MATTHEW YGLESIAS

Matthew's right on point as he points out that the sniping back and forth across the Atlantic is "bitching and moaning among a family or a circle of friends." I think he's got it exactly. We're not the same, but we -- Americans, Canadians, and Western Europeans -- have a lot in common, and in the end we're on the same team. Even the French.

Reed may get struck by Enron fallout
Firm was one of Ga. GOP chairman's first clients

Anything that takes Ralph Reed down a peg or two can't be all bad... The little creep worked (for $10,000 a month) for everyone's favorite bankrupt energy company. The paranoid conspiracy theory version of events is that Enron was paying him off on behalf of the Bush family, to keep him under control. I doubt that, but I'm sure my side's going to try to make the case.

Gore Tries to Mend Fences at Home

"Hey, nice to be back. In my home state. Which didn't vote for me.

"But no, I'm not bitter. I mean, I'm enjoying life. It's not like if you had voted for me, I'd be President or something. It's not like I was one state away or anything.

"Really, good to be home."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Olympic legend Korbut charged with shoplifting

COMING IN 2003: Winona Ryder in "The Olga Korbut Story"!

Meanwhile, what the heck is going on with this lady? She (allegedly) tried to steal: "cheese, chocolate syrup, figs, a box [of] Earl Grey tea and seasoning mix". That's just weird.

InstaPundit.Com

The professor's worried about a domain-squatter, but I think what he's got is an admirer/parodist. Isnt-a-pundit. Let's see.

Chicago Tribune | Arab network cuts ties with CNN

Weasels... They had hidden a video that made Sammy look even worse ("killing innocent civilians is permissible under Islamic law"), and now they're upset that CNN aired it.

TV Ad Assails Dole for Enron Fundraiser (washingtonpost.com)

Elizabeth, not Bob, who is still a wholly owned subsidiary of ADM... She's the likely GOP nominee for Jesse Helms' Senate seat -- even though she's about as much of a North Carolina resident as I am (I visited the state once) -- and attended a fundraiser last September hosted by Kenneth Lay.

It's a smear tactic, of course, classic negative campaigning. Attacking the GOP for its ties to big business generally is OK in my book, but Elizabeth Dole hasn't held public office in more than a decade. She certainly had nothing to do with the rise and fall of Enron, except maybe hold some stock. She certainly didn't know that Enron was a Ponzi scheme when she attended the fundraiser.

Interview | Carl Hiaasen

One of my favorite authors... Recently, I got an order in from Amazon, which is a cause for celebration in a city without a decent bookstore. Anyway, I got two new hardcover books and read them back to back.

One was Hiaasen's new book, Basket Case, the next David Brin's Kiln People. I only mention this because it suddenly occured to me that I read, back-to-back, one book by the guy who wrote the novel that turned into Striptease and another by the guy who wrote the novel that turned into The Postman. This is one of those things that means something, but I'm not sure what.

(Link from Oliver Willis.)

Pledge controversy | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Un-freaking-believable. Two high school girls have been suspended for not standing during the Pledge of Allegiance. I am fairly certain that the school isn't allowed to make them do this, and I think that the school board probably knows this.

The Pledge has always disturbed me. I'm a patriot, but I'm not pledging allegiance to America. I'm pledging allegiance to its flag, to a symbol. Then the Republic for which it stands. I'm not comfortable with that.

'Axis of Evil' Worries Friends and Foes Alike (washingtonpost.com)

You know, most people would be worried about there possibly being an "Axis of Evil". Instead, the international media seemed more concerned about Bush pointing this out.

Bush got good reviews in two countries: the UK and Israel. I love those guys.

al.com: Alabama's Home on the Net

It's not quite off the front page yet, but I'm looking at the Alabama Live page here, and the "War on Terror" box is less than half the size it was a week ago.

Bush Allows States to Call Fetus 'Unborn Child' (washingtonpost.com)

States may classify a developing fetus as an "unborn child" eligible for government health care, the Bush administration said Thursday, giving low-income women access to prenatal care and bolstering the arguments of abortion opponents.

Excuse me a moment while I bang my head on the desk...

Ok, I'm back. This is a pretty obvious ploy, of course; the Administration claims that it's an attempt to guarantee prenatal health care -- one of the most worthy goals I can think of -- but nobody believes that, do they? Since fetuses have been -- repeatedly -- ruled not to be people, I don't think that the government can just say otherwise. Especially not the executive branch.

"Hi, I'm Paul McCartney. I haven't been relevant since 1978, so it's only fitting that I'm headlining the Super Bowl pregame show, taking over where Sting left off last year. Just to give you an idea, other performers in the pregame will be Barry Manilow, Patti LaBelle, and Wynonna Judd.

"So what I'm saying is, NBC, if Joe Rogan gets tired of that Fear Factor gig, give me a call."

Mothman Solved

CSICOP's Joe Nickell takes down the Mothman, subject of one of the many bad movies currently playing. The people who believe these sort of things will -- of course -- either ignore or ridicule the explanation. (Personally, I try to ridicule or ignore those people.)

Anyhoo, said mothman appears to be a combination of two largish birds native to the area. You can always choose to believe that there's a giant flying guy hanging out in West Virginia. Your call.

Bush Budget to Seek Job Training Cut

I've never understood why conservatives would be opposed to job training programs. Job training = more workers who can do more work better. Right?

In this case, the President is calling for increased spending for Job Corps, a federal program, while cutting grants for the state programs. I thought that the GOP wanted to return power to the states and increase their ability to experiment?

Next, doesn't this hurt welfare reform? Look where the cuts are coming: "grants to the states for employment and training services, a 10 percent reduction in assistance to dislocated workers, a 5 percent cut in training for adults and a cut of 11 percent in grants for training school dropouts and other "economically disadvantaged youths" from 14 to 21."

I'm a big believer in welfare reform (and Mickey Kaus has the lion's share of the credit for that). But I always thought that the idea was to make people self-sufficient and productive workers, not to just figure out some way to get them off the dole.

Finally, I doubt this will help Karl Rove's Hispanic initiative.

WebVoyage Titles

Today I have catalogued as "new" books:

The Sum of All Fears
All I Really Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten
Primary Colors

Cutting f***ing edge.

P&G 2Q Earnings Rise on Higher Sales (washingtonpost.com)

In this economy? Maybe there's something to those satanism rumors after all.

Rich and Powerful Gathering at Elite Forum on Economy

I can't stand the anti-globalization protesters, and if they try anything, I'm with Jeff Jarvis: if they cause one smidgen of grief, they should get it back a thousandfold.

I didn't like them before Sept 11. They're clowns, and they don't understand how the world actually works. They also work directly against the best interests of the people they presume to speak for. The "exploited workers" of the third world are far better off working in American-owned factories than subsistence farming.

"Hi, I'm Joe Rogan. I used to be a regular on one of the greatest sitcoms in American TV's largely awful history. Now I do this. It's a living! Sunday night, when U2 is playing the Super Bowl, I'm going to be dropping dog feces on the faces of Playboy Bunnies, or something like that. When did NBC become Fox, and vice versa?"

Sharon includes Arab villages in Jerusalem plan

Am I the only one disturbed to find out that Israel's NSC Director and Internal Security Minister are both named "Uzi"?

Sgt. Stryker's Daily Briefing

If the State of the Union were really like this, I might watch.

CNN.com - Snow in Malibu? - January 30, 2002

It's 70 degrees here. It's nice even up in the Northeast. Weird.

Bush Lays Down A Marker for 3 'Evil' States (washingtonpost.com)

As earlier indicated, I didn't watch the speech, because I never do.

"Axis". That's an interesting word, isn't it? Let's see... his daddy already said that Saddam is Hitler, so that would make whichever Mullah is really in charge in Iran Mussolini, and Kim Jong-Il Tojo, or possibly Hirohito...

The obvious surprise is the inclusion of Iran. We've been relatively cozy with Iran since 1990, and especially since Sept. 11, but things have been breaking down. I'm glad to see it, myself. I don't know what to do about Iran, but they are not part of the "civilized world" as yet.

School lunch menu | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Agriculture Department is under pressure from Congress to bolster produce prices by buying up surplus crops, including cranberries and prunes, and giving them to schools.

It's always the children who suffer most.

! Jews for Allah ** Jews for Allah !

[SPEECHLESS]

(Via Nick Denton)

Bush to Pitch Populist Themes (washingtonpost.com)

Thomason to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Nothing against Bush -- at least not here. I never watched Clinton's either.

Enron Names Restructuring Expert as Chief Executive

This guy gets a chance to go down in history. Like Constantine XI, the last Byzantine Emperor...

Enron actually has a lot of assets. The company itself is dead, of course; there is no chance that it survives this. (Would you do business with Enron?) But some of the pieces will survive, and maybe the employee-shareholders will get something out of it, five cents on the dollar or something like that.

al.com: News
Mobile's warriors: Marine Reservists activated for duty
Thirty-five from Port City and Pensacola area activated as part of Operation Enduring Freedom

Good luck, guys.

I wonder about this. The reserves (an intelligence-gathering unit) are being sent to Camp Lejeune, and are going to be on duty 1-2 years. Given that, the odds of a longer-term engagement somewhere seem pretty likely.

CNN.com - Jeb Bush's daughter arrested on false prescription charge - January 29, 2002

Suddenly, Jenna's little drinking situation doesn't seem nearly so bad.

CNN.com - Stephen King ready to close book as writer? - January 29, 2002

"You get to a point where you get to the edges of a room, and you can go back and go where you've been and basically recycle stuff," he said.

"And then you keep on going recycling another fifteen, twenty years, but eventually you have more money than God and you can retire," he didn't add, but very well could have.

All connections in use (Library of Congress Online Catalog)

Things that bug me, No. 1: The Library of Congress never has enough connections available.

Saudi Affirms U.S. Ties but Says Bush Ignores Palestinians' Cause

Say what you will about Prince Abdullah. He's anti-Semitic, he's too friendly to Islamic extremists, he treats Americans like crap after we pulled his country out of the fire ten years ago. (Hey, maybe he's French!) But he sure is a handsome man.

Basic Cable: Basically Raunchier Than Broadcast (washingtonpost.com)

These people only make it worse. Do they realize that? If they ignored cussing the people who make the shows wouldn't go out of their way to include it.

USS Greenville in Another Collision

Who knew Captain Hazelwood had joined the Navy?

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Why will Hartsfield runway cross I-285? It has to
Extra-strong span will bridge 10 lanes of traffic

How bad is Atlanta traffic? This bad. Cars aren't enough of a problem, now you're driving along (at 20 MPH) on the expressway and a 747 comes bearing down on you.

I go to Atlanta once or twice a year, but I don't drive in the city anymore. I park as far away as I can and take the train in. I can't imagine what the traffic will be like on 285 when they start building this thing.

The Weaker Circuit - Five great women's tennis players just aren't enough. By Mike Steinberger

This year's Australian Open has been particularly illustrative. By the end of the second round, the men's tournament had lost its top five seeds (four were beaten and one, Andre Agassi, withdrew with an injury). But the top-ranked women sailed through the draw. Seven of the top eight made it to the quarterfinals, and the only one who didn't was Serena Williams, the fifth seed, who pulled out with an injury on the eve of the tournament. Martina Hingis lost only 14 games over her first five matches.

Hard to see that as a bad thing. The women's championship was a classic, and matched two big names, Hingis and Jennifer Capriati. The men's championship matched Marat Safin, a fairly well-known player (2000 US Open Champ) but not one of the biggest names, and eventual champ Thomas "Who Dat?" Johannsen. I'm a fairly knowledgable tennis fan, and my entire body of knowledge of Johannsen going in was his name and "Swedish", and I wasn't too sure about the latter. And this is a grand slam champion!

I wasn't even sure of the former. It's "Johansson", one n, two s's, and an o...

Sure, it would be nice to see the ladies get pushed a little in the early rounds, but not at the expense of seeing no-name finals.

States Look to Cigarettes as Way to Cut Big Deficits

HARTFORD, Feb. 29, 2007 -- In a shocking development, the entire Connecticut state government was arrested today for selling crack to schoolchildren.

"We were just trying to balance the budget," said the legislators. "We knew it was wrong, but what else could we do?"

It's only a matter of time.

I'm not comfortable with the idea of balancing state budgets by taxing tobacco. I have no problem with cigarette taxes, but if you set up a situation where the government has a vested interest in tobacco sales, they aren't going to try a seriously to reduce usage.

UPDATE: Matthew Yglesias does have a problem with cigarette taxes. Well... I have a personal reason I'd like to see -- or rather, smell -- less smoking. I'm allergic to tobacco smoke; it makes me nauseous. On the other hand, I don't believe that the government should be in the business of regulating personal behavior, either. It seems pretty reasonable that tobacco taxes (and alcohol taxes, and one day marijuana taxes) should be higher than those for food.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | New gender-neutral Bible to debut in April

I'd like to see this... It's not, like some conservatives fear, going to change God or Jesus to gender-neutral. Apparently, it's mostly going to change some general terms from masculine to gender-neutral -- directives to all humanity to include all humanity, just not men. No problem with that, as long as they keep it in English.

In a Sign of Changing Times, Bush Calls for More Spending

Uh... Okay.

It's really the same old same old, minus any major budget cuts. Money for NMD, even though it's completely irrelevant and won't work. Money to improve housing for soldiers, a good idea if it doesn't all go to redecorate generals' homes. Money to buy big stuff that only comes into play if we want to fight the Soviets or the Nazis. Oh, and tax cuts.

Holocaust Denial in the Middle East: The Latest anti-Israel Anti-Semitic Propaganda Theme

"The Jews control the media, check. 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion', check. Jews kill and eat Muslim babies, check. What are we missing?

"Oh. Holocaust denial. Check."

al.com: Alabama Basketball

LEXINGTON, Ky. The biggest road victory in the four-year tenure of Alabama basketball coach Mark Gottfried did not come easily.

Roll. Tide.

Rumsfeld Says Captives Will Not Be Prisoners of War

I don't think that it's the conditions that are a problem. They're not great, but I doubt you could make a convincing argument that the prisoners' rights are being violated. The problem is that POWs have to be released after the war is over. There's no way that we're going to do that, nor should we; the ones that aren't terrorists already would be easily recruited by the ones that are. For that matter, I doubt that the new Afghan government would welcome them with open arms.

Female Bomber Hits Downtown Jerusalem (washingtonpost.com)

New interpretation of Islamic laws for women.

Women can not: Show their faces or limbs. Disobey their husbands. Have male friends. Have jobs. Speak if not spoken to.

Women should: Kill octogenarian Jews, even at the cost of their own lives.

Lawsuit Threatens, but Cheney Refuses to Name Energy Advisors

I don't know the law on this. But I can understand why Cheney wouldn't want anyone to know about his meetings. If the Executive Branch is working like Congress has in recent years and letting lobbyists set policy, it wouldn't look very good, would it?

Enron's not a political scandal, but this investigation could stir up a lot of them. Now, where have we seen that before?