If we can’t, after all is said and done, make this election go the right way, at least we can save one man. I’m talking about young Master Levi Johnston. He’s the 18-year-old Alaskan hockey enthusiast who knocked up Sarah Palin’s daughter, and the National Enquirer describes him as “a boozing pot-smoker who doesn’t want to get married” – and John McCain thinks he found his soul mate!

We’ve all recently seen how evil henchman of the Republican party captured this poor innocent out of his natural habitat and forced him into a shotgun wedding, all so that their campaign narrative of fake family values could be upheld. When the 17-year-old daughter of the vice presidential candidate running on the Jesus ticket is “out to here,” it’s just better that Levi was introduced as the “fiancé.” Looks a little less white trashy.

But that doesn’t change the fact that right now Levi is America’s number one political prisoner. But Levi, you don’t have to be – this is the 21st century, at least in the blue states. We don’t have sharia law like in Saudi Arabia, or Alabama, and as much as the Bible thumpers would want it, we still don’t have arranged marriages in America. You don’t have to do this – you have options. You can pull a Juno – fuck, you live in Juneau! Or you could do what most people do with an unwanted child: give it to Angelina Jolie.

Update: here are the pictures: http://www.news.com.au/gallery/0,23607,5029118-5007150-1,00.html

The visit by the Dalai Lama, who arrived here Thursday afternoon on a flight from Japan, is his first to the United States since the onset of international protests over the Chinese crackdown in Tibet. But the trip was planned long before the recent troubles, and few expect him to use it to begin making demands for Tibetan independence.

Nor, for that matter, is he expected to guest on bass or bellow backup vocals when he joins the rocker and local organic parent Dave Matthews onstage here Friday evening.

The expectation, instead, is that he will stick with what got him here, “dialoguing” about the importance of an inclusive kindness and compassion: pitch-perfect preaching for an area with one of the country’s lowest rates of church attendance and a notable lack of interest in mainstream American religion.

With the 7-foot Lopez twins altering shots inside and defenders in the face of Cornell’s perimeter shooters, it didn’t take an Ivy League degree to figure out the Big Red was in big trouble.

I think this makes three or four NCAA tournament players I’ve played against – Tim Young the was the first (seventh grade) and two or three from Cornell from pickup games.

At least the NYT has another good story about Cornell (thanks B).