PSoTD

It's not even April, and the Mid-Atlantic is in a drought and fire danger season...

Maryland Enacts Burning Ban On Public Lands

Barring a surprise downpour today or tonight, Baltimore is wrapping up its driest March since people started keeping records 135 years ago.

Virginia has experienced more wildfires in three months this year than in all of 2005.

A statewide burning ban remains in effect in Delaware.

Adams County, Pennsylvania - No Open Burning

Not a good way to head towards summer.

Joseph P. Schiaffino is one of the Republican Candidates for State Senate in the 10th District to replace Joe Conti, who is retiring. Mr. Schiaffino kindly agreed to respond to our lobbying regulation questions. Those responses are below:

Question 1: What should be the goals of any lobbying laws or reform in Pennsylvania?

Schiaffino: The goal of any lobbying reform laws should be strict limits on what if anything may be given to legislators, and complete reporting of all contributions to a legislator and/or his campaign.

Question 2: What entity or entities should be responsible for administering these laws?

Schiaffino: The attorney general is the highest law enforcement officer in the state. Enforcement should be the responsibility of his office.

Question 3: Are there any other states that could or should serve as a model for lobbying regulation?

Schiaffino: I know other states have much better lobbying regulations on the books, and I would certainly look to them for ideas on toughening Pennsylvania's laws. We don't have to reinvent the wheel here.

Question 4: What kind of public reporting requirements should be required for lobbying? How much information should a citizen be able to find publicly about the activities of a lobbyist, and how should that information be made available?

Schiaffino: Sunshine laws should be made to apply to all contacts between lobbyists and legislators. They are trying to influence the legislator to do something favorable to them and the public needs to know what is going on, and if it is in the best interests of the citizens and the state.

Question 5: Should lobbyists be required to pay, through registration fees, for all costs involved in providing such registration/regulation/public reporting?

Schiaffino: I would consider an annual or one time registration fee to cover recording and reporting of lobbying activities.

Domain name gifts.

I bet some Republicans read with glee this little piece from the Benton Courier of Benton, Arkansas:

Huckabee: Not ready for prime time?

Gov. Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign may hit the rocks when national reporters get the word out that his Healthy Arkansas program goes so far as to require children to "keep moving" even if they want to read during a school recess.

...

Of course, Huckabee isn't going to take this one lying down. He'll have media representative Alice Stewart come out and rip into me and the Courier for a while before she starts blaming the teacher or the kid or even the Benton School District for the way it “interprets” his mandate. The man is very thin-skinned. He and his media representatives like to use Rovian methods of “attack the messenger” because he doesn't like being held accountable himself. He likes to be able to control the spin on any issue.

I've been writing opinion columns for most of 35 years and never have I been asked to "correct" my opinion as often as I have here under the Huckabee Regime.

Remember, this is the same guy who went on a national cable television show and blamed the Democrats for running a “banana republic” in his state, even though he was the governor. Not only does that not say much for his administrative skills, but it doesn't do a whole lot for Arkansas tourism, either. Apparently, Huckabee's “thinking on his feet” skills could stand improvement. I would like to see such abilities well-developed before I hand him or anyone else the nuclear button. Dealing with a recovering drug addict like Don Imus on his early-morning radio/cable TV show should be manageable before someone starts handling the national press. Granted, that group has slumbered the past few years, but the members seem to be snapping out of it in recent months.

Apparently today's playbook is to try to push Borders into carrying some publication that is reprinting the controversial Danish cartoons of Muhammad on inside pages. Okay, okay, waste your bandwidth if you must, but please, quit crying about the freedom of expression - Borders is a store, their job is to do what it takes to increase sales and reduce costs, and that's what they're doing. Borders has given Free Inquiry magazine more promotion than they probably get in a year with this action, so more good than harm has come to them as well.

Maybe I'm getting carried away with creating words.

Still, today's question:

What are the ingredients in a Bushtini Cocktail?

Senate Approves Lobbying Limits by Wide Margin

Reminds me of this...

Baby steps.

When profit intersects with produce, the result: the Campari tomato.

Look for specialized catsup and tomato sauces promoting Campari tomatoes in your grocery future.

BTW, I did not realize that the average American consumes 19.2 pounds of fresh tomatoes per year. I'm sure I bring that number down - don't really care for tomatoes.

I admit it, I'm sinking to their level.

But if a newspaper or other supposed journalistic endeavor is going to label as terrorism any issue, group of people, or activity that clearly is not terrorism, then I'm going to label that as journalistic terrorism. I mean, as long as we're doing it, why don't we all just water down the term "terrorism" to mean something another person doesn't agree with or hurts their feelings?

So... a big get screwed to the Sonoran News, which commits journalistic terrorism with this dungscript.

That's right, Google doesn't have a post for this term yet. So here's your chance for immortality, terminologists:

What does Weeguh Weeguh mean?

Howard Kaloogian story followers, prepare to laugh.

I would say the National GOP is in trouble. Earlier this week I was talking with a somewhat prominent Central Pennsylvania Republican, and heard some words that really surprised me. Basically, he expressed some hope that the Democrats take over at least one house of Congress this year, although he realized there were structural limits (redistricting) that probably prevented it. He considered spending to be worse than when Democrats held power, and that he suspected the GOP was going to have to lose power in order to get back to fiscal conservatism.

From ClickZ:

Political campaigns are exempt from CAN-SPAM regulations. But did Congress intend to give them permission to harvest e-mail addresses and knowingly send to lists built via harvesting, both of which are "aggregated violations" under CAN-SPAM?

I asked Trevor Hughes, executive director of the Email Sender & Provider Coalition and an attorney specializing in spam issues. He confirmed the harvesting section of the CAN-SPAM act was directed specifically at commercial e-mails and added, "There are strong protections on political speech, which extend to use of e-mail. This doesn't seem like an FTC issue, as they only regulate commercial e-mail. It's more a question of political speech."

Although I'm not sure what makes this golf tournament a "classic"...

From the Nome Nugget

Photo by Peggy Fagerstrom
Wayne Carey from Dilllingham braves the wind and cold in the Nome Golf Classic last Saturday.

My post about Shakespeare brought up distant memories of the Stratford Festival in Canada, which is, I believe, the largest Shakespeare Festival in North America. My wife and I went two different years to Stratford in the early 1990s, and it was quaint and dynamic and exciting at the same time. You would run into performers at the bars or restaurants you ate at, and see them a few days later on stage. The whole town turned into a land of bed and breakfasts during the summer, and the ones we stayed at were very nice. And the Canadian sausage for breakfast was so much better than the normal fare you get in the States.

For anyone that loves Shakespeare, or plays in general, it's a fun and worthy trip. When our kids get older we'll "force" them into a trip to the Great North at least once, and plan a few nights in Stratford.

If the word gets out, it's bound to happen.

Sexing up Shakespeare is a handy trick for directors seeking to exploit the Bard's bawdy humour to put bums on seats. Now one woman has gone further with the most intensive search ever for sexual innuendo, toilet humour and smut buried deep in the national poet's oeuvre. 'The plays are absolutely packed with filth,' said academic Héloïse Sénéchal. 'I've found more than a hundred terms for vagina alone.' That the author of As You Like It would, were he alive today, be writing for Viz magazine is implied by Sénéchal's research for the footnotes of a new Royal Shakespeare Company edition of his complete works which promises to be the most candid ever.

She claims that previous editions of Shakespeare have been too prudish, and that by using computer techniques she has uncovered unrecognised double entendres. These were aimed at the working classes who crowded into the Globe in London for their fill of bawdy entertainment. Sénéchal has identified seemingly innocuous words such as carrot, pencil and horn as terms for penis, while she pinpoints pie, fruit dish and 'buggle boe' as references to the vagina.

Look out, Ashland, Oregon, Pat Robertson might be damning you soon...

White House chief of staff Andy Card has resigned and will be replaced by budget director Josh Bolten, an administration official said Tuesday.

Funny. The story briefly adds that:

The move comes amid a sharp decline in Bush's approval ratings and calls from Republicans for the president to bring in new aides with fresh ideas and new energy.

Typical Bush Administration. I don't know what Card's popularity is with the general population, probably most folks don't really know who he is, but he's not what is dragging Bush's approval ratings down. So keep the people who are (Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rove) and get rid of Card. Make sense to you?

It does if they want to "appear" like they're shaking things up without actually changing any policy.

Gotta wonder how the Secret Service sees these folks in term of threat... after all, they are calling for a day of reckoning.

The good citizens of the United States of America with the help of the patriotic media will be in Crawford Texas to lawfully and peacefully demonstrate against George W. Bush's lack of enforcement of immigration law. For calling the Minutemen and other border watchers "vigilantes", for not directing ICE to round up illegal aliens in our cities, for willfully failing to put our miltary on the border, For being a Mexican president and the best friend an illegal alien can have, for putting American citizens last. We, the American people will be in Crawford Texas May 6 2006 , for a reckoning. Join us! God Bless America.

They even think there may be a possible car caravan to President Bush's ranch.

Weird. I would think there would be enough demand for the domain politics.com that it wouldn't be wasted like this.

That's the name of this new recipe book by bloggers. It goes for $15, and most importantly, it is a fundraiser with proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders.

I even have a recipe in there - well, it's not really mine, but I recommended it.

Please consider purchasing it - it's a good cause and you should get some good eating out of it!

Interesting article today in the Washington Post about lobbying in the nation's capitol. This stood out as a truth, blunt and obvious:

Lobbyists muscled their way into the process as pork-barrel earmarking was exploding, promising to make sure their clients' requests rose to the top of the pile. The Congressional Research Service counted 3,023 earmarks worth $19.5 billion in 1996 spending bills. By this year, the number had climbed to 12,852, valued at $64 billion. The number of clients registered with Congress on budget and appropriations matters has more than doubled since 1998, from 1,665 to 3,759 in 2004, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

Lobbyists play such a central role in the appropriations process that many constituents believe they have no choice but to retain one if they hope to obtain funding for their project or organization.

Here's a question about that $64 billion in earmarks - how much of that goes to the lobbying firms? How much is America actually paying in appropriations so that the lobbying process is used? That's the number this article needs.

Shawn Diggory is a Democrat running for the 160th District in Pennsylvania's State House. He kindly agreed to respond to our questions about lobbying reform:

Question 1: What should be the goals of any lobbying laws or reform in Pennsylvania?

Shawn Diggory: All lobbying laws should have one underlying goal: To increase the transparency with which our Legislature operates. All Pennsylvanians have a right to know who is seeking to persuade their elected officials and on what issues.

Question 2: What entity or entities should be responsible for administering these laws?

Shawn Diggory: The ideal would be to have a truly independent agency to enforce the law, outside of the Executive branch. This agency would also have authority over all lobbyists, not just the non-lawyer lobbyists. Absent this new entity, the State Ethics Commission should have this responsibility, and lawyers who feel that the Commission has over-reached its authority could appeal to the Judiciary.

Question 3: Are there any other states that could or should serve as a model for lobbying regulation?

Shawn Diggory: The State of Washington has very good disclosure laws, according to the Center for Public Integrity. Kentucky and South Carolina also ban or severely limit or ban gift-giving by lobbyists, which Pennsylvania should model. (I would prefer an outright ban, which would do away with a need for the bureaucracy to report gifts.)

Question 4: What kind of public reporting requirements should be required for lobbying? How much information should a citizen be able to find publicly about the activities of a lobbyist, and how should that information be made available?

Shawn Diggory: All lobbyists should be registered with the Commonwealth, and that information should be publicly available at an easy-to-navigate website. Additionally, quarterly expense reports detailing which public officials were lobbied and how much was spent should be posted at the same website.

Question 5: Should lobbyists be required to pay, through registration fees, for all costs involved in providing such registration/regulation/public reporting?

Shawn Diggory: The Commonwealth should absorb the costs associated with regulation and reporting. Registration fees are common, but should not be so high as to be a burden to lobbying groups that may not be well-funded, such as social issue lobbying groups.

From the Montgomery Advertiser:

Talking to the little old lady on the corner is not the only way to keep up with what's going on in the neighborhood.

Several neighborhood associations in the Montgomery area have their own Web sites, many of which provide information about neighborhood meetings, events, neighborhood history and other items of interest to their residents.

Vera Jordan, executive director for Building Our Neighborhoods for Development and Success (BONDS), said that a Web site can be great for residents who want to maintain communication with their neighbors.

"It's important that a neighborhood association keeps pace with residents living within its boundaries," she said. "While paper neighborhood newsletters are great, some residents prefer having the option to read it online. Neighborhood Web sites are also a great tool to involve residents who like using their technology skills."

This article, although it is on an important topic, kind of misses the point. It is all about one (the homeowner association) to many (the residents) communication.

Web sites are important. However, homeowner associations would be well-advised to consider all-to-all voluntary email listservs - with stringent guidelines for discussion - to allow neighbors to talk amongst themselves, online, about the issues they find most important. It shouldn't be about controlling the message. It should be about expanding the opportunity for messages.

In the past few years, our neighborhood has discussed vandalism, animal control, ways to slow down speeders, shared property improvements, costs of running the homeowner associations, etc., etc. The key is to keep the discussion focused on the point of the email group - our neighborhood. Discussions will stray both in topic and tone, so there has to be some understandable guidelines to remind folks about.

- If cell phone service will be the way almost all personal "phone" communication is carried out in the future

- If telecommunications service is an important component of any homeland security measure

Why is cell tower placement not being coordinated at the national level?

It should be illegal to send any marketing piece that doesn't indicate the name of the business involved. ILLEGAL.

Yet, here I sit with 7 junk faxes from the past few days, and only one has the company name listed. The rest give toll-free numbers to either fax a stupid inquiry or followup for further information.

Gutless businesses.

April 18, 2006 will mark the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake. Apparently there will be considerable commemorating going on...

Meanwhile, the Hayward Fault is "locked and loaded"...

I'm sure there's a lot of sadness in Bakersfield, California, on the passing of Buck Owens today. My Dad has lived in Bakersfield for the past 20 years, and has gone to knowing little about Owens to thinking he's one of the class acts in show biz, and I'm sure that's a popular sentiment in Bakersfield. His Crystal Palace may have been Bakersfield's greatest entertainment offering.

Why do candidates run for Congress on the main plank of being for "smaller government"? Is there anything in our history that indicates that winning a Congressional seat gives one the power to create smaller government? I don't see anything. It doesn't happen. It's like a vegetarian being the head cook at Ruth Chris Steak House - yes, I'm sure the person can do the job, but is it really a fit for them? Is it really the way for success for either the cook or the restaurant?

I don't think so. I don't think the restaurant would think so. And yet, in politics, it's an accepted plank, to hire someone who claims to strongly support a philosophy that really doesn't have much bearing with what the job requires. Like this dude. Okay, he's been an eye technician and a special education assistant. For some reason, he thinks it's more important that Scott is for a smaller government.

What in his experience should lead anyone to think he could do anything to make government smaller? What in our nation's history should lead anyone to think that one member of Congress can make government smaller? In the past 5 years, hasn't the majority of Congress been for "smaller government"? Yes. Has it gotten smaller? No.

Wouldn't he have a better chance at success at making government smaller at... a smaller level? Especially when you've had no experience doing such? How about city council, county supervisor, school district... something realistic.

It's time to drop the term "smaller government" from Congressional campaigns. Smart Congressional candidates ought to be saying "efficient government", and saying it often, and saying it loud, and drowning out the boobs that throw terms like "smaller government" at the voters like so many empty beer bottles.

And it's time for the electorate to realize that Congressional candidates that commonly use the phrase "smaller government" are boobs not worth hiring.

The more Ben Domenech talks, the less acceptable of a selection for the Washington Post he proves to be. The Washington Post shouldn't be hiring ANY bloggers until they get someone in charge that:

1) does due diligence on the background of the blogger; and
2) has a clear picture of a full palette of views and interests to be represented - and can explain that palate.

Obviously, they don't have anyone to do either yet.

President Bush will throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Cincinnati Reds' home opener April 3 against the Chicago Cubs.

Of course, that area of Ohio is pretty conservative...

Set your blogrolls accordingly.

Thinking about doing something sneaky on the Web? Let this be a lesson that if you do, you're likely to get your ass kicked by folks more knowledgeable than you...

In fact, just one more step from this post... Won't be long before rightwingers start claiming that the Washington Post knew about Domenech's "borrowing" of text and hired him to deliberately sabotage the work of conservative bloggers.

From Poynter Forums:

Washington's annual Radio-Television Correspondents' Association dinner is Wednesday night, after which it might not be a bad idea to put the event on hiatus for a few years. Along with the White House Correspondents' Association dinner and, yes, even the white-tie granddaddy of them all, the Gridiron. Out of respect for the troops. At least until the wholesale bloodshed subsides in Iraq.

Exactly on point. And while we're respecting people, the dinners ought to be stopped out of respect for the American taxpayers, for the international community that has to work with this administration, for the memory all the past members of the press that worked in earlier generations, and everyone else on the planet disgusted by egotistical whoring glee clubs.

They are a gross, gross embarrassment to the press, with the biggest disappointment being that the press doesn't completely realize that fact.

Just some great NCAA Sweet Sixteen games last night. The two late games were gut-twisters.

The human body, of course.

Why do voters re-elect a Congressman who comes back to the district and responds to a town hall meeting in the following fashion:

When asked about about legislation concerning undocumented illegal aliens, one of the biggest issues in the district, he says he is not familiar with every piece of legislation in Congress.

When asked to express his opinion about homosexuals in the military, he responds:

"I think it's a sad situation, and my heart goes out to every single person who has (homosexual) inclinations."

When asked whether he would support going to war with Iran, he answered:

"Whatever we need to do to prevent Iran from getting a bomb or putting the whole world at war, I'm willing to do."

Yes, those are really the kinds of quality answers that Wally Herger gives the residents of the 2nd Congressional District in Northern California.

To sum up: I don't know. It's tough. Whatever seems right.

Why wouldn't the citizens of the district give Bill Falzett a chance over Herger? Admittedly, Falzett doesn't have the 1997 cool idea of candidate wallpaper on his website like Herger has on his, but then who else does?

Hard to believe it's been over 20 years since he cut Ghost Writer (nearly 30) and Escape Artist. Apparently he took about a ten year break from recording for family life, and a dissatisfaction with the music industry. But now he's back. If you need a primer for Jeffreys, check out the Wild in the Streets compilation.

The coach of Bradley's basketball team... He was a player on the anti-glory years of the Sacramento Kings...

The upgrades have made it a nice airport. Still, we hardly ever use it. Why? Because the airline fare prices suck, compared to flying out of Philadelphia or Baltimore or DC. It seems like it is always a good $200 per person more through Harrisburg when we look at booking flights, and there's usually 4 of us flying, so why would we go through HIA?

I don't think we're alone in that assessment. Witness this news:

Passenger traffic at Harrisburg International Airport dropped 16% in February compared to the same month in 2005, airport owner Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority reported this morning. Board member David McIntosh blamed the decline on airlines's decisions to make fewer seats available for travel at HIA. He cited bankruptcy-related service reductions by TransMeridian Airlines, Northwest Airlines Corp. and Delta Air Lines Inc. resulting in almost 18% fewer seats available for sale last month compared to February 2005.

So... there's less flights coming in now. Passenger traffic is down. What's HIA going to do next? Looks like they're going to grab more land, of course!

Harrisburg International Airport has won a victory in its attempt to acquire a neighboring property by eminent domain. U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner dismissed a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Tom Corbett’s office claiming that the airport’s attempt to acquire 17 acres owned by Cramer Airport Parking violated federal antitrust laws.

Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority now awaits a separate ruling in Dauphin County Court on how much the authority must pay landowner Stanford Cramer to acquire his lot. The authority wants Cramer’s land to expand cargo or corporate aviation facilities.

Currently that land IS used for passengers - folks using long-term parking. It seems to me that Cramer's is getting doubly screwed by the government and HIA because HIA isn't staying competitive with other nearby airports. First of all, less passenger traffic means less long-term parking. Secondly, they're taking Cramer's land so they try to make money in another form of aviation service.

Kudos to the Attorney General's office for fighting for Cramer's. This land grab seems wrong and unfair to boot - and with little confidence in the intellectual consideration in the reasoning for it, either.

When I'm around other parents, and the kids are elsewhere, eventually the subject of the discussion will be the kids, anyway. As parents, they are too much of the focus, too much of the time, too much of the energy for them NOT to be a major and popular topic of discussion.

But it's all real time, or close to it, as frame for the discussion. And it's mostly personal - what sport Billy is playing, what musical instrument Tanya wants to learn, the bug going around the school, what summer camps have the kids tried, etc. We rarely discuss the future - the real future, the expected future, the desired future for our kids. Not what we want for ourselves, but what we want for our kids, and for their future. How we should handoff the planet, so to speak. That's a discussion families may have, but not often shared much amongst friends, and almost never amongst acquaintances.

It seems to me that's a discussion our country sorely needs. I don't know why a national politician doesn't tap into it, and quite easily ask the questions: What kind of America do you want for your kids? How should America operate when they become adults? How should America prepare for their generation? Are we leaving America better or worse off for our kids than our parents left for us? Are there greater sacrifices that we should make for the next generation? What is reasonable to expect for American in the next generation? Have you discussed with your friends that have kids these kinds of questions? What do they think? Will you sit around a dinner table with your friends, and talk about it as friends? Won't you do that for your kids?

In fact, I'm not sure why there isn't a group, something like "Parents for the Future", that provide bandwidth and venue for such talk, locally and nationally. It is, after all, a humungous topic, one that can't be talked out in one or three or fifteen hours, but could be (and should be) a lifetime of discussion and action as we raise our kids. It shouldn't be a partisan thing, that will only rot the future value of such an effort. It could be an idea sharing and discussing and developing process, open to thoughts from both liberal and conservative, and synthesized into something that eventually became policy or practice over generation.

I know, I know - parents don't have much time for things, since they're so busy parenting. But is it responsible to not do this? These will be our kids living in this world we build 50 years from now. Shouldn't we be thinking ahead for them since they're too young to do it now?

Obviously, we should. But it sure seems to me that we need to be more effective in results. The first step is to talk with each other and figure out how.

One year after smoking ban, Thayer Street sees business as usual

One year after the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a statewide smoking ban, local restaurant and bar owners say a feared loss of business has not materialized.

The ban, officially known as the Rhode Island Workers' Safety Act, went into effect over a year ago, on March 1, 2005. It prohibits indoor smoking in public facilities.

On Thayer Street, Andreas Restaurant co-owner and managing partner Nicholas Mackris said the smoking ban has not affected business at all.

"Our initial fear was that it would negatively affect business, but fortunately our fears were not realized," Mackris said. Because of the ban, he said, he has noticed more people smoking outside the restaurant than before. But, he added, it has not posed a problem.

Thel Spiridas, manager of Paragon, said the smoking ban has not affected business, but agreed there are now more smokers outside than before the ban went into effect.

...

The experiences of local business seem to be part of a statewide trend - despite fears that the ban would hurt businesses, the smoking ban has possibly helped to stimulate them.

David Gifford, director of the state Department of Health and associate professor of medicine, told the Associated Press last October that tax revenues generated by restaurants and bars increased by 21 percent in the first four months after the law went into effect.

What - smoking bans are good for business? Who would have thought? Oh yeah - nonsmokers.

Who is writing Bush's Presidential Proclamations? Check out how USA-centric the Bush Administration couches the declaration of March 25, 2006, as Greek Independence Day. We can't even leave it as that - Bush declared it as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.

Well, a question about buildings, at least...

What is the "coolest" building that you've been within? (not temperature - just your personal favorite)

From the Stamford Advocate:

While U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman pushes reforms that could curb the practice of politicians accepting rides on private corporate jets, the Connecticut Democrat is ranked 13th on a list that tracks such flights.

The list ranks spending by 192 federal elected officials who used aircraft owned by corporations to travel to political engagements and other events.

But as ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Lieberman is co-sponsoring a lobbying reform bill that could put a stop to such flights.

It is too bad that Joe Lieberman needs legislation to stop him from doing what he is doing. Apparently his free will is now gone.

Paul Tagliabue is leaving the NFL, and he's leaving it both peaceful and prosperous.

Roger Goodell, the NFL's chief operating officer, and Atlanta general manager Rich McKay are the two leading candidates to succeed Tagliabue. Baltimore Ravens president Dick Cass also is considered to have an outside chance and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has said she would like the job.

"Ask her," Tagliabue said when quizzed about Rice's candidacy.

Seriously. Just think how different - and better - the world would have been if one George W. Bush had been made baseball commissioner in 1992. And would baseball have really suffered?

Time to thank the kind bloggers that have added PSoTD to their blogroll in the recent past. (Or, I've recently noticed...)

Toad in the Hole

Bootstrap Analysis

The Lady Speaks

Much appreciated!

I don't take any particular enjoyment out of the article today called "How to spot a baby conservative". I think this kind of "study" is pretty much unhelpful - it's just another step towards taking the personal responsibility out of one's belief system. Oh, I was born a conservative or a liberal. Bleh. What we need are articles about the personal responsibility required - and public standards expected - to actually speak intelligently about one's viewpoint. Somebody can be a conservative or a liberal, and have good reasons for being such. The explanation that someone was born that way, or raised that way, shouldn't be thought highly of as a reason. They were also born naked and uneducated. Society doesn't accept those as standards of development, either.

Was just watching a bit of Bush's rerun speech in Cleveland about Iraq. Looks like he is reading from an 8.5 by 11 inch binder. Based on how he's flipping the pages, it looks like there's somewhere between 40-50 words per page. I'll admit, he's using some big words, but that's either one monster sized font or he has a ton of white space.

USA Today reminds us that Congressional lawmakers will make $165,200 this year. Leaders earn more.

That's without benefits. That's not including office expenses. That's not including any freebies they may get from organizations because they are members of Congress. That's just pay.

Seem high to you? Compare it to your area's average per capita personal income. It's not cost effective, that's for sure. Where are all those members of Congress that advocate running government like a business? Because we're overpaying the market price...

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities put out a report on states and sales tax on food last week.

Something stood out:

Five states tax groceries at lower rates than other goods; they are Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. A sixth state, Utah, will reduce its sales tax on groceries effective January 1, 2007.[1]

Six states — Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming — tax groceries fully but offer credits or rebates offsetting some of the taxes paid on food by some portions of the population. These credits or rebates usually are set at a flat amount per family member. The amounts and eligibility rules vary, but may be too narrow and/or insufficient to give eligible households full relief from sales taxes paid on food purchases.

Five states continue to apply their sales tax fully to food purchased for home consumption without providing any offsetting relief for low- and moderate-income families. They are Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, and (until January 1, 2007) Utah.

Why is it that a considerable number of Southern states tax food purchased for home consumption? What is the thinking behind that?

From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader:

Florida has Disney. Idaho has potatoes. And now, for many, South Dakota has abortion.

A state's image is often a perception forged by a combination of stereotype and marketing. Whether the association with abortion becomes permanent for South Dakota hinges on the fate of a recently passed law banning almost all abortions in the state.

...

Sam Min, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of South Dakota, said negative word of mouth about the state is spreading, particularly among young people, traditionally a heavily liberal segment of the population.

Long term, though, Min thinks the notoriety the state has gained could be advantageous, regardless of which way the political wind blows. Awareness of the state's name will increase with exposure, he said, and eventually the association with abortion will fade. South Dakota could instead become unconsciously associated with vague concepts such as taking bold action and breaking new ground.

Well, that's certainly one optimistic way to look at it. Of course, look how well the concept of Intelligent Design did for the community of Dover, Pennsylvania. Do you unconsciously associate Dover with bold action and breaking new ground? Or do you associate it with religious zealotry?

BTW, I'm pretty sure that publishing these kinds of "theories" aren't doing much for the reputation of the University of South Dakota, either.

Why is it that the saddest product area of a grocery store is the "humorous" section of the birthday card aisle?

Spontaneous Arising recommends that we read Hermann Hesse's books before they remove him from the list of officially-sanctioned authors.

Big surprise. The bill Congress is moving - H.R. 3997? It pre-exempts any state laws mandating breach disclosures to consumers. And it doesn't require data brokers and other companies to notify consumers upon a breach of security concerning financial data. Companies can decide whether or not to inform consumers.

Is there any issue in which this Congress will refuse to sell out Americans?

What does your underwear say about you?

I usually don't read Power Line at all, but yesterday he discussed the monsters that are out picketing and protesting funerals of fallen soldiers because they hate homosexuals. Power Line doesn't really deal with the idiocy of the whole protest, which is fine, but complains that Minnesota is taking the drastic step of limiting how close to funerals such protests can be. Power Line's comment:

This strikes me as one of many examples of our culture's obsession with legal remedies. As a lawyer, I suppose I shouldn't complain; but as a citizen, I think it's ridiculous. If a bunch of crazies show up waving signs at a funeral, the appropriate course is for an able-bodied man--there should be at least one at any funeral--to take a sign and break it over the ringleader's head. One of the basic problems in our society is that nearly all informal sanctions have been forfeited, so that there is hardly any middle ground between passive acceptance of antisocial behavior and a felony prosecution. Legislation and criminal prosecution are blunt instruments that cannot be brought to bear against every deviancy that may arise.

Advocating the rule of violent force over the rule of law. Goon.

From Statesman.com:

For the past few years, a German company called Biopat has been selling naming rights to newly discovered species. (Scientists who discover the species donate the rights, and the money goes to conservation groups.) Husbands have named flowers after their wives as a romantic gift, although most species named are insects. Ellen DeGeneres tried to win an auction last year to name a new monkey species after herself but was outbid by the big-spending Las Vegas casino Golden Palace.

Are there no pure motives anymore? Is everything corrupted eventually by money?

From TMCNet:

Now, even the debate on a proposed cell-phone tower is mired in the controversy over illegal immigration in this group of ranches east of Sonoita on Arizona 82, about 25 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

A group of local residents has emerged in opposition to a 50-foot cell tower that Cingular wants to build here.

In addition to being concerned about aesthetics and future growth of the tower -- worries shared by many cell-phone-tower opponents across the country -- the neighbors are afraid that the tower would bring more traffic into the area by opening up communications to smugglers of humans and drugs.

"Once they recognize there is additional cell-phone contact down here, they can go to cell phones and nobody can track them," said Bevan Olyphant, who owns the Biscuit Mountain Ranch.

We're going to see Bugs 3D at the Whittaker Center today. I'm pretty sure he's gonna love it. Went a few years back with our daughter and she loved it. Grab the butterflies!

Just like here, Taiwan's lobbying bill is bogged down in the committee stage. Interesting to see another country's take on the reform issue.

Just naked skin, all from subjects over 50 years of age, in an effort to challenge the concept of beauty. The "Women Without Expiry" calendar goes on sale for 2007.

Freakin' Dan Wetzel. Blogging the NCAA Tournament is a dream job. And he gets to end his day before half the games are even played?

It's one of those days, I'm swamped with work. So here's today's question:

What's your favorite 3D movie?

In my 20s, I was a 32 waist pants wearer.

In my early 30s, I started losing the war, and eventually had to move to a size 34 waist. Damnit, now that I'm 47, I am close to moving on to 36. I don't want to. But for my birthday, my mother-in-law bought me some nice slacks (because I never buy them), and on the recommendation of my wife, bought them in size 36 waist. They're comfortable. Damnit.

There's a petition online. Only 27 signatures - and Rendell ain't one of them.

What occupational profession's practitioners do you find yourself feeling the most respect towards?

(note: I know you can tell I found that question hard to word...)

A retired naval officer says it:

Only in fascist countries is the military held to a higher level of respect or position than a citizen.

We are all supposed to be equals in the eyes of the law. There's a moral reason why that standard exists. It is a big problem that politicians, and the public, can't remember what that reason is.

I'm convinced this situation puts our national political parties in full display.

One party won't act to censure Bush because it will damage their reputation even further.

The other party is completely afraid of even having a reputation.

Of course, neither party has a clue what Americans see in this costume minuet.

Vote them all out. Except Feingold.

Addition: And Tom Harkin.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution has put together a list of their top ten songs.

Can you name which U.S. Senator can claim the following on his/her official web site?

On the front page alone, the word bipartisan appears a total of 4 times in three different articles.

Three of 15 press releases listed for 2006 use the term bipartisan in the headline.

I wonder who the staff leader is for pushing the bi message for "Bipartisan" John McCain. Is it Communications Director Eileen McMenamin (didn't she used to be a CNN Political Producer? Isn't she married to LA Times Reporter Ron Brownstein?) Or is it Press Secretary Andrea Jones?

Lower Allen Township Commissioner-elect Dan Christ has a blog, and yesterday he had a pretty interesting post about the Pennsylvania American Water Company's fluoride "spill" of last December. None of the Commissioners from the township I live in - Hampden Township - have a blog that I know of, but perhaps they'll try to emulate Mr. Christ in the next few years...

I think you'll enjoy this question:

If the Bible was made into a movie comedy, what role should John Madden play?

If you're in an NCAA basketball pool, I think you'll find this interesting...

That's about the only reasonable solution.

The wife of a Tampa soldier serving in Iraq is locked in an emotional dispute with her homeowner's association that wants her to remove a "Support Our Troops" sign from the front yard.

Stacey Kelley says her husband, Private David Kelley, bought the 2-foot-high sign before he went to Iraq. For her, it's a constant reminder of the sacrifice her husband and other soldiers are making.

But deed restrictions in her gated Westchase neighborhood northwest of Tampa prohibit all signs except "for sale" and "for rent" notices. The association sent Stacey Kelley a letter last month threatening to fine her $100 a day unless she removes her patriotic placard.

Caught in the middle is homeowners association President Daryl Manning, an Army reservist who has served in Iraq. He says he's sympathetic, but if Kelley is allowed to display the sign, nothing could prevent others from putting up signs with negative messages about the troops.

Stacey Kelley says she'll follow the advice her husband gave during their last conversation: not to take it down even if it comes down to paying the fines.

Normally I have very, very little sympathy for gated communities - I believe they are too restrictive, too forbidding of communities, and I sure wouldn't want to live in one. But if you choose to live in one, you choose to live by their rules. If you sign up for rules, then follow those rules. Or pay the fines.

It's all fun and games for the boys-playing-cops at the homeowners association until they're dragged into divorce cases because of what their surveillance cameras recorded...

From Pesky'Apostrophe:

The Internal Revenue Service has proposed a new rule that would let tax preparers sell or share a client’s tax-return information with third parties, as long as they got the client’s consent.

...

Considering how easy it’s been to sucker seniors into the confusing and just plain bad Medicare Part D plan, you just know that thousands and thousands will accidentally sign the right to financial privacy away.

And that is the point. This Administration is one medicine show after another.

Today's Question:

Who was the last elected official you wrote, and what was the subject of the correspondence?

From American Agenda:

On March 15th, the Pennsylvania House of Representative's State Government Committee will be voting on HB 2381, the anti-LGBT, anti-family constitutional amendment that would prohibit recognition of same-sex marriage and all unmarried relationships in the Commonwealth.

Gary has contact information on his site. Live in Pennsylvania? Think this is a complete waste of time, resources and moral judgment in Pennsylvania? Even more - think it's plain wrong? Let your legislators know.

I'm kinda surprised that this word has not made it into popular parlance, particularly on the web, since there's so many of us doing it. PDFerize is to take a document from its original format and convert it into a PDF.

The Washington establishment has a use/hate relationship with bloggers. They use bloggers to report stories they currently aren't ready to report on (Michelle Malkin's blog said t