After devoting so much time and energy bashing other countries, including our historical allies, Fox News viewers gripe: "Where is the international help for the United States? We are always one of the first to come to any aid when disasters strike around the world. Where is our help?? Now is the time for other nations to come to our … Read More
Stupid Neo-Con Logic
This is the mind-numbingly stupid thing that columnist Lorie Byrd actually wrote (apparently, in earnest), at Townhall: What is rarely, if ever, addressed by the opponents of President Bush and the current war is whether or not the decision he made was a correct one if everything we thought about the status of Saddam’s WMD capability had been correct. In … Read More
Bush’s AIDS/Africa Policy
Bush likes to talk about how he is helping fight AIDS in Africa by, among other things, "build[ing] the health system capacity" there. Yeah, right. Bush’s war against AIDS in Africa has a strong enemy: Bush himself. Like his approach to terrorism, Bush’s unreality-based views of the world are merely prolonging the problem he seeks to prevent: A senior United … Read More
“More Costly Than The War To End All Wars”
That’s what the Christian Science Monitor says about Iraq. And yes, that’s adjusted for inflation: Despite the relatively small number of American armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan (140,000), the war effort is rapidly shaping up to be the third-most expensive war in United States history. This conflict has already cost each American at least $850 in military and reconstruction … Read More
There’s No Place Like . . . Hey!
A pair of the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the "Wizard of Oz" were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids Saturday night. Few details were available on the theft Sunday evening. Grand Rapids Police Chief Leigh Serfling confirmed the theft of the slippers to the Herald-Review on Sunday, but declined to comment on any of … Read More
Space Movie
It’s only ten second long, but you need to check out this movie (mpeg format) taken from MESSENGER: The Mercury-bound MESSENGER spacecraft captured several stunning images of Earth during a gravity assist swingby of its home planet on Aug. 2, 2005. Several hundred images, taken with the wide-angle camera in MESSENGER’s Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS), were sequenced into a … Read More
Dodged A Bullet? Not So Much.
Looks like things are not going so well for New Orleans. A two-block section of the levee apparently gave way last night. Reports suggest that 80% of the city is flooded. Of course, I’m sure there’s plenty of Louisiana National Guardmen to help out, right? As southern Louisiana wades its way out of its terror and destruction, they will find … Read More
Just Check The Idiot
Atrios points to a Washington Post editorial, calling it "the stupidest thing I have *ever* read". We tend to agree. The opinion piece is about Intelligent Design, and it is written by Sally Jenkins, a sports columnist for WaPo. That probably explains the strained sports analogies. It’s called "Just Check The ID", and it goes a little something like this: … Read More
“The Da Vinci Code” Movie
Conservative Christian blogger La Shawn Barber is up in arms about the upcoming release of the movie version of Dan Brown’s best-selling book, "The Da Vinci Code". She acknowledges that the book/movie is "fiction", but that’s hardly the point. In a world hostile to the faith,… What evidence is there that the world, or even the United States, is "hostile … Read More
Punishing Competence
What happens if you actually do your job, and the result is a potential embarrassment to the Bushies? You get demoted: A top Army contracting official who criticized a large, noncompetitive contract with the Halliburton Company for work in Iraq was demoted Saturday for what the Army called poor job performance. The official, Bunnatine H. Greenhouse, has worked in military … Read More
Katrina Blogging
WDSU (New Orleans) has a blog with good up-to-the-minute coverage. Wikipedia has good coverage round-up and background, although it is not as up-to-the-minute (and beware the troll attacks). Obviously, my decision to have a Katrina slideshow is affecting loading time of the sidebar, but I will maintain it throughout much of the day. UPDATE 11:17 a.m. EDT: Katrina downgraded to … Read More
Katrina Is Really Really Bad – Part II
From the NOAA: MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS…PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL…LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW … Read More
Katrina Is Really Really Bad
Look. We know that all hurricanes are bad. And we know that category 5 hurricanes are really bad. But something like this hitting New Orleans is perhaps the worst. New Orleans lies below sea level, and is protected by levees. It’s basically a large bowl, and even in normal weather, water has to be pumped out of the basin. And … Read More
No You Can’t Have A Pony Update
The sidebar has been modified (temporarily) to provide Hurricane Katrina current webcams, maps, and updates. Some of the webcams from New Orleans and Baton Rouge will probably go down (either deliberately or due to the hurricane), but that’s the nature of the biz. Once it all, uh, blows over, the sidebar will return to its regular pointless status.
Reality TV Comes To Iraq
From the New York Times: Reality TV could turn out to be the most durable Western import in Iraq. It has taken root with considerably greater ease than American-style democracy. Since spring 2004, when "Materials and Labor" made its debut, a constellation of reality shows has burst onto TV screens across Iraq. True to the genre, "Materials and Labor" has … Read More