These are my mundane daily ramblings. For something
less spontaneous, I maintain The
Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page (over 1,700 Johnson quotes),
with a weekly essay springing from
one of Johnson's quotations.
Demanding resolution of national questions from the Iowa caucuses; the RIAA claims that when you copy your own music onto your own PC you're making an unauthorized copy; funny math with the stock market.
Bush Administration working to enable telecommunications companies to use anti-terrorism surveillance techniques in arenas having nothing to do with terrorism, and again with little evidence of a crime.
Video: "Hard Times Come Again No More," from the BBC series "Transatlantic Sessions." Plus, the value of having someone independent of the AG investigating the CIA's destruction of the interrogation tapes.
In an effort to provide the middle class relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax, GOP senators block taxing hedge fund managers at a higher rate than 15%.
Given how hard Bush tried to justify the Iraqi invasion long afdter it was clear Iraq had no WMDs (and dug in his heels), we should be relieved we haven't invaded Iran yet.
Does the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran — concluding that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 2003 — represent a turning point in courage?
Remembering James Lileks' plea for more boisterous music as we invaded Iraq; Giuliani is self-imploding over NYC finances and his mistress, but is a larger story being missed?
The Bush move to lower expectations for the Iraqi government even further stresses the unfair burded we've put on the troops, and why they need to come home.
John Sebastian on YouTube; more attacks in Iraq, and a former commander calls for withdrawal over the lack of political progress; a Baghdad search for Thanksgiving ingredients.
McCain's suggestion that he'll limit the use of the Secret
Service to protect him reeks of cowboy-dom; Bill O'Reilly dates
the book of Revelations to a thousand years before Jesus.
A rape victim in Saudi Arabia is sentenced to the lash, and you
should think twice about filling up the tank; Barry Bonds is
charged with perjury and obstruction of justice over sworn
testimony on steroids; Newsweek hires Kos and Karl Rove to write
columns.
I passed Senator Schumer on the street, and regrettably failed to
press him on his vote to confirm Mukasey; more American troops
die in Afghanistan, highlighting the problem with abandoning an
unfinished project before taking on others.
Authors at a conservative publishing house sue their publisher,
feeling their retail sales (and royalties) are undercut by deep
discounts through the publisher's other distribution
channels.
A FEMA official tries to get away with faking a "press
conference," with all the questions coming from staffers. And the
White House is fairly calm about it all, given that the
Administration has put out PR pieces disguised as news.
Tolerance of art: Trevi Fountain went red, but in the meantime an
art project involving petri dishes creates problems in the US,
because it's being charged under the Patriot Act.
Bush wants blanket amnesty for telecommunications companies who
broke the law along with him, and one exec reports that for his
failure to go along his company was penalized; external hard
drive difficulties.
Don't interrupt the commercial for "Across the Universe;" the
U.S. secretly endorsed extreme interrogation measures; the State
Department now has a blog.
Iraq's champion soccer team can't return to Iraq, over security
concerns; Giuliani's shenanigans with cell phone calls from his
wife; is Blackwater's return to business in Iraq emblematic of
the old invading alien movies?
Richard Scaife funds losing publications, and apparently bets
badly on love; MoveOn.org's Petraeus ad, and its rates, draw
Cheney's ire; happy birthday Samuel Johnson.
Mixed messages in a book cover; why did Bush inflate the number
of nations with troops on the ground in Iraq, when he really
really needed to be credible?
Joe Zawinul; more unconnected 9/11 dots; a law school dean is
hired and fired over his progressive thinking, but so many of our
schools are named after progressives like Jefferson and
Madison...
In Senate testimony, intel chief Mike McConnell miscredits a new
law in foiling a German law plot, and argues that its "use" there
is why the law needs to be extended.
Supposedly Bush had already heard there were no WMDs in Iraq, and
chose not to believe it, which may have explained his desperate
refusal to give the inspectors more time.
The moving goal posts in Iraq clearly demonstrate that Bush wants
us to be there forever; the need to not just allude to press
bias, but explicitly restate the evidence.
Evaluating troop deaths during the surge; Ovation TV; someone
is distorting the records of Democrats in the Congress before
they meet the troops in Iraq.
Senator Warner offers Bush a fig leaf with a mere 5,000 troop
withdrawal; employees in the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration aren't even allowed to tell the press who's at the
top.
Newly released report (declassified version of a year old report)
concludes that the head of the CIA didn't have what it took
to reshape the organization to face the growing terrorism
threats; other priorities, apparently.
Under the threat of subpoena, the White House waits until the
last minute to ask for an extension of the deadline; average
incomes in 2005 were lower than those in 2000.
How the Rolling Stones' "Moonlight Mile" stretches our concepts
of a pentatonic song; the Anderson Cooper transcript about the
bridge collapse in Minnesota was just as damning as I'd thought,
when I'd heard it.
The Wall Street Journal fights for nothing in the Rupert Murdoch
takeover; Democrats ask for an early sunset on the revised FISA
bill, but it's not going to happen and it's too late.
Democrats feeling unnecessary pressure to cave in to Bush's
warrantless wiretapping program; Bush's promises over
Minneapolis's fallen bridge fall short of the opportunities.
The sub-prime mortgage market tanks: Country Wide Financial
announces difficulties, and on the PBS Newshour the human aspect
of losing your home gets notice.
The Republicans' continuing blockage of Iraq bills in the Senate
amounts to a deadly game of unsupported hope; Bud Selig can stay
away from Barry Bonds' home run chase and still not bear a burden
of racism; the importance of John Edwards' haircut refuted; Bush
wants to renege on the sunset clauses in the tax breaks he pushed
through, and shows how "worst President ever" doesn't begin to
cover it.
After the Republicans successfully block an effort to give troops
proper at-home time, General Peter Pace discusses the strains on
soldiers. But only afterwards.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles settles abuse suits
to the tune of $660 million. You hate to see the need for this,
as it will doubtless take funding from several charitable
efforts. Still, the victims deserve their due.
In writing about a murdered colleague, the New York Times' John
Burns describes the evasive actions which Iraqi fighters have
taken, making sustained, general progress unlikely.
Thoughts of having prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald testify to
Congress about the commutation of Libby's sentence don't impress
me; the New York Times publishes an editorial insisting for an
immediate, orderly withdrawal from Iraq.
Senator Pete Domenici distances himself from Bush's Iraq policy,
but needs to do some persuasion; Michael Kinsley, normally smart,
makes an inept comparison between Scooter Libby and President
Clinton; Microsoft regrets people buying the extended warranties
for at least one of their products.
Celebrating the Constitution on the 4th of July; refusing to
accept Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence; not sure anyone is
truly surprised that Bush commuted Libby's sentence.
The official UN committee investigating WMD's in Iraq finally
calls it quits; Fred Thompson dissatisfies in New Hampshire, with
a nine minute platitudinous speech.
Issues surrounding congestion pricing in NYC should have been
dealt with decades ago; another great Internet idea; Fairness
Communication Doctrines; Senator Lugar's distancing himself from
Bush over Iraq will not have an impact.
Remember when the Administration was thinking of marching on into
Syria? Plus, the inadequacy of the number of troops in the Iraq
escalation could lead to asking for even more.
Our military's "Arrowhead Ripper" would have had more impact if
the enemy's leaders hadn't skedaddled in advance; Bush personnel
moves and other actions designed to avoid scrutiny; Rudy
Giuliani's claims to have run NYC as a business before Bloomberg
did.
White House staff were violating regulations by sending emails
through the RNC rather than the White House system; Fox and CBS
refused to air condom ads because they didn't talk enough about
disease prevention, only suggesting sex instead.
Iraq can't be forced to progress, and knows that Bush is enabling
them; Brooklyn's industrial waterfront is singled out as an
endangered historical area.
A court rules that uncharged detainees, picked up in the US,
can't be held in the US without legal protections; Libby's
supporters wanted their support letters kept private, for fear of
being discussed on the Internet; the San Francisco Chronicle
trims its staff, probably another casualty to 'free' news on the
Internet.
Louisiana's Representative William Jefferson is finally indicted,
and a right wing blogger acts like the scandal that fell on
Republicans was undeserved; a court overturns FCC indecency
rulings against broadcasters, citing Cheney's obscenity on the
floor of the Senate.
US modeling long term plans for Iraq after Korea? How does that
square with the 2002 "Authorization of Force"? Plus, the insult
of being called "outspoken."
Windbag speculation hour: in an age of precision marketing, book
publishers still look for the mega seller instead of fine profits
on well-targeted books.
Early word that the University of Florida's repeat-champion
basketball coach is headed to the NBA (he didn't); PowerLine
wants the US to diss the rest of the world.
A Boy Scout in Delaware does public service by making a map of
a fairly untended cemetery. Are our opportunities for public
service merely limited by our imaginations?
Writers held by publishers who won't "publish" them; Rudy
Giuliani tries to take credit for national trends in abortions
and adoptions; word of a pending "no confidence" vote on AG Al
Gonzales.
The lack of affordable housing makes one think NYC has gotten too
big; Senator Mitch McConnell's dissatisfaction with progress in
Iraq should have him siding with Democrats, but it doesn't.
The GOP tries to talk tough on Bush's Iraq policy while
continuing to give him a blank check; the NBA is taking its games
direct to fans through downloads.
Even if the "surge" isn't working, McCain has no Plan B, but
claims he'll listen to public opinion which he's already
ignoring; Paul Wolfowitz may not be able to argue against
corruption when he's showing signs himself...
Bush's understanding of the Constitution questionable; McCain
steps back from his comments on how safe Baghdad is, but in doing
so claims a right to misspeak for fun.
USA Today's collection of top quotes ignores Bush's "Bring 'em
on;" hat's off to my wife; problems with page loading due to
Norton and haloscan? Add www.haloscan.com to your Norton firewall
as a trusted site.
Connecticut high school won't let its theater group do a play
based on Iraq experiences; contrary to statements to Congress,
the Attorney General met with staff over the US Attorney firings
prior to the ax falling; vacation warning.
Right-winger tries to justify Bush's poor approval ratings by
pointing to approval ratings of Congress, which no one elects
directly (beyond their own member); how the White House is
avoiding accountability over the US Attorney firings.
New York advances its 2008 Presidential primary early, and I'm
not pleased; Bush resorts to a "partisan" charge in trying to get
Democrats to not probe the firings of the US attorneys.
Open mic night; what will it take before the President recognizes
failure in Iraq? plus, Washington DC's efforts to obtain a voting
representative in the House evokes slave-era compromises on
admitting new states.
The scandal over the firing of the US attorneys highlights how
inept the White House is at hiring qualified people: let's look
at the Attorney General himself!
Powerline hasn't mentioned the scandal over the treatment of
recuperating soldiers at Walter Reed hospital facilities, perhaps
because the news came from the Washington Post.
When Right wing fundocrat Richard Scaife has second thoughts
about Clinton, its clear he needed a rudder years ago and may
even have helped get us into Iraq; how PR people manage photo ops
with the President; death of a hard drive.
A Pentagon official complains that detainees at Guantanamo are
getting legal assistance which is too good, and tries to provoke
a backlash against the lawyers' firms.
Polls show that by escalating in Iraq, Bush is out of touch with
mainstream American values; Bush pulls back on divisive judicial
nominees; US strikes against Iran, in Iraq; controversy over the
ownership of the "iPhone" name.
