Thursday, May 22, 2003

i should start a 9/11 blog. just to store clips relating to the catalyst.
vigilant.tv - foxnews: Early Evidence Points to Bin Laden
U.S. intelligence also intercepted communications between bin Laden supporters discussing the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, according to Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
(see www.foxnews.com)
just the headlines this morning is enough to get my blood boiling at the incompetence of our citizens to wake the hell up and see the very transformation going on in today's America. we are turning into something alien to what i was brought up to believe America stood for: Liberty and Justice for All.

Congress watches its power ebb

Overhaul without oversight

Military waste under fire

Disunited Nations

then we have the tax cuts, everybody's saying no no no, but the only ones getting heard are the few saying yes yes yes. very few from the looks of it.

what comes to mind about a situation like this is either the monster will bite off more than it can chew, and end up choking on it, or, we'll have a power grab of astronomical proportions, unrivaled by even revolution standards, where the good vs evil, the rich vs the poor, mean the same thing.

in any event, what America was just four years ago, would be hardly recognized today.

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

gettin there

Health Care That Spares No Expense (washingtonpost.com)
Democratic presidential candidates and Republican congressional staffers are making claims about the greater fairness of government health insurance and the greater efficiency of private health insurance, respectively. Some tout the virtues of managed care, others believe the solution lies in tort reform. But the real problem is far deeper. We have come to expect, in this country, very high-tech health care, delivered without reference to price and thorough to the point of parody. Our doctors meet our expectations. No disease is too rare to test for, no technology is too expensive to use, and fear of litigation is not the only explanation.
BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID
Overhaul Without Oversight (washingtonpost.com)
Last month, as Congress was departing for a two-week recess, the Defense Department submitted a 200-page draft "transformation" bill that requests extensive new authorities. It is not an understatement to say that this bill, taken as a whole, is the most sweeping defense reform legislation proposed since the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, which changed both the structure and the policies governing our military. The only thing that is obvious and consistent throughout the 50 provisions included in this bill is the aggregation of power sought for the Department of Defense, removing the legal restrictions and congressional oversight that should safeguard against any abuses, however unintentional. This approach is a rush to judgment that will affect vast numbers of people and, in many cases, will enshrine bad policy in law.
well, this is a switch. i wonder what the story is behind this.
Palestinians in Gaza Turn Anger on Militants (washingtonpost.com)
In an unusual protest, about 600 Beit Hanoun residents blocked a main thoroughfare with trash cans, rocks and burning tires to show their anger at the militants and Palestinian Authority officials

Tuesday, May 20, 2003

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage
The two-hour finale of ABC's reality romance hit "The Bachelor" was the big winner Sunday in the ratings race for young adult viewers, while the first half of a CBS miniseries about Hitler finished third, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen Media Research.

just goes to show ya, who do ya trust anymore. but one thing is for sure. hitler is a fabulous production. cbs did good.
MediaDailyNews 05-20-03
The two-hour special broadcast of 60 Minutes delivered a 9.1/16, 12.86 million. The first part of Hitler: Rise of Evil, focusing on the Nazi dictator's youth, earned a 9.0/14, 13.52 million. CBS placed first on Sunday in viewers and households with a 9.0/15 and an average of 13.22 million viewers. The other networks were NBC (7.9/13, 11.57 million); ABC (6.7/11, 10.62 million) and Fox (5.6/10, 9.66 million).

Monday, May 19, 2003

Peace in Pieces By Eric Umansky
Final Blair thought ... There are no doubt a number of institutional and management issues that in some way or another helped Blair snooker the Times and readers. Here's one to add to the pile: The NYT makes it unnecessarily difficult for readers to contact staffers. The LAT, WP, and WSJ all use a standard e-mail naming scheme. So, if you know the name of a reporter or editor, you can e-mail them. The LAT helps that along by publishing an editorial staff directory, while the WP has an easily contactable ombudsman. The NYT has none of that. Nor does it seem to have an e-mail address exclusively devoted to corrections