Archive for 2010

TIME: The BP Spill: Has the Damage Been Exaggerated? “Yes, the spill killed birds — but so far, less than 1% of the number killed by the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska 21 years ago. Yes, we’ve heard horror stories about oiled dolphins — but so far, wildlife-response teams have collected only three visibly oiled carcasses of mammals. Yes, the spill prompted harsh restrictions on fishing and shrimping, but so far, the region’s fish and shrimp have tested clean, and the restrictions are gradually being lifted. And yes, scientists have warned that the oil could accelerate the destruction of Louisiana’s disintegrating coastal marshes — a real slow-motion ecological calamity — but so far, assessment teams have found only about 350 acres of oiled marshes, when Louisiana was already losing about 15,000 acres of wetlands every year.”

NOSTALGIA for Muzak?

POLL: Support For Mexican Border Fence Up To 68%. “Support for the fence is strong across all demographic groups. But while 76% of Mainstream voters think the United States should continue to build the fence, 67% of the Political Class are opposed to it.”

ADVICE ON DEALING WITH NAZIS from Woody Allen.

PETER SUDERMAN ON E.J. DIONNE: Wouldn’t It Be Easier If We All Just Agreed that the Stimulus Worked? “Let me correct this: On the contrary, studies alleging to show that the stimulus created or saved up to 3 million jobs are based on scant real-world evidence, and, in the case of the Congressional Budget Office’s reports, are explicitly acknowledged not to serve as independent checks on or measurements of the actual results of the program.”

D.C. SNIPER HAD coconspirators?