Politics on the Brain

In the spirit of today's big Supreme Court news, here is a photo I took from just inside the Jefferson Memorial in May 2003. It's not exactly on point, but big political news always reminds me of home.

Now We're Getting Somewhere

President Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee is more like it. Read more about Judge Alito here. Today's excellent choice now begs the question: What the heck was that Harriet Miers thing all about, anyway?

Email Disclaimers

I remember when I found out the passing results of my first bar exam, I turned to my boss and said, "It's official. I'm now the butt of thousands of lawyer jokes." Sometimes the stereotype matches the reality. Let's take a tendancy for verbosity, for example. Today I received a five page email at work that, substantively, was no more than a page and half long.

The remaining three and half pages were composed of all the email disclaimers tacked to the message as it was replied to and forwarded from attorney to attorney. A new IRS circular published a couple months ago has only added another paragraph to every lawyer's standard email disclaimer. I guess we can never be too careful...or too much of a self-parody.

Beware!

Tonight begins the scariest weekend of the year. Happy Haloween!

More Good News

First the White Sox end Chicago's World Series drought, now Harriet Miers withdraws her nomination to the Supreme Court.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters that Miers called Bush about 8:30 last night to tell him she was withdrawing and handed him her letter 12 hours later in the Oval Office.

Bush is "deeply disappointed in the process," McClellan said. Miers will remain as White House counsel and will be involved in choosing a new court nominee, he added.

The decision marked the end of one of the most contentious Supreme Court nominations in recent years, following on controversies over the naming of Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork. Thomas was approved by the Senate in 1991 after a bitter confirmation hearing and Bork was defeated in 1987. A major political difference between the Bork and Miers nominations is that Bork was championed by a powerful wing of the GOP, while Miers appeared to have only one truly enthusiastic supporter, the president.

The last person to withdraw as a Supreme Court nominee was Douglas H. Ginsburg, nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. Ginsburg pulled out after revealing that he had used marijuana. Three nominees have been rejected by the Senate in modern times, including Bork.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Senate minority leader who supported Miers, called the withdrawal a victory for "the radical right wing" of the Republican Party.

If Harry Reid is upset, we are on the right track (pardon the pun). The outcry on the right against Miers' nomination isn't a product of radicalism from the right. Those opposed generally felt that Miers was both unqualified for the job based on her experience, and too much of an unknown quantity, a situation she did nothing to change after the nomination. I explained to my wife that the nomination of Miers to the court was akin to someone nominating me, an attorney newly admitted to the Delaware bar, to assume a Delaware judgeship on our state Supreme Court. I have no direct past experience with Delaware law, but I am an attorney "familiar" with a certain limited portion of it. As an attorney with good credentials, and now multiple bar memberships, I have demonstrated a past ability to learn new law and adapt to new situations. But I wouldn't pretend today to be qualified for such a position. Yes, I am a fine attorney. No, I do not currently have the experience to be considered for a Delaware judgeship. That will come with exposure to and experience with Delaware law. Nothing indicates that Harriet Miers had ever spent time enough studying and practicing with the Constitution, a short but complex document, to be a serious choice for a lifetime appointment to our highest court.

Let's hope Bush takes this opportunity to nominate an individual with a demonstrated aptitude in the field of Constitutional law and a history of thoughtful scholarship on the issues raised by our founding document.

Excellent!

Chicago White Sox are World Champs! (Sorry Karen, but your adoptive Astros just weren't up to the task!)

Curiosity

They say "curiosity killed the cat." We haven't been that fortunate yet, but our own Dumhead definitely lives up to the curiosity portion of the saying. Between checking out the swirling water every time the toilet flushes, to trying to get her nose into every last corner or under every last blanket, pillow, or rug in the house, this cat definitely fits the stereotype.

I took this picture while taking out the trash. No, I don't normally carry a camera with me when I lug sacks of refuse outside. But I noticed on the evening I took this photo that every time I carried a bag out, the Kittiot would hop into the window to see what was transpiring outside. Luckily she kept up the routine through my fourth trip outside when I had the camera ready.

Fall in Gettysburg

Some photos from around the battlefields.

The Wheat Field.





















Little Round Top.













A lone cannon.

Gettysburg

My wife and I went to Gettysburg, PA on Sunday. One couldn't ask for a more perfect fall day to tour one of our nation's most hallowed monuments. My wife often remarked that she couldn't get over that we were standing on the same ground on which one of America's most important battles was fought. It truly is a place brimming with history.

Abraham Lincoln, of course, gave probably the most recognized speech in U.S. history here: The Gettysburg Address. Back in the day, I knew the entirety of the speech by heart. For your convenience (and mine), I reproduce it here:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal."

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow, this ground-- The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.

It is rather for us, the living, to stand here, we here be dedica-ted to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Pennsylvania Memorial. Gettysburg, PA. October 24, 2005.

Buy My Photos!

I have added some more photos to my Exposure Manager gallery. I uploaded some more pictures from Chicago, Baltimore, Europe, and added a sports gallery. The sports and nature galleries are still works in progress, however, so please pardon the mess.

Please support this blogger and stop by and purchase one or two!

Triumph and Tragedy

From a soldier in Iraq, a tale of the promise of a democracy, and the heartbreak of a war zone on election day. The author of this site is one of the better soldier-writers out there. Give it a read.

Harriet Miers: Keep Her Away From Your Money

From any perspective, Harriet Miers is a successful attorney. She had a prosperous corporate law practice, served as managing partner at one of the biggest law firms in Texas, headed the Texas Bar Association, counseled President Bush as White House Counsel, and is now a nominee to the US Supreme Court. By all accounts, a smart gal.

Now, two words of advice: 1) if you need a lawyer, call Harriet Miers; 2) if you need a financial advisor, consult anyone BUT Harriet Miers, if this is true.

Hmmmm. Maybe Bush was taking more than just legal advice from Miers...explaining his poor handling of the budget...

Disappointing

According to this story, White Sox picked a theme song for the World Series, the exceedingly lame tune, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey.

Very disappointing.

I was hoping for something along the lines of the Chicago Bears classic, "Super Bowl Shuffle."

Why Aren't Democrats Vociferously Opposing Harriet Miers?

I'm beginning to wonder, since it is increasingly clear that Bush nominated Miers for the sole purpose of overturning Roe v. Wade, whether Dems have decided that they are now comfortable with/resigned to a post-Roe U.S. and this is why their opposition to her has been tepid. Three reasons to support this theory: First, regardless of who Bush nominates to the position, Dems would have to assume that person would eventually vote to overturn the decision. Whether it's Harriet Miers or one of the more favored candidates that conservatives wished for, the result would likely be the same: Roe overturned. They also realize that their fallback line of defense for abortion rights is the state courts and they are ready to battle there.

The second reason is that of all the names circulated, they think Miers is likelier than most to eventually settle into the leftward drift that tends to happen to so-called "stealth" candidates. Over time, we would be back to the status quo of the O'Connor/Rehnquist court, which seemed to lean more left than right on many other issues. This is a best case scenario for Democrats.

Thirdly, I think Democrats have come to realize that the trump card Republicans have held over the past two elections is the promise to overturn Roe. Take that away, and they believe the Republican coalition will fracture, and many of those people who voted on that single issue would spill back into the Democrat camp. This is probably the strongest argument they have.
By killing Roe, they remove a large, single-issue bloc.

They are ready to make the trade: Roe for elections. Unfortunately, their fallback position is stronger than the Republicans' and I think they realize this now.

White Sox in the World Series...Wow!

The White Sox are in the World Series for the first time since 1959. In fact, this is Chicago's first World Series team between the Sox and the Cubs since that year. The Sox last won the Series in 1917.

This has to be super exciting for Chicagoans...and I'm stuck in flipping Wilmington, DE! Arggghhhh!

US Cellular Exploding Scoreboard Chicago, IL, May 2004.

So Close, Yet So Far

My wife complained that one of the biggest drawbacks to coming to the East Coast would be that she'd be out of range of her sports teams: Purdue University (located in W. Lafayette, IN) and the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. I sympathized because in Chicago, it was nearly impossible to get a University of Maryland broadcast (outside of 4-5 basketball games per year) and the pathetic Washington Redskins were tough to see even in bars dedicated to broadcasting all the NFL games each weekend. As for the Orioles and the Wizards, forget it.

Naturally, I was excited to move back East for the opposite reason. Being just two hours from DC, I expected that I would be back within range of the teams I support. Well guess what? Nothing has changed. Even though Maryland football is the best college football within 2-3 hours of Wilmington, DE, you aren't going to get a game broadcast up here unless it's a national telecast. You will get University of Delaware and Temple football (the Owls currently ranked #118 of 119 teams in D-I). But you will also get a full slate of Big Ten games each week, including each and every Purdue football game thus far in 2005. Even the Indiana (#58) versus Illinois (#80) game was broadcast here. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Turns out that this is Big Ten and Big East country. I knew about the Big Least, but not the Big Ten. Probably has something to do with our close proximity to Pennsylvania, home of Penn State. What does this mean for college basketball season? Lots of Villanova, Rutgers games on TV plus a healthy helping of Big Ten basketball, and no Terps.

Pro football is nearly the same. This is Philadelphia Eagles territory. Because of that, we only get two games each Sunday: the Eagles game, and the CBS morning or afternoon game not opposite the Eagles game. That lessens the odds that the Redskins game will be broadcast essentially to zero, since Fox broadcasts NFC games, and both the Eagles and the Skins play in the same conference. This means that unless the Skins play the Eagles, I won't see them play otherwise unless they play the Sunday night game or on Monday Night Football. It further doesn't help that we are also only about two hours or so from NYC. This means that when given the choice to broadcast competing NY Giants and Redskins games, we'll get the Giants game, as happened yesterday.

This means that the Colts will always have a better chance to be on TV each weekend than the Skins. For one thing, they are the favorite to win the Super Bowl and have Peyton Manning at the helm. For another, they play in the AFC and won't be preempted each week for the Eagles, unless their game is broadcast opposite the Eagles game (at which point the game is blacked out so were are FORCED to watch TO and McNabb, and I am likely to be sitting on my couch poking needles in my eyes).

DC is two hours away. So close to my Terps and Redskins, but so far away.

Keep Up the Good Work

Today Iraqis went to the polls to vote yay or nay on their new constitution. The referendum is expected to result in ratification.

Just over two and half years ago, Saddam Hussein still ruled Iraq and was preparing for war. That is quite a time table. Just four years ago, we were attacked on our own soil by Al Qaeda. Now the world boasts two new democracies as a direct result of U.S. military action: Afghanistan and Iraq. Welcome!

If you had asked me when I took the photo below, whether I thought either of these two countries would be liberated and this close to fully functioning democracies just over four years from that date, I would have said heck no. But both countries are now closer than ever to fielding sustainable democracies. Incredible. To all of those involved in incubating these newborn democracies, keep up the good work.

City Hall in Mourning, Baltimore, Maryland. September 15, 2001.

Photoshopping Chicago

Sometimes you can create some interesting effects by randomly fiddling with pictures in Photoshop. Below are two versions of the same photo, one edited in Photoshop and the other untouched. I took the photo in Grant Park in Chicago during my summer there in 2002.

Before:













After:

Latest Signs of the Apocalypse

For those people out there thinking that George Bush started the Iraq war to bring about the Apocalypse, this can't be a good sign. Al Qaeda setting up in Gaza to spark the ultimate showdown in the land where it all began.

Not convinced? Well what about the existence of this? These are bizarre times we live in.

Pentagon Releases New Football Rules

Ever wondered what happens when the Navy, Army, Air Force, and Marines take to the gridiron for a little bit of football? The Pentagon has released new rules of engagement for these contests. A must read for service academy football fans.

Bandwagon Jumping

My friends and I have had a lot of debates in the past regarding sports loyalties. The number one crime a sports fan can commit is hitching his fandom to the bandwagon of a winner (see, most Yankees, Lakers, Duke basketball fans), especially when things go sour for his own team. Today, in an instant-classic column, Tony Kornheiser put the smack down on Michael Wilbon for briefly switching loyalties from that of a Cubs fan to a White Sox fan, since the Cubs are at home and the Sox play on this postseason:

An open letter to Michael Wilbon:

You know I love you. And that's why I'm begging you not to wrap yourself in the flag of the Chicago White Sox -- as you did yesterday on "PTI" by wearing an idiotic White Sox jersey. Believe me, that is not a flattering outfit unless you're trying to look like a tablecloth.

Everybody here knows you're a Cubs fan. Everybody here knows what a phony you'd be to glom onto the White Sox now -- simply just because, conveniently, they're winning -- after dismissing them for years. I, too, come from a city where there are two baseball teams, the Yankees and Mets. I was a Mets fan. I rooted for the Mets. I didn't root for the Yankees just because they got into the playoffs. I spit on the Yankees. It's a little thing most of us like to call integrity. I've got a number you can call if you want some.

Read on for more smacking.

Halls of Justice

With the American political focus on the Supreme Court lately, given a new Chief Justice (John Roberts) and a highly controversial nominee for Sandra Day O'Connor's robe (Harriet Miers), what better time to post a picture of their elaborate workplace?

Supreme Court Building, Washington, DC, May 2003.

White Sox

I'm watching the ALCS between the Angels and White Sox (Sox currently down 3-2 in the top of the 7th). I can't wait 'til they move the series to Anaheim. It's too depressing to watch as they cut to commercial between each inning and show the sites around Chi-town.

Delaware. Good lord.

Uninspired

I haven't posted a photo in a while. Just not getting the chance to take any these days. Here's a place I'd rather be than Delaware on a dreary, rainy day.

St. Barth's. August 2005.

Toast

As Kip from Napolean Dynamite would say:

"Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!"

Let It Rain

After raining maybe three times all summer, it has been non-stop rain since Friday. I'll take it though. That huge brick in front my yard that used to be my green lawn should get some help. Unfortunately, it's supposed to rain until Friday. That's pushing it.

I Passed

Found out I passed the Delaware bar exam a couple days ago. Rumor has it the passage rate was only 55%, as opposed to the 80% passage rate of the last bar exam I passed (Illinois).

All I can say is, "Whew!"

Which One of These Does Not Belong

Flags seen above the MBNA headquarters building in downton Wilmington, Delaware, in order from left to right:

State of Delaware
Old Glory
MBNA corporate banner
Cleveland Browns helmet flag

DU U PURDU?

Saturday night featured an intrastate battle between the #22 Purdue Boilermakers at home versus the now #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish of South Bend, IN at Ross-Ade Stadium on Purdue's W. Lafayette, IN campus. I was there, so naturally, I must report on the scene.

Let me start by saying that the Maryland football scene could only dream about being this big. Tailgating is definitely an industry in itself in W. Lafayette. The parking lots were filling up at a time when most noon games were beginning...and Purdue's had a 6:45pm scheduled kickoff. Winnebago's, cars, SUV's, modified ambulances...you name the transportation and it was on display in the parking lots, sports fields, and golf course (yes they allow parking ON the Purdue golf course). Well before game time, a large tent city mushroomed all over campus. Black, gold, and a speckling of green.

Tailgating, for many, is an art. Boilermaker fans are artistes. Our own Mexican themed tailgate, a mere 150 yard 7-iron from the nearest green (how do I know this?...the white plaque was under my cooler), featured a variety of dips, tacos, enchiladas, desserts, beers, wines, and mixed drinks. For those with a fever, and only one prescription...more cowbell...we even had that!















A few beers, a feast worthy of Incan king himself, and a Heisman pose later, it was time to pack up the chairs and head to the stadium.
















Ross-Ade Stadium hosted the evening's main event. Yeah, tailgating is a great time, but this wasn't Maryland circa 1997. There was actually a real football game occurring inside on this night between two ranked teams. In my days as a young Terrapin, the strategy used to be: a) tailgate all morning, then through the first quarter; b) at the start of the second quarter sit in the student section until the end of the third quarter; c) check the scoreboard to confirm that the Terps were getting their shells beat off them; d) return to the parking lot for the fourth quarter and beyond; and finally, f) head to Terrapin Station, drink a few more beers and stay out until either 1) it was closing time, or 2) you were thrown out for some BS infraction. Whatever, dude!

But this night at Ross-Ade was different than those lazy afternoons at Byrd. The highly ranked Irish were set to invade the home of the spoiler Boilers.

















Night games are always something special. In Maryland's case, it meant that the typically classless students had been out all day drinking, and that attendance at the game was just an excuse to take that high to another level. It never failed that being in the student section at a night game was more prison riot than pep section. Granted, I wasn't in the student section at Ross-Ade on Saturday night, but the students seem far better behaved than I remember at night games when I was a student. No fights, no bottle throwing, no choruses of expletives. The only bad behavior I witnessed was the batting around of a giant, inflatable 8-foot tall male organ through the stands. But that was more funny than shocking.








Football was played, but it was an ugly evening for the Boilers. The Irish scored easily on their first possession, marching straight down the field for a score. Purdue countered with a drive of their own, and only a beautiful defensive play by the right CB prevented a long pass from Purdue QB Brandon Kirsch from becoming the equalizing score. In the end, Purdue came up empty. Notre Dame's second possession was much like the first. Like a hot knife through butter, they sliced through the home team's D with surprising ease. Suddenly, it was 14-0. It only got worse.















Purdue's next possession culminated in a march deep into Irish territory. From about the 20, Purdue ran a sweep around the right side. The RB turned the corner and saw nothing but open field ahead of him. As he hot-dogged it down the sidelines, a swift Irish player was able to cut him off from the end zone at the one, and push him out of bounds. On the next play, the Boilermakers fumbled trying to stretch a blast up the middle into a TD. ND ball.

At the half, ND ended up with 28 points to Purdue's goose egg, and an ungodly amount of offensive yardage. Irish QB Brady Quinn would sit out most of the fourth quarter and still end up with 440+ yards passing.

After the half, the pure embarrassment of Purdue University really began. Take a look at the picture below. This is how it should look when Purdue scores a TD (these flags were run out after Purdue's second TD).













Upon scoring its first TD of the game, apparently the cheerleaders forgot what it was like. The yellow P before the word "P U R D U E" was run out, no problem. But all that followed was the P and the R. The P and R ran the entire normal route. Upon dropping his P, the P cheerleader started pointing to and yelling at the U, D, U, and E flag bearers, obviously berating them for their insolence.

Purdue scored again, and the scene photographed above took place. Maybe the sideline tantrum worked!

Alas, it was just the set up for further embarrassment. Although Purdue was scoring, so was ND. After its own second TD of the half, ND ran out its flags in perfect sequence as they had the whole night: Logo - I - R- I - S - H. Fed up with the Irish disrespecting his turf, our own PO'd cheerleader of the pointing and yelling earlier in the evening, grabbed a Purdue flag and started running it around at the same time. Problem was, he picked up the E. Blinded by his roid-rage, our disgruntled cheerleader frantically ran around the endzone with a giant E. EEEEEEEEEEEEE! That's how you fire up the crowd.

As the coup de grace, Purdue scored a third TD in the second half. The flummoxed cheerleaders responded first by tossing a female cheerleader into the black night sky, then missing her on her return from orbit, scattering their little pyramid like bowling pins. As the fallen cheerleaders regrouped, they headed to the flags to celebrate the third TD. The sequence: Logo - P - U - R - D - U - ....almost E, but the E guy accidentally picked up a black flag with the little Purdue train logo on it instead and, after hesitating for a moment, he decided to just go with it.

P - U - R - D - U.

After giving up 49 points and 621 yards on defense, it's surprising they didn't just run around with P - U.

The rest of the evening was just a blur. I'll be back to Ross-Ade in November for the Michigan State game. Stay tuned.














PS: One thing that puzzled us listening to the post game show on the ride home is that nearly every one of the callers demanded a change on offense. Granted, Purdue was down 28 points before the offense kicked in, so ND's D obviously dialed it back a little in the second half, but here are the offensive stats for the game compared:

Total Yards: ND (621), P (514)
Passing: ND (468), P (350)
Rushing: ND (153), P (164)

Looks like more of a defensive problem to me.

What A Betrayal

Forgive me if I feel stabbed in the back. So many voters pulled the lever for GWB in November based on his statements that he would select a Scalia/Thomas type to fill any Supreme Court vacancy. What did we get? Harriet Miers. A woman who was nothing more than a small-time trial lawyer in Texas with a career in administrative politics. She has no academic background. She has: never been a judge, never argued before the Supreme Court, never clerked for a Supreme Court justice, and never written a serious article on Constitutional jurisprudence. Remember how John Roberts had a concise, well-reasoned answer to every question of Constitutional law thrown at him by the Judiciary Committee? Won't happen with Miers. She doesn't have the resume, nor the intellect to give serious answers to those questions. Un-flipping-believable.

My support for this president has almost completely evaporated. He knows an overwhelming percentage of Republicans voted him into office because they trusted him to nominate a stellar candidate to carry forward the conservative mantle in the nation's highest court. How are we rewarded? With a former Democrat with little experience, no demonstrated intellect, no record of judicial philosophy (if any), and about the poorest possible resume of any of the hopefuls. What an abomination of a choice. It isn't as if the pool of potentials was as pathetic as the usual pool of presidential or congressional candidates. There were some real all-stars out there. And they were all passed over for Bush's former secretary.

I'm at the end of my tolerance for this man. He has abandoned nearly every conservative ideal while pretending to be our champion. He has betrayed our trust and now exposed himself as nothing but an opportunist. Naked to wind, we now see that Bush is in power for power's sake, and he's going to spend the remainder of his term in office rewarding his buddies with plum positions in government, regardless of their competence (see Michael Brown and Julie Myers). We are headed to three years of stagnation and mediocrity because Bush is tired of fighting and just doesn't seem to care anymore. Prove me wrong and I'll eat this post. For now, I can't wait for 2008, come what may.

PS: These guys speak for me: Prof. Bainbridge (see also here and here). Todd Zywicki.

UPDATE: This kind of thinking (CE Petit's) is what got us here in the first place - thinking that 1) Bush would be true to his word, and 2) that he had something up his sleeve that would make us all happy again. Here's my candidate...sike!!! Not happening. Show me any instance where Bush actually came through for conservatives after floating a false "unifying" candidate or policy to the Dems. Answer: never (sheesh, Norman Mineta is still our Transportation Secretary).

This is our nominee and she's terrible. End of story. And since the Democrats love her, which should be tip off number one that she's awful (whatever Harry Reid thinks, I'm always thinking the opposite), don't expect any changes for the better on the Court as a consequence of this nomination.

Nobel Peace Prize Tip Off

Wondering who is going to win the Nobel Peace prize? Hint: Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have a better chance of winning it than George W. Bush.

"If the prize branches out to virtually anything that is trendy, it stands to lose the intent that (Swedish founder) Alfred Nobel had -- to prevent war," said Janne Haaland Matlary, a professor of political science at Oslo University.

"I think there are two acute problems in the world -- anti-terror work and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," she said.

That's right. It's not terrorists that are one of the two acute problems in the world. It's anti-terror work. And what about the WMD's? Are they afraid that they'll fall into the hands of the anti-terror folks? It's inconceivable that Islamic terrorists would ever want to get their hands on nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons for, say, an attack on Israel, or the British Parliament, or an American subway system.

I'll put my money on George Soros getting it.

No Pot of Gold for the Black and Gold

I went to the Purdue vs. Notre Dame debacle this weekend with my Boilermaker wife at Ross Ade Stadium in W. Lafayette, IN. It isn't an exaggeration to say that, from Purdue's perspective, the entire event was an all-around embarassment. I'll have more on this later, including a tailgating round up. They really know how to do it in the midwest.

In closing, how about those 2-2 Terrapins? After knocking off a ranked Virginia squad, the Terps find themselves 2-1 in the ACC with a tough schedule ahead. They'll get a quick breather this coming weekend against a weak Temple squad, but after that it's gut-check time. Good to see the running game return. But we'll have to wait to see whether it's a fluke. Gotta go...