Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Joe Biden: a tale of two Judiciary Committees


Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John KerryIn the cozy confines of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Joe Biden -- erstwhile Democratic candidate for President -- spoke to John Roberts. Rather, he spoke to the cameras and Roberts, because for Biden, every second of C-Span face-time is worth serious campaign dough:

Judge, I need to know whether you will be a Justice who believes that the constitutional journey must continue to speak to these consequential decisions – or that we’ve gone far enough in protecting against government intrusion into the most personal decisions we make... this is your chance to explain what you meant by what you have said and what you have written.


Contrast this statement with Biden's remarks at the confirmation hearing of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

Judge, . . . you not only have a right to choose what you will answer and not answer, but in my view you should not answer a question of what your view will be on an issue that clearly is going to come before the Court in 50 different forms, probably.


Ginsburg was very much a liberal and had even served as the ACLU's general counsel for nearly a decade. But the GOP -- in the minority at the time -- gave Ginsburg the respect she deserved and she was confirmed by a vote of 96 to 3.

Of course, this is a different era. The Democratic party, now beholden to the the hard Left (or, the term they prefer, 'The Barking Moonbat Wing'), will do everything in their power to destroy any Supreme Court nominee -- no matter how qualified -- proposed by President Bush.

Fair? Of course not. But when your failed 2004 Presidential candidate was John Kerry (for goodness sakes) and an '08 frontrunner such as Biden has, on multiple occasions, been accused of plagiarism, well... you get what you pay for. And, in the current scheme of things, the Democratic party is sufficiently discombobulated that candidates like Biden are considered strong.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Thunderdome


Mad Max Beyond ThunderdomeIn a report you may have missed, a group of New Mexican Paramedics -- who had stayed behind in the Superdome as it descended into chaos -- recently recounted their experiences in the local paper:

...Alone, the New Mexico team -- and one doctor from New Orleans -- set up a full-scale acute medical-care clinic by 11 a.m. in the basketball and hockey arena, which is connected to the Superdome by a causeway. The sick and injured from the Superdome came to them. Some had head injuries. Some had gunshot wounds. Some had cuts on their bodies from walking through the water-filled streets. Some had gone cold turkey off their medications.

In the space of 40 hours, the staff treated 800 to 1,000 patients. Hesch said he sutured wounds under the light of his headlamp...

...Hesch said he is disgusted that some Americans, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, are claiming that relief didn't come quickly because New Orleans has a large black population.

"It had nothing to do with race," Hesch said. "It had to do with the fact that New Orleans exists 12 feet below sea level. That is the big problem."

The other big problem, he said, were the high numbers of people trapped in the disaster. He said the city of New Orleans should have organized a more persuasive evacuation, using school buses and other means...


Santa Fe New Mexican: Sante Fe man recounts chaos in the Dome

Naval Technology: the DD(X)


Twenty-First Century Warships: Surface Combatants of Today's NaviesThe Weekly Standard covers the Navy's new DD(X) destroyer, the aquatic equivalent of the stealth bomber. Its unique electronics, low profile in the water, and construction using radar-resistant materials are all interesting facets. But:

...the most intriguing element of DD(X) is its guns. Each 155mm gun will fire a Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP). The LRLAP has already been successfully tested to 83 nautical miles. Though it only carries 24 lbs of high explosives, the Advanced Gun System (AGS) is fully automated and holds a magazine of 300 rounds. With a rate of fire of 10 rounds a minute, the AGS should be able to provide the volume fire capability the Navy so desperately needs, and with GPS-guidance the LRLAP will be extremely accurate.

Critics of the AGS point out that accuracy of fire may be less important than the volume of fire when softening up onshore targets for an amphibious assault, but because the DD(X) can be replenished while at sea (and while firing), she will be able to fire at least one gun continuously for an indefinite amount of time. In addition, each gun will be capable of putting up to eight rounds on a target simultaneously. To achieve this effect, shells will be fired in rapid succession at different trajectories. In conjunction with the counter-battery capability of the dual band radar, any enemy troops who fire on U.S. forces will have only minutes before the 2 guns of DD(X) can return fire with devastating accuracy: Tests have shown the guns accurate to within two meters at a range of 68 nautical miles...


Weekly Standard: DD(Rex)

What would we do without 'Flood Experts'?


Washington Post: Flood Experts See Lessons in New Orleans.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Patching Firefox... ignoring Internet Explorer


Firefox and Thunderbird GarageThe folks at Mozilla have responded to the report of a serious flaw in their browsers, including Firefox. The vulnerability relates to the handling of 'International Domain Names' (IDNs), which use local language characters. The browser's handling of these characters can be exploited to run malicious code on a user's PC.

One of the neat things about Firefox, however, is its ability to control all sorts of settings that lie just underneath the covers. CNet provides the following instructions on turning off IDN handling without having to patch your browser:

Type "about:config" in the address bar, hit Enter; type "network.enableIDN" in the filter toolbar, hit Enter; right-click the "network.enableIDN" item and select Toggle to change value to false.


Easy enough. Contrast this with Microsoft's Internet Explorer (or "IE") browser. It supports, for example, a powerful tool called Browser Helper Objects (or BHOs). BHOs allow third-party software developers to extend the functionality of IE.

In practice, though, many BHOs are used by spyware vendors who want to inspect and monitor your browsing activities. Are you visiting the Dell.com site? A surreptitiously-installed spyware app -- using BHO technology -- can detect that operation and popup another window to, say, Gateway.com (or whichever advertiser pays them for competitive positioning). In other words, lots of IE configurations have all the privacy of a house without any window treatments.

Here's the kicker, though. BHOs are notoriously difficult to find and remove. Want to see which BHOs are installed on your PC? According to SpywareInfo.com, Microsoft doesn't provide tools capable of either viewing or removing specific BHOs*. Only third-party tools, some of which may have dubious capabilities themselves, can be used to diagnose BHO problems. Or, if you're feeling particularly tech-savvy, you could risk open-heart surgery on the registry (that's where BHOs strap themselves into the IE browser).

Aside from the IE team's egregious omission of tools to monitor and control BHOs, the succession of serious security flaws in Microsoft's browser render it -- at present -- an inferior choice for Internet surfing. If you're not doing so already, download Firefox. And if you're already using it, make sure you take ten seconds out of your day to change the IDN setting.

News.com: Mozilla offers temporary fix for Firefox flaw

* As of December, 2004, Microsoft apparently does offer a solution to disable all BHOs in an IE installation.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Anti-American Left Bank: Congressional Report Card


Taranto blisters the Anti-American Left Bank (or, as they prefer to be called: 'The Moonbat Wing') of the Democratic party, some of whom just happen to be members of Congress:

The House yesterday passed an anodyne resolution commemorating the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. It extended sympathy to the victims and survivors; honored the military, first responders, and others who helped; thanked foreign leaders for their support; declared that America is not waging war "on any people or any faith"; reaffirmed a commitment to the global war on terrorism; and vowed "never [to] forget the sacrifices made" on 9/11 or to "bow to terrorist demands."

No one could disagree with that, right? Not quite. The House vote for the resolution was 402-6; here are the six far-left Democrats who voted "no":

* John Conyers (Mich.)
* Barbara Lee (Calif.)
* Jim McDermott (Wash.)
* Cynthia McKinney (Ga.)
* Pete Stark (Calif.)
* Lynn Woolsey (Calif.)


This is the Moonbat Wing of the Democratic Party in action.

On an earlier post, a commenter (Jarrod) asked, "Why do you have to be soooo partisan?" Because, as I've said before and will say again, the Moonbat Wing of the Democratic Party is a cancer that must be excised by the moderates of the party. This hard Left stain on the proud traditions of the Democratic party is demonstrably anti-American. And the Moonbats will, if they ever achieve access to the levers of Governmental power, get a lot more American civilians killed.

AutoSpies Black List


Jaguar Mk I/ii (Haynes Great Cars)The always interesting AutoSpies site is featuring its 2005 black list: its "bottom ten" - the worst vehicles currently available for sale in the US. The bottom five?

5. Cadillac XLR- Or should we call it the Allante II? This thing is deadsville in the marketplace. Looks like a door stop with dual nightlights on it!
4. Acura RL- Feels like the whole car's drive system has been shot with Novocaine. The most over priced car on the mainstream market.
3. Honda Ridgeline- With national leases already at $199 per month, this thing (maybe they should have called it, the Honda THING) is sinking fast! Thank GOD!
2. Hummer H3- The Hummer thing is just SOOOOO over. And we predict there is no comeback in sight. Even Steve Jobs couldn�t figure out how to bring this brand back! Sorry Liz...
1. Jeep Commander- Whatever over paid slacker at DCX green lighted this piece of trash, should be removed from his or her command! The only thing missing is the "Body designed by YUGO" on the side panel.


AutoSpies 2005 Black List: The Worst Vehicles Available Today

Friday, September 09, 2005

Gov. Blanco's Bureaucrats Blocked Food and Water


Fox News is reporting that the Red Cross was blocked from delivering food and water to the Superdome by Louisiana officials. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. From all appearances, you could have gotten better leadership than Nagin and Blanco simply calling Rudy Guiliani's mobile and asking for advice.

Warning: take your blood-pressure medication before reading the following snippets.

The Red Cross was reportedly ready to deliver food, water and other supplies to flood-ravaged refugees who were sweltering inside New Orleans' Superdome last week - but the relief was blocked by bureaucrats who worked for Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

Fox News Channel's Major Garrett reported Wednesday that the Red Cross had "trucks with water, food, hygiene equipment, all sorts of things ready to go ... to the Superdome and Convention Center."

But the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security, Garrett said, "told them they could not go."

"The Red Cross tells me that Louisiana's Department of Homeland Security said, 'Look, we do not want to create a magnet for more people to come to the Superdome or Convention Center, we want to get them out,'" he explained.

"So at the same time local officials were screaming where is the food, where is the water, the Red Cross was standing by ready [and] the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security said you can't go."


Following up, Radioblogger transcribed a fascinating interview with Garrett:

MG: ...you know, I watch hurricanes all the time. And I see correspondents standing among rubble and refugees and evacuaees. But I always either see that Red Cross or Salvation Army truck nearby. Why don't I see that?

HH: And the answer is?

MG: The answer is the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security, that is the state agency responsible for that state's homeland security, told the Red Cross explicitly, you cannot come... I want your listeners to follow me here. At the very moment that Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans was screaming where's the food, where's the water, it was over the overpass, and state officials were saying you can't come in.


The Political Teen has video of Garrett discussing this issue with Britt Hume.

Bob Williams, a state legislator from the state of Washington during the Mount St. Helen's disruption, also pins the blame on clueless state and local officials:

...Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation and supervising the actual evacuation: His Office of Emergency Preparedness (not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation.

...unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that thousands of people died because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to implement the state plan, which mentions the possible need to evacuate up to one million people. The plan clearly gives the governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending in state resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal assistance...


The phrase 'useless bureaucratic gasbags' comes to mind. As do a few choice curse words. When the final history of this sorry catastrophe is written, the names Nagin and Blanco will likely be written in the same context as Nero, who fiddled while Rome burned.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Dropping Some Science on the Left


Rising Tide : The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed AmericaThe best quote yet on the reaction to Katrina comes from Greg Hanke:

The earliest official date on the two Louisiana Governor's 'Emergency Evacuation by Buses' orders is August 31, 2005. This is apparently an order to move those at the Superdome, as well as other places.

The hurricane hit NOLA on August 29.

Seems a tad late for an emergency order, no? Why wasn't a similar order put into effect before the disaster? It may have prevented this.

I swear, if President Bush had shown up like Moses, parted the waters and led the people to safety, the liberals would have sued him for violating the separation of church and state.


Would it be trite to say... 'Indeed'? I have evidence that Governor Blanco was hard at work during the crisis, though. That much is clear:

On the afternoon of Aug. 27, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco held a press briefing in which she answered a question about what could be done to avert disaster: "We can pray very hard that the intensity will weaken. We don't know what it's going to be yet, but we're all watching the weather service. I believe that's the best we can do right now."


Yes, the best strategy Governor Blanco could recommend was to pray. No, she couldn't bother following the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Plan -- and thereby deploy hundreds or thousands of buses -- that wasn't necessary. Just prayer.

Can you imagine if Blanco were a Republican? How long would it have taken Maureen Dowd to call her 'Governor Falwell'? Or the Times' other shameless, tag-team DNC mouthpieces -- Herbert & Krugman -- to claim the Governor's admonition was violating the separation of church and state?

Greg also drops some science on the crowing, baying group of liberals anxious to pin something (anything!) on George W. Bush. Greg points to the Post-Chronicle, which notes:

It is against the law for any President to order troops into a city or across state lines without a request and permission from the Governor of that state.

John Armor, a First Amendment lawyer... told me, "Federal law prevents the President from sending in the National Guard until the Governor gives the order. It is little known, but the Commanding General of the National Guard in every state reports to the Governor, not the President, until the Governor says otherwise. U.S. military units (regular Army, not the Guard) cannot be used because of the Posse Comitatus law, until the Guard has been authorized."


Translation for the geniuses on the Times' Op-Ed page: the President can't do jack-squat unless authorized to do so by the Governor.

The key questions we must related to a simple, underlying premise: Louisiana has a required emergency response plan... why was it not followed?

o Why did the Governor abandon the City of New Orleans for the safety of Baton Rouge, before the Plan was Executed?

o Why, when the federal Government was acting in accordance with the Stafford Act, did the State of Louisiana, by its Governor's acts, delay making requests when being told this storm was going to hit?

o Why did Mayor Nagin or Governor Blanco, delay while "sleeping on it" Saturday night, the mandatory evacuation spelled out in the Louisiana Emergency Plan? On Saturday the Mayor said he may order an evacuation, "tomorrow" (Sunday).

o Where were the Parish Presidents who were signatories to the Louisiana Emergency Plan, and why did they fail in the execution of the plan?

o After the Parish's obvious failure to implement, why didn't the State take over as required by the plan?

o Why were the Hospitals, nursing homes, etc. not evacuated since the plan required them to do so?

o Why did the mandatory evacuation only occur AFTER President Bush called, and why did Governor Blanco stress that it was only after President Bush's call urging the evacuation order? Was she concerned for the citizens, or was she grandstanding so she could blame the President if the storm didn't hit?


Maybe the proposed Hillary Commission could get to the bottom of this (after its requisite orgy of Bush-bashing). And after, of course, its inclusion of Ray Nagin and/or Governor Blanco on the commission itself -- 9/11, Jamie Gorelick-style.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Plenty of Blame, Alright



Ray Nagin Memorial Motor Pool

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present The Ray Nagin Memorial Motor Pool. New Orleans owns about 205 school buses and 364 public transit buses.

Estimates indicate upwards of 30,000 people could have been evac'ed in one trip. That is, of course, assuming there had been sufficient planning and execution at the local level. Think about it. In a single trip, most of the folks at the Superdome and Convention Center could have been sent to Houston or other venues.

But, no, the buses sit unused in flooded parking lots, leaking a delightful concoction -- made up of diesel fuel and motor oil -- into the toxic soup soaking the city. But, hey, maybe the Left can figure out a way to blame that on President Bush, too. Along with the hurricane, global warming, Governor Blanco's deer-in-the-headlights performance, and runny catsup in the relief centers.

Thank God for the U.S. Military and for President Bush. I shudder to think what would have happened had the President not called the Governor and personally requested a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, an act called 'unprecedented':

...a mandatory evacuation was ordered Sunday for New Orleans by Mayor Ray Nagin... The mayor called the order unprecedented and said anyone who could leave the city should... Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding...


And, yes, all pre-evacuation plans for New Orleans called for using buses and organized assistance to those who do not have private transportation. May I quote from the State of Louisiana's Emergency Operations Plan?

The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating...



Ray Nagin Memorial Motor Pool

The Washington Post, no friend of the administration, is also reporting that Governor Blanco resisted a centralized command-and-control structure requested by the President on Friday. That night, the administration had sent Blanco a legal memorandum requesting a federal takeover of the New Orleans evacuation.

In other words, the administration wanted centralized command-and-control over the police, state National Guard, and related local units that report to the governor. According to the Post's report, Louisiana officials rejected the request, apparently fearing a political backlash to any de facto declaration of martial law.

Furthermore, the Post reports that, "Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said."

From all appearances, Governor Blanco did everything in her power to resist asking anyone for help. And her motivations -- at this point -- appear politically motivated.

And what of the failed levee? Can federal authorities be blamed for that? AFF notes:

[One] eye-witness quoted on Fox News today... said that he saw floating grain barges hit the 17th St. canal and cause that breach, not just flood waters. This is pure conjecture, but regardless, the breaches of the 17th St. levee occurred at the newly reconstructed and restored part of the levee, not the old decrepit part.


Hmmm. Ben Stein also relates, in a brilliant, brief summary, his opinions:

Why is it that the snipers who shot at emergency rescuers trying to save people in hospitals and shelters are never mentioned except in passing, and Mr. Bush, who is turning over heaven and earth to rescue the victims of the storm, is endlessly vilified?

...What special abilities does the media have for deciding how much blame goes to the federal government as opposed to the city government of New Orleans for the aftereffects of Katrina?

If able-bodied people refuse to obey a mandatory evacuation order for a city, have they not assumed the risk that ill effects will happen to them?

When the city government simply ignores its own sick and hospitalized and elderly people in its evacuation order, is Mr. Bush to blame for that?


Meanwhile, the Ray Nagin Memorial Motor Pool percolates in a thick, soupy mush, awaiting deployment orders that will never come.

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Gas: 33% Off


Biodiesel: Growing A New Energy EconomyTwo nights ago, my brother-in-law calls me, breathless, "Get over to the BP station on the corner. Gas is $2.09!" Yeah right, I retort. After all, Katrina has bumped the price of gas in our area to a uniform $3.09 a gallon. Why would a station be selling gas for 33% off?

Just get over there, he insists. I take the short drive from our neighborhood and my daughter drives her car over as well. The illuminated sign on the corner reads, "Unleaded: $3.09". I pull next to a pump. The LCD on the pump displays the price for each grade. Premium is $3.39. Plus is $3.19. Unleaded is $2.09. What the... ?

I whip out an Amex and fill both cars. Drive back to the house and get my wife's car. And fill that up. While her car refuels, I walk into the small station/convenience store. I ask the lady behind the counter: what's up with the $2.09 gas? She reponds that she had received a call to change Unleaded to $2.09. Uncertain, she said she'd called back to another office to make sure. Yup, they had said, it's $2.09.

Hmmm. The next day, I drive by the same station. Unleaded is now $2.99. Looks like someone from corporate had gotten their wires crossed, albeit for only a few hours or so.

The whole frenzy about fuel prices and the nature of our automobiles got me thinking about Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. It is outrageous, on a variety of levels, that the government hasn't gotten more aggressive with CAFE standards. These regulations, which were designed to regulate and -- over time -- improve fuel efficiency for vehicles have not substantially changed in decades.

Hybrid and biodiesel vehicles demonstrate that alternatives to traditional fossil fuel-burners are emerging. And it's literally disgusting that huge tax incentives exist for business owners to buy giant SUVs such as Hummers.

Furthermore, the domestic auto industry would have been far better off being pushed to compete on fuel economy. Instead of lobbying for standards that have essentially remained static, they could have used those funds and resources to greatly improve efficiency in order to compete at a higher level. Today, Toyota and Honda dominate the hybrid landscape. And the domestic manufacturers have only themselves to blame.

No matter. The market will mandate its own fuel-efficiency standards. It's just a shame the Government didn't work with the domestic industry to gain more efficiencies over the past twenty years. Competing on fuel-efficiency would have been a net benefit for GM, Ford, and Chrysler.

***

In honor of such an automobile-focused topic, the following reprises a December, 2003 entry that describes a very personal automotive history: the cars I've owned since my first auto purchase.


1982 Honda Prelude - It was my senior year in college when I first spotted the gen-I Honda Prelude. I was smitten. Sports-car? I don't know, but I loved the lines, the sun/moon-roof (this, when the only way to get such a roof in a GM car was to use a blowtorch), the five-speed. When my '77 Nova was finally paid off, I went to Joy Stillpass at the old Stillpass Honda and bought a stripped, burgundy Prelude.

1985 Saab 900 Turbo - My Dad introduced me to Saabs: they were certainly very rare in the Midwest. He had a gorgeous company car: a blue 900S four door. When I was close to paying off the Prelude, I decided to switch. I bought a black 900 Turbo 16-Valve (woo-hoo, 16 valves!) with the factory whale-tail spoiler. I also had a company car, so I could leave my baby in the garage for long stretches. At the time, these cars were so uncommon that I pulled into a McDonald's drivethrough once, only to have the guy at the window ask me, "is that a masserrattee?".

1991 Mazda Miata - With a young child, my wife sent me to get a sedan in October of '91. I came back with a Miata. An Indian Summer test drive left me captivated with ragtop driving. Rear-wheel drive, manual transmission, with no limited-slip - in snowy Boston - truly teaches you how to drive. My first attempted fast-lane pass in the snow resulted in me doing 360's on Route 128. Over the years, I spun the Miata out three times. Each time, the car touched nothing. Yes, I was lucky - not good.

1994 Cadillac Eldorado - My brother-in-law Marc introduced me to the comfort of Cadillacs, taking me to a dealership for some test drives. After about a six-hour negotiating session - after which both Marc and the salesman ("G") were near tears, I drove away in the Eldo. The seats were the most comfortable I'd ever felt. The 275 horsepower Northstar engine was a delight: torquey, responsive and turbine-like. The downsides? Handling (non-existent) and the 'sploded fuel-pump that left me stranded partway to Indianapolis. After a few years of spotty reliability, I'd had enough.

1999 Volvo S70 T5 - My Dad had a T5 five-speed, which I thought was very cool ("it looks like a Nazi staff car"). I'd never thought of springing for one until Tommy (again, from Stillpass) called with a deal I couldn't refuse. They would take the Eldo in trade (strangely enough, no other dealership seemed to want to take Cadillacs!) and cut me an end-of-the-month deal on a T5 that had been on the lot awhile. Powerful and luxurious, without any ostentatiousness, the T5 did have some downsides: it was plagued with a variety of electrical problems including starting, burned out bulbs and the dreaded "check-engine light".

2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe - What can you say about the G35C that hasn't been said by the automotive press? I compare it to a Porsche 911 Coupe for a fraction of the cost. 280 HP, tremendous handling and grip, back seats that are actually usable - at least by my kids - and the most 'looks' per mile I've ever experienced while driving. A black coupe with 18" rims is simply a moving piece of art. I'm going to be an Infiniti driver from this point forward. At least until a fuel pump 'splodes.

 

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Did President Bush Personally Save Hundreds of Thousands of Lives?


The Unofficial Guide to New OrleansThe folks at Powerline are making a case that the President is truly a hero. Their key point: the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans prior to the storm, which had never occurred before despite numerous near-misses:

A number of our readers have been highly critical of state and local authorities in Louisiana. However, it must be acknowledged that they did one important thing that saved countless lives: they ordered the mandatory evacuation on Sunday that caused most people to leave the city. This mandatory evacuation order was a departure from past practice, when evacuations in the face of approaching hurricanes have always been voluntary.

So what prompted the order that prevented Hurricane Katrina from being a natural disaster of unprecedented magnitude?

The mayor called the order unprecedented and said anyone who could leave the city should.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.


The City of New Orleans and its residents owe the President a profound debt of gratitude.


Indeed.

Friday, September 02, 2005

Tragedy on the Gulf Coast


The Great Hurricane: 1938 (Hardcover)The unimaginable scope of suffering on the Gulf Coast shows no signs of abating. On last night's O'Reilly Factor, Shephard Smith and Bill O'Reilly squabbled on-air. Smith expressed his doubts that New Orleans could ever be rebuilt. When O'Reilly challenged that contention, Smith -- who has been in the belly of the beast from the onset -- implied that O'Reilly could simply not comprehend the scale of destruction and suffering without being on the ground.

James Taranto points to a similar opinion expressed by City Journal's Nicole Gelinas, a recent resident of New Orleans. She questions whether New Orleans can ever recover:

No American city has ever gone through what New Orleans must go through: the complete (if temporary) flight of its most affluent and capable citizens, followed by social breakdown among those left behind, after which must come the total reconstruction of economic and physical infrastructure by a devastated populace.

And the locals and outsiders who try to help New Orleans in the weeks and months to come will do so with no local institutional infrastructure to back them up. New Orleans has no real competent government or civil infrastructure--and no aggressive media or organized citizens' groups to prod public officials in the right direction during what will be, in the best-case scenario, a painstaking path to normalcy.


The New Orleans crime rate during normal times is 10 times the national average, Gelinas writes, and "the city's economy is utterly dependent on tourism. . . . New Orleans has experienced a steady brain drain and fiscal drain for decades, as affluent corporations and individuals have fled, leaving behind a large population of people dependent on the government. Socially, New Orleans is one of America's last helpless cities--just at the moment when it must do all it can to help itself survive."

There's another, even simpler reason for pessimism. Many residential areas in New Orleans are below sea level, so that it was only a matter of time before they ended up in the soup. Having experienced this horror firsthand, will residents of New Orleans (and its suburbs, which are also devastated) be eager to return and face future hurricane seasons? Would you be?


Remember, for years New Orleans was known as "Murder Capital, USA" and was world-famous for its levels of internal corruption. Certainly, there's no easy recipe for reconstruction and many observers have -- for good reason -- questioned the wisdom of rebuilding a city built on a soup-bowl-shaped swamp. But combine these geographic vulnerabilities with local governments that are, in the best of times, barely competent... and we have a recipe for continued, repeated suffering.

Taranto notes that the MSM, in predictable fashion, has pinned everything from local government response to the hurricane itself on the feet of -- who else? -- President Bush:

[A] New York Times editorial: "George W. Bush gave one of the worst speeches of his life yesterday, especially given the level of national distress and the need for words of consolation and wisdom. In what seems to be a ritual in this administration, the president appeared a day later than he was needed. He then read an address of a quality more appropriate for an Arbor Day celebration: a long laundry list of pounds of ice, generators and blankets delivered to the stricken Gulf Coast. . . . Since this administration won't acknowledge that global warming exists, the chances of leadership seem minimal." ...

Last year, when hurricane Charley struck Florida, the complaint was that Bush was too responsive. "Even before the storm hit, the president declared four counties disaster areas to speed federal money to victims," CBS News reported a year ago. "But that quick response fueled suspicion that he is using disaster politics to help his campaign in one of the most critical battleground states."


Back in realityville, prior to Katrina making landfall, President Bush had already declared a state of emergency in Louisiana and officials from FEMA, coodinating with state authorities, had prepositioned supplies in four states on the coast. In Louisiana, it would appear that a complete breakdown of city and state government has left FEMA and the arms of the DOD on their own to coordinate all activities, from search-and-rescue, to security, and logistics.

Contrast the Louisiana authorities with last year's extended hurricane season in Florida. In those instances, time after time, state and federal authorities were joined at the hip to prepare for repeated onslaughts. Prior to Hurricane Dennis, for example, the News Herald reported:

...state law enforcement agencies will perform multiple duties - including manning checkpoints, conducting patrols and securing storm damaged areas - should the need arise, Ford said. He said many of these agencies already have their officers prepositioned outside the area of the storm and waiting for requests from the EOC for deployment...


At this point, we're talking about split milk. People need help now. Click here for the Red Cross and contribute what ever amount you can spare.

James Taranto: Best of the Web

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

iTunes and BlueTooth: the Potential for a Major Boo-Boo


InternetNews reports that Cingular will be offering iTunes on a Motorola Phone:

Apple is set to announce a Cingular mobile phone loaded with special iTunes software, Ovum analyst Roger Entner confirmed...

Motorola and Apple initially announced the phone partnership in July 2004. The plan is to let people transfer songs from the iTunes jukebox on the PC or Mac to Motorola handsets via a USB or Bluetooth connection, as well as to buy songs directly over the air from the iTunes Music Store...


Why did I highlight the word BlueTooth?

  • Weaknesses in the BlueTooth pairing process: recently discovered flaws in the BT protocol may result in sniffing or hijacking of your "private" BT traffic. When we combine these vulnerabilities and powerful hacking tools like the BlueSniper rifle... well, you get the picture.

  • Thieves are already using BT phones to find enabled laptops in parked cars, which they then break into and steal. There's no reason that thieves couldn't sniff out highly desirable iTunes phones.

  • Advertisers are already spamming unsolicited content to BT phones at a distance of 100 meters (with longer distances possible).

  • Bruce Schneier notes:

    Sure, it's annoying, but worse, there are serious security risks. Don't believe this:

    Furthermore, there is no risk of downloading viruses or other malware to the phone, says O'Regan: "We don't send applications or executable code." The system uses the phone's native download interface so they should be able to see the kind of file they are downloading before accepting it, he adds.


    This company might not send executable code, but someone else certainly could. And what percentage of people who use Bluetooth phones can recognize "the kind of file they are downloading"?

    We've already seen two ways to steal data from Bluetooth devices. And we know that more and more sensitive data is being stored on these small devices, increasing the risk. This is almost certainly another avenue for attack.


    Unless these phones are shipped with (a) BlueTooth disabled by default; and (b) the ability to patch BT-firmware, I think I'd take a rain-check. As President Reagan used to say, "Trust, but verify."

    I'd want to be sure about BT support in any phone, especially a leading-edge, iTunes-enabled one.

    Monday, August 29, 2005

    Soldiers' Angels, Beslan Coverage, and a Car


    Gates of Fire : An Epic Novel of the Battle of ThermopylaeLatest family news: we adopted a soldier through Soldiers' Angels. While families who adopt soldiers should not expect a note back, our adoptee -- a Marine serving in Afghanistan -- wrote a very nice reply to our introductory letter. A care package will go out after Labor Day, based upon our interpretation of what's allowed by the Post Office and DOD. I would encourage anyone reading this to consider adopting a soldier. Their sacrifices make possible all the freedoms we enjoy.


    AutoRantic Virtual Moonbat

    A few miscellaneous notes:

    Beslan

    You would think that the trial of an accused terrorist -- captured after a vicious, senseless attack on a school -- would merit some news coverage by the mainstream media. Of course, you'd be dead wrong. The MSM, best as I can tell, is completely ignoring the Beslan terror trial and, most egregiously, the heartwrenching testimony of the child-victims.

    Once again, it's up to the blogosphere to cover important world events -- don't look to "real journalists" like Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd, for goodness sake. After all, they've got better things to do. Like claim Al Gore won in 2000, and suggest that we train the Iraqis to defend themselves, respectively. I'm pretty sure that you could replace either columnist with our friend, the AutoRantic Virtual Moonbat (pictured at right), and you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

    Back to Beslan. GatewayPundit has been covering the trial. Caution: the following testimony ain't pleasant.

    "On the second day, we were all very thirsty. Women told us, the boys, to pee into plastic bottles so that the children could then drink our pee," the boy said, bursting into tears. "I peed into a bottle, and small children -- even babies -- drank it."

    "Listen, Kulayev, listen," Judge Tamerlan Aguzarov angrily ordered the defendant, who showed no emotion as he sat in a steel cage with bulletproof glass behind the testifying children.

    As the boy tried to stop sobbing, the courtroom spectators, mostly women wearing black clothes and black headscarves, swore at Kulayev. "Give this terrorist to us! We will tear the bastard apart!" the women shouted...

    A 10-year-old boy testified Thursday, August 25th in the trial of the one lone terrorist to be captured alive after the siege in Beslan. One of the female terrorists ... told us that if she found a phone on anyone, that person would be killed and three more people near him or her would be killed too.


    Yes, the bottom-feeders and mouth-breathers that represent the majority of the MSM have better things to do. Who could expect them to cover the trial of the sole surviving accused terrorist in a brutal schoolhouse attack that killed hundreds, including scores of children? The Video Music Awards were on, for Pete's sake... they can't be expected to ignore all those celebrities!

    Photo
    Mitsubishi Lancer ES (MSN)

    Car

    I went out and got my daughter a car. It's a heck of a lot nicer than the '71 Chevelle Wagon (Caprice Classic) that was my first ride. It's a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer ES -- not the wickedly powerful Evolution -- and was highly rated in terms of both reliability and safety. As an aside, I did the majority of my research on MSN's Auto Site. It is pretty darn comprehensive and is, quite literally, a bible of auto purchasing for both new and used vehicles.

    I'd been given some advice from some other recent purchasers of cars for younger drivers. Paramount tip: don't buy a new car. Those who'd done it were... shall we say... disappointed in the ding, scratch, and dent factor. Especially with the high school parking lots these days, which are less parking-lot and more minor-league demolition derby. This particular car has a bit of wear and tear on it (a couple of scratches on the sides and a small gravel ding on the hood), but is otherwise a pretty fine-looking unit. Here's hoping all who ride in it do so in good health.

    Sunday, August 28, 2005

    Hitchens Unleashed


    The pages of the Weekly Standard are graced by Christopher Hitchens, who provides wonderful perspective on the "Bush... lied... WMD" literalists.

    Childishness is one thing... But puerility in adults is quite another thing, and considerably less charming. "You said there were WMDs in Iraq and that Saddam had friends in al Qaeda. . . . Blah, blah, pants on fire."

    I have had many opportunities to tire of this mantra. It takes ten seconds to intone the said mantra. It would take me, on my most eloquent C-SPAN day, at the very least five minutes to say that Abdul Rahman Yasin, who mixed the chemicals for the World Trade Center attack in 1993, subsequently sought and found refuge in Baghdad; that Dr. Mahdi Obeidi, Saddam's senior physicist, was able to lead American soldiers to nuclear centrifuge parts and a blueprint for a complete centrifuge (the crown jewel of nuclear physics) buried on the orders of Qusay Hussein; that Saddam's agents were in Damascus as late as February 2003, negotiating to purchase missiles off the shelf from North Korea; or that Rolf Ekeus, the great Swedish socialist who founded the inspection process in Iraq after 1991, has told me for the record that he was offered a $2 million bribe in a face-to-face meeting with Tariq Aziz.

    And these eye-catching examples would by no means exhaust my repertoire, or empty my quiver... the only real strategy of deception has come from those who believe, or pretend, that Saddam Hussein was no problem...

    ...a positive accounting [of the war] would include:

    (1) The overthrow of Talibanism and Baathism, and the exposure of many highly suggestive links between the two elements of this Hitler-Stalin pact. Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who moved from Afghanistan to Iraq before the coalition intervention, has even gone to the trouble of naming his organization al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.

    (2) The subsequent capitulation of Qaddafi's Libya in point of weapons of mass destruction--a capitulation that was offered not to Kofi Annan or the E.U. but to Blair and Bush.

    (3) The consequent unmasking of the A.Q. Khan network for the illicit transfer of nuclear technology to Libya, Iran, and North Korea.

    (4) The agreement by the United Nations that its own reform is necessary and overdue, and the unmasking of a quasi-criminal network within its elite.

    (5) The craven admission by President Chirac and Chancellor Schröder, when confronted with irrefutable evidence of cheating and concealment, respecting solemn treaties, on the part of Iran, that not even this will alter their commitment to neutralism. (One had already suspected as much in the Iraqi case.)

    (6) The ability to certify Iraq as actually disarmed, rather than accept the word of a psychopathic autocrat.

    (7) The immense gains made by the largest stateless minority in the region--the Kurds--and the spread of this example to other states.

    (8) The related encouragement of democratic and civil society movements in Egypt, Syria, and most notably Lebanon, which has regained a version of its autonomy...


    Go ye and read of it, for it is good.

    Weekly Standard: A War to Be Proud Of

    Friday, August 26, 2005

    What have we done to deserve such heroes?


    Danger Close, Second Edition by Michael YonFirst person war-blogging the likes of which has never been seen. Ever. Michael Yon, former special forces operator, is an author and blogger operating on the front-lines in Mosul:

    ...the Deuce Four has killed well over 150 terrorists in this neighborhood in the past 10 months. But almost none of those made the news, and those that did had a few key details missing.

    Like the time when some ISF were driving and got blasted by an IED, causing numerous casualties and preventing them from recovering the vehicle. The terrorists came out and did their rifle-pumping-in-the-air thing, shooting AKs, dancing around like monkeys. Videos went 'round the world, making it appear the terrorists were running Mosul, which was pretty much what was being reported at the time.

    But that wasn't the whole story. In the Yarmuk neighborhood, only terrorists openly carry AK-47s. The lawyers call this Hostile Intent. The soldiers call this Dead Man Walking.

    Deuce Four is an overwhelmingly aggressive and effective unit, and they believe the best defense is a dead enemy. They are constantly thinking up innovative, unique, and effective ways to kill or capture the enemy; proactive not reactive. They planned an operation with snipers, making it appear that an ISF vehicle had been attacked, complete with explosives and flash-bang grenades to simulate the IED. The simulated casualty evacuation of sand dummies completed the ruse.

    The Deuce Four soldiers left quickly with the "casualties," "abandoning" the burning truck in the traffic circle. The enemy took the bait. Terrorists came out and started with the AK-rifle-monkey-pump, shooting into the truck, their own video crews capturing the moment of glory. That's when the American snipers opened fire and killed everybody with a weapon. Until now, only insiders knew about the AK-monkey-pumpers smack-down...


    Michael Yon: Just go read it. Now. Do it. You know you want to. And, after reading the blog, go visit Soldiers' Angels and adopt a soldier.

    Democrats + Mainstream Media = Demedia


    Burning Down My Masters' House: My Life at the New York Times (Hardcover) by Jayson BlairThe distinguished Jack Kelly just nails the New York Times to the wall. The gist: a pro-active attempt by the Army to improve its body-armor -- before any terrorists had had a chance to exploit it -- was mercilessly spun as a negative story by the Times' Michael Moss.

    Drink deeply from the sweet chalice of wisdom and read the whole thing.

    ...[the old] vests weighed 24 lbs each. The interceptor ensemble — which can stop an AK-47 bullet fired from just 10 feet away — weighs just 16 lbs. But the best isn't perfect. There are some special types of ammunition that can penetrate the boronic carbide plates. Last year Army leaders became aware of improvements that could be made to the SAPI plates that would protect against most (though not all) of these special types of ammunition.

    There is little evidence insurgents in Iraq are using the special types of ammunition that can defeat the "Interceptor." But the Army wanted to be proactive, to defeat a potential threat before it emerged...

    ...Here's how the story was presented by Moss in the New York Times Aug. 14th: "For the second time since the Iraq war began, the Pentagon is struggling to replace body armor that is failing to protect American troops from the most lethal attacks of insurgents.

    "The ceramic plates in vests worn by most personnel cannot withstand certain munitions the insurgents use. But more than a year after military officials initiated an effort to replace the armor with thicker, more resistant plates, tens of thousands of soldiers are still without the stronger protection because of a string of delays in the Pentagon's procurement system."

    Spoehr told Moss all the things he told me, but there is not a single positive quote in his story.

    "You would get the impression that our soldiers were in harm's way or at risk," Spoehr said. "That is not true."


    Ah, the Old York Times. Just as relevant as Dan Rather's Air National Guard coverage. And, just as timely.

    Jack Kelly: Unspinning the NY Times' military mendacity

    Hubbert's Peak


    Hubbert's Peak : The Impending World Oil Shortage (Paperback) by Kenneth S. DeffeyesEver heard of "Peak Oil?" or "Hubbert's Peak"? Wikipedia's definition:

    The Hubbert peak theory, also known as peak oil, is an influential theory concerning the long-term rate of conventional oil (and other fossil fuel) extraction and depletion. The Hubbert peak theory is named for American geophysicist M. King Hubbert, who created a model of known reserves and proposed the theory. In 1956, Hubbert predicted that oil production in the continental United States would peak in the early 1970s. U.S. oil production did indeed peak in 1970, and has been decreasing since then.


    So... is Saudi Arabia really experiencing 'peak oil'? Some experts believe that's the case:

    Speculation over the actual size of Saudi Arabia's oil reserves is reaching fever pitch as a major bank says the kingdom's - and the world's - biggest field, Gharwar, is in irreversible decline.

    The Bank of Montreal's analyst Don Coxe, working from their Chicago office, is the first mainstream number-cruncher to say that Gharwar's days are fated.

    Coxe uses the phrase "Hubbert's Peak" to describe the situation. This refers to the seminal geologist M King Hubbert, who predicted the unavoidable decline of oilfields back in the 1950s.

    "The combination of the news that there's no new Saudi Light coming on stream for the next seven years plus the 27% projected decline from existing fields means Hubbert's Peak has arrived in Saudi Arabia," says Coxe, referring to data compiled by the International Energy Association's (IEA) August 2004 monthly report...

    ...Since [1990], despite pumping around 9mbpd, Saudi Aramco says the size of its reserves have not only remained the same but increased slightly from 258gb to 259gb thanks to better extraction techniques.

    However, Simmons believes Gharwar, responsible for about 5mbpd of Saudi output, may have been damaged by poor management.

    Pumping large amounts of oil at the maximum rate can damage the geological structure of the field, usually referred to as "rate sensitivity". Basically the hole falls in on itself, making large amounts of oil within it un-extractable...

    In other words - by their own admission - Saudi Arabia will have added only 800,000bpd of supply in the next seven years. That is the best-case scenario...

    Thursday, August 25, 2005

    Doing what Democrats do best: Losing Elections


    Click here for AmazonHugh Hewitt:

    No matter how many elections they lose, or how many elections the Iraqis and the Afghans hold, or how many al Qaeda are captured or killed, the left will always be against the war and for retreat.

    The good news is that the American electorate isn't stupid, and that new media exists where it didn't in 1969.


    I'm just wondering if, and not when, the Democratic party will get the message. Will it take scores of dead civilians inside America? Take, for example, the reported Islamic Jihad plot, which was broken up by the FBI:

    The Palestinian Islamic Jihad planned an attack inside the United States, but it might have been thwarted by federal law enforcement, an FBI agent testified Tuesday afternoon...

    “I can tell you there was a plot to commit terrorist acts in the United States,” he said. “It was interdicted, I believe.”

    Moffitt asked when that happened.

    “It’s classified,” Myers said, drawing chuckles from defendants’ relatives and supporters in the courtroom gallery.


    Chuckles. Yes, it's just another lighthearted day in court for the alleged brethren of Al-Qaeda.

    And... shhhhhhhhhhhhh... no one tell the Left, these are groups similar to the ones funded by Saddam Hussein (Abu Nidal, Ansar al Islam, Arab Liberation Front, Hamas, Kurdistan Workers Party, MEK, Palestine Liberation Front, etc.) prior to the Iraq War.

    But, no, according to the Left, we should never have invaded Iraq. We should have simply located the country of Al-Qaeda-istan and invaded. And, then, we should have arrested anyone carrying a laminated "Al-Qaeda Member" card. And all of our troubles would have been over.

    If you're wondering why the current Democratic leadership -- consisting of Boxer, Dean, Feinstein, Kennedy, Biden, Schumer, etc. -- can't be allowed anywhere near the levers of government power, I think we have our answer.