EXPUNGING COMMENTS ABOUT DICK CHENEY, at the Huffington Post. Finally, an assassination strategy that some people can get behind . . . .

WOW, lots of lefty email about the Al Gore story, charging lies, “swiftboating,” and smears. Hmm. Is the story a lie? Well, there’s this:

Kalee Kreider, a spokesperson for the Gores, did not dispute the Center’s figures, taken as they were from public records.

“Swiftboating” seems to mean the disclosure of truths that are, er, inconvenient for Democrats. Likewise “smears.” And, actually, in lefty blogland parlance these days, “lies” pretty much come out the same way. All definitions are permitted the definer, so long as they are clear, but don’t expect me to be impressed with this batch.

UPDATE: But he’s got Richard Cohen.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Bill Hobbs notes that the “smears” seem to be flowing the other way. That’s not unusual.

Plus, perspective from Les Jones: “Our electric and water bill was $79.68 and our natural gas bill was $75.72. Gore is using roughly 2000% of the energy of our family of four in a house that’s roughly 600% bigger, so basically three times as much energy even after adjusting for square footage. Does he have a 24 hour disco or something?”

MORE: This WSJ item says that the figures from TCPR overstated Gore’s energy consumption somewhat, though the difference isn’t huge. He’s still using a lot.

CARL LEVIN SOUNDING TOUGH: “I think we ought to take action on all fronts including Syria.” Go figure.

UPDATE: Video posted now.

A LESS THAN PERFECT RECORD for Nancy Pelosi so far:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is discovering the cold truth about governing with a slim majority: It’s much easier to promise behavioral change for Congress than to deliver it.

Pelosi vowed that five-day workweeks would be a hallmark of a harder-working Democratic majority. So far, the House has logged only one. Lawmakers plan to clock three days this week.

The speaker has denied Republicans a vote on their proposals during congressional debates — a tactic she previously declared oppressive and promised to end. Pelosi has opened the floor to a Republican alternative just once.

Pelosi set a high standard for herself when she pledged to make this “the most ethical Congress in history” — a boast that was the political equivalent of leading with her chin. And some critics have been happy to hit it. . . .

Pelosi seems to be following a familiar pattern. Twelve years ago, Speaker Newt Gingrich promised to reform the House and govern by principles of fairness and transparency. But, for leaders of both parties, the reality of ruling with a narrow majority translates into tight controls over floor debate, cozy relations with lobbyists and accommodating the needs of lawmakers (who hate working long weeks).

Read the whole thing. Some of this isn’t really her fault, but when you set the bar high, people are happy to point out when you fall short.

WOW, THE DOW IS TANKING TODAY, apparently in response to the Chinese market:

Stocks retreated sharply Tuesday after a sell-off in China rattled markets worldwide and data on durable goods orders came in well below expectations.

After reaching record highs on Monday, China’s stock markets reversed course drastically on Tuesday, plummeting in one of the biggest sell-offs in their history.

Analysts said there was no single reason for the plunge, but many have cautioned for months that the country’s volatile, roller-coaster market, which has been soaring almost nonstop for more than a year, appeared vulnerable.

The plunge in Chinese stocks had global reverberations. Stocks fell across Europe, with the major indexes in France, Germany and Britain all dropping more than 2 percent. In the United States, trading got off to a bad start and stayed that way.

I hope that James Waterton’s grim thoughts on China’s economic future, mentioned here earlier, aren’t coming true.

SISSY WILLIS: “Don’t mess with my Dick.”

CHENEY 2008? Now that really is an alternate universe . . . .

GOOD THING HE DIDN’T DRINK FROM THE WATER FOUNTAIN: Using free library wi-fi from parked car is “theft of services.” (Via Mark Frauenfelder).

ANDREW STUTTAFORD: “Who is losing Afghanistan? George W. Bush, that’s who. His watch. His administration. His incompetence. His arrogance. His failure to learn from failure.” He’s referring to the Bush Administration’s prioritization of drug-war concerns there. More on that here.

FLYPAPER, VORTEX, whatever. Just think of all the energy that’s being absorbed and dissipated. . . .

UPDATE: Yes, the Duncan Black fact-checking is hilarious. There’s fact-checking someone’s ass, and there’s just plain being one. The lefty bloggers seem especially anxious to go after righty bloggers these days. Maybe it’s “battlespace preparation” for the 2008 elections. Or maybe they’re just being jerks. Your call.

A.C. KLEINHEIDER DEFENDS AL GORE against charges of greenhouse hypocrisy:

Al Gore is not the average American. He comes from power and money and he has achieved power and money in his own right.

Al Gore lives a life different from most folks. I’m not one to defend elitism, not as a matter of practice, but some elitism is inevitable. There must be a leadership class. There always has been and there always will be. Even societies organized around the principle of the equality and preeminence of the proletariat have had an elite class. It is the natural order of things. The key for a society is to create a responsible, responsive and fluid elite.

Could Al Gore do more to be “Green” in his personal life? No doubt. I’m sure we all could. Regardless of your position on global warming, none of the steps greens suggest you take in your personal life are gonna hurt anything. It may be unnecessary but not detrimental.

However, his life and most of ours are not coordinate — nor need they be.

Moralists are especially vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy — ask any backsliding fundamentalist preacher. If Gore were less moralistic in his approach — as he gains weight, he’s even starting to look a bit like a younger Jerry Falwell — the charges of hypocrisy would have less bite. But is this the kind of defense he wants?

UPDATE: More on this story from ABC News. And some related thoughts from Gerard van der Leun.

GIVE US MONEY OR WE’LL HATE YOU: Well, it works for teenagers, sometimes.

THOUGHTS ON “SCALPING,” from Ann Althouse.

IN THE MAIL: Eric Flint’s latest Grantville Gazette, an anthology of stories — mostly by other people — set in the universe he created for his novel 1632.

THE LONELINESS OF JOE LIEBERMAN. But at least he’s not struggling to come up with a position. I guess that’s the difference between knowing what you believe, and trying to figure out what will sell.

UPDATE: Ouch.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Further thoughts on messages and principles, here.

THE CARNIVAL OF THE RECIPES IS UP: It’s a slow-cooker edition. I don’t have a contribution, but there’s always this.

PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: This is a pretty substantial victory:

The Federal Railroad Administration is denying a $2.3 billion loan to the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad, Rep. Tim Walz announced Monday in Rochester.

The denial, by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Credit Council, was on grounds of creditworthiness. Walz learned of the denial Monday afternoon in a telephone conversation with DOT Secretary Mary Peters.

“This is a victory for good government and accountability,” Walz said. “The citizens of this district demanded close scrutiny of this loan, and they got it.”

The decision outright ends the DM&E’s loan request. There is no appeal process, Walz said.

The railroad sought the loan to finance a $6 billion construction project. DM&E wants to upgrade its entire, 600-mile line through Minnesota and South Dakota, and extend it west to coal fields in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. DM&E would haul coal from there to eastern markets.

More like this, please.

UPDATE: Here’s some background on the deal — and John Thune’s championing there of — for those who haven’t been following it.

ENVIRONMENTALISM EVOLVES:

Stewart Brand has become a heretic to environmentalism, a movement he helped found, but he doesn’t plan to be isolated for long. He expects that environmentalists will soon share his affection for nuclear power. They’ll lose their fear of population growth and start appreciating sprawling megacities. They’ll stop worrying about “frankenfoods” and embrace genetic engineering.

He predicts that all this will happen in the next decade, which sounds rather improbable — or at least it would if anyone else had made the prediction. But when it comes to anticipating the zeitgeist, never underestimate Stewart Brand.

I hope this is right. Environmentalism should be about good planetary hygiene and honest science, not romantic Luddism. And this seems right:

“There were legitimate reasons to worry about nuclear power, but now that we know about the threat of climate change, we have to put the risks in perspective,” he says. “Sure, nuclear waste is a problem, but the great thing about it is you know where it is and you can guard it. The bad thing about coal waste is that you don’t know where it is and you don’t know what it’s doing. The carbon dioxide is in everybody’s atmosphere.”

Burning coal is nasty. As I’ve said before, you don’t even have to care about global warming to be against burning fossil fuels.

THE SEA LAUNCH DISASTER: Not so disastrous after all, it appears.

GORE’S ENERGY USAGE: Al Gore responds to the item on his utility bill, by stressing his carbon-neutral approach.

But if things are as bad as he says, is carbon-neutrality enough? Shouldn’t he be paying for all that tree-planting and cutting back on his energy usage? Why be carbon-neutral, if you can be carbon-negative? (And the whole carbon-offset business is kind of iffy anyway).

Capt. Ed is unimpressed with Gore’s response: “Purchasing offsets only means that Gore doesn’t want to make the same kind of sacrifices that he’s asking other families to make. He’s using a modern form of indulgences in order to avoid doing the penance that global-warming activism demands of others. It means that the very rich can continue to suck up energy and raise the price and the demand for electricity and natural gas, while families struggle with their energy costs and face increasing government regulation and taxation. It’s a regressive plan that Gore’s supporters would decry if the same kind of scheme were applied to a national sales tax, for instance.”

But look what’s been overlooked in all the coverage. I blame the White House spin machine!

THREE BIG QUESTIONS for the electric car’s future. As you might guess, it’s mostly about us needing better batteries. Or better ultracapacitors — which some people are claiming, but the jury’s still out on whether this will work on a large scale.

FIGHTING BUCKLEY’S BATTLES in the 21st Century — Ron Coleman looks at Scott Johnson and Dinesh D’Souza.

MORE ON BLOGGER IMMUNITY FOR LIBEL in posts by blog-commenters, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. This isn’t earthshaking — I discussed the issue in this article — but it’s certainly more support for the position. Full opinion here.

HERE’S MORE ON THAT NASHVILLE CABBIE STORY:

A Nashville cabbie made anti-Semitic statements and praised Adolph Hitler’s campaign against Jews during a religious argument that culminated when he ran over one of the passengers as he left the taxi, witnesses said during a hearing today.

The cab driver, Ibrahim Ahmed, said Hitler was “trying to rid the world of Jews,” the alleged victim, Jeremie Imbus, told the court.

“I just remember …(being)… I guess the word is ‘shocked,’” Imbus said of the Feb. 18 incident.

Well, that’s one word. And Tom Elia notes a surprising lacuna.

ALL SORTS OF INTERESTING THINGS seem to be turning up in Iraq.