knows--maybe Silent Bob will surprise us.

I keed, I keed. Sorry, but that one was a hanging curve in my book.

It looks like Millen/Marinelli are trying the most difficult of procedures in the NFL--a heart transplant. The common denominator: these are all motor guys, overachievers with a monomaniacal devotion to football. No "potential" guys with a history of playing softer than their talent suggests they should. That's why Shaun Rogers is in Cleveland, and Charles Rogers and Mike Williams are out of football.

I don't know if they had to staple Millen to his seat to keep him from taking Mendenhall, but it was a smart move to pass. I think Smith will be every bit as good, and have more motivation to succeed.

Looks like a B- draft in my book. Most importantly, it doesn't look remotely stupid.

Feel free to laud/vent about your team's draft in the combox. Slagging is always encouraged.

Cultural jihad.

Read this brilliant and disturbing piece by Bruce Bawer, An Anatomy of Surrender.

Before you start thinking this is some kind of right wing rant, understand that Bawer is an openly-gay man living in Europe. He's seeing it, every day.

This is appalling because it's true.

I'd like to say "funny," but it seems to be his modus operandi.

Behold: Matt Millen's 2008 Mock Draft for the first round.

Good first round picks in the Millen Era (Since 2001): Roy Williams, Ernie Sims. Serviceable: Jeff Backus. Jury's Out: Calvin Johnson. Not worth a nickel: The other picks. Charles Rogers?

From the folly of the Millen, deliver us, O Lord.

[Thanks to Victor for the link.]

Louis George Romero.

"Teething," my tuchus.

He's a zombie infant acquiring his taste for human flesh. That's the only logical explanation for the ravenous gnawing.

It starts with my thumb, but it will end in my cerebellum.

Heather has a question for moms.

Specifically, regarding hair accessories for girls.

Thanks!