
##4021954 Ice cracks beneath the weight of dozens of pickup trucks , sending a warning : Drive slowly on frozen Knik Lake . It 's a frostbite kind of morning in February 2007 . The thermometer dips to 20 degrees below zero - that 's Fahrenheit , without a wind chill factor . // The howls of Alaskan huskies slice the air . Male and female mushers between the ages of 14 and 17 wearing down parkas with thick fur ruffs and insulated gloves unload their teams from " dog boxes . " These camperlike shells fit snugly on the beds of trucks . // The mushers are getting ready to start the 30th Jr . Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race . They toss chunks of fish and sausage on the ice-encrusted ground as a prerace doggy snack . They check their sleds to make sure they have n't forgotten anything : ax , snowshoes , headlamp and an alternate battery-powered light , cold-weather sleeping bag , and a lighter or matches to start a fire . // Among other things , rules also require dog food , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socklike coverings ) for each dog . Additionally , all dogs entered must have a physical exam no later than 14 days before the race start . Dogs must also have up-to-date shots . // A race official checks everything off . " Good luck , " he says , knowing that these teens will rely more on their training than on good fortune . Most of them have spent the winter mushing in shorter sprint races to prepare for this one . Some have been involved in the sport since they were 4 or 5 years old racing in single-dog events . // The two Iditarods // The two-day Jr . Iditarod began in 1978 as a way to let young mushers compete in a shorter version of the grown-up Iditarod. // The junior route is approximately 150 miles , which is much shorter than the 1,049-mile route that adult racers follow from Anchorage to Nome , Alaska . // The adult Iditarod honors the 1925 serum run when 20 mushers and about 150 hard-driving huskies rushed to transport medicine from Nenana to Nome , Alaska , in just 5-1/2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 25 days by dog sled. // During the late 1800s and early 1900s , sled-dog teams transported mail , supplies , and people . Later , airplanes took over the mail routes . And snowmobiles eventually sped onto the scene , pushing the tradition of dog sledding closer to extinction . // The adult Iditarod was organized in 1973 by mushing enthusiasts to help keep this part of Alaskan culture alive . Dog mushing is now the official state sport . // Hit the trail // At the 2007 junior race , the teen mushers slip padded harnesses over each canine . The main lines , called " ganglines , " run through the center of the teams . Race rules require a minimum of seven dogs per team and a maximum of 10 . The mushers kiss their dogs and give them a friendly scratch . " Ready to go , fella ? " they ask . // Then they slip booties onto the dogs ' paws to protect toe pads from snow and ice . Booties that start to slip or that develop holes are quickly adjusted or changed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ team is only as good as its feet . " // The bone-chilling cold does n't keep family , friends , and reporters from hanging around the starting chute . An official announces mushers ' names over loudspeakers as teams are released at two-minute intervals . // " Veteran Patrick Mackey from Kasilof ! " the announcer says . // Spectators cheer as the dogs take off and numbered racing bibs fade into the snowy white wilderness . // Balanced on sled runners hour after hour , mushers grip the handlebars in the face of wind-driven snow . They shift their weight as they maneuver sleds around gullies , boulders , and trees . Sometimes , they even jog behind the sled to keep warm . // Verbal commands ring out : " Gee ! " and " Haw ! " The terms translate into right and left turns . Dog names like " Blackie " and " Lucky Lady " cause canine ears to prick up . // During most of the race , the wilderness is silent except for the whooshing of sled runners . // In deep snow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " down the trail . On hard , well-packed sections of trail , a musher works to keep his team down to 10 or 12 m.p.h . He would n't want his dogs to tire out because they 've been running too fast . Pacing is everything . // Still , mushers know there 's no such thing as a foolproof race plan . All strategies must be as flexible as the constantly changing terrain and weather conditions . // Pit stop // Hours slip by . Snow falls . Visibility is near zero . It 's time to " snack " the dogs with bite-size chunks of raw meat or " ends and pieces " of bacon . Patrick Mackey , who also participated in the 2006 Jr . Iditarod , replaces tattered booties with new ones from his sled . His dogs ' booties are handmade by friends and family . He untangles a twisted line . // Besides caring for their dogs , mushers also grab snacks for themselves . Trail mix and " honey balls " are favorites . ( These sticky treats are made from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , oatmeal , and Carnation Instant Breakfast mix that 's rolled into balls , then sprinkled with coconut. ) // Dogs get " honey balls , " too , but theirs are made with hamburger , honey , and vitamin supplements . // On the run // The straightaways on Yentna River seem to go on forever . One year , a rookie fell asleep while standing up . Tumbling off a sled is an instant wake-up call . So is hustling after a dog team in knee-high snow after falling ! // Sometimes mushers get lost in the expanse of white , zigzagging until they find a stake marking the route . Lost hours are gone forever , and it 's hard to catch up after that . // As darkness creeps down the trail , headlamps light the way . Temperatures dip lower . Cold numbs everything except the dogs , who are bred for the Alaskan weather . Snow flies off their booties , and their tails curl over their backs . // A good night 's rest // The first team arrives at the halfway point , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's start . There is n't any running water or electricity - only generator-powered lights . // Earlier , a veterinarian , ham-radio operator , race official , and journalist were flown to the roadhouse in a bush plane . // The veterinarian greets each team and checks to make sure the dogs are OK . The race official enters arrival times , marking the start of a required 10-hour layover. // The mushers spread straw on the ground for their dogs and check their furry friends ' feet . // Then , it 's dinner time . It takes a heap of snow to yield enough water to fill the dog-food cooker . Heating fuel carried in the sleds keeps the blue flame high , and frozen food thaws quickly when dropped into hot water . The dogs ' meal is full of fat and protein : beef , lamb , turkey , chicken , or liver - and sometimes , beaver , moose , caribou , or seal meat ! // Mushers repair damaged equipment by the light of their headlamps . And they toss their sleeping bags on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . // All too soon , the alarm buzzes . After feeding and watering the team , checking its ganglines , and repacking the sled , the first musher is ready . " Let 's go ! " rings out . // Winner 's circle // Mushers cross the finish line at Willow Community Center in Willow , Alaska . // A banquet follows the race where scholarships , trophies , and special awards are handed out for sportsmanship , rookie of the year , the best lead dog , and the best- cared-for team ( chosen by the race 's veterinarians ) . Even the last musher to finish gets recognition with the Red Lantern Award . // The winner and his or her parents receive round-trip tickets to Nome , where the Jr . Iditarod championship trophy is presented . No matter where they finish in the race , the competitors can feel proud that they 've gone the distance and helped carry on Alaska 's mushing tradition . // Competitive sled races - a good idea or not ? // Long races with dogs through harsh weather are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the United States ( HSUS ) object to them . // " We do n't oppose recreational mushing , " says HSUS spokesperson Kelly Connolly , " as long as the dogs are well cared for . But we are opposed to any sort of competitive race that 's strictly entertainment and done for profit only . // " We 're concerned with the welfare of the dogs , " Ms. Connolly adds . // According to the HSUS website , the regular Iditarod for adults " forces the dogs to run too far and too fast in frequently grueling trail and weather conditions , and it exacts a severe , and sometimes fatal , toll on dogs ' physical and psychological systems . " // Ms. Connolly says that the same objections apply to the shorter race by teens . // " While the ITC ( Iditarod Trail Committee ) has made some reforms in recent years ... race organizers continue to mass-market the race and hype the competition among mushers who are continually attempting to break speed records , " the website adds . // The Iditarod Trail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . " The Jr . Iditarod Sled Dog Race provides youth an environment where they can learn about the traditional values that embrace the special bond between the working canine athlete and the human athlete , " it says in a statement . // " A Jr . Iditarod musher learns how to apply animal-care skill sets that range Race . " // ( c ) Copyright 2008 . The Christian Science Monitor// 
##4021955 Donald Barks ' record collection was impressive , even way back in 1985 . Now , the stay-at-home dad has more than 4,000 albums on vinyl , stacked high along the walls of his Oakland home . // He had more than 2,000 albums 23 years ago , when he and his wife lived on an Air Force base in Illinois , and hosted a party at which Sue McCullough and her husband dropped by . McCullough 's husband was impressed with Barks ' music collection . Barks was impressed with McCullough . // " I was one of those guys who was never going to have kids . Then I looked at this woman , " Barks says . " They talk about biological imperatives . It was like , I do n't know , ' we have to make babies . ' I told her , ' We would make the most beautiful babies , ' and then I gave her the mix tape . " // It did n't happen quite that fast . At first the couples started hanging out together , and McCullough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going through counseling in her own marriage . Barks and McCullough met one day on the base , and she said ' no ' to him for what she thought was the last time . // " I drove out of the Air Force base to go home , " she remembers . " And he hopped in his car and went around to the other gate , traveling three miles in these back roads in Illinois , through the cornfields , intercepting me halfway home . He must have been driving 80 or 90 on those dirt roads . " // Barks had spent the previous night with his records , making a mix tape that said all the things he could n't . The tape is buried somewhere in some boxes in their house now , or maybe even lost . But it does n't matter - the couple remembers almost every track . // There 's a subliminal quality to the album , which is sequenced almost like a conversation is taking place . Barks included " Mated " by Todd Rundgren For as long as this life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ? /And you know we 'll still be here tomorrow , along with " The Weakness in Me " by Joan Armatrading . I have a lover who loves me - how could I break such a heart ? The David Bromberg version of " Such a Night " ends the tape . // Barks vividly remembers the night he made the tape . // " Paul Simon 's ' 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover ' came on . It was like ' Oh God , ' " Barks says . " So I pulled out a tape and I started . It was all kind of thematic like that . It was conflicted and bittersweet . " // Once Barks chased her down in his car , McCullough says , almost no words were exchanged . // " He had that tape , and he sat me in the car and I bawled my eyes out and listened , " McCullough says . " I think he let me have the tape for a while . That was the only thing that was good about that old Pinto , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , both marriages were over - everything was moved in one round trip , and McCullough 's husband ended up renting a room at Barks ' wife 's place . Barks and McCullough were married in 1987 , and they 've since raised two sons , ages 10 and 17. // They 're not proud of their failed marriages or the pain they caused their spouses , even though both Barks and McCullough think they would have ended up divorced even if they never met each other . But after more than 20 years , their continued happiness is a sign that following their hearts was the right thing to do . // " Where else in the middle of the 1980s was I going to run into a guy who wanted to stay home with the kids and let me have the career ? " McCullough says . " We just suit each other . ... We 're as close to happily ever after as real life ever gets . " // Annika Dukes says that at first she did n't think much about the crush . A statuesque lesbian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of straight guys were going to fall for her . // But then the quiet co-worker started making mix tapes , with production quality that was beyond amazing . These were n't cheap cassettes with " MIX TAPE " scrawled on the front and a few Depeche Mode songs inside . The co-worker 's tapes had full-color fold-out covers , with selected lyrics printed inside and a song list that ranged from Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones to newer bands including Everything But the Girl , Veruca Salt and Belly . // " He really liked Belly , " Dukes remembers , fast forwarding through his songs on an old tape player in her Richmond home . // Dukes still has two tapes , but thinks she received three , the first in 1995 and the last in 1997 . Her picture is on both . The front of the first one has her posing sideways in a sleeveless dress , with " Breakfast at Annika 's " in big letters . Another is called " 100% Sap , " with a picture of Dukes and the tape 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fold-out cassette sleeve . // " The thing was , he was a very passive person . But when you see the songs that he chose and the lines that he pulled out , he was very forward about his feelings in the tape , " Dukes recalls . " It 's kind of like when people write things in your yearbook , and you 'd never guess that they felt those things . And then you 'd look at it in the summer and think , ' Where did that come from ? ' " // Typical of the blunt messages was " I Will Wait " by the band Ed 's Redeeming Qualities : " I make money waiting tables/And I do n't know what you do/I 've been a waiter all my life/I can wait a while for you . " // Eventually , the co-worker stopped waiting . At one point , Dukes says he pursued her much younger cousin , an exchange student from Sweden . But they remained friends , and were driving through the city together one day when Dukes made the discovery . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of those big hills where it turns from downtown into North Beach , " Dukes remembers . " He was busy in traffic , so I was looking around at all the tapes in his car . " // It was there that Dukes says she found a near-duplicate of one of her mix tapes , except with another girl 's picture and a slightly different title . The design and many of the songs were the same . // " I did say something to him . ' What is this ! Oh my God ! What 's going on ? ' He totally did not think it was a big deal at all , " Dukes says . " He was defensive , and did n't know what my problem was . I figure in his head he must have thought ' It never worked for you , so I might as well recycle it for somebody else . ' " // The more Dukes thought about it , the more questions arose . Was she the first , or the 40th , girl to receive the tape ? @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and does n't hold a grudge against the co-worker or his tapes . Dukes has a long-term boyfriend now , and during a trip in his car that only has a tape deck , she played " Breakfast at Annika 's . " They both admired the contents . // " He was definitely amusing to hang out with . And when I look at this music , a lot of it is stuff he introduced me to , " she says . " Everything But the Girl is a band I totally love . Matthew Sweet - we went to his show together . The Lemonheads ... " // Dukes , who has crafted mix tapes herself all her life - starting with the five-volume " Annika 's Favorites " series in high school - says the iTunes era just does n't match up . // " You think about people making mixed CDs , they can knock one off in less than an hour , " she says . " The idea of putting a tape together for someone that you like - it would take days to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exactly the right order . It almost encourages your obsession in a different way . " // And when she thinks about that amount of time he put into them , she can almost - almost - understand why her former crush might have recycled the tapes . // " Obviously he wanted to recoup some of his investment by reusing it . " // A bad day in 1999 got worse for Anna Castle , as she pulled into her driveway in Calistoga . Her 1960 Pontiac Bonneville got hit from behind , spun around and hit by a second car . // " After checking myself and my dog Charlie , I frantically rummaged around for my cardboard box o ' mix tapes . They , too , were unscathed , " she wrote in a recent comment on The Chronicle 's parenting blog . " So I removed everything from my car , putting it on the side of the driveway , and called a tow truck . " // The next scene was like something out of " The Simpsons . " The tow truck showed up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over her tape collection , destroying at least 18 tapes . With one poorly executed driving move - Castle recalls that the driver had one eye and reeked of alcohol - the tape era was over . // Her collection was especially impressive and diverse . Castle was an Army brat , and had collected mix tapes from all over the world , after living at various times in Hawaii , Seattle , Ireland and Southeast Asia . // " That box o ' tapes had survived puberty , cross-country trips , several boyfriends , being lost then found in the Canadian postal service , two international moves , countless spilled drinks and sun-baked dashboards , " she says . " The tapes had been spliced , recorded over and even chucked from a moving car I went back for it ... a little damp , but none the worse for the wear . " // But in a scene that 's eerily reminiscent of the beginning of " Finding Nemo , " a single tape did survive . It was the one in the car stereo tape deck , made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " when they lived in Seattle . // " We 're not in touch anymore , but she was my buddy , " Castle remembered in a phone interview recently . " She was lovely and always smelled like cinnamon gum . " // The title is " Tangerine and Mineral Water " and the playlist screams good times in the early 1990s - with tracks ranging from " Wave of Mutilation " by the Pixies , " I Like Big Butts " by Sir Mix-A-Lot and two different songs called " Just Like Heaven , " from the Cure and Dinosaur Jr . The album ends with " Love Song " by Morrissey and " One " by U2 . // Castle left the Bay Area seven years ago . She 's a massage therapist living in Kauai now with her husband and two kids , ages 4 1/2 and 3 months . She says she still cherishes that tape , and listens to it all the time . // " I can only play it when no one 's around , " Castle says . " Cuz they just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alan Millen have a few things in common . Both are from the West Coast of the United States , and have worked in Switzerland for more than two decades . Both enjoy pop culture and music . They met in 1995 , when former Lodi resident Larson replaced Vancouver Island native Millen as an English-language translator for the now-defunct Swissair. // And they are both upset about the endangered status of the cassette mix tape . // " In the summer of 2004 I read an article on the Internet about the imminent end of the mix tape era , " Millen says . " Determined to keep an endangered art form alive , I proposed making a 90-minute mix tape under the concept of ' sonic surrealism , ' the cassettes to be exchanged at the turn of each season , sent by mail with the proviso that the receiver could not listen to the tape until he had posted his own . " // All manner of sound was allowed on the mix tapes , whether it was music , a famous speech , audio effects or ambient @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surprise . Larson 's says one of his greatest sequencing moments included Richard Nixon 's resignation speech followed by Aretha Franklin 's " I Never Loved a Man " - and later some audio of " my Uncle Johnny rambling on about trapping skunks as a kid . " // " For my money , the most surreal moment of this exercise was Alan 's taping of American Indian tribal dances on an entire tape side , and using that as a base , " Larson recalls . " He then taped other songs over this , leaving several seconds of chanting interspersed between each of his sonic surreal contributions . " // Millen included at least a portion of a Leonard Cohen track on every tape , and Larson always had something by Tower of Power . But the only rule was that there were no rules . The second tape , for the 2004 Winter Solstice , was a Christmas version , where Larson programmed side two with 16 different versions of " The Christmas Song . " // Millen explains : " The challenge was to keep the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , enhancing the segue to a mini art form of its own , just like a pitcher who might deliver five fastballs in a row and then follow up with a slider , curve and sinker . " // Sometimes there were themes - desert island and heroes/villains were a couple - and the titles were always as inspired as the contents : " Mom &; Dad 's Funky Italian Summer Holiday " ... " Leitmotif Time in the Lounge Flint says hello " ... " Full English Breakfast " ... // The tradition continued every three months until summer 2007 , when Larson acknowledges , " The creative batteries were getting a little low . " // Larson and Millen are n't sure if they 'll revive their exercise , but they still carry the mix tape torch . Alan , who is 56 now , says he has n't gotten around to downloading a song yet , and still owns and uses a Sony Walkman cassette player . He recently made a mix tape for his friend in Vancouver . " The theme was rivers , " he says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ putting together " Saturday Night Dinner " mixes when his wife prepares a special meal . // " The theme generally depends on what she 's preparing , " Larson says . " But do n't ask me the difference between a seafood/pasta mix tape and a chile rellenos/beans/rice mix tape ! " // Larson says he finds CD mixes " a bit sterile , " comparing them to working on a modern automobile , as opposed to getting under the hood of a 1963 Ford Falcon . // " Selecting a playlist in your head , marking down the amount of time used up on a cassette side and , above all , the wonderful feeling when the final track is finished taping on a side , and you look and have about 3 seconds of tape left . No wasted air ! " Larson says . " It 's a seat-of-the-pants art form that ca n't be reproduced in either CD or iTunes mixes . I 'm very sorry to see the era pass . " READER RESPONSE For a story about the mix-tape revival Web site Mux tape.com @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to share your own mix-tape stories , check out today 's post on the Poop , The Chronicle 's parenting blog , at **30;13566;TOOLONG . READER RESPONSE // Books about mix tapes : // " Mix Tape : The Art of Cassette Culture " Thurston Moore 2005 // " Love Is a Mix Tape : Life and Loss , One Song at a Time " Rob Sheffield 2007 // Web sites about mix tapes : // www.tinymixtapes.com www.mixtapetorrent.com // www.muxtape.com www.artofthemix.org // **30;13598;TOOLONG // " He had that tape , and he sat me in the about that old Pinto , was the stereo . " // Sue McCullough // 
##4021960 WHY WOMEN SHOULD RULE THE WORLD // By Dee Dee Myers // Harper . 280 pp. $24.95 // If women truly want to rule the world , they will stop writing books with titles like Why Women Should Rule the World . Nobody outside the talk-show circuit is likely to take such a title seriously , and one suspects that the author herself does not . Despite imperial presidencies and plutocratic Supreme Courts , this is a democracy , after all , or some semblance of one . I guess " Women Are Different ( Better ? ) than Men but Deserve the Same Opportunities " just did n't have a Venus/Mars pop-bestseller ring to it . // What Dee Dee Myers really wants is a level playing field , in the Title IX sense and beyond . So far , so good ; feminist or not , you would have to be a miserable specimen of humanity to disagree with her . // She wants women to have an equal shot at equal time in the classroom , in the boardroom and in the marble halls of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She served as Bill Clinton 's press secretary during his first two years in the White House . She was the first woman to hold the job . She went on to cohost CNBC 's " Equal Time " show . She consulted on Aaron Sorkin 's poli-drama " The West Wing . " Now she 's a talking head for NBC and MSNBC. // As Myers points out at numbing length , genuine equality still looks remote . She drags out familiar stats to demonstrate how far we have to go : For instance , women make up 16 percent of the Senate and the House and only 2 percent of the nation 's Fortune 500 CEOs . In most walks of life , my own field of journalism included , there have been and still are too few women occupying the corner offices . // Lowball salaries , subtle and not-so-subtle patronizing , workplace games that feel as if they have two sets of rules , one for men and one for women : The double standard is alive and well . That holds true even among the privileged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ circles inhabited by world leaders , CEOs , top-tier academics , prize-winning scientists and the media elite . It must be said that average Janes -- working-class and middle-class women -- do n't have much of a place in Myers 's analysis . If the ruling elite has it so rough , what does that mean for the rest of us ? // Myers strings together so much familiar bad news that she could have called the book " Just Forget About Ruling the World Already , Ladies . " It would be a better book if she spent less time arguing that women are just as capable as men , only different . It would be a stronger book if she did n't run from study to study in search of evidence about what women are , or what we are n't . It 's not a memoir per se , but it would be a more useful book if she spent more time dissecting her own experiences in political life . In those sections , too few and too brief , she brings fresh material to a conversation that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women did rule the world ? " We 'd have more representative government ; a stronger economy ; and a healthier and more sustainable planet . " Why ? Because women are builders of consensus , nurturers of relationships . Oh , and we 're talkers . We make peace , not war . Maybe it 's true . Maybe it 's a lot of gender-essentialist hooey . I went to an all-girls ' high school ; I 've had female bosses . I know what women are capable of , for better and worse . // As if to prove her point about building relationships , Myers recruits other high-profile women as star witnesses . They include primatologist Jane Goodall , former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor , scientist and Princeton University president Shirley Tilghman , astronaut Sally Ride and Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius . Each of them has a resumAc as long as your arm ; each has struck a blow , in her way , for the sisterhood . Not one of them gets enough time in this book to do the same for Myers 's argument @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the endless studies and statistics lurks a genuine cri de coeur . But Myers writes in a breezy , " come-on-now ! " style that undercuts the seriousness of the issues she wants to talk about . The book is a lexicon of catchphrases . So a study of women 's leadership styles produces " further evidence that there is more than one way to bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan . " The president of MIT , presented with research confirming that women there got lower salaries and smaller labs and office space , " had a kind of head-slapping , I-could-have-had-a-V8 moment . " ( What does a vegetable drink have to do with salaries at one of the nation 's leading research institutions ? ) Women 's domestic responsibilities are " the mother of all obstacles to women 's achievement . " Maybe so , but there has to be a better way of saying it . // Why Women Should Rule the World does give occasional , tantalizing glimpses into the Clinton White House and its boys ' -club machinations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clinton will have to look elsewhere ; she gets a couple of brief mentions , none of them enlightening , although Myers feels that the then-First Lady did not rush to offer support when Myers needed it . // And she did need it . Shatter a glass ceiling and you may get cut , as Myers found out . " Mine is a cautionary tale , " she tells the reader . " I had the same responsibilities -- but less authority . And fewer of the trappings of power -- the office , the rank , the money -- routinely accorded to previous press secretaries . " // Having worked on Bill Clinton 's campaign , Myers was no political ingAcnue , but she brought less experience to the White House press room than some of the men who preceded her there . " And too often , that became the justification for limiting my role , which in turn guaranteed that I 'd be less effective , " she writes . " The circular logic ( and its very real effect ) was infuriating , and at times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not sure what I could have done to change things . " // This is where the reader wants to shout : Why play nice ? Why not harness that anger ? Too many women have fallen into the good-girl trap for too long . Maybe it 's true that we pay a greater price than men do when we get mad in the workplace . But letting them hamstring you Chronicle of Higher Education , is a former contributing editor of Book World. // 
##4021961 To kill a man , Alejandro Gallegos Garcia explains , all you need is a black cloth doll , some thread , a human bone and a toad . Oh , and you must ask the devil permission , in person , at a cave in the hills where he is said to appear . // Assuming you have these things , plus the green light from the prince of darkness , you simply lash the doll to the bone , shove it down the unfortunate toad 's throat , sew up its lips and take the whole mess to a graveyard , reciting the proper words . // ' The person will die within 30 days , ' Mr. Gallegos said matter of factly , as if he were talking of fixing a broken carburetor . ( The toad dies too , by the by. ) // ' There exists good and bad in the world , there exists the devil and God , ' he went on , turning a serpent 's fang in his rough fingers . ' I work in white magic and in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only to evil . ' // Mr. Gallegos , 48 , is a traditional warlock , one of dozens who work in this idyllic town , nestled near the Gulf of Mexico by Lake Catemaco in the state of Veracruz . Like most witches here , he melds European and native traditions in his work , a special brew of occultism he learned from his uncle . // His cramped cement workroom holds an image of the Virgin Mary and a large crucifix with a bloodied Jesus . A six-pointed star is painted on the floor , with a horseshoe to one side and a St. Andrew 's cross on the other . Candles dedicated to various saints crowd his table , most with photographs lashed to them . Some are photos of men and women whom the client wants to ensnare in love . Others are of barren women who want children . Others are of people with maladies from asthma to cancer . // Beneath the table Mr. Gallegos keeps ragged boxes full of herbs , bark and roots that have been used in these parts for medicinal purposes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eye . // He has dead bats , used in certain love charms , and ground-up rattlesnake , for curing illnesses . He uses oils extracted from lizards and turtles , the dried tongues of certain fish , coyote skin , eggs , chickens , holy water from the church and less-than-holy water from the lake . He knows dozens of local plants and their attributes . And he wields the tooth of a venomous snake . // ' This goes back to ancient times , ' he said . ' There were witches here before the Spanish . Here there is a mix of everything , even of God . ' // Catemaco is known throughout Mexico as a center for witchcraft and , to the dismay of some hard-core practitioners , magic has become a big tourist draw . The town holds an International Congress of Witches on the first Friday of every March . // During the event , a black mass is held at the mouth of the cave where the devil supposedly loiters . An oversize six-pointed star -- they call it a Star of David @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Politicians show up to receive amulets for good luck at the polls . Believers flock to the town to have their auras cleansed . // Sandra Lucia Aguilar , a 25-year-old cashier , traveled 22 hours by bus from Cancun for the black mass . A few days later she found herself in the waiting room of a popular witch doctor known as ' The Crow , ' hoping for a little black magic to force her errant boyfriend to return . // ' I lived with him for five years , and then , overnight , he ran off with another woman , ' she said . ' I want him back . He humiliated me a lot and I want to humiliate him . ' // The Crow turns out to be a slick-looking fellow named Hector Betaza Dominguez , who wears white guayabera shirts and sits in a candlelit room among effigies of La Santa Muerte , a Mexican icon resembling the grim reaper in drag . // Mr. Betaza says people come to see him from all over Mexico and from major cities in the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ una limpia , ' or cleansing , to ward off evil spirits . But a majority of the complaints are broken hearts . // Asked where he learned his craft , Mr. Betaza , who calls himself a ' master of occult sciences , ' becomes evasive , muttering something about his mother having practiced magic . ' This you do n't learn , ' he said . ' It 's something that you carry in the blood . ' // Not everyone is convinced . The Rev. Tomas Alonso Martinez has the unenviable job of parish priest in a town best known as a haunt of the devil and witches . ' It 's farce , ' he said , ' a lie , a fraud . ' // In his five years in Catemaco , Father Martinez says he has seen so-called witches practice all sorts of confidence schemes , extracting money from gullible and vulnerable people . // One common trick is to tell someone he is hexed and then remove the hex for a fee . Another is to tell people they are sick , then offer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' They attribute to themselves power they can not have , ' the priest said . ' The fundamental problem that exists with these people is that there are people who believe them . Anyone can set themselves up as a witch . ' // Even Father Martinez acknowledges , however , that mixed in with the questionable practices are vestiges of a pre-Hispanic past . The use of Catholic saints also bespeaks a syncretism of beliefs , he notes . // In his church , an icon of the Virgin Mary sits in an alcove directly above and behind the altar . Before Mass , many go to the shrine and pass herbs over their bodies to cleanse themselves . Some leave pictures of loved ones , amulets and prayers . // That syncretism also emerged clearly when Mr. Gallegos performed a cleansing ritual on a recent afternoon . The client was a taxi driver named Santos Luna Cruz who wanted protection from envious rivals . // Stripped to the waist , Mr. Luna stood on a worn piece of velvet in the center of a chalk Star of David @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A horseshoe was to one side , a St. Andrew 's cross to the other . Two glasses of water , believed to absorb evil spirits , were placed in front of him . // Mr. Gallegos sprinkled holy water , garlic and ammonia over him . Then , chanting the common Catholic prayer to ' the father , the son and the Holy Ghost ' and invoking a long list of saints , Mr. Gallegos held eggs to the man 's head and rubbed them over his body . // He scratched crosses with his serpent 's tooth on Mr. Luna 's face , arms , chest and abdomen . He took a live chicken and passed it over his client . He blew the holy water from his mouth in a fine spray at the man , and beat him with clusters of herbs . // When it was over , Mr. Luna , 34 , grinned and ran his hand through his wet hair . ' I felt very stressed out at first , but now I feel lighter , better , ' he said . ' I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bad vibrations . ' // Mr. Gallegos pointed to two eggs that broke during the ritual . ' When the egg breaks , it is because it has absorbed the pain inside the young man , ' he said. // 
##4021963 Surviving the bomb blast under his Humvee was a hard-won fight for Andy Robinson . But two years later , filling the life he fought so hard to have was turning out to be another challenge . // " When I got hurt , three guys got killed , " says Mr. Robinson , who was partially paralyzed in the June 2006 attack in western Iraq . He told himself , " You better shut up and better not complain .... No matter how bad the injury is , you got a second chance so enjoy it , live it . " // Living , for Robinson , meant a long series of surgeries , physical therapy , and learning to use a wheelchair . It also meant deciding how to view his future . Was it over ? Or just a beginning ? A counterintelligence specialist used to high-intensity training and deployments , he desperately needed a mission . // " I 've reached the end of the Internet , " he 'd periodically shout to his wife , Sara , through their Oceanside home as he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They were finally in a house , not a hospital room , and together for long stretches for the first time in their marriage of barely two years . // But as the months drifted by , the quarters began to feel a little too close . Just getting ready and out of the house took hours . His natural intensity and energy had nothing to pour itself into but frustration and tension . // " We had more arguments and tiffs because he had nothing to do , " says Sara . " He needs a focus and a purpose and something to work on . He wants to help people . " // Then Robinson came out to cheer for his marine buddy Greg Jones , called " Stitch , " in a bike race in October 2007 , and he was intrigued by the handcyclists zipping by . Stitch was already interested in helping injured athletes and he 'd connected with Team Semper Fi , a group of injured marines who are endurance athletes , founded and funded by the nonprofit Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund . // @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was volunteering at the group 's office on the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base . The organization also bought Robinson a handcycle , and in the first days of this new year , Robinson found a new beginning . // " It was like the hardest thing I 've done since being injured . It was fun to be able to move fast , " says Robinson , lighting up as he recounts the thrill of that first , hour-long ride with Stitch on the back roads of Camp Pendleton . " Before , to feel a breeze , I would just have to sit there and wait for a breeze . " // Now , he makes his own slipstream. // Then the team needed a new manager , and Robinson did n't hesitate to take the job . // " It 's made our lives so much better , " says Sara . " He 's doing his thing and I 'm doing my thing . It 's a lot more normal . " // Now , he spends long days working on recruiting , finding events for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get them there . He also works out on the gym equipment in his garage , where a racing handcycle hangs from the ceiling and a leisure handcycle is parked next to his car . // Team Semper Fi 's use of sports as mental and emotional rehabilitation is part of a wider community of such groups , including the US Paralympic movement . A division of the US Olympic Committee , the Paralympic movement originated from a rehabilitation program for wounded World War II veterans , according to the group 's website , and it now has a dedicated veterans ' program , partnering with Team Semper Fi . // Navy Corpsman Derek McGinnis , a founding member of Team Semper Fi , lost part of a leg and sustained other injuries when a car bomb slammed into his vehicle in the Iraqi city of Fallujah during a major battle in November 2004. // His wife , Andrea , dropped everything at their home in Hawaii to be at his bedside in Bethesda , Md . The Fund helped out with some of the many expenses associated with devoting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . // As he slowly recovered , McGinnis learned of the group 's support , carving a deep well of gratitude within him . As summer 2005 arrived , a few people with the fund said they planned to run in the Marine Corps Marathon that November.They asked him to join them . // His response was an unequivocal " Hell , yeah ! I ca n't wait ! " He saw it as his chance to draw from that well of support and to give back to the group . Then an unexpected round of surgeries sidelined him from the race . The disappointment was staggering , but it also hardened McGinnis 's resolve to run the following year . // As soon as he was able , he began strength training . Then came the prosthetic designed for running . // " It took me forever to figure it out , but they never gave up , " says McGinnis of the therapists who coached him . Eventually he was out there running with active-duty GIs. // He also started vigorous swimming workouts . A pool is the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and several buddies made it to the Marine Corps Marathon 's 10-kilometer race , and soon after Team Semper Fi was born . Now , almost two years later , he 's run so many races and triathlons he 's lost count . // " You do n't want to bring any of that anxiety or issues associated with injuries home , " he says . So " you work it out " in training . // He keeps an intense six-day-a-week schedule of workouts , around work with the American Pain Foundation and helping his wife raise their two young boys , whom he calls " my little motivators. " // Now the elite athlete wants to improve his ability to bike up hills . Everyone else can stand up on their pedals for leverage . McGinnis starts to explain that he ca n't stand up on the bike , then pauses . // " I do n't mean to say ' I ca n't , ' " he says , then rephrases . " I 'm having a hard time standing up on the bike . " // Robinson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to send athletes to the Paralympics or Iron Man competitions one day . // " When I was riding my handcycle , they were n't looking at me like , ' He 's messed up . ' They look at you with a lot of respect , " says Robinson . // That 's something Kathryn Rizzo understands well . Her injuries are n't immediately apparent , but she spent months trying to hide their effects , fearing others might look at her differently . // After suffering head injuries during her deployment in Iraq , she had to work twice as hard when she returned so no one would notice she struggled with memory problems and feelings of distrust and anxiety . // But when the problems became too much for her to hide , she was given a medical discharge , ending her plan for a lifelong career in the Marines . When she was faced with losing the only community and career she had known for years and entering a foreign civilian world , her future looked to her like a black hole . // When she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . And now , even though her injury has altered her equilibrium , causing her to frequently lose balance and fall off her bike , she keeps training . She participated in a triathlon in New Jersey in May , and she sees a life ahead of her with purpose , surrounded by marines like her . // " Even though we 're not protecting the country , of us. " // ( c ) Copyright 2008 . The Christian Science Monitor// 
##4021969 My first thought on seeing the Bulls land the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery was this : Oh , my god , the Bulls are going to get Michael Beasley. // It was only later that I learned , by reading the papers in town and listening to the radio and TV , that anyone who does n't think the Bulls should take Derrick Rose would have to be an idiot or crazy . // Or both . // Michael Beasley , who needs you ? // ' He 's a child prodigy , ' DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright , who worked with Beasley on U.S. junior teams the last two summers , told Sports Illustrated a few months ago . ' It 's like somebody took the best parts and sewed them together : his hand-eye coordination , his running speed , his hands . He could palm a manhole cover . // ' He 's really a point forward , not much different , other than in body length , from Kevin Garnett . They can both guard smaller guys and big guys , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ // You would have to be a moron to want that on the Bulls , apparently . // I understand the appeal of Rose . He 's great . He 's a leader , and the Bulls do n't have one of those . He 's a Chicago kid and can immediately bring back some of the team 's buzz . He 's a point guard . // He would be a great pick . // I 'll still take Beasley. // Every time I watched Kansas State and Beasley , with that thick , power forward body and small forward quickness , equally comfortable banging inside or shooting three-pointers , one thought kept coming up : // I 'll take one of those , please . // Sometimes , there is n't a bad choice . This is one of those times . Two right answers . // The good news is Bulls general manager John Paxson , notorious for missing his moment in his long , thorough , thoughtfulness ( or possibly paralysis ) , ca n't do that here . No one can step up and take his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to produce two superstars . And you can look at Kirk Hinrich as the point guard and thank the heavens for the possibility of Rose taking the job . Or look at the years and years the Bulls have gone without an inside scorer and pray for Beasley. // But the truth is , in this case , you do n't pick a guy based on need . You just take the best player and figure out the needs around that . // Chalk one up for Paxson // Paxson had it right Wednesday when he said : ' I know people get on television and write today that the Bulls should do this ... that 's not what we do . We have until June 26 for the draft , and we 're going to go about the process early and , hopefully , make the right decision . ' // What happens in the NBA is that people get all worked up in fear . Teams started drafting high school kids who were n't ready because they were in fear of missing out on the next Kobe Bryant . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if he 's the next Chris Paul ? // Well , do n't get the idea that he 's already at the level of New Orleans ' young stud point guard . He is n't . He is n't Deron Williams yet , either . // But this new trend , thinking that every great team must have a great point guard , is elevating Rose 's stock . // SCARCE COMMODITY // And do n't make the mistake of thinking that a Michael Beasley comes along every year . He 's 6-10 , 235 and athletic with a incredible knack for scoring . // When was the last time the Bulls had an inside player averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds , also building up stats in steals and blocks ? // Rose is already a hero among the kids in this city . He stayed in the neighborhood until college , won back-to-back state titles , had big success as a freshman at Memphis . These kids do n't remember Michael Jordan , and Rose has become the one to idolize. // So bringing him to the Bulls would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end of watching Hinrich dribbling the ball around in circles all the time . Hinrich is not salvageable as the point guard , though with his salary , he might not be tradable , either . // But this team , without superstars , was built around one leader , coach Scott Skiles , and no one took over when he left . Rose could do it in a year or two . // Beasley is a knucklehead . He bounced around to several high schools , but that apparently was n't a legal thing or a thug thing . Mostly immaturity , according to SI , which wrote that he once bet a friend on who could write his name in black ink on more things around the school . // Beasley , who , like Rose , spent just one year in college , would n't be the leader that Rose would be . But he gives size , muscle , toughness and an inside presence that the Bulls have been missing for years . // Just imagine him scoring and rebounding and Joakim Noah rebounding and blocking shots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thomas still has plenty of trade value , which could help Paxson fill other needs immediately . // Paxson talked about spending the next few weeks looking around for the best match of possible trades for his pick . But available trades should have nothing to do with which one to take . // Just pick the best one . You ca n't go wrong . // But the best parts sewn together ? I 'll take one of those , please . // Comment at suntimes.com. // THE DERRICK ROSE FILE // Position : Point guard . // Height : 6-3 . Weight : 205. // Age : 19 . Year : Freshman . // College : Memphis . // Hometown : Chicago . // College stats // Points 14.9 // Rebounds 4.5 // Assists 4.7 // Turnovers 2.7 // Steals 1.2 // Blocks 0.4 // FG pct. .477 // FT pct. .712 // 3-pt. .337 // On Rose : // ' When you talk Derrick Rose , you 're talking about a program-builder . You 're talking about a kid that defers to his teammates and a kid who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He wants people to feel good around him . ' // -- Memphis coach John Calipari // THE MICHAEL BEASLEY FILE // Position : Power forward . // Height : 6-10 . Weight : 235. // Age : 19 . Year : Freshman . // College : Kansas State . // Hometown : Frederick , Md. // College stats // Points 26.2 // Rebounds 12.4 // Assists 1.2 // Turnovers 2.9 // Steals 1.3 // Blocks 1.6 // FG pct. .532 // FT pct. .774 // 3-pt. .379 // On Beasley : // " Beasley is about as balanced of a college player as I 've ever seen when you look at his inside and outside play do n't run plays for him . " // -- Kansas coach Bill Self// 
##4021972 It 's Easter Sunday in the Sicilian town of Prizzi . Devils are dancing . Death is everywhere . // " Death " actually is a big Italian guy in an even bigger yellow jumpsuit . He 's wearing a macabre mask and toting a wooden crossbow. // His devil buddies are similarly decked out in red costumes with giant heads and Lucifer-like horns . // For centuries , these symbols of evil have spent Easter Sunday running up and down the medieval streets of Prizzi , randomly plucking people out of the crowd to dance with them and thereby " capture " their souls . // No chocolate bunnies or Easter eggs here . This is more like Halloween , and it 's fascinating to watch . // Prizzi 's Dance of the Devils is just one the many spectacles that engrosses Sicily during Holy Week and Easter Sunday . Seemingly every town on this uber-Catholic island has some kind of festival or procession in honor of Christ 's final days on the planet . // I had the chance to check out some of the best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Sicily . Attending religious events is n't your typical honeymoon pastime , but my Sicilian-American husband and I could n't resist working a couple of these Easter experiences into our itinerary . // A SICILIAN SHAKEDOWN // From what little I could find about it on the Internet , the Dance of the Devils sounded bizarre enough to justify a visit to out-of-the-way Prizzi , a tiny village close to the even tinier village of Palazzo Adriano , the famous setting for the 1988 Oscar Award-winning film " Cinema Paradiso. " // We drove our rental car onto Prizzi 's ancient , steep streets early this sunny Easter morning not really knowing what to expect . // I know I did n't expect this : Out of nowhere , a small group of mean-looking kids in red and yellow costumes jumped in front of our car , menacingly rattling chains and blocking our way . One knocked on the driver 's side window and held out his hands -- the international gesture for " give me money . " It was like " The Sopranos " meets " Sesame Street @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bunch of third-graders , we repeatedly shook our heads no and held our ground until the hoodlums eventually got bored and let us pass . // " What a bunch of brats , " I said to my husband . // We parked the car and started walking to the town center when a few more costumed con artists attempted another shakedown. // " No ! No ! " we said , shooing them away , annoyed and confused . We just wanted to see some devils dance , not get stuck at the center of a juvenile crime ring . // We eventually figured out that these attempted robberies are all in good fun , thanks to the help of a young , raven-haired Sicilian lady who spoke English . She told us it 's tradition for children to get dressed up and roam the streets acting like they 're up to no good . You 're supposed to play along and throw them some spare change . // Oops . // This same spirit of mischief pervades Prizzi 's Dance of the Devils , where grown men dressed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the packed streets . While a roving band plays music , these comically grotesque mascots pull people from the crowd for a short dance . This means two things : 1 . ) The devil now has your soul and 2 . ) You have some excellent footage for your vacation video . // As the town slowly , symbolically gets taken over by evil , rest assured : the forces of good are rallying . On one end of the crowded main street , a shrouded statue of the Virgin Mary waits . On the other end is a statue of Jesus . The statues gradually move toward one another as the festivities rage on . // When the pair of statues eventually come together , Mary 's black shroud falls to the ground -- as does Death and his merry band of dancing devils . Good conquers evil , festival 's over and people head home or , more likely , back into the bar . It 's way more fun than an Easter egg hunt . // TIME FOR SOME PASSION // Western Sicily also is home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ events , the Procession of the Misteri . It 's held two days before Easter on Good Friday in the seaside city of Trapani. // The " Misteri " are a collection of 20 ornate statues that represent scenes from the Passion and death of Christ . These historic carvings are kept in Trapani 's Church of the Purgatory except on Good Friday , when they 're festooned with extravagant floral arrangements and solemnly paraded through town for hours on end -- a custom that 's more than 400 years old . // Bands play a type of funeral march while more than a dozen men hoist wooden platforms on their shoulders to carry each of the statues on a nearly one-mile circuit through town . The men gently sway to the somber music as they balance their heavy cargo into the night and following morning . // Residents perch on their balconies for a view of the show below , and thousands of onlookers line the streets to watch the story of Christ 's suffering unfold before their eyes . // The life-sized statues of the Misteri depict in painstaking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Despite the subject material , the procession is anything but depressing . Something this achingly beautiful and historic ca n't help but be uplifting . // It 's well worth going out of your way to see it , even if you 're on your honeymoon . // SWIM WITH MONSTERS OF THE DEEP // National Geographic chose the unspoiled waters at the Bahamian resort the Cove as the setting for its IMAX movie " Sea Monsters : A Prehistoric Adventure . " // If families want to do more than see the movie , they can don masks and flippers and check out the colorful sea creatures ( much tamer than their prehistoric ancestors ) in person . // The Cove in Eleuthera is offering a Sea Monsters package , including escorted snorkeling tours to some of the film 's underwater " sets . " Good until May 1 , with the exception of some blackout dates , the package includes three nights in a // Call the Cove at ( 800 ) 552-5960 or go to TheCoveEleuthera.com. // 
##4021977 Heard somebody grumble the other day about how much they hated baseball . Too slow , too boring , too many cheaters. // Baseball is an acquired taste . // It is a romance . Football , the new king , is a one-night stand . If pace prevents interest in baseball , that 's understandable . But lawlessness should no longer curb enthusiasm . // Baseball 's best young players have grown up in a much different environment , subject to testing from the moment they signed their first pro contracts . In the wake of the Mitchell report , those stars will be leaned on to grow and cleanse the game . // Players like Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. // " When you look at my draft class of 2005 , there was testing in place . You hope that fans realize that , " Tulowitzki said . " If I get beat by somebody , I want to know it 's because he worked harder , not because of better science . That would really ( upset ) me. " // That statement is encouraging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's be honest , baseball did a pathetic job of policing itself from the mid-1980s to 2002 . The drug rules , or lack thereof , were a joke , which helped dissolve some of the game 's greatest players - Mark McGwire , Barry Bonds , Roger Clemens - before our eyes in recent years . // Shame is a wonderful deterrent . So are penalties , with a 50-game hit for an initial steroid violation a legitimate siphon to the pocket book . After years of Bonds ' soul-sucking home runs , the awareness of drug use has moved out of the closet . Players speak openly now about wanting a clean game . // Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Gabe Kapler told me in spring training that he would welcome the permanent storage of blood samples . That would allow science to catch up with the garage chemists and expose a player even if it happens a few years later . // Washington pitcher Ray King , a member of the players union executive council , believes there is growing momentum to agree to a blood test for human growth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . // Last week , the Olympics announced that HGH blood testing would be available this summer in Beijing . // " I want there to be a level playing field , " Tulowitzki said . " If that 's what it takes , fine . I am all for it . " // Baseball needs progress , not winters spent with their stars testifying in front of Congress . As its brightest young stars age with testing , there 's reason to believe the future will be defined by credibility , not whispers and tainted statistics . // The courage of Davis . Not a lot of fans know who Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Doug Davis is . But they should , not because of his numbers , but his courage . Davis was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer . He will make his second start of the season this week before undergoing surgery to remove a growth . He has history on his side as his mother and sister recovered from a similar diagnosis . // Davis hopes to return to the rotation in a month . Regardless of when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time when too many athletes let hangnails and hangovers sideline them . // Footnotes . Based on my discussion with scouts , the Los Angeles Angels ' Casey Kotchmann is the best defensive first baseman . That 's worth noting for a guy who has never won a Gold Glove . . Early candidate for comeback player of the year : Washington Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson . . St. Louis is marketing its team around the slogan : " Play Like a Cardinal . " After years of going for the old , the Cardinals have injected youth with Rick Ankiel , Skip Schumaker , Adam Wainwright and Chris Duncan , among others . Said manager Tony La Russa : " Our fans are never going to be embarrassed by how hard we play . But in the end , it 's about results . This league is n't about trying hard . " . Starter Johan Santana needed just 33 pitches to work through Florida 's lineup the first time . He could win 22 games this season . . Clip and save : Oakland 's Rich Harden will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . If healthy - and that 's a huge if - Harden has arguably the best stuff in baseball . . A scary thought for Rockies fans : Multiple executives believe that Dodgers outfielder and phenom Matt Kemp will hit 30 home runs this season , Andre Ethier will reach 25 and James Loney will contend for a batting title . Throw in catcher Russell Martin and suddenly the Dodgers have their version of Matt Holliday , Brad Hawpe , // Garrett Atkins and Tulowitzki . . Ironic twist on the Giants ' youth movement : They began the season with the oldest average age in the National League ( 31.33 ) . The Diamondbacks were the youngest ( 26.11 ) . The Rockies came in at 27.5 . EYE ON . // Chipper Jones , 3B , Braves // Background : The name Larry Wayne Jones does n't jump off the page . But Chipper Jones , now we have something . Baseball is littered with No. 1 overall draft picks who never sniffed the big leagues or made an impact . All Jones has done is become a legend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1990. // What 's up : Jones started this season like so many others , producing a big hit . Jones blasted the first home run at the Washington Nationals ' new park . President Bush , who was in the ESPN booth at the time , provided the call on the blast . Jones has received MVP votes in 11 of the past 13 seasons . Go to a game at Turner Field and he 's treated like a rock star . He 's been around so long that Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann grew up idolizing him . What makes Jones so special ? Here 's a thumbnail sketch from a rival National League executive : Left-handed power , right-handed hitting and power have grown with age ; has plus ability in the clutch and unbelievable strike zone awareness ; athletic defensively with a strong , accurate arm ; a Hall of Famer . Any questions ? // What 's next : There 's a four- // game stop in Coors Field this week . In the future , there are milestones to reach . Jones is 13 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't impossible , with a little more than 800 to go at age 35. // Renck 's take : The only thing that consistently stops Chipper is Chipper . His body has n't always cooperated , particularly his balky hamstrings . But it 's worth the price of admission to see Jones ' left-handed would take him in my lineup any day . " // Getty Images photo// 
##4021978 What is Christianity 's proper role in American presidential politics ? This question has gripped the 2008 campaign . From the dispute over the acceptability of Mitt Romney 's Mormonism , to Mike Huckabee 's musings about conforming the US Constitution more to the Bible and the controversy over Sen. Barack Obama 's former pastor , the spiritual and secular realms have collided fiercely . Just this week , Senator Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton fielded questions from US religious leaders at a special forum broadcast on CNN . // More broadly , arguments over public policies - from war to illegal immigration - are increasingly being infused with scriptural justifications . // The media , of course , relish such controversy . So do many religious leaders , who use the occasion to offer the " real " interpretation of what Scripture says about a particular issue . As a result , religion and politics are n't just mingling - they 're being wedded to the same goal : redeeming America 's body politic. // A largely Protestant nation that can trace its theological taproot to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reformer , Luther understood how critical it was to separate church and state and , in a more important sense , the spiritual kingdom of Christ and the secular realm where God reigns in a hidden way through humans using reason as a guide . // That is not to say that Christians today should n't let their Christianity inform their political values and action . They should . But the Bible is not a political playbook . Christians , or adherents of any religion for that matter , should refrain from using holy text to fight politically over human concerns . Using Christian doctrine to push a political agenda is not just rude - it is a dangerous departure from the core message of Christianity : salvation by grace through faith . // Christ Jesus was not crucified to make society nicer or fairer ; no , he suffered to redeem the believer from sin . // Did not Christ tell Pontius Pilate : " My kingdom is not of this world " ( John 18:36 ) ? Which of these seven words is so hard to understand ? // @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mankind from trying to bring heaven to earth ever since - mostly through political tyrannies of the collectivist utopian variety . // Luther understood these temptations . " The devil never stops cooking and brewing these two kingdoms together , " he wrote , referring to the spiritual and the secular realms . With these words in mind , Lutherans - or at least Lutherans strongly committed to the confessional writings of their church - shake their heads over the misuse of Scripture in American politics on both sides of the political divide . // How , then , should Christians engage in political affairs ? Through the language of reason in the framework of natural law . // Citing Paul , Luther reminded Christians that natural law is " written with the finger of God " on people 's hearts , a fact to which their conscience " bears witness . " Thus , Christians who want to publicly oppose the practice of abortion and same-sex marriage do not need to quote the Bible to do so . Instead , they can appeal to logic and universal principles that exist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the Declaration of Independence puts it , " the Laws of Nature and Nature 's God . " // Sadly , natural-law thinking became unfashionable in the two centuries after Jean Jacques Rousseau . This philosopher behind the French Revolution extolled instead man-made " positive law , " which was detached from the universal ethic usually attributed to divine authorship . // In this context it is worth noting how the 20th-century Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer judged the French Revolution , whose utopian dream was the liberation of man from all constraint . To the martyred Bonhoeffer , this Revolution was " the laying bare of the emancipated man in his tremendous power and most horrible perversity , " a false liberation that leads only to man 's self-destruction . He saw both Communism and Nazism as the French Revolution 's heirs . // Natural law is the " operating system " in what Luther called the " left-hand kingdom , " where God reigns in a hidden way " through good and bad princes , " who in a democracy include the voters . In this secular realm , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ describing reason as a gift from God that enables humanity to manage this temporal world . // Bonhoeffer considered the inability to distinguish between the spiritual and earthly kingdoms a major flaw of American theologies that manifest themselves as organized struggles against some particular worldly evil . " It is necessary to free oneself from the way of thinking , which sets out from human problems and which asks for solutions on this basis . Such thinking is unbiblical , " he asserted . " The way of all Christian thinking leads not from the world to God but from God to the world . " // Luther proclaimed a liberating message " that society need not be run by the Church in order to be ruled by God , " according to the late William Lazareth , a former Lutheran bishop of New York . Yet too many Protestants have a hard time grasping the breathtaking implication of this insight . // To be sure , it would be desirable if more people turned to the Bible more often for everyday guidance . But the Gospel has nothing to say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gasoline , or the Iraq war . // The Gospel - the good news of salvation through Christ - is the Christians ' highest good . Thus it is difficult to fathom why so many of them insist on exposing this magnificent treasure to public derision by using it for the wrong purpose . The Gospel can illume the believer 's reason in his secular pursuits but is not meant to be a script for them . // Half a millennium after Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg , it makes sense to ponder his down-to-earth comment that in politics , as in all other aspects of secular life , Christians must act reasonably according to natural law . The Gospel has freed them to do just that ; it must not be perverted into a weapon to be slapped around other people 's heads . // * Uwe Siemon-Netto , a former religion editor for Christianity Today . // ( c ) Copyright 2008 . The Christian Science Monitor// 