A country divided

The more and more I think about it, the more we are beginning to resemble a republic falling a la Revenge of the Sith. This is all hypothetical. Bush wanting the filibuster to end to give his party more power. Bush decieving us with regards to going to war. Bush using faith to gain votes when, in turn, he's not even that religious. The latest:

Plans for President Bush to deliver the commencement speech Saturday at a Christian college in Michigan seemed to be a perfect match of politician and constituency - religious conservatives who helped re-elect the president.

Yet the event also illustrates a growing debate over the role of religion in politics, as about 800 teachers, students and alumni of Calvin College signed a letter saying the president's policies do not reflect their religious values.

"Your deeds, Mr. President - neglecting the needy to coddle the rich, desecrating the environment and misleading the country into war - do not exemplify the faith we live by," said the letter published in an ad in The Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press.

"Moreover," the letter continued, "many of your supporters are using religion as a weapon to divide our nation and advance a narrow partisan agenda.

The Democratic party truly needs a Luke Skywalker and an Obi-Wan Kenobi to rise up.

A college assistance plan was outlined before the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

In an effort to help parents send their children to college, Secretary of State Trey Grayson and Treasurer Jonathan Miller have bumped up against the economic reality facing many of those same parents: a tight budget.

Grayson and Miller were at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce government forum Friday to outline their ongoing plans to create a college savings account for every child born in Kentucky.

The proposal is still moving forward, but initially could be scaled back because of the state's tight budget, Grayson said in a brief interview following the forum in Covington.

"The reality is it's going to be a combination (of funding sources). And in the beginning it may only be private or foundation money because of budgetary issues," he said.[...]

"There are so many people who have given up hope, who given up on the opportunity for their children to attend college," Miller said of the importance of the savings plan.

Tony LaRussa is just two wins shy of tying Whitey Herzog for all-time Cardinal wins as a manager.

The Red Sox have 162 consecutive sellouts at Fenway.