THE PEOPLE VERSUS THE POWERFUL: Mickey Kaus crows over his YouTube campaign, which has produced “A slew of actual Shrumesque attack ads” He’s got links.

Maybe this really is why the folks on Capitol Hill are getting so testy.

UPDATE: Yep, that must be it.

It’ll be interesting to see whether some of these ads wind up getting broadcast as part of TV news coverage. It’s a Macaca Moment for half the Senate!

ANOTHER UPDATE: They just keep coming. What hath Kaus wrought?

MORE: And another.

STILL MORE: My favorite so far.

MYSPACE VS. FACEBOOK: A class divide?

UPDATE: Link was wrong before — fixed now. Sorry.

NEWS FROM CHINA: “For Communist Party officials, their worst nightmare is becoming reality. The new middle class often own their homes, and when property values are threatened by some government policy, these middle class Chinese organize and show their displeasure. There have been several recent mass demonstrations by middle class Chinese, usually protesting efforts to put factories, or other property value destroying facilities, in the middle of newly built middle class communities. Local government officials, who control the local police, find that they cannot just use force to disperse the middle class demonstrators, as they do farmers, or poor, working class protestors. The middle class crowd is better organized, and have useful connections themselves. The middle class have cell phones and Internet access. The middle class also has access to the upper reaches of the Communist Party, which relies on middle class administrators and technocrats, to make things happen. If the middle class turns on the Communist Party, the communists will lose.”

Mess with the rising bourgeoisie at your peril!

UPDATE: Bored with socialism?

But today’s China is, in some respects, less socialistic than much of Western Europe, with a moth-eaten social safety net and a wild free-market economy. Students in almost any urban Chinese school can look out their classroom windows and see just about everything but socialism being constructed: high-rise office buildings, shopping malls, movie theaters, luxury apartment buildings, fast-food restaurants, hotels, factories — the whole capitalist panorama.

Socialism is inherently boring, which is why its main enthusiasts are bores themselves people with high boredom thresholds, like professors and politicians.

535 COMMANDERS-IN-CHIEF: Now it’s Richard Lugar calling for a new strategy. Maybe we could do something to stop Iranian troops entering Iraq? I don’t think he has anything so useful in mind, though.

UPDATE: Fresh back from Iraq, J.D. Johannes posts a wrapup. And he emails that he’s got a rant about Senators on the way: “you know, we could have this thing all but won and still declare defeat. That is sickening.” Our political class isn’t known for bravery or discipline.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Bob Owens casts doubt on the reports of Iranian troops.

HAS BUSH squandered the last of his political capital on immigration? I’d say the answer is pretty much yes, which is unfortunate with more war-funding battles coming up soon.

UPDATE: The end of the conservative coalition?

MORE: “The Republican Party is in serious trouble.”

MORE: I agree: “Supporters of this bill sell it as a compromise that will heal America’s divisions. I fear it’s quite the reverse. This bill is infuriating the public and undermining faith in government itself. You can see it in the polling on confidence in Congress and the President. If this bill passes, it’s going to aggravate and embitter politics for years to come. Passing a measure over such overwhelming opposition is like slapping the public in the face.”

POLITICS, THE PRESS, and a truly vital election.

A LOOK AT CITIZEN JOURNALISM IN CHINA:

In the strictly controlled media world of communist China, “citizen journalism” is beating a way through censorship, breaking taboos and offering a pressure valve for social tensions.

In one striking example this month, the Internet was largely responsible for breaking open a slave scandal in two Chinese provinces that some local authorities had been complicit in.

A letter posted on the Internet by 400 parents of children working as slaves in brickyards was the trigger for the national press to finally report on the scandal that some rights groups say had been going on for years.

The parents’ Internet posting was part of a growing phenomenon for marginalised people in China who can not otherwise have their complaints addressed by the traditional, government-controlled press.

Hey, somebody should write a book about this phenomenon!

A FRIEND AT NASA sends this rather cool picture of the newly-remodeled International Space Station:

NEWS ON THE TALIBAN: “The Taliban has admitted defeat, in their own unique way. In recent media interviews, Taliban spokesmen announced a shift in emphasis to suicide bombings. The Taliban also admitted that the Americans had infiltrated their high command, which led to the death or capture of several senior Taliban officials, and the capture of many lower ranking ones as well. There have also been some prominent defections recently, which the Taliban spokesmen did not want to talk about.”

UPDATE: That’s okay, we’re having our own defections, too.

OH NO, ANOTHER GAS CRISIS: “I’ve been watching the price of gas drop all weekend. It seems like it’s adjusted on the hour. I’ll never understand how a load of gas the station bought at a higher price last week can sell for less today. I mean, I can understand why they’d charge more for gas they bought last week at a lower price – they’re evil and bad. But this charging less for something they bought at a higher price – it makes no sense.”

THEY’RE GETTING KIND OF TESTY in Trent Lott’s office: “A hostile woman answered and told me that my opinions were ‘my prerogative’ and hung up on me without further adieu—-I did not get a ‘thank you’ or a ‘good-bye.'”

They’re sounding kind of irritated in Jim Webb’s office, too, though it’s not clear how he’ll vote.

The leaders of Incumbistan would rather not even have to answer the phone. Unless, you know, it’s somebody offering them money who’s calling. If you want to annoy any Senators, here’s the contact list.

UPDATE: Reader Earl Perry writes: “Senator Salazar’s office staff Is distinctly crusty these days too. The words are borderline civil as they dismiss you, while the tone is savage. He got a certain amount of crossover Republican support in his first election to the Senate, including mine. He co-sponsored the Iraq pullout requirement, and he’s nuzzling the immigration bill. These are probably wiser moves for an entrenched dinosaur like Teddy Kennedy than for a tenuous upstart. He’ll need a real dolt for an opponent to re-get my vote.” Well, the GOP can probably find one of those . . . .

ANOTHER UPDATE: This may account for some of the testiness: “The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 22% of American voters currently favor the legislation. That’s down a point from 23% a couple of weeks ago and down from 26% when the debate in the Senate began. Fifty percent (50%) oppose the Senate bill while 28% are not sure.” Yeah, that’s kind of how I feel — the more they argue for it, the less I’m inclined to support it. I’m not sure how much of this is that the bill is stupid and how much is that the arguments (and arguers) are, but I guess it doesn’t have to be either/or.

Or maybe they’re upset at Mickey Kaus’s unfolding YouTube campaign.

YET ANOTHER UPDATED: Reader Kevin McKinley says they’re nicer in person:

I visited Jim Webb’s Virginia Beach, VA office yesterday to officially register my opposition to the immigration “reform” resolution.

The staffer there was polite, and volunteered that of all the people who have contacted that office, not a single person had expressed support for the resolution.

She told me Webb does not support it; when I asked her if he would vote for cloture she couldn’t tell me.

Sounds like he’d be crazy to vote against cloture, but this is the Senate, so who knows?

MORE: Another report from reader Chris Farley:

I called each office. I could not get through to the DC office – in ten tries, three of them got the “all circuits are busy” message. Capitol Hill must be going nuts.

At the other offices, I told them that I was calling to request that Senator Webb vote “no” to cloture for the immigration bill. I then asked if they knew how the senator planned to vote.

Hampton Roads – a very, very friendly and perky woman answered the phone. She took my name, address, phone and e-mail when I registered my opposition and thanked me for participating in the process. She told me that Senator Webb hasn’t made up his mind yet on how to vote.

Roanoke – a woman answered the phone and tried to get me off as quickly as I could. She was cordial at best. She only took my name. She told me that “we don’t know here but he voted against cloture before so we assume he’ll vote against it this time.”

Richmond – a very young sounding woman answered the phone, told me “okay” when I registered my opinion and also told me that the senator hasn’t made up his mind on how to vote. She didn’t even take my name.

I voted for Webb primarily because I dislike George Allen. So far, I like the concentration Webb has been given to Veteran’s issues, since I’m a veteran myself. But, I’m starting to dislike Senator Webb primarily because of the way his constituent services offices are treating me. Democracy really sucks when the primary driver behind a vote is because you dislike the other candidate. It is a bit depressing.

Most of ’em are depressing, if you look too closely.

STILL MORE: Meryl Yourish emails that the lines are jammed: “I tried calling Jim Webb’s DC office. Voicemail is full; line is busy. Same goes for Warner’s office. But their local offices are free. So I called to let them know that I do not want them to vote for the amnesty bill.”

A COOL COLLECTION of photos from China.

UPDATE: Plus this bizarro abandoned Chinese EPCOT clone.

MY LOCAL PAPER HAS bought my local alt-weekly. It’s probably a good business move for them, but it makes Knoxville even more of a one-newspaper town.

UPDATE: Brendan Loy: “Big national developments like Rubert Murdoch’s bid for the WSJ get all the headlines, but it’s the consolidation of ownership and lack of competition in local markets that upsets me most, because local newspapers, TV and radio are the predominant non-Internet news sources for the average person, and the realities of the modern market have robbed them — particularly the newspapers — of the journalistic vitality they once had.”

GLOBAL WARMING wreaks havoc in London! Has Al Gore visited there this week?

UPDATE: Obviously Prince Charles needs to do more!

ANOTHER UPDATE: But of course! “Mr Gore was in London on Wednesday to promote his Live Earth 24-hour concert next month .”

Via Don Surber, who emails: “It is so difficult to type while I laugh.”

I have that problem a lot.

MORE: Has Gore been to Sweden recently? Say what you will, he’s personally helping to hold back global warming.

FEARLESS POWER WORKERS: OSHA would not approve.

THE DEMOCRATS SEEM worried about Fred Thompson.

UPDATE: Heh.

DISCOVER MAGAZINE: “All over the world, no matter what the cultural or language differences, science is more or less guided by scientific principles—except in many Islamic countries, where it is guided by the Koran. This is the ultimate story about science and religion.” Excerpt:

The evil West is a common refrain with El-Naggar, who, paradoxically, often appears in a suit and tie, although he is wearing a pale green galabiyya when we meet. He says that he grieves for Western colleagues who spend all their time studying their areas of specialization but neglect their souls; it sets his teeth on edge how the West has “legalized” homosexuality. “You are bringing man far below the level of animals,” he laments. “As a scientist, I see the danger coming from the West, not the East.” . . . El-Naggar even sees moral meaning in the earthquake that triggered the 2005 tsunami and washed away nearly a quarter of a million lives. Plate tectonics and global warming be damned: God had expressed his wrath over the sins of the West. Why, then, had God punished Southeast Asia rather than Los Angeles or the coast of Florida? His answer: Because the lands that were hit had tolerated the immoral behavior of tourists.

Theocracy — it’s not just for John Ashcroft anymore. If it ever actually was. . . .

A CONCRETE TEST of “which presidential candidate cares most for the needs of older and disabled Americans.”

AMITY SHLAES on the New Deal. “The incredible rightness of FDR’s war policy obscures the flaws in his prior actions.”

I haven’t read the book, but this is pretty interesting stuff.

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS on why it’s stupid to try to satisfy Angry Muslims: “Rage Boy keenly looks forward to anger, while we worriedly anticipate trouble, and fret about etiquette, and prepare the next retreat. If taken to its logical conclusion, this would mean living at the pleasure of Rage Boy, and that I am not prepared to do.”

THE COMPETITORS for the X-Prize lunar lander competition have been announced. Except for one “secret” competitor that is, apparently, not Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin enterprise.

JACKSON DIEHL:

Where does the global human rights movement stand in the seventh year of the 21st century? If the first year of the United Nations Human Rights Council is any indication, it’s grown sick and cynical — partly because of the fecklessness and flexible morality of some of the very governments and groups that claim to be most committed to democratic values.

At a session in Geneva last week, the council — established a year ago in an attempt to reform the U.N. Human Rights Commission — listened to reports by special envoys appointed by its predecessor condemning the governments of Cuba and Belarus. It then abolished the jobs of both “rapporteurs” in a post-midnight maneuver orchestrated by its chairman, who announced a “consensus” in spite of loud objections by the ambassador from Canada that there was no such accord.

While ending the scrutiny of those dictatorships, the council chose to establish one permanent and special agenda item: the “human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.” In other words, Israel (or “Palestine,” in the council’s terminology), alone among the nations of the world, will be subjected to continual and open-ended examination. That’s in keeping with the record of the council’s first year: Eleven resolutions were directed at the Jewish state. None criticized any other government. . . .

What about Western human rights groups — surely they cannot accept such a travesty of human rights advocacy? In fact, they can.

It’s as if they’re a bunch of antisemitic thugs, and their apologists, or something. (Via Harry’s Place, where a commenter observes: “Just goes to prove what the long term expenditure of large amounts of Arab oil money can achieve.”)

JOHN EDWARDS keeps the haircut story alive.

HOWARD KURTZ ON POLITICAL DONATIONS BY THE PRESS: “The scorecard — 125 of 144 donations to Democrats — provides fresh ammunition to those who say the press has a liberal tilt. It’s hard to argue you don’t favor one party when you’ve just coughed up cash for that party.”

But isn’t banning those donations just covering up the problem? It’s really a failure of diversity.

PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: More Murtha pork:

In April 2004, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) celebrated the groundbreaking for a gleaming new office building here, designed around its anchor tenant, a Rockville, Md.-based technology company called Aeptec Microsystems.

Murtha pursued millions of dollars worth of legislative earmarks for the company, and Aeptec’s federal contracts blossomed after it opened a branch in his district in 2001, rising from about $13 million in 2000 to $45.6 million in 2003 and $33 million in 2004, according to fedspending.org, a database of federal contracts. The company had been represented by two lobbying firms with close ties to Murtha: KSA Consulting and the PMA Group.

But Aeptec never moved into the Indiana building, which was built mostly with state and local development funds and remains mostly empty after opening last month. The company, also known as 3eTI, instead moved its staff of about 15 people into a nondescript office park across town, where its name is not even posted on the outside door. It has since been bought by Texas-based EFJ Inc.

Aeptec’s story is not unique. Murtha has obtained millions of dollars in earmarks for firms in his district, many of them clients of PMA and KSA. But in many cases the money is not for local companies, it is for companies that move to the district, and frequently it is for start-ups that essentially would not be in business were it not for Murtha’s largesse. Some of the firms also are simply store-front offices of companies that do most of their work elsewhere.

Jeez.