After a short hiatus, the local Doctor Who fan club website is back online. And Mark promises a blog every couple of days.
Well, it's good news to me.

Here's an update on the Baby Lila case I wrote about before from her mother Lenice. As Tammy pointed out, ...   more »

Apparently Netflix has heard from others about how Blockbuster is satisfying their needs when they cannot, so they respond as only Big Business can: Netflix has filed suit against Blockbuster for copyright infringement and to shut down the 18 month old service.
I guess getting more copies of new movies and ending throttling weren't viable enough alternatives.

HBO is running this special that should be a series called Assume The Position With Robert Wuhl where actor/comedian Wuhl holds court in a college history class imparting the important lesson of the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend" by debunking the history taught us about Christopher Columbus, Paul Revere, and others. If you have HBO, click on the link to see when it's on and check it out.

As Sen. John McCain is looking at his last chance for the presidency (as Mark Evanier points out should he win, he would be 3 years older than Reagan, and a lot of people thought he was too old), he is aligning himself with Jerry Falwell and his ilk (ilk sounds like the right word for his kind), reversing himself from his previous statements.
And Mike Luckovich has an editorial cartoon.
Although everyone of our political stripe is criticising this move, I can understand this development. When one is looking for work (and Mark among others can vouch for this) you have the uncertainties of taking the high road vs. playing the game. If you take the high road, you start sweating and stewing like Yosemite Sam not going after the lit match in the powder keg room after telling Bugs Bunny he wouldn't go after any more lit matches. You become afraid that if you don't give in, you're not going to achieve your goal. And politics cranks that up several more notches.
Update: McCain was interviewed on tonight's Daily Show With Jon Stewart which showed the McCain we're familiar with rather than the sellout everybody is hollering about. McCain emphasized that he would be delivering the same message that he delivers at other commencement addresses. Oddly enough I haven't heard anything from the right or the evangelicals about his appearance at Liberty University. It'll be interesting to see how this goes.

I wish that I was up to some shennanigans, concocting an April Fool's prank for you unsuspecting readers to come across. Unfortunately, I have been doing the exact opposite. Here from Luke Ski's Live Journal is the sad story in quotes and spaced off, with my comments following:

"On March 4, 2006, Lenice Y Dixon picked up her 21-month old daughter Lila from her father, Henry G. Johnson of Aurora Illinois in Crown Point, Indiana. During the 3 hour ride home, little Lila became very uncomfortable in her car seat. Lenice pulled over to do a stand-up diaper change as the newly wet diaper seemed to sting and burn Lila's skin. After the 3 hour ride home to Anderson, Lila had a loose bowel movement. Lenice took her upstairs to change her diaper. As Lenice moved to clean the stool from her baby's vaginal area, Lila suddenly grabbed her Mommy's hand, saying "NO!" as she clamped her legs shut, closed her eyes and twisted away from her mother. Lenice, who regularly gives Lila skin treatments for moderate Atopic Dermatitis, was used to Lila just flopping open to let her clean or apply medication, so this was a radical behavior change. Lila kept wailing "No!" over and over while her mother talked soothingly to her, but the baby continued to twist and struggle. Lenice couldn't pry little Lila's legs apart without hurting her. Lenice called her parents, Jacqueline and Narvie Dixon to witness Lila's crying and writhing. Lenice and her mother redressed the toddler and headed for the Med One medical clinic in Anderson.
Once there, Dr. Richard Hehner re-prescribed baby Lila's medicines (her father keeps destroying them) and sent the family to the Community Hospital Emergency Room. When Lenice told the staff her suspicions and of Lila's behavior, they were taken to a clean room in the ER and waited while Community's SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examination) nurse was alerted. Dr. Chris Miller performed an examination, where he noted irritation, abrasions, and a tear inside baby Lila's vagina. Hospital staff called child protection services (CPS) and the Anderson Police Department. Little Lila was taken into foster care late that night and Lenice was asked to return the next day for Lila's complete sexual assault examination. The next morning at 9 am, Lenice met the foster mother and her baby at the ER, and were taken to a women's shelter for the baby's exam. SANE nurse Lori Wilson verified Dr. Miller's findings, adding that the tear was approximately 48 hours old, possibly 72 hours. After a brief visit with her mother, Lila was returned to foster care and a hearing was set for Tuesday at 9am. That Tuesday, Judge Stephen Clase of Anderson heard the evidence from CPS. Caseworker Greg Adams detailed Lila's injuries and their cause, noting that the tear was caused by in instrument such as an ice pick or screwdriver. Since 21-month old Lila is too little to tell what happened to her and her hymen wasn't broken in the sexual assault, Judge Clase returned baby Lila to her father. The father's family offered no explanation as to how little Lila's vagina was ripped. Lenice and her family were shocked and angry, and Lenice wasn't even allowed to see her child before Lila was taken back to Illinois.
Commissioner George Pancol, standing in for Madison County Superior Court 3 Judge Thomas Newman, gave Lila to Henry Johnson's family on January 24th, 2006, as a sanction against Lenice for her adherence to Indiana law regarding visitation. Commissioner Pancol told Lenice that she should have "worked something out" during the Christmas holidays with the father's family instead of following the holiday visitation schedule outlined by the Indiana Supreme Court. As a punishment, Lila was uprooted from her home and given to virtual strangers - her father had missed 4 of his 5 previous bi-weekly visits. Part-time Judge Pancol made this horrific decision despite it's illegality in Indiana while Lenice was unrepresented by council, so she wasn't qualified to protest this illegal action. Lenice was given a mere 2 hours to pack up her child and send her baby off with strangers. Henry Johnson didn't expect this action from the judge, telling Commissioner Pancol that he would be unable to care for his child due to his extended working hours. The Judge turned to Henry's disabled mother and asked, "You'll take care of the baby, won't ya?" Then Henry told the Commissioner that he didn't have room in his car or even a car seat. Commissioner Pancol told Henry to make room, and asked Lenice "You have a car seat, don't ya?" Lenice was ordered to give Henry her car seat and baby at 1 pm.
Family members gathered at home to say goodbye to Lila, who is still crying for her mommy today. Her 10-year old cousin Tristan, who Lila calls big brother, was picked up from his elementary school. Tristan's sobs could be heard outside even before the front door was opened.
I am Lenice, Lila's mother. I was only given visitation with my daughter every two weeks from 1 pm on Saturday until 6 pm on Sunday. We were supposed to meet in Lafayette, but Henry changed that to Crown Point and then to Aurora Illinois, forcing me to spend the majority of my visit on the road. What was done to us was unfair and illegal, and the legal system is not moving to correct any of this or help my daughter. Henry and his family refuse to treat Lila's well-documented skin disease, saying that Lila only has a diaper rash. Thanks to this neglect, Lila has had a vaginal yeast infection and the breakouts continue. When I call to check on her my calls are picked up by the answering machine and not returned. Henry, who makes at least $75,000 per year, petitioned the court for child support, so now I have to pay him $25 a week while he's hurting my daughter in the worst way imaginable. He owes over $8,000 in back support and didn't pay a single penny until Lila was 11 months old. There is currently a motion before Commissioner Pancol to correct his "error" and return Lila home, but as of now he has not ruled on it. Henry's attorney team is doing everything they can to delay hearings and keep me from visiting or calling. My attorney Rudolph Pyle says that Commissioner Pancol will not even allow me to exercise visitation while Henry is at work as provided under Indiana law. There is still no explanation as to how Lila's vagina was torn inside. My baby has been sexually assaulted, neglected, and the courts refuse to do anything about it. Please help me bring Lila home.
Lenice Y Dixon
765-642-4082
912 Bittersweet Ln
Anderson, IN 46011-2404
me@lenice.com
You may forward this to any legal, social service, government, child advocacy, prayer, or news agency that you think may be able to help. The Anderson Police Department and Madison County Child Protection Services' hands are tied as Henry Johnson lives in Illinois. Their Illinois counterparts will not investigate as Henry's stepfather David Moore is a former Aurora police officer and Henry is hiding behind his badge. Please, please help us!"

Tony again: I have forwarded this information to the papers and television stations in Indianapolis, Anderson, and Chicago (as the child is currently in the suburb of Aurora) If there's anything else any of you can do, I am sure Ms. Dixon will appreciate it.