The nation’s chief archivist of the National Archives has put a "moratorium" on the re-un-de-re-classicification of prevously declassified documents, following complaints from historians. Full story here.
By the way, how cool is it to have the title Chief Archivist of the United States?
How about a video of talking cats to start your day?
How about a cat who got hit with six bullets, and lived?
Go ahead.
Read that headline again. We’ll wait.
Done?
Yup, it’s true. Under certain circumstances, an attempt to pay down your debt triggers a concern with the Department of Homeland Security, as Walter and Deana Soehnge found out.
The story is quite simple. The Soehnges had run up a huge debt on their JC Penney Platinum MasterCard. So, as reasonable adults do, they sent in a large payment — a check for $6,522.
A short time later, they went online to see if their account had been credited. It had not.
After several calls up and down the customer service hell, they finally found out the reason why:
[T]he amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the money doesn’t move until the threat alert is lifted.
Eventually, the account was credited, although the couple never did learn how paying off a debt raises national security concerns.
Perhaps the Soehnges should take over port operations at many major cities. Then they wouldn’t be hassled this way.
A Fox News poll — let me stress that — a Fox News poll of registered voters has Bush’s approval rating plummeting from 44% (on Feb 7-8) to 39% (on Feb 27-Mar 1). Given the margins of error involved, that’s not too far from the CBS poll of 34%.
The poll also reflects that the plurality of people would prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress over a Republican-controlled Congress in the upcoming election: 45% to 31% (compared to 42%/34% three weeks ago). That’s a 14% gap.
And 44% say they are actually leaning toward voting for the Democrat in the district, compared to — get this — 28% for the Republican.
The members of the National Religious Broadcasters have declined to re-elect Pat Robertson to their board of directors.
I’m glad that the candidate for my district, Nathan Tabor, claims an interest in women’s health:
You may not realize it, but eight women around the world have died after taking the abortion drug RU-486. …While eight fatalities may sound like a low death count, the toll could climb significantly. More than 800 women have experienced potentially life-threatening complications after using RU-486. This is not a miracle drug. This is a lethal drug. It kills a baby and has the potential of killing his or her mother.
Perhaps Nathan, as a vice-president in his family business, would like to address the serious health risks that come from use of his product, Revival Soy — health risks which include infertility and breast cancer in women. (Granted, perhaps most women who use Revival Soy probably will not get breast cancer, but "the toll could climb significantly". Such "potentially life-threatening complications" after using Revival Soy leads me to conclude that "this is not a miracle drug").
Or perhaps Nathan would care to respond to this testimonial from a woman who used the Tabor family product:
Revival’s claims sounded like a wonderful answer to my exact symptoms-and, I believed, healthy and harmless. I have always been conscious of my diet and have enjoyed tofu occasionally as a substitute for meat. So the idea of a supplement made of soy seemed ideal, as I had the impression that it was a very healthy food product. Their product gives a very concentrated amount of soy in a single serving, which they say is necessary to achieve positive results. I had never heard anything about the negative side. I can’t stress enough how wrong I was in believing the advertising hype.
…..So in August 2001, I decided to try Revival after reading all their information on their website. As they recommended, I drank one shake a day. Usually for breakfast mixed with water or skim milk, fruit or yogurt. This worked well for me, as I tend to need an energy boost in the morning.
….As the month went by, my energy level seemed to decline rapidly and I was losing more and more hair every day. I also noticed that my body hair appeared to stop growing altogether. I became increasingly fatigued, spacey, moody and some days just felt unable to get out of bed. My body temp was at times below 97 degrees, so I constantly felt cold. In a matter of two weeks I gained about 6 pounds without increasing my food intake. It was if my entire system was rapidly declining. I had times where I would sit and stare, unable to get up to do anything. At times, I was so fatigued, I felt like I was dying. I could see my scalp in places where I normally had very thick hair. It was coming out by the handfuls in the shower every day.
….Led by the stories others told about thyroid-like symptoms related to soy products, I began searching for information about harmful effects of soy and as you can guess, I have found a lot of information- and I feel that it is necessary for this information to be shared. I am amazed at how many people could be harmed while the industry just keeps pushing soy as a wonder food. ….After about six weeks from quitting the soy shakes, my energy gradually started to return. Each day I had more hours of time in which I could get some normal tasks done, which is important as I have a young child and work full time outside the home. My mind began to clear, and though I’m still losing some hair and have developed very weak fingernails, I can see new hair growth starting. It took several months to get the soy out of my system, and now five months later, I am feeling almost normal, though my left ear still rings and I have pain in one shoulder joint. I contacted the Revival company and pushed them to refund my money, which after some protest they did. I also wrote to the owner of the company and personally told him what happened to me. Maybe if more cases are recognized, they will reconsider their claims and see that for some this can be extremely harmful. Or at least provide a warning on their product.
To paraphrase Nathan: "It is unconscionable that sales of RU-486 Revival Soy are allowed to continue in this country. If Tylenol put out a tablet that killed women led to breast cancer, thyroid conditions and infertility, the media would be demanding that the company immediately take the product of the shelves."
Right, Nathan? Right?
Nathan, my point is simply this: Every health product — whether it be Tylenol or RU-486 — carries with it a certain modicum of risk.
Even YOUR product (which sneaks in the back door as a "health product") cannot be possibly be without potential health risks. Of course, because Revival’s claims lie behind a veil of soy industry-funded research, we can never know for sure. So I’ll tell you what — until the day that Revival Soy is put through the same rigorous testing as RU-486, and comes through with a 100% no-risk endorsement from the medical community and the FDA, then I’ll take your "concern for women’s health" seriously.
Murray Waas at the National Journal reports today that Bush was specifically told in advance of the Iraq war, via two reports, that:
(1) There was disagreement about the aluminum tubes/nuclear program issue:
Among other things, the report stated that the Energy Department and the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research believed that the tubes were "intended for conventional weapons," a view disagreeing with that of other intelligence agencies, including the CIA, which believed that the tubes were intended for a nuclear bomb.
The disclosure that Bush was informed of the DOE and State dissents is the first evidence that the president himself knew of the sharp debate within the government over the aluminum tubes during the time that he, Cheney, and other members of the Cabinet were citing the tubes as clear evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program. Neither the president nor the vice president told the public about the disagreement among the agencies.
(2) Saddam lacked the means to attack the US directly or through Al Qaeda:
The second classified report, delivered to Bush in early January 2003, was also a summary of a National Intelligence Estimate, this one focusing on whether Saddam would launch an unprovoked attack on the United States, either directly, or indirectly by working with terrorists.
The report stated that U.S. intelligence agencies unanimously agreed that it was unlikely that Saddam would try to attack the United States — except if "ongoing military operations risked the imminent demise of his regime" or if he intended to "extract revenge" for such an assault, according to records and sources.
Bush was informed of these assessments from the intelligence community itself, including George Tenet.
I’m not sure if Waas’ story is entirely new, but it certainly dovetails nicely with the Katrina video story, i.e., what Bush was told beforehand doesn’t jibe with what Bush told us.
UPDATE: As The Left Coaster points out, Bush was aware of these assessments BEFORE his 2003 State of the Union speech in which he said:
Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaida. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own.
Before September the 11th, many in the world believed that Saddam Hussein could be contained. But chemical agents, lethal viruses and shadowy terrorist networks are not easily contained.
Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans, this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known.
Many social conservatives are pushing the idea of pay-per-channel cable services. In other words, instead of getting Time-Warner’s Basic Subscription Package, which includes a bunch of channels you will never ever watch, you just pick the channels you want and pay for them individually.
Conservatives are behind per-channel cable because it means that your dear precious family won’t be exposed to the moral filth on Comedy Central (or whatever it is you find offensive). Furthermore, your hard-earned dollars won’t be going to subsidize MTV (or whatever it is you find offensive).
But there’s the flipside of the coin, too. And that’s got religious broadcasters in a panic.
Pay-per-channel pricing “would have a devastating effect on the inspirational programming we currently provide” and “decimate both the audience and financial support for religious broadcasting,” according to the Faith and Family Broadcasting Coalition. The group includes Pat Robertson ’s Christian Broadcasting Network, which is based in Virginia Beach.
In fact, even Christians might choose not to select Christian networks off the a la carte menu:
“People may say, ‘Well, we go to church on Sunday, we try to teach our kids good lessons, we can tune-in’” to Christian programs “’on the radio, and it would be nice if it was cheaper, but it cuts into our budget,’” Mullen said.
So, an idea designed to counteract the moral degeneracy of cable television could, in fact, result in dramatic decrease of religious programming. How’s that for karma?
I told you, it’s coming.
Now, so far, "the Americas" means the Bahamas, and so far, the flu hasn’t leapt to anything other than birds. But it’s not going away.
I’m not saying he is — I’m just asking.
You have to laugh at Fox’s Neil Cavuto. Apparently, his show is the trial balloon output portal of the Republican wingnut noise machine (which runs on KoolAid).
Just last Friday, they were having a discussion in which the following issue was discussed:
Note the question mark. That’s the Fox News way of telling us: "We’re not saying that all-out civil war is a good thing; we’re only asking if it might be. It shows how open and reasonable we are to things — like intelligence design and so forth."
Today Neal Cavuto’s show returned to the topic of civil war in Iraq, and suggested that it doesn’t exist. In fact it said asked:
That’s right. The leftist media made up the civil war, which is a good thing, unless it’s a bad thing. Oh hell. I don’t know. This is as scattershot as Whittington’s face.
The Associated Press had obtained footage from a videoconference on August 28, the day before Katrina struck. Bush, as well as many federal, state and local officials were participating. It also obtained the transcripts of seven days of briefings that followed.
The AP story says it all:
Bush didn’t ask a single question during the final briefing before Katrina struck on Aug. 29, but he assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: "We are fully prepared."
Okay. Well there’s sin number one: rosy optimism and lack of intellectual curiousity. UPDATE: To be fair, other reports are saying that AFTER Katrina hit, Bush did become engaged and "ask serious questions".
"I’m concerned about … their ability to respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe," [FEMA Chief] Brown told his bosses the afternoon before Katrina made landfall.
Brown was speaking about the ability to evacuate people from the Superdome. So even Brownie, who has been the major fall guy, was on top of this particular problem.
Homeland Security officials have said the "fog of war" blinded them early on to the magnitude of the disaster. But the video and transcripts show federal and local officials discussed threats clearly, reviewed long-made plans and understood Katrina would wreak devastation of historic proportions. …"I don’t buy the `fog of war’ defense," Brown told the AP in an interview Wednesday. "It was a fog of bureaucracy."
Yup. I agree, Brownie.
Now comes the Bush lie:
Bush declared four days after the storm, "I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees" that gushed deadly flood waters into New Orleans. But the transcripts and video show there was plenty of talk about that possibility — and Bush was worried too.
White House deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Brown discussed fears of a levee breach the day the storm hit.
"I talked to the president twice today, once in Crawford and then again on Air Force One," Brown said. "He’s obviously watching the television a lot, and he had some questions about the Dome, he’s asking questions about reports of breaches."
TBogg sez: "Now, since those of us suffering from BDS [Bush Derangement Syndrome] might be somewhat inclined to say, ‘People died, Bush lied’ what would be the appropriate wingnutty response?"
In fact, the whole video gives lie to what Bush said yesterday, to ABC’s Elizabeth Vargas:
"Listen, here’s the problem that happened in Katrina. There was no situational awareness, and that means that we weren’t getting good, solid information from people who were on the ground, and we need to do a better job."
Read the whole article. It will transform you vision about the response to Katrina. The blame can be shared, but it doesn’t exclude Bush.
UPDATE: Video link here.
UPDATE 2: Apparently, these are the transcripts that Bush refused to turn over to Congress, claiming executive privilege. But when word came out that AP had the video and transcript, the White House started leaking portions of the transcript to Newsweek to counteract criticism.
Katrina headline (AP): Ex-FEMA Chief Says Bush Was Overconfident
War on Terror headline (AP): Bush Confident Bin Laden Will Be Captured
Well, the guys’ turn was tonight. As a whole, they are generally stronger than the woman, and I will be surprised if the ultimate winner this year is one of the gals.
That said, most of the guys were also a disappointment. It’s pretty easy to separate the wheat from the chaff.
First of all, can we just close up shop and declare Chris Daughtry the winner? Because if nobody steps up soon, this is a cakewalk for him. The local Fox affiliate is all over him (because he’s from North Carolina). The teaser for tonight’s news is all about Chris — they’re going to show his video. Yup, he’s in a band, and his experience shows.
The other heavy guy contenders (roughly in order of my preference) remain Taylor Hicks, Bucky Covington, Elliott Yamin, and Gedeon McKinney.
Two North Carolinans in contention. Way to go, um, dogs. In fact, all five contenders are southerners (NC, AL, NC, VA and TN, respectively) and all the rest are not.
On the "chaff" side, the "cute" Kevin Covais has got to go, and soon. He’s not that cute, and he’s not talented enough. In fact, he’s beginning to bug me. David Radford’s crooner schtick has worn its welcome with me, too. I suspect they’ll be the next ones to go.
I always thought that Ace Young and Jose "Sway" Penala were overrated, and they proved it this week (especially Sway). Even though I can’t stand Will Makar’s "Bobby Brady" looks, he did better than I expected this week, but I still find him too bland.
Yeah, I know. I’m probably the last one to hear this story, but on the off-chance I’m not, here’s the set-up.
Jason McElwain is a 17 year old autistic kid who attends Athena High School in Greece, New York. Think Leo DiCaprio in "Gilbert Grape", only a lot more functional.
He loves basketball but, lacking height and other skills, he didn’t make the cut for the school junior varsity basketball team. Still, he served as the team’s equipment manager, which involved handing out water bottles and towels, helping run drills, and generally being a motivator to the players. He liked it, because it allowed him to be near the sport that he loves.
Two weeks ago, the Athena team was playing its final game of the regular season. The coach told McElwain that he could "suit up", which McElwain did. It was a "gift" to the dedicated senior who had never worn the team’s uniform.
The coach didn’t intend to have McElwain play, but their opponents that day were tough, and had opened a huge lead. So, with four minutes left in the game — nay, the regular season — the coach decided to let McElwain play. And since the game was all but over, and the team was behind, how much damage could McElwain do?
Answer: Lots.
McElwain scored an incredible 20 points in the last four minutes, including six 3-pointers.
Trust me, you’ll want to see the amateur video of the game. Another video here.
Sounds like a Hollywood movie? Don’t worry – it will be.
I haven’t been following the O’Reilly-Olbermann feud too closely. All I know is this: O’Reilly ("The O’Reilly Factor") is starting a petition directed to MSNBC, asking that the network get rid of Olbermann ("Countdown") and replace him with Phil Donahue. Both O’Reilly and Olbermann air at the same time (weekdays at 8:00).
I guess it’s supposed to be snark or something.
But as this Kos post tells us, and as this ratings sheet (PDF) tells us, there’s something else going on: FOX ratings are in a free fall.
While the O’Reilly Factor still has far more viewers than Countdown, its viewship has plunged 21% in the key 25-54 demographic over the past year. Olbermann’s show, on the other hand, has increased 55% with the same demographic over the same time. I guess that explains O’Reilly’s desire to change his competition.
In fact, FOX is doing worse all around, as KingOneEye explains:
In the key demographic group of viewers aged 25-54, the Total Day ratings for MSNBC rose 47% while Fox declined -13%.
Fox’s Prime Time erosion was even greater at -21%. In fact, in every hour in the daypart, from 3:00pm till midnight, Fox numbers were lower. This is a distinction that only Fox, of the five nets surveyed, was able to achieve.
The largest decline was suffered by Greta Van Susteran’s On The Record (-22%), followed closely by O’Reilly (-21%). Hannity & What’s His Name took the Bronze (-17%). Of the MSNBC programs opposite those losers, Olbermann’s Countdown was the biggest gainer (55%), which I’m sure doesn’t bother O’Reilly at all.
The growing feud between Bill and Keith is something unique in commercial television. It has taken on a personal tone that I can’t recall witnessing before. There is, however, a difference in style. While Olbermann is merciless in his mockery, he sticks to commenting on the substance of O’Reilly’s program and the stupid or demonstrably false things that O’Reilly says. Billy, on the other hand, seems to respond only by pointing out that more people watch his show than Olbermann’s. You know, the 2 million flies defense. But if O’Reilly isn’t careful, he may soon not have even that to crow about.