SANDY BERGER UPDATE: Despite earlier reports to the contrary, the investigation is reportedly going forward.

LE MONDE loved Teresa Heinz Kerry’s speech.

Some people, on the other hand, preferred to clean up dinosaur poo.

ANDREA SEE has is now publishing a webzine about Xiamen, where she’s living now. It’s called What’s On Xiamen. She’s also writing a regular column on life in Xiamen.

HUGH HEWITT: “It is frustrating to see even a skilled journalist like Chris Wallace asking Kerry and Edwards questions about Senator Edwards’ diet Coke habit when Iran has announced its intent to resume production of nuclear centrifuges.”

MORE PHOTOBLOGGING: SKBubba has posted a gallery of photos — as well as his regular Friday birdblogging feature. (Birdblogging? Keep it away from my catblogging, or I won’t be responsible for the results!) Bubba adds: “Most were taken with my D70 (plus a few taken with my previous and very good point-and-shoot Fuji Finepix S602Z).” As I’ve noted before, the big news is that consumer-grade digicams have gotten really, really good.

UPDATE: Jeff Quinton has more photoblogging.

THE STORY THAT WON’T DIE: Keith Cowing’s NASA Watch has much, much more on Kerry’s Kennedy Space Center visit, as well as a photo of George H.W. Bush in a bunny suit! (Via Rand Simberg, who has some advice on what George W. Bush should do in a spirit of non-angry campaigning.)

I DON’T SUPPORT THE DRUG WAR, especially when we’re busy with terrorists, and one of my complaints with the Bush Administration is that they’re wasting too much time chasing pot when we should be concentrating on dangerous people. So this is no great comfort:

Despite the Bush Administration’s harsh stances on marijuana and drug law reform, it seems as though a Kerry Administration may be little better, and very possibly worse. If well-known drug warriors are to be believed, a Kerry Administration may actually be more interested in taking out Mary Jane and her admirers than Bin Laden and his.

Dang. No comfort there.

UPDATE: Jeralyn Merritt says that Kerry is better than that. I hope she’s right!

ANOTHER UPDATE: Meanwhile reader Mark Stockwell offers an observation that’s depressing all around:

It has long occurred to me that the same actions that make this country safer from terror should also have an effect on the supply of illegal drugs. Stronger borders, much closer watch on cargo, closer examination of illegal money flows; all these behaviors should result in fewer illegal drugs. I suspect that until the price of street drugs goes way up, we can know that we haven’t gotten serious about terror.

I’m not sure this is right, but it makes sense.

ROBERT KAGAN:

Maybe Kerry’s real act of cynicism was his vote for the Iraq war in the fall of 2002. With that vote, he ignored everything he believed he had learned from his Vietnam experience. In retrospect, he may feel that he sold his soul to make himself electable. In the months since the war, Kerry has had to pretend he did the right thing, not only because a politician dare not admit error but because his political advisers believe that in a post-Sept. 11 world most of the electorate does not want an “antiwar” president. Throughout the long months of the campaign, Kerry disciplined himself to sound like a hawk. But in his heart, based on all he learned during the formative years of his life, Kerry is not a hawk. At the Democratic National Convention, John Edwards followed the script. Kerry followed his heart.

The ironies abound. Three decades ago, Kerry came out in opposition to the war he had fought in Vietnam. Today, Kerry extols that service so that he may safely, patriotically distance himself from the war in Iraq that he had supported.

Read the whole thing.

TOM MAGUIRE notes Joe Wilson updates, and a Niger-forgery rowback, along with lots of other interesting stuff. Just keep scrolling

I HAVE A LAW REVIEW ARTICLE JUST OUT, arguing that Marbury v. Madison isn’t as important as law professors tend to make it. (It was part of the Marbury 200th Anniversary symposium described here). It’s not available on line, strangely, though I’ve already gotten the issue it’s in; the symposium also includes far better articles by far more important people, like Mark Tushnet, William Nelson, and Jerry Phillips, among others.

Meanwhile, Eugene Volokh notes that as part of the effort to block gay marriage, Rep. Istook (R – Oklahoma) may be trying to overrule Marbury by statute. Volokh has more, concluding: “If this sounds confusing, I think that’s just because the statute is so awfully drafted.” The bill also (at least arguably, as the bad drafting makes it uncertain) runs roughshod over principles of federalism by trying to deprive state courts of jurisdiction to hear claims regarding gay marriage.

You will not be surprised to read that I think it stinks.

DANIEL DREZNER notes good news for free trade. We can use some of that.

UPDATE: Robert Tagorda notes that Kerry thinks that good news for free trade is bad news.

PRICING MYSTERIES: In the Sunday ad supplement to my local paper, a Nikon Coolpix 8700 (a fancy 8 megapixel all-in-one camera) has dropped from its debut price of $999.95 to $799. Even on Amazon (which for some reason doesn’t usually feature the best prices on camera equipment) it’s dropped to $889.94. (And Amazon regards this as so low that you have to add it to your cart to find out what it costs).

The Nikon D70 outfit, on the other hand, is holding firm at $1299.99.

So the Coolpix has dropped 10-20% in price, while the D70 hasn’t budged, though they hit the market at about the same time. Is this because the D70 is priced close to cost to begin with, and there’s no margin? Or is it because the Coolpix is more of a consumer camera, and their prices always drop? Beats me, though there’s probably an explanation. It’s not quite the great cookware mystery all over again, but it’s close.

UPDATE: Roger Simon emails: “The answer to your conundrum, I think, is simple. The D70 is outsellling the Coolpix – as well it should.” Hmm. So maybe the D70 is just a lot better at being what it is than the Coolpix is at being what it is. And speaking of photography, here’s a cool gallery of photos from high atop various buildings and structures in New York. (Via Jeff Jarvis).

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Mike Marten observes:

I sell cameras for Ritz/Wolf and can tell you without a doubt that the D70 is outselling the 8700. We can’t keep the D70 outfits on the shelf, while the first 3-4 8700’s we received are the same 3-4 we still have.

Competition for each model may be an important factor to consider in looking at the demand. The 8700 has competitors in Canon, Sony, Olympus and Minolta in the 8MP field… and honestly, it’s not the top of the game there (Minolta has a very nice camera in the A-2). In the entry-level DSLR realm, it’s basically the D70 and Canon’s Digital Rebel – here, the D70 is the clear champ in every area aside from the Rebel’s slightly lower price.

As a needs-assessing salesperson, I also feel that the 8MP cameras appeal to only a niche market (the big barriers being size, price and complexity) where the DSLRs are much more versatile and familiar, so are excellent for a wider range of users.

Several readers also think the name “Coolpix” is a turnoff. As reader John Roney observes: “Name screams amateur. The high end Coolpix however is at a price point and capability that is not targeting the casual user.” That seems right to me. And sure enough, the comparable Sony DSC-F828 isn’t discounted nearly as much. And reader Richard Avery notes that there’s more Coolpix discounting on Amazon than I realized: “The Amazon site also includes a link to a $200 dollar rebate coupon. I assume that would make the final cost $689.94 which would be a 30% discount from the original list price.” Yeah, I guess the 8700 just isn’t doing as well — though I’ve seen some absolutely superb photos taken with them.

MEMORY CARDS: A lot tougher than I had thought:

They were dipped into cola, put through a washing machine, dunked in coffee, trampled by a skateboard, run over by a child’s toy car and given to a six-year-old boy to destroy.

Perhaps surprisingly, all the cards survived these six tests.

Most of them did fail to get through two additional tests – being smashed by a sledgehammer and being nailed to a tree.

Even then, data experts Ontrack Data Recovery were able to retrieve photos from the xD and Smartmedia cards.

Perhaps surprisingly? I’m surprised. (Via Slashdot).

MAUREEN DOWD is comparing the Kerry Campaign to Gilligan’s Island, with Kerry in the role of Skipper: “Given that the Kerry convention featured a skipper brave and sure, a first mate who makes others comfortable, a millionaire called “Lovey” by her spouse, two pretty young Kerry castaways and a movie star (the ubiquitously annoying Ben Affleck), I suppose we should be grateful that Camp Kerry didn’t introduce the nominee with the ‘Gilligan’s Island’ theme song.”

Now this seems unfair to Kerry — and to the Skipper — though it’s true that the Skipper did spend an awful lot of time telling old Navy stories. And, like most Dowd efforts, it takes a theme and gets way too cute with it.

Anyway, Gilligan’s Island should be beyond politics. It’s an American classic.

UPDATE: Reader Karl Rotstan has been thinking about this a lot:

A notable absence in Dowd’s Gilligan analysis is the Professor. This surely is not an accident – the Professor was by far the most crucial castaway in terms of the survival of the whole group. Dowd’s failure to reference him in any way is a stunning admission-by-omission that the Dem’s castaway experience is likely to be far more deadly than Gilligan’s. It will indeed be a fateful trip.

Maybe he’s been thinking about it too much.

ANOTHER UPDATE: And this guy is suggesting Fantasy Island, with George Soros in the Ricardo Montalban role. That’ll be next week’s Dowd column! She could do a whole series of Island-themed allusions. . . . [Don’t give her ideas. — Ed. Good point.]

MORE: Les Jones, who hit on this simile before Maureen Dowd did, says that Ron Reagan, Jr. is The Professor. Hmm. I don’t think that works, but you can decide for yourself. Now, maybe this Professor.

STILL MORE: Uh-oh. If Kerry’s campaign is like Gilligan’s Island, it could be a terrible provocation:

Viewed through the prism of America’s enemies, it’s easy to see how the “Gilligan’s Island” gang represents everything Muslim fanatics and their sympathizers hate. As Cantor describes it, “The Skipper embodies American military might, the Professor represents American science and technological know-how, and the Millionaire reflects the power of American business…the presence of The Movie Star among the castaways even hints at the source of America’s cultural domination of the world – Hollywood.”

Heh. Read the whole thing.

MORE STILL: Read this.

HERE’S SOMEBODY who enjoyed listening to Kerry’s speech more than anyone I know. Of course, there may be an explanation for that.

I WAS FOR THE DRAFT BEFORE I WAS AGAINST IT! Rep. Jim McDermott is warning teenagers that Bush plans to renew the draft even as he himself is sponsoring legislation to reinstate the draft. (Via Forest for the Trees).

UNSCAM UPDATE: Claudia Rosett looks at evidence that oil-for-food money went to Osama.

Why not? Look where else it was going.

MORE ON DARFUR, from the Washington Post.

HEH: More non-photoshop photo fun.

TRAFFIC: July sets a record, with over 4.3 million pageviews. Note the dip in June, though — is this what I get for taking a vacation?

It was worth it.

I STILL HAVEN’T READ the 11th Circuit’s opinion upholding Alabama’s dumb anti-sex-toy law, but AmazonChyk’s takedown is pretty scathing: “Far be it for me to postulate as to why the Alabama legislature would pass such an inane law. Perhaps they were concerned that residents of the state were having better sex lives than they were. Or perhaps some members of the Alabama legislature felt they couldn’t compete with the Rabbit.”

There was some effort to pass such a law in Tennessee, but a group called “Well Endowed Tennesseans” made a similar argument impugning the manhood of Tennessee legislators, and once the morning-drive DJ’s picked it up the law was laughed down. Appropriately enough.

UPDATE: Diligent archive research has produced a copy of one of the W.E.T. press releases, which can be read by clicking on “more.”

(more…)

POLETOWN OVERRULED:

Reversing more than two decades of land-use law, the Michigan Supreme Court late Friday overturned its own landmark 1981 Poletown decision and sharply restricted governments such as Detroit and Wayne County from seizing private land to give to other private users.

The unanimous decision is a decisive victory for property owners who object to the government seizing their land, only to give it to another private owner to build stadiums, theaters, factories, housing subdivisions and other economic development projects the government deems worthwhile. . . .

In the original Poletown ruling, the court allowed the City of Detroit to seize private homes and businesses on the east side so General Motors Corp. could build an auto factory. The bitterly contested seizures and the court’s ruling in favor of the city had national implications and led to similar rulings elsewhere.

Thousands of homes and dozens of churches and private businesses were bulldozed in Detroit’s former Poletown neighborhood to make way for the GM plant.

In Friday’s decision, known as Wayne County v. Hathcock after one of the landowners in the case, the court ruled that the sweeping powers to seize private land granted in the 1981 Poletown case violated the state’s 1963 constitution.

Howard Bashman has lots more, natch.

KERRY MARINE PHOTO OP MISFIRES:

July 31, 2004 — SCRANTON, Pa. — John Kerry’s heavily hyped cross-country bus tour stumbled out of the blocks yesterday, as a group of Marines publicly dissed the Vietnam War hero in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

Kerry was treating running mate Sen. John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, to a Wendy’s lunch in Newburgh, N.Y., for their 27th wedding anniversary — an Edwards family tradition — when the candidate approached four Marines and asked them questions.

The Marines — two in uniform and two off-duty — were polite but curt while chatting with Kerry, answering most of his questions with a “yes, sir” or “no, sir.” . . .

“He imposed on us and I disagree with him coming over here shaking our hands,” one Marine said, adding, “I’m 100 percent against [him].”

A sergeant with 10 years of service under his belt said, “I speak for all of us. We think that we are doing the right thing in Iraq,” before saying he is to be deployed there in a few weeks and is “eager” to go and serve.

Ouch. The Kerry campaign will probably blame this on dirty tricks by, er, someone.

UPDATE: Caption contest here, at The Mudville Gazette. (Here’s the Reuters link.)

ANOTHER UPDATE: More here. (Via Bros. Judd).

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Patterico notes that The Los Angeles Times is presenting an airbrushed version of the story: “Let’s recap. John Kerry tries to get a photo-op with some soldiers, and it backfires, badly, with the soldiers expressing resentment at having been used. But that’s not news. Meanwhile, one boy was holding an anti-Bush sign along Bush’s campaign trail — and that’s news. Business as usual at the objective and non-liberal L.A. Times.”

The L.A. Times also omits this bit: “Edwards and his wife had hearty meals of burgers and fries and shared a chocolate Frosty. Teresa Heinz Kerry pointed at a picture of chili on the menu and asked the cashier what it was before ordering a bowl.”

Somehow, I think similar ignorance on the part of a Bush would get more attention — even if it never happened.

LOVE, PEACE, AND GREASE:

Customs and Excise is investigating a British link to the multi-million pound corruption scandal surrounding the oil-for-food programme which operated under Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq.

Money was allegedly siphoned off from the scheme to fund pressure groups which campaigned against international sanctions against Saddam’s regime.

The campaigns were backed by MPs including George Galloway, the independent MP for Glasgow Kelvin, who was expelled by the Labour Party. There is no suggestion that any British MPs profited personally or knew about the alleged corruption.

Certainly not. Related UNSCAM story here.

DARFUR UPDATE:

There is a school of thought that argues that by the time the United Nations Security Council applies its attention to a crisis anywhere in the world, that crisis will already be out of hand, or the moment to intervene effectively will have passed. That is an argument that is particularly apposite in relation to what is going on in Darfur. The same school of thought also contends that when the UN does finally accept that something must be done, it will do the wrong thing, and do it so slowly that it merely compounds an already hopeless situation. And here we have Darfur again. Given the opportunity to act firmly and decisively, for once to present a united front to face down an aggressor and to protect those who cannot defend themselves, the UN has chosen the path of least resistance. It has shied away from using its power for good in favour of mealy-mouthed attitudes and toothless threats of some future, ill-defined, approbation.

Indeed. (Via Newsfeed).