The thing I found bizarre about his agent's apology was T.O.'s body language in the background. He was standing there with his arms folded, as if he was being put upon to be at the news conference. He looked bored.

He still doesn't get it, does he?

Thanks to computer-aided demographic research, politicians can now draw politically homogeneous districts that guarantee reelection for incumbents year after year. This cripples the ability of Asian and Latino communities to build healthy politics and promote candidates for higher office. And as long as incumbents never have to explain themselves to constituents who don't agree with them, they're free to adopt extremist views, poisoning the national dialogue and wiping out the art of legislative compromise.

Well, that's one way of looking at it. But here's another:

The three judges would have been picked essentially by random lot: One Democrat, one Republican, and one picked randomly. (Note that there would be no chance of an Independent or third-party judge.) This would have given the Republican judges a 50% chance of being able to "compromise" from a position of power... which, in a blue state, is a significant change to the state's political balance... and with 10% of the Electoral College votes, a significant change to the national balance of power.

Schwarzenegger distanced his social views from the Republican base when he ran for governor, positioning himself as a "maverick", but Prop. 77 was a blatant attempt at a power grab by the Republican establishment, which the Governator has cozied up to since his "election".

I think this is an apt question, given that Buster leads the Panel o' Experts: How much has Buster benefitted by luck?

For instance, if he has gotten 70% of his coin-flip games correct, he's in first place by random chance, while without it, he would be in the bottom half of the standings. On the other hand, if he has only gotten 50% of his coin-flip games correct... well, that's something that ANY prognosticator could do with his eyes closed.

So, King, which is it?

There is another paradox taking place here. On one hand, scientists are largely of one mind regarding climate change... but they are also in agreement about evolution. How can an evangelical use science to support their actions on the issue of climate change but ignore science regarding evolution (or "intelligent design")?

Dobson may be a tool, but at least he's consistent.

Soriano doesn't want to move to the outfield for a simple reason: money.

Here are Soriano's career stats, according to MLB.com: .280 average, .500 slugging percentage, .320 OBP, and 162 HRs. Now, those aren't bad stats for an outfielder, but they aren't anything spectacular either.

But for a second baseman, those are spectacular offensive stats. So, which would you pay more for? An outfielder with a big bat, or a second baseman with a big bat? The first are relatively common, but a second baseman who can hit for power... that's rare. Soriano wants to stay at second base simply because that way he will be worth more next time arbitration or free agency comes his way.

"Say hello to my leetle friend!"

President Logan's weaseliness has made him one of my favorite characters on "24", and I'll hate to see him gone.

That's why I'd like to see next season of "24" pick up where this one ends. Logan resigns as President, but immediately puts into place his back-up plan: a military coup. Jack Bauer can only fight terrorists so many times before it gets boring, but a coup sounds like a fun season.

Admittedly, the Kings' problems are deeper than their coach. Losing Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, and Bobby Jackson (among others) leaves them as one of the less talented teams in the West. However, both the Trailblazers of the late 80s and the Kings of the early 2000s had two things in common: both teams were loaded for bear, and both consistently came up short in the playoffs. (And the Warriors... well, they've shown the ability to stink with any coach... why pay more for a coach of Adelman's pedigree?)

Both teams consistently lost the close games. Whether it was a lack of clutch shooters in the Kings' case or the ability of the Blazers to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, those problems ultimately have to lie with Adelman.

In the past, King, you've bemoaned the fact that the coaching fraternity in the NBA has remained closed to minority candidates. However, Rick Adelman is one of a number of title-less coaches (such as George Karl and Mike Dunleavy, to name a couple more) whose perpetual employment is at the cost of these same candidates.

The NHL has it right. I'm not a hockey fan, so I don't remember exactly what the penalty for flopping is, but it IS a penalty, and it IS called. Good for them.

Same-sex marriage is a contradiction in terms. Men who love men and women who love women are friends.

Wow, thanks for sorting that out for us! Gay couples, even if they have been together for 50 years or more, are simply Friends With Benefits!

It all makes sense now!

We let Soviet soldiers die by the hundreds of thousands while we strategized to make sure the USSR would be as weak as possible after the war was over.

"Hundreds of thousands" doesn't come close. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties), more than 23 million Soviets died in World War II, roughly evenly divided between the military and civilians. (To put this into perspective, but not to marginalize the sacrifice of our soldiers, fewer than 420,000 Americans died in the war.)