Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service articles from December 2004

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service archives from December 2004

Iraq moves toward democracy in shadow of fear, confusion.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Liz Sly BAGHDAD, Iraq _ Under a chilly winter sun, several hundred stalwart supporters of Iraq's Communist Party gathered recently at a Baghdad sports stadium for a first brave attempt to hold an election campaign rally. ...

Parking places.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Blair Kamin Every day, millions of Americans do something that has a profound but little-noticed impact on the fragile texture of cities: They drive into a parking garage. As they head up a ramp, the tension builds: "Will my...

One culture's junk is another one's treasure.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Michael Kilian NEW YORK_In many parts of America, it was tradition for farmers who plowed up hard objects in their fields to pile the objects on the boundaries as stone walls. Over the last 20 to 25 years, farmers in China...

Muslim youth forge own path in America.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Barbara Brotman (EDITORS NOTE: The future of Islam in America may well be in the hands of a new generation of Muslims who were born here. Now in college and experiencing the challenges that life in America poses to their...

Are you happy?
December 31, 2004... The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday, Dec. 29: X X X Is there a trickier question than this: Are you happy? The answer tends to shift from moment to moment, ache to ache, stock market close to stock...

It's time to launch Airbus.
December 31, 2004... The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday, Dec. 29: X X X The first completed airframe of the biggest jet ever built, the double-decker Airbus 380, is scheduled to be unveiled in Toulouse, France, next...

Top of the line: List of luxuries sought by homebuyers just keeps growing.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Sharon Stangenes and John Handley CHICAGO _ There is distressed denim, distressed leather and, now, distressed shutters. Builder Curt Langille, president of Lanco Development Co., Lakewood, Ill., said his staff has a...

TV ads key front in drug price war.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Bruce Japsen CHICAGO _ Not even NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway can win against the powers of managed care. Known for his clock-chasing touchdown drives to win football games, Elway became a television pitchman in...

Fallen Oklahoma star Thompson finds peace, redemption.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Randall Mell The shackles never really came off Charles Thompson after that day he was hauled to jail. The former Sooners quarterback will be bound forever to Oklahoma's outlaw reign of the late `80s through that infamous...

And you thought autos were serious business.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Jim Mateja As the year draws to a close, a review of 2004 proves how wacky the auto industry really is. Consider: _The much-maligned Pontiac Aztek sport-utility vehicle outsells the high-performance Pontiac GTO. So...

Buick hopes `Dream On' ads deliver some younger buyers.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Jim Mateja Buick has left no doubt it's trying to shed its geriatric image, not only in the cars it sells but also in the ads it uses to promote those cars. Rather than enlist the songs of Mel Torme or Tony Bennett to...

Tsunami's impact felt in Europe.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Tom Hundley LONDON _ The Indian Ocean tsunami that has wrought such awesome destruction upon the poorest nations of Asia also hit hard in wealthy Europe. More than 100 British tourists are feared dead, and the number is...

In Sit Lanka: `I never saw anything like this'.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Kim Barker PARALIYA, Sri Lanka _ The fisherman has helped find 1,500 bodies where he once lived, near the train cars thrown from the tracks and the remainders of people's lives, from brick walls to business cards. A....

Officials assess damage along Somalia coast.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Laurie Goering JOHANNESBURG, South Africa _ International aid officials launched a sweeping aerial assessment of Somalia's 600-mile coastline Thursday, and delivered the first food aid to thousands of coastal residents left...

The best of boxing in 2004.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Michael Hirsley It was a very good year in boxing for Bernard Hopkins, Kostya Tszyu and Glen Johnson. It was a nice comeback year for Felix Trinidad, Marco Antonio Barrera and Diego Corrales. But 2004 was less than...

NFL capsules and picks from Terry Bannon.
December 31, 2004... Packers (9-6) at Bears (5-10) Noon Sunday Line: Bears by 3 Last meeting: Bears won 21-10 at Green Bay on Sept. 19 Key stat: Bears have lost 10 straight home games to Packers. Keep your eye on: Thomas Jones is Bears' leading...

Rookies' attitude has Bulls' coach mulling changes.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: K.C. Johnson CHICAGO _ Any NBA season has its share of ebb and flow, but at a time when the Bulls should be flowing, they appear to be ebbing. "I've seen a couple of things creeping in the last three or four days that look...

Aid just now reaching survivors in Indonesia.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Michael A. Lev MEULABOH, Indonesia _ The survivors and the dead share the streets. Four days after the killer tsunami swept away a large portion of this city of 30,000 people, aid is only beginning to arrive. The death...

Thomas is out; McQuarters could follow.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: David Haugh CHICAGO _ As R.W. McQuarters expressed Thursday his desire to retire as a Bear, Anthony Thomas reflected on his place in team history; one Bear lobbying to stay in town while the other could not get off the practice...

Sleep condition is nothing to wink at.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: David Haugh CHICAGO _ One night about a year ago, Ian Scott was snoring away in a deep sleep as he usually does. Then he stopped. The quiet concerned Scott's wife, Crystal, enough to wake him up quickly. She feared her...

PBGC asks court to let it take over United pilots' pensions.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Stephen Franklin and Barbara Rose CHICAGO _ The government's pension agency on Thursday asked a federal court to allow it to take over the retirement plan for 14,000 United Airlines pilots, saying it had to act quickly to limit...

Massive relief effort gets under way.(Chicago Tribune)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Stevenson Swanson UNITED NATIONS _ In what may prove to be the biggest relief operation in United Nations history, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday that the world organization had received pledges of $500 million to pay...

Birdine's jabs latest woes for line.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Randall Mell MIAMI _ An exclamation point wasn't jarring enough to end the blunt analysis that got Oklahoma sophomore defensive end Larry Birdine into trouble last week. A forearm shiver would have more sufficiently...

2004: Best, worst of TV times.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Scott Andera Any year with incidents involving Janet Jackson and the Malice at the Palace as its bookends and too many hurricanes in between qualifies as one of the craziest in recent memory. So without further delay, let's take...

An image taken, a choice made, a life altered.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Hal Bernton SEATTLE _ From her home in Everett, Wash., Tami Silicio spends many late nights in the Internet world of war veterans and support groups for families of soldiers in Iraq. They talk online about the war, about those...

Soldiers' goodwill mission to Iraqi schools hits some bumps.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Gretel C. Kovach BAGHDAD, Iraq _ In today's Iraq, even giving candy to children isn't easy for American troops. Capt. Franklin Massey and soldiers assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division's Task Force 1/9 unloaded a trailer of...

A mission of faith, friendship.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Brian Martinez TECATE, Mexico _ Every girl at Hogar Salvatierra orphanage made a card for Dominic Luu on his 27th birthday. Inside her colorful eight-page creation, Angelica Mayen, 15, drew a picture of herself standing with...

Capsule reviews of new video releases.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Maureen M. Carmen (All films are available on both VHS and DVD unless otherwise noted.) RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE 1 star (Columbia/TriStar, `04) VHS; $28.96 DVD. 94 mins. this survivalist horror-flick sequel to the 2002...

It's a wider WiFi world.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Sam Diaz Going online from "hotspots" at the airport, Starbucks or McDonald's was a major breakthrough in Internet technology. Now, the next generation of wireless Web surfing is happening in "hot zones," which are popping up in...

Storms cleansed coral reefs of invasive algae, but relief temporary.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Noah Bierman MIAMI _ The season's string of hurricanes may have performed a temporary favor for South Florida's sea life _ and the divers who see it. The storms scrubbed the area's coral reefs of particularly harmful forms...

Ex-husband: Deceit was lifestyle for woman accused of stealing fetus.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Kevin Murphy and Karen Dillon BARTLESVILLE, Okla. _ Carl Boman has had 20 years to figure out Lisa Montgomery, his ex-wife and the mother of his four teenage children. He said he knew her as untruthful and strangely obsessed...

Create a snowman using dryer hose.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Kathy Antioniotti Winter officially arrived Dec. 21. As I was writing this, an arctic blast was bearing down on Northeast Ohio. But, I'd just as soon pass on any more snow, if you please. One of my daughters said that if we...

Shopping for snow thrower.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Mary Beth Breckenridge Sick of shoveling? Here are things to consider before you shop for a snow thrower, courtesy of Ace Hardware spokesman Lou Manfredini: Two-cycle vs. four-cycle: A two-cycle engine requires that you mix...

Real estate and home improvement Q&A.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Alan Heavens Q: I have to get the township's approval for windows. They will not approve vinyl replacement windows. It makes no sense to replace these old, drafty windows if I can't use thermally efficient windows. The...

Coin-collecting news and notes.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Daniel Webster Collectors can look ahead and back and shout "Happy New Year!" The old year was one of the most inclusive ever for coin enthusiasts with modest budgets but high levels of anticipation. Sure, there were sales...

Swimming Pool Q&A: Changes in pump designs alter repairs.(The Orlando Sentinel)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Paul Roth Q: The pump and filter on my 25-year-old pool have quit. This happens about every five years or so. The last time the system quit, I replaced the equipment with the same size and type. What is going on? A: Many...

Add creativity for the new year.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Barbara Gash As the end of the year approaches, perhaps you are making a resolution to become more creative in 2005. I once read this definition of creativity: "To look where everyone is looking, and see what no one else can...

Saving money is great, but saving our air, of course, is even better.(The Orlando Sentinel)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Ken Sheinkopf Economics often dominate most energy discussions. And yet, there often are reasons beyond saving money that make solar water-heating systems, set-back thermostats or high SEER air conditioners important. A...

Q&A on gardening.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Nancy Brachey Q: What kind of gardening gloves work best in (the North Carolina) climate? A: Two kinds: Cheap, cotton gardening gloves that you can wear, wash a few times and throw away without guilt. These are great for the...

LED technology shines.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Stacy Downs Call 2004 the breakthrough year for light-emitting diodes. Although the diodes, or LEDs, were invented in the late 1960s, only recently have they been considered a viable light source for the home. They tended not...

A novel approach.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Candace Renalls DULUTH, Minn. _ It's been 13 years since Superior, Minn.'s East End Carnegie Library was open for business, but people still stop by. They may be back in town visiting and want to see the old neighborhood...

Desperate housekeeping: When surprise guests come calling, cleverly conceal the muss.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Alyson Ward and Stephanie Allmon Company. Unexpected company. Oy! Even if we're working full time and raising two kids, there's pressure for us women to keep a perfectly neat, company-ready home. Forget the expectations,...

Trivia Q&A.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Tina Beaumont-Clay Q: What's the rest of the quote about reading? It starts with something like, the more you read, the more you'll know._ H.S., Fort Worth A: The quote is from the king of kiddie rhyme, Dr. Seuss. Here it...

Home and garden notes.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Mary Beth Breckenridge THE SHELF: Norman Becker has been answering homeowners' questions in Popular Mechanics' "Homeowners Clinic" column for more than 20 years. Now his answers to 500 of those questions are compiled in the...

The skinny on the fat: It's not all bad.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Nancy Cole Webster's must be mistaken. Isn't fat a four-letter word? The mere mention of it makes most of us malcontent. It is the one thing in life we prefer to lose forever. For many, the scale has become the holy grail. Even...

Breast friends.(The Dallas Morning News)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Jamie Gumbrecht DALLAS _ Even if the technician's voice is soothing, even if it's quick, even if it turns out OK, there are few moments more lonely than a mammogram's cold, metal squeeze. But who would you want at your...

A group effort.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Harry Jackson Jr. ST. LOUIS _ While divine intervention isn't the fodder for most fact-based journalism, Erika Neal can't tell the story of how she helped start a fitness group without mentioning it. In December 2002, Neal...

Keep a record of fitness efforts.(The Orange County Register)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Lisa Liddane As we continue or restart our fitness programs next year, fitness experts suggest two things that may help us stay motivated and stick to the program: Make workouts an appointment, and track our progress in a...

Florida State to test evolution theory on fire ants.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Bruce Ritchie TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Walter R. Tschinkel is out standing in his field of fire-ant research. Tschinkel (pronounced "CHINK-ehl"), a professor of biological sciences at Florida State University, is leading a team of...

Fierce political battle likely over immigration reform.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Craig Gilbert WASHINGTON _ Sometime early next year, Congress will resume a prickly debate over whether an illegal immigrant should be able to get a driver's license. But that question could become part of a much broader...

Memories of tsunamis hitting American shores have largely faded.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Lindsay Hanson KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The horror of a tsunami can strike _ and has struck _ the United States. In 1946, an earthquake in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska caused a tsunami that killed 159 people in Hilo, Hawaii. ...

Where is the soul? How do you find it?(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Diane Evans Sometimes we hear people say they're soul-searching, as if there's a clear understanding of what that is. But we can't touch or see a soul. So what is it? Recently, I attended a program titled "The Spark Within...

Shaping Up: Before you get help, know what you need.(The Seattle Times)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Richard Seven Yeah, yeah, a new year is coming, and you're going to get in better shape. In shape, at least. Good call. But if you need a resolution to get motivated, there's a good chance that's not all you need. More...

`Mexican-American' is only a small piece of who I am.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Mary Sanchez A new year, and I brace for disgruntled, disagreeing readers. Informed debate is welcomed. The difficult reader replies are opinions based on assumptions. About who is legal, and who is not. About immigrant...

Time-tested tactics when it comes to competing for Oscar gold.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Mary F. Pols Believe it or not, `tis the season. Oscar season. The ceremony is two months away and the nominations won't be announced until Jan. 25, but the machinations to land coveted Oscar nominations have already begun. ...

A reckoning for Pinochet?
December 31, 2004... The following editorial appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday, Dec. 29: X X X For 17 years, from 1973 until 1990, President Augusto Pinochet of Chile led a government that, with the acquiescence of the United...

Increase the Pell Grants.
December 31, 2004... The following editorial appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday, Dec. 29: X X X To understand how irresponsible it is for the Bush administration to limit eligibility to federal Pell Grant scholarships, consider the...

Movie biographies are popular, but they're not all created equal.(The Orlando Sentinel)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Jay Boyar Spider-Man, Shrek and their imaginary ilk may bring home the box-office bacon, especially in the summer. But at Oscar time, the motion-picture academy prefers to pig out on films about the Schindlers, Gandhis and...

Looking forward, looking back, feeling sick.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Bill Ferguson Today we stand on the brink of a new year, and this is customarily a time for looking forward to what may be coming down the pike and also for looking back at what has been. Looking forward to next year, it...

Passing the buck: FBI memos detail new aspects of prisoner abuse.
December 31, 2004... The following editorial appeared in the Dallas Morning News on Wednesday, Dec. 29: X X X New revelations about alleged mistreatment of detainees in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, make one wonder just what's going on at the Pentagon....

Advice and consent on judicial nominees.
December 31, 2004... The following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald on Wednesday, Dec. 29: X X X Among the more dismaying reports to emerge from Washington is news that the cease-fire between the White House and the Senate on judicial nominations...

Air traffic controllers: Expect turbulence ahead.
December 31, 2004... The following editorial appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday, Dec. 29: X X X Pop singer Johnny Mathis had a hit duet with Deniece Williams in 1978 called, "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late." That title serves as a...

You don't have to be Christian to respect Christianity.(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Eric Mink Last week, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch carried an opinion piece by Ibrahim Hooper, who represents the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. Reflecting the season's sentiments of peace and good will,...

U.S. must stay for these Iraqis.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Trudy Rubin The Iraq story has always had a very personal dimension for this columnist. Having covered the story since the first Gulf War, I've acquired many Iraqi friends and acquaintances. Some are exiles, who gave up...

War on terrorism: Bush's methods hit without precision.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Lewis W. Diuguid No one should try to swat flies with a sledgehammer. Yet that's what President Bush is doing in his reckless war on terror. A sledgehammer is a heavy unwieldy thing. It's used to drive spikes and break up...

Little fanfare goes to those making the stops.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Charean Williams IRVING, Texas _ When Darren Woodson set the Cowboys' team record for tackles, it had all the pomp and circumstance of an afterthought. Coming on the same day Emmitt Smith passed Walter Payton for the all-time NFL...

Big and powerful sharks, but a bit dumb.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Susan Cocking COCOS ISLAND, Costa Rica _ Lying 100 feet deep on a rocky tabletop seamount, I am surrounded by scores of scalloped hammerhead sharks. Lazily, the sharks _ some up to 10 feet long _ circle the pinnacle, occasionally...

Sore back won't put Ilgauskas on bench.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Brian Windhorst CLEVELAND _ Zydrunas Ilgauskas doesn't like to complain. Well, unless you're an NBA official. Which is why he won't ever use his continually sore lower back as an excuse for some of his ups and downs this...

Your job is God's way of preparing you for your true calling in life, pastor writes.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Cecil Johnson ``The Ten Commandments of Working in a Hostile Environment,'' by T.D. Jakes (Berkley Books, 176 pages, $14.95) To his co-workers at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent is just a spectacled, self-effacing reporter who...

Reactrix puts you in the picture.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Dean Takahashi As shoppers step through colorful shafts of light at the center of Sony's Metreon mall in San Francisco, they often do a double take when they gaze at the floor. That's because the image shining down from an...

What's in store for Lands' End?(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Doris Hajewski MILWAUKEE _ Lands' End is a great brand that might be better off if it wasn't part of Sears, some retail industry watchers are saying. A spin-off of the Dodgeville, Wis., catalog business into a separate...

Cavaliers fall to Rockets, 98-87.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Brian Windhorst CLEVELAND _ The silence said it all. As LeBron James lay prone in the middle of the lane, 20,000 people swallowed their voices, the shoulders of the men in wine and gold sagged, and the Cavaliers' short-term...

Ohio State dominates in win over Oklahoma State.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Tom Reed SAN ANTONIO _ Controversies persist. Opportunities for distraction abound. Adversity becomes their 12th Man just minutes into the game. And the Buckeyes roll merrily along. The more trouble accumulates off the...

USC's White in race to heal ankle.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Jeff Shain Around 8 a.m. Thursday, LenDale White will knock on the door of the USC trainer's room, make himself comfortable and stick his right ankle in a bucket of ice water. For the next 45 minutes, the hulking sophomore...

Oklahoma's Joseph enjoys immense popularity.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: George Richards It would be easier to find an Oklahoma football player wearing a Nebraska jersey than it would be finding anyone on the team who had anything bad to say about offensive guard Davin Joseph. Joseph, now three...

Buckeyes have run of the place.(The Dallas Morning News)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Chuck Carlton SAN ANTONIO _ Ted Ginn Jr. helped Ohio State to an early lead in the MasterCard Alamo Bowl without ever touching the ball. When he did, he ended Oklahoma State's hopes. No. 24 Ohio State cruised to a 33-7...

Slovakia shuts down Germany.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Brad E. Schlossman THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. _ The offensive performances overshadowed Jaroslav Halak's defense. Team Slovakia got a natural hat trick, the first of the World Junior Championship, from Stefan Ruzicka in the...

Brad Johnson personifies true professional.(The Orlando Sentinel)
December 31, 2004... Byline: David Whitley TAMPA, Fla. _ The lights, cameras and action engulfed Brian Griese on Wednesday. As he answered questions in front of his locker, a tall figure moved past unnoticed. In a few days, Brad Johnson will be...

Knicks over Timberwolves, 100-87.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Mike Wells NEW YORK _ As much as they're in denial, as much as they want to give excuses such as it's early in the season and they're not used to playing with one another yet, it's time the Timberwolves admit they're not a good...

Five stalwart players who will be, or should be, retiring.(The Orlando Sentinel)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Chris Harry TAMPA, Fla. _ Earlier this season, Tim Brown watched highlights of Emmitt Smith rushing 21 times for 127 yards, including a vintage 29-yard touchdown run, in an upset of New Orleans. Brown saw everything he'd seen...

Avoid this mix with meds.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Richard Harkness Q: I've heard about possibly dangerous interactions between grapefruit juice and certain medications. Could you print a list of these? A: The grapefruit juice interaction first came to light with the calcium...

NBC is `Committed' to a different kind of romance.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Rick Porter Romantic comedy on TV has a problem. Jennifer Finnigan, a star of NBC's new sitcom "Committed," puts it this way: "It's nine years of sexual tension, the 10th year they get together, and then in the 11th year, the...

Mr. Moore's 8 simple rules for first-time filmgoers.(The Orlando Sentinel)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Roger Moore Every holiday season, the stars (and studios) align to create the perfect environment to take your little one, preferably above the age of "swaddling clothes," to his or her first movie. School and day-care...

Prophetic punditry: A look into the crystal ball.(The Dallas Morning News)
December 31, 2004... Byline: Carl P. Leubsdorf John Kerry, Howard Dean and the Boston Red Sox all fooled me this past year. Maybe we'll get it right for 2005. Here's my annual look-ahead: In January, President Bush launches his second term, vowing to be...