Author: NewMexiKen

Kobe Bryant’s case dismissed

But his statement is interesting —

First, I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident. I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year. Although this year has been incredibly difficult for me personally, I can only imagine the pain she has had to endure. I also want to apologize to her parents and family members, and to my family and friends and supporters, and to the citizens of Eagle, Colo.

I also want to make it clear that I do not question the motives of this young woman. No money has been paid to this woman. She has agreed that this statement will not be used against me in the civil case. Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.

I issue this statement today fully aware that while one part of this case ends today, another remains. I understand that the civil case against me will go forward. That part of this case will be decided by and between the parties directly involved in the incident and will no longer be a financial or emotional drain on the citizens of the state of Colorado.

Told you these guys were good

Functional Ambivalent:

The national political media may be the biggest threat to democracy we have in this country. Lazy, smug, missing-the-point-completely, this bunch of haircuts has bent over so far backwards to be objective in the eyes of the Rush Limbaughs of the world that they’ve have stopped being skeptical. They’ve got the formula down, and there’s no thought process necessary. I’ve watched about six hours of convention coverage and I haven’t heard a single discussion about a single idea. If you are what you eat, our body politic is made up entirely of talking points and strategic product differentiation.

Makes Me Ralph:

My five year old this morning while listening to an Air America Radio report on Virginia Congressman Ed Schrock:

SHREK IS GAY?!?!?!

Sideline Chatter:

U.S. Open officials ordered Serena Williams to change her leggings after she took the court for her opening match this week dressed in a studded tank top, denim miniskirt and calf extensions that made it look like she was wearing boots.

Rumor has it she was just trying to psych herself up for her second-round opponent — Xena: Warrior Princess.

One more thing (for now)

Before I trudge off to the gas station (see below), I’d like to thank a few people.

To my dad and siblings and children and a few friends — thanks for showing enough interest to keep me going when only you few visited the site. Even now you provide most of the comments.

To Hugh, Bubba and Luis — the first blogs to link to NewMexiKen. Can’t tell you how excited I was. Thanks.

To friends Dwight, Tom, and Ralph — I’ll be reading you faithfully.

To annette — The Week Quiz franchise is all yours.

To the Burque bloggers — Pika, Mark, Garth, Clandestino (we know who you are) and Dagwood — I’m still part of the community we seem to have created; don’t leave me out of any parties, virtual or real.

NewMexiKen

If this blog were a car it would be coasting onto the shoulder about now and I’d be figuring out how far I had to walk to buy gas.

It’s gotten good mileage — 3,548 posts over 13 months. Close to 13,000 visits in August from nearly 6,500 different computers (IP addresses). That’s up nearly 30 percent over July. The visitors, who were from 58 countries, looked at almost 70,000 pages.

But it’s out of gas. Or at least I am.

So, you ask, “Whatcha’ gonna do?”

Trying to tough it out won’t work. I’ve been doing that too long already and it shows in the content. Besides, it’s a hobby not a job.

Quitting won’t work. In two days or two weeks I’d be starting all over.

So I’ll try cutting way back and posting only when I think I have something worthwhile to say or something of real interest to link to. Drop by on occasion; there may be new stuff here from time-to-time.

Model players

According to Morning Briefing:

It’s well known that Jerry West’s image is on the NBA logo. It’s not as well known that [Harmon] Killebrew was the model for the player on the MLB logo.

“I just happened to be in the commissioner’s office when they were doing the mock-up for the logo,” Killebrew said.

Fort Bowie National Historic Site …

was authorized on this date in 1964. According to the National Park Service:

FortBowie.jpg

Fort Bowie commemorates in its 1000 acres, the story of the bitter conflict between the Chiricahua Apaches and the United States military. For more than 30 years Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal point of military operations eventually culminating in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama. It was the site of the Bascom Affair, a wagon train massacre, and the battle of Apache Pass, where a large force of Chiricahua Apaches under Mangus Colorados and Cochise fought the California Volunteers. The remains of Fort Bowie today are carefully preserved, the adobe walls of various post buildings and the ruins of a Butterfield Stage Station.

Visiting Fort Bowie requires a three mile round trip hike — unless you use the handicap entrance, which they keep a secret until you show up after walking a mile-and-a-half on a July afternoon with a daughter eight months pregnant and a two-year-old grandson.

It’s the birthday

… of Warren Buffet. The billionaire “uncle” of Jimmy Buffet is 74. (Actually distant cousins.)

… of Jerry Tarkanian. The Shark is also 74.

… of John Phillips. The Papa is 69. (The other Papa was Denny Doherty.)

… of Molly Ivins. The columnist is 60.

… of Peggy Lipton. The Mod Squad member is 57.

… of Lewis Black. The comedian, and regular on The Daily Show, is 56.

… of Cameron Diaz. Princess Fiona is 32.

Do your part

As an American, you have an obligation to support your presidential candidate (Bush or Kerry). So, every day until Election Day, when you drive, show who you will vote for:

If you support the policies and character of John Kerry, please drive with your headlights on during the day.

If you support George W. Bush, please drive with your headlights off at night.

Spread the word.

Cheney or McCain

Functional Ambivalent suggests evidence points to Cheney dropping off the ticket this week to be replaced by John McCain. NewMexiKen has suspected this might happen for sometime, but I didn’t have the courage to write it. Props to Functional Ambivalent for taking the chance.

Especially if he’s right.

Update: The more NewMexiKen thinks about this, the more I think it is likely to happen, too. What a dramatic news event. Great showmanship. Talk about a bounce.

Hope the Kerry folks are prepared.

Another reason to vote for Kerry

From Ronald Brownstein in the Los Angeles Times, Second-Term Reward May Be More Headache Than Triumph

Bill Clinton was impeached in his second term. Richard Nixon would have been if he hadn’t quit first. Ronald Reagan was crippled by the Iran-Contra scandal. Lyndon Johnson sank into the swamp of Vietnam.

Dwight Eisenhower had health problems and Sputnik. The high point of Harry Truman’s second term was the day he won it in a stunning upset; after that, it was war, scandal and legislative gridlock. Woodrow Wilson suffered through World War I, the rejection of the League of Nations and a stroke. Even Franklin D. Roosevelt reached his lowest point during his second term, when Congress blocked his plan to stack the Supreme Court.

Censoring the Supreme Court

The Memory Hole reveals a document redacted by the Department of Justice. The redaction is a quote from a Supreme Court decision, presumably censored to protect national security. The offending language:

The danger to political dissent is acute where the Government attempts to act under so vague a concept as the power to protect “domestic security.” Given the difficulty of defining the domestic security interest, the danger of abuse in acting to protect that interest becomes apparent.

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of the 1990s

From the American Library Association

Here’s the top ten to get you interested:

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Link via Stupid Words ….

Ruth Lee Jones …

was born on this date 80 years ago. We know her as Dinah Washington. Richard S. Ginell at the All Music Guide:

Dinah Washington was at once one of the most beloved and controversial singers of the mid-20th century — beloved to her fans, devotees, and fellow singers; controversial to critics who still accuse her of selling out her art to commerce and bad taste. Her principal sin, apparently, was to cultivate a distinctive vocal style that was at home in all kinds of music, be it R&B, blues, jazz, middle of the road pop — and she probably would have made a fine gospel or country singer had she the time. Hers was a gritty, salty, high-pitched voice, marked by absolute clarity of diction and clipped, bluesy phrasing. Washington’s personal life was turbulent, with seven marriages behind her, and her interpretations showed it, for she displayed a tough, totally unsentimental, yet still gripping hold on the universal subject of lost love.

Washington’s biggest hit was in 1959 with What a Diff’rence a Day Makes. [Link is to Apple iTunes.]

She died at age 39.