Re Weis: Better yet, the check is in the mail

THE FIRING OF Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, who reportedly has $10- to $18 million remaining on his contract, drew this epitaph from ND's president, Rev. John I. Jenkins:

"I am most appreciative of Coach Weis for his service to Notre Dame and our community. He and his family have my prayers and best wishes."

It's a start.

Clevelandness strikes again

UNLIKE THE NIGHT before Christmas, there are a lot of creatures stirring around in Cleveland these days. I'm not referring to the fans' disenchantment with the Browns. A lot more troubling than that. It is concerned with geography. Where, everybody with an official title is asking, will they build the proposed medical mart? As political controversies have been known to grow and linger up on the lake, the details aren't that easy to comprehend for an outsider (and probably not a few insiders, either!).

The newspapers reported last April that Cuyahoga county and MMPI, a Chicago company, had agreed in ink to an agreement that included a downtown site for the $425 million project and embrace the debilitated convention center. The following month the city agreed to sell the Public Auditorium and the convention center beneath it to the county for $20 million. Studies followed to the point where the major construction company declared the auditorium to be in terrible shape. And in November, MMPI, which is being paid $333,333 a month in the meantime, shifted to a new site a couple of blocks away to cut costs. That's the shortest version I could create. Suffice it to say that Plain Dealer Architecture Critic Steven Litt referred to the MMPI's new plan as a "bombshell".

Considering the reaction from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Litt wasn't far off the page. The mayor even canceled a trade mission to Bulgaria to have a hands-on role in the unraveling of the issue. He clearly isn't happy about what has now developed into a new prologue to whatever comes next. The gene pool doubtless now includes the city, the county, the Chicago company, the downtown landowners, wary politicians, sidewalk vendors and the every-present speculators. As Litt summed up the reaction to MMPI's substitute plan, "The problem is that what's best for MMPI now may not be best for Cleveland."

Probably not. But you would think that Clevelanders would be used to such recurring tussles. County Commissioner Tim Hagain once sat in a campaign hotel room on mayoral election night and lamented the defeat of his buddy Ed Feighan to Dennis Kucinich and lamented that Lake Erie water had something to do with it. "It's gotta be in the water," he said in despair.

But as the late Chicago columnist Mike Royko used to explain the Cubs' regular defeats as "Cubness," I would argue that the contentious city on the lake is again suffering from Clevelandness, in which nobody ever wins. Just you wait and see. As usual, there are simply too many moving parts.

Sarah and the Nashville Sound

Going back to Nashville, thinking about the whole thing

Guess you gotta run sometimes

Maybe I'm a fast train rolling down the mountain

Watching all my life go by.

From "Nashville" lyrics

The first national convention of the Tea Party Nation, otherwise known in the vernacular simply as Teabaggers, has been scheduled for Nashville and if you can come up with more than $1,000 for basic $549 admission plus hotel expenses in February in this troubled economy you will be eligible to attend the keynote speech by Sarah Palin. You might also be lucky enough to prompt her to autograph Glenn Beck's forehead and draw a dark mustache on a photo of a grimacing John McCain.

Although Rep. Michele Bachmann, of Minnesota, seems to be getting equal billing for the event in Grand Ole Opryland, don't let that fool you. The Nashville Sound for the three-day event (Feb. 4-6) will be the echo of Sarah Palin juicing up the troops for a mad dash against Democrats and so-called moderate Republicans. As the song says, Guess you gotta run sometimes. Unless she flames out upon striking the earth's atmosphere, she's running.

Knowing these flapping geese, I'd guess the convention will take names, addresses and bank accounts of the loyalists on hand while staging a show trial that the networks will be duty-bound to breathlessly report. Beck will need an extra ecstasy of it all. George Will may even return to bow ties and look still more troubled.

The big question is, what will the GOP do about the silliness of it all? President Obama and the Democrats are used to hearing this sort of thing. But so-called moderate Republicans will have to explain to constituents why he or she is not part of the Teabagger Revolution. Although the Democrats are showing some wear and tear despite their majorities in Congress, the divisive Teabaggers could become their greatest source of energy.

Got to get off the train here , folks, and wait for the album.

For GOP Scouts: Loyal, thrifty, reverent, scary

AS IF REPUBLICAN pols didn't have enough to keep them busy these days, there's now word that some predatory members on the Republican National Committee have a mind to confront their candidates with a modern version of those scary loyalty oaths of decades ago. In short, they are insisting on adherence to a list of fail-safe conservative ideas that have long escaped the cutting room floor. Violators, I'd guess, will be accused of ideological adultery and probably disowned.

Some critics of the party's rightwing adventure into self-profiling refer to it as a litmus test. But the inquisitors have placed what they consider to be a nobler title on their plan. They are calling it, "Reagan's Unity Principle for Support of Candidates," and if there's anybody young enough on the RNC to remember all of that in one sitting, it might have a chance for success. On the other hand, the GOP sleuths might only be kidding. You would hope so.

I can only conclude that somebody must have picked up a tattered copy of the Birch Society's Blue Book at a yard sale, issued by its late founder Robert Welch. Replace Welch's notion of an insidious domestic Communist threat (as well as showily patriotic assaults on unnamed traitors and socialized medicine) with "socialist" and I don't find much difference between the Birchers mob-like passions of the late 6os into the 70s - and the Teabaggers of today. I was reminded of that again when a government official lost his job after Glenn Beck dragged him through mud.

Well, those Republicans who have apologetically cowered before Limbaugh have only themselves to blame. Politics have never been an arena for polite society. But you can ask what has the party done in recent years to avoid the Frankenstein that it created on the hard right that is now threatening to consume its own people, litmus test included. The Becks, O'Reillys, Kristols, Bachmanns et al have had fun while it has lasted, but now the GOP faces threats of a third-party movement that has already begun in Florida. In February, the Teabaggers will stage their first national convention with such headliners as Sarah Palin and Bachmann. It will be more than a moment for the exchange of valentines.

GOP candidates have also stood silent against the bizarre ranters at the Tea Parties who lowered their brand still further with over-the-top misbehavior at public meetings. None has so demeaned their tactics more than the mocking outburst of laughter and hoots by a a group that dubbed itself the Chicago Tea Party Patriots at a recent Chicago town hall meeting. They targeted a couple who rose to lament that their daughter-in-law and unborn grandchild died in the absence of health insurance.

Oh. I haven't mentioned the 10-point test for true conservatives, but you can probably name the talking points: free markets, taxes, federal debt, guns, overseas containment of the bad guys with whatever it takes, marriage contracts, labor rules, immigration etc. One study by Think Progress has already identified 40 Republican congressmen who couldn't pass the exam.

As a counter-test of the profilers I might suggest challenging them to recite the alphabet in the proper sequence.

I've just read How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. The historian wrote that the Romans considered the Barbari (anyone not a Roman) as an "undistinguished, matted mass of Others, not terrifying, just troublemakers, annoyances, things one would rather not have to deal with..."

I thought that it might well describe the crazy profilers on the RNC. On the other hand, for their fellow-traveling Teabaggers, do you think that description might be too kind?

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Another chapter in Morrison epic!

THE BEACON JOURNAL's Dennis Willard reports today that Jack Morrison has now moved his case to the Ohio Supreme Court, still another chapter in his epic effort to demonstrate that an immovable object can overcome the evil effects of an irresistible force. In insisting that he was wronged by two ethics convictions in a court of law last July, the Akron lawyer and University of Akron trustee is moving on more legal fronts to protect his honor from court-decided guilt.

In the meantime, he has ignored repeated calls from the governor on down to remove himself from an embarrassed Board of Trustees (and University) as well as his seat on the Summit County Board of Elections.

But that raises other questions about a simple case of guilt or innocence. You might understand how any person would want to clear the slate of a couple of convictions. But how that bears on his persistence in hanging on to his two politically appointed jobs despite official demands that he do otherwise remains a mystery.

If his honor is at stake, that question won't be resolved by standing (or sitting!) rigidly pat but rather by a court decision that is handed down on his appeal. Are there other reasons apart from his hope that his ethics convictions will be reversed? As a powerful politician who is Summit County Republican Alex Arshinkoff's lawyer, isn't there a point where guilt or innocence intersect with the county party? As Arshinkoff, who has remained rather silent on the sidelines, once noted, if Republican Morrison leaves the board, his replacement would be a....eh....a Democrat. And is it mere coinicidence, as some legislators have noted, that State Rep. Tim Grendell, an Arshinkoff ally, has entered the fray to delay action on a Senate vote to kick Morrison off the board. Grendell, a teabagging Chesterland politician, says more time is needed for "fact checking". Good grief!

That's where we are and all of us could use a few more facts on whatever political subplots are in play.

UPDATE: A ruling judge appointed by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has upheld her demand that Morrison be removed from the Summit County Board of Elections. But she has given Morrison until Dec. 4 to respond to the ruling.

You can't put lunar water in my jalopy!

I HONESTLY don't know what to make of NASA's report that it has discovered 26 gallons of water on the moon. Taking care not to mislead earthlings that its revelation ranked anywhere near finding Martians at home on their own planet, NASA did award itself a star for advancing science a few more trickles into the universe. One of its experts even suggested that such pioneering could very well lead human beings into a lunar sanctuary in the event that we would have to evacuate the earth after a nuclear disaster. It would even give us an option if the Teabaggers assume total control of a vanishing civilized society.

The NASA report might have been easier to consider if oil had been discovered instead. In minutes, Iraq's s oil wells would have been abandoned for more lucrative deposits deep down in the moon's craters. McDonald's would soon lock in and Glenn Beck would look for new fans lured by another book about loony socialists. ("A siren call," is how the Hartford Courant described the moon's lure.)

Seriously, we have come a long way since Copernicus. Even the Vatican, which once condemned the Polish astronomer for declaring the earth was not the center of the universe, is heavily into astronomy. It recently staged a "study week" for astronomers and other specialists who might offer a new perspective on the mysteries of the universe, explaining that the church has a stake in what might be happening out there and might find such knowledge useful to advance its own mission. It also wanted people to know that such initiatives prove that it is not "anti-science."

As the Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, astronomer and scientific adviser to Pope Benedict XVI, explained the church's celestial position to the New York Times: "Just as there is a multiplicity of creatures on earth, there can be other beings, even intelligent, created by God. This is not in contrast with our faith because we can't put limits on God's creative freedom. Why can't we speak of a 'brother extraterrestrial'? It would still be part of creation."

Still, as a pragmatic earthling I would be much more impressed with oil. My 16-year old station wagon wouldn't get very far on 26 gallons of water. In fact, oil or water, my machine is doubtless headed into one of those black holes in space that so fascinates the astronomers these days. With that in mind, I urge NASA to keep looking.

Health insurance, no. Afghanistan, yes.

IF THE NEWS report are accurate, President Obama will foolishly soon announce an expansion of our presence in Afghanistan that, combined with Iraq, has already cost the U.S. nearly a trillion dollars and the tragic loss of thousands of lives. I wonder: How many of the hawkish Republican and Blue Dog bean-counters who oppose extending health insurance coverage to

Americans because we can ill-afford the costs will now rise up to use the same argument against the endless conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq? Oh? Should I repeat the question?

How do you get a job like this?

FROM THE DECEMBER issue of Harper's Index:

"Projected amount that lawyers and other advisers will earn from the bankruptcy proceeding of Lehman Brothers: $1,398,000,000"

That's nearly $1.4 billion, folks! Even these days, life can be beautiful on Wall Street.

John Seiberling, abortion, then and now

IN WHAT SEEMS to be centuries ago, the late Rep. John Seiberling of Akron leaned over to me in his election night headquarters and in a dry matter-0f-fact wisp of a voice said: "So much for abortion." He had just glided through another successful congressional campaign with a landslide over an anti-abortion candidate. He wasn't boasting. There was no sneer in his tone. He just wanted to point out that his constituents were assessing a quality about him as their representative that was more important than his liberal views on abortion rights. A former corporate lawyer with a corporate family name, Seiberling's political career enjoyed a deep public trust. (After a Barberton Labor Day parade, a woman cheered when he approached the microphone at Lake Anna and exclaimed to me: "I don't agree with his position on gun control, but I still like him."

Today, I would have to disagree with Seiberling: the abortion issue is more alive than ever, overriding the health reform debate, sending threats to those congressmen who supported it to punish them at the polls.

And today comes word that U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, was told by his Catholic bishop that he was not eligible for communion because he was pro-choice. That sort of threat has happened to others, including then-presidential candidate John Kerry. A former Notre Dame football player sat across the table and explained to me that although he had great respect for Kerry, he couldn't vote for him because of abortion. An engaging Akron priest told me in his office that he had marched in protest against the Viewnam war, but abortion was in no way open to discussion. For some, the line of demarcation cannot be crossed. etc. etc.etc.

By the way, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence says he didn't really instruct priests to not give communion to the congressman, but rather he only requested that the priest deny it to Kennedy. You know how that works.

Joe's a multiple choice politician

JOE LIEBERMAN, the protean politician, a.k.a Zelig, continues to turn up in public to defend his thesis that (1) he wants health care reform because there are unfortunate souls among us who don't have insurance and desperately need it and (2) he will support a filibuster that will essentially kill any reforms in the current congress because his conscience tells him to do it. That sort of thinking is commonly called cognitive dissonance and Lieberman is in the top tier of those who manage to get by each day on their never-ending reliance on psychobabble.

For one thing, Joe knows as well as anybody that to kill the bill and start all over again would take us back to where we've been before - for decades, and may not return until long after he will be enjoying his retirement on a senator's many perks. Where his conscience fails him is his insistence in protecting the very health care industry with which his wife was closely associated for more than three decades.

But he , like some of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have the same conflicts of interest, don't allow that to trouble his spirit. He just soldiers on, wherever a TV camera crosses his path, repeating his credo day after day, always full of warm reassurances that he only wants to do what's right for America. But the real problem is that political hypocrites like Lieberman are what's wrong with America.