Quote of the Day

"Katrina to me was the tipping point. The president broke his bond with the public. Once that bond was broken, he no longer had the capacity to talk to the American public. State of the Union addresses? It didn't matter. Legislative initiatives? It didn't matter. P.R.? It didn't matter. Travel? It didn't matter."

-- Matthew Dowd, Bush's pollster and chief strategist for the 2004 presidential campaign

JibJab Wraps Up 2008

Quote of the Day

"Obama bombarded by personal attacks. Are they legit? Ann Coulter comments."

-- a teaser for Fox News's "The O'Reilly Factor" in August and a winner of an Alternet P.U.-litzer Prize

The Year in Review

It's the time of year when we're bombarded with lists of the best and the worst, but if you want a full and accurate recounting of the year that's winding down, you have to go to the expert -- Dave Barry.

Quotes of the Day

"Generations pretty soon are going to start to thank this president for what he's done. This generation will."

-- Condoleezza Rice

Q: How do you explain your low approval rating?
Dick Cheney: I don’t have any idea. I don’t follow the polls.

Change? What Change?

On this upcoming New Year, let's drink a toast to the geniuses who came up with the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That's the one that moved Inauguration Day from March 4 to its current January 20. Thanks to those wonderful far-sighted people we only have to endure the administration of President George W. Bush for another 23 days instead of three more long months.

President Bush and His Band of Renown have dug us a pretty deep hole, and I'll sure be glad to see them go. My wildest dream is for President Obama to show up at the White House on Inauguration Day, leading a phalanx of federal agents ready to make arrests, but that's probably not going to happen. Inauguration Day makes the exit mandatory, but the handcuffs optional.

While we are toasting the 20th Amendment geniuses this New Year's Day, we should all probably take a few minutes for some quiet reflection. Up for consideration: Are we prepared for the Change™ we just voted for? Is Obama up to the job? Is his Cabinet? Are the Republicans ready to play nice or are they going to try to continue a policy of obstruction? Will anything get done? Will the right things get done? When will things get better? And how much worse do they have to get before they do get better?

I've never been an Obamaniac or an Obamaphile or whatever the true believers are calling themselves. I've always been a bit leery about him. I can't decide if he is all smoke and mirrors or the real deal. He seems to me to be a kind of political Rorschach test -- sort of a blank slate that anyone can interpret any way they please. It's probably because of his lack of experience, the absence of any kind of record that would help us get a solid feel for the man. He's always struck me as too much of a centrist, too willing to go along to get along, too ready to make accommodations to his political enemies at the expense of the people who actually voted for him. The choice of Rick Warren to lead the invocation at the Inauguration is a good example of this philosophy. Is this the Change™ we voted for? But, then again, John Edwards got my primary vote and we all know what a disaster that would have been had he won the nomination.

Obama's cabinet is another political Rorschach test. They are such a mixed bag that no one can predict how (or even if) they're ever going to be able to work together, so feel free to project away. The cabinet nominees seem to be a pretty capable, pragmatic bunch -- and Obama seems to be getting them all on the same page so that they can hit the ground running. Some of his choices though (Ray LaHood, for one) really have me scratching my head and wondering what the hell he was thinking. It seems like there are more Republicans in the cabinet than progressives. And what's with all the Clintonites (Clintonistas?) Is this the Change™ we voted for? The "team of rivals" phrase and other comparisons to Abraham Lincoln were being thrown around pretty freely for a while, but it remains to be seen if Obama has Lincoln's political acumen and can take charge of this diverse group. Obama has spoken of changing the trajectory of the country like Reagan did, but he hasn't really articulated the whole "vision thing" yet. Change™ is a pretty generic term. Are we talking about real fundamental change or just tinkering around the edges of the problems?

The only thing we know for sure is that things have got to improve (even if just a little) after January 20. At this point, a team of feces-slinging monkeys would be an improvement over the Bush administration. There's no way an Obama administration could foul things up worse. The transition is usually a peaceful period compared to the frantic pace of the election season. It's a time for regrouping and reorganizing broken up by a few holidays. It's a welcome break between campaigning and governing. I'm just glad we don't have to keep this up until March 4. Let's get these last 23 days over and get busy.

Quote of the Day

"Look, judgments of history are harsh in the short run and unfairly so many times. Harry S. Truman left office. In fact the slogan at the time was "To err is Truman". He left town not very popular and yet history regards him now as a much different person and I think this President is not going to leave office with that same state. He's going to be at a relatively low ratings but much better than some of his predecessors. History though is going to be kind to him at the end. I'm absolutely confident of that."

-- Karl Rove

Decompression

In the hectic days immediately surrounding the Christmas season, it was good to get away from the old Blogspot and chill a bit. I say in the sidebar that reading this blog from top to bottom might cause headaches or seizures. That was never more evident than in the days just before Christmas when my posts consisted of Quotes of the Day intermixed with Christmas songs. It made for a weird read. But then, Christmas strikes me as a weird time anyway. It should be a solemn religious occasion, and there are some aspects of that, but it usually turns into a frenzy. Rampant commercialism and greed run amok.

My loot consisted of an mp3 player, some Coca-Cola memorabilia, a restaurant gift card and other assorted curios, but I had more fun playing with some of the gifts my relations received. My son got a R/C race car and put a good show on out in the road. He had to repair it a bit after he jumped a speed bump, came down at the wrong angle and cartwheeled about five or six times. We put my grandson's NASCAR racetrack together and put on some good races until the Tony Stewart car (sold separately) broke. Not long after that, the batteries ran down in the charger and we had to put it up. We then got out my grandson's art kit and the assorted pencils, pens, markers, &c. he got in his stocking and did some coloring and drawing.

Christmas dinner was turkey with most of the trimmings. As usual, my favorite dish was my wife's sweet potato balls. She saw Paula Dean make them and got the recipe off her website. She doesn't make them exactly like Paula does, but mmmm mmmm, they're good!

My time online has mostly been spent reading news feeds with Google Reader and changing out the shared articles to keep them current. If you haven't noticed this sidebar feature yet, it's right below the Bush countdown clock (just 24 days left!!!) and just above the Blogroll. I've also been trying to figure out the Picasa Web Albums and organizing some of my old photos. My first two web albums (Downtown Chattanooga and Chickamauga Battlefield) are immediately below this post.

Quote of the Day

"Liberal Democrats and their allies in the media didn't utter a word about David Ehrenstein's irresponsible column in the Los Angeles Times last March, but now, of course, they're shocked and appalled by its parody on The Rush Limbaugh Show..."I firmly believe that we must welcome all Americans into our party and that the road to Republican resurgence begins with unity, not division, but I know that our party leaders should stand up against the media's double standards and refuse to pander to their desire for scandal."

-- Chip Saltsman, the former Tn. GOP chairman and a candidate for the post of Republican National Committee chairman, stands by his Christmas present to top Republicans, a CD that includes the song "Barack the Magic Negro."

Quote of the Day

"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."

-- Charles Dickens

Forty Years Ago

On December 21, 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 lifted off from Cape Canaveral on an awe-inspiring trip around the Moon. It was a trip borne out of necessity; NASA could not afford to fall farther behind the Russians in the Space Race.

NASA was stymied by the lunar module (LEM), the craft that would transport the two moon explorers from the command module to the lunar surface. The LEM that arrived from Grumman was not flight-ready, full of defects that had to be corrected before the Apollo program could continue. All future Apollo flights depended on the LEM and it wouldn't be ready until the next launch window had already come and gone. NASA had to test the LEM in low Earth orbit and work out all the docking procedures before they could even consider testing it in lunar orbit and attempting a lunar landing. Meanwhile the clock was ticking. The Russians had a launch window coming up and were thought to be planning something big. In August, NASA decided to go for broke -- a mission that would bypass the Earth orbit missions and go all the way to the Moon and back.

The crew of Apollo 8, Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders became the first men to get a close-up view of the Moon, and the first to ever set eyes on the far side. They discovered a cold, desolate wasteland, but the most amazing sight came when they emerged from the dark side, "a grand oasis in the vast loneliness of space."

The Earthrise photo was one of the most iconic photographs of the 1960s...

On December 24, the crew made a live television broadcast from lunar orbit. At the time, it was the largest television audience ever...



The Russian launch window came to nothing; it came and went with the spacecraft still sitting on the pad. In February 1969, the LEM was finally ready for the Earth orbit missions. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to land on the Moon. Time Magazine named the crew of Apollo 8 their "Men of the Year" for 1968.

"I Believe in Father Christmas"

U2 covers Emerson, Lake and Palmer...



"...Hallelujah, Noel, be it Heaven or Hell,
The Christmas you get you deserve."

Quote of the Day

"My fellow Americans, we can’t continue in this mode of “Dumb as we wanna be.” We’ve indulged ourselves for too long with tax cuts that we can’t afford, bailouts of auto companies that have become giant wealth-destruction machines, energy prices that do not encourage investment in 21st-century renewable power systems or efficient cars, public schools with no national standards to prevent illiterates from graduating and immigration policies that have our colleges educating the world’s best scientists and engineers and then, when these foreigners graduate, instead of stapling green cards to their diplomas, we order them to go home and start companies to compete against ours...

"For all these reasons, our present crisis is not just a financial meltdown crying out for a cash injection. We are in much deeper trouble. In fact, we as a country have become General Motors — as a result of our national drift. Look in the mirror: G.M. is us."

-- Thomas Friedman, "Time to Reboot America"

"Credit Crunch Christmas"

Perhaps it's time to return to the days of public stonings and floggings. We could start with this group of bastards. From the Daily Express (London)...

The City Boyz, named as Ciarran “The Brawler”, Dave, Jeremy and Marcus, declined to reveal their employers’ names but are City bankers and stock brokers.

One claimed to work for the collapsed investment house Lehman Brothers.

City Boyz spokesman Dave said: “We were down O’Neills, p****d as usual and p****d off that we were getting the blame for the crunch all the bloody time.

“Then we all thought you know what, we don’t really give a s**t. We’ve all done OK, sod ’em. One of the guys came up with this chorus. We had the whole pub joining in so we knew were on to something!”

Quote of the Day

"I think he (Obama) overestimates his ability to take people — particularly our colleagues on the Right — and sort of charm them into being nice. I know he talks about being post-partisan. But I’ve worked frankly with Newt Gingrich, Tom Delay, and the current Republican leadership...When he talks about being post partisan, having seen these people and knowing what they would do in that situation, I suffer from post partisan depression.

-- Rep. Barney Frank

"Love Came Down at Christmas"

Christmas music from Jars of Clay...

An Expanded Quote of the Day

Vice President Dick Cheney and Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday"...

WALLACE: According to the latest Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll — and I know how much you like polls — you now have the lowest approval rating of the last eight years. Twenty-nine percent have a favorable opinion, 61 percent unfavorable.

I know that you say that politicians shouldn't chase polls. But when people see all that you did as vice president and, in a kind of final report card over your eight years, say they still disapprove, does that bother you?

CHENEY: No. We didn't — if — we didn't set out to achieve the highest level of polls that we could during the course of this administration.

We set out to do what we thought was necessary and essential for the country. That clearly was the guiding principle with respect to the aftermath of 9/11. I feel very good about a lot of the things we've done in this administration. I think that they will be viewed in a favorable light when it's time to write the history of this era.

I think the fact that we were able to protect the nation against further attacks from Al Qaida for 7.5 years is a remarkable achievement. To do that, we had to adopt some unpopular policies that have been widely criticized by our critics.

But I think in terms of — is 29 percent good enough for me? Well, we fought a tough reelection battle. We won by an adequate margin in 2004. We've been here for eight years now. Eventually, you wear out your welcome in this business.

But I've — I'm very comfortable with where we are and what we achieved substantively. And frankly, I would not want to be one of those guys who spends all his time reading the polls. I think people like that shouldn't serve in these jobs.

WALLACE: During the vice presidential debate in October, Joe Biden was asked about your interpretation of the powers of your office as vice president, and here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Vice President Cheney's been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Transition officials say that Biden plans to shrink his office, that he is not going to meet with Senate Democrats the way you did every week with Senate Republicans, that he is not going to have his own, quote, "shadow government" in the White House. Biden has said that he believes you have dangerously expansive views of executive power.

CHENEY: Well, I just fundamentally disagree with him. He also said that the — all the powers and responsibilities of the executive branch are laid out in Article 1 of the Constitution. Well, they're not. Article 1 of the Constitution is the one on the legislative branch.

Joe's been chairman of the Judiciary Committee, a member of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate, for 36 years, teaches constitutional law back in Delaware, and can't keep straight which article of the Constitution provides for the legislature and which provides for the executive.

So I think — I write that off as campaign rhetoric. I don't take it seriously. And if he wants to diminish the office of vice president, that's obviously his call.

I think that President-elect Obama will decide what he wants in a vice president. And apparently, from the way they're talking about it, he does not expect him to have as consequential a role as I've had during my time.

WALLACE: Would you have some advice for your successor?

CHENEY: Well, he hasn't asked for any, and so I won't go beyond where I've — where I've — where I've been.

WALLACE: What do you think are the powers of the president relative to Congress and the courts during the war?

CHENEY: I think they're very significant, and I think they have to be. And I think there's ample precedent for that. I mean, the fact of the matter is that, especially given the kind of conflict we're faced with today, we find ourselves in a situation where I believe you need strong executive leadership.

What we did in this administration is to exert that kind of authority. We did it in a manner that I believe and the lawyers that we looked to for advice believed was fully consistent with the Constitution and with the laws of the land. And there's, I say, ample precedent for it.

If you think about what Abraham Lincoln did during the Civil War, what FDR did during World War II, they went far beyond anything we've done in the global war on terror.

But we have exercised, I think, the legitimate authority of the president under Article 2 of the Constitution as commander in chief in order to put in place policies and programs that have successfully defended the nation.

"Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth"

Here's a sublime moment from one of those cheesy Christmas specials of yesteryear. The year was 1977 and Bing Crosby was visiting relatives in England when David Bowie dropped by and an unlikely duet broke out...

BRRR!!!

Everyone here in the Chattanooga area is freaking out over the weather. Damn it's cold!!! Well, not really. It will probably be a bit colder later this winter, but in comparison to how it has been lately, and considering that the winter has just started, yes, it is bleeping cold. For the past week or so it has been rainy, cloudy and very unseasonably warm. Temperature have been in the high sixties during the day and the high forties at night. Nice, but exceedingly wet. Then the cold front blew in. Sunday morning at midnight the temperature was close to 60°. But that was the high for the day...at midnight when the day was just beginning. As the morning and day went by it got colder and colder and the wind kicked up quite nicely. Now, just after midnight on Monday morning it's 22° with nice wind chill that makes it feel like 9° and a low by morning of about 17°. Today will stay cold -- high around 35°, low about 25°. Tuesday will be a tad warmer, back in the 40's again...and staying around 40 for the low. Wednesday's high will be back in the 60's again.

Quote of the Day

"(T)he truth is that promoting science isn’t just about providing resources—it’s about protecting free and open inquiry. It’s about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient—especially when it’s inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President of the United States—and I could not have a better team to guide me in this work."

-- President-elect Barack Obama in his weekly radio address

My Christmas Is Most Like...

I love these quizzes where they can tell you all about yourself based on your answers to five or six questions. This one was surprisingly accurate. Found via Patrick's Place...

Your Christmas is Most Like: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

You can't really get into the Christmas spirit... But it usually gets to you by the end of the holiday.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

"The Twelve Pains of Christmas"

I somehow ended up spending what is typically the busiest shopping day of the year, the Saturday before Christmas, in the fourth circle of hell, otherwise known as the local mall. And not just any mall, but the biggest and busiest one in town. Only an incredibly great deal would have gotten me there after experiences I've had other years. This time the deal was the Going Out of Business Sale at KB Toys. (And doesn't it say something about the economy when a toy store is going out of business during the Christmas shopping season?) The traffic was bad, but not anywhere near as bad as previous years. We even found a parking spot that was located in the same time zone as the mall entrance. The deals were plentiful. It seemed that almost every store had some kind of buy one, get one free or buy one, get one half off deal. Once there in the fourth circle, we decided to stay to browse and people-watch a while, a rest before we fought our way back out again. We're finally almost through with our Christmas shopping. We'll probably save the rest for the second-busiest shopping day of the year, Christmas Eve, but I hope not.

For some reason, this song ran through the dark recesses of my mind for most of the day...

The Twelve Pains Of Christmas - Bob Rivers

Santa Claus Bailout Hearings

This video is the extremely rare C-SPAN and National Lampoon collaboration...



BTW, the actor playing Santa is Larry Hankin. If he looks familiar it's because you've seen him in dozens of movies and television shows going all the way back to the mid-60s. In the Seinfeld episode "The Pilot" he was Tom Pepper, the actor chosen to play the part of Kramer. He also appeared in a Married...with Children episode; he was Mary ("That's pronounced Mer-ay"), the man who went crazy after designing the Bundy's couch.

Quote of the Day

“I’m here to tell you right off the bat that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight. I will fight. I will fight, until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong...I am dying to show you how innocent I am.”

-- Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich

Quotes of the Day

"I'll miss the petty name-calling. I mean I won't miss it. I - I have been disappointed at times about the politics of personal destruction. It's not the first time it's ever happened in our history. But I was dis...I came with idea of changing the tone in Washington and, frankly, didn't do a very good job of it.

"You know, war brings out a lot of heated rhetoric and a lot of emotion. I fully understand that. I know that's the case, but surely we can do a better job in Washington of treating each other with respect. I don't want to be a self-serving fellow, but I have never used my position as president to personally denigrate somebody."

-- President Bush, on his Legacy Rehabilitation Tour Thursday at the American Enterprise Institute

"I absolutely am so proud that we liberated Iraq."

-- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on CNN Thursday

Quote of the Day

"The top priorities for the Senator who will raise his right hand on January 20, 2009, and say 'I do solemnly swear' are obvious: keeping America safe and growing the economy.

"Less obvious is how to create a White House where forceful debate can take place. Plain speaking, straight talk, and dissent must be encouraged, with participants thoroughly prepared, ideas offered with deference for opposing views, and colleagues not subjected to self-serving leaks. The power of the Oval Office can cower critics and silence disagreement; the Chief Executive must labor hard to make it a place of debate and vigorous debate."

-- Karl Rove's advice to President-elect Obama from an article in Reader's Digest

The Big Picture: The Year 2008 in Photographs

Just the other day I was touting the Boston Globe's "The Big Picture." Now they've begun compiling their photographs of the year. It's a big collection; 120 photos in three days. Here's Part One, the first 40.

Everything You Know Is Wrong...

...or maybe not. Here's a quick winter/holiday health quiz.

Idiots

So I'm a news junkie, but my tastes tend toward the political. I don't pay much attention to celebrity news or the offbeat human interest stories. I'm not even sure why I clicked on the story about the supermarket that wouldn't write "Adolph Hitler" on a birthday cake. I think it was just curiosity, wondering who in the hell was celebrating Adolph Hitler's birthday, and wondering if it was, in fact, Adolph Hitler's birthday. I forgot to get him anything last year.

As it turns out, two twisted individuals have scarred their young son for life by naming him Adolph Hitler Campbell. My favorite part of the story? This tidbit...

Heath Campbell said he named his son after Adolf Hitler because he liked the name and because "no one else in the world would have that name."

Well, duh, Sherlock. Did you ever stop to think there might be a reason for that? It bad enough to name a poor helpless kid Adolph, but making Hitler his middle name ranks right up there with leaving the kiddies in the car with the windows rolled up in the middle of August while you pick up a few items in the store. But if you're going to name him that you might as well plaster the full name in icing on the tyke's birthday cake.

Quote of the Day

Well, I have obviously made a decision to make sure the economy doesn’t collapse. I’ve abandoned free market principles to save the free market system. I think when people review what’s taken place in the last six months, uh, and put it all in one, in one, (sigh), you know, in one package, they’re realize how significantly we have moved.

-- President Bush, Tuesday on CNN

Thank God For Small Favors...No, Wait

The Chinese have decided that lye, boric acid and formaldehyde are really not very appropriate food additives. Really. Apparently they didn't already know that. From USA Today...

BEIJING (AP) — Substances commonly used as industrial dyes, insecticides and drain cleaners were included on a list of illegal food additives China released Monday as part of a monthslong government crackdown aimed at improving the country's shoddy food safety record.

Among the 17 banned substances was boric acid, commonly used as an insecticide, which is mixed with noodles and meatballs to increase elasticity, a statement posted on the Ministry of Health website said. Also forbidden was industrial formaldehyde and lye, used in making soap and drain cleaner and added to water used to soak some types of dried seafood to make the products appear fresher and bigger.

A scandal over melamine-tainted infant formula, which likely killed six babies and sickened 294,000 others earlier this year, prompted the government food safety campaign last week.

The list of banned substances was released by a government committee tasked with weeding out the practice of augmenting food products with nonfood additives. Local authorities were also warned to watch out for another 10 food additives that are often used excessively.

"This list provides clues for relevant departments as they carry out this campaign," said the statement, adding that the list was not comprehensive.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post is reporting that our own FDA is continuing to ignore their scientific advisors and the available data about bisphenol A. They announced earlier this week that they have no plans to amend their position on BPA, but will continue to study its effects. 130 studies have been done so far that link the plastics additive to breast cancer, obesity, diabetes, neurological problems and other disorders.

Sports Stories

A few sports stories that caught my eye while I was trying to decide if Atlanta really has a pro basketball team...

The only people who seem to be doing great in this dismal economy are Wall Street executives, lottery winners and baseball players. Among the latter, Rafael Furcal might be returning to the Atlanta Braves. The shortstop is mulling over a $30 million, three-year deal. Then again, he may go to the Athletics or stay with the Dodgers. Who knows at this point?

Charles Barkley ripped his alma mater, Auburn, for hiring Gene Chizik to be their head football coach. He would have preferred Turner Gill, head coach of the University of Buffalo, and says the only reason they didn't hire Gill is that he is black. Gill has since signed a contract extention at Buffalo.

Contrary to what Tim Tebow said after the Heisman presentation, Florida coach Urban Meyer says that offensive coordinator Dan Mullen will stay on at Florida long enough to call the plays for Gators in the BCS national championship game. Mullen has been hired to fill the head coaching vacancy at Mississippi State.

Accidents and spins were at their lowest levels in five years in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series. There were 211 incidents that resulted in a caution flag in 2008, down 12% from the previous year.

And Michael Vick's attorney told a federal bankruptcy judge that Vick could be out of jail and in a Virginia halfway house by late January.

Quotes of the Day

"I don't know what Caroline Kennedy's qualifications are, except that she has name recognition, but so does J. Lo."

-- Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY)

"When you look at who has served in the U.S. Senate, I can't figure out what the qualifications are."

-- Jeff Greenfield, CBS News chief political correspondent

A Tale of Two Administrations

On Monday President-elect Obama unveiled more appointments, his energy and environmental team, including Nobel-prize-winning physicist Stephen Chu. Obama says that Chu's appointment "should send a signal to all that my administration will value science. We will make decisions based on the facts, and we understand that facts demand bold action" unlike, say, the current administration. Monday also brought this story from the NY Times...

WASHINGTON — The inspector general of the Interior Department has found that agency officials often interfered with scientific work in order to limit protections for species at risk of becoming extinct, reviving attention to years of disputes over the Bush administration’s science policies.

In a report delivered to Congress on Monday, the inspector general, Earl E. Devaney, found serious flaws in the process that led to 15 decisions related to policies on endangered species...

Most of the problematic decisions involved Julie A. MacDonald, a former deputy assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks, who oversaw endangered-species issues and frequently clashed with scientists. The report does not accuse Ms. MacDonald of doing anything illegal, but criticizes her conduct severely...She resigned in May 2007 after an earlier inspector general report found that she had run roughshod over agency scientists and violated federal rules by giving internal documents to industry lobbyists...

Francesca Grifo, director of the scientific integrity program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy group, portrayed Ms. MacDonald’s case as a symbol of a broader pattern of manipulation of science under the Bush administration.

"Over and over again, in agency after agency," Ms. Grifo said, "we've seen where special interests bump up against scientific determinations, the science is set aside."

Sigh. Is it January 20 yet?

The Big Picture: The Hubble Telescope Advent Calendar

One of the absolute coolest things on any newspaper's website is the Boston Globe's "The Big Picture." The Globe takes a newsworthy topic and tells the story with many high-quality photographs. The latest "Big Picture" photo essays tell the story of the Greek Riots (37 photos total), the Hajj and Eid al-Adha (41 photos total), and Scenes from Guantanamo Bay (30 photos total), but they are also currently working on a Hubble Telescope Advent Calendar (25 photos eventually), adding a new Hubble photo everyday from December 1 until Christmas. Here's an example...

You can see a larger version by clicking on the photo or see it in its full-sized glory by visiting the website. The caption describes this as "a billowing tower of cold gas and dust rising from a stellar nursery called the Eagle Nebula. 7,000 light-years distant from us, the soaring tower is 9.5 light-years or about 90 trillion kilometers tall." I like that -- "a stellar nursery."

If you're a photography nut or a news nut or both, you'll want to stick this site in your RSS reader or visit often. Good stuff!

Inspiring Words

Now get out there and win one for the Gipper...

Quote of the Day

"I think that the Obama campaign should and will give all information necessary. You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody -- right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary. And so, I don't know all the details of the relationship between President-elect Obama's campaign or his people and the governor of Illinois, but I have some confidence that all the information will come out. It always does, it seems to me."

-- John McCain on ABC's "This Week"

Bush the Shoeman

I'm not sure if I really understand the Iraqi cultural thing about the shoes, but I first became aware of it when they tore down the big statue of Saddam Hussein and the local Iraqis in attendance began slapping the fallen statue with their shoes. It's supposed to be the ultimate insult or something; I don't know. Anyway, our peerless leader has now gotten the shoe treatment himself. From the NY Times...

BAGHDAD — President Bush made a valedictory visit on Sunday to Iraq, the country that will largely define his legacy, but the trip will more likely be remembered for the unscripted moment when an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at Mr. Bush’s head and denounced him on live television as a “dog” who had delivered death and sorrow here from nearly six years of war...

The Iraqi journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, 28, a correspondent for Al Baghdadia, an independent Iraqi television station, stood up about 12 feet from Mr. Bush and shouted in Arabic: “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” He then threw a shoe at Mr. Bush, who ducked and narrowly avoided it.

As stunned security agents and guards, officials and journalists watched, Mr. Zaidi then threw his other shoe, shouting in Arabic, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!” That shoe also narrowly missed Mr. Bush as Prime Minister Maliki stuck a hand in front of the president’s face to help shield him.

Mr. Maliki’s security agents jumped on the man, wrestled him to the floor and hustled him out of the room. They kicked him and beat him until “he was crying like a woman,” said Mohammed Taher, a reporter for Afaq, a television station owned by the Dawa Party, which is led by Mr. Maliki. Mr. Zaidi was then detained on unspecified charges.

Other Iraqi journalists in the front row apologized to Mr. Bush, who was uninjured and tried to brush off the incident by making a joke. “All I can report is it is a size 10,” he said, continuing to take questions and noting the apologies. He also called the incident a sign of democracy, saying, “That’s what people do in a free society, draw attention to themselves,” as the man’s screaming could be heard outside.

Video of the incident can be found here in a CNN report. Check out the prez's cat-like reflexes.

Monday Music: "The World Is Made of Glass"

The inspiration for this week's Monday Music feature comes from a Whatever post, "Songs You Like That You're Pretty Sure No One Else Does." John Scalzi came up with a Tin Machine song. The one that popped into my mind almost immediately was "The World Is Made of Glass" by John Illsley.

There's not really anything wrong with the song that makes it unlistenable to the masses, it's just that I'm pretty sure that no one else even knows it exists. I found the CD in the dollar bin at my local used CD store. The name John Illsley sounded very vaguely familiar so I bought it. Hell, it was only a dollar. If it was no good it would at least make a nice frisbee. The rest of the CD was pretty forgettable, but this song was a keeper for me. I later discovered that John Illsley was the bassist for Dire Straits. Illsley plays lead guitar on this track. He must have taken some lessons from Mark Knofler; he's got that sound down pat.

The song is so unknown by anyone that I had to upload it to Imeem just to be able to share it with you, and I can't find the lyrics anywhere online. They are so vague that they could be about anything or nothing at all. It's not about the lyrics though, it's about the sound and the mood. Tell me what you think.

The World Is Made of Glass - John Illsley

Lyrics:

This house is mine
I'm in my house
The many rooms are warm
Each has its use
Each has its place
All but one
This empty space
There's no way in
There is no key
No light from windows clear
The air is thick
It's so hard to breathe
This empty space
It troubles me

The world is made of glass
The world is made of glass

Then outside a mighty noise
The flagpole crashes down
On the roof a warrior proud
He's finely dressed in wartime shroud
He wields his spear
I see his face
His eyes they flash like ice
Heaven knows what curse he brings
Does hell protect this empty space

The world is made of glass
The world is made of glass

I am on air
There is no time
No sound outside to hold
Can this be where two sides touch
Before the dream grows cold

The world is made of glass
The world is made
The world is made of glass

News From the "Well, Duh" Department

It seems that the Iraqi reconstruction effort might have been mismanaged, maybe even bungled. Who knew? From the NY Times...

BAGHDAD — An unpublished 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.

The history, the first official account of its kind, is circulating in draft form here and in Washington among a tight circle of technical reviewers, policy experts and senior officials. It also concludes that when the reconstruction began to lag — particularly in the critical area of rebuilding the Iraqi police and army — the Pentagon simply put out inflated measures of progress to cover up the failures...

Among the overarching conclusions of the history is that five years after embarking on its largest foreign reconstruction project since the Marshall Plan in Europe after World War II, the United States government has in place neither the policies and technical capacity nor the organizational structure that would be needed to undertake such a program on anything approaching this scale.

January 20, 2009 can't get here soon enough.

Quote of the Day

“It’s going to be a tough couple of years to get through here because revenues are going to be lousy and demands on spending are going to be going up...You’re going to have to bite the bullet. You are going to have significant budget cuts and you may well have to see some tax increases as well because I’m not sure you’re going to be able to do it on the budget (spending) side.”

-- David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's, speaking at the National Conference of State Legislatures' fall forum Saturday

Wow!

Tonight's full moon was the biggest and brightest of the year because the moon is currently at perigee, the closest it gets to the Earth. The difference between the moon at perigee and apogee, when it is the fartherest from the Earth, can be seen in the photo below from National Geographic...

Quote of the Day

"Remember that popularity is as fleeting as the Texas wind. Character and conscience are as sturdy as the oaks on this campus. If you go home at night, look in the mirror and be satisfied that you have done what is right, you will pass the only test that matters."

-- President George W. Bush, from his commencement address Friday at Texas A&M

Derailed

In a not totally unexpected development, the auto bailout got nowhere in the Senate...

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday night abandoned efforts to fashion a government rescue of the American automobile industry, as Senate Republicans refused to support a bill endorsed by the White House and Congressional Democrats.

The failure to reach agreement on Capitol Hill raised a specter of financial collapse for General Motors and Chrysler, which say they may not be able to survive through this month.

After Senate Republicans balked at supporting a $14 billion auto rescue plan approved by the House on Wednesday, negotiators worked late into Thursday evening to broker a deal but deadlocked over Republican demands for steep cuts in pay and benefits by the United Automobile Workers union in 2009...

"It's over with," the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said on the Senate floor, after it was clear that a deal could not be reached. "I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It's not going to be a pleasant sight."

Mr. Reid added: "This is going to be a very, very bad Christmas for a lot of people as a result of what takes place here tonight."

I'm not an economist so maybe I'm missing something, but I don't understand why the government backed truckloads of money up to Wall Street and told the bozos who screwed the economy up so royally to just help themselves. Spend it however you want. Don't worry about it; we'll just print more. Then you have companies that actually make something, and that employ millions of blue-collar workers, and they are told, "Quit bleeding and we'll give you a band-aid."

Land of Lincoln

The misadventures of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (and the newscasts that expressed such dismay about the state of affairs in the Land of Lincoln) reminded me of Simon Cameron, Lincoln's first Secretary of War. Lincoln once asked Thaddeus Stevens what he thought about Cameron. Stevens's reply: "I do not believe he would steal a red hot stove." Lincoln repeated the line a few times, and Cameron heard about it and demanded an apology. Stevens admitted that he might have been mistaken -- not much of an apology, implying that Cameron might actually steal a red hot stove if given the opportunity.

Ctrl+Alt+Del

Don't you just hate it when a blog you're reading is suddenly and inexplicably no longer being updated. Like the blog's author suddenly dropped off the face of the planet or something. Due to circus dances beyond my control, I was unable to get online for...well, since June. I am finally back in business, ready to blog away again. I thought it was time for a system restart. I've changed the name and the template. Here's a new beginning...