Wireless camera

Here's an idea whose time has come. A digital camera that's wifi enabled. Take pictures and send them to your PC without a cable. Makes you wonder why this took so long.

Next, I'd like a wifi TV. So I easily can watch on my TV stuff that I download on my computer.

(Hattip: Instapundit.)

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More jingoism

A good read. I tend to agree that most of us take for granted what we've got.

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Kozinski

Instapundit quotes a great passage from 9th Circuit Appeals Court Judge Alex Kozinski:

Judges know very well how to read the Constitution broadly when they are sympathetic to the right being asserted. We have held, without much ado, that "speech, or . . . the press" also means the Internet, and that "persons, houses, papers, and effects" also means public telephone booths. When a particular right comports especially well with our notions of good social policy, we build magnificent legal edifices on elliptical constitutional phrases--or even the white spaces between lines of constitutional text. But, as the panel amply demonstrates, when we’re none too keen on a particular constitutional guarantee, we can be equally ingenious in burying language that is incontrovertibly there.

It is wrong to use some constitutional provisions as spring-boards for major social change while treating others like senile relatives to be cooped up in a nursing home until they quit annoying us. As guardians of the Constitution, we must be consistent in interpreting its provisions. If we adopt a jurisprudence sympathetic to individual rights, we must give broad compass to all constitutional provisions that protect individuals from tyranny. If we take a more statist approach, we must give all such provisions narrow scope. Expanding some to gargantuan proportions while discarding others like a crumpled gum wrapper is not faithfully applying the Constitution; it’s using our power as federal judges to constitutionalize our personal preferences...

It is wrong to use some constitutional provisions as spring-boards for major social change while treating others like senile relatives to be cooped up in a nursing home until they quit annoying us. As guardians of the Constitution, we must be consistent in interpreting its provisions. If we adopt a jurisprudence sympathetic to individual rights, we must give broad compass to all constitutional provisions that protect individuals from tyranny. If we take a more statist approach, we must give all such provisions narrow scope. Expanding some to gargantuan proportions while discarding others like a crumpled gum wrapper is not faithfully applying the Constitution; it's using our power as federal judges to constitutionalize our personal preferences. . . ."

Great point. Too bad he voted in the minority.

By the way, I took my last post down as a form of self-censorship. I've reached the point in my studies that I'm sending out my resume again. Figured it be stupid to tempt fate.

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Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr

The following paragraph is from a letter found on the computer of Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr, a Marine who died in Iraq:

Obviously if you are reading this then I have died in Iraq. I kind of predicted this, that is why I'm writing this in November. A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances. I don't regret going, everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it's not to me. I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live. Not have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. To do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark.

The part in bold is what the New York Times printed in this story. The rest, they chose to leave out.

(Hattip: Michelle Malkin)

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The Onion

The Onion has been using these faces for their fake "man in the street" interviews for like 8 years now. How is that not one of these people has filed a "cease and desist" order?

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Moon shot

According to this Popular Science article, $100 million will buy you a round-trip ticket to the moon. No landing, but who cares? One hitch, you'll have to rely heavily on the Russian space program. Of course, with the recent shuttle woes, NASA's been relying heavily on Russia for a while.

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Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC

I wrote another wikipedia entry. I'm writing an enormous paper on this case (Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC), so I thought I'd spread the word to wikipedia. Feel free to edit it.

I, of course, agree with Scirica's dissent.

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The coverup, not the crime

Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, has been indicted. Not for disclosing Valerie Plame's name (some critics weren't sure that was really a crime), but for lying during the investigation.

Isn't that how it always goes? Richard Nixon, Martha Stewart, Bill Clinton. It was the attempted coverup, not the crime for which they were persecuted.

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Word Series ratings

So, the White Sox-Astros World Series was a ratings disaster. Lowest ever. I admit that I was partly to blame. I barely watched the series, despite insisting to friends that it'd be a compelling matchup featuring great pitching and small ball. I probably watched a total of 5 innings.

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GDP

Despite the hurricanes, the American economy is surging. GDP is growing at 3.8 percent annual rate. Incredible that so many think the economy's in the crapper. According to that poll, three-fourths of Americans think the economy is fair or poor.

Now, where do they get that idea?

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Welcome to My Blog

Good quote from Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House:

What we don't need to do is to spend more money now and worry about how to pay for it later. In the House, we're working on a plan that will include off-sets to pay for any additional spending, eliminate wasteful and inefficient government programs and cuts mandatory spending. But it will keep tax relief in place so that we can create jobs and continue to grow the economy.

What's really great is that I read that from his blog. It'll be interesting to see how often he updates it.

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Letter home

A letter from a Marine to his parents:

Well if you are reading this, then things didn't go well for me over in Iraq. I'm sorry for the pain that I have caused you because of this. Please do not be upset with the Marine Corps, the military, the government, or the President. It was my choice to go into the military. The President and my higher commanders were just doing what they thought was best. Realize that I died doing something that I truly love, and for a purpose greater than myself.

Marine Capt Ryan A. Beaupre died in a helicopter crash in Kuwait on March 30, 2005. Read the whole letter.

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Blog

Good read on power of blogs. I tend to forget that Trent Lott was felled by blogs as well. His comments about Strom Thurmond didn't gain much attention until bloggers continued to hammer him. He rightly surmised that he was their "first pelt."

On that note, Harriet Miers just announced her withdrawal. Another pelt, I suppose.

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Breakout moment

Great story about the blogosphere taking on fraudulent claims from a high-powered advertiser in India. This technology is really changing the world.

No word on what happened to the guy who quit his job at IBM, though. I'll send the writer an email and find out.

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A World without Zionism

Interesting statement from the new Iranian president:

Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran’s fundamentalist president, on Wednesday declared that Israel should be “wiped off the map” and warned Arab countries against developing economic ties with Israel in response to its withdrawal from Gaza.

His remarks, delivered at a conference in Tehran entitled “A World without Zionism”, led to diplomatic protests by the UK, France and Spain, while Shimon Peres, Israel’s deputy prime minister, said Iran should be expelled from the United Nations.

Good thing Iran doesn't have a device capable of wiping Israel off the map. Of course, the Iranians just want to develop nuclear power plants, nothing more.

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Tim Blair

Tim Blair makes another great point.

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Back to normal

USA Today corrected the photo of Condi Rice:

The photo of Condoleezza Rice that originally accompanied this story was altered in a manner that did not meet USA TODAY's editorial standards.

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Disgusting

Good column from John Stossel on the Coburn Amendment.

The Republicans promised to change the culture. Democrats sold panic. "Don't vote for them! They're going to shrink government and take away your favorite programs!" They needn't have worried. The Republicans got elected, but if the Democrats' goal was to expand the government, they were the real winners.

Read the whole column.

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The Return

Upon careful consideration, I've decided to bring back the phrase: "Mel, Kiss My Grits." Please try to support this effort in your own personal interactions.

Together, we will succeed. If you need help, click here to listen to the "Alice" theme song sung by Linda Lavin herself.

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Eyeballs

Michelle Malkin notes the demonization of Condi Rice in USA Today.

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Global-Warming Skeptics Under Fire

Interesting read in the WSJ about academics and the global warming debate. There is debate in the scientific community about both the existence of global warming and, more importantly, about whether human's have caused the global warming. Many global warming alarmists simply argue: Post hoc ergo propter hoc.

Many academics and journalists would like to pretend the debate is over. Academia welcomes skepticism, as long as you're questioning the right thing.

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Party on, peaceniks

Tim Blair decree regarding the 2,000th U.S. military death in Iraq: "Party on, peaceniks." Follow the Little Green Footballs link.

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Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks died yesterday. She was 92.

I've always remembered what Robert Fulghum wrote about Parks in his book "It Was on Fire When I Laid Down on It":

... Rosa Parks. Not an activist or a radical. Just a quiet, conservative, churchgoing woman with a nice family and a decent job as as a seamstress. For all the eloquent phrases that have been turned about her place in the flow of history, she did not get on that bus looking for trouble or trying to make a statement. Going home was all she had in mind, like everybody else. She was anchored to her seat by her own dignity. Rosa Parks simply wasn't going to be a "nigger" for anybody anymore. And all she knew to do was to sit still...

... I imagine the moment when she signs in with the angel at the pearly gates in heaven. "Ah, Rosa Parks, we've been expecting you. Make yourself at home -- take any seat in the house."

Take any seat in the house.

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Open Syria thread

Good Syria roundup from Dan Drezner.

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We do stuff

This is pretty funny. A fake consulting firm that really knows how to use stock photography. Look at the Google ads they got from real consulting firms just by using all those fancy consulting words.

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Oil prices dip

Oil prices are dangerously close to dropping below $60 a barrel. If they do, I predict the bottom will fall out. The guy in this article predicts $50 within the next couple of weeks.

By the way, Iraq just pumped more oil in September than in its entire history. Doubt that'll make much news.

CORRECTION: Iraq didn't pump more oil than ever; it received more revenue for oil than ever before -- not surprising given the price of oil. Perhaps, this is why it won't make much news. According to this site, Iraq is pumping a little more than 2 million barrels of oil a day. Before the war, the country produced 2.8 million barrels per day. So, they still have a lot of work to do.

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What the Bleep Do We Know!?

So I finally saw "What the Bleep Do We Know." It was certainly kooky, but I must admit I was entertained. I agree with one of the main precepts -- that we know very little about what's really going on in this universe.

An example I often cite (although it wasn't in the film) is of the Accelerating Universe. It's quite a concept. We all know that the universe is expanding, but it's not slowing down. It's accelerating -- expanding faster and faster. What, praytell, could possibly be causing that?

The film had a whole bunch of similar nutty observations about quantum mechanics, perceived realities and whatnot. It was thoroughly thought provoking.

Unfortunately, I'd heard of some controversy regarding the movie, so I decided to read its wikipedia entry. Major buzzkill. Many of the experts cited in the film are whackadoos eccentrics. And, the predominant woman interviewed is actually channelling a 35,000 year-old mystic warrior from -- wait for it -- Atlantis.

So, if you can ignore all that, I'd say it was a pretty good film. Hey, maybe they're all right. What the bleep do we know?

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Lipogram

Today, I will blog according to a construct known as a lipogram. I will follow its most common form -- a convincingly tough duty. Thus, I will hold my writing to this short length passage stanza.

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Poe

Just reread Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of the Amontillado." A great short story. The last lines are chilling. Fortunato cries out for mercy as Montressor places the final brick in his living tomb:

"For the love of God, Montressor!"

"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!"

But to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply. I grew impatient. I called aloud —

"Fortunato!"

No answer. I called again —

"Fortunato!"

No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick — on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make an end of my labor. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!

But I wonder. Did his heart grow sick because of remorse or because he could no longer hear the torment of Fortunato?

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Search for 'Coburn amendment'

Guess the editors of the New York Times didn't think the defeat of the Coburn Amendment was important. No word about it in the Washington Post either.

Here's the obligatory Washington Times story:

The president pro tem of the Senate got his $230 million bridge, but only after he threatened to quit if he didn't.

Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, the chamber's senior Republican, became furious when Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, offered an amendment yesterday that would have forbidden building the bridge and sent some of the money to rebuild the Interstate 10 bridge across Lake Pontchartrain, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

To the editors and writers of the NY Times and the Post, the Coburn amendment wasn't even worthy of a brief.

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Bridge-to-Somewhere

I never heard back from my representatives. But I know their responses. According to Tappscott's Copy Desk, both of my senators (Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson) voted against the amendment. Apparently, Washington State Sen. Patty Murray made it clear that everyone's pork would have been scrutinized had the Coburn Amendment passed.

Here's my message to Chambliss, Isakson, and Tom Price: That's fine -- I don't want our pork either. Let everyone scrutinize everyone's appropriations. I don't want $3 million snuck in the highway bill to buy land for Kennesaw National Battlefield Park.

By the way, who's the liberatarian candidate in the next election?

UPDATE: Brian Brad Warbany is equally frustrated. My apologies, Mr. Warbany.

UPDATE II: Saw Brit Hume talk about the amendment's failure on Fox News. Wonder if the other networks even perceive this as a story? Wonder if the NY Times will mention the kerfluffle? Hard to believe they won't.

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Better poll

WSJ Online quickly responded to my complaint about their poll. Check out the updated version which now includes a correction and amplificition. The amplificiation adds the methodology of the poll which Harris says is weighted to represent the U.S. population.

Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. In theory, with probability samples of this size, one can say with 95% certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with complete accuracy.

If that's the case, then the headline writer was justified in using the term public. I apologize for calling the editors' objectivity into question. Kudos to the Wall Street Journal Online team for being so quick to update this.

Since the 75 percent figure appears accurate, I must point out that had the term "universal health insurance" had been replaced with "government controlled health care," the results would have likely been far lower. But, I'm just quibbling.

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Bad poll

Incredibly poor news judgment shown by the editors of the Wall Street Journal Online. This story's headline reads: "Poll Shows Strong Public Support For Range of Health Practices." One of these health practices is a 75 percent support for universal health care, the message touted in the email alerting me to the poll.

But, the poll was conducted online -- presumbably by computer users who chose to log on and answer the questions. By no means does this represent a statistically representative sample of the "public." (Very little detail was given regarding the collection of the poll, but online surveys as a rule can't be called representative because no attempt at getting a cross-section of the public is made.)

The fact that the editors chose to make this into a news story either shows (a) their bias in favor of universal health care or (b) their illiteracy in reading polling data. At the very least, the story should point out that the poll isn't representative. And the headline shouldn't have the word "public" in it.

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Michelle Kosinski

Here's the photo of Michelle Kosinski, the Today Show reporter caught in a canoe in a foot of water. The more I think about it, this really captures the moral ineptness that has befallen today's journalism. Makes me wonder what other crearly amoral decisions journalists are making everyday.

By the way, why hasn't she and the producer been fired? Here's a New York Observer story about the incident which is played more as a comedy than a tragedy. Interesting.

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Bridge-to-Nowhere Porkbusting

Called my three representatives this morning.

Sen. Johnny Isakson: (202) 224-3643: Left a message with Bradford Swann, the legislative aide with whom I spoke last month. Just asked for a simple "yes" or "no" on the Coburn Amendment.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss: (202) 224-3521: Left a message with Justin to find out where the Senator stood on the amendment. He said he'd call me back when the Senator made a decision.

Rep. Tom Price: (202) 225-4501: His office doesn't open till 9 a.m.

UPDATE: Spoke to Janet at 12:40 and she said she'd try to get someone to call me back today.

Feel free to place some calls yourself. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.

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Bridge-to-nowhere

The Coburn Amendment proposes taking the money dedicated to the Alaska bridge-to-nowhere and dedicate it to rebuilding a bridge between Slidwell, La. and New Orleans. Sounds like a great idea. Instapundit thinks it's an idea with wheels:

It seems to me that this makes it an especially good project for bloggers to get behind, and to encourage their senators to support. I expect that quite a few people in Congress are worried about this, and will be trying to ensure that it does a quiet death rather than coming to the floor for a vote. I think the country is better off with transparency, and I'd like to hear any Senator who opposes this measure explain why he or she favors funding a bridge that could buy a personal jet for every inhabitant of Gravina Island, instead of spending the money on fixing ruined bridges that people actually use in Louisiana. They won't want to talk about that, of course, but they need to be asked.

I'll call my representatives tomorrow and see what they think of it.

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from PressThink

The President of CBS News, Andrew Heyward, declares that the "Era of Omniscience is Over." He argues that the news outlets need to quit acting like they know it all. Interesting admission.

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On Miller

Instapundit notes a great piece from Mickey Kaus concerning the Judith Miller kerfluffle. He also makes this insightful point:

[I]t's interesting to see how many people are now pretending (1) that Miller's WMD/Iraq reporting didn't start until the Bush Administration's war buildup, when actually it goes back to the 1990s; and (2) that nobody else thought that we'd find vast WMD stockpiles when we invaded, when in fact everyone thought we would. (The valuable lesson for would-be Saddams -- don't run a bluff against the United States -- is also lost).

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Splogs

Interesting read in the WSJ on splogs. These spam blogs are fake blogs that include high-traffic keywords meant to capture search-engine hits.

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Lottery

Brian Warbany notes that betting the lottery is not a losing proposition if you wait for the really big payouts. Like $340 million. Check out his handy probability chart.

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Porklusters

According to this AP report, the Senate is now proposing $35 billion in cuts to pay for Katrina relief, and the House has upped their proposal to $50 billion. Nice work.

But, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone started to defend this pork. Moveon.org has stepped up to the plate. My wife (yes, she's a member) received an email today asking recipients to call their lawmakers to protest the proposed spending cuts. Here's an excerpt:

Just 6 weeks after Hurricane Katrina, top Republicans are exploiting the cost of the tragedy to push forward a budget plan calling for $50 billion in permanent cuts to vital services for the poor and middle-class, while handing out $70 billion in tax breaks -- largely for the wealthy.

The budget fight begins this week, starting with the proposed cuts to services like Medicare, Medicaid, pension insurance, and student loans. In the next few days, Congress will make decisions dramatically affecting millions of the most vulnerable Americans. They must know their constituents are watching.

Here's a list of some of the proposed cuts. I'm pretty sure the $6 million saved by cutting the "Jobs in the Woods Program" won't be hurting any "vulnerable Americans." Some treehuggers? Perhaps.

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Saddam's trial

Saddam's lawyer wants a three-month continuation. I asked for a few of those back in my salad days.

I hope he gets it. There should be plenty of evidence to convict Saddam without making things difficult for his defense. If the request is denied, the proceedings will start on a sour note.

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Madonna

Madonna is starting to sound more and more like a Billy Graham.

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But, we're all still going to die

An Instapundit appeal from a doctor to calm down the avian flu hype.

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Dracula

I'm listening to Bram Stoker's "Dracula" on tape. It's really a good novel. Of course, I had to read the wikipedia entry to learn about the origins of Stoker's book and the vampire mythology -- quite interesting.

The entry rebuffs a lot of what we've heard about Dracula being inspired by the story of Vlad the Impaler:

Certainly Stoker did find the name Dracula in his reading on Romanian history. This became a replacement for the name Count Wampyr, which he had intended to use for his villain. Recently, however, many Dracula scholars led by Elizabeth Miller have questioned the connection's depth. It now seems likely that Stoker knew little of Vlad himself, other than the name Dracula by which he called himself.

The best argument against a connection is simple: If Stoker knew a lot of Vlad the Impaler, he probably would have worked some impaling into the story.

By the way, the novel is presented as series of letters and other first-hand accounts of events. According to wikipedia, this is called an epistolary novel. Bet you didn't know that.

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The White House, the CIA, and the Wilsons

Lengthy account in the Weekly Standard of the Valerie Plame scandal. The penultimate paragraph sums up the media's poor job in explaining the issue:

It is certainly the case that the media narrative is much more sensational than the Senate report. A story about malfeasance is perhaps more interesting than a story about incompetence. A story about deliberate White House deception is perhaps more interesting than a story about bureaucratic miscommunication. A story about retaliation is perhaps more interesting than a story about clarification.

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Busted

On the Friday's Today show, a reporter did a live shot from a canoe to illustrate the flooding in Wayne, N.J. But, the canoe was in only two feet of water, a fact illustrated when two men inadvertently walked through the water in front of the canoe. Now, that's staged journalism.

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Polls Close for Vote on Iraq Constitution

This is incredible:

Insurgents attacked five of Baghdad's 1,200 polling stations with shootings and bombs, wounding seven voters, but there were no major attacks reported as U.S. and Iraqi forces clamped down with major security measures around balloting sites.

Today's a great day for Iraq and the spread of democracy in the Middle East. I offer my thanks to members of the military who helped make it happen.

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Domino

Just read Roger Ebert's positive review of the new film, Domino, about a female bounty hunter. Had no idea the movie was based on Domino Harvey, the daughter of film star Lawrence Harvey. Here's the wikipedia entry. She died of a drug overdose in June.

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Bush Teleconference With Soldiers Staged

This would be the type of story that gives journalists a bad name.

UPDATE: To answer the comment, because no one but a partisan Bush-hater would call those actions "staged." The fact that this story was written and approved for release speaks to the political leanings of the AP journalists and nothing more.

Here's a more detailed response.

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Price responds, Part II

It appears members of Congress have gotten their ducks in a row. Instapundit noted earlier that several lawmakers have released statements calling on fiscal discipline.

And before I could say "coordinated effort," this prepared statement popped into my inbox:

Washington, DC – Congressman Tom Price (GA-6) issued the following statement today regarding the need for fiscal discipline:

"Recent tragic events that have occurred in the Gulf region have given us a great opportunity to refocus our efforts to end wasteful government spending I am committed to identifying and cutting wasteful Washington spending."

"Washington is not accustomed to fiscal discipline. Finding savings and prioritizing programs is necessary if we are going to gain control of our national debt. While all Americans have shown compassion for the victims of recent natural disasters, we must exercise this compassion in a fiscally responsible manner. We must not stick our children and grandchildren with the tab."

"Throughout this Congressional session and before the hurricanes devastated the Gulf region, I supported and voted for a series of amendments to the House appropriations bills that would save one percent of all discretionary spending – sadly these amendments routinely fail. Furthermore, I support and have co-sponsored three bills that would make permanent a 1, 2, or 5 percent across-the-board savings in non-defense, non-homeland-security discretionary spending for fiscal year 2006."

"Washington demonstrates time and again that it is incapable of financial responsibility. The need for a Balanced Budget Amendment has never been more clear. I am an original co-sponsor of this legislation and will continue to work for its serious consideration and passage. I do not believe spending restraint will occur without this important tool. It’s time has finally come."

"Tough times call for tough choices – today is a time we must all look long and hard at our spending priorities. Americans are a compassionate people and we are all committed to helping victims of crises in the Gulf region and elsewhere. We should also be committed to finding savings for hardworking American taxpayers so that we may responsibly pay for these efforts. The time to act is now. We must not leave record deficits for future generations because we did not seize this opportunity to enact fiscal discipline when it was needed most."

A notable lack of any hard numbers, but at least he's saying the right things. A few weeks ago, few representatives in Washington were talking about fiscal discipline. Now, lawmakers are stumbling over themselves to brandish their carving knives. The variable in that equation is the blogging community; I think we should all be pleased.

By the way, I'm impressed with Price's call for a balanced-budget amendment. Haven't heard any other lawmakers bring this anachronism back to the debate. I, of course, am all for it. And don't give me that "need to spend out of a recession" argument either. Plenty of states do just fine with a balanced budget. The United States could do just as well.

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Michael Yon's latest

Another fantastic post from Michael Yon, who's back in Iraq. Fascinating account of his journey into the country including the bureaucratic process of getting embedded with the military.

It's a long post, so I've taken the liberty of pulling out some excerpts. But, you should read the whole thing. He's a great writer.

On why he's there:

I started with the premise that this war was extremely important, whether or not many people agreed. While I hear radio and television crews often lamenting about how it takes a whole day just to file one story, it can take me two weeks of dangerous research, photography and writing to get a single major dispatch out. I am not a war correspondent or journalist. I am only a writer who came to Iraq after it became apparent that we might be in trouble, and I did not trust the news. I had never covered a war before and, with any luck, never will again.

On the Green Zone:

... The International Zone was previously called "The Green Zone." Green usually means safe, but the place is dangerous and people die there often. A car bomb exploded at a gate there just days ago, killing several people. People have been kidnapped and murdered there. Sometimes bombs have exploded inside the IZ, splattering bits of body parts on the ground. There is nothing Green about it...

On the media and the hostile media effect:

... It's easy to take shots at "the media" in Iraq—literally, as well as for the quality of their coverage. Forget for a moment the lopsided expense versus returns ratio. The bullet holes in the hotel rooms and the picnic tables in the desert tell a back story about why so few journalists make the journey. All this, while knowing that insurgents have specifically targeted members of the media.

Apparently the terrorists like it better when fewer reporters are around to peel back the layers of their insurgent press machine and reveal its rotten core. The Americans may think they get bad press, but apparently the terrorists think they get worse. Everybody, it seems, is a victim of bad press, including (ironically) the professionals who print it, because they get shot by everybody, with words and bullets...

On the effects of war:

... By about 10 a.m., credentials in hand, I was heading out for a helicopter to my final destination. As I struggled with the cumbersome gear -- I don't pack light to war anymore -- I saw a CNN reporter sitting on the floor downstairs from the CPIC office. Although we'd never met, I recognized her from television. I'd just spent thirty or more hours with tired reporters, and frustrated reporters, and bored reporters. But this reporter looked to be in a state of despair.

Since I was rushing to get to a helicopter, there was no chance to even say hello. I asked my Army escort about the reporter sitting on the floor. According to the officer, she'd been through a lot lately, traveling with Marines out in Al Anbar province, where they had been involved in some long days of combat. She'd been living like a Marine. I recalled how she looked tired and rattled when those reports aired. On one taped interview, when she clearly expressed doubts about staying in Iraq; the fatigue and fear seemed to have grabbed her. Keeping up with Marines in combat is not easy. Marines are Marines.

Good luck, Michael.

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Blog explosion

The WSJ is taking bloggers to task for the Oklahoma bombing story. I feel dirty.

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It's about bikinis

Good post from Tim Blair on what this war on terror is really about. I think we tend to want to ignore the stark differences between us and the terrorists. This quote reminds us:

"Alcohol, bikinis, that kind of thing makes Muslims angry. Don’t do that when visiting a country with a Muslim majority,” he said. “I’m sorry, Australian culture makes war on morality. They come to Bali with bikinis, they make war on morality. Not physical war, morality war. Respect the culture and religion of Indonesia."

By the way, Blair's talking about the Bali terrorist blasts that killed 20 people less than 2 weeks ago. How many Americans realize there's been another bombing in Bali? How many remember the first one? Hard to convince some people that we're still at war.

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Dodecahedron calendars

Dodecahedron calendars were once all the rage. But now they're gone -- as though they never even existed. Look, you can't even find them on eBay. You can make one with this Web site, but that's not the same. You can't use it as a paperweight. The ones from my youth were awesome!

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Big Cache of Weapons

I get several emails a day from military sources in Iraq because of some previous freelance work. I usually read and delete them, but it occurred to me that many of these never get posted. They come straight from a military reporter with photo attachments and don't reside officially on any Web site.

So, here's the latest report, and a couple of photos:

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq – U.S. Army Soldiers conducting a cordon and search operation near Anah , approximately 300 km northwest of Baghdad, discovered one of the largest munitions caches to date in western Al Anbar Province yesterday.

The Soldiers from 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, assigned to Regimental Combat Team-2, were searching a car bomb factory that was destroyed by Coalition air strikes recently, when they noticed freshly moved dirt. A twenty-foot storage container was uncovered after several minutes of digging.

More than 1,000 122 mm artillery rounds were discovered, along with approximately 40,000 armor piercing bullets, 1,000 .50 caliber rounds, detonation cord and various bomb-making materials.

After the cache site was destroyed, more munitions were found buried nearby. Explosive ordnance specialists are supervising the removal and destruction of these munitions, which are typically used to make roadside bombs that injure and kill innocent Iraqi civilians and military personnel.

This latest cache is the 26th cache found in the last week by 2nd Marine Division forces conducting counter-insurgency operations in the Al Anbar Province.

Good work, Marines.

So, depending on your point of view, you've just read some unfiltered Iraq news or some useless military propaganda. Take your pick.

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RealClearPolitics - Commentary

An important point, brought to us by Austin Bay:

When Al-Qaida's zealots blow up trains in Spain or subways in London, those are attacks of their choosing conducted on "infidel terrain." The genius of the war in Iraq is a brutal but necessary form of strategic judo: It brought the War on Terror into the heart of the Middle East and onto Arab Muslim turf. In Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's theo-fascists have been spilling Arab blood, and Al Jazeera has noticed that, too.

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Gut Rumbles

Pretty incredible post:

People-- I KNOW what is wrong with me. I am dying.

I have a couple of simple choices: pay the quacks all the money I have to keep me alive a little longer, or face the inevitable and save my money for my children. I choose door #2.

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Iraqi charter talks 'breakthrough'

This appears to be very good news from the BBC:

One of Iraq's main Sunni Arab parties will endorse the country's new constitution in Saturday's crucial referendum, a spokesman has said.

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Spelling reform

Just spent 20 minutes reading Wikipedia about the spelling reform movement. Apparently, a lot of people out there are advocating spelling reform -- basically pointing out bologna doesn't really spell baloney.

English really is a screwed up language, a fact that I'm learning more and more as my 6-year-old daughter asks me to spell words. (Yes, "new" does sound like "noo," but we spell it "new.")

Andrew Carnegie, believe it or not, was a big advocate of the spelling reform movement which made great strides in the second half of the 1800s.

Here are some successes that Noah Webster incorporated into his 19th-centure dictionary:

• musick became music (musick spelling is no longer in use today)
• publick became public (publick spelling is no longer in use today)
• cheque became check
• colour became color
• plough became plow
• favour became favor

But here are some that should have caught (cawt?) on, but didn't:

• isle became ile
• examine became examin
• feather became fether
• definite became definit
• thread became thred
• thumb became thum

Thank you, Wikipedia!

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Cool prints

Check out these prints for sale. Very cool graphics that convey pretty complex matter. I like the political party one the best.

By the way, I learned during my literature review for a paper on newspaper graphics that this is widely acknowledged as one of the finest graphics ever designed. It's a representation of Napoleon's march to Russia in 1812. You can read an explainer here.

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CBSNews.com: Blog

Mark your calendars. I agree with a post from the Big Eye. Vaughn Ververs takes issue with a story announcing John McCain's interest in the White House:

I can honestly tell you I was shocked today to see a story on CBSNews.com headlined, “McCain Eyes ’08 White House Run.” Shocked not from the revelation but from the fact someone actually thought it to be “news.” I don’t blame the Web site and I don’t blame the New York Daily News scribe who originally reported it or the AP writer who picked it up. I blame an overall media culture steeped in hype and a paint-by-the-numbers approach to political coverage.

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Blogging Prof

Good writeup in the New York Sun today about blogger Daniel Drezner. He didn't receive tenure from The University of Chicago. Niether he nor the university say the blog had anything to do with the decision but it certainly does put the spotlight on blogging and career.

I graduate in December and have already started sending out resumes. Sure would be easy to Google my name and read some of my more outlandish opinions. Hmm.

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A-Rod

Alex Rodriguez may be the most non-clutch player to ever don a baseball uniform. Oh, and he makes $25 million a year.

In the 9th inning last night, the mighty A-Rod grounded into a double play -- smothering any hopes of the Yankees rallying to beat the Angels. The New York tabloids will have a field day with this guy in this morning's papers.

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Oklahoma

CBS News' PublicEye is questioning whether the Oklahoma football game bombing should be getting more coverage.

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Bloggers 'Probably Not' Considered Journos

This is a troubling story from Editor and Publisher:

Bloggers would "probably not" be considered journalists under the proposed federal shield law, the bill's co-sponsor, U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (R.-Ind.), told the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) Monday afternoon.

To the credit of the journalism profession, they oppose the government defining who's a journalist:

A key reason some journalists oppose the popular federal shield proposal is fear that giving Congress the power to define who is and isn't a journalist could lead effectively to the licensing of journalists.

In other remarks about the legislation at IAPA's 61st General Assembly, Lugar acknowledged that the legislation could amount to a "privilege" for reporters over other Americans.

"I think, very frankly, you can make a case that this is a special boon for reporters, and certainly for their role in freedom of the press," he said. "At the end of the day what we will come out with says there is something privileged about being a reporter, and being able to report on something without being thrown into jail."

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Hostile Media

Here's a site, Truthout.org, that presents the far-left view that the media are actually a conservative organ, controlled by corporate interests. Here's a representative post which begins:

Ongoing military operations continue unabated in al-Anbar province. With names like 'Operation Iron Fist' and 'Operation Iron Gate' which was launched just days after 'Iron Fist,' thousands of US troops, backed by warplanes, tanks and helicopters, began attacking small cities and villages primarily in the northwestern area of al-Anbar.

According to the US military and corporate media, the purpose of these operations is to "root out" fighters from al-Qaida in Iraq, along with so-called insurgents.

An Iraqi journalist writing under the name Sabah Ali (due to concerns of retribution from US/Iraqi governmental authorities) recently returned from the al-Qa'im area of Iraq. Her report tells quite a different story.

Several points. First off, I can't imagine that anyone thinks the "corporate media" is actually presenting a favorable impression of what's going on in Iraq. All I read everyday is a death toll with no context representing the overall progress. My view is shared by numerous military bloggers who feel the press is doing an incredibly poor job representing Iraq. But, according to Truthout, the media are not doing enough to express what a dishonorable job the military is doing in Iraq.

Secondly, what is the real purpose of these attacks if not to "root out" fighters? Does this author imply that the American military's real purpose is to kill innocent people?

Thirdly, why use the term "so-called insurgents"? Hell, I think we should call them terrorists; "insurgents" is supposed to be the neutral noun. What would this author like them to be called? Freedom fighters?

Maybe we're both suffering from the Hostile Media Effect, perceiving the media as biased against our own views. However, the latest Gallup survey found many more respondents perceived the media to be biased toward liberal views rather than conservative thinking. Of course, few people read about that survey -- which helps make my point.

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West Wing

A Republican campaign staffer suggested in tonight's episode of The West Wing that his candidate may receive an endorsement from the New York Times. First off, that's an incredibly ridiculous statement. The NY Times would never endorse a Republican. Never. Secondly, only a liberal Hollywood writer would believe that that a Republican would wish to garner said endorsement from the NY Times. (In all fairness, I think the next line was something like "... a kiss of death to a conservative.")

I enjoy watching The West Wing just to see how Hollywood writers perceive Republicans. This year's show will feature the presidential race between Democrat Jimmy Smits and Republican Alan Alda. (The only time in history that the words "Republican" and "Alan Alda" have ever been placed side-by-side.)

I think its pretty clear that the Republican candidate is going to win the election -- after all, he's pro-choice and he hates religion. If this Republican can't win a nationwide election in a Hollywood writer's mind, then no one Republican can.

Of course, it'd be lot to stomach actually giving the White House to the GOP, so maybe we'll see Smits in office after all.

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Art

Tim Blair takes aim at left-wing artwork. I swear every idiot with a microphone or a paintbrush has an opinion about politics.

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The Boston Schlemiels

I'm not so sad about the Red Sox' quick demise in the postseason. I never had the feeling that this year's team had that special makeup that would allow them to repeat as World Champions. They never had the dominant pitching that is needed to win in the postseason. The White Sox do, and are definitely a better team. Ozzie Guillen's decision to suicide squeeze to get an extra run in the final game speaks volumes about his merits as a coach. It was a gutsy call from a great manager.

I just hope they can beat the Yankees. Or the Angels, more likely.

This is a pretty funny shirt.

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NY Times decline

Jay Rosen announces he believes the NY Times is no longer the nation's best newspaper. That's a pretty big announcement coming from one of the most respected journalist academics in the nation:

… The Post, I believe, is our great national newspaper now; the Times is number two, with the Wall Street Journal close behind. Still a strong fleet. With a new ship in the lead perhaps it will sail to unexpected places.

I'd put the WSJ in the top spot, but let's not quibble.

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Free speech

Good post on a California law from Eugene Volokh. Seems you can read the sex offender Web site, but don't try to tell anyone what you read.

As Volokh points out:

Seems like a pretty clear First Amendment violation, especially given Florida Star v. B.J.F. If it's unconstitutional to bar speakers from revealing the names of rape victims when those names were accidentally released by government officials into the public record, I'd think that it would be unconstitutional to bar speakers from revealing the names of rapists when those names were deliberately placed by government officials into the public record.

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Budget Cuts

Sounds like some Republicans are getting the message:

Rep. Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, chairman of the House Budget Committee, called on Thursday for across-the-board spending cuts and urged lawmakers to increase the savings Republicans hope to gain from a budget bill this fall to a minimum of $50 billion, from $35 billion.

“We’d better get started, and we’d better do it now,” Nussle said.

If I could only get my own representatives on board.

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Trivia

Interesting trivia question at Volokh. And another one. Click on the comments to see the answer.

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Carville

From the Daily Northwestern, here's a paraphrase from James Carville given during a speech in Chicago:

But Carville added that no one in Washington likes anyone who is right too often. Howard Dean’s accurate assessment about the failure of the war in Iraq helped kick him out of the running for president despite his passion, Carville said.

If that's an accurate portrayal of what he said, I'd say that's a pretty poor assessment of what doomed Dean's candidacy. I'd say it was more for his likelihood to say stupid things.

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Unfortunate

For some reason, whenever I look at advertisements I often try to figure out if they were created using fresh photography or stock photography. Many ads feature the latter as a far cheaper alternative. Advertising firms can buy CDs full of hundreds of photos that can be used for any advertisement. These photography companies take pictures of models in various poses and then get them to sign a waiver that says the picture may be used in any advertisement. I'm sure the models hope that their photo isn't used for something embarrasing.

Unfortunately, the model in the picture below wasn't so lucky.


Now, who's the genius that designed this ad? Someone flipped through one of these stock photography books, saw this photo, and said, "Perfect!" I guess he couldn't find anything that really worked, so he just picked a photo.

It's like this model just lost Shirley Jackson's lottery.

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Michael Yon : Online Magazine

Great new post from Michael Yon's Iraq dispatches. Good stuff on the Iraqi police's progress. Sad stuff on terrorists targeting kids.

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Strength in numbers

I've been joined in my battle against pork in the 6th District. Check out The Unrepentant Individual and his attempt to get Rep. Price to respond to my suggested cuts.

Thanks, Brad. I'm planning on waiting a week for Price's promised response to arrive via the mail.

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Marketplace of ideas

Here's the text of Al Gore's speech that he delivered this morning to a conference in New York. In it, he argues:

But some extremely important elements of American Democracy have been pushed to the sidelines. And the most prominent casualty has been the "marketplace of ideas" that was so beloved and so carefully protected by our Founders. It effectively no longer exists.

Al Gore just gave a speech this morning in New York. I just read it in Georgia. I'm now commenting that I think Al Gore is crazy.

Doesn't that show that the marketplace of ideas is working pretty well?

The former vice president says democracy is in "grave danger." I think it's more vibrant than ever. That's a marketplace of ideas.

Gore talks about feeling like he's living in an "alternate universe." I agree. How can he say that we're suffering from a lack of discourse in this country? At no time in history have so many people had access to so much information and possess the power to widely disseminate their own thoughts and ideas.

I think Gore confuses a lack of people agreeing with his views as a lack of public discourse.

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Congressional authority

The Senate overwhelmingly approved regulations about exactly how detainees can be treated. Seems like a good move. Instapundit makes this great point:

Perhaps current practices are producing a treasure trove of intelligence that this bill would stop, but I doubt that -- and if I'm wrong, the Administration should make that case to Congress, not stand on executive prerogatives.

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Memphis Belle

Robert Hanson, the last surviving member of the Memphis Belle crew, just died. He was 85.

The Memphis Belle was a B-17 "Flying Fortress," a huge bomber fitted with gun turrets to fight off enemy fighters while delivering bombs to German targets and attempting to return to England. She was the first plane do make 25 successful trips -- an incredible feat. Here's a good account of a mission from the plane's captain. On one flight back from Germany, the Memphis Belle's entire tail section was shot off. Incredible stuff.

Thank you, Mr. Hanson.

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The Corner on National Review Online

Interesting response to Will and to others in the rush-to-judgment crowd. Michael Ledeen from The Corner:

But the main point--which I made about Katrina and other things--is for all of us, namely that there is no prize for being wrong first. I am not impressed that everyone has an opinion. In fact, most of the time it is a mistake to have an opinion early on. Does anyone in the general rant know much of anythng about Miers as an intellect? About her core beliefs, if indeed she has any? I don't think so. She may be a drooling idiot, or a scintillating mind and personality, or just a boring mediocrity. Who knows? We don't, at least not yet. But we will. When we know, we're entitled to lecture one another, but not yet. Take it easy. I'm old enough to remember people screaming that the stupid haberdasher, Harry Truman, wasn't qualified to be president--surely George Will, on his current performance, would have agreed--and the same sort of people were thrilled that a real Harvard intellect, surrounded by other great Harvard intellects, had defeated the wretched Nixon for the presidency.

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Don't hold back

George Will, in no uncertain terms, opposes Miers' nomination:

Furthermore, there is no reason to believe that Miers' nomination resulted from the president's careful consultation with people capable of such judgments. If 100 such people had been asked to list 100 individuals who have given evidence of the reflectiveness and excellence requisite in a justice, Miers' name probably would not have appeared in any of the 10,000 places on those lists.

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Sooner Bomber

Very odd that this Oklahoma suicide bomber is getting so little press. A guy blows himself up at an Oklahoma football game last weekend and I've barely heard a thing about it. See Gateway Pundit for a good roundup. Sounds like the official narrative (from the OU president) is that this is no big deal because the bomber had "emotional difficulties."

Here's a good point:

Suicide victims don't normally accumulate a large amount of bomb-making material in their homes. People intent on blowing up other people do.

Accoding to some reports, the guy recently converted to Islam and may have attended the same mosque as Moussaoui. According to this news search, no one except Oklahoma news outlets (and oddly, ESPN) have been covering the story. The larger media outlets need to cover this story and quit buying the "emotional difficulties" line.

Apparently, the bomber's roommate can't be located.

(Hattip: Instapundit.)

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The Stupid Terrorists Club

Pretty good roundup of the dumb reasons terrorists are in jail. I didn't realize that Moussaoui was turned in because he was "disheveled and impoverished." Note that Timothy McVeigh made the list. Reason for his apprehension? Lack of a license plate on his car.

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Bath School Disaster

I'd never heard of this -- "the deadliest act of mass murder in a school in United States history." It happened in 1927.

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I am better than your kids.

This is pretty funny. Thanks Stumble Upon.

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I'm with this guy

The Taipei Times reports that Google lists Taiwan as a province of China on its map site.

Of course, Taiwan isn't a province of China, a fact that this lawmaker is happy to point out: "Taiwan has never been ruled by China, nor has the Chinese government deployed any government functionaries or armed forces here."

Unforunately, Google is following President Bush's lead. In 2003, he appeased the Chinese by reprimanding Taiwan for discussing a formal vote of independence. That move brought this rebuke from William Kristol:

The president's statement today is a mistake. Appeasement of a dictatorship simply invites further attempts at intimidation. Standing with democratic Taiwan would secure stability in East Asia. Seeming to reward Beijing's bullying will not.

The words could easily apply to Google. They should refer to Taiwan as what it is -- an indepedent state. Google has gained quite a reputation for poking fun at President Bush. If they disagree with the president so much, perhaps they should stop standing beside him.

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Talkers

I don't read The Onion enough.

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Iraq coverage

This soldier's fed up with media coverage of Iraq. Read the whole column, but here's the gist:

More recently, a major news agency's website lead read: "Suicide Bomber Kills Six in Baghdad" and "Seven Marines Die in Iraq Clashes." True, yes. Comprehensive, no. Did the author of this article bother to mention that Coalition troops killed 50 or so terrorists while incurring those seven losses? Of course not. Nor was there any mention about the substantial progress these offensive operations continue to achieve in defeating the insurgents. Unfortunately, this sort of incomplete reporting has become the norm for the media, whose poor job of presenting a complete picture of what is going on in Iraq borders on being criminal.

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3-D

Bill Kristol: Disappointed, Depressed and Demoralized.

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Election map

Here's a neat map of gubernatorial and senate races in 2005 and 2006 from the Wall Street Journal.

Nothing very surprising here except for Schwarzenegger -- he's down 7.7 percent to Angelides in California. A Democrat has the lead in Arizona, but it's within in the margin of error. Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney's down by 23 percent to AG Tom Reilly -- I'd guess that's because most people expect him to jump ship and run for president.

Looks like Joe Corzine's gonna be governor of New Jersey -- no matter the scandal that state will never elect a Republican. Looks like Democratic Gov. Mark Warner is behind in the polls to some Republican named Kilgore -- but that's within the margin of error too.

New Jersey and Virginia are the only races in 2005. Rest are next year.

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Miers

Conservatives appear underwhelmed by Bush's choice of Harriet Miers to sit on the Supreme Court. Instapundit has a nice roundup of views. Here's an interesting point from the other side (Talking Points Memo):

First, not being a judge, in itself, doesn't seem like that big a deal to me. Many law profs who get nominated to the bench have never been judges. And more relevant to this case, there's been a reasonably broad bipartisan call in recent years to get 'a politician' on the Court. And the whole point, in that case, is that the person not come from the bench or even be too deeply entrenched in the legal profession. Finally, as we've seen, pretty often it turns out that these nominees have only been circuit court judges for maybe a year or two prior to their appointment. And in the grand scheme of things, that amounts to little more than a bit of batting practice before going up to the plate.

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A true fan

Photo courtesy Associated Press

This guy sums up my feelings about the Yankees pretty well. Great weekend of baseball. The Red Sox took the series and finished with the same record as the Yankees, but they took the American League East because they won the season series, 10-9. The two teams are incredibly well matched up.

As long as the Red Sox can beat the White Sox and the Yankees can beat the Angels (not likely), then we're apt to see another 7-game Yankee-Red Sox series. God intended it this way.

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Wi-Fi

This is pretty huge. Google wants to provide free Wi-Fi to the city of San Francisco.

I'd imagine the DSL and Cable Internet providers in San Francisco would rather wish they didn't. If a company offered free wi-fi in Atlanta, I'd drop my cable modem in a heartbeat. Who wouldn't?

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Shifting sands

Great roundup from Drezner on the good news coming out of the U.S. manufacturing sector. As the Economist points out: "Manufacturing jobs disappear because economies are healthy, not sick."

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Behind the Headlines

Powerline has the letter to Judith Miller from Scooter Libby. I love the Internet. He gave her permission to testify a long time ago. Perhaps she enjoyed jail.

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Agressive marketing

Hey look. It's Jennifer Garner making a sales pitch for CIA applicants.

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GOP blues

Good editorial in the Wall Street Journal about the problem with the Republicans. It's not ethics, it's ideas:

The real leadership deficit on Capitol Hill is one of ideas, not ethics. In the absence of any policy ambitions, Congress has drifted and the Democrats' ethics complaints have filled the vacuum. The one thing Republicans did pass and then brag about during the August recess--the $286 billion highway bill--has now boomeranged as its 6,371 "earmarks" have been exposed as petty and self-serving after Katrina. This is what happens when Republicans try to become the party of government.

Agree.

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