From THE TENNESSEAN

CPA Names Ingle Martin as Football Coach

Written by Maurice Patton / THE TENNESSEAN

Ingle Martin was introduced Thursday as the football coach at Christ Presbyterian Academy, filling the vacancy created when Jay Mathews was dismissed after seven seasons.

"I'm close with some of the guys that were on the first state championship team here," said the 28-year-old Martin, a former Montgomery Bell Academy quarterback who won three state titles and two Mr. Football Awards. He played at Florida and Furman before a four-year pro career, including time with the http://www.titansonline.com/">Titans and http://www.packers.com/">Packers.

"I'm looking forward to starting a new chapter of CPA football. One of the attractive things about this program was the success they've had."

The Lions won Class 1A titles in 2000 and 2002, but went 5-6 each of the last two seasons under Mathews.

Athletics Director Mike Ellson said CPA assistant Ryan McSwain and Middle Tennessee Christian Coach David Peden were the finalists from 70 applicants. Martin, whose wife is the softball coach at CPA, stood out despite his age and his one year of coaching experience, as an assistant this past season at Ensworth under Ricky Bowers, for whom he played at MBA.

"This community embraces individuals that care about children," Ellson said. "We're excited to give him his start. And if you've played for or coached with Ricky Bowers, you know what it takes to be successful."

Martin played in one NFL regular-season game, for the Packers in 2006, but was also on the Titans and Chiefs rosters before being waived in September 2009 by the Broncos. He knew pretty quickly after his NFL career ended what he wanted out of his new career.

"When you get into coaching, being head coach is the best job to have," said Martin, whose wife, Jennifer, is CPA's softball coach. "I knew this opportunity was one I was ready for and one I wanted. It's a great school, a great community and I'm looking forward to being a part of it."

From Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)

The Whole World is Watching

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From Matters of Principle

Catching Up With History

by Gary Hart

While some are talking loudly and long about cutting government spending, it is doubtful they will discuss cuts in a $40 billion plus annual “intelligence” budget. This despite the fact that our intelligence services and our far-flung diplomatic network failed to foresee the historic upheaval now underway throughout the Western end of the Muslim world.

There is at least an even chance that we are now entering a rare cycle of history that may take twenty to thirty years to resolve itself, with autocracies giving way to fragile democracies that in turn will evolve into radical fundamentalist regimes (think Iran), and possible civil wars. For the world’s greatest super power this is a quandary. It is an even greater quandary when that super power depends for a quarter of its oil imports on supplies from that region.

From the beginning of the Cold War we adopted a policy (some called it political realism; I call it unprincipled expediency) described as “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Thus, regardless of how repressive and anti-democratic a potentate might be, if he was anti-communist he was our friend. We gave dozens of these types a lot of money and political support even though it was used to build up security services that locked up and tortured anyone who quoted our Declaration of Independence in the national square.

Curiously, we failed to notice that everyday people in these countries remember these things. Then when they summon courage to take to the streets and demand freedom, we express surprise that they do not like us and reject our embrace. This has happened in country after country and now in a vital region that encompasses a billion and a half people.

If we believe what we claim to believe and if we truly mean to stand on the principles embodied in our Constitution, we are going to have to do better than this. That is if we truly want to stay in the vanguard of history and not try to merely catch up to it as it disappears over the horizon and leaves us behind.

http://www.mattersofprinciple.com

Norah Jones - Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John - Belle & Sebastian

From The Chattanooga Free Press

Clay Bennett, Editorial Cartoonist Chattanooga Times Free Press

From The Chicago Tribune

Yes, global warming could mean more snow

February 14, 2010|By Clarence Page

Here's a recent headline that caused a few double takes in Washington, D.C.: "Global warming hearing postponed because of snow."

Yes, nothing gives an unearned boost to global warming skeptics like back-to-back snowstorms variously nicknamed "snow-pocalypse" and "snow-mageddon," among other less-charitable labels in the nation's capital.

Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe, an outspoken skeptic of global warming and warm friend of his state's oil and gas industries, recently mocked Al Gore, climate activist and former vice president. Inhofe posted photos on his Facebook page of his family building an igloo near the Capitol with a sign that read "Al Gore's new home." Har, har.

 Al Gore & Climate Change; New Report Says Global Warming Is "Undeniable." 

But, contrary to popular belief, a robust snowfall does not mean global warming is a myth.

In fact, scientists have been warning for at least two decades that global warming could make snowstorms more severe. Snow has two simple ingredients: cold and moisture. Warmer air collects moisture like a sponge until it hits a patch of cold air. When temperatures dip below freezing, a lot of moisture creates a lot of snow.

A rise in global temperature can create all sorts of havoc, ranging from hotter dry spells to colder winters, along with increasingly violent storms, flooding, forest fires and loss of endangered species.

That's simple science even for me, a guy whose scientific education pretty much ended with the old "Watch Mr. Wizard" TV show and a subscription to Popular Mechanics.

Yet, confusion about that simple science is one of the reasons why experts and activists increasingly prefer the term "climate change" as less confusing and politically loaded than "global warming." Still, confusion and politics persist. Fox News host Sean Hannity cheerfully asserted that the storm "would seem to contradict Al Gore's hysterical global warming theories." His fellow Fox host Glenn Beck agreed, mocking the very idea that "warming" could lead to more snow.

Sure, it's laughable if you believe in the very unscientific theory of simple observational research, which means you base your views about global warming on your own weather.

Or, as Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert summarized the Fox News stars' view: "Whatever just happened is the only thing that's happening."

From the DailyKos

Those Old Dixie Cup Riddles

by Bill in Portland Maine / Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 05:47:55 AM PST

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE

Riddle me this . . .

What kind of dog has no tail? A hot dog!
How do you catch a squirrel? Climb a tree and act like a nut!
Where do cows go on Saturday night? To the moooovies!

Ha! I just love those old Dixie Cup riddles, don’t you? Oh, the lazy afternoons I spent as a boy grinning from ear to ear while marveling at the universal wisdom of those witticisms. And who do we have to thank for them today? The Koch Brothers---Chuck and Dave, who own Dixie Cup maker Georgia-Pacific. Their daddy, Fred Koch, was a founding member of the John Birch Society, and those wacky values live on through his boys, most notably through their funding of the tea party movement, which never would've gotten off the ground without Koch money. Lots and lots of Koch money.

Anyway, the Koch bros just got done with their annual secret "Billionaires Caucus" strategic retreat in Palm Springs. It was just Dave and Chuck and no one else...except the entire conservative movement's major power players, a few thousand inconvenient protesters, and a bunch of police in riot gear. (Eat yer heart out, Egypt.)

During the event, in between drinking champagne out of Lynn Cheney's shoe and the traditional running of Phyllis Schlafly's Spanx up the flagpole, they apparently spent some time coming up with new Dixie Cup riddles. I have it on good authority that these might be coming to a supermarket aisle near you:

What did Barack Obama say when he led a government takeover of the phone companies? Kenya hear me now???

What do you call 30 million Americans making minimum wage? A good start!

What did the Republican say to BP after the it caused the worst oil spill in history? "Oily oily oxenfree!"

What do a lollipop and a corporation that pays taxes have in common? They're both suckers!

"Knock Knock." "Fuck off, peasant, this is a gated community and my butler has a taser!"

What word do the tea partiers and the coal industry have in common? "Mine!"

What do you say when you publicly rail against government spending while grabbing as much government money as possible? "Shhhhh! Not so loud!"

My knee – it's all a'swelled from slappin' it silly.

From BBC News

Click here for Live Coverage

Key Points:

1. Egypt is seeing another day of huge protests against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak, with the demonstrators responding to the call for a "march of a million" in Cairo.

2. There has been a festive atmosphere in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the demonstrations. The Egyptian army has said it will not use force against protesters.

3. The new Vice-President, Omar Suleiman, has raised the prospect of dialogue with the opposition - but prominent opposition figures say Mr Mubarak must go first. One of them, Mohamed ElBaradei, called on Mr Mubarak to stand down by Friday at the latest.

4. Live page reporter: Aidan Lewis

5. All times in GMT