PSoTD

Brilliant! Of course I want my domain registrar to be in charge of my public relations!

Another arrest in the British peerage case, this time Lord Levy. A short synopsis of the case so far:

The police are investigating whether peerages have been offered in exchange for donations and loans to political parties after it was revealed at the beginning of last year that all three major parties were given secret loans before the last general election. Traditionally there is no wrongdoing in lending political parties money however the suspicion is that the lenders are trying to buy influence.

Tony Blair has been accused of selling peerages after four businessmen, who gave Labour 4.5m in unpublicised loans, were subsequently nominated for peerages. Labour went on to reveal it had been secretly loaned nearly 14m ahead of the last election. The Conservative Party revealed they had borrowed 16m from 13 wealthy backers and the Liberal Democrat party 50,000 from three backers.

So he starts today with a spray of... something.

I know I said I wasn't interested in January 2007 polls on the Democratic primary, but this one is a little different...

Joe Biden's Campaign
When Will Joe Biden Officially End His '07-08' Campaign for President?	Before March 2007 Before June 2007 Before October 2007 Before January 2008 Before April 2008 Not Until The Convention Are You Crazy? He's Going to Win This Thing!
	Current Results

Is that they listen, and give fantastic facial expressions, while and after you tell incredibly corny jokes.

Yeah, I just had one of those moments.

If Bigfoot did, that would make it easier for Kathy Strain to find him or her.

Amanda Marcotte is going to be the Blogmaster/blogatrix at John Edwards’ presidential campaign blog. Among many others, Roxanne from Rox Populi will be guest blogging at Pandagon. All good.

The TPM Cafe roundtable with Senator Schumer didn't work as well as I would have hoped. Two days to develop questions, 40 minutes for Senator Schumer to type out his responses - he answered 7, and a couple of those were in the "of course we should" quality. I'm not sure live blog discussions work that well if the time for response is so limited and the time to develop questions is this long.

Having said that, it sure seemed to me that TPMCafe could use their "rating" option to determine a priority of questions to be asked. There were several good questions asked that weren't answered, and I'm not just talking about my own question. Room for improvement on the process, I guess.

He's playing near Philly in late February, I'm thinking about going. I've seen him twice, in San Francisco in the late 1980s, and both shows were great.

So... what's your favorite Graham Parker song?

(And a sneak listen from Parker's "Don't Tell Columbus", scheduled to be released March 13, 2007: Stick to the Plan)

When the reporter goes from reporting the story to being part of the story - to the point where he may be called to testify - should he stay on the post of reporting the story? What should Slate do in this particular case?

Talk 2 Action has an interesting post about how little some of the Dover School District board members knew about Intelligent Design before approving it for curriculum. The blog is right. It was negligence by the Board. There's still one member on the Board that voted for ID: Heather Geesey. She wasn't up for election when the rest of them were voted out.

I'm not sure I believe it's going to happen like this, but it does seem to me that about.com is a sand island slowly disappearing in an ocean of blogs.

Chuck Schumer is starting to make me really wonder what his whole point is with his book. At first, I thought he was a policy stalking horse for Hillary Clinton, laying out some ideas, hearing the feedback, and allowing Clinton to clean up on what sells. He supports her candidacy, so why not be a good scout? And then there's the need to feed some sort of Senatorial egomania, it's not like Schumer doesn't have 99 other compatriots in that department. But this Bailey thing. I watched him a bit on Tavis Smiley tonight, and Schumer went out of his way to explain the jobs of the fictional Baileys, and their life. It's kinda weird. It occurs to me that maybe Schumer ought to quit ignoring that inner voice, and write that damn screenplay about the Baileys.

Looking for a Beatific vision?

If you were going to buy one, what kind would you buy?

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized this morning at Kennett Square.

“We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain,” co-owner Roy Jackson said. “It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time.”

Even with the finest care available on the planet, Barbaro could not be saved. No expense was spared yet still the best veterinary doctors in the world failed. A petulant refusal by Barbaro's owners to admit failure would have only caused the horse to suffer towards no good end.

Compare the President of the United States who would countenance the pain, suffering and deaths of thousands rather than admit to failure. Just as the best medical care and intentions of all concerned couldn't save a champion thoroughbred with a shattered leg, the best military in the world can't be expected to reassemble a shattered Iraqi society. All possible outcomes are not within our control. But Bush's retort is to chant over and over and over "Failure is not an option", no matter how clear it becomes that failure is the right option.

Rest in peace, Barbaro. Suffer no more.

There really are no other words to use.

I just thought this link was worth posting.

I've had 4 or 5 people now email me asking whether Family Watchdog - a search engine for a national sex offender registry - is real. Of course it's real. And depending on where you live, a little bit scary. But if I've gotten that many emails, the word-of-email promotion of this site must be astounding.

Baseball, Yugioh, and now, football. My kids are getting into trading cards.

Most prized cards - Yankees in baseball and Steelers in football. I don't know where I'm going wrong with these kids rooting for the Yankees and all, but it's a bit of a disappointment. Rooting for the Steelers is completely expected in this area, especially after last year's success. They've reached the age where they think it's funny to root against my team - the Chicago Bears - so I've given up for now trying to get them to root for them.

It's like a time capsule watching them pour over these cards. I still have some of my baseball cards when I was a kid, and they were always prized possessions. My daughter likes looking at them - those players are from the old days! Yet Johnny Bench, Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock... those are just names to her. Where's Babe Ruth, and Joe Dimaggio? Cursed Yankee education, who's giving her those names?

Last week my wife bought each of the kids a binder and the plastic trading card holder sleeves. They both spent time this weekend carefully putting their cards in the order they felt was appropriate, and then fitting them into the sleeves. Our six year old likes to review his Yugioh cards every afternoon anyways, it seems, so this makes it easier for him.

Funny how much things can continue from generation to generation.

He discourages Americans.

Senator Chuck Schumer needs to quit wearing them. Then he needs to quit talking about what he sees in the future - because it bears no responsible relationship to reality. From today's Meet the Press:

SEN. SCHUMER: Well, I think the bottom line is that the president will have no choice but to begin a withdrawal come this summer or fall of 2007. And that’s why I think the 2008 election, Tim, is going to turn on a positive platform. That’s what I’ve written...

MR. RUSSERT: Not Iraq.

SEN. SCHUMER: Not Iraq. I think we do have to discuss how to deal with the war on terror in the future. But I think that the president has shown so little veering from this plan, which is a disaster, that by 2000--early 2008, even he is going to be forced to withdraw troops from Iraq.

Relying on Bush to withdraw troops is not a plan. Expecting him to do so without major pushing by Americans is not realistic. It's much more likely that we'll still be there, just outside of Baghdad, trying to keep the civil war in Baghdad and Iraq from spreading to other countries. Iraq isn't going away as an issue in 2008, although it is likely to be seen as part of a bigger issue - Middle East politics. Not necessarily the issue of terrorism, but actual foreign policy.

In general, a good thing - but I can't help but wonder what the businesses they compete with think about this.

Saving souls is serious business for Annandale, Va., pastor Steve Reynolds. So is losing weight.

Which is why he stepped out from behind the lectern during a service one recent weekend to deliver a blunt message to those crowded into the pews below.

"About 40 percent of you need to lose weight,” he told his congregation at Capital Baptist Church. "When you love potluck more than God, it's serious.”

And with that, the preacher, who has lost 70 pounds by relying on God and low carbs, launched a mission to lead his followers into the burgeoning world of religious dieting. "Our body was given to us by God and for God,” he said. "He is the owner. We need to take care of what He's given us.”

Reynolds, the pastor of Capital, is joining a movement that got its start in Christianity but has picked up steam and spread to other religions. Faith-based diet clubs, books and advice programs are prospering. Books advise Buddhists to practice "transformational nourishment,” Hindus are told to eat low-fat vegetarian fare.

It's still newsworthy.

Should Congress try to stop President Bush from deploying more U.S. troops in Iraq?

* 40651 responses

Yes 80%

No 16%

Not sure 4%

Seven states (at least) have it in place.

If you're looking for more Hot Pocket material...

Maybe this explains some of the boats anchored overnight near the islands of the river in the summer.

It's time for newspapers to grow up.

Although President Bush's annual State of the Union address touched on a host of topics, most of us listening were focused solely on what he had to say about the Iraq war.

Essentially, he asked the nation to give his unpopular plan to send more troops to Iraq a chance to work. He's imploring the nation to take a leap in faith that the new strategy will work.

We haven't a clue as to whether the new strategy will make any difference.

We hope it does. But we doubt it.

It sounds plausible that the war on terror has kept the battle over there and the U.S. is more prepared to thwart terrorism than it was on Sept. 11, 2001.

We sure hope so. But it's hard to take national security for granted, or measure accomplishments when events can suddenly alter that perceived success.

While the president's critics keep calling for a new direction, they stop short of offering any real solutions.

Where's Superman when we need him?

There are problems in which there is nothing we can do that can provide the solution. The policeman can't cure cancer. The doctor can't prevent murder. Apparently, we couldn't stop our government from pursuing a horrible policy in Iraq. And, unfortunately, it appears the news media can't consider whether it is reasonable to think that America can prevent civil war from happening in another country.

Yes, it is horrible that America has released all these things into motion in Iraq. But at some point we have to consider what we're doing as damage control, as opposed to solving the problem. We cannot solve this. And the kind of thinking that America can somehow control another country - and its people - is exactly how we got into this mess in the first place.

A nation needs to know its limitations.

I wonder how many of the creators of these web pages were confused by that rule.

From Earthtimes.org:

Members of the electric utility industry testified recently at a Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission hearing to promote time-of-use pricing.

The commission is considering charging customers based on when they use electricity. During times when energy use is heavier, prices will be higher, The Patriot-News reported. The utilities already pay higher rates to suppliers during times of peak use.

Customers pay a flat rate that accounts for both peak and off-peak use. Proponents of time-of-use pricing say it will make customers more aware of how much electricity they are using and create more energy-efficient consumers.

Though the new pricing scheme may promote energy conservation the charges are highly varied and may create major lifestyle changes for customers, said Steve Carrico, a utility consultant and witness at the PUC hearing last week.

I did not know that Stuart Malina, Music Director of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, had a blog. Now you know too.

For those that visit that have your own blogs:

When was the last time you added a blog to your blogroll?

Just more of my curiousity as to how static these things become.

The Dark Wraith does not appreciate receiving unrequested email from the Hillary Clinton campaign. I can't say I blame him.

I really don't know very much about this guy, but at least Alaska can say they've had a primary candidate for President now.

Kerry had his chance. I voted for him in 2004 and wanted him to win, but since that didn't occur, I am ready for other candidates. I'm not sure he has much weight to throw towards any particular candidate but it will be curious as to who he chooses to support, if any, in the primary. The Massachusetts primary will be March 4th, 2008, and unfortunately the race could well be over by that date, so I suppose there's a chance Kerry won't have to declare a preference.

According to Vice President Dick Cheney, it's the number three man in Al Qaeda!

We have not gotten Osama bin Laden, obviously, because he's very careful and, say, he doesn't communicate and he's not sort of in direct contact on a regular basis. But we've taken out several times that whole layer of leadership underneath Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri. One of the most dangerous jobs in the world is to be number three in the al Qaeda organization, because a lot of them are now dead or in custody.

Hey Dick, could we make the most dangerous job in the world being Al Qaeda's top guy?

Ed Rendell's administration is giving money to a brewery. Where's your dough?

The reviews are in on last night's SOTU from the style mavens at the National Review's conservative coffee klatsch. Not much on Bush but K-Lo found Nancy Pelosi's suit "unexpected and classy" and noted she had to change earlier in the day due to a chocolate mishap. Meanwhile, J-Go was simply appalled by Jim Webb's coiffure! Eewwww!

You go, girls.

Poor Gary Locke, perhaps to be forever remembered as the standard of lame-ass wuss responses to the State of the Union Message.

Maybe Bank of America got some negative feedback on their prior aggressive lobbying. Maybe it was impacting them on other fronts. I can't quite figure why BofA would publicize an effort to reduce a lobbying focus, unless it was hurting them elsewhere. But they still want the 10 percent federal deposit cap repealed.

I'm always curious to see the traffic numbers of celebrity's web sites, particularly the section in which they post "personal" photos of themselves and their lives. Is there really demand to see the special moments and highlights of last year for Suze Orman? Her web developer seems to think so...

Hunters blaming global warming for messing up their hunting.

In recent years, hunters appear to have been missing their target during woodcock season - without even firing a shot.

With winter seeming to arrive later each year, some hunters are concerned that the birds aren't migrating through the area during the hunting season, and only arrive after the season is over.

Paul Brook, owner of Woodman's outdoor sporting goods in downtown Norway, says the late winter is to blame.

"I don't know if it's global warming or what, but the last four years the woodcock hunting season has missed the migration," Brook says.

In Maine, woodcocks can be hunted in October when their migration pattern typically draws them through the state as they flock south from Canada for the winter.

"Lately, the migration misses the season," Brook says.

"There have been people out deer hunting and they've seen the birds come in," Brook explains. "But it was two weeks after the woodcock season ended."

Although it may be easy to say that winter is arriving later than it has in the past, Brook offers some more concrete explanation.

"What makes the woodcock migrate south is their food. Their diet is worms. They probe for worms on the ground and, as the ground freezes, they start migrating south," he says.

With the ground not freezing until later in the season, the woodcocks have no reason to begin their annual southerly shift.

Woodcock feeding habits aside, Brook says he's noticed other signs that the winters have been delayed in recent years.

Here's your chance to vote for who should be in the Hall of Fame. It won't count for anything, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Terrell Owens speaks about Parcells' retirement.

I don't pity John McCain, but it's pretty easy to recognize the trap he now finds himself in as a future Presidential candidate. For years he has cultivated a "maverick Senator" reputation, although it's really quite difficult to see how he really earned it. And after losing to Bush in the primaries in 2000, he was set to be the milquetoast "anti-Bush" for the party. He'd support the President, even on bad ideas, as long as they were ideas that were identified as Bush's. Where he could find a way to differentiate his position from the President without appearing to really badmouth Bush, he would do so, presenting himself as the Republican that wouldn't do what Bush was doing, exactly, but would do what Bush was doing with Tweak A and New Paint Job B and Twist of Phrase C. All the while, he was looking at 2008, realizing that Bush could screw things up a bit, but his clever positioning would allow him to cast himself as the candidate that actually could accomplish what Bush tried to do - that it was a question of intelligence and execution for the policy, and not a question of a particular policy in itself.

And that's where McCain made his first mistake - thinking Bush couldn't fuck it up so bad for any Republican that visibly followed his lead. But Bush has failed that badly. I don't see any way that a Bush toadie can win the Presidential election in 2008. I don't see any way that John McCain can avoid being painted as a Bush toadie, in both the primaries and the general election. Just as Lieberman was trapped with the kiss, McCain has "the hug". There are now potential Republican primary candidates that have positioned themselves further away from Bush than McCain has, limiting McCain's wiggle room. And prominent Republican Senators as well. And Bush has now adopted the "McCain Plan of Escalation" with his own Tweak A and Paint Job B and Twist of Phrase C. McCain finds himself utterly, completely screwed by being seen as so close to Bush on the Iraq policy. He's stuck, with no future political choice but to let this play out and hope for a miracle.

Most of us do hope for a miracle, but at some point reality must be the premise of policy. There will be no miracle for McCain. His presidential aspirations are just another victim of George W. Bush, who finds a way to taint anything near him. McCain got too close to Bush, which would be ironic for a "maverick" if indeed McCain had ever been one.

I think the New Orleans Saints season was probably the best feel-good stories of 2006, and it looks to me that the team only has upside. They have a good coach, a very good offense, and just need to improve pass coverage defense to take the next step. If you take a look at the Louisiana papers on Monday, they are full of coverage of the Saints, and despite the loss, are generally happy stories, full of photos and quotes from relatively-satisfied fans.

But will it be like this again? Or will Saints fans and Louisiana news media have higher expectations next year in what may be the toughest conference in the NFC, and reporting of satisfaction and enjoyment will disappear?

One of the things about the Saints coverage that stood out this year over any other sports coverage was the impact of the team on the fans, and the fans relationships with the team. I think this is good for sports to cover this dynamic more, because it is a crucial part of professional sports, in both value and concept - to bring entertainment to a community that also makes them feel good. Good teams do that. And good fans reciprocate the good feeling. So much of sports reporting is based on numbers - performance statistics, money, years of contract - that we're taking the humanity out of professional sports. The Saints coverage this year returned humanity in sports it to where it belonged - in newspapers, on television - and maybe there's a chance that a bit of that will rub off on the rest of the sports reporting world now. We can hope.

Makes about as much sense...

If office work has taken a back seat to football chatter, it must be the annual Super Bowl slowdown.

Excitement over what has become the biggest single sporting event of the year in the United States may actually end up costing employers some $800 million in lost productivity the week before the big game, a report said on Monday.

In Chicago and Indianapolis, the two cities whose National Football League teams will face off on February 4 in Miami, losses could reach $85 million in the run-up to the game, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Assuming employees, for example, spend 10 minutes a day talking about the game, making bets, surfing the Internet or shopping for a new television, their bosses will lose some $162 million per day. In a five-day workweek, that adds up to $810 million, based on average earnings and expected viewership.

Then there is the day after the championship when people discuss the game's plays, the TV commercials, or simply call in sick, resulting in more money lost, the outplacement consultant reported.

I hope nobody is paying these people to make this guess. I know lots of people who don't care about the Super Bowl one bit, and the likelihood they spend 10 minutes each workday involved in Super Bowl discussion above and beyond the time they normally spend talking about whatever personal interest they have is incredibly slight. Then there's that whole part of the question - is this supposed ten minutes per day spent on the Super Bowl in addition to the time spent discussing and doing more personal stuff at work, or just replacing something else as a priority for that week? Is this a daily ten minutes they'd normally be talking about their house or their kids' sports or the next doctor appointment or how drunk Sheila in accounting was last weekend?

But my biggest annoyance in this PR exercise committed annually by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. is that this somehow costs "the bosses". Really. Like the bosses take home less money because of this. No, if it costs anyone, and that is a big if, it costs the marketplace, because costs are transferred eventually. So let's cut out the "this is costing the employers" talk, because that's not the way companies operate in reality. And let's quit reporting the ballooning the supposed cost into such ridiculous numbers, because there's the only point of it is to get this firm in the newspaper in the first place.

I know that campaign web sites want to keep it casual, but Pets for Hillary?

But I can't explain why. Must have been the timing. Albert Hammond - the elder:

Interesting blog post commenting on the BBC's lack of coverage on the newest Tony Blair scandal.

I think a primary campaign based on the power of money, the inevitability of result, and the attacking of opponents is doomed to failure. Maybe not in the primary, but definitely as a general election result. Campaigns that are pissing people off in January 2007 for their tactics are going to face the wrath of bloggers for two years.

I did not know that "on any given day, approximately 600 people experience homelessness in the County of Dauphin and the City of Harrisburg." Last week Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed and Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick III unveiled a plan to "end homelessness" in the county, called Home Run. You can see the plan here.

and I'm going to try this home remedy. What the doctor prescribed worked a bit, but I want over this.

What is up with the idea of Donkey Basketball? We had that as a fundraiser at my highschool as well. Who first came up with the great idea of playing basketball while riding a donkey? Was it the owner of the donkeys, looking for some way to rent them out? Was it the donkeys - were they always sneaking off and walking around the court?

But I'm sorry, something is obligatory...

20 U.S. service members killed in Iraq in a day. What will it take for those who support the surge to realize their folly? What does Joe Lieberman say if one of the Congressional delegation that visits Iraq eventually gets killed? Go nuclear?

America has already spoken about this. Bush has picked his failure - will Congress allow him to pursuit it - again?

I'm pretty sure that if the California primary date is moved up, that may be one of the biggest political stories of 2008 - but I don't know how. Here's what some other bloggers think as well, but I fully expect the real story is an unknown one as of yet, one of those law of unintended consequences things...

Hotline on Call

Earlier this week, I made an argument that the Dem race for the WH could last well past Feb. 5, the date most conventional wisdom worshipers are predicting will be the last day of the primary season. While I stand by the idea that the Clinton v. Obama race could turn into a delegate-for-delegate slugfest, the likelihood of Feb. 5 ending things does rise sharply if California moves up.

California Uber Alles

Gender and race are less likely to be an obvious issue in California than they are elsewhere. Particularly the South. This would seem to benefit both Hillary and Obama. Although, to be honest, my time spent living in NorCal makes me think that this will not help Hillary nearly as much as everyone thinks. I don't exactly know how to explain this, but she is just so not California.

News from Me

I just read an item about how the California presidential primary may get moved way up, maybe becoming the second or third in the land. That might bode well for Hillary Clinton grabbing the Democratic nomination. With the right kind of campaign — and Bill stumping for her — she might do well enough in this state to make her unstoppable.

Political Animal

And since Hillary's announcement is the big news today, it's probably worth mentioning that this would be pretty helpful to her cause, right? Not only is she pretty popular among the fundraising set here, but she's one of the few candidates with enough money to seriously contest California and still run decent campaigns in the other early states.

At least, that's my initial reaction. Am I missing something obvious?

Check out Jim Gaffigan's Hot Pockets spiel...

Every once in a while I find active blogs that still link to my old blog address from over a year ago in their blogroll. What gives? Do they really not check out their blogroll that often? And if not, is there really a reason to have a blogroll in the first place?

Apparently everyone's snagging them for Super Bowl Sunday.

I got some interesting suggestions from the Philly area about starting up a West Shore Drinking Liberally.

Draw an illustration showing the prevention or impacts of stormwater runoff pollution in the environment and you could win a prize!

And no, you don't have to draw Binky.

It's pretty clear that the scope of the problem hasn't been figured out if local governments are required to hire lobbyists in order to coordinate with state legislatures and the Federal Government.

From the Rockford Register Star:

Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey has proposed forming a nonprofit group to hire someone to represent the city's interests at the state Capitol, and possibly, in Washington, D.C.

Certainly, we have lawmakers in both places, but their attention is split among a thousand priorities, and they sometimes work at cross-purposes in their own little groups. They are elected to represent constituents and regional interests, but their efforts are diverse and divided.

And there are times when they could use a heads up when something is of particular interest to local government. They should welcome the help.

So, call it a hired gun. Whatever. Other Illinois cities, most of them smaller than Rockford, have lobbyists. In the past, some local governmental entities, including the airport and the convention and visitors bureau, have had lobbyists looking out for their specific interests in Springfield. The idea is to have someone on site to identify proposed legislation that could affect the client and lobby for or against it. The lobbyist also is in place to identify opportunities, such as in grants or specific programs, that may benefit clients.

Had Rockford had a lobbyist last year, Rockford may not have missed out on the River Edge development program grants that renew tax credits or are targeted toward cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated "brownfield" sites in cities situated along Illinois' rivers.

Aurora and East St. Louis snagged the $2 million in grants before Rockford even knew about the project. There was some sniping back and forth between Morrissey and former Mayor Doug Scott, who heads up the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which awarded the grants. Some local people thought Scott should have given the city a heads up that the money was available. In his state position, Scott argued, he can't play favorites. Rockford just missed the boat, he said.

He's not our lobbyist, after all.

Some members of the Rockford City Council say we don't need a paid lobbyist. They propose a six-person, bipartisan group of aldermen to do the job in Springfield. A few road trips and a little face time at the Capitol won't do it. This is a job for professionals, not amateur hour. The city needs someone on the scene, in the halls and back rooms where deals go down, on a regular basis.

Just more bullshit for the bullshit fire. The problem is structural. Does every city, every town, every village need to hire a lobbyist? Is that the most effective way we can figure out for governance? If there's a problem - and believe me, lots and lots and lots of cities and towns will be hiring lobbyists this year just because they perceive themselves to be on the wrong side of the money-giving equation at the state or federal level - then perhaps the process is the problem. Maybe local governments need to advocate a change in the process. Otherwise, the tax costs across this country for local government hired lobbyists are going to be causing increases in taxes, because there's a cost to this, whether the lobbyist fails or succeeds.

He's probably the best candidate the GOP has for the 2008 general Presidential election, but I have no idea what his chances might be of surviving their primary process.

How does one determine the educational history of writers of any particular publication, such as The Washington Post? You can get the editor information from the website:

Leonard Downie, Jr. - BA and MA degrees in journalism and political science from Ohio State University. He received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Ohio State in June 1993.

Philip Bennett - degree in history from Harvard College.

Milton Coleman - bachelor of fine arts degree in music history and literature from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which in 1998 named him as a Distinguished Alumnus. In 1971, he was a Southern Education Foundation Fellow, and in 1974 a fellow in the Michele Clark Summer Program for Minority Journalists at the Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University.

But I can't even find bio information at their web site on Fred Hiatt, Colbert I. King, or Jackson Diehl, let alone the rest of the writers on staff.

In honor of Freedom of the Campus Press Day I post this, because wouldn't it be useful to students considering a career in journalism to know what today's journalistic stars studied, and where they went to school? The journalists of tomorrow may want to know what educational path is currently successful.

And so might consumers.

And so today, I declare the Pennsylvania Cable Network blog experiment failed, at least as far as I'm concerned. Two posts in two months does not a blog make.

Dear Newsweek,

I saw this movie, and remember the performance of Darren Harris, so I really don't need to read about Howard Fineman's high school experiences.

Hey, my questions of the day have been mocked by a blogger who shall not be identified, but now I feel I have to ask:

What is your favorite color of fluff?

Catherine McLin has guts. Good for her.

I did not know this:

“Idiot,” “moron,” and “imbecile” are now just insults, but early last century they were legitimate medical classifications. Morons were said to have the emotional and mental capacities of 9-year-olds; imbeciles, 5-year-olds; and idiots, 2-year-olds.

Next time you're called this, remember to ask the name-caller if they have the proper medical training to make these determinations.

Web sites for businesses that hold contests that kill participants can look so cheesy.

Prince is the Super Bowl Half Time Entertainment...

In entertainment news, Prince will perform at halftime of the Super Bowl. This breaks the string of aging Brit acts, though sustaining the string of Super Bowl halftime performers whose best work was done before many current spectators were born. During the period he used a glyph as a name, the singer in question was called The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Now that he once again goes by Prince, this makes him The Artist Formerly Known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.

Yeah, I'm not a Prince fan.

It's pretty clear that if you accept the gig for playing at halftime at the Super Bowl, you're admitting that your creative career is over and you're really a replay artist at this point. Take a look at this roster of performers during the SB Halftime show. Prince is the Carol Channing of 2007, or the Up With People (THEY PERFORMED THREE DIFFERENT TIMES!?!?!?), or the New Kids on the Block, or the Blues Brothers with James Belushi, or whatever.

Whatever happened to the former Yankee?

According to Wikipedia, he washed out of Japanese baseball last year. The clip is his final at bat in Japan.

Hey, I'll be blogging over at Suburban Guerrilla some now as well. Different but similar kind of stuff from me.

From Spinwatch:

Several states, responding to the federal scandals as well as their own statehouse imbroglios, have already adopted more sweeping gift and travel bans, broader measures to end the central role of lobbyists or government contractors in financing campaigns and new public campaign financing intended to reduce lawmakers’ dependence on big donors.

To enforce their rules, about half the states have also created independent ethics watchdogs, outside the control of the lawmakers they police — something federal lawmakers have so far resisted. House Democrats recently said they would create a panel to study the idea.

John Hurson, a former member of the Maryland General Assembly and president of the National Council of State Legislatures, remembers marveling at the goings-on just a few miles away in the United States Capitol. He was barred from letting a lobbyist buy him a cup of coffee under rules enforced by the Maryland Ethics Commission. Meanwhile, congressmen were flying across the country for golf trips with lobbyists and enlisting them as major fund-raisers for their re-election campaigns. "It was amusing in a sad kind of way,” said Mr. Hurson, who now works as a Washington lobbyist himself, for a cosmetics industry trade group. “At the state level in Maryland a lobbyist can’t even have his name on a campaign flier. And at the federal level some of these guys are basically running campaigns."

At some point, there has to be responsibility for personal ethics. The idea that Hurson can tut-tut the federal lobbying activities while he's a state legislator, and then turn around and become part of the process at the federal level, speaks volumes. If you really think a profession has gone awry, why would you then enter it? Is money the ONLY DRIVING FACTOR with these people?

I believe there's plenty of room for focused "ethics" legislation, but the fact that it takes government regulation to provide the standards of what is ethical for both legislators and lobbyists is a sad vignette on how gross our culture has become. How can we expect these folks to legislate right and wrong for our society when they need government to tell them what is ethical in determing that legislation?

Looks like they finally determined that in order to generate more paying business, they couldn't provide referral URLs for free.

So how long until Starbucks opens up a store in Nuuk, Greenland?

Because I smell development and population growth in Greenland. It'll probably even be pitched as one of the real benefits of global warming.

What a great story.

Playing basketball isn't ladylike. That's what Jewell Chapman's high school principal told her in 1961 when he banned the girls basketball program.

"We were very frustrated," said Chapman, a forward for her high school team in Des Moines.

Nearly 50 years later, Chapman is back on the court. She's 62 and plays for the Hot Pink Grannies, joining about 10 other women on a team whose uniforms are black bloomers and hot pink socks. They play in the Iowa Granny Basketball League.

It's one of dozens of basketball leagues for women over 50 that have sprung up across the country. For some, it's an opportunity to exercise and socialize; for others, it's a once-denied chance to compete.

"You see more and more senior women's teams participating in state and national competitions and more recreational leagues," said Michael Rogers (news, bio, voting record), an associate professor in sports studies at Wichita State University. "In the future it will be commonplace to have leagues like this."

Annual surveys by the National Sporting Goods Association indicate the number of women 55 and older who play basketball at least 50 times a year has grown from 16,000 in 1995 to nearly 131,000 a decade later.

Play stuff until you're dead. That's my plan.

When I was a little boy, I was given this book, and I read it and read it and read it. It's a classic tale of a good brother and a bad brother, and the maturation of a son intent on saving his family. Of course, until last night I didn't really remember the plot too well, except there was a good and bad brother and a son that hid a sword in a tree.

I gave this book to my daughter at some point, and the past few days she read it - and really liked it. And she asked me questions about it, and some of the things she asked me about I couldn't remember. So I read it last night, and it was an enjoyable revisit to my childhood reading experiences. It was a bit strange, reading a book that was intended for 6-10 year olds, almost like sitting in a child's chair, but brought back memories of laying in the top bunk of bunk beds my brother and I slept in, reading this and other books on winter evenings.

I guess what I'm saying is, if you're looking for an interesting experience, re-read one of your childhood favorite books now.

For those that are emotionally invested in the performance of a professional sports team:

What is the most heartbreaking event you've felt personally in following professional sports?

Michael is trying to start up a West Shore Drinking Liberally.

Sounds good to me! Let him know if you agree.

I dunno, yesterday's bumbleheaded comment by Wolfson about Edwards' speech in Harlem still annoys the hell out of me. Why he or the Clinton campaign would attack the messenger for a message that should both be understood and accepted by Hillary Clinton is just horrible politics. Note - it's not governing. It's politics.

So who is Wolfson, anyway? He's a partner in the Glover Park Group. What do they do?

The Glover Park Group has bridged the divide -- offering comprehensive client service from the earliest strategic planning to the final execution of advocacy and image advertising campaigns.

Okay, then. He is part owner of a firm that claims to provide comprehensive message planning and execution. Were his comments of the other day really so comprehensive in either planning or execution? Seemed pretty reactionary and baiting, really.

More information about Glover Park Group here.

There's an odd little story going on about the company in the British Virgin Islands, but I'm not quite sure what it all means. Pieces of the story are here and here .

It's in the news again!

For coffee lovers who need their daily fix of caffeine, cappuccinos or latte concoctions, coffee heaven in the form of Starbucks has touched down in Ponderay

Located in the new Ponderay Plaza fronting U.S. 95 across from Super 8 Motel, the world's largest multinational chain of coffee shops with more than 12,000 stores worldwide opens its doors Friday morning in a spacious 1,700-square-foot store company officials believe could become one of the area's busiest outlets.

Showcasing a new look, the Ponderay Starbucks store will feature a drive-thru window and a fireplace with raised seating and comfortable chairs placed around the hearth. There will also be seating for about 20 customers.

It always amazes me that it is considered newsworthy when Starbucks comes to town. Here's the newsworthy part for Ponderay, Idaho: Starbucks thought your town was less important for a store location than 12,000 other areas. Twelve thousand! Take a sip.

I mean, a drive-thru window, my God! A fireplace with raised seating? Comfortable chairs! Coffee!!!???!!! You never had any of those things before? Then that's why you're 12,000th! Get it? They're just finally getting to you. After they got to Lovejoy, Georgia, and Clive, Iowa, and Toms River, New Jersey, and Paducah, Kentucky - they're getting to you. Woo hoo! Sip on that.

Okay, I'll admit to some prejudices. I think most of Starbucks coffee is pretty close to undrinkable. I also think their prices are ridiculous. Oh sure, there's really cool people inside, with wireless laptops and Bolle sunglasses and dreams of having Bono-sized personalities. But I don't find it newsworthy when they come to town. Here's something more newsworthy - the Mom and Pop coffee shop that was there for years before Starbucks showed up, and survived even though Starbucks located just down the street because they have a healthy core of regular customers. That's what is newsworthy, not McCoffees opening up everywhere. And here's why it's newsworthy for your town: the profit the Mom and Pop store makes will most likely stay right their in your community. What do you think of that? Mmmm, that's good.

Stupid, stupid, stupid campaign move.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last night ripped into 2008 White House contender John Edwards - her first direct assault on any of her potential Democratic presidential rivals.

Clinton's surprising broadside came just hours after Edwards, in Harlem, delivered a sharp condemnation - clearly aimed at Clinton, although he didn't mention her by name - against those who fail to "speak out" against the war in Iraq.

"Silence is betrayal, and I believe it is a betrayal not to speak out against the escalation of the war in Iraq," Edwards told a crowd at Manhattan's Riverside Church, where Martin Luther King had declared his opposition to the Vietnam War.

"If you're in Congress and you know that this war is going in the wrong direction . . . it is no longer OK to study your options and keep your own private counsel," he said.

"Silence is betrayal. Speak out and stop this escalation now."

Edwards' hit on the front-runner for the Democratic nomination was not lost on the Clinton camp, which sees criticism from the Iraq war opponents as one of the major threats to her expected campaign for the presidential nomination.

"In 2004, John Edwards used to constantly brag about running a positive campaign. Today, he has unfortunately chosen to open his campaign with political attacks on Democrats who are fighting the Bush administration's Iraq policy," said Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson.

Edwards gave good advice. Quit keeping your private counsel and oppose the escalation of the war - if that's what you believe. He didn't say Clinton's name. He didn't say Lieberman's name. He basically said it's no value to be quiet. And Hillary takes offense to that - and says that Edwards is attacking Democrats that are fighting the Bush Administration's Iraq policy? Is this panic, already, in her campaign? She's not the issue. Edwards isn't the issue. The Bush policy is the issue.

Wolfson's statement is just so craven. And yet, so feeble and pathetic. It just adds to my doubts about her candidacy.

Interesting use of old tourist buses...

More than 45 students from Kapi'olani Community College along with faculty and staff members plan to spend part of their Martin Luther King holiday tomorrow refurbishing former tour buses that are being converted into temporary shelters for homeless people.

Tomorrow marks the 21st anniversary of the Martin Luther King federal holiday, and the college called on its students, faculty and staff to make it a "day on, not a day off" by participating in the project to turn the buses into temporary homes.

The buses were donated by the Roberts Hawaii tour company about a year ago to the H-5 Project to help Hawai'i's homeless.

So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called big jobs. But let me say to you tonight that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth.

Martin Luther King, April 3, 1968

It's that time of year where I wonder why more labor organizations don't spend more effort online honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. As the AFSCME web site says, Dr. King was a staunch supporter of worker rights. American Federation of Teachers recognizes this, also. Remembering King's labor-related efforts seems like a valuable thing for labor organizations to do, both in honoring the past and looking forward to the future.

I watched the Bears-Seahawks game, and I would ridicule Rex Grossman's performance if it deserved it. But it doesn't. Don Banks is a goober. Plays that Grossman succeeded on are marked as lucky. Plays on passes he made that should have been caught by a receiver are either ignored (Berrian) or ballyhooed for the interception result (clearly the fault of Muhammad).

There was an entity that almost cost the Bears the game, and it was the defense. First there was little pass defense, then there was little run defense. Late 4th quarter and the overtime, the defense seemed to settle down and play properly, but it took too long to happen. If there's anything the Bears should be worried about for next week, it's their defense, particularly the secondary.

Oh, and Devin Hester needs to quit fumbling those punts, too.

Don Banks needs to watch the game before he decides on the theme he plans to infuse on writing about the game. That's been the case for him for quite a while now.

Dear News Media,

Quit calling Bush Administration possible changes in policies, such as this, as "change of heart". This implies that there was an acceptable, emotional reason for Bush's prior thinking. It may have very well have been emotional, but it wasn't acceptable. We're suffering through the same process with his Iraq-related decisionmaking.

Call it what it is: incredibly slow learning. Or maybe Profiles in Ignorance. It's time for the news media to start applying standardized testing for those who govern America. America can't afford such poor results in politicians from its information society. The news media needs its own informal "Leave No Politician Behind" program to measure how quickly politicians understand realities which will force policy regardless of any emotional attachment to the contrary.

I am offended. Don't your profanity guidelines apply to Fox Sports?

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person that remembers this show.

A scientist both wise and bold set out to cure the common cold
Instead he found a power pill which he said most certainly will
Change a lamb into a lion like an eagle he'll be flyin'
Solid steel will be like putty it'll work on anybody.

Then it was found this power pill made the strongest men quite ill
So the secret search began to find the one and only man
Who can take this power pill specific?
And turn into the most prolific, terrific, Mr. Terrific!

What they found made them squeamish for only Stanley Beamish
A weak and droopy daffodil can take this potent power pill
That sent him soaring through the skies fighting foes and fighting spies.
When he took the pill specific, He became the most prolific, hydrolific,
Mr. Terrific!

Not being a brain-dead partisan ideologue, I felt a responsibility to look into the charges of hypocrisy leveled this week at Nancy Pelosi over selective implementation of the new minimum wage standard. The accusations centered on potential favoritism to the tuna canning industry in American Samoa. The best overview I found was in a diary by blogger dday over at Daily Kos.

The important points:

1. American Samoa was already exempt from the U.S. mainland minimum wage. The wage floors for various sectors in Samoa are set by a review board appointed by the US Department of Labor. The minimum wage for the Samoan fish canning industry is currently set at 3.26 an hour. The Republican gripe centered on the fact that the new legislation extended full minimum wage coverage to the former Abramoff-client Northern Marianas Islands - which previously had no wage floors at all - while leaving Samoa untouched. The Republicans want a similar review board set-up in the Marianas.

2. The legislation was generated by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) not Speaker Pelosi. This doesn't necessarily mean she didn't have input into it but I don't find the argument that she was bought off by Starkist compelling. How many corporations have connections to San Francisco?

3. There are legitimate concerns about the impact of raising the minimum wage on the tuna industry which employs 40 percent of the Samoan workforce.

4. Pelosi aides have now said the committee would be asked to work toward having all territories use the same wage standard.

Occasional missteps by the Democratic Congress are inevitable. The important thing is that policy is openly debated and adjusted as necessary in a timely fashion. This debate is a good step in that direction. The Republican culture of corruption, back rooms and favoritism cannot be allowed to again be institutionalized.

Our daughter, who is ten, is interested in trying out a couple of weeklong camps this summer. Since summer camps for kids now come in so many flavors, from the old cabin-camping to the specialty pottery day camp, we asked her to make a list of the kinds of camps she might be interested in. While she's doing that, I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask:

Anyone have any great experiences, either as a child or as a parent, with a Central Pennsylvania area summer camp that they'd like to share?

Color me doubtful. These kinds of stories pop up about California from time to time, and the population keeps growing there, too...

For the first time in 30 years, United Van Lines Inc. says it moved more people out of Florida than in, and analysts see that as a sign that consumers are looking elsewhere for a cheaper slice of life.

The nation's largest moving company reported 16,212 inbound shipments to Florida last year and 17,019 outbound shipments. United moved more people to Florida in each year from 1999 to 2004, but the number of inbound moves fell in 2005, spokeswoman Jennifer Bonham said.

The study isn't scientific, but it does underscore a recent trend in which fed-up Floridians are moving to other parts of the country, in part to escape rising property taxes and insurance rates.

The housing boom brought more people to the Sunshine State at the start of the decade, but the run-up in home values during the past five years sent property-tax rates soaring. Many residents now say they can't afford to move elsewhere in Florida because of the huge hit they'd take on taxes.

What's more, busy hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 led to massive rate hikes from the state's largest home insurance companies.

"It all just pushed us past the breaking point," David Levin, a Delray Beach-based housing consultant, said Wednesday.

Practically anywhere in the country is a great place to live if you have what you need there to make you happy. It's a personal choice based on personal needs, an eye of the beholder thing, and I'm not one to argue that living in North Dakota or Mississippi or Delaware or any other state isn't preferable for folks, because they all have their plusses. I know people who don't think highly of living in Central Pennsylvania, and I appreciate it, because I like living here and I know that living in a high population density is something I don't like - so let that viewpoint continue.

That being said, Florida can be nice, but I don't see it being closer to paradise than many other places I've been in the United States. Of course, I've never been to Hawaii...

How do you plan to spend Monday, January 15th?

Six more years of him. America suffers.

Wow. 53 percent of Pennsylvania's barns were built before 1880. Generally speaking, barns in eastern Pennsylvania were older than those in central and western Pennsylvania. Forty-six percent of the barns in eastern Pennsylvania were built before the Civil War began (1861). You can find out more about our status as an "old barn state" at the link.

Bush Breaks 150-Year History of Higher U.S. Taxes in Wartime

It was once considered Americans' patriotic duty: enduring extraordinary tax increases in wartime to help finance the fight.

Not today. Iraq is the only major U.S. conflict, except for the 1846-48 Mexican-American War, in which citizens haven't been asked to make a special financial sacrifice. President George W. Bush opposes tax increases, even as the costs escalate far beyond predictions and he calls for more troops.

``It's a reflection of either a lack of public support for the war or perhaps an unwillingness of the Bush administration'' to test its popularity, said Elliot Brownlee, an economic historian retired from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The Bush administration, which says any tax increase would harm the economy, is financing the Iraq conflict with borrowed money. That spares policy makers and pro-war politicians from riling voters already soured on the war.

Bush is ruining this nation. Period.

"D.C. needs to shape up its tummies."

Okay, what's the likelihood there's a wink wink nudge nudge going on here about civil war...

“The government has told the Sadrists: ‘If we want to build a state we have no other choice but to attack armed groups,”' said the legislator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for the prime minister.

Bush warned that the U.S. expected al-Maliki to keep those promises.

“America's commitment is not open-ended,” Bush said. “If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people.”

Al-Maliki on Saturday announced that his government would implement a new security plan for Baghdad, which consists of neighborhood-by-neighborhood sweeps by Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops.

In the past, the Iraqi government has tried to prevent American military operations against the Mahdi Army, while giving U.S. forces a free hand against Sunni militants. The Bush administration has pushed al-Maliki, who took office in May, to curb his militia allies or allow U.S. troops to do the job.

Although al-Maliki withdrew political protection from the Mahdi Army, there was no guarantee the Shiite fighters would be easily routed from the large and growing area of Baghdad under their control.

So... Bush tells al-Maliki to have the Shiite fights stop fighting and let the U.S. "search" their areas. There's no real demilitarizing required. There's no substantial disarming, really. If al-Maliki and the Shiites can keep it quiet for just a little while, the U.S. will declare victory and leave, and once we do, al-Maliki would be free to watch over the Shiite destruction of the Sunnis. So just keep it quiet for a bit.

That's a very cynical viewpoint, and I bet it's the viewpoint out of the White House. There's two big ifs: if the Shiites can be patient enough to wait for the U.S. to leave, and if the Sunnis are going to wait to be annihilated.

Would pretty much take away the whole "we can't leave now, they're on the brink of civil war" argument, since if we leave then it will be civil war as well.

I think Lindsay's on to something - this could put the viagra spammers out of business.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaking to the Wall Street Journal on January 2, 2007:

"I didn't want to take this position ... I wish I could be done with it even before the end of this term"

U.S. President G.W. Bush speaking to a Congressional delegation on January 11, 2007:

“I said to Maliki this has to work or you’re out,”

Final word goes to retired U.S. Military Intelligence officer Pat Lang:

"Because of the rich Bushian fantasy life it will be demanded in the New Plan that Maliki distance himself, and indeed fight, if necessary, to disarm and render impotent Shia Arab militias. He is INCAPABLE OF DOING THAT!! He is one of the Shia Arab leaders. His role in history is to empower the Shia Arabs and to consolidate their power over the Sunni Arabs. Was that clear enough?"

So he's no longer a Sixer. I bet the Sacramento Kings suspected this might happen.

You'll appreciate this.

or an author to define what we call this decade. From the Smyrna/Clayton Sun Times:

After the sounds from the clinking of champagne glasses and the singing of "Auld Lang Syne" have faded, our decade-now seven years old-still does not have a universally accepted name.

Names like "the twenties" and "the thirties" easily defined the decades from the 1920s to the 1990s, but naming the first decade of a century is more difficult.

Some refer to the decade as the "two thousands," but confusion arises when the same phrase is used to describe the 21st century, or even the third millennium.

The decade can be written as the "'00s," but lacks the same feel as "the '80s" or "the '50s" or the lighthearted feel of nicknames like the "Roaring Twenties."

The United Nations General Assembly declared the current decade as the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World," but that's quite a mouthful.

In a search for something a bit more succinct, we investigated what people did 100 years ago, in the first decade of the 1900s.

Some historians allege that the decade didn't have a name at the time. Instead, people simply called it the "first decade," the "early years," the "beginning of the century" or the "turn of the century."

Especially with our political leadership so far, I lean towards calling this decade "the zeros". But we're far enough into this decade, there's a very good opportunity for a musical group, author, moviemaker - somebody creative - to come up with the defining term we associate with this decade.

In addition to the inability to say anything particularly believable as achievable last night, George W. Bush looked scared during his national presentation. So says Fineman.

I've been looking at some of the comments of people around the nation. One thing is clear: many Americans are still on the denial stage in the seven steps of grief. Comments such as these:

`We have to succeed. We must succeed. The consequences of failure are catastrophic in the region.'

--Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

`I'm convinced the military can handle it and we'll be successful.'

--Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

`Freedom must prevail in Iraq. The president has charted a course for victory, and I look forward to supporting this new strategy.'

--Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.)

`I applaud the president for rejecting the fatalism of failure and pursuing a new course to achieve success in Iraq.'

--Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.)

are based on a conceptual expectation that the facts are not promoting. They cannot face up to the adult facts that America has allowed Bush to create a disaster from which we cannot fix militarily, nor can we fix quickly. Supporting whatever the President wanted to do - which is basically what these men have done all along - is how we got here. At some point we all have to realize that the situation is terminal. A growing percentage of Americans have made that determination. The political tipping point is near in America. American will not accept this war much longer as it is going. Period. A real escalation (as opposed to this PR version) is not acceptable. Period. These four men quoted above will be amongst the last to realize this, and the time has come to quit listening to them, along with the Commander in Chief who has failed us by volunteering America into a war without a clear, achievable and acceptable exit objective.

That's my Over/Under on how many times the Preznit will mention Osama Bin Laden tonight. (Remember him?)

Place your bets!

The administration keeps pushing these things they're going to be doing along with the escalation: renewed political and economic efforts in Iraq, creating a time frame of the mission, etc.

This has been the job of the President from day 1. It has been his responsibility, since committing America to this effort, to do all that is possible to keep it to a minimum. It has not been acceptable for him to have taken an approach that was hands-off. It was not acceptable for him to not be "second-guessing his commanders". It was not acceptable for him to be "passive about questioning the advice of his military advisers". He was committing us. It deserved as much attention as he could have given it, as much energy as he could devote to it, including questioning everything.

We're now here - trapped in a mess of his making - and all of a sudden Republicans are claiming that the zebra is changing his stripes. Bush is hands on. He's engaged. He's disagreeing with his own hand-chosen experts. He's second-guessing.

I don't buy it. He's just glommed onto new experts, but I believe it's the same old tale of the incurious president, the passive decider. He's not deciding what we do as much as who we have tell us what we are going to do. He's not Presidenting. He's Chairmaning.

I believe Lindsay Graham has been accidentally honest about what is going on.

It seems clear to me that the president has taken more positive control of this strategy," said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), one of those pushing for more troops. "He understands that the safety of the nation and his legacy is all on the line here."

Nobody knows with certainty what path lies the best route for the safety of the nation. There's a great suspicion, however, that it is extremely unlikely that George W. Bush will be able to find that route by his own decisionmaking. Some Republicans, for many reasons, mostly because they are tied to him, feel Bush deserves one more chance to rescue his legacy. But this should not be about what Bush deserves, not at this point, because a President who got us into this position by his own incuriousity and laxness doesn't deserve such a chance. In the private sector, Bush would have been fired long ago. But unfortunately, we've been taxed with him through 2008. That doesn't mean we should allow him to continue unfettered. He should be considerably hampered in what he can do, unless he can prove - prove - what he's doing is a positive thing.

If Congress allows Bush to fund this escalation, the only acceptable way I can frame it in my mind - and it's an open question - is like this:

Members of Congress feel that by fighting the escalation, they're actually somehow expanding the amount of time that America has to remain in Iraq, and how many people, both American and Iraqi, will be hurt or killed, in this haywire effort. It has to be specifically a risk assessment in the terms of lives in the Iraq effort. It's likely to be tied into a political assessment that American participation in the war might be completely stopped successfully, and to the general consensus of the American public, if Bush continues to fail for two more years, as opposed to a smaller but still continuing fighting presence for years beyond that if the American public is still unsettled on course of action.

I won't even honor an argument from anyone that includes any part of the "Bush legacy" consideration in the equation, because the uninterested President doesn't deserve it at this point. And any Republican that mentions the Bush legacy as somehow positively impacting the decision towards escalation ought to be asked, should America being fighting a war to improve George W. Bush's legacy? Or doing anything, really, for that matter? Haven't we paid enough?

Career move.

WASHINGTON - Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum was defeated in November, but he hopes his new job will allow him to slay America's enemies.

Santorum, a Republican, will lead the "America's Enemies" program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative Washington think tank.

He plans to continue speaking about the threats posed by "Islamic fascism" and such unfriendly nations as Venezuela, North Korea and Iran.

Find a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life.

Renewing your driver's license has never been easier. Good work with the online service.

C'mon, you know you want to click on this link.

I was thinking the same thing the other day - dying is a major pain in the ass, for everyone involved. I'm not talking just about the emotions. I'm talking about every bit of energy expended in the process of dying on a result few really want and none of us can avoid.

And there's very little any of us can do about spending that energy. We're going to do it.

Monday Tony Snow reported that:

The President today spoke with Nicaraguan President Enrique Bola os to thank him for his service to his country.

This just seems weird to me. I don't thank people for being the parents of other kids, I don't thank people for running their own insurance offices, I don't thank the Governor of Iowa for being Governor of Iowa. It just doesn't seem... like it's my place to do these things, because I'm not the beneficiary of these things. And it would never occur to me to thank a President of another country for his or her service to her country, unless I lived there, or had first-hand experience of that service to that country.

Maybe it's a President Solidarity thing, I dunno. Just seems odd that Bush saw it as part of his position to thank another nation's leader for his service to his own country.

Thank you, Iwao Takamoto, for spending your time creating a cartoon character that children loved. RIP.

It is the season... The Koufax Awards nominations are now being taken. Submit your favorites...

Politics Police.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell is questioning the arrest of a political activist who allegedly stepped toward her during her inaugural parade last week.

The activist, Ken Krayeske, was on a list of people labeled political threats by police. Rell, in a letter to the state's public safety commissioner, said Monday that she was "disturbed" to learn of the existence of such a list.

She called on Commissioner Leonard Boyle to review the circumstances of Krayeske's arrest and determine how he came to the attention of state police and how his name and photograph were provided to the Hartford Police Department.

"In this environment of heightened security, the use of information must be balanced with the individual rights of our citizens," Rell said in the letter. "In providing security and protection, we cannot permit the rights of individuals to be trampled."

Krayeske, 33, of Hartford, was charged with breach of peach and interfering with an officer after he was detained during Wednesday's parade through downtown Hartford. Rell was sworn in that day to her first full term as governor.

Krayeske's attorney was working as a freelance journalist and was trying to photograph Rell. According to a police report, officers at the parade recognized Krayeske from a picture provided by state police and the Connecticut Intelligence Center, a multi-agency entity under the umbrella of the state's homeland security programs.

Officers said they recognized Krayeske when they saw him speed up on his mountain bike, dump it and jump off, then run up the street and step off the curb into the parade route.

A slog of institutional egos.

All these people that are supporting the escalation in troops fall back on the strawman argument that we can't just up and leave immediately or disaster will happen for the United States, and we're losing now doing what we're doing, and if we lose disaster will happen for the United States, and the only possible way to avoid disaster is to escalate.

So here's the question for them - how much disaster do we have to have by escalating to admit that it's a disaster for the United States? Remember when there were no American troops in Iraq? Then, Bush insisted we attack, and in essence we escalated, and we attacked, and it's been disastrous. Oh, sure, there are people who claim it's not been disastrous, but they're insane or ignorant or irresponsible or a combination of all three.

So how much disastrous escalation can we afford? What's the limit for McCain or Lieberman or Bush? Is it requiring a draft to feed the growing armies that fight in Iraq? Is it the use of weapons of mass destruction that currently we have kept off the table (yes, nuclear)? Is it the further seeding of enmity for generations around the world for the government of the United States? What is their limit? Do they have a limit? Or do we continue to expand the fight in Iraq, regardless of the possibility of doing anything good for Iraq, the United States, or the world, because we're afraid to admit we made a horrible, horrible mistake?

Is there really a reason to drive a blogmobile?

It's coming.

Seems like the flu may be in gear around Central Pennsylvania. We know several people down with both a stomach ailment, and a different, respiratory and fever bug. Our ten girl basketball squad was down to seven for our Saturday morning game due to illness. Then, there's this from Florida:

A 9-year-old girl has become the first flu death of the season in Florida, according to a report by FLORIDA TODAY news partner WKMG Local 6 News.

Health officials said Nichole Lang-Veru, a fourth-grader in Hillsborough County, died Dec. 27 after she became ill.

An autopsy confirmed her death was flu-related, the report said.

Doctors said Lang-Veru's death should serve as a warning to parents because the girl seemed to be a healthy 9-year-old.

Recently, Florida was identified as one of the nation's three hot spots for the flu, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

You can get weekly details on flu tracking from CDC here.

Yup, it's that time - the 7th Annual Weblog Awards. I think Ryan Seacrest is emcee. You have until January 10th to submit your favorite blogs for various categories.

BTW, this blog is still mainly a secret. Ask anyone!

Digby has a post up about Newsweek Magazine's "witty" little CW piece they run every week. I think there's a comparative equation for what Newsweek does:

Newsweek's CW is to quality political analysis as One Day at a Time was to quality television comedy in 1983. They are both about equally entertaining and illuminating.

Sidenote: ODaaT was cancelled the following year.

Are we really gonna give the guy that's wrecked every car he's driven the past 4 years ANOTHER CAR to drive over a cliff?

America, please say no.

One of the classic "outcoached" games in recent playoff history. Wonder if KC feels so good about the money they spent on Herm Edwards now?

Concurring: Depressed Fan, Don't Be a H8er, Yo, Fed Up!, A Different Perspective

Yes.

Today, self-publishing has never been easier and prettier. The era of Web 2.0 has ushered in the slick simplicity of sites such as Wikipedia, Flickr and Blogger that allow users with no technical ability to easily carve out their online presence with dignity.

Then came MySpace.

In one fell swoop, Web design was pushed back a decade. With millions of users creating their own pages and grafting on endless doohickies, this social network has become a hotbed of garish graphics, illegible fonts, crazy colors, incessantly blinking gifs, automated musical slideshows and more --- often thrust at the viewer all at once! Deja vu?

Ugly tools are made available to ugly site builders; in fact it is a thriving industry. At blinkyou.com you can find martini glasses or pulsating hearts to rain down your profile page at different speeds. Or, how about a rotating 3-D font that shimmers and explodes? At pimpmyspace.org you can get a cursor in the guise of Tony the Tiger or Raphael, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. An animated flying demon with giant wings anyone?

Finding a pretty MySpace profile is like finding a four-leaf clover, it's hard — PC World ranked MySpace No.1 in their 25 worst Web sites list.

My biggest complaint about Technorati is that they include all these MySpace sites in their search results. The content varies in quality, but I almost always avoid the MySpace sites because the design is so unreadable.

One other thing I've noticed about MySpace users - a love for the letter Z. If I had to guess the host of any blogger that began a post with Woz Up Dogzzzzz?, MySpace would be an automatic.

Anyone out there ever been to a Great Wolf Lodge - one of those hotels with an indoor water park included? We're thinking of taking the kids for a weekend sometime this winter, and just wanted to see if anyone has any experiences to share.

Here's a method that thieves use to steal both the ATM card number and the PIN.

I guess I'm missing the appeal. Would anyone go to this if they aren't in a family of a U.S. Marshal?

Fort Smith, Arkansas, learned Thursday it was chosen over a Virginia city to be the home for a national U. S. Marshals Service museum. Officials with the city and the area marshals district began receiving phone calls about 4 p. m. from the federal government notifying them that Fort Smith had landed its coveted museum. Dick O'Connell, the U. S. marshal for the Western District of Arkansas, was among them, even though he happened to be home sick. "We have been sitting on pins and needles over this thing," O'Connell said Thursday evening. "We've been hoping and anticipating, and we, we knew the decision would not come until after the new year.

In general, I like museums, and I'm not opposed to this museum, but in a time where federal money is tight and needs continue to grow, it seems like maybe a better idea to spend these funds on the actual required responsibilities of the U.S. Marshal Service, rather than on a museum.

Are there any current, real life, real time Oakland Raider fans anymore? If so, why?

I only hear McCain's and Lieberman's names... are there only two members of Congress supporting the escalation in Iraq?

I started the year out doing something goofy for the hell of it. So here's my question to you:

What goofy thing do you want to do this year?

Myself and a crazy buddy amongst 200 other folks jumping into the 37 degree Susquehanna River on New Years Day.

There's a post over at The Smirking Chimp, worth reading on its own merits, called "Dems, We're Citizens, Not Consumers". It's also a handy excuse for writing about my disdain for the term "consumers".

The term is used by the news media too much. It's used when the term should be buyer, or user, or customer, or subscriber, or marketplace, etc. It applies to individuals and groups. We're all consumers of something or another. We're also all breathers, water-drinkers, and excreters. That's about how basic the term is.

I don't mind the use of the term so much when it is explicitly defined, such as "corn consumers" or "Listerine consumers". It's the generality I despise. Look at these headline examples:

Consumers warned about online mortgage scams (No, that was the public)

Will a federal monopoly suit against Apple be good for consumers? (No, that would be for buyers or sellers)

Consumers win holiday price war (No, that was buyers)

Stamford Volvo Partners With Ask Patty to Market to Women Consumers (I'm sure they meant audience or marketplace, although without reading the article you might wonder if it meant people who consume women)

I won't even link to these articles because the use of this term is so overdone. I'd like to see a writers backlash against the use of the term to provide more precision. Sorry about being so anal about it, but it's been bugging me.

I'm sure most of the outrage is going to be about the "surge" he's likely going to propose, but I hope the news media looks around as to whether he's suggesting anything to increase the number of Iraqi refugees we allow into the United States. At this point it is unacceptable for the United States to not be considering, both for now and for when we eventually leave Iraq, our responsibility towards the throngs of Iraqis that will be seeking to leave that nation.

When we gave corporations the same legal status as people, the law gets into weird situations. Just another good reason why corporations shouldn't be considered this way...

Corporations may be considered people under Arizona law.

But they don't have private lives, which means corporations cannot assert a right of privacy over sex acts, according to a recent ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The three-judge panel rejected arguments by Phoenix-based Fleck and Associates Inc. that a city ordinance prohibiting the operation of live sex act businesses is unconstitutional. The judges said that only individuals directly affected have the right to challenge the law, and that has not happened.

I lived in Sacramento for 10 years, so it is with a bit of sadness to note the closing of Tower Records. I spent quite a bit of time there during those days.

But much of my music - at least the music that shaped later years' purchases - came from Galaxy Records, a little shop on First Street in Livermore, California. For some reason I also remember it as Oddysey Records, but that may just be the effects of hazy memories or subversive advertising or both. When I first started going there, albums were the big seller, although they had a section for casettes and perhaps still one for 8-track (I never owned an 8-Track player so I didn't spend any time looking at such a section if one existed). They had a pretty good selection of music, particularly punk, which in the late 1970s I was diving into. My first purchases of Elvis Costello, The Dictators, The Clash, Television, Blondie, etc., came from this store.

I remember there being a curtain and another room off to the side of the record store for selling bongs, pipes, etc. - the old "head" shop. Eventually it was shut down, either to a change in state law or Livermore zoning code, I don't remember, and the store expanded their tape selection into that area.

The store is gone now. I think there's a paint store where it used to be. Only memories now, fuzzy ones at that.

So what about you? Where did you buy most of your tunes?

Just once, I'd like to see some conservative blogger that feels the need to accuse Democrats of something like this:

And now, just as we’re involved in another war that they desperately want us to lose, they’re back in power.

give at least an effort to explain why they think that Democrats want the U.S. to lose a war. Is there any logic they can offer, beyond some craven elementary theory of partisan politics? In other words, if things were reverse, and a Democratic President and Congress had completely bumbled their way into a horrible idea for a war that kept expanding with no end in sight, would they themselves want the U.S. to lose the war? Are these bloggers just transferring their own values? If not, then try to use some proof and logic to make a point.

Somehow or other, the noose Saddam hung from ended up in the trophy case of Shiite firebrand cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr.

Let's hear it for Iraqi due process!

It's that time of year again: state legislatures are returning to their capitals, to the chorus of hosannahs towards ethics reform.

Maine: MAINE'S 123RD LEGISLATURE: New ethics rules should be task No. 1

Wisconsin: Governor Doyle says passing an ethics reform bill will reaffirm the faith of the people in Wisconsin.

Oregon : The first order of business for the 2007 Legislature convening in Salem next week should be to ban the gifts that lobbyists regularly bestow upon them.

New York: Spitzer says state lawmakers need to set aside partisan politics in order to accomplish the ethics and campaign reforms he has targeted for the legislature.

And yet, it will likely all be forgotten by March.

Even as a teenager, I had a regular cough, attributed to hay fever and allergies and post nasal drip and whatever. I must admit, it depresses me a bit to see this article:

Chronic cough and phlegm in a young adult nearly double the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), researchers here said. Action Points

Explain to interested patients that smoking is the primary cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but that this study suggests that a chronic cough and phlegm in young adults in an independent predictor of the disease.

Explain to interested patients that COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, killing 122,283 Americans in 2003. On the other hand, chronic wheezing and shortness of breath do not appear to be linked to an increased risk of COPD, according to Isa Cerveri, M.D., of San Matteo Hospital and the University of Pavia.

The findings come from a study of 5,002 volunteers, age 20 to 44, who were monitored for a median of 8.9 years, Dr. Cerveri and colleagues reported in the January issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

All volunteers had normal lung function at the beginning of the study, where normal function was defined as having the ratio of one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) of at least 70%.

...

However, those who had chronic cough and phlegm both at baseline and at the end of follow-up had a nearly threefold-increased risk of developing COPD compared with asymptomatic participants. The incidence rate ratio was 2.88, with a 95% confidence interval from 1.44 to 5.79.

Congratulations, Pennsylvania, we had the 4th highest amount of lobbying spending reported in 2005 in the nation. And that's even with the Pennsylvania total presenting an incomplete picture of lobbying in General Assembly. Lobbyists reported to the Senate that they spent nearly $125 million, including salaries and fees, or almost 11 percent of the nationwide total.

Who are watching these programs?

About Pat Robertson.

The city I was born in... why oh why did you agree to have celebrities" train as reserve officers with the Muncie, Ind., police force on the Armed and Famous show?

Anderson is laughing at you... Couldn't the producers at least have brought back the acting crew of the "Police Academy" movie series for this show?

Microsoft isn't very sophisticated about blogging, are they...

Microsoft's efforts to woo influential bloggers by sending them free computers loaded with the Vista operating system is generating controversy, with some online writers attacking would-be Vista reviewers for taking what were tantamount to bribes, while recipients defend their editorial independence, arguing that journalism-style rules prohibiting such gifts are outdated.

Bloggers who acknowledged receiving the computers as part of the joint Microsoft and AMD marketing program include Mary Jo Foley, Om Malik, Michael Arrington, Ed Bott and others.

In total, Microsoft and AMD gave away 90 PCs, all loaded with the highest-end version of Windows Vista, the 64-bit Ultimate edition. Most received Acer Ferrari laptops that list for between US$2,000 (AUD$2537) and US$2,400 at retail stores. Others received media centre desktops made by Velocity Micro.

In letters accompanying the computers, which arrived last week, bloggers were given the option of returning the hardware to Microsoft, keeping it or disposing of it in some other way. "Microsoft has been very open and transparent," said a Microsoft spokeswoman. "There is no expectation of any editorial payback."

Jason Calacanis, founder of blog network Weblogs and an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Sequoia Capital venture capital firm, called the PC giveaways "payola" and "bribes" that respectable bloggers should refuse.

As for those relatively big name bloggers, I would have thought they would have had better sense than to compromise their image.

After this result leading to a Republican being elected as State House Speaker even though the Democrats held a thin majority, it probably is time for the people of Pennsylvania's 50th House Legislative District to find somebody new. It's pretty embarrassing that he lost this internal election - he even had himself listed as Speaker designate on the Democratic Caucus Web Site. He's served 30 years in the State House. He's been Speaker before. But it's pretty obvious he'll never be Speaker again at this point.

And so, the Democrats of the 50th District have to look at DeWeese as completely damaged goods at this point. He barely beat his Republican challenger in November. I suspect Robert Danko, his challenger in the Democratic Primary, is strongly considering a rematch in '08. He should. It looks like it's about time for DeWeese to think about his next career stop - quite possibly as lobbyist.

"This would constitute the largest reduction in Canadian natural gas export volumes in a generation, and is a situation with which the Canadian and U.S. markets have been completely unfamiliar."

This is a marker for next year. The word is out to natural gas producers for next year - increase price by reducing supply.

Monday may have been the most depressing day in the history of "first day after the end of the regular season" for the NFL. Two head coaches fired, Vikings WR Travis Taylor arrested, and Broncos' Darrent Williams shot to death.

Catalano's shut their doors for the last time Sunday night.

Especially at the state legislature level, this is the gang that can't shoot straight.

Two months after their surprising pickup of eight seats in the state House of Representatives, Democrats go into Tuesday's vote for speaker with a fragile majority that may not give them much more influence over the chamber than they had during 12 years in the minority.

The recent announcement by Rep. Thomas R. Caltagirone, D-Berks, that he is supporting Philadelphia Republican John Perzel for another term as speaker may ruin many of his colleagues' dreams of running committees and finally giving their own agendas an airing.

Democratic gains in November left them with a 102-101 lead, and they had planned to assume the reins of power at the start of the coming two-year session. But the speaker sets the House's voting agenda and moves bills into committees, making it the most powerful job in the chamber.

Pennsylvania's Republican voters cleared out some of their dead wood in the primary of 2006. Pennsylvania's Democratic voters ought to do the state a favor and do the same in the primaries of 2008, starting with Caltagirone and DeWeese. They both stink as public servants.

And it was a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Harrisburg. Looked like maybe 100-200 of us jumped in the Susquehanna River today at noon at City Island. Somebody said the water was 37 degrees, and I don't know for sure, but it was COLD. Still, the air temperature was near 50, and it was surprisingly comfortable both before and afterwards standing outside in a swimsuit. Worst part was how fast and how cold my feet got - I had to get out as quick as I did just to start warming those babies up.

Our kids had fun, there were several folks dressed up in silly costumes for the Plunge. I saw a couple of little kids - under 12 - going in, up to people that looked like they were in their late 60s at the least. And everyone of them got a laugh out of it.

Next year, if the weather isn't absolutely horrible, we're going to do this and have a party at our house after the dip.

I have few positive feelings for the year of 2006, exceptions being the Congressional election result and the progress made on our house remodeling. Other than that, there were too many disappointments - my Dad passing away, our forced rescheduling to some future later date of our vacation to Yellowstone, and my company's struggling financial performance this year (especially after how well things went in 2005). I gave 2006 a figurative boot in the ass out of my life last night.

I'm not a resolutions kind of guy, but I do think it is time for some changes in my life. None that at this point, at least, impact blogging, but some may show up in content more regularly. I'm 47, and I'm feeling it. And yet, I'm also feeling that I'm not forcing enough living into my days as well. So I have two desires for the upcoming year that I want to accommodate: to "slow down" my aging by taking better care of my physical being, and to "speed up" my wisdom by experiencing more that life can offer.

Should be an interesting balancing act. We'll see how it goes. I think I'll start with something silly today - a Polar Bear dip at City Island.

So how long until the grocery store gossip papers start with the "Saddam seen" in Argentina or Alabama stories?