BILL RICHARDSON’S plan for Darfur.

UPDATE: He hasn’t won over Don Surber.

THE GIULIANI CAMPAIGN launches a new campaign video.

A “DISMAL YEAR” for network TV. Why should the year be any different from the programming?

MAYBE THERE’S HOPE, CONT’D: The Dangerous Book for Boys, which I mentioned yesterday, has climbed to #11 on Amazon. Meanwhile, although it’s not as politically incorrect — or is it? — here’s another interesting entry in the realm of neo-retro books for boys: the Popular Mechanics editors’ The Boy Mechanic: 200 Classic Things to Build. I don’t suppose that every kid could build stuff like this back in the old days, but it’s interesting to see how many skills, and how much persistence, is taken for granted here.

IS BRITISH INFLATION coming to the United States? I note that while the dollar is weak compared to the pound and the euro, it’s doing comparatively well against the yen. Not sure what that means, but I remember when it was the yen we were worrying about.

“SELF-PAY LUXURY JAILS:” This seems kind of third-worldish to me. And I agree with this criticism:

I have a feeling such differential treatment may ultimately do more harm than good. By allowing the wealthiest to “exit” the normal jail system, we lose an important “voice” for making it decent.

Not that there are very many of the “wealthiest” in prison to begin with. But the point holds nonetheless. The counterargument, I guess, is that better accommodations are often available within the prison system to those with clout, and this just evens the odds. I don’t think I buy that, but I suppose some people will feel differently.

COAL? YES, COAL:

Despite the fact that coal is known to be one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases, Boyce, 52, is banking on a future in which America burns a lot more of it. With the country’s huge reserves, he argues, coal should be doing much more than its traditional tasks of making electricity or steel. “We’re moving into an era where we’ll be driving our vehicles based on coal-derived fuel. We’re going to be flying on it,” Boyce declares. . . .

The Energy Dept. predicts overall electricity demand will grow by 45% between now and 2030. It also forecasts that coal-fired plants, today 51% of the market, will grow to 57% over the same period. Coal is cheap and plentiful. And there aren’t a lot of easy alternatives for replacing it anytime soon. Just to maintain nuclear power’s 20% of the U.S. energy market, 35 to 40 new plants will have to built in the next 20 years. Renewable sources such as hydropower, wind, and biofuels face similar challenges scaling up to meet market demand.

Burning coal is filthy. I’d rather see lots of nice, clean, greenhouse-friendly nuclear plants, with coal going to liquid fuels and chemical-industry uses. On the other hand, an upside is that coal doesn’t come from Saudi Arabia, Iran, or Venezuela.

“I GOT MY NUCLEAR REACTOR through the New York Times!” Hey, the ad business is slow.

MORE ON THE DUKE RAPE PERSECUTION DEBACLE, from the Los Angeles Times.

NBC IS STILL TAKING FLAK FOR AIRING THE CHO VIDEO: Howard Kurtz has a roundup.

If the news media were held to the standards, in terms of tort liability or social responsibility, that they hold other industries to, NBC would be in serious trouble.

More criticism of NBC, here.

RICK LEE DEMONSTRATES how to get a fancy studio shot without a fancy studio. Or camera! Rick’s theory: ‘It’s not about the camera ™ and it’s not about the rest of the equipment. It’s about the knowledge and creativity.” Sadly — for me at least — he’s right.

TODAY IS NATIONAL TAX FREEDOM DAY: Enjoy working for yourself for the remainder of the year.

XENI JARDIN REPORTS from the Coachella music festival. And here’s another entry she posted earlier. Lots of cool photos.

A “WAR ON BOOK REVIEWERS?” Virginia Postrel says no: “What Alex calls ‘the loss of pagination at a few provincial newspapers’–notably, in my life, the Dallas Morning News–mostly represents the loss of reviews that are short, dull reports on books everyone already knows about. “

IN RESPONSE TO HARRY REID, THE WASHINGTON POST ASKED some people if the war in Iraq was lost. The best answer is from Kanan Makiya:

It’s up to you The Iraq war is lost or won if the American people choose to lose or win it. With the way things are going at the moment, I perfectly understand why they might choose to give up on the war. But that is not because the war is inherently unwinnable by a country as great and rich and powerful as the United States.

But read the whole thing, which is pretty much evenly divided. Way back in 2003 Virginia Postrel was noting that there wasn’t a single coherent narrative on Iraq, and there still isn’t. (Via Orin Kerr).

UPDATE: John Tabin asks what’s winning and what’s losing:

Our main “original objective” — taking out Saddam Hussein’s regime — has already been achieved. Perhaps Fick is saying we can’t leave behind a self-sustaining democracy. But I think the Kurds, at least, already have just that. If we keep a relatively small number of troops in Iraq indefinitely to enforce a partition and prevent a bloodbath, is that a loss? That is, more or less, how the Korean War ended (I know, it never “ended” in the technical sense, but you get my point). Did we lose Korea?

I think a lot of people thought so at the time, more or less. But in retrospect, no.

WELL, IF BILL CASEY CAN GIVE AN INTERVIEW AFTER HIS DEATH, why can’t George Tenet have an imaginary conversation?

UPDATE: More Tenet reminiscences. Saddam would have nukes by 2007!

MAYBE WE CAN TRY THIS IN IRAQ, NEXT: Disarming the militias in Alabama.

TERROR IN BRITAIN: “Five Britons were found guilty on Monday of plotting to carry out al Qaeda-inspired bomb attacks across Britain potentially killing hundreds at targets ranging from nightclubs to trains and a shopping centre.”

A LOU DOBBSESQUE TAKE on the sex scandal du jour: “Tobias was jetting off to the Third World for some nooky? What on earth for? We live in a f*cking melting pot, Josh. We have hookers of every race, creed, and color right here at home!“

EPISODE IV: A new hopelessness. Ed Driscoll takes lessons from Star Trek.

MICKEY KAUS on the fence: “Note that the Bush administration, despite Tony Snow’s seemingly straightforward promises (‘[T]he fence is going to be built’), has recently indicated that it plans to rely on a ‘virtual fence,’ not an actual fence. Again, what’s odd is not that the administration has come out against an actual, physical barrier. That’s obviously been Bush’s real position all along. What’s odd is that they’d reveal this real position while ‘comprehensive’ reform is being debated–instead of at least dangling the possibility of a real fence in front of anti-amnesty conservatives.” Give ’em credit for honesty, I guess . . . .