Headlines (Whistle-blowing long after the fact; Yeah, we know, it's expensive; Give him a break, he's autistic; Jarvis to coach FAU Owls)

Ex-White House spokesman Scott McClellan attacks Bush in his new book

The White House is reeling today over the unexpected lashing it is taking from a former loyalist brought to Washington from Texas to make history as a proud member of George W. Bush's administration.

Scott McClellan, who was on the podium as press secretary during both the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina, rips the administration in a new book, saying the president was "not open and forthright" about the war and that the administration was relying on "propaganda" and "manipulating" public opinion in the run-up to war. -- Los Angeles Times

I don't doubt at all that the majority of McClellan's criticisms of the Bush administration -- the deception, the insincerity, the incompetence -- are completely legit. But that doesn't exonerate him for being a total hypocrite. He complains of our government's ineptitude, but as the U.S. Press Secretary, it was HIS JOB to represent the presidency to the common man. He was the head liaison of this administration; the direct conduit between them (the government) and us (the citizens). The presidency duped him, but in turn (whether knowingly or unknowingly), he duped us. And as much as I hate to agree with Karl Rove and Ari Fleischer, they have a point: he held his position for three long years and not once voiced any disapproval of his employers. Even if he was fully aware of all the internal problems going on (and at the sake of looking like completely oblivious, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he knew what was up), he repeatedly stood straight-faced in front of his podium during press conferences and assured us that all was well with the nation.

And even when he "resigned" in 2006, it had less to do with him making any kind of moral stand and more to do with his higher-ups pressuring him to step down in favor of his eventual successor, Tony Snow. So theoretically, if he was never strong-armed into quitting, it isn't too much of a stretch to assume that he would have kept going into work everyday, kept supporting an inadequate administration, and kept feeding us half-truths (or, in some cases, bold faced lies) through the media. That's called aiding and abetting. If your friends rob a bank and somehow trick you into being their getaway driver, okay, fine, I guess I can find someway to rationalize that. But after the 10th time, there's no way around it, you're guilty...or stupid, one or the other.

When it comes down to it, McClellan wants to make money. That's the whole point of these juicy, sensationalist Tell-All books. And I don't fault him for that, but unfortunately, it makes a noble endeavor (exposing a mediocre administration for what it is) a lot less noble.

I wouldn't waste my money on this. The new Chuck Palahniuk novel about the porn star trying to break a world record by banging 600 guys on film recently came out; that seems like a better investment.

A shocker! S.Fla. prices shatter the $4-per-gallon mark

Average prices for regular gas broke records Wednesday, topping the $4-per-gallon mark for the first time in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties with Broward not far behind, according to the American Automobile Association.

Palm Beach County had the highest average price in the area, at $4.03 for regular gas, followed by Miami-Dade at $4.01 and Broward at $3.97.

Statewide, the average price has jumped 70 cents since March to an all-time high of $3.94 — the national average, too. Just a year ago — on May 16, 2007 — Florida topped the $3 per gallon mark for the first time. -- Sun-Sentinel

This reminds me -- I need to get gas before I drive up to Boca tomorrow.

Gas prices have gotten so ridiculously out of control these days that I think I've ceased to get mad about it anymore. It's so surreal and unfathomable that, no kidding, it's starting to become FUNNY. It's become a big joke to me and I'm half-expecting someone to tell us this whole thing has been a big April Fool's gag and now we can all have a good laugh about it.

Seriously, check out that picture: $4.39 (and 9/10!) for supreme. Haha, in a sadistic sort of way, that's really funny.

Mom says teacher let classmates vote autistic son out of class

Melissa Barton said she is considering legal action after her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.

After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about Barton's 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo said they were going to take a vote, Barton said.

By a 14 to 2 margin, the students voted Alex -- who is in the process of being diagnosed with autism -- out of the class. -- Sun-Sentinel

Wow, that's awful. In a way, I could almost condone an adult striking a child in a brief instant of an anger, because at least then it can be attributed to an immediate and visceral reaction. But this -- parading a student to the front of the class, advising his peers to point out what they don't like about him, and then banishing him from the room -- this takes an alarming amount of premeditation. It wasn't just a fleeting lapse in judgment; it was cold, calculating, and cruel. A full-grown adult showing type of immaturity and pettiness towards a defenseless child is highly abnormal. Simply terminating this teacher would actually be letting her off easy; she should be forced into therapy for her obvious bully complex. Behavior like this goes beyond garden variety callousness (which we're all guilty of) and starts getting into the realm of crazy-evil.

At least with corporeal punishment, I can come up with a few scenarios in which it would be justified. But public, hyper-personal humiliations like this, especially at such a young age, is very unsettling.

Jarvis signs 4-year deal to coach FAU

Finally! After what seemed like weeks of heel-dragging and indecision on FAU's part, we finally have a new head coach -- Mike Jarvis. And I completely endorse the hiring. Our basketball program has always lagged behind in comparison to, say, our football program, when it comes to making considerable forward progress. It feels like they've been running in place for years. But if I have to give FAU's athletics department credit, they always seem to hire the right guy (or at least who seems to be the right guy) to coach our basketball team.

Everyone we hire has the experience, the credentials, and the know-how to succeed here: Matt Doherty won a national championship while playing at North Carolina, was a teammate of Michael Jordan's, and then later coached at his alma mater; Rex Chapman made it to a Final Four while playing at Kansas, studied under great coaches like Larry Brown and Pat Riley, and had a long (albeit unspectacular) career in the NBA that spanned over a decade. And then we have Mike Jarvis, who I believe still holds the all-time wins record at Boston University (with a few NCAA Tourney appearances), took George Washington University all the way to a Sweet 16 (I most remember them almost beating the Fab Five Michigan Wolverines, then later, those teams with Erik Dampier), and then took St. John's to the Elite 8 in the late 90s (this was back when Ron Artest was there and considerably less psychotic). So the man is accomplished.

I don't know if he'll be the one to finally get this program on track and start making some national noise, but considering his track record, all the indications point to him having success here. He wins wherever he goes, so that's exactly what I'm expecting from him. I can see the quality of our recruiting classes improving exponentially, just based on his notoriety and name recognition. I think he'll do a great job; FAU absolutely made the right choice.

And as if I couldn't support this decision enough, from afar, Jarvis looks like a slightly slimmer "Uncle Phil" from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.