THE RICH ARE GETTING RICHER, AND SO ARE THE POOR: Why does this bother so many people?
Archive for 2007
July 27, 2007
MICHAEL TOTTEN: The rule, not the exception.
RED MEAT FOR REPUBLICANS: Democrats will block all Bush Justices.
Bush should make a lot of recess appointments to the courts, just to mix things up. I volunteer to fill any vacant Supreme Court slots on a recess basis. I promise to make things interesting . . . .
THE KLEIN KLUB: Son of Townhouse?
A NASHVILLE BLOGGER UNDER ATTACK: Via Michael Silence.
POLICE UNCLEAR ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT.
DRUNKEN ASTRONAUTS: The story is looking a bit thin:
For those hoping for juicy details on the drunk astronauts, there aren’t any. The review panel was told of anecdotes of two astronauts who were intoxicated just prior to flight. However, the panel did not pass on information identifying the individuals or the flights. NASA officials said they were investigating but could not say whether the incidents actually occurred.
Hmm.
UPDATE: Jay Leno: “Maybe that’s why they call it the Kennedy Space Center.”
THOUGHTS ON HOLLYWOOD AND THE TROOPS, from Marc “Armed Liberal” Danziger.
ONE TRUE COMPLIMENT: SARAH PULLMAN IS SAYING NICE THINGS ABOUT STRANGERS.
Just today, I paid a compliment to a woman at the gym — she’s been working with a trainer and I commented that she was showing real progress (which she was). “You’ve made my day,” she said, and she seemed to mean it. When I think something complimentary about people, I try to say it, if there’s occasion. There’s not nearly enough of that in the world.
IT’S BAD TO BRING A KNIFE TO A GUNFIGHT. It’s worse to bring a soda can:
An elderly man beaten unconscious by an assailant wielding a soda can awoke and shot the man during an attempted robbery, police said.
Willie Lee Hill, 93, told police he saw the robber while in his bedroom Wednesday night. Hill confronted the man and was struck at least 50 times, police said. He was knocked unconscious.
Covered in blood, Hill regained consciousness a short time later and pulled a .38-caliber handgun on his attacker. The suspect, Douglas B. Williams Jr., saw the gun and charged the man, who fired a bullet that struck Williams in the throat, police said.
“I got what I deserved,” Williams, 24, told police when they arrived, officers said.
I think he’s right.
ARE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES WUSSING OUT on the YouTube Debate? Rick Moran has been working the phones with the campaigns.
UPDATE: Woof, woof, big fella.
MORE BAD NEWS FOR STOCKS: “Wall Street extended its steep decline Friday, propelling the Dow Jones industrials down more than 500 points over two days after investors gave in to mounting concerns that borrowing costs would climb for both companies and homeowners. It was the worst week for the Dow and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index in five years.” I blame the new Democratic Congress!
DEMOCRATS AS VICTIMS? Jake Tapper looks at the new theme of Democratic victimology.
THOUGHTS ON THE SCOTT THOMAS STORY, from Megan McArdle. With a followup here.
UPDATE: Actually, being married to a TNR staffer isn’t a silly reason to suppose someone more credible, if you’re the editor of TNR. But the whole whistleblower thing does sound like a double standard.
ANOTHER UPDATE: More from The Mudville Gazette.
MY EARLIER POST ON RANDY BARNETT AS ATTORNEY GENERAL — clearly he would have been better than Gonzales, no? — got me reminded of the prospect that, if nominated, he might liveblog his own confirmation hearings. Even more reason to support him next time the position is open. Er, which could be soon. . . .
WHAT DOES THE MILITARY KNOW?
IN LONDON, BLAMING THE LAWYERS. When I was in law school, one of the courses was called “The Limits of the Law.” Few seem to accept that law, and lawyers, even should have limits now.
HOW TO GET RICH: Quit watching TV.
UPDATE: A reader emails:
These days when I fly carriers that offer seat-back TV service, I am always struck by the contrast between coach and first class. In coach it seems most people spend most of their time watching TV. But when you walk through first class, the seats are littered with well-thumbed newspapers and magazines. Is that heavy reading habit something those people acquired after they started flying first class? Or is it how they got there? My money’s on the latter.
Mine too. TV’s okay, but as a habit it’s destructive.
IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE PART OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE:
A federal judge held the FBI “responsible for the framing of four innocent men” in a 1965 gangland murder in a landmark ruling yesterday and ordered the government to pay the men $101.7 million for the decades they spent in prison. The award is believed to be the largest of its kind nationally.
In a decision that was as dramatic as it was stern, US District Judge Nancy Gertner said from the bench that the FBI had deliberately withheld evidence that Peter J. Limone, Joseph Salvati, Louis Greco, and Henry Tameleo were innocent, and that the bureau helped cover up the injustice for decades as the men grew old behind bars and Tameleo and Greco died.
“FBI officials up the line allowed their employees to break laws, violate rules, and ruin lives, interrupted only with the occasional burst of applause,” said Gertner, berating the FBI for giving commendations and bonuses to the agents who helped send the men to prison for the killing in Chelsea of Edward “Teddy” Deegan, a small-time hoodlum.
Quite a stain on the honor of the FBI.
SOME PRAISE FOR THE VICTORY CAUCUS from blogger Bill Frist.
STRATEGYPAGE: “Much to Iran’s annoyance, the U.S. is cracking down on financial institutions that move money to terrorist organizations Iran supports. This includes Hizbollah and Hamas. The U.S. has ramped up its intelligence effort to discover who is paying who, and is ordering banks to cease providing services to terrorist related organizations, or face being cut off from the American banking system. Iran has to scramble to find banks that do not fear U.S. banking sanctions, and is discovering that this is not easy.”
MORE FUN THAN RELIABLE SOURCES: The latest Corn & Miniter Show is up!
David Corn’s reference to a Clinton / Obama “catfight” isn’t very flattering to either.