The Browns continue to hire coaches to fill out the staff of new head coach Pat Shurmur.
Dick Jauron will be the Browns’ new defensive coordinator. Jauron is a two-time former NFL head coach as well as a two-time defensive coordinator, so he will bring a lot of experience to the table. Unfortunately, Jauron’s status as a two-time ex-head coach means he was fired twice — from Buffalo and Detroit. Jauron may be one of those coaches, like Dick LeBeau, who is just better suited to being a coordinator rather than a head coach. He has coached some good defenses in his career, but his style is to play a more conservative 4-3 defense, which will be a significant change from the gambling, blitzing 3-4 approach used by former Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Jauron will be joined on the defensive staff by Dwaine Board, as defensive line coach, and Bill Davis, as linebackers coach. Both also have plenty of NFL coaching experience, and Davis is a former defensive coordinator with the Cardinals.
Shurmur, who was offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams before being tabbed by the Browns, says he will call the plays on offense. I am not especially encouraged by that decision, which I think may show a lack of appreciation for the many competing demands of the head coaching position. A successful head coach is supposed to have a broader perspective. Still, some successful head coaches have called plays, and perhaps Shurmur can pull it off. The fact that he will be paying special attention to the offense at least may reflect the understanding that the Browns really need to focus on getting points on the board. He will be joined in coaching the offense by Mark Whipple as quarterbacks coach and Mike Wilson as wide receivers coach. Both will have big jobs this coming season. Colt McCoy is still raw, and Wilson will be challenged to produce a true, NFL-caliber receiver from the choices on the Browns roster.
It is looking more and more like the Browns will have to retool and realign their roster to play the new styles favored by their new coaches. I hope I’m wrong, but that probably means another “rebuilding year” — i.e., another year of missing the playoffs. So what else is new? The more the coaches and players change, the more the Browns’ mediocrity stays the same.
Sounds like the funny, brilliant evening people are in good shape, right? Unfortunately, the problem is that the world is geared to “morning people.” School starts at 8 a.m., not 6 p.m. And the business day ends before “evening people” hit their stride. As a result of this, “morning people” get rewarded as the energetic, hard-working, bright-eyed high performers. “Evening people,” on the other hand, are viewed as lazy, unmotivated slugs who drift aimlessly through the day. In short, the article concludes, “evening people” are pretty much screwed because all of the societal cards are stacked against them. (Those wondering whether there is any journalistic bias at play here would do well to remember that this article was published in the London Evening Standard — they have to appeal to their readership.)
I liked the first volume because it was deliberate in its pace and different in its approach to storytelling. It took a while to get into the story, and the author didn’t seem to care that he was taking his time introducing you to characters, major and minor, and giving you their back stories. The character of Lisbeth Salander was fresh and different, the bit-by-bit relating of the horrible incidents and tragedies in her life was like finding successive clues on a treasure hunt, and the overarching tale of the redemption of journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his discovery of the secrets of the Vanger family, with the eventual assistance of Salander, was an interesting plot line. In the first book, although both Salander and Blomkvist have unique talents — as a computer hacker and reporter, respectively — their characters are believable and their actions and accomplishments are within the range of possibility. And I liked how the telling of the engrossing story also helped me learn a bit about Sweden and its history and culture.
This kind of “anniversary journalism” is, in my view, lazy journalism. The ingredients of these stories are always the same. It has to be a round number anniversary — one year, 5 years, 10 years, 25 years. If the news story is on radio or TV, you play a clip of the recording of the event, and then you interview people who give their recollections and perhaps add a few recollections of your own. The stories are simple to prepare and simple to produce — and there are an enormous number of “round number” anniversaries of events to choose from.
Egypt’s economy is mired in high unemployment with low wages, and the masses have followed the lead of Tunisia and taken to the streets against an unpopular leader. Mubarak, 
I am sure that the realpolitick types in American government would prefer Mubarak to the unknown that might occur if he were deposed. It is possible, of course, that elections could produce a fundamentalist Islamic regime that is hostile to Israel and the Mideast peace process. Yet too much American support for Mubarak could quash American influence with a successor government if he ultimately is deposed. Iran may be a model here. America’s steadfast support for the Shah of Iran until the bitter end left America with no real influence when the Ayatollah Khomeini took over, and American and Iran have been estranged ever since — to the detriment of geopolitics in the Middle East.
Initially called the Rhondells, 
The news about this lawsuit gives the reader a lot to chew on. First, Kucinich must have a pretty expensive dentist and pretty extensive dental issues if the teeth-olive pit encounter could cause $150,000 worth of damage. The hungry Congressman must have really been looking forward to that hearty veggie wrap and chomped down into the sandwich with reckless abandon! Of course, for Members of Congress a fully functioning mouth is a crucial part of the job, so it’s not surprising they would use only the most expensive mouth technicians. Second, it says something about Rep. Kucinich’s power — or lack of same — that he couldn’t even get the House of Representatives own cafeteria to pay off his dental bills short of litigation. You would think that the cafeteria would want to keep famished Members of Congress and their staffs coming in for those grim vegetarian meals and would be willing to toss a few thousand bucks Kucinich’s way in order to avoid any problems.
The bursting of the housing bubble was one of the things that pushed the American economy into recession, and housing looks like it might keep the economy mired in recession a bit longer. The lack of a quick rebound in the housing market is frightening for American homeowners. Most of us have a lot of our net worth tied up in our houses, and if the market continues to decline it is going to have a long-term impact on our lifestyles and, eventually, our retirements. Even in our New Albany neighborhood we’ve seen a nearby house with a foreclosure sign in the front window, and the housing market clearly is soft. Many of the homes that have been on the market for months haven’t even gotten showings, much less offers or sales.
