Rainforest Iowa: Right For America, Right For Puppies

In defense of pork, from Iowahawk. This is hilarious on so many different levels:

As many of you know, my home state of Iowa has worked for years to promote the Iowa Child Project – a grassroots effort to restore Iowa’s depleted rainforests, which were destroyed some 400 million years ago by unregulated brontosaurus development and careless asteroids. The centerpiece of this critically needed environmental program is the Iowa Rainforest Project, a planned 85 acre glass-enclosed tropical bio-vegi-dome/ entertainment complex/ factory outlet mall slated for construction next to the I-80 Citgo Truck Haven in Coralville.

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Constitutional Conflicts: The Constitution

I found myself today trying to identify the voting blocks on the Supreme Court. This law site sums it up nicely. Here's a recap, with an update:

Very Conservative: Antonin Scalia (Reagan) and Clarence Thomas (Bush Sr.)
Conservative: Sandra Day O'Connor (Reagan), Anthony Kennedy (Reagan), John Roberts (Bush Jr.)
Moderates: John Paul Stevens (Ford), David Souter (Bush Sr.), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Clinton), Stephen Breyer (Clinton)

I'm not sure I'd call of those guys moderates, but I don't care to quibble. Amazing how many non-conservatives were appointed by Republican presidents. This next appointment should be a good fight.

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Flashback

So, Judith Miller gave up her source and got out of jail. Oh, by the way, it's not Karl Rove.

Don't forget this breaking news in July on the front page of USA Today:

Democrats and liberal activists demanded action, from hearings to prosecution to Rove's firing from his post as deputy chief of staff at the White House. Reporters at Monday's question-and-answer session at the White House peppered spokesman Scott McClellan with 41 questions in 35 minutes.

The Democrats and the Washington press corps smelled blood, and they sure hoped to get their man. But, in the end they just got the Vice President's Chief of Staff. Scooter who?

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Instapundit

First off, just want to offer some kudos to Instapundit for his efforts on the Porkbusters effort. Check out this monster post in which he updates readers on all the latest Porkbusters news. Thank you, Glenn, for your work.

I think this line regarding this movement may his best yet: "The GOP is at serious risk of losing a decisive chunk of its voters to a Perot-style movement."

And maybe they should.

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The Americans are going to take care of me

Great story from Michael Yon in Iraq about efforts to get an Iraqi girl medical attention. She's now in New Mexico after the efforts of many people including the U.S. soldiers with whom Yon is stationed.

These efforts helped recruit a team of good doctors and nurses in New Mexico willing to help Rhma free of charge. But even this required funding and arranging for travel and lodging for her and her mother. Quietly, Deuce Four soldiers mustered the money and time from their own busy lives to help this timid little Iraqi girl. On one level, the gesture was deeply symbolic. On another level, for Rhma, the matter was life and death. A soldier told me that when they informed Rhma’s mother of the good news, and she in turn told her daughter, Rhma said in response: "The Americans are going to take care of me."

I'm proud to be an American.

I'm going to send the link to the Albuquerque Journal. Hopefully someone there will continue covering the story.

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Museum Dropped From WTC Site

Welcome news:

NEW YORK - Bowing to pressure from furious Sept. 11 families, Gov. George Pataki on Wednesday removed a proposed freedom museum from the space reserved for it at ground zero, saying the project had aroused "too much opposition, too much controversy."

Pataki and Bloomberg should never have ceded design of the museum in the first place.

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Shameless plug

Please check out this East Carolina University Pirate blog, Pirate Booty. I know no one is interested in my alma mater's football team, but I'm trying to bump up search engine hits for this blog. OK, I am one of the contributors. Here's the link again. East Carolina. Pirates. College Football. There.

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Price's Press Secretary

Just got off the phone with Jim Billimoria, press secretary for Rep. Tom Price (R-Georgia).

Billimoria said the Congressman supports cutting the Advanced Technology Program. He said the cuts would save $721 million over five years. I asked him if the cut would be a total elimination of the program or just a reduction. He said he didn't know. I asked him what the program was. Again he said he didn't know, but suggested that I could look it up. I looked it up and found this article from last year that reads as though that cut was already made.

I asked him if the Congressman supported any other cuts. He said Price had voted earlier this year for a 1 percent cut to discretionary funding. I asked him how much total money that vote would have saved. Billimoria said he didn't know. I asked him if it passed. He said he wasn't sure. He then looked it up and said it hadn't passed.

I asked Billimoria if the Congressman supported any of my suggested cuts. He said he didn't know what those cuts were. I told him that I sent an email last week detailing the cuts, and Billimoria said he didn't see it. I asked him if he could find it and call me back. He said he could find it and send a letter through the mail in response to my email. I asked him if he could just call me back with the response. He stressed that all of Price's constituents get letters through the U.S. mail and that was Standard Operating Procedure of the office.

"We don't do email," Billimoria said.

I asked why? He said that was the policy of the office. He said the policy was in place before he arrived.

I have had several other staffers similarly refuse to give out email addresses or respond via email to their constituents. This seems like a vapid policy that has the effect of separating voters from their elected officials.

I believe this "letter in the mail" tactic is aimed at slowing down my efforts at getting Price to answer these specific questions. I think the specific cut Billimoria proposed wasn't very well thought out (he couldn't even tell me what the program was) and aimed only at trying to throw me a bone. I can't update the porkbuster's site with the information he provided. (Was it already cut? What is the program?) And Billimora didn't seem interested in providing anything else.

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Adventures of a Georgia Blogger

Joseph Britt has commented extensively on my attempts to ring information from the Georgia representatives whom we share. He makes a good point:

[L]istening and being prepared with a plausible response is a good way to avoid being very revealing. Matt's account strongly suggests that Sen. Isakson isn't much more enthusiastic about finding new spending cuts to offset Katrina-related spending than either Chambliss or Price. You don't have to look far to see why. By my count, Isakson has issued 51 press releases since September 7, better than two a day; 45 of them announce funding for some project or other, almost always in cooperation with Sen. Chambliss. Amusingly, of the remaining six, one is an announcement of an award given to Isakson -- by Citizens Against Government Waste! Evidently it isn't just conservatives in Congress who aren't serious about keeping spending in check.

I'll have to call Isakson's aide and request some more specific cuts.

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Frightfully ugly?

The WSJ introduces us to a new Web site critical of Hollywood fashion. Pretty funny stuff directed at a group of people who probably take themselves far too seriously. Good observation.

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Would-Be Subway Bombers Arrested in France

Powerline notes that nine Islamic terrorists have been arrested in France where they were plotted an attack against the Paris Metro and other targets.

After offering details of the arrests, Powerline deadpans: "Early reports indicate that the bombers were motivated by France's support for the U.S. war effort in Iraq."

Unfortunately, the author had to post an update later that explained the line was a joke.

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Rabbit, run

Artists have erected an enormous bunny rabbit on the side of an Italian mountain. It's a lovely, furry rabbit that looks like a child's toy except that its 200 feet long. Oh, and it has a gash in its side and bloody entrails are spilling out.

Modern art, baby. I love it.

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PBS

The nominee to head PBS vowed to continue offering "balance and objectivity" at the public broadcasting station. Sounds great to me. More than half the country doesn't vote for liberal politicians, so why should their tax money go to support liberal programming?

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Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy

Here's a good story from the L.A. Times regarding the media's role in amplifying the hurricane rumour mill:

Fox News, a day before the major evacuation of the Superdome began, issued an "alert" as talk show host Alan Colmes reiterated reports of "robberies, rapes, carjackings, riots and murder. Violent gangs are roaming the streets at night, hidden by the cover of darkness."

The Los Angeles Times adopted a breathless tone the next day in its lead news story, reporting that National Guard troops "took positions on rooftops, scanning for snipers and armed mobs as seething crowds of refugees milled below, desperate to flee. Gunfire crackled in the distance."

The New York Times repeated some of the reports of violence and unrest, but the newspaper usually was more careful to note that the information could not be verified.

Nice to see they're scrutinizing their own paper. Kudos to the New York Times for at least pointing out that the reports couldn't be verified. I was always told that if you attribute everything you say in print to somebody, you'll never turn out to be wrong.

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NYT frames education

Wow. Here's a great read from the Daily Howler on the New York Times' coverage of school test scores in North Carolina. In essence, Wake County's test scores differ very little from those statewide, yet the article leads readers to believe there are vast improvements in the county. Why? Perhaps because Wake County buses minority students to achieve economic integration. Perhaps that's a great idea, but if it is then the statistics should stand up by themselves -- not with smoke and mirrors. Classic example of inventing a story that agrees with your political leanings.

(Hattip: Instapundit.)

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Goodbye, Don

Don Adams, a.k.a. agent Maxwell Smart, just died. He was 82.

I discovered recently that my wife had never seen "Get Smart." What a shame. The series easily ranks as one the best comedies on TV. Adams' grasp of physical humor was second only to Peter Sellers. He won three Emmy awards -- rivaling Kelsey Grammer and Carroll O'Connor.

I tried to explain to the wifey the bit with the "Cone of Silence," but I fear I had little success. When discussing an important case at CONTROL headquarters, Maxwell Smart would always insist, "Chief, I think we better use the Cone of Silence." The chief never wanted to use it, but he'd always relent. Then this giant plastic cone would drop down from the ceiling, but no one under the cone could hear each other. Smart would try to keep talking and the chief would get outraged.

On face value, it's not that funny, but week after week the Cone of Silence would reappear. After a while, the bit was hilarious. It's proof of one fundamental comedy rule: repetition can always produce big laughs.

We'll miss you, Don Adams. Thanks for making us laugh.

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Chambliss responds

As promised, Candice from Senator Saxby Chambliss' office called today. Unfortunately, she could offer me no specifics -- neither on whether Chambliss would support my suggested cuts or on any of his own cuts that he could recommend.

She did say that Sen. Chambliss would also like to see cuts in federal spending. Candice ended the conversation by promising me that Tyler -- another aide, this one specializing in transportation issues -- would call me soon.

I've gotten the distinct impression from both Candice and from Tom Price's chief of staff that these aides don't appreciate my intrusions. They can't seem to understand why I'm bothering them or why I expect more of a response than a form letter assuring me that they share my concerns about the budget.

These guys have a tough job, and I understand that they can't just drop everything to answer my questions. But, I started this query a week ago now. (I sent my emails on Monday of last week and spoke to staffers in each office the following day.) I'm asking two very simple, direct questions. Do you support my cuts and can you identify cuts that you do support?

This is a representative democracy, and I voted for all three of these guys. This shouldn't be that hard, should it?

By the way, I should offer specific kudos to Johnny Isakson and his staffers. One of his aides called me on Friday and talked to me at length about these issues. Isakson's got my vote locked up for 2010!

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Gunmen kill Iraq school teachers

A new low. I don't have the words.

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Tillman

Here's a good update on the Pat Tillman case. Sounds like a royal screwup. Tillman would have been remembered as a hero whether he was killed by friendly fire or not. Everyone understands that friendly fire happens in a time of war. (Although an original report said the accident was due to "gross negligence" by some soldiers.)

The Army should just issue admit exactly what happened, issue an apology and move on.

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More than a little pork

Take a look at the Chicagoboyz Porkbusting. They crunch the numbers and come up with a $350 billion surplus. Some of the highlights:

Training and employment: Cut 50% -- Much of it is crap for yesterday's jobs.

Food safety and occupational health and safety: Cut 50 percent -- Strip these guys of their enforcement powers, especially the FDA, so medicine can advance faster. They can stay in existence and keep inspecting if they get over their bias toward overprotectiveness; letting consumers use their own judgement and cheerfully ignore them if they blow their credibility should keep them more honest.

Energy, Mining, and Timber Tax Breaks: When it makes sense, this sort of activity should pay for itself. It's not really an offset to "income" the way other business expenses deductions are, right? If it is, leave it alone.

Good stuff. It can't all pass, but we've got to start thinking big again if we're going to tackle this deficit.

By the way, Porkbusters is up to $41 billion of pork. A great amount, but less than 20 percent of the current one-year federal deficit. Just cutting pork ain't going to cut it.

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Tim Blair

Tim Blair points out that not all parents share Cindy Shaheen's concerns.

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Oops

If not for the children that were hurt in the explosion, this would be pretty funny:

JEBALIYA, Gaza Strip - A truck filled with masked militants and homemade weapons exploded at a Hamas rally Friday, killing at least 15 Palestinians and wounding 80 -- including children -- bringing a grisly and terrifying end to one of the last gatherings by armed groups celebrating Israel's Gaza pullout.

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Price responds

Just got off the phone with Tom Price's chief of staff (he asked me to not broadcast his name) and he was well aware of my blog -- perhaps Instapundit's link worked incredibly quickly.

He was very hesitant to comment on budget cuts or my suggestions, although he did say the Congressman was in favor of road widenings.

He said that by the end of next week, the Congressman would send over a list of budget cuts that he could support.

"There’s a lot of things in the federal budget that we don’t support," the official said.

I'll await his letter and relay the contents.

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Isakson responds

Just got off the phone with Bradford Swann, Sen. Johnny Isakson's legislative aide. He was very friendly and apologetic that the office hadn't gotten back in touch sooner.

Swann stressed the Republicans were actively seeking $34 billion in cuts over the next five years during a budget reconstruction process that should be complete by end of October. He said the cuts would be greater if not for the Democrats. I pointed out the $7 billion a year isn't much when compared to $200 billion for Hurricane relief or the $270 billion deficit.

Interestingly, he was very noncommittal about the president's proposed $200 billion for hurricane relief.

"We supported the $62 billion," he said. "We're waiting to see where we’re going from there. Spending's a big concern for Johnny."

Swann said that increasing tax revenues would help pay down the debt which was getting smaller as a percentage of GDP. I told him I liked the Republican party that talked about balancing the budget completely, not the debt as a percentage of GDP.

He said he agreed, but that we can't "get there overnight."

Swann downplayed the chances of the Senator recommending my suggestions about pork in the highway bill. He noted that the legislation had already passed, but said "we're actively looking for ways to make additional cuts."

All in all, it was a very nice conversation. And he seemed genuinely pleased to hear from me and discuss the budget. He said he'd tell Johnny my concerns which boiled down to this: Republicans aren't sounding much like Republicans these days.

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Porkbuster non-update Part II

OK, I'm officially beginning to get disappointed with the response from my elected representatives. I still haven't heard anything other than form letters from any of them regarding my suggestions. So I figure it's time to start documenting my interactions:

I called Rep. Tom Price's Washington office at 202-225-4501 at around 2 p.m. today. I spoke to Donna who told me that someone would get back to me today or Monday at the latest.

I called Sen. Johnny Isakson's Washington office at (202) 224-3643 at around 2:10 p.m. today. I spoke to Jana who told me she'd get Bradford Swan, Isakson's legislative aide, to return my call. She assured me I'd here from Swan by no later than Monday.

I called Sen. Saxby Chambliss's Washington office at 202-224-3521 at around 2:20 p.m. today. I spoke to Justin who told me that Candice Ashton, one of Chambliss's legislative assistants, would return my call by Monday or Tuesday. I told him I'd call him back if I didn't hear from her by Monday.

I guess I'm live-blogging my interaction with my lawmakers. Perhaps I'll start a trend.

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Michael Yon : Online Magazine

New dispatch from Michael Yon. He's re-equipping before returning to battles in Iraq:

As to my own protective gear, I'll have better and more of it. It may subject me to a lot of ribbing from soldiers, but I've seen a lot of folks shot and blown up this year, and am doing my best to avoid that fate.

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Great combination

Follow this link and click on the movie of the guy wearing the Star Trek costume (no direct link available, sorry.) I can't figure out how the cameraman filmed this without cracking up.

I love this guy. He's a classic.

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First sentence

This is possibly the best first sentence ever written:

Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him discover ice.

From "100 Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

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Rita

This sentence from an AP dispatch sounds cynical and self-imporant:

Government officials eager to show they had learned their lessons from the sluggish response to Katrina sent in hundreds of buses to evacuate the poor, moved out hospital and nursing home patients, dispatched truckloads of water, ice and ready-made meals, and put rescue and medical teams on standby.

The government officials had no desire to help anyone. They were entirely motivated by an eagerness to impress the media.

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Greetings, disenchanted conservatives

Dan Drezner takes note of the dramatic falloff of conservative support for the president that I noted yesterday. He does a good job of rounding up all the various areas of discontentment -- cronyism at the INS, anti-porn crusading, and unbridled federal spending. But, he also notes that the Democrats aren't exactly positioned to capitalize on the enraged.

Bush's falloff of support happens to a lot of presidents in the second term? Clinton had the benefit of being impeached in his second term -- which apparently rallied people to his support. But before that, Reagan certainly had a crappy second term, but not as crappy as Nixon's. Come to think of it, Eisenhower's second term kind of sucked too. I'd say G.W. Bush is sticking to the mold.

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Tim Blair

True again. Nobody pokes fun at the anti-war crowd better than Tim Blair.

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More money

I feel sorry for the hurricane victims, and I want to spend money to help them. But, someone needs to ask: From what source will this money materialize:

The House approved a $6.1 billion package of tax breaks Wednesday to help families recover from Hurricane Katrina and encourage Gulf Coast businesses to reopen their doors, or at least keep employees on the payroll.

Is this truly necessary? Where did that first $60 billion go? Is it really all gone?

Some of our lawmakers could exercise a modicum of restraint -- especially while in the midst of a Porkbuster rampage from their fiscally conservative constituents.

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Porkbusters non-update

Only response I've received so far is a form letter from Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) saying he shares my concern with the budget. Clearly, not a response to my detailed request: Do you support my proposed cuts? If not what cuts do you suggest?

This is pretty simple.

Still waiting for responses from Rep. Tom Price (Georgia-6th) and Sen. Johnny Isakson.

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Leahy Kudos

Big Lib Sen. Patrick Leahy will back Judge Roberts:

"But in my judgment, in my experience, but especially in my conscience I find it is better to vote yes than no," he said. "Judge Roberts is a man of integrity. I can only take him at his word that he does not have an ideological agenda."

Classy move. Although, I doubt any Supreme Court justices have been totally free of ideologicial agendas.

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Do's and Don'ts for Selling Crap on Craigslist

This is pretty funny. Check out the answer to why the oak desk won't sell for $325.

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Old Don Young Had a Farm

A good column on pork:

Young's eponymous bridge isn't even the most egregious bit of largesse. That honor goes to another bridge, which, for $223 million will connect Ketchikan, population 8,000, with Gravina Island, population 50. The Gravina Island Bridge, which is slated to be taller than the Brooklyn Bridge, will be a towering monument to unnecessity; the small island is already served by ferries, one of which departs every half hour.

Hattip: (Powerline)

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Republicans are definitely feeling the heat from their own consituents. Here's a quote from today's Washington Post:

The pushback on Katrina aid, which the White House is also confronting among House Republicans, represents the loudest and most widespread dissent Bush has faced from his own party since it took full control of Congress in 2002. As polls show the president's approval numbers falling, there is growing concern among lawmakers that GOP margins in Congress could shrink next year, and even rank-and-file Republicans are complaining that Bush is shirking the difficult budget decisions that must accompany the rebuilding bonanza.

Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) said he and other fiscal conservatives are feeling "genuine concern [which] could easily turn into frustration and anger."

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Down with cronies

Michelle Malkin's rather angry with President Bush over his choice to head up the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security. I've got to say, she's right. Julie Myers is clearly underqualified and the appointment smacks of nepotism (she's the niece of Richard Myers, the Air Force General.)

This nomination is a monumental political and policy blunder in the wake of the Michael Brown/FEMA fiasco. And I can tell you that contrary to the Miss Mary Sunshine White House spokeswoman's comments, rank-and-file DHS employees and immigration enforcement officials are absolutely livid about Myers' nomination.

Yeah, Bush clearly has his priorities screwed up here.

I should have spoken out about Brown as well. Since the new guy heading up FEMA has 30 years firefighting experience, it begs the question, why didn't the last guy?
If Michelle Malkin and I (of all people) are criticizing the president, I guess the latest poll numbers really are accurate.

Hattip: (Instapundit)

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Porkbuster update

I've now spoken to aides in all three of my representatives' offices (Congressman Tom Price, Senator Johnny Isakson, and Senator Saxby Chambliss) and am awaiting responses. They assure me that my suggestions are going up the appropriate channels, and I won't just receive a form-letter response in a couple of months. I also asked them to ID other cuts they could support, so the responses should be interesting.

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Homer nods

My wikipedia entry may soon be moved to Wiktionary -- a "free multilingual dictionary." It looks like it fits better over there.

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Digital print

Good article in the WSJ about magazines leaning toward publishing full digital editions -- complete pages that you flip through online just like the magazine.

For those who want to read electronically, pages can be turned with the click of a mouse. The editions give advertisers more options -- old-school magazine ads or interactive pages that can include video or other moveable features. For publishers, digital editions can save on printing and postal costs.

This makes a lot of sense to me. Feels like a more complete experience reading it in this form, rather than clicking on a few links that look interesting.

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New Journalism Order

So Dan Rather is complaining about the "new journalism order" in today's newsrooms. Pressure from outside groups "of every persuasion" has created an "atmosphere of fear" for journalists.

Of course, Dan gave us the best of the "old journalism order." That brand of reporting included airing a story based on fraudulent documents that slandered the president of the United States a month before an election. That's good journalism, Dan.

An atmosphere of fear, eh? Fear of what? Getting the story right? Not operating in a vacuum of political bias?

Count me as a supporter of the "new journalism order."

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Porkbusters update

Bloggers nationwide have already identified nearly $16 billion in pork. That's a lot of money. Unless you're the federal government. It'll be interesting to see the final tally.

When you're talking about $200 billion, you're talking about a significant percentage (nearly 10 percent) of the total federal budget. We might need to discuss entitlement reform to reach $200 billion. Not sure we can reach this goal by cutting discretionary spending alone.

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But, I love those muffins

According to the always unbiased London Mirror, a shipment of British food donated for hurricane relief will soon be destroyed in Little Rock due to a bureaucratic snafu. I don't know about the veracity of the report, but this paragraph is troubling:

"There will be a cloud of smoke above Little Rock soon -- of burned food, of anger and of shame that the world's richest nation couldn't organise a p**s up in a brewery and lets Americans starve while they arrogantly observe petty regulations."

Note to upset Brits: If you're going to insult our federal employees, please use an epithet that we understand. "Couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery"?

P.S. It's spelled "organize."

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Further proof of Russia's slide

I know that George Bush looked into Vlad Putin's soul and all, but the President of Russia is looking more and more like a communist dictator. Interfax reports that the Russian oil companies have agreed to freeze their prices:

"The result of the meeting [between oil firms and the government] was a voluntary decision by the management of Russia's largest companies; prices won't rise any further on the domestic market until the end of the year," the official said, according to Interfax.

Yeah. I bet it was voluntary.

I'm not sure there's any democracy left in all of Russia. Pretty sad state of affairs considering how things looked in 1989.

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$104 billion, $104 schmillion

I hope we can save enough discretionary funds to pay for this trip back to the moon. My fiscal conservatism flies out the window when we start talking about rocket ships.

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Wizard of Oz

I'd always heard that the Wizard of Oz was some kind of political allegory against the gold standard. According to wikipedia, it's not.

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$3 million more

An anonymous response to my last post uncovered $3 million more pork for Cobb County, Georgia, in the highway bill. Can't see what $3 million for land purchases around Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield has to do with the federal transportation system.

Look, I love Kennesaw Mountain. My family have hiked to the top of it. I'm all for the park being expanded. But, don't put the money in a highway spending bill! This is the kind of stuff that once drove me wild when the Democrats were in charge.

I've added the new pork to the Porkbuster's site. I'm planning on calling my representatives today to get their response.

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A good lawsuit

Here's a sad story about a lawsuit filed against ABC after the network pulled the plug on one of their "Extreme Makeover" patient's extreme makeover. From the NY Daily News:

But when the ABC reality show dumped the Texas mom the night before the life-changing plastic surgeries, it shattered her family's dream and triggered her sister Kellie McGee's suicide, says a bombshell lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court.

As part of the premakeover hype, producers coaxed McGee and other family members to trash Williams' looks on videotape, the suit alleges. When they suddenly pulled the plug on the project, and the promised "Hollywood smile like Cindy Crawford," a guilt-ridden McGee fell apart.

"Kellie could not live with the fact that she had said horrible things that hurt her sister. She fell to pieces. Four months later, she ended her life with an overdose of pills, alcohol and cocaine," said Wesley Cordova, a lawyer for Williams.

Now, I'm sure this woman's life wasn't perfect before ABC came to town, but the network certainly didn't help. This smacks of callous Hollywoodism where people aren't people, just objects to be manipulated.

I'm going to have to lift my normal aversion to trial lawyering, and hope that this trial lawyer gets a boatload of money out of ABC.

Of course, I'm no fan of plastic surgery either. It's about time for the American Medical Association to start policing some of its members. Some doctors seem to think the motto "Do No Harm" doesn't apply to these warped-thinking patients of plastic surgery.

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$2.7 million in pork!

Just posted the local pork I discovered to the Porkbusters site.

I identified three projects in Cobb County, Georgia, funded in the new highway bill that appear to have nothing to do with federal transportation. Total cost: $2,736,000. The projects are:

$900,000 -- Cobb County Trails
$1,000,000 --- Queens Road Widening
$836,000 --- Bus facility improvements

There's plenty more money in the bill for Georgia and Cobb County, but the other projects actually deal with the federal interstate system -- a good standard bearer for delineating the funds as pork.

The entire process took me about 6 minutes. I found this site with the highway bill broken down by states. Clicked on my state and then searched for my county. Got about 8 total hits, 3 of which had nothing to do with interstate highways. Went to Porkbusters and entered the information. Done.

Every blogger in the country should do the same for his/her own county. We'll have the United States covered in about 36 hours.

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Call to action

Instapundit suggests bloggers combat pork in our local areas:

Identify some wasteful spending in your state or (even better) Congressional District. Put up a blog post on it. Go to N.Z. Bear's new PorkBusters page and list the pork, and add a link to your post.

Then call your Senators and Representative and ask them if they're willing to support having that program cut or -- failing that -- what else they're willing to cut in order to fund Katrina relief. (Be polite, identify yourself as a local blogger and let them know you're going to post the response on your blog). Post the results. Then go back to NZ Bear's page and post a link to your followup blog post.

Sign me up. I'll post something by the end of the week. Perhaps this is a seminal moment for the blogosphere.

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Cutting fat

Here's $62 billion in cuts the federal government could make. The Cato Institute's list could help pay for the rebuilding of New Orleans.

The list includes subsidies for energy companies, farms, and Amtrak as well as unneeded, wasteful programs for homeland security and community development grants.

Imagine if media outlets took this list and made a story out of it? Reporters could interview local lawmakers asking them to defend the spending -- especially as we search for funds to pay for rebuilding the Gulf Coast. Obviously, a lot of people support these programs, but many do not. Reporters could quote supporters and critics to show both sides of the argument.

But it'll never happen. Editors and journalists are always happy to manufacture a story, but only if it advances a leftist agenda. The main story a couple of days ago didn't focus on federal spending, but on Bush's opposition of new taxes to pay for it. Had the question been posed, the headline could have just as easily read "Bush opposes federal spending cuts to pay for rebuilding New Orleans." But, of course, most members of the media simply don't look at the world from that perspective.

(Hattip: Instapundit.)

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Afghanistan Set for Historic Election

Afghan elections will be held on Sunday. I predict we'll hear little about them unless there's a suicide bombing at a polling station. Good roundup at Gateway Pundit.

Check out these photos at Afghan Lord. Looks like Afghanistan is covered with election posters. Democracy is so awesome.

(Hattip: Instapundit.)

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TimesSelect

On Monday, the New York Times starts selling access to its columnists for $50 a year. I'll be very interested in seeing if this works. Of course, you can bet that I won't be shelling out 50 bucks to read opinions from the New York Times -- I read enough Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd by sampling their columns through outraged conservative bloggers.

But, I don't think I'd pay $50 to read conservative columns either. Seems particularly odd to charge for editorial content during the largest explosion of published opinion in the history of the world.

Speaking of Krugman, the NY Times ombudsman is taking him to task for not correcting mistakes in his columns. Krugman never lets the facts get in the way of a good argument.

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Milkshakes

I'm now eating about three milkshakes a week. I think they may be the most unappreciated treat in the world.

Sometimes I buy the one at the QT gas station which comes as frozen ice cream in a cup. You put it in this automatic machine that lifts the cup, pours in milk, and mixes it. I think it's the closest thing I'll ever see to an Automat.

I'm pretty sure that when I worked at Burger King I could have eaten free or severely discounted milkshakes. I regret how few I consumed during my tenure.

I can't believe there's a wikipedia entry for milkshakes.

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NPR: Taking the time to frame it right

Instapundit published a great roundup last night of reaction to the president's speech from New Orleans. One of the links noted that ABC News was surprised after the speech to find no evacuees in the Astrodome who disapproved of the president's message. Most respondents said they found Bush to be heartwarming and uplifting.

This morning I listened attentively to NPR to hear their coverage of the speech and its reaction. The results were not surprising. Bush's outline for rebuilding the Gulf Coast was given a couple of minutes, and then four reactions from New Orleans evacuees were offered. Every one of them was negative (paraphrasing): "Bush doesn't understand us," "I don't believe the money will be spent correctly," or "It's just a lot of talk."

What's the difference between the ABC News coverage and NPR's this morning? Simple. Because ABC was broadcasting live, they didn't have the ability to present the news according to their frame. NPR, having 12 hours with which to work, managed to present the speech from the proper perspective: Bush sucks.

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Great quote

Doing some research for my Media Law class and stumbled upon this great quote. The idea that a man's home is a castle has been around for a long time:

The poorest man may, in his cottage, bid defiance to all the forces of the crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storm may enter; the rain may enter; but the king of England may not enter; all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement.

William Pitt,
Speech to Parliament
1763

By the way, the commercial speech doctrine in this country is really screwed. If Nike can get sued for defending itself against anti-corporate attacks, then something's really wrong. (That may be the one issue on which I agree with the ACLU.)

Hopefully, Judge Roberts and the other new judge can straighten this mess out.

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Thesis

I just submitted the first draft of my thesis. I'm still the only guy who's attempting to pen the best master's thesis on the planet.

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Swapping Scoops

Good read on the page-one swap expedited by the Washington Post and New York Times every night.

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Garrison Keillor vs. The People

Humorist-extraordinaire Garrison Keillor is threatening to sue a blog because of a T-shirt that says: A Prairie Ho Companion.

I'd say the blogger has a pretty good case:

I have no doubt about where I stand legally. Parody typically falls under Fair Use (or sometimes, the First Amendment), and this is clearly an instance of parody. There are a series of factors involved in the definition of parody, including this: it is probably parody unless a "reasonable person" could mistake the new work [the t-shirt] as the work of the copyright owner [Prairie Home Companion]."

To recap, freedom of speech is great when Larry Flynt parodies conservative Jerry Falwell, but liberal targets are off limits.

Don't get me wrong, the Supreme Court was right about Larry Flynt, but Garrison Keillor has no business threatening to sue anybody.

(Hattip: Instapundit.)

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Another way the Democrats could win

In addition to Katrina (see post below), I'm increasingly thinking that a Democrat could win the White House in '08 if they'd take a more hardline approach with Pakistan. I just read a review of Kathy Gannon's book "I is for Infidel" in which the AP reporter recalls her experience in Afghanistan. She offers anecdotal evidence that the Pakistan intelligence agency is actively supporting terrorists and the Taliban.

This administration is clearly coddling Pakistan -- as evidenced by the fact that Osama bin Laden is living untouched on some western Pakistani mountain. I'm sure the Bush administration has done a cost-benefit analysis on invading western Pakistan to get bin Laden and decided against the move. Perhaps the adminsitration is right. But, I suspect a Democrat running on a platform of getting bin Laden at any cost would probably resonate well with voters.

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Note to Democrats

Here's a good read about how the Democrats could benefit politically from Hurricane Katrina. I gotta admit, it's a good argument. John Dickerson first chastises Howard Dean for trying to play the race card. Then he says:

Democrats don't need to rile up their base any more. They need suburban voters, and for suburban voters, Katrina isn't so much about race, it's about homeland security—about what would happen if someone bombs their mall. Some Democrats understand this already. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Clinton have both tried to pitch sensible reconstruction plans for the Gulf while also talking about the glaring problems exposed in the country's homeland security.

Justified or not, I'm pretty sure a Democrat running against Dick Cheney in 2008 could score a lot points charging that the U.S. isn't ready to deal with a catostrophic attack.

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The MSM Bites Back!

Here's a great column about the agenda setting set by the media over Katrina.

On ABC News' "This Week" last Sunday, George Stephanopoulos asked one of those compound questions that can be only refuted only by Jesuitical parsing: "Did government neglect turn a natural disaster into a human catastrophe and was it rooted in racism?" In the course of "interviewing" Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois), Stephanopoulos sometimes dispensed with questions altogether, preferring to make statements, such as this: "So many people in this country have looked at so many of the victims being African-American, the sluggish federal response and said racism has to be at play." To which Obama, a cautious enough fellow, answered that the "incompetence" he espied in the Bush administration was "color-blind." Of course, such a tepid response wasn't good enough for the ex-Clinton White House spinmeister, who came back at Obama with, "But it was racism, I guess is the question."

Incredible.

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Scaled-Back City

Here's a provocative read in the WSJ about scaling back the rebirth of New Orleans:

Mr. Glaeser says very long-term issues were behind the city's pre-Katrina woes. Back in the 1840s, New Orleans was among the nation's three largest cities, along with New York and Philadelphia. Back then, water transportation was the dominant means of moving people and products, and the economy was largely agrarian. Its connection to the South and the Mississippi River made New Orleans an integral hub for commerce. Mr. Glaeser says the rise of rail travel, car travel, and industrialization over the next century changed all of that and helped to set off the city on a long, slow decline. Today's fastest growing cities, he notes, are ones like Las Vegas and Atlanta, situated for suburban sprawl and not bounded by water.

"It is a place that reached its economic peak relative to the U.S. economy 160 years ago," says Mr. Glaeser. "It certainly was not delivering a great economic future for a majority of its residents."

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CBSNews.com: Public Eye

CBS is videoblogging their daily editorial mornings. Pretty neat development aimed at shedding light at how editorial decisions are made. I'd say this is a direct result of the blogosphere and the Dan Rather debacle.

The videoblog is part of the Public Eye -- a sort of ombudsman/blog for the news division. Here's how they explain it:

Public Eye will be run by a team of independent and experienced journalists. They will take questions, criticisms and observations from our vast and articulate audience to the people of CBS News and try to come back with some answers, explanations and analyses. The Public Eye team will also report on CBS News, working sources, talking to the reporters, producers and executives who make the news, not just to the press office.

Certainly sounds promising, although the budget meeting I watched was a little dry.

But, you certainly can't accuse the CBS of ignoring the barbarians at the gate.

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Koizumi

Dan Drezner makes a great point about the Japanese election:

From a U.S. perspective, this is a huge win. A staunch U.S. ally has been re-elected, and if Koizumi's proposed reforms are implemented, then Japanese growth could finally escape its 15-year doldrums. Since Japan is a natural market for U.S. exports, a growing Japanese economy would be a very good thing.

If Koizumi had lost, the New York Times would have explained the election was a repudiation of the Bush administration.

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Roberts

Instapundit notes a couple of sites which are "liveblogging" the Judge Roberts hearings.

I don't mean to judge what another man does with his time. God knows, I waste enough of my own time. That said, I can't imagine wanting to read a "liveblog" of a Senate hearing.

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No shame

Great column from Jack Kelly that debunks the conventional wisdom regarding hurricane relief:

Jason van Steenwyk is a Florida Army National Guardsman who has been mobilized six times for hurricane relief. He notes that:

"The federal government pretty much met its standard time lines, but the volume of support provided during the 72-96 hour was unprecedented. The federal response here was faster than Hugo, faster than Andrew, faster than Iniki, faster than Francine and Jeanne."

But, what does that guy know? He must be shill for the GOP.

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Interesting, er, people

Here's a uniquely named site that features profiles on the not-quite-super famous. I just read a great profile on Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of my favorite unsung actors. This piece on Warren Zevon offers some exceptionally good writing.

I agree that this Zevon stanza is one of the best lines ever written:

And if California slides into the ocean
As the mystics and statistics say it will
I predict this motel will be standing
Until I pay my bill

I'm planning on reading the Tobe Hooper and Akira Kurosawa pieces next.

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Wal-Mart

Five reasons critics hate Wal-Mart.

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Hitchcock

A record of all of Alfred Hitchcock's cameos. I always wondered how he did the one for "Lifeboat," which took place solely in said vessel.

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Sept. 11

Here's the lede to the Boston Herald's main story on September 12, 2001:

Suicidal terrorists hijacked airliners and launched the bloodiest unprovoked attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor yesterday, killing thousands, obliterating New York's twin World Trade Center towers, crippling the Pentagon and forever scarring America's sense of national security.

I guess some would argue that it was provoked. I enjoyed working for a newspaper that didn't share those doubts.

May we never forget.

UPDATE: Instapundit posted a couple of photos that are good reminders of that day.

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Flight 93

Some critics are wondering why the Flight 93 memorial is shaped like a crescent. Certainly wouldn't be OK to make it the shape of a giant cross, would it?

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Althouse: When did you stop watching "The Daily Show"?

Interesting conversation on the Daily Show over at Ann Althouse's blog. I, too, was once a fan of the show. I can't watch anymore because its become so clearly partisan. I can take a humorous jab at my politics, but to build good faith those jabs should cross party lines. On the Daily Show, the only politicians worth drubbing are Republicans.

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Kurtz on Katrina coverage

Here's an interesting read from Howard Kurtz, the Washington Post's ombudsman, on the coverage of Katrina. He gives the media high marks for asking the tough questions when it became clear that many evacuees weren't being care for properly. I give the media high marks for that too. I can't say I agree with this extension:

Maybe, just maybe, journalism needs to bring more passion to the table -- and not just when cable shows are obsessing on the latest missing white woman.

Great idea. But, who's passion should reporter's bring to the table? From what political viewpoint? Should journalists be passionate about the taxpayer money they see Congress wasting? Or should they be passionate about the cuts proposed for Medicare?

Passion's great. But, I'm not sure we need more of it that we already have.

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Ill wind may not blow to the Whitehouse

This is a hilarious take on media punditry:

As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if the Republican Party itself will now suffer a setback at the congressional mid-term elections next November.

The answer is almost certainly yes, provided that people outside the disaster zone punish their local representatives for events elsewhere a year previously, both beyond their control and outside their remit, while people inside the disaster zone reward their local representatives for an ongoing calamity they were supposed to prevent. Otherwise, the Democratic Party will suffer a setback at the next congressional election.

Read the whole thing.

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Huge opportunity

I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but I've been contacted about a huge opportunity. I received an unsolicited email from a Mr. Liu Chan, the managing director of Huamao Art and Crafts Inc. It's apparently some giant Chinese manufacturing firm. Anyhoo, they need a representative in America to help facilitate their business, and they've offered me the position!

All I need to do is to fax over my bank account number and some other info, and then the money's gonna start rolling in. Some guys have all the luck, eh?

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Meanwhile, in Iraq

This sounds like good news. They've extended voter registration in Iraq because of high demand -- even in Sunni areas:

"Turnout was unbelievable and people were very enthusiastic, especially in Fallujah and Ramadi," said Farid Ayar, an electoral commission spokesman in Baghdad. Those cities are Sunni insurgent bastions in Anbar province, which stretches west from Baghdad to the Syrian, Jordanian and Saudi borders.

I don't think this guy is a shill for the Bush administration. The Oct. 15 referendum of the constitution is a hugely important for the future of democracy in Iraq. Glad to see there's a lot of interest in voting.

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Iowahawk: Nawlins News Niblets

Humor directed at Sean Penn is always funny. The item below that pokes fun at journalists. Equally funny:

"I tell you, I must have gotten 500-600 letters supporting my plan for Operation Sandwich Drop," he told CNN News Night host Wolf Blitzer. "I’m 62, I remember the riots in Watts, I remember the earthquake in San Francisco. And let's face it: they had plenty of sandwiches.

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Right city, wrong state

Note to FEMA, try to avoid these kinds of mistakes:

A South Carolina health official said his colleagues scrambled Tuesday when FEMA gave only a half-hour notice to prepare for the arrival of a plane carrying as many as 180 evacuees to Charleston.

But the plane, instead, landed in Charleston, West Virginia, 400 miles away.

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Puzzling poll

Only 13 percent of Americans blame Bush for the problems after Hurricane Katrina, according to Drudge. Given the level of media blame aimed at the administration, this poll may be the most resounding dismissal of agenda-setting theory ever recorded.

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Models needed

If anyone is interested in having strangers write on your nude body with magic markers, apply here.

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The Case of the Vanishing Columnist

Great article in the Columbia Journalism Review about the lost art of being a newpaper columnist. Hats off to the Atlanta paper for doing without rather than hire boring columnists.

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Oil Industry Embarks on Recovery

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the U.S. energy infrastructure largely avoided catastrophic damage from the storm.

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My last Shaheen post

Great read from John Leo on the coverage of Cindy Shaheen. In short, she was a far-left wacko, but journalists didn't bother pointing this out to readers. Here's a summation of some of her views that you never read about from the Associated Press:

The neocons deliberately allowed the terrorist attacks of 9/11. American soldiers are “being sent to kill innocent people” in Iraq. Her son, Casey Sheehan, “died for oil” and was “murdered” by President Bush. The United States is “not worth dying for.” The president, who “stole the election,” is part of the “Bush crime family,” a “lying bastard,” a “führer,” a “filth spewer,” “the biggest terrorist in the world,” and an “evil maniac” who is guilty of “blatant genocide.” Sheehan also compared Lynne Stewart, the radical lawyer convicted of aiding terrorists, to Atticus Finch, the heroic lawyer who battled racism in the book and movie To Kill a Mockingbird. She has been accused of making vaguely anti-Semitic remarks, but she attributes those remarks to her political opponents. On Hardball, she said the American attack in Afghanistan was “almost the same thing” (i.e., just as evil) as the invasion of Iraq.

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The other vacancy

Interesting post from Orin Kerr at the Volokh Conspiracy on the chances of Janice Rogers Brown getting Justice O'Connor's seat. Kerr doesn't think so:

While Brown has a reputation as an "extreme conservative," it's more accurate to say that she is a hard core libertarian. A hard core libertarian is not likely to vote in a consistently conservative way, which I think makes it less likely that Bush will nominate her to the Supreme Court.

For example, I think Brown would be more liberal than any sitting Supreme Court justice on questions of criminal law and procedure, a subject that may carry over to the war on terror and the scope of executive power. Criminal law cases occupy maybe 25% of the Supreme Court's docket, and my quick review of a few Brown opinions suggests that Brown would side on the "liberal" side (generally speaking, more pro-defendant than the norm) in such cases. The handful of Brown cases I read in the area of criminal law have a William O. Douglas flavor to them; they're passionate about the meaning and importance of the Bill of Rights, and very critical of what she sees as the modern Supreme Court's watering down of its protections.

I'd like to see a libertarian on the Supreme Court. Perhaps they'd pay attention to the 10th Amendment a little more.

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Clinton, Bush

Interesting story from the NY Times on the benefits of the Clinton-Bush hurricane relief teamup. President Bush gets a much-needed non-partisan image boost, Bill Clinton gets a "respected former president" boost, and Hillary gets a presidential-candidate boost. No word on what Bush 41 gets.

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Response timelime

Here's a fantastic timeline of the response to Katrina. I can't believe this guy took the time to compile this.

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I'm back

I've returned from my quarterly Vegas jaunt. Thanks to the wifey for guestblogging; she did an admirable job.

Note to self: Don't go to Vegas during national calamity. It's a buzzkill.

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Careful planning or dumb luck?

* * * Guest Blog * * *
The Bush administration this morning showed an uncharacteristic ability to strategically plan for anticipated needs: Roberts is now nominated for Chief Justice. Brilliant! No one is blindsided - as Rehnquist was sure to resign and Roberts is sure to be confirmed. More importantly, Bush is now free to nominate an even more conservative voice to O'Connor's seat on the bench.

I am confident the Bush team has the ability to get what they want out of our government. It's not dumb luck that Roberts is well positioned to be confirmed. Too bad they aren't able to apply those same brain cells to FEMA.

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Help now; critique later

Lest we get caught up in FEMA-bashing, individuals affected by Katrina are in crisis management and plowing forward as best they can -- while living an unimaginable nightmare. A good high school buddy of mine is a pediatric intern in New Orleans. Here's the latest second-hand report from his sister:

Keep my brother and his fiancé in your thoughts and prayers as they try to get out of New Orleans. Both were essential medical and could not evacuate. Celeste is in the hospital that they can't get to that is flooded with no power, no running water, and certainly no air conditioning. They have been peeing in cans since the sewage is backed up. She may still have a car if it is on a high enough deck, but she can't get it out anyway with the flood waters. Her hospital got the word today that it is going to be air evacuated with staff and patients to Baton Rouge, where life is certainly better and cleaner.

Tom can't leave his hospital to get to her, but he is fine and dry, just no air. He has been through a practice run on this one since he lived in the South Pacific for 2 1/2 years. He says that this is far and above worse than anything he went through with typhoons and all. They got the word tonight that Tom's hospital is evacuating, but Tom has no idea where they are sending him. He has a bedroom at the hospital anyway and has had sleep. He is in the ICU unit of the pediatrics ward, so I think that he may have to travel with his patients, thus leaving his only possession, his car at the hospital. Looting is rampant and he has the hospital guards checking on
his car. It has no damage, but has the silver that Mom left him in it. They figure that they have lost everything in the apartment. They figure that there is no apartment if reports are accurate.

There is no telling how fast anything will be back to working levels in that poor town. But, most importantly they have their health and those that love them rooting for them!

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Gambling, in more ways than one

My dear husband left for Las Vegas yesterday to spend five days and four nights in sin city. Before leaving, he turned on the gambling bug (affectionately known as "Gamblor") and did two things: first, he withdrew his bankroll; second, he sent the wife an invitation to guest blog.

Ha! I believe this is how the minority party usually takes power - the majority is crazy enough to surrender it.

I do plan to use the power for my own purposes, but promise to salute the flag, keep "under God" in the pledge (for now), and thank our troops - especially for the national guard who are slogging in the bayou today. I will not, however, dissect the media, quote instapundit, or wax eloquently about the virtues of twinkies.

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