A Sad, Bad Day in the News

Dana Reeve died at 44, leaving an orphaned son.

Kirby Puckett died at 45.

Gordon Parks died at the ripe old age of 93, but it's still sad, and am I the only one of my generation who associates him more with his photographs than with Shaft?

The Patriot Act was renewed.

The Supreme Court ruled against the law schools that banned military recruiting because the military's don't-ask-don't-tell policy violates their anti-discrimination policies. And what really bummed me out about that one was that Roberts felt the need to affirm the right to protest the military recruiters, which suggests that that right was somehow under question.

Ugh.

The only positive thing I can think of is the Red Sox pitching staff which seems like it has the potential to wreak some major havoc and maybe even win a whole bunch of games. Even I can't help letting myself get a little excited about it, except, of course, that it's the first week of March, for god's sake, and you know that whatever can go wrong will, because this is the Red Sox, after all.