The only time I want to see The Pirates of Penzance is when Sideshow Bob is doing it anyway.

Why aren't people buying CD's? Partly because downloading MP3's is easy and free. Mostly though, most music out today totally sucks. The best album of the last two years was System of a Down-Toxicity. Most people missed it. Most of what's on CD's today is garbage; poppy boy bands, pop country, and brittany clones. Even the new artists seem old. Why pay $17.00 for this?

George Michael is writing an pro-Saddam song. Perhaps he should include Scott Ritter as back-up.

Michael faced a backlash for his last protest song Shoot The Dog, in which he ridiculed Britain's subservience to the US.
He has also apologised for saying young chart stars should drop plans for their own anti-war musical effort.

He's got integrity too.

One of my favorite writers, Charles Krauthammer, remains a voice of sanity.

Paul Krugman, as usual has nothing much to say. I love this line though.

When the political apparatchiks who make all decisions in this administration want Mr. Mankiw's opinion, they'll tell Mr. Mankiw what it is.

And when Howell Raines wants your opinion, he'll tell you what it is.

then there's this;

Then there's the effect of the worst fiscal crisis in the 50 states since World War II. Iris Lav of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggests that tax increases and spending cuts at the state level could drain $100 billion from the national economy over the next year. Aid from Washington is an obvious answer — but the Bush administration refuses to provide a penny.

The reason that states are in the worst fiscal crisis is that the governors of those states, Republican and Democratic, didn't see what everyone else saw. The economy could never retain the heights it reached in the late 90's. They spent and spent without thinking about the long term. The Bush administration is thinking about the long term. Long term security for America. Without security, the economy will suffer worse than we've ever predicted.

So where's the upside? To be fair, there are some reasons for hope. Most notably, after two years of low business investment, there's presumably a pent-up demand for new equipment. As I understand it, the prevailing view at the Federal Reserve — which is considerably more optimistic than private forecasters — is that once war fears are behind us, business investment will surge, and all will be well with the economy. Sounds like wishful thinking to me, but let's hope they're right. Also, war itself can be an economic stimulus, as the Pentagon replenishes the munitions it uses up in Iraq

This is true. Business must upgrade older equipment. As for the Federal Reserve, didn't they warn of "irrational exuberance"?
Krugman is the leader in hoping that the economy doesn't improve until, say...January 20, 2005.

France is definitely between a rock and a hard place. They must be scared shitless of what we will find in Iraq once we started going through the old files. They best hope that the shredders can do the job in time.

Jonah Goldberg takes down a useful idiot.

Instapundit has a whole gaggle of interesting stiff today. This I find most interesting.

What do all those pithy war slogans mean? If I was an anti-war protester, I would just show my anti-semitism outright and carry a Palestinian flag in one hand, a Hezbollah flag in the other, and a sign saying Bush and Sharon are Nazis in my mouth. But of course the Zionist media wouldn't put my face on TV. I would probably be front and center on that Muslim hating LGF though.

The rise in asthma in children is a big concern, as is the rise in mercury levels in women. Mercury is a teratogen that can have disastrous effects on a growing fetus. I find the reduced exposure of children to second hand smoke to be great news. Believe what you want about second hand smoke, it does harm children. In my business we use many types of air monitoring equipment. One of the monitors we use is a photo-ionization detector (PID) which is used to detect the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOC). One of the most hazardous volatiles is benzene. Benzene has an OSHA regulated permissible exposure limit, the amount you may be exposed to over an 8-hour day without suffering any adverse effects, of one part per million (ppm). I've had people blow cigarette smoke into a PID and monitor shot up to well over 100 ppm. Adults who go to a bar or club have a choice as to whether they want to be exposed to second-hand smoke or not. Children with parents who smoke do not.

He has slowed down until events warrant. But he hasn't stopped completely.

I believe about 180 lbs. with a moustache is about to be lost in the Iraqi establishment.

Kucinich has just done two things, he cemented his far-left credentials and set up one knock-down drag-out primary season. The way I see it, Sharpton will steal some of the minority vote, Kucinich grabs the paleo-liberal vote ala Ralph Nader, and Howard Dean cements the Democratic nomination by being anti-war but not an idiot. Of course it's still early.

As I stated in my earlier post, a free trade agreement would assist many countries in New Europe...like maybe better rope for Romania.

I bet somehow this gets blamed on the Air Marshals too.

Someone shut Richard Perle up.

How many loaded words can you find in this article?
First the headline;
Bush Shops for More Reasons to Go to War

Shops? What exactly does that mean. Why not use digs or invents and really say what you mean. Next;

Bush has been finding his push to depose Saddam an increasingly hard sell, both at home and abroad.

If by abroad you mean France and Germany, yes you are right.

Still, Bush's growing check list could offer a broader choice of political cover for wavering allies who want to support him but face surging anti-war sentiment from their populations. It might also help him win over skeptical Americans.

I agree that some allies are under pressure. But real leaders make the tough decisions if they believe they are right for the people they govern.

Actually, linking the conflict in Iraq with resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a new idea. Bush's father, the first President Bush, told Congress after the 1991 Persian Gulf War that "the time has come to put an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict." But little came of that overture.

Notice how he had to link the first President Bush into this. A bone toss to the people who think this is just W avenging his Dad. of course nothing came from that overture, Arafat thrives on instability, Barak gave him near everything and Arafat started another Intifada.

France continues being simplisme. I've heard this other places, I can't remember where though. If the US set up a NAFTA-like agreement with the New Europe countries, the EU as a whole, and Germany and France in particular, would not attain their stated goal of an economic powerhouse to rival the US. The EU would eventually implode due to limited markets that they could compete within. Imagine if we could open up all of eastern Europe to our products through such an agreement.

I'm still in the midst of setting up this blog. I can be e-mailed at sswenviron@comcast.net should you wish to contact me.

James Taranto is again at his best today.

Hamid Karzai may turn out to be the right man, at the right time, in the right place. Instapundit , the best blog around, has a great report about the changes in Kabul.

When we began rebuilding Japan and Germany, we and they didn't have the daunting task of overcoming years of civil war or instability. Mr. Karzai is dealing with this and an attempt on his life that was foiled by our troops. Alot of work still must be done, but the opportunity is available and achieveable.

Anti-Israeli bias at NPR? I quit listening to it just for that reason. A privately owned station is one thing, a publicly financed station must present all points of view.

The lungs are the largest organ in the body, surface area-wise. The effects from inhalation of particulates immediately following the collapse of the Twin Towers may not be known for years. Generally, particulates measuring less than 1 micron in size can pass from the lungs into the bloodstream and cause numerous health problems. The EPA has been following these effects as has OSHA.

President Bush proposed money toward developing hydrogen cell zero emission vehicles. The mainstream press ignored this but $1billion+ is being invested to move us in that direction.

Separated at birth.

Hizballah will also have to be dealt with. Supported by Iran and with a track record that shows hatred toward America, they may be as tough an opponent as anyone.

Hizballah is certainly a menacing terrorist group with a known track record of brutal attacks all over the world. The organization's American victims in Lebanon range from Navy diver Robert Stethem — his murdered body was thrown out the window of a TWA airliner in a 1985 hijacking in Beirut — and CIA station chief William Buckley the same year, to 241 killed in a 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine headquarters that led Ronald Reagan to withdraw U.S. forces from Lebanon. The group was also blamed for lethal 1990s bombings of Jewish targets in Argentina — showing that its deadly reach extends far beyond the Mideast.

I still think that we should not have left Beirut, or for that matter Somalia after suffering mass casualties. bin-Laden saw how we caved in both those places and it emboldened him.

Tony Blair is hanging in there under extraordinary pressure. He knows what is right and will act like a true leader does. No focus groups for this man.

I believe that dissent is good thing.

The armbands have a patch with a red slash running through the high school's logo, a mushroom cloud. "There's no silver lining behind this cloud," it reads.

This is a pretty much innocuous article, but this caught my attention:

The issue has been disputed in Richland for years, and the controversy even caught the attention of media nationwide in years past. And it's been a sore subject internationally. A delegation of 35 activists came from Japan to protest the symbol 15 years ago.

Accent mine. Why do the Japanese think we dropped nukes on them? We were left with no choice. We were attacked unilaterally and unprovoked.

Must have unshaven legs and armpits, be ready to riot at all WTO meetings, and be able to make a Double Mocha Latte to go.

It's snowing again. An inch or two from this little storm and 4-6+ tomorrow night. We are getting huge payback from the wimpy winter we had last year. By the time the snow melts it'll be May.

Pioneer 10 shows that NASA was once visionary and will be again. It was launched in 1972 and is still going:

"Originally designed for a 21-month mission, Pioneer 10 lasted more than 30 years. It was a workhorse that far exceeded its warranty, and I guess you could say we got our money's worth," said Pioneer 10 Project Manager, Dr. Larry Lasher.

I hope that NASA gets more funding and develops a newer higher tech version of the shuttle.

It's amazing how fast Scott Ritter went from the anti-war poster boy to a non-entity in that community. Even the libs understand that luring a teenage girl on the internet for whatever he had in mind is just plain sick.

Mexico is now on board. I believe the African nations will also join us. Russia will probably abstain. China will either vote for or abstain. France may be left out to dry. They can't go back now.

I love the Brit tabloids. Never pass up a chance to slam Chirac.

Who am I. I'm a guy who started reading blogs shortly before 9-11. I'm a Navy vet who was on the first if not one of the first ships which pulled into Kuwait City post Gulf War I. I saw the devastation that Saddam visited upon that country. I toured the city and the thing that struck me most deeply was a former safe house which was part of the tour.

To describe what happened at this house is beyond my writing skills. The house looked like any house in southern California, where I lived for ten years. Peach stucco, about four bedrooms, and a nice sized kitchen. The only distinguishing feature was a six-by-six hole blown in the side of an upstairs bathroom. If you followed the trajectory of the round that created that hole, you would see on the wall, about six feet up, a brown stain and some hair.

While occupying Kuwait, Saddam's troops arrested anyone who offered resistance. This safe house was a memorial to those people. The Iraqi Army brought in a tank, leveled the barrel at the house, and fired repeatedly. The resistance was quelled quickly with such tactics. I was appalled that we halted our advance toward Baghdad. We should have finished the job in 1990.

Since that day, I have thought of that house and what happened to the occupants. You see, I don't know because at that time the Kuwaitis didn't know. Brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers were killed for what? They were killed for OIL. Saddam invaded Kuwait because he believed they were drilling into his wells. There was talk of the 19th Province and his right to it. That is garbage. There was also talk of April Gillespie, a US Envoy giving Saddam permission to invade. That has pretty much since been proven wrong.

But back to me and why I'm blogging. I have always been interested in current events and as a byproduct history, since today's current events is tomorrows history. I would have to say that one of my earliest memories is my Dad yelling at me and my Brother to be quiet while he listened to the Camp David Treaty signings with Begin and Sadat. He said that he was listening because "this is history".

I remember watching rapt as Reagan was shot, Benigno Aquino was asassinated by Marcos' troops, and Sadat was killed by Islamists who couldn't bear the thought of peace with Israel. I remember the Challenger explosion as if it was yesterday. I was formed by seeing events live or near-live and finding reading material about all.

I grieved when Islamic Jihad bombed the Marine barracks in Beirut. I thought to myself then, a fifteen year old, what kind of people are we dealing with here. I remember waking up on the morning we found out that our military was unable to even attempt a rescue of hostages held by another extremist Islamic fundamentalist in Iran. I read about that too. We were at our absolute lowest.

Then I recall seeing Reagan. Regardless of what you think of Reagan, the man had a presence. He made this young kid proud to be American. Trickle-down economics and Iran-Contra were events that were distant and unexplainable. I was an 80's teen. MTV and CNN. Reagan saying "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" was a moment that struck me as pure adenaline. I imagine Kennedy speaking in Berlin had the same effect on young adults in the 60's.

In the late 80's I turned 20. I tuned out what was happening until 1990-91 and the invasion of Kuwait. My Brother was in the Navy and I was on the verge of joining. We created this huge coalition that was set to open up a big ol' can of whoop-ass on the worlds fourth largest army. I had friends that were freaking out thinking the draft was to be re-instated and Vietnam was returning. I lived with a girl who to this day is the most liberal I've ever met. We debated and debated the issue for many nights.

I got a chance to peer into the liberal mindset and attempt to understand it. I still haven't. After a few years, I was in boot camp and the world changed. I woke up at reveille in about my fifth month and the Company Commander told us that there had been a coup in the Soviet Union. We had no TV privileges so I saw none of it. All the info we received was what our CC's were willing to tell us. You can imagine the shit 90 guys in boot camp could imagine armed with only scant info. Nuclear war was a big topic, so was "what the hell did I get myself into, I only joined for the GI Bill". pretty crazy times.

After the Navy I went into the real workforce and realized that taxes absolutely suck. I also realized that government handouts were not even remotely going to benefit anyone longterm. I went to school (thanks partially to the GI BIll) and learned all I could about my chosen field. I advanced at my job, had two kids, and eventually moved back to the East Coast.

Then came September 11...

To be continued.

Even a pacifist country is smart enough to know when to get your hackles up.

Leonard Pitts makes more analogies in one article than anyone I've seen with the exception of MoDo. Just like Dowd, none of them are remotely coherent.

Read this slam of Bush. The Inquirer is about as slanted to the left as I was on a Navy port visit to Bali. Three people who are against the war make all of Europe against it.

Tim Blair is killing Margo again. Read his Bulletin article also.

Donahue is out. They blame some of it on the fact that younger people don't remember his earlier daytime show. I remember, I remember that it sucked as bad as the one just cancelled. In a state of war and post September 11, no one wants to hear a whiny liberal talk down the President. It was proven in the last election and will continue to be proven as long as the terrorist threat is out their.

Kim Jung Il continues to make a case for the resumption of covert assassination.

Don't forget Saddam, the Democrats also thought Bush couldn't debate very well.

Christopher Hitchens rules.

Why are people always shocked by revelations like this. I've worked in NY on numerous occasions and have found only several people who admit voting for her.

Count it once, count it fifty times. 65,000 is not 200,000. I particularly like the way they say that turnover may have occurred. Are they now working in shifts?

I would try to explain all that Crazy Aussie Tim Blair had to say today, but he does it better than I ever could.

Here are two views of Mumia Abu-Jamal case. I know that this is an old case but during every anti-war protest I see a "Free Mumia" sign. As someone who has been exposed to this case through the nightly news, I believe this guy is guilty as hell and that his supporters are the same people who would allow this to happen again.

How can a Governor appoint someone without reserving the ability to get rid of him. Baraka is still around.

Jim Saxton is a strong leader where the environments concerned. Too bad he's not from Colorado.

Punditwatch has some funny quotes about Kucinich, Rumsfeld, and Perle.

MoDo (or MoDo'h) is as unreadable as ever but this struck me;

George Bush has always mocked Washington's dependence on focus groups. Only last week, he derided mass European protests against the war, saying listening to the marchers would be like relying on focus groups to set foreign policy. (Millions of people marching in the streets of world capitals is not a sampling of opinion; it is opinion.)

No Maureen, less than 1% of the population is not opinion, it is a focus group.

Outrage over this, but not this?

The Bush administration has no chance of getting a fair hearing by the public on anything environmental. The revision of the Clean Air Act regulations is portrayed as a roll-back. This is wrong. The CAA regulations were out of date and difficult at best to comply with. the thing I find amazing is that the CAA revisions that people are screaming to keep in place were protested when George H. W. Bush signed them into law. This article says something interesting:

ALL DEMOCRATS, the attorneys general from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington said the Environmental Protection Agency has violated legal requirements that it update an analysis of air pollutants from power plants. The analysis hasn’t been updated in at least 20 years, even though the Clean Air Act requires the agency to perform such an examination every eight years, the states said.

Why did Clinton/Gore not update when they were in office?

John Edwards had this to say;

"And so, I ask you, and I ask the American people, are you better off than you were two years ago?" Edwards said in his address to the Democratic National Committee. "In two short years, George W. Bush has taught us what the W stands for: Wrong. Wrong for our children, wrong for families, wrong for our values, wrong for America."

But at least it doesn't stand for wimp. And what values would Mr. Edwards prefer? The late nineties Presidential values perhaps?

The pizza made me do it.

How repressed do you have to be to do this to yourself.?

The British Useful Idiots are worried that the Iraqis are not using them quite how they anticipated.


Since the shields' first visit to examine their new quarters, sandbags and unmanned check points had been erected around the plant. Asked about the neighbouring Rasheed military base, an Iraqi official said: "Don't worry, it is a small army camp."

Should we rename them "Power Plant Shields"?

He should be frustrated that he hasn't had a hit in two years. Why do celebrities go overseas to slam America?

Dennis Kucinich has switched from being anti-abortion to pro-choice. In other news; the Pope has converted to Judaism, Robert Byrd switched his name on his buildings, bridges, and highways with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Juan Gato has become a 12-stepper.

Malysian Prime Minister Mahathis speaks as if he's an American celebrity;

"We are quite paranoid. We are afraid of flying, of going to certain countries... We are afraid of Muslims, of Arabs, of bearded people," he said, referring to feelings since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Thanks for speaking for us Mohamad.

First they are against Genetically Modified Food. Now they're against white teeth.

How to backdoor France again.

To be tabled early Tuesday, the resolution will not contain an explicit deadline for Iraqi compliance but US and Britain will demand that the UN Security Council vote on the resolution by March 14 at the very latest, effectively establishing that as a deadline.

But...

The US is hoping a negative report by chief weapons inspector Hans Blix at the end of next week will give them the nine Security Council votes needed.

By pushing a resolution that requires no vote from the Security council is pretty smart, but relying on Blix has drawbacks.

This is the way that states are working to collect reimbursement for site clean-ups. The original CERCLA, AKA Superfund was funded by taxes. When the EPA found contaminated sites that were potentially dangerous to the surrounding community, they cleaned the site up to standards that lessened the short-term hazards. Anybody who has worked with the federal government knows that when you involve a federal entity, the clean-up costs will nearly double. The government would foot the bill and then attempt to collect from Responsible Parties (RP's).

In 1995. (yes, while Clinton was in office) Superfund was not reauthorized and the pot of money dropped to the lowest level it has ever been. I think that going after bankrupt companies assets is a good step. I also think that having known polluters start funds and begin clean-up on a voluntary basis is a better idea. Most remediation that I am involved in is voluntary site clean-up by the RP's which leaves the state and federal EPA out of the financial picture.

How did the Democratic Party claim the mantle of pro worker and pro environment? Lets examine the most vital legislation put forth for worker safety and environmental protection.

The first and most substantial legislation signed into law was the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970. This act created OSHA and was monumental where workers safety was concerned. President Nixon signed this bill and the rest is history. The pressure on Nixon was enormous, private industry screamed bloody murder that the cost of funding safety programs was going to increase costs to the point that business in particular and the economy as a whole would implode. Companies abided by the regulations (sometimes grudgingly) and the rest is history. Worker deaths have been trimmed by thousands per year.

The second piece of historic legislation was the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976. This act regulates hazardous waste “from cradle to grave”. Prior to these regulations, hazardous waste was dumped in wooded areas, backyards, next to rivers, and in the outskirts of every city. States such as New Jersey and New York were polluted to disastrous extents.

An example of uncontrolled waste disposal with catastrophic effect was the development of the Love Canal area of upstate New York. Buried hazard waste, including Dioxins, heavy metals, and Benzene contributed to numerous cases of birth defects as well as cancer and other ailments. Although this tragic incident came to light in 1979, the chemicals were dumped in the 1940s and 50s.

RCRA changed the way business had to store, transport, and dispose of hazardous waste. This landmark act was the single most significant waste legislation ever passed and saved innumerable Love Canals from occurring. Gerald Ford signed the bill and again a Republican Chief Executive had to buck “Big Business” and move a bill through that would cost industry large amounts of money.

Some other legislation signed by Republican Presidents include, the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) which reauthorized RCRA and made billions available for emergency clean-up. Republican Presidents also signed the original Clean Air Act (Nixon, 1970), the amended Clean Air Act (Bush, 1990), the Endangered Species Act (Nixon, 1973), the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the Safe Drinking Water Act (1974) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (1976).

I previously posted here.