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The Treasury Department wants more power. I can’t even comment on this.

iMonk: What Do Gays and Lesbians Hear? Must reading.

Clinton’s Campaign Record

Sports: No way the Sabres are making the playoffs. And they don’t deserve to.

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For those of us who have turned 100% against Bush, this is a good balancing piece. I said when he got re-elected in ‘04 that if he was going to have any chance of a positive legacy, it would be in Africa, not Iraq.

But if we could return for a moment to the reality that his legacy will not be a good one, this is really funny.

(HT to BHT for those stories)

Sports

Steve Bernier is an immediate hit in Buffalo, scoring on his first two shots of his first game with the Sabres. Here’s the problem: Buffalo has sent the same message for the last several years – as soon as you get good, we’ll trade you. Seriously, the only way to secure a permanent position in Buffalo is to be mediocre; which is, of course, why they’ve stubbornly held onto Lindy Ruff for so long.

Arts and Entertainment

Dave Archuleta, 17-year-old American Idol competitor, makes Randall Goodgame cry. The kid’s good and all, but I’m not as enthralled by him as the rest of the world seems to be.

Editorial: Scot McKnight and Hermeneutics

If you’re tempted to throw a blanket denunciatory statement on everything “Emerging,” you need to read some Scot McKnight. I read A Community Called Atonement recently, and I highly recommend it. He’s just posted a Hermeneutics quiz, which is quite interesting. I scored as a “progressive” (70), but I’m on the more “moderate” end of the progressive score (which ranges from 66-92). Here’s what it says about how I read the Bible, which is actually pretty accurate, both in its strengths and weaknesses:

The progressive is not always progressive. Those who score 66 or more can be seen as leaning toward the progressive side, but the difference between at 66 and 92 is dramatic. Still, the progressive tends to see the Bible as historically shaped and culturally conditioned, and yet most still consider it the Word of God for today. Following a progressive hermeneutic, for the Word to speak in our day, one must interpret what the Bible said in its day and discern its pattern for revelation in order to apply it to our world. The strength, as with the moderate but even more so, is the challenge to examine what the Bible said in its day, and this means the progressives tend to be historians. But the problems for the progressives are predictable: Will the Bible’s so-called “plain meaning” be given its due and authoritative force to challenge our world? Or will the Bible be swallowed by a quest to find modern analogies that sometimes minimize what the text clearly says?

Take the quiz, put your scores in the comments!

So, I was quite wrong. Buffalo loses their best defenseman, and doesn’t get one in return. The trade was Campbell to San Jose for Steve Bernier and a 1st round pick. One the plus side, this is Buffalo saying, “We’re not good enough to win a Cup with this team; we need more young talent.” On the bad side, we’re even weaker on D now.

Bernier has potential to be a decent goal scorer. On the whole, the message seems clear: it’s rebuilding time. It’s pretty pathetic to go from a serious Cup contender to “rebuilding” in just one year.

The Trade Deadline approaches.  Tomorrow is the final day for trades.  Will the Sabres do anything?  My prediction is, No.  Last year, as Cup contenders, they only picked up Zubrus, which wasn’t enough.  This year, battling for a bottom position in the playoffs, they’ll likely do nothing, or perhaps make one very, very minor move.  I’m guessing they will succeed in signing Campbell before tomorrow, though some might think me irrationally optmistic.  I just think it would be another hugely bad PR move, once again offending the best and most dedicated fans in sports.

With names like Marian Hossa, Dan Boyle, and Olli Jokinen being bandied about, it’s sad to be a fan of a team that’s consistently unwilling to make big moves for tested players.  But given Buffalo’s history, I’m not holding my breath for anything different this season.