Month: April 2005

Morning Whip, 4/27/05

Bison corralled in tennis court[*1] .

OK, so this whole judicial nominations thing boils down to: D’s don’t want to vote for the President’s nominees. Somehow, this is news[*2] . Somehow, this gets reported as the D’s offering a compromise to the R’s.
Some compromise: “OK, we’ll only throw a partial temper tantrum if you give us what we want.” Nice.

“We have not even reached May, and already there’s nothing left to say.”
Joe Posnanski on the woeful KC Royals[*3] .

The Airbus A380, a double-decker plane which will dethrone the Boeing 747 as the largest commercial airplane, completes its first flight[*4] .

Morning Whip, 4/26/05

The Lebanese dance[*1] as the last of the Syrian occupying forces leave.

Microsoft to add ‘black box’ to Windows[*2] . Can anyone see a problem with this? Anyone?

Senate Leader Frist isn’t interested in deals[*3] over judicial nominations.

Why it’s not a good idea to get crossways of Kentuckians[*4] . . . especially if you’re terrorists in Iraq.

Finally, from the Michael Jackson Circus, JACKO AIDE AXED[*5] .

Morning Whip, 4/25/05

The Broncos drafted Maurice Clarett?[*1] That’s what I get for ignoring the NFL draft this year.

Funny? Weird? Weirdly funny? You decide: The 213 Things Skippy Is No Longer Allowed To Do In The U.S. Army.[*2]

Long-Married Couple Die on Same Day[*3] . If two deaths can be romantic . . . these are. RIP, Alexander and Leola.

Snookums and I watched Locusts last night. Wow, talk about two hours of your life you’ll never get back. Reviews range from simple disgust[*4] to high amusement[*5] . Where are Joel/Mike & The Bots[*6] when you really need them?

And, something to ponder as you go through your day today: Why couldn’t Snookums and I find something better to watch on TV than Locusts?

Morning Whip, 4/24/05

A new Mark Steyn article[*1] is up at the Chicago Sun-Times.
Anyway, a surprisingly large number of hitherto quiescent Granite State Republicans demanded to know what’s the deal with the inept and unreliable GOP senators. Newt gave pretty much the standard reply: Well, you must understand the party’s still not used to being in charge of Congress. If they’d taken the first poll of the 2008 primary right there and then, he’d have dropped off the graph.

Newt’s answer was just about plausible in 1995. But after a decade in charge? The Iraqi people are expected to get the hang of this self-government thing in 20 minutes, but the Republican Party requires another decade or three?

Steyn’s better at this than I am. I tried to make basically the same point a couple of Whips ago.

Major media company admits equipping, sending hecklers[*2] to conservative meeting. (Hat tip: Instapundit[*3] ).

Snookums and I were listening to “Jack” Radio[*4] just last night. A commentary here:[*5]
How does terrestrial radio respond? By trying to be more like satellite radio. (Impossible since music channels on satellite radio has no commercials.) By trying to be more like an iPod. (Why would I trade my iPod for Jack? My iPod has all my favorite music…plus no commercials.)

Hemp. It’s making a comeback[*6] . I’ve got a Tilley hemp hat[*7] , and I love the thing. And I don’t generally like hats.

Spring Football: SDSU’s defense looks good[*8] .

Wal-Mart continues its push[*9] into every nook and cranny of the USA.

Morning Whip, 4/23/05

Is human hibernation[*1] on the way? Scientists put mice into hibernation. Open the pod bay doors, HAL[*2] .

Heard the one about Spearfish, SD having an ordinance saying that a group of three or more Indians (aka “Native Americans”) could be shot on site? It isn’t true–another urban myth[*3] .

P.J. O’Rourke on Social Security[*4] .

Morning Whip, 4/22/05

Wendy’s chili finger woman arrested, will be charged with larceny[*1] .

Japan’s Prime Minister apologizes to China[*2] . Well, I’m glad that flap is over, and the two countries can go back to being best buddies. Yah, right.

Monday is the first day of “TV Turnoff Week.”[*3] Does anybody actually plan to do this?

Earth Day is, um, today?[*4] . Who knew? Have you hugged your tree today? I guess President Bush will be doing some Smoky Mountain Tree Hugging[*5] himself.

Google profits up 500%[*6] . Keep clicking those ‘Ads by Goooooogle’ boxes, folks.

What blogs mean for the media

An interesting article (hat tip Papa Glenn/Instapundit[*1] )

Bloggers: The light at the end of the newspaper’s tunnel[*2] by Phil Boas at The Masthead.

A taste (click on “read more” below):

To many of you, bloggers are a presumptuous rabble-amateurs elbowing their way into the publishing world. You may not know them, but they know you: your face, your manners, your prejudices, your conceits.

They’re your readers. And, God help us, they’ve become the one thing we’ve always begged them to become …

Engaged.

As you can probably tell, Medary.com at this point in its evolution is essentially a headline-clipping service with a bit of commentary thrown in for seasoning. We’re working here on some original content projects right now, but our bread and butter will continue to be highlighting and commenting on News, Sports, Fun, Life. Nice to see that some of the Main-Stream Media (the MSM) are starting to realize that the information flow is no longer a one-way street, and that “it has to be true, I saw it on the news” won’t cut it any more.

Morning Whip, 4/21/05

Republicans still don’t know how to govern as a majority:
GOP lawmakers offer to investigate DeLay[*1]
Senate Urged to Confirm Bolton Nomination[*2]
The truth about Bush’s not-so-dirty dozen judges[*3]

But maybe they’re learning. House Speaker Hastert edges toward hardball politics by suggesting that leading Democrats might also find themselves in the ethical crosshairs.

The NEA thinks your money is theirs, and they’ll sue to get it.

Synchronized traffic lights save time, gas[*4] . They’re also not really that easy to set up and operate[*5] especially as size of the city grows, which is why most places don’t do it. They should, though.

Space Shuttle’s return to space pushed back a week[*6] to May 22.

Marine is leading candidate to become Chairman of Joint Chiefs[*7] , would be first Marine in that post.

Chimps will not be charged[*8] in mauling of California man.

Meanwhile, the Great Ape Trust of Iowa[*9] is set to open a new campus near Des Moines.

Great Ape Trust. Of Iowa.

US Airways-America West airline merger being discussed[*10] .

There’s apparently an NFL Draft[*11] about to happen. Unfortunately I’ve been so busy with life elsewhere that I haven’t been paying attention.

San Diego gets a second college football bowl game[*12] , and San Jose loses theirs[*13] .

Deron Williams won’t be returning[*14] to the Illinois basketball team next year, gets agent, files for the NBA draft.

Snookums and I have been watching House[*15] recently.

Ben and Jen Part Deux[*16] . Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner.