August 1, 2007
Jonah Goldberg has a good sense of humor, and it comes across in his posts at The Corner, which tend to display his wry wit. That's why, when I read his column for yesterday's Los Angeles Times, I suspected he...
Apparently the Democrats have resolved to wait until September to offer a withdrawal bill -- and John Murtha stomped off the floor when he learned about their plans. He had planned to offer a bill which would have required withdrawal...
The UN will finally intervene in Darfur, thanks to a unanimous Security Council vote last night, but it will have a restricted mandate that will essentially do nothing. Up to 26,000 troops, primarily African, will deploy to Sudan over the...
Democrats have decided that they have to support changes requested by the White House to the FISA law in order to protect vital national-security programs, the New York Times reports. They fear leaving themselves open to charges of being weak...
Earlier, I pointed out the folly of the new UN mission to Sudan. The force is too small, the mission too narrow, and the rules of engagement too restrictive to accomplish anything other than provide a sideshow for the genocide....
Last year at this time, the world watched as Israel tried to drive Hezbollah out of the sub-Litani region in a large but tentative invasion of Lebanon. Leaders from the UN and the West worked tirelessly to restrain Israel, finally...
A source on Capitol Hill tells me that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to force consideration of Judge Leslie Southwick's nomination to the appellate court in the next few minutes. Stay tuned! UPDATE: It looks like the debate on...
The man who helped create the market for conservative talk radio celebrates 19 years in the business today. Rush Limbaugh has changed broadcast radio history and continues to produce the most popular political talk show in America after all these...
Democrats have been demanding a withdrawal from Iraq for the past two years, and Barack Obama knows exactly what he'll do with the troops once they withdraw. He'll send them on an invasion of Pakistan: In a strikingly bold speech...
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), we have two excellent guests. In the first half, we'll talk with Sara Banaszak, API's senior economist, about the proposed taxes on oil licenses in the Gulf of Mexico and how that...
Apparently, I miscoded something on my CQ Radio post which made everything else fail out. I've fixed the problem, and the rest of the site should be accessible now. I apologize for the inconvenience....
The Muslim special-interest group CAIR has attempted to intimidate the Young America's Foundation into cancelling a speaker at their conference this week. Reacting to frequent CAIR critic Robert Spencer's invitation to address their National Conservative Student Conference, CAIR's attorney demanded...
One of the most-traveled freeways in the Twin Cities -- a span over the Mississippi River -- collapsed about an hour ago. At the time, the highway had bumper-to-bumper traffic in the middle of rush hour, and dozens of cars...
August 2, 2007
The morning after the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, authorities await sunrise to continue their efforts to search the wreckage for any unaccounted victims. By this time, most expect this to be a recovery rather than a rescue effort, and the...
Normally, in the wake of a catastrophe, the details become clear only slowly and fitfully. Last night we heard that the 35W bridge had passed all of its inspections and that the collapse completely surprised everyone. Today, the Pioneer Press...
UPDATE: Here's the video (via Hot Air): CNN has the video from a security camera near the 35W bridge that catches the collapse. It shows it in the typical four-frames-per-second style of security video, but it quite clearly catches the...
Tim Pawlenty just appeared on KSTP to answer questions about the bridge collapse yesterday afternoon. As I noted earlier, the Pioneer Press and other local news outlets have begun to report that the bridge had been rated as "structurally deficient",...
President Bush made an obviously impromptu appearance just now to make a statement about the bridge collapse. He promised a "robust" federal response, not just in the recovery and investigation, but also in rebuilding the bridge. He didn't spend much...
The Senate takes up ethics reform on the floor this morning, and given the overwhelming vote in the House yesterday, it seems certain to pass. The roll-call vote will take place this afternoon: The Senate debated Thursday whether to make...
National Review extended a kind invitation for an essay about the Minneapolis bridge collapse, and they have already published it on their web site. "Into The River" looks at the dynamics of the collapse here in Minnesota and looks at...
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), Stephen Hayes joins us to talk about his new book, Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President. We'll talk about Hayes' unprecedented access to the fanously private...
If you missed today's CQ Radio show with Stephen Hayes, you missed a great piece of fascinating history. Hayes, author of Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President, talked at length about the selection process...
The fast-moving waters of the Mississippi River have hampered the recovery efforts at the collapsed bridge in the center of Minneapolis, and the operations have been suspended. Also, Governor Tim Pawlenty ordered fresh inspections of all state bridges with similar...
Earlier today, NZ Bear from the Victory Caucus joined me in two interviews today with Republican presidential candidates. First, we had Mitt Romney for about ten minutes to discuss his new Surge of Support for military personnel and families. While...
The Senate Judiciary Committee finally voted to recommend confirmation of Judge Leslie Southwick to the appellate court this afternoon, on a 10-9 vote where Dianne Feinstein crossed the party line. Mitch McConnell's office sent out the following statement: “With today’s...
I'll be making two appearances on radio shows this evening to discuss the Minneapolis bridge collapse story. First, I'll join Hugh Hewitt at 6:40 pm CT. Hugh will probably run with this story for most of his show. At 9:35...
It's not that I completely disagree with Nick Coleman in today's Star Trribune. In some ways, I agree with what he has to say. But was this the time to say this? The death bridge was "structurally deficient," we now...
August 3, 2007
The undisputed king of pork in the House has another championship trophy for his wall. Despite a game effort by Rep. Bill Young (R-FL), who actually got more earmarks into the upcoming defense appropriation bill, John Murtha outscored him on...
On Tuesday, I linked to a report from Australian researchers that found laser-printer particulates in high amounts in offices. The report suggested that laser printers could present a health hazard with such high levels in areas where people work long...
MnDOT officials had concerns about the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River last winter, focusing on the same fatigue and potential cracking that has grabbed the focus of the post-collapse coverage. Engineers debated whether to apply patches to the more...
The bitter partisanship in Congress will apparently get a lot worse after some shenanigans by Democratic leadership in the House last night. According to the Politico, the Democrats have not only attempted a revote after an embarrassing loss on an...
The man who decries the "Two Americas" while building a 28,000-square-foot mansion strikes again. John Edwards' presidential campaign has become so desperate that he has started running against Rupert Murdoch, who isn't running for office. He now demands that all...
I'm enjoying the relaxations of our local Panera restaurant and its free wi-fi service, courtesy of an area-wide disruption of service at Comcast. Today marks the first full month that I've had with Comcast's Triple Play, and until about 6:30...
The DC federal appellate circuit has ruled a part of the FBI's raid on William Jefferson's Congressional offices unconstitutional. The three-judge panel ordered the FBI to return certain seized documents to Jefferson without accessing them. The Department of Justice warned...
Our community suffered a terrible blow this week when the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi collapsed on Wednesday afternoon. So far, we know of six people who have died, and the latest count of the missing portends at least another...
The bridge that collapsed on the Mississippi ranked in the worst 100 heavy-use bridges in the US -- but still was deemed fit enough for full service The Pioneer Press reports on the apparent contradiction, which calls into question the...
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), Duane "Generalissimo" Patterson from the Hugh Hewitt show joins us to review the week's top stories. We'll talk about the bridge collapse here in Minneapolis, as well as the other hot stories...
Now that the first couple of days have passed since the collapse of the I-35W bridge, and even while the recovery of victims remains incomplete, Minneapolis begins its adjustment to the loss of its major traffic artery. The loss will...
People have made a lot of assumptions in the wake of the bridge collapse here in Minneapolis. Without waiting to find out the actual cause of the collapse, politicians and pundits have assumed that governments on state and federal levels...
August 4, 2007
Yesterday, Senator Amy Klobuchar blamed the collapse of the I-35W bridge on a lack of highway funds -- even though the 2005 highway bill increased federal funding to Minnesota by 46% over its five-year span. Apparently realizing that line of...
The Senate voted to approve the White House-backed changes to the FISA law after failing to muster any significant support for the Democratic alternative. Sixteen Democrats joined all of the Republicans and Joe Lieberman in passing the legislation, giving the...
The press can't get enough of Jeri Thompson, it appears. They also can't quite get their minds settled on a narrative for her, either. They either consider her a trophy wife, or some sort of manipulative harridan, as this latest...
An eruption of foot-and-mouth disease among Guilford cattle could portend economic disaster for the UK. Six years ago, a similar eruption ruined the livestock markets in Britain and Ireland and even impacted the tourist trade: Britain is facing the prospect...
The Northern Alliance Radio Network will be on the air today, with our six-hour-long broadcast schedule starting at 11 am CT. The first two hours features Power Line's John Hinderaker and Chad and Brian from Fraters Libertas. Mitch and I...
Faced with a clear example of vote fraud, the House has agreed to investigate .. itself. The day after Democratic leadership in the House attempted to nullify a completed floor vote, the Majority Leader had to issue an apology and...
August 5, 2007
The outbreak of the devastating foot-and-mouth disease in Britain apparently came from a laboratory. The Pirbright facility in Surrey, three miles from the outbreak, is the only laboratory licensed to study the viruses that cause FAM, and the strain discovered...
The big story this week for the blogosphere has been the YearlyKos convention, a highly visible amplification of the reach of a blog community into a political force. Presidential and Congressional candidates have spoken to the attendees, and at least...
Bridge inspections have come under scrutiny after the collapse of the I-35W bridge over Mississippi, with Minnesotans wondering how a bridge that passed an inspection in May could collapse less than three months later. The technology involved in bridge inspections...
John McCain blamed Congress and the pork in the 2005 transportation bill for the collapse of the I-35W bridge here in Minneapolis. He spoke to a crowd in Ankeny, Iowa, about his anger over the lost opportunity for pork-barrel reform...
Today, the Washington Post joins the New York Times in its passion to write exposés about Jeri Thompson, the wife of presidential candidate Fred Thompson. With two glaring exceptions, the piece actually appears rather balanced and fair, although it appears...
According to Dominic Kennedy at the Times of London, taking a walk to local shops increases global warming more than taking a car there. In fact, the diesel locomotives used for mass transit do more damage than the individual cars...
Earlier today, I noted that one focus of the collapse of the St. Anthony Bridge will be the methods used to inspect the bridges in Minnesota and across the nation. The latest inspection, less than three months before the collapse,...
Have you been having trouble accessing some of your favorite blogs? So have the bloggers that run them. Hosting Matters has had issues this afternoon, so it's not your imagination or some grand conspiracy. (At least, I hope it's not...
August 6, 2007
Seoul confirms that the two Korean armies exchanged short bursts of gunshots across the DMZ, one day before disarmament talks expected to set the procedure for permanently disabling the Yongbyon nuclear plant. The exchange could mean that Kim Jong-Il wants...
Minneapolis will take its first tentative steps this week towards normal business after the collapse of the St. Anthony Bridge last week. The city will work with the NTSB to clear the debris of the collapse from the Mississippi River,...
Last night, Drudge carried a headline that linked nowhere for hours, announcing that "tons" of paving material had been on the St. Anthony Bridge before its collapse. This morning, the headline finally linked to the New York Times, which published...
It's almost impossible to keep one's jaw in place while reading Jonathan Alter under the best of circumstances, but his column today requires a bungee cord wrapped around one's head to avoid serious TMJ. Alter endorses "mischief" by state officials...
I'd like to find out if an e-mail problem I'm seeing is a widespread issue. Most e-mail I send out to AOL customers has been bouncing back for the last several weeks. It comes back with a message from the...
The Politico reports that Iowans have warmed up to a second-tier candidate in the Republican presidential primary race, one with executive experience and conservative bona fides. Governor Mike Huckabee has pulled into a fourth-place tie with John McCain among likely...
Bloggers on the port side of the 'sphere have suggested a new way to organize the chaos that is the blogging community. They propose a union for bloggers, which has some labor organizers salivating but a good number of us...
The Washington Post and Rick Moran agree on one thing: the YearlyKos convention looked monochromatic for a multicultural movement. With few exceptions, the gathering could have used Procul Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale" as its theme song, according to these...