articles 8/6

LA Times
New Chapter in the Mystery of Marilyn: Her Own Words?
By Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writer
Miner's Transcript of Monroe Tapes
Miner's Account of Monroe's Death
Former Los Angeles prosecutor John W. Miner was head of the District Attorney’s medical-legal section when Marilyn Monroe died.

Bush v. Rumsfeld
The president knows we have to win the war in Iraq . . . Rumsfeld doesn't.
by William Kristol

Sanctuary No More
It's no longer springtime for jihadis in Britain.
by Gerard Baker

Goldilocks Economy
The bad news is the good news isn't being heard.
by Irwin M. Stelzer

Nuclear Explosion
A portrait of our scary world, 60 years after Hiroshima.
by Fred Ikle

WSJ Editorial
Hiroshima
Nuclear weapons, then and now.

Truth Has Nothing to Do With It
Is Theory going out of fashion in American universities?
by James Seaton

The Cut-and-Run Caucus
Why are some Democrats so eager to give up in Iraq?
by Brendan Miniter

Phone sex firm's odd bedfellows
What do Microsoft, eBay and the Carlyle Group -- employer of a number of former high-ranking government officials -- have in common?

USA Today
Preseason Football Poll
The Wolverines open the 2005 season ranked fourth in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll, the eighth straight season the program has listed in the top 10 of the coaches poll.

Football Tops Big Ten Preseason Media Poll
The Wolverines were selected as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference in a poll of media attending the Big Ten Kickoff Event.

• Michigan has more wins that any football program in NCAA history, 842-274-36 (.7465277).
• Michigan has the highest winning percentage of any team in the NCAA history (.7465277).
• Michigan has a run of 107 straight AP polls (20 polls longer than Miami) in which it has been ranked in the Top 25, the longest streak in the nation. The streak, which is 80 week long, began Oct. 24, 1998.
• Michigan is 262-82-10 (.756) all-time when listed in the AP Top 10, including a 38-17 mark during Lloyd Carr's coaching tenure.
• Michigan has had 343 football games televised, which leads the NCAA.
• Michigan has appeared in 30 straight bowls, the longest current streak in NCAA history.
• The Wolverines set an NCAA record in 2004 by averaging 111,025 fans per game at Michigan Stadium.
• The Michigan football program is the only Big Ten team in any sport to win a conference title in each decade. It is the winningest overall athletic program in Big Ten Conference history.
• Michigan ranks #1 all-time in composite AP final football polls (1936-2003), passing Notre Dame for the top spot after last season's #6 final ranking.
• Michigan has appeared in more Rose Bowls (19) than any other Big Ten Conference school. They are 8-10.
• Michigan has 42 Big Ten titles (OSU -29) which is the most of any college football program in ANY conference.
• Michigan has 11 national championships (5th all-time) to OSU's 7.
  

Lloyd Carr Stats

• Head coach Lloyd Carr has a career winning percentage of .779 (95-28), ranking him fifth among active Division I coaches.
• Michigan has a 35-18 overall record against AP nationally ranked teams under Lloyd Carr. The Wolverines have compiled a 125-104-8 (.542) all-time record against AP nationally ranked teams.
• He now leads active Big Ten coaches with 63 conference wins (63-17).
• His teams are an amazing 14-4 against Top 10 opponents and 7-2 against Top 5 opponents.
• He grabbed the active career lead in Big Ten wins during the 2003 season.
• He is the eighth coach in conference history to claim five or more Big Ten championships.
• He is fourth among active Division I-A coaches with a .77236 winning percentage.

Bono gives an explicit confession of being saved by Grace, not Karma

August 6, 2005
Salty Dogman
by Gene Edward Veith

Is Bono, the lead singer and songwriter for the rock group U2, a Christian? He says he is and writes about Christianity in his lyrics. Yet many people question whether Bono is "really" a Christian, due to his notoriously bad language, liberal politics, and rock star antics (though he has been faithfully married for 23 years). But in a new book of interviews, Bono in Conversation by Michka Assayas, Bono, though using some salty language, makes an explicit confession of faith.

The interviewer, Mr. Assayas, begins by asking Bono, Doesn't he think "appalling things" happen when people become religious? Bono counters, "It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma."

The interviewer asks, What's that? "At the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one," explains Bono. "And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that. . . . Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff."

The interviewer asks, Like what? "That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge," says Bono. "It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity."

Then the interviewer marvels, "The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that."

"The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death," replies Bono. "It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven."

The interviewer marvels some more: "That's a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it's close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has His rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that farfetched?"

Bono comes back, "Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says, No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: 'I'm the Messiah.' I'm saying: 'I am God incarnate.' . . . So what you're left with is either Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. . . . The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that's farfetched."

What is most interesting in this exchange is the reaction of the interviewer, to whom Bono is, in effect, witnessing. This hip rock journalist starts by scorning what he thinks is Christianity. But it is as if he had never heard of grace, the atonement, the deity of Christ, the gospel. And he probably hadn't. But when he hears what Christianity is actually all about, he is amazed.

articles 8/3

Why Truman Dropped the Bomb
Sixty years after Hiroshima, we now have the secret intercepts that shaped his decision.
by Richard B. Frank

When Tush Comes to Dove
Real women. Real curves. Really smart ad campaign.
By Seth Stevenson

But Why Can't Hillary Win?
Sen. Clinton's electability problem.
By Jacob Weisberg

God vs. Satan
Who's the better investor?
By Daniel Gross

America’s Pro-Choice Movement at a Crossroads
They've been dreading this moment for decades. How the pro-choice movement is readying for Roberts—and navigating a critical political crossroads.

Frist's Stem Cell Capitulation
by Eric Cohen & William Kristol

Correcting the CIA
by Robert Novak
A statement attributed to the former CIA spokesman indicating that I deliberately disregarded what he told me in writing my 2003 column about Joseph Wilson's wife is just plain wrong.

Health benefits of prayer
by Armstrong Williams
Prayer heals. So say thousands of Americans who use prayer to improve their health.

Senator Frist's grave mistake
by Cal Thomas
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist made some fundamental mistakes in announcing his support of federal funding for stem cell research.

10 Years That Changed the World
A decade ago, Netscape went public, blasting the Web into everyday life. Now, Wired talks to the inside players - from Marc Andreessen to Shawn Fanning to Steve Jobs - about 10 years of boom, bust, and sock puppets.
Interviews by Jeff Howe

The Big Gulp
NASA pisses away millions hauling H2O into orbit. But there's a better way - recycle astronaut urine. Just one question: How does it taste?
By Tom McNichol

Building the Béisbol Brand
Signing Pedro Martínez, developing young phenoms in the Dominican Republic, luring Spanish-speaking fans — Omar Minaya is reinventing the Mets by embracing the Latinization of professional baseball. Is this the future of big-league business?

Rafael Palmiero
• Jayson Stark: Yes vote Buster Olney: Sham artist Raffy busted• Gene Wojciechowski: True lies Ray Ratto: Canseco got it right• Patrick Hruby: A yawner

USA Today
Steroid test nabs first major star
Palmeiro out for 10 days; drugs back in sports spotlight
By Mike Dodd and Hal Bodley, page 1A
Suspended
Full coverage

Palmeiro's image takes hard hit
Steroid suspension may hurt Hall hopes
By Mel Antonen, page 1C
BALTIMORE — One day, Rafael Palmeiro is a legend with elite Hall of Fame statistics. The next, his legacy is swirling in a steroid controversy.
Full coverage

Say it ain't so, Palmeiro
Oriole lets everyone down; ‘accident' story not believable
On baseball By Hal Bodley, page 2C
Rafael Palmeiro, nattily attired in a perfectly tailored navy pinstriped suit, walked into the hallowed halls of Congress on March 17 and said he never used steroids.
Full coverage

Appeals process part of policy
Players have right to challenge result before disciplinary action
By Hal Bodley, page 2C
Rafael Palmeiro received no special treatment from Major League Baseball by having his grievance for testing positive for steroids heard — and decided — before his 10-day suspension was announced Monday.
Full coverage

Orioles fans stunned by violation
By Scott Boeck, page 2C
BALTIMORE — Fans attending Monday's game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox expressed shock, disbelief and disappointment when hearing Rafael Palmeiro had been suspended for 10 days after violating Major League Baseball's steroid policy.
Full coverage