``I must give him his due. He has considerably cretinized me.'' Lautréamont

Pics click to enlarge.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

The Office Pool, 2007 (NYT)

intrasystem goals come first

By WILLIAM SAFIRE

Optimistic predictions took a beating in 2006, but today — in my 33rd annual office pool in this space — is my chance to recoup.

Editorial Observer: Middle School Girls Gone Wild (NYT)

stop visiting malls

By LAWRENCE DOWNES

What surprises me is how completely parents of even younger girls seem to have gotten in step with society’s march toward eroticized adolescence.

Under-the-Rug Oversight (NYT)

sternly worded letter suggested

The American public deserves a fuller and more open review of the National Security Agency’s illegal eavesdropping program than it has been getting from its toothless watchdog.

Cyclists, the Police and the Rest of Us (NYT)

editors inconvenienced by other leftists

As both cyclists and the police prepare for the year’s final Critical Mass ride, we’d like to see everyone gear down a notch.

The Rush to Hang Saddam Hussein (NYT)

saddam not worse than bush

Toppling Saddam Hussein did not automatically create a new and better Iraq. Executing him won’t either.

Enjoy Your Holi-Delay (NYT)

on deadline, everything is material

news flash, commercial air travel consists mostly of waiting in terminals

By NICHOLAS KULISH

On Christmas, to no one's greater surprise than my own, I enjoyed some much-needed quality time at Washington Dulles International Airport's Concourse B.

War in the Horn of Africa (NYT)

its influence is military victory

just the opposite of the NYT fantasy of how the world works

in the NYT vision, Europeans get together and agree and then it happens, whatever it is they agree on.

no perverse side effects can exist in the leftist world, because they believe it has no working structure.

there is no field of economics. anything you agree on, happens.

economics consists of understanding that the opposite occurs.

Washington should use its influence to push for a swift cessation of hostilities, lest the conflict pull in neighboring countries and explode over the entire region.

Gerald R. Ford (NYT)

absolute construction means it's from the obit files

An accidental president, Gerald R. Ford was the right man summoned at the right time to begin the necessary process of healing a country exhausted by war abroad and scandal at home.

Meat and the Planet (NYT)

the economic wing of the editorial board is illiterate

the green wing is in addition looney on principle

Our health and the health of the planet depend on pushing livestock production in more sustainable directions.

Bumping in Schools (NYT)

the left runs the schools

States are unlikely to truly improve teacher quality - or spread qualified teachers more equitably throughout the schools - until they pay more attention to how teachers are trained, hired, evaluated and assigned.

An Early Test for Lawmakers (NYT)

principle : only unearned benefits supported

in this case by a vast transfer of wealth to doctors

it's important that the poor don't get the money

their job is to be poor

everybody else's job is to be poor, too

then the left is safe from mockery

Depriving children of adequate health care while giving the rich tax benefits that were intended for average Americans is flat-out wrong, and Congress must move quickly to prevent that.

Israel's Mixed Messages (NYT)

it's in israel

Amir Peretz, Israel's defense minister, has undercut the encouraging steps taken by Ehud Olmert over the weekend by approving the first new West Bank settlement in more than a decade.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

The Most-Avoided Conversation in Medicine (NYT)

baby boomers retire

By PAULINE W. CHEN

To get better at caring for the dying, doctors could add one question to every discussion they have about patients with terminal illnesses: ``How good is this patient’s end-of-life care?''

False Hopes and Natural Disasters (NYT)

the hope is to define and take ownership of a new public problem.

this will then involve funds.

``better spent'' is not the point.

better spent is deciding where you want to live and what the risks are, the gains and the losses, and living there, and spending nothing on tsunamis.

By ANDREW BAIRD

To protect people from tsunamis, money would better be spent on early warning systems, education and evacuation planning than on preserving mangrove forests and coral reefs.

Exercise for Your Aging Brain (NYT)

or you could read an economics 101 text

if everybody stands on their toes, everybody can see :

a) better
b) the same

(a) is the leftist answer. (b) is correct.

If you’re worried that your mental powers will decline as you age, a new study offers hope that a relatively brief flurry of brain exercises can slow the mind’s deterioration.

Cleaning Up the Royalty Mess (NYT)

corporate enemy identified

Washington's royalty relief to oil companies to encourage deep-water exploration in the Gulf of Mexico needs a thorough review and, more than likely, a thorough overhaul.

America, the Exam (NYT)

indian drunkenness deplored

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services wants to make the naturalization exam more meaningful at a time when the civics knowledge of native-born Americans is dismal.

Paying Doctors for Better Care (NYT)

adults write these editorials?

they're still paid by somebody other than the patient, and so it is still dysfunctional, even if you can define quality.

what they're trying to emulate, that was not broken, was doctors paid according to demand for them, which is what defines quality, something that's a different thing to everybody.

that was back before aid for the poor, a half century ago ; when the poor already got pro bono treatment regulated by doctors.

It is salutary that the last Congress, in its waning days, passed legislation that takes a modest step toward the goal of paying doctors based on the quality of their treatment.

Monday, December 25, 2006

Cloak and Dollar Oversight (NYT)

leftist moonbat intelligence oversight proposed

It is time to bring the almighty dollar in from the cold as a principal agent in the wily art of avoiding intelligence oversight.

Still Flying High (NYT)

devious plan puts NYT on the right side of an issue

It is important to bear in mind just how much this country has benefited from free trade at a time when protectionist sentiment is growing.

A Model for Conservation (NYT)

no tree unfenced

The deal announced by Gov. George Pataki to provide permanent protection for 51,000 acres of forest lands in upstate New York provides a template for protecting open space elsewhere.

How We Say Christmas (NYT)

democrat programs pushed

For all the push and pull of the Christmas rush, for all the sputtering of the commercial volcano that erupts at the end of every year, this is truly a holiday of modest spirit, a day of humble aspirations.

Flaws Are Detected in Microsoft’s Vista (NYT)

no-kidding news

Microsoft is facing an early crisis of confidence in the quality of its Windows Vista operating system as computer security researchers and hackers have begun to find potentially serious flaws in the system that was released to corporate customers late last month.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Ocean Rescue (NYT)

regulation always good

The reauthorization of a basic law regulating fishing practices in American waters may prove to be of great importance to future ocean health.

A Real-World Army (NYT)

sun tsu at the NYT

Larger ground forces are an absolute necessity for the sort of battles America is likely to fight during the coming decades.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Do You Believe in Surnits? (NYT)

women in science follow whatever interest they can sustain, just like men

By JACQUELINE WOOLLEY

Children who believe in Santa Claus are exhibiting their very rational and scientific cognitive abilities.

A Look Under the Hoodie (NYT)

crew sock overlooked

By DENIS WILSON

As Rocky Balboa pulled himself out of anonymity, he brought with him what would become a mainstay of American fashion: the hooded sweatshirt.

The Way to Keep House (NYT)

legal immunity suggested

By SCOT M. FAULKNER

The new Democratic majority should adopt a reform agenda that will help keep the new majority out of ethical trouble — and its members out of jail.

You Can Help (NYT)

a few hundred dollars can buy her enough insects to eat for a year

Only a few hundred dollars from The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund made a huge difference in Karen Owes’s life and the lives of her children.

Fear and Bigotry in Congress (NYT)

founding fathers always favor terrorists in NYT editorials

The flap over whether one newly elected member of Congress can use the Koran rather than the Bible in a private ceremony demonstrates the founding fathers’ wise decision to avoid institutionalizing any religious faith.

No Sanctuary (NYT)

nation builder only when american interests not involved

send the troops, fine with the nyt

If Darfur’s grim tally can’t persuade the world to act, then perhaps the threat of a regional conflagration will.

Watching the Exits (NYT)

guest voter program revived

Washington is full of politicians who want to keep out terrorists and illegal immigrants, but far fewer who want to commit the time and money to a realistic discussion of how to do that.

Sexist Observation

Kroger grocery store carts pull left and right ; Home Depot carts roll straight and easy.

Why would that be?

What We Wanted to Tell You About Iran (NYT)

the declaration of democratic principles, a founding document along with the declaration of independence and the bill of rights

it's curious that we have a republic, though

which means we get to vote on people, not issues

in particular when they run for reelection

By FLYNT LEVERETT and HILLARY MANN

To classify information for reasons other than the safety and security of the United States and its interests is a violation of democratic principles.

Senator Brownback and the Judge (NYT)

the problem, if they'd unknot their panties, is a stop on a nomination imposed by a single senator from the same state, an honored tradition of the senate

the senator can think whatever he wants

Whether someone has attended a same-sex commitment ceremony is not a worthy litmus test to impose on someone seeking an important office.

The Bankrupt-Your-Family Calling Plan (NYT)

telephone cruelness and unusualness

The cruel and counterproductive system now in place around the country charges inmates and their families as much as six times the going rate for collect calls placed from inside state prisons.

Finding a New Comptroller (NYT)

leftist robot needed

Albany’s Democrats should pick an independent, first-rate replacement to carry on the record of reform that Alan Hevesi set before he was tarnished by scandal.

Saner Voices in Iran (NYT)

not so unpopular that the NYT wouldn't undermine Bush instead, when the choice came up

there they undermine Bush's imagined plan that something ought to be done

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the populist demagogue, is not so popular with important elements of Iranian society.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

The Devoted Student (NYT)

professor's worldview called into doubt by mind-numbed students

By MARK C. TAYLOR

The task of thinking and teaching, especially in an age of emergent fundamentalisms, is to cultivate a faith in doubt that calls into question every certainty.

In Iraq, Let’s Fight One War at a Time (NYT)

social theory

incentive not mentioned

like suggesting we're not leaving so this violence is pointless

instead our leaving is constantly on the table, constantly just out of reach for the enemy but close enough to be worth just a little additional effort.

put on the table by the press and kept there.

Bush on the other hand says we're not leaving. for this he gets called stupid.

anxious to undermine Bush since 2000.

By REUEL MARC GERECHT

The sooner we start to clear and hold the Sunni areas of Baghdad, the better the odds are that the radicalization of the Iraqi Shiites can be halted.

Free Genarlow Wilson Now (NYT)

conflict of public posturings and imagined audiences

When high school students engage in consensual sexual activity, that is not the same as an adult molesting a teenager or a teenager molesting a child.

Mr. Bush’s Immigration Realism (NYT)

they're mexicans so what are they doing here

it's a mexico problem that shows up as a US social problem

however it produces an economic advantage, raising the US standard of living

take your choice

President Bush understands that many illegal immigrants are doing what they have to do to support families within a system that offers few routes to lawful entry.

Libya’s Continuing Legal Farce (NYT)

only a political settlement backed by american military muscle has a chance here

A Libyan court condemned to death six foreign medical workers on the widely discredited charge that they deliberately infected hundreds of children with the virus that causes AIDS.

Rudderless in Iraq (NYT)

or it might be going well and we're too dumb to notice

Only a political strategy, embraced by Iraqis themselves and backed by American military muscle, can have even a remote chance of altering events, and even that may be too late.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The State of Iraq: An Update (NYT)

same story template in end-of-the-year wrapping

By NINA KAMP, MICHAEL O'HANLON and AMY UNIKEWICZ

Although it has been said before about previous new years, it seems very likely that 2007 will be make or break time in Iraq.

The Bonus Army (NYT)

you might want to consider division of labor, which makes it possible for people to systematically disagree about value, and thus to create exchanges where both sides profit

those are voluntary transactions

each one that occurs raises the standard of living of both sides

added up, it raises the standard of living of the nation

which nation has the most voluntary transactions?

By HENRY BLODGET

To see the embodiment of our economic system in action — for better and worse — one need look no farther than Goldman Sachs.

A Dose of Reality TV for Congress (NYT)

the view

Democratic leaders should finally free up television coverage of Congressional floor debates so citizens can see the unvarnished state of the people’s forum.

Top Grades, Without the Classes (NYT)

when somebody talks about your behavior, you know they're not willing to think it's a response to something

The unethical behavior often associated with big-time college sports can easily seep outward, undermining academic standards and corrupting behavior in the university as a whole.

Talking at the Chinese (NYT)

economic illiteracy plus the French model

To ensure America’s security and competitiveness Washington has to start on a harder and higher road: saving more, borrowing less, investing in infrastructure and education, and building a safety net for workers displaced by a global economy.

Only the Jailers Are Safe (NYT)

accountability codeword suggested

Except for the few low-ranking soldiers periodically punished for abusing prisoners, the system of American military prisons in Iraq is without any accountability.

Monday, December 18, 2006

The Smoky Bomb Threat (NYT)

polonium-can-it-happen-here-more-at-11 essay

By PETER D. ZIMMERMAN

The exotic murder-by-polonium of the former K.G.B. spy Alexander Litvinenko throws into question most of the previous analyses of "dirty bombs."

The City Life: Blogging the Hotel Chelsea (NYT)

play for new yorker subscribers

By ADAM COHEN

"Living with Legends" is a hip and literate blog about life in the red-brick and black-wrought-iron behemoth on West 23rd Street.

Too Early for Deep Thinking (NYT)

too early to attract readers, mockery works better

There’s no satisfying the desire to get to the head of the pack in the presidential primary sweepstakes.

Playing Down the Risks of a Drug (NYT)

questionable behavior deplored

Internal documents offer persuasive evidence that Eli Lilly engaged in questionable behavior to prop up its best-selling drug.

The Kremlin’s Shell Game (NYT)

Kremlin not communist enough

It appears that the Kremlin is again trying to muscle an energy company into doing its bidding, this time with environmental regulators.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

The Midas Touch (NYT)

americo-innumerate community

By MARC MAURER

Is paper currency truly biased against the blind?

A War That Abhors a Vacuum (NYT)

drunks propose action

By BEN CONNABLE

The debate over the future of troops in Iraq must include a sober look at the street-level impact of withdrawal.

Just Do It (NYT)

ethics theater

Procrastination is a legendary Capitol vice, and there are worrisome signs that the Democrats may already be indulging when it comes to ethics reform.

Appropriate Appropriations (NYT)

profligacy urged

Under normal circumstances, operating under old budgets would be a dereliction of lawmakers’ duty to weigh needs and resources, and spend tax dollars accordingly. But the current situation is hardly normal.

The AIDS-Malaria Connection (NYT)

DDT cocktail

A new study shows that the battles against AIDS and malaria are really one fight.

Swift Raids (NYT)

crisis in public rhetoric

Swift & Company and its workers are merely Exhibit A in an immigration system that is failing in all of its parts.

A Push for Affordable Housing (NYT)

completely understood economic problem not understood at the NYT

your ``helping'' since WWII has exactly this side effect

solution : stop helping

The City Council has an obligation to move quickly to update a law that confers undeserved benefits on developers of high-end housing while doing less and less for people who can barely afford to live here in the first place.

You’ll Work in This Town Again (NYT)

not narrowed down much

By JERRY STAHL

How low does a human being have to sink before Hollywood shoos him away and he can’t get an Oscar?

If You Love Lebanon, Set It Free (NYT)

victory not suggested

By ROBERT GRENIER

The best hope for American interests in the Middle East is not to isolate and minimize Hezbollah, but to further integrate it politically, socially and militarily into the Lebanese state.

Editorial Observer: A Speculator’s Guide on What’s Happening in Putin’s Russia (NYT)

murder is a form of editorial not yet adopted by the nyt

they draw the line just after treason

By SERGE SCHMEMANN

We may never learn who killed Alexander Litvinenko or why. But that doesn’t mean the murder doesn’t figure in Kremlin politics.

Fighting the `Prep School' Scandal (NYT)

wampum flap

The N.C.A.A. has begun to scrutinize nontraditional schools for their academic programs, but it will need to do more to address the problem of bogus ``prep schools'' for athletes.

Unfinished Business (NYT)

put the leftist lean back in the supreme court too

The departing Republican Congress has left the new Democratic majority much urgent, unfinished business to restore due process, civil liberties and the balance of powers.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Jeane Kirkpatrick and the Great Democratic Defection (NYT)

ended cold war by withholding sex

By Richard V. Allen

Not enough has been said about Jeane Kirkpatrick, ardent Democrat — and what she meant to the success of Ronald Reagan in international affairs.

The Story of the Numbers (NYT)

bad year for ridiculous opinions

Data from the Census Bureau’s 2007 Statistical Abstract outlines our demographic diversity and economic decisions, but they have a harder time showing the pressures that bear upon us every day and that shape our behavior.

And This Just in on Elections (NYT)

opposing opinions unvalued

If the Federal Election Commission won’t plug its loophole for donations made to partisan issue advocates, the courts or the new Congress should do it.

When Doing Nothing Is Better (NYT)

must be republicans in power

Almost nothing of consequence happened during this week’s special session of New York’s Legislature, which in this case was real progress.

A Big Drop in Breast Cancer (NYT)

quarter not bet

The most plausible explanation for the decline is that women by the millions abandoned or sharply cut back their use of hormone therapy.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Pacts Americana? (NYT)

american opinion of what they think unmentioned

By DAVID KAYE, K. RUSSELL LAMOTTE and PETER HOEY

The Senate can help reverse the steep erosion of America’s standing abroad by approving a raft of treaties awaiting action.

A Second Look at Death (NYT)

if payment for organs were not illegal, you'd have more organs than you knew what to do with

the sacred reverence for aged parents would evaporate as the heirs cashed in

``where do i sign?''

By FRANCIS L. DELMONICO

If organ donation after cardiac death were pursued as diligently as donation after brain death, the number of organs available for transplant could rise significantly.

I’ll Take ‘Pork Barrel’ for $400,000 (NYT)

let's guess it's a republican

Another New York state senator has been indicted, this time charged with diverting to his own pocket more than $400,000 in state money that he earmarked for charities in his district.

Rogues and Fools (NYT)

cliche friday

never underestimating advised

importance cannot be overestimated

One should never underestimate the political power of Holocaust denial and racism, even among supposedly respectable people across the Middle East and beyond.

High-Speed Colonoscopies (NYT)

that's why it's ``too rapidly''

idiots

If your doctor performs the procedure too rapidly, he may miss some polyps that could develop into life-threatening cancers.

A Gag on Free Speech (NYT)

well-established favored

The Bush administration is trampling well-established criminal law by trying to use a subpoena to force the A.C.L.U. to hand over a classified document in its possession.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

The Milk of Evolution (NYT)

loss of left foot from automatic transmissions dismissed

The dynamism of human culture has always seemed to move faster than evolution itself, but a recent discovery suggests otherwise.

Congress and the Benefits of Sunshine (NYT)

credibility recommended

A heavy dose of Internet transparency should not be overlooked in the effort to repair lawmakers’ tattered credibility.

Rare Good News About AIDS (NYT)

zzzzzzz

The results in two African studies of male circumcision may be the most important development in AIDS research since the debut of antiretroviral drugs more than a decade ago.

Ships That Don’t Dare to Sail (NYT)

profiteering by producers is offset by profiteering by consumers

every voluntary transaction profits both sides.

that's why the transaction happens.

Lax government oversight and incompetence or profiteering by contractors are undermining our coastal defenses.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Fighting Drug Fakes (NYT)

wild west internet deplored

power taken from government

Tempted to buy cheap medicines from a pharmacy Web site? Think twice.

Royalty Rip-Off (NYT)

perhaps there's a tiny tiny dispute about what the royalties are, in exact amount

All the royalties owed from oil and gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico need to be collected.

Consumption Gap (NYT)

saving deplored

Roth IRA's are the source of all evil

The assertion that the middle class has out-consumed the ``upper crust'' during the Bush years is false, the result of rosy assumptions that turned out to be wrong.

Reckless With Food Safety (NYT)

bloody stools are a natural opportunity for tax money and government empire for leftist causes

otherwise taco bell takes advantage of them for advertising purposes

i'd go with the authentic mexican food angle

Congress needs to provide the F.D.A. with more money and more inspectors to monitor the safety of fresh produce all the way from field to consumer.

To Save Lives in New Jersey (NYT)

you can save many more lives by banning driving

drop the live-saving card and there's not much of an argument, though

except love of the long-established

you should always copy the long-established

especially from leftist states

The New Jersey Legislature can bring the state into line with long-established medical policy - and save lives in the bargain - if it passes a set of bills that would establish municipal syringe exchange programs.

Muzzling Those Pesky Scientists (NYT)

editorial record claimed for nested dependent clauses

so what if we've fogotten the pretext for what we wanted to say

reading NYT editorials is like talking to a woman

The Bush administration has acquired a special place in regulatory history for the audacity with which it has manipulated or muzzled science that might discomfit its industrial allies or interfere with its political agenda.

The Dextrous Dictator (NYT)

apparently died a conservative if the NYT disparages his rule

usually they like tyrants

The central puzzle of the dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, who died yesterday at the age of 91, was that until recently he retained admirers in Chile and abroad.

The Road to Reliable Elections (NYT)

actual paper ballots are just such a system

you don't need an analysis

New analyses should give further support to members of Congress who plan to push next month for a strong federal law requiring voter-verified paper records.

Getting What We Pay For (NYT)

economic idiots!

you get more money from doing something somebody wants enough to pay more for

your choice of job is the first thing to consider, not how well you do it.

both you and the buyer of your stuff need to profit at the same time, which means both of you must disagree about the value of your product, the buyer valuing it more than you do.

that's why there's economic specialization to professions.

each voluntary transaction then raises the standard of living of the nation, and that's why you want an economy and voluntary transactions.

not some stupid idea of keeping people off the welfare rolls, or paying them justly.

adapt or die.

the left wants to wind up more like the soviet union.

The price of an increase in salary should be the same for lawmakers as it is for everybody else: when you do the job well, you deserve more money.

Rush to Judgment on Sex Offenders (NYT)

sex offender is soap opera attractor so is all over the news

they stand for everything you can scare women with

policy based on it is as good as you'd expect

the NYT will not offend its women of either sex by saying so

they just have slight misgivings that it may empower the right.

Civil confinement for sex offenders, tempting in principle, is deeply troubling in practice.

New Jersey Secures Itself (NYT)

regulation of dasterdly industry hitchhikes on war

New Jersey's many chemical plants offer some of the country's ripest terrorist targets, and need all the protections they can get.

Castles in the Sand (NYT)

proof that anything can be pulled from your butt and put to academic candences, once you've learned the sound.

By ROBERT S. YOUNG and ORRIN H. PILKEY

Pragmatism, fiscal and otherwise, dictates that we cannot afford to continue the cycle of development and destruction on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

One War We Can Still Win (NYT)

the gloom meme

we're not losing in iraq either. we're fighting in iraq.

left : if there's a fight, we're losing.

but things are determined by fighting. reason is based on it. it is not self-supporting.

otherwise a strategy of global menace wins over it, and, darwin-like, takes over.

publish any mohammed cartoons recently?

By ANTHONY H. CORDESMAN

There is a very real risk that the United States and NATO will lose their war with Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the other Islamist movements fighting the Afghan government.

Of Prices and Paychecks (NYT)

declining subscriber base at the NYT

might be due to its risible content, you know. did you think of that?

An economy that has not been good for jobs and wages during its strong growth phase is not likely to become so as it weakens.

Reining In the Watchdog (NYT)

only leftists can be trusted

it's a watchhorse, if you rein it in, or maybe a reindeer

Privatizing oversight of private contractors is no way to protect taxpayers.

Lobbying the Jury (NYT)

a ``fair trial'' is one where a guilty defendant has a 50% chance of getting off, provided he's not a republican

the news media stick to that

Court systems around the country should set appropriate standards to ensure that courtroom atmosphere does not deprive defendants of a fair trial.

Without Deliberate Speed (NYT)

panic on the left

President Bush has no more time to waste on “listening tours” and photo ops. The nation is in a crisis, and Americans need to hear how he plans to unwind the chaos he has unleashed in Iraq.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Reducing the Cost of Congestion (NYT)

imputed cost, on its way to justifying some tax scheme that will cost you $13 billion a year

Congestion pricing got a boost with a study from the Partnership for New York City showing that clogged streets cost New York $13 billion a year.

The City Life: How Green Was My Rally (NYT)

smoking ban kicks in

By LAWRENCE DOWNES

It’s now a regular thing for big-ticket politicians to go to Woodlawn, where the Irish pubs and delis have been struggling as people go back home to ride the Celtic Tiger.

Making the Highways Less Safe (NYT)

the driving menace

While avowing professionalism, a cadre of political contributors and industry insiders has brazenly relaxed federal standards for truck safety over the last six years.

About Those Other Problems (NYT)

leftist essay : why we became journalists

Along with its effort to salvage Iraq, the Iraq Study Group offers President Bush some advice: Government officials should not lie to the public or each other, especially in matters of war.

Friday, December 08, 2006

The Agonies of Zimbabwe (NYT)

civil war quagmire intervention suggested

The suffering Zimbabwean people are in desperate need of protection, the sooner the better.

Sickened by Fresh Produce (NYT)

money needed, followed by regulations

It is time to give government regulators the power and resources they need to ensure the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Back to the Moon, Permanently (NYT)

global warming education

It would be a shame if an underfinanced program to return to the Moon on a permanent basis and then venture on to Mars forced reductions in research programs of higher scientific value.

Desperately Seeking Ethics (NYT)

absolute construction for uncontested facts

Charged with finding out who knew about Representative Mark Foley's sexually predatory behavior with teenage House pages, a bipartisan committee produced a report Friday that was a 91-page exercise in cowardice

Watergate Reform, R.I.P. (NYT)

free speech checked off

The 2008 presidential campaign will likely see to the effective demise of one of the most encouraging post-Watergate reforms, the creative use of public financing as an alternative to big-money donors.

Blood, Toil, Tears and Nukes (NYT)

nuclear weapons in nations with moonbat newspapers

The major powers would have a far stronger case for their calls to restrain the nuclear ambitions of countries like Iran and North Korea if they showed they were willing to reduce their own arsenals.

The Comptroller's Glass House (NYT)

winner republican

An election cannot overcome the possibility that Alan Hevesi, New York State's comptroller, violated state law.

Why the Achievement Gap Persists (NYT)

too much quality imposed on union

The teacher quality provision of No Child Left Behind deserves to be at the very top of the list when Congress revisits the law.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

At the End of the Book (NYT)

questions of ethical theater are big on the left

And if a novel ends with a bibliography, is it pomposity or an effort to come clean about one’s sources?

Cherry-Picking Campaign Promises (NYT)

make congress more responsive to the NYT, is the plan

The Democrats are reported to be wriggling out of one of their most important campaign vows: to repair Congressional oversight of the nation’s intelligence agencies.

Welcome Political Cover (NYT)

blandishment attempted

theater-over-principle meets principle-over-theater, makes suggestion

If President Bush has the capacity to seriously reassess his Iraq strategy, he will need exactly the kind of political cover that the Iraq Study Group was meant to provide.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Leave Bristol Bay Alone (NYT)

mosquitos preserved

Drilling in Alaska’s pristine Bristol Bay would threaten one of the nation’s most productive fisheries without appreciably strengthening the nation’s long-term energy security.

When the Dollar Talks Back (NYT)

continuing Bush administration economic disaster shown

Investors remain largely focused on economic weakness in the United States and gathering strength in Europe — which portend a weaker dollar, no matter what anyone says.

Calorie Shock at the Counter (NYT)

nannyism unchecked in NYC

New York City’s Board of Health approved a requirement Tuesday that fast-food restaurants post the calories in their offerings in large type and in readily visible positions, which might well yield more important health dividends than the trans fats ban.

The Un-Rumsfeld (NYT)

pantomime unrecognized

Robert Gates offered just enough candor and conciliation to persuade most senators that he plans to be a very different sort of defense secretary, while deftly holding back any real information about how he plans to clean up President Bush’s mess in Iraq.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

When Iraq Went Wrong (NYT)

soap opera news audience ratings

By TIM PRITCHARD

How did scenes of joyful Iraqis pulling down Saddam Hussein’s statue so quickly turn into images of car bombings, grieving mothers and burning helicopters?

Signs of Energy (NYT)

forget tools

man is the only animal that has standards imposed

The Bush administration has finally agreed to a strict timetable for establishing new energy efficiency standards. The agreement is good news for the environment.

Collapse of a Cholesterol Drug (NYT)

more government funding needed

the deal is, create a vast money flow, and you get to take a cut for your bureaucracy, for whatever it is.

selling it to the soap opera public audience of the news these days, is the only trick.

Women! you may die today.

tune in at 11 for more.

watch our sponsor's commercials

they pay us for you watching.

news business model.

The discovery that a promising experimental cholesterol drug can be deadly is a financial blow to the manufacturer and a sharp disappointment to doctors and patients who had been hoping for another breakthrough in the fight against heart disease.

Mr. Bolton Resigns (NYT)

leftist gadfly gone

let the stern statements of concern begin again

John Bolton’s decision to resign as America’s envoy to the United Nations was a wise move.

Losing the Good War (NYT)

treason unprosecuted

Because of the Bush administration’s inattention and mismanagement, the good war in Afghanistan is going wrong.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Editorial Observer: What’s Wrong With My Voting Machine? (NYT)

a republican must have won something

By ADAM COHEN

To the long list of recent Election Day horrors, from butterfly ballots to six-hour lines, add "vote flipping."

When Is a Fish Like a Carrot? (NYT)

salmon disrespected

To call a wild salmon organic is to demean it, since it comes from a place where the word has no meaning.

Revisiting Putin’s Soul (NYT)

fear of radition trumps love of leftist tyrants

The suspicious murders and attempted murders of Kremlin critics in recent months pose fundamental questions about Russia, and how the West should treat it.

An Assault on Local School Control (NYT)

constitution kowtow danger

Today the Supreme Court hears arguments in a pair of cases that could undo much of the work on racially integrated education.

Pfizer Ends Cholesterol Drug Development (AP)

$800 million name

suggestion : try Bipartecrot

The news is devastating to Pfizer, which had been counting on the drug to revitalize stagnant sales that have been hurt by numerous patent expirations on key products. It has said it was spending around $800 million to develop Torcetrapib.

Police: Teen Who Hit SUV With Eggs Slain (AP)

gun prankster meets egg prankster

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A 14-year-old boy who was throwing eggs at cars along with two other teenagers was shot and killed by someone who had been in a sport utility vehicle that was hit, police said.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Teaching the Elephant (NYT)

because they're one-on-one

like having a spouse is incredibly intrusive

by David Brooks

Many of today’s most effective antipoverty and educational programs are incredibly intrusive, even authoritarian.

Has He Started Talking to the Walls? (NYT)

theater critic derangement

by Frank Rich

The more President Bush loses his hold on reality, the more language is severed from its meaning altogether.

Scoops, Impact or Glory: What Motivates Reporters? (NYT)

Business darwinism overlooked.

The product of the news biz is not news.

It is you.

They sell you to advertisers.

People say they want hard news, but they don't (think city council meetings).

They only tune in for big one-off events.

So most people cannot be sold to advertisers.

Instead, the business model caters to the largest reliable demographic to be had, namely soap opera women.

It's a minority of even women, 40%, but a large one.

They're easy to attract - they tune in day in and day out, so long as there is soap opera news.

Familiar story lines, familiar crises, cartoon dilemmas.

The keys : inner struggle, soul searching and everlasting frustration.

This audience, a minority of a minority but a lot of people, edits the nation's news and restricts every public debate.

If they can't support the news biz, there is no alternative business model, and the news biz will disappear.

Blogs are the reaction of the rest of the population, but you can't build a business on that diverse group.

What motivates reporters is really a question of what motivates the surviving reporters.

The sensible ones, the ones who rebel against soap opera reduction, went out of business.

You might as well inquire what motivates soap opera women.

A dysfunction of one kind or another.

Same with journalists today.


By BYRON CALAME

Based on the hundreds of reporters with whom I’ve worked and competed, I’ve sorted out several major driving forces — and considered the potential dangers to good journalism those forces can present

Scoops, Impact or Glory: What Motivates Reporters? (NYT)

Business darwinism overlooked.

The product of the news biz is not news.

It is you.

They sell you to advertisers.

People say they want hard news, but they don't (think city council meetings).

They only tune in for big one-off events.

So most people cannot be sold to advertisers.

Instead, the business model caters to the largest reliable demographic to be had, namely soap opera women.

It's a minority of even women, 40%, but a large one.

They're easy to attract - they tune in day in and day out, so long as there is soap opera news.

Familiar story lines, familiar crises, cartoon dilemmas.

The keys : inner struggle, soul searching and everlasting frustration.

This audience, a minority of a minority but a lot of people, edits the nation's news and restricts every public debate.

If they can't support the news biz, there is no alternative business model, and the news biz will disappear.

Blogs are the reaction of the rest of the population, but you can't build a business on that diverse group.

What motivates reporters is really a question of what motivates the surviving reporters.

The sensible ones, the ones who rebel against soap opera reduction, went out of business.

You might as well inquire what motivates soap opera women.

A dysfunction of one kind or another.

Same with journalists today.


By BYRON CALAME

Based on the hundreds of reporters with whom I’ve worked and competed, I’ve sorted out several major driving forces — and considered the potential dangers to good journalism those forces can present.

Another New York Windfall (NYT)

stagnant local economy unnoticed

it's almost as if high taxes went with it

If recent history is any indication, we can count on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to impose some fiscal realism on another big budget surplus.

New on the Web: Politics as Usual (NYT)

mainstream lashes out at reduced influence

By K. DANIEL GLOVER and MIKE ESSL

You might think that with the kind of rhetoric bloggers regularly muster against politicians, they would never work for them. But you would be wrong.

If It Feels Like a Dollar ... (NYT)

wasted posturing

they cannot see editorials, either

no readership increase from this one

The American government has not tried very hard to help those Americans who cannot see their money.

Losing the Race Against AIDS (NYT)

favorite interest group disease needs more money

Despite all the lofty goals set by world leaders, and billions of dollars thrown into the fight to quench the global AIDS pandemic in recent years, it is discouraging to learn the world is still falling behind.

Closer to and Farther From Europe (NYT)

dysfunctional bureaucracies criticized

no hint of an ethics challenge

As he left Turkey, Pope Benedict XVI said he hoped his visit would bring ``civilizations progressively closer.'' The European Union should listen.

Is the New Congress to Be Believed? (NYT)

cartoon ethics

Democrats must realize that the ethics issue will test the mettle of the new Congress in its opening hours, and signal if real change is possible.

A Limited Time Offer to Iran (NYT)

making and lying in bed not raised

nor the straw that broke the camel's back

foreign policy by cliche

like book openings in chess

By GEORGE PERKOVICH and PIERRE GOLDSCHMIDT

International interlocutors must disabuse Iran that it can have its uranium cake and eat it, too.

Politician, Police Thyself (NYT)

dispelling recommended

once you can fake sincerity, you've got it made

By JOSH CHAFETZ

At a time when the public has routinely perceived Congress as corrupt, the House and Senate clearly are doing almost nothing to dispel that perception.

To Help a Family (NYT)

too late for an abortion

The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund helped Dekiya Davis face the daunting challenge of caring for her two young sons.

Mexico’s New President (NYT)

needed economic reforms, in the NYT, means disaster

Felipe Calderon may have the political savvy to push through needed economic reforms.

Kafka and Katrina (NYT)

Kafka wrote, not horror, but satire of bureaucracy and hierarchy in general.

something the NYT usually recommends be created at the slightest inconvenience.

Yet they can't understand Kafka.

A federal district court this week found that FEMA’s aid application process was so convoluted and confusing as to be unconstitutional — and likened it to something out of a horror story by Kafka.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Japan, the Jury (NYT)

threat of jailing encourages compliance

By ROBERT E. PRECHT

By reassuring the Japanese that jury service is both feasible and valuable, Americans can play an important role in helping Japan’s new citizen juries succeed.

Puffing on Polonium (NYT)

radiation deaths curiously absent in millions

By ROBERT N. PROCTOR

The tobacco industry has been aware at least since the 1960s that cigarettes contain significant levels of polonium, the same radioactive substance used last week to poison a former K.G.B. agent.

Mom, Dad, Buy the Broccoli (NYT)

the broccoli menace

For years, the food and drink and candy industries have made unhealthy products irresistible to those under 12. Now the question is whether they can make healthy food and behavior look even better.

Another Plan for Snowmobiles (NYT)

rednecks opposed by liberal elite

Scientific studies financed by the Clinton and Bush administrations have made it clear again and again that snowmobiles seriously degrade the environment of Yellowstone.

When the Joneses Can’t Keep Up (NYT)

econ 101 disparaged

you get high wages and low prices from voluntary economic transactions

each voluntary transaction profits both sides, otherwise it would not occur

add up the profits to both sides, and you notice the standard of living of the nation has gone up

the more voluntary transactions, the higher the standard of living

that, and not keeping the unemployed off the streets, is the point of growing the economy.

among things that reduce the number of voluntary transactions are taxes and regulation

over to you, nyt.

We should worry about the effects on society as a whole when members of the educated elite think they are grossly underpaid.

Bush, Maliki and That Memo (NYT)

dream related

The president’s advisers need to tell him all the harsh truths about Iraq in the vivid terms they require, and they need to tell him how little time he has left to act.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Fables of the Deconstruction (NYT)

gaia worship

By CHRIS BECK and PRESTON BROWNING

Deconstruction can help fuel economic recovery in New Orleans, and a new federal policy embracing an alternative to demolition would be a bright spot in the city’s sluggish recovery.

Hedging on Hedge Funds (NYT)

hedge funds responsible for global warming

It’s time to move the discussion beyond whether hedge funds require more regulation to how they should be regulated.

A Crack in the Stone Wall (NYT)

investigative posturing suggested

The White House will give the Justice Department inspectors the required security clearance to review the administration’s domestic wiretapping program, but Congress should also mount its own independent inquiry.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Protecting Reporters’ Phone Records (NYT)

laws are for other people

A journalist’s ability to protect the identity of confidential sources has been further eroded by the Supreme Court’s refusal to stop a prosecutor from reviewing the telephone records of two New York Times reporters.

Benedict Goes to Turkey (NYT)

editors love recommending talk

Pope Benedict XVI’s role in furthering the debate over minority and religious rights and promoting better interfaith relations may prove to be helpful in both Turkey and the West.

Reordering New York’s Health Care (NYT)

more money needed

New York’s Commission on Health Care Facilities has come up with a bold set of recommendations for reordering one of the most expensive and inefficient health care systems in the country.

Iraq and the Facts of Life (NYT)

sex starved editors

When President Bush and Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq sit down in Jordan, we hope they will use the time — finally — to impress on each other the brutal facts of life in their respective capitals.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

The Wars of Perception (NYT)

only if the left has its way

By DOMINIC JOHNSON and DOMINIC TIERNEY

What happened in Tet and Somalia may hold important lessons for Iraq.

Holiday Defenses Breached (NYT)

people buying stuff

very annoying to the left

With the snappy nickname of Black Friday, the traditional post-Thanksgiving sales have turned into a self-perpetuating hype machine.

50 Bullets and a Death in Queens (NYT)

the death isn't so bad, it's the bullets

police playing important, like editorial writers

The New York Police Department must confront the fact that a disaster that everyone swore to prevent seven years ago has repeated itself in Queens.

Slouching Toward Riga (NYT)

drug war not mentioned

NATO is failing its most significant post-Soviet test: stabilizing Afghanistan.

Global Warming Goes to Court (NYT)

anything the supreme court says is true, is true

takes it out of the hands of denialists and eco-skeptics

The Supreme Court will hear what may be the most important environmental case in many years.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Atheists Agonistes (NYT)

hesistates to say he doesn't disagree

By RICHARD A. SCHWEDER

The current counterattack on religion cloaks a renewed and intense anxiety within secular society that the story of the Enlightenment may be more illusory than real.

The Test of Time (NYT)

harriet miers stamp resisted

The Postal Service's decision to cut the length of time between a person’s death and his or her eligibility to appear on a stamp is one case where we think delayed gratification is a virtue.

A Poisoned Spy (NYT)

hardly-surprise registered

Despite the lack of evidence about who poisoned Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy who died last week in a London hospital, it was hardly surprising that suspicion fell on the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin.

When Don’t Smoke Means Do (NYT)

no research on lefty editorials yet

New research shows that ads aimed at youths had no discernible effect in discouraging smoking and that the ads currently aimed at parents may be counterproductive.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Columbia’s Move on West Harlem (NYT)

the left moves into the community it destroyed

expect security to be spectacular

The rich history of Harlem is something that Columbia should work harder to show it understands and respects as it seeks to expand its campus into West Harlem.

Déjà Vu in Florida (NYT)

contested election means a republican won

the democrat idea is recount until we win

As court cases proceed over a contested Congressional race in Florida, one verdict is already in: Electronic voting without the full array of protections, including a voter-verified paper trail, is unacceptable.

Learning From Iraq (NYT)

hard lessons of journalistic idiocy

among them vietnam and cambodia

Incorporating the hard lessons learned in Iraq into future military planning and training operations constitutes a far more practical variety of transformation than the kind proposed during the Rumsfeld era.

Friday, November 24, 2006

All That’s Missing Is Mr. Whipple (NYT)

constipation alleged

The Charmin public toilet in Times Square - a kind of Disneyland of restrooms - was welcomed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg with a note of envy in his voice.

Foreign Aid, Revised (NYT)

more aid to leftist dictators

If the administration will not restore a sensible balance to foreign aid, the new Congress should.

Sensing You’re Too Drunk to Drive (NYT)

MADD - ``if it weren't for the drunks, most of them wouldn't be mothers''

There aren’t many social problems that can be solved with a “technical fix,” but drunken driving may be one of the most amenable.

Taming King Coal (NYT)

carbon hysteria unlikely to last 50 years

Energy companies in China and America are locking themselves (and the environment) into at least 50 more years of the most carbon-intensive technology around.

Editorial Observer: To Fight Corruption, One African Offers Presidents Cash (NYT)

no flies on him

By TINA ROSENBERG

Sudanese billionaire Mo Ibrahim plans to give an annual prize worth more than $5 million to an African head of state who was freely elected, turned over power to a freely elected successor and governed well while in office.

Family Planning Farce (NYT)

unneeded agency survives

Americans who were expecting a more moderate administration in the wake of this month’s elections will be shocked by the appointment of Eric Keroack to head family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Spoils of Defeat (NYT)

more federal aid for NYC needed

The departing Republican majority in Congress is about to leave the nation a memorial to its own shameful history as the grand enabler of record debt and deficits.

Day Laborers’ Rights (NYT)

editors make wetback association

A tide of local vigilantism has risen in direct proportion to the federal paralysis on immigration.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Thanksgiving’s Moveable Feast (NYT)

grown by 1% of the population instead of 60% in the good old days

By CORBY KUMMER

Thanksgiving, that most food-centered and nationalistic of holidays, might be a good time to think about how food is being grown where you live and what you can do about it.

Public Colleges as ‘Engines of Inequality’ (NYT)

ability control deplored

The average institutional grant to students from high-income families is actually larger than the average grant to low- or middle-income families.

Keeping Thanksgiving (NYT)

overwrought editor fails to come up with holiday theme

We work hectically to fit the holiday in — hectic flying, hectic driving, hectic shopping and cooking — with the hope that, come dinner, we will be sitting down to a full-fledged, old-fashioned Norman Rockwell ``Freedom From Want'' feast.

Another Killing in Lebanon (NYT)

absence of NYT panic means that NYT editors are not assassination targets themselves

when that happens, preemptive military action will be called for, but until then, they remain liberals

The United States and the international community must rally to support Prime Minister Fouad Siniora — with cash, security advisers and anything that might help him and his government survive.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

A Parting Shot From George Allen (NYT)

this means he's not a liberal

not, in particular, affected by statements of liberal horror from the NYT

As a last little gift to America, Senator George Allen has introduced what may be his final piece of legislation: a bill that would allow the carrying of concealed weapons in national parks.

Iran and Arak (NYT)

overwhelming military force rejected

send a sternly worded message

that'll work

The world needs to find a better way to guarantee countries the benefits of civilian nuclear technology without also dangling the temptations of nuclear weapons.

A Minimum for City Schools (NYT)

new and larger toilet to flush money down

New York’s highest court gave incoming governor Eliot Spitzer and the State Legislature a good starting point to build upon as they find a way to provide education funds more fairly across the state.

Weighing In on Wages (NYT)

news flash : energy prices determine how much energy is demanded

second news flash : prices of everything determine how much of everything is demanded

it does not affect purchasing power. it affects what you choose to spend your money on.

if coffee is $50 a pound, you don't buy much coffee, even if I give you the $50. You spend it on something you prefer to coffee at $50 a pound.

You still have the $50 to spend on something you prefer.

Americans' purchasing power now depends almost entirely on the up and down of energy prices.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Black Soot and Asthma (NYT)

bus menace looms

New York’s policymakers can help asthmatics, and the public health, by declaring war on poisonous diesel fumes.

Studying Autism Isn’t Enough (NYT)

serious focus called for

By CATHRYN GARLAND and MICHAEL O'HANLON

We as a nation must begin to focus seriously on treating those children who are already afflicted with autism. At present, we are failing miserably to do so.

An Iraqi Solution, Vietnam Style (NYT)

reporter from hanoi

By MARK MOYAR

The benefits of a self-sufficient Iraqi government are so great that we must give the country's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, the opportunity to try.

If They Ran It (NYT)

number agreement editor on vacation

Rupert Murdoch and Judith Regan should have taken a firm editorial stance months ago and decided that O. J. Simpson’s new book and the television special that resulted from it was not worth signing up.

The Return of Silicone Breast Implants (NYT)

silicone valley

The Food and Drug Administration made a reasonable call that will allow women, in consultation with their surgeons, to make their own judgments about silicone breast implants.

A Discredit to the United Nations (NYT)

thugs and autocrats can do better, the NYT thinks

If the Human Rights Council is the best the U.N. can do at reforming itself, it isn’t worth the effort.

Rejecting the Draft (NYT)

all leftist reasons, eg. :

situation is so bad that the draft won't help

There are many reasons why we are distressed to hear that Representative Charles Rangel of New York plans to reintroduce his annual measure aimed at resurrecting the draft when the Democrats take control of the House.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Reforestation and Deforestation (NYT)

tree malaise spreads

In some parts of the world, deforestation is only expanding, with dire consequences for biodiversity and the climate.

The Taxpayers’ Chauffeurs (NYT)

public limousines

The answer to one question raised by the scandal involving New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi should be easy: public officials could take public transportation as a matter of public policy.

Brother, Can You Spare a Word? (NYT)

also ``beverage''

First the good news: the government’s annual hunger report shows a decline last year in the number of citizens in need of food. Now the bad news: the report dropped the word “hunger.”

Signs of Hope on Immigration (NYT)

guest voter program boosted

The political earthquake in Washington has knocked loose some of the big obstacles to fixing the immigration system.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Ind. House Fire Kills 4, Including Baby (AP)

headline coded to attract women

NORTH VERNON, Ind. -- Fire swept through a southern Indiana home on Sunday morning, killing three adults and a baby and producing smoke so thick it drove back a would-be rescuer, fire officials said.

A Bad Choice for Social Security (NYT)

the only thing that will save social security, and what will in fact happen, is the retirement age will go up.

it happens to be absurdly simple to do

it reflects that there's some balance needed between number of workers and number of retirees they support

as people live longer, they also have to work longer

you can, of course, retire whenever you want, but on your own dime for the interval between when you retire and the social security retirement age.

you want social security because it's an inflation adjusted annuity. you can't outlive your income, regardless how the currency inflates in the 30 years you may be retired.

With the nomination of Andrew Biggs to a six-year term as the next deputy commissioner of Social Security, President Bush is signaling that he doesn’t want new ideas.

The Army We Need (NYT)

more gays

One of the first challenges for the next defense secretary and the next Congress is to repair, rebuild and reshape the nation's ground forces.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Editorial Observer: Waiting (and Hoping) for Jim Baker (NYT)

if it's palpable after stirring, there's a lump in it

By CARLA ANNE ROBBINS

The palpable yearning that James Baker’s Iraq Study Group has stirred is one more measure of the country’s desperation over Iraq.

A Photo Finish in Connecticut (NYT)

only if the margin of victory is one vote

so rare that it's a race you care about that you'll first probably win the lottery

Platitudes like ``every vote matter'' became meaningful in Connecticut’s Second Congressional District this week.

99.5 Percent Like a Neanderthal (NYT)

99.8 percent for NYT editors

Scientists are tantalizingly close to learning just what genetic changes distinguish modern humans from Neanderthals.

Katrina’s Purgatory (NYT)

a region entirely run by liberals

The ruin of a region and the historic city of New Orleans could not be more important, and the tangle of destruction is nowhere near unwound.

Friday, November 17, 2006

JFK Inaugural ``Ask not'' etc

``And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.''

Kennedy has to have misread that, starting off as if the verb were ``ask not.'' Then to recover, he had to insert the dash, which saved the line if not making complete sense. You could tell what he meant, at least.

But a speechwriter is certain to have written the better line, ``Ask, not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.''

Like ``One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,'' the misread line became famous.

``Inspired generations.'' Please.

Signs of Warming Continue in the Arctic (AP)

doom

WASHINGTON -- Signs of warming continue in the Arctic with a decline in sea ice, an increase in shrubs growing on the tundra and rising concerns about the Greenland ice sheet.

1 Dead, 11 Hurt in Fla. Bus Crash (AP)

collision

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A truck hit a bus carrying senior citizens Thursday, killing one person and injuring 11, authorities said.

The bus, operated by a Jewish community center, was traveling in West Palm Beach when it was struck by a septic tanker at about 9:30 a.m., officials said.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Conservatives: Keep Gay Marriage Out of the Courts (NYT)

guess why it's being removed from the courts

By DAVID B. RIVKIN Jr. and LEE A. CASEY

The wave of marriage amendments — at least those that go beyond removing the issue from judicial resolution — should stop.

In the Pink No More (NYT)

mcgovernism updated

By JENNY PRICE

While the plastic pink flamingo reigned as an icon in the late 20th century, it was bound to succumb to the very different tastes — or the absence thereof — in the 21st.

Our Great Depression (NYT)

still smarting from the 2000 election

By ANDREW SOLOMON

We need a network of depression centers, much like the cancer centers established in the 1970s.

No More Delays for Kosovo (NYT)

cut and run urged

The United Nations has limited patience to keep administering Kosovo, and without the stability of statehood there will be no foreign investment and the beleaguered economy will not improve.

Flying High in the Busy Skies (NYT)

consolidation in the lost luggage industry

Without allowing a consolidation free-for-all to break out, there is clearly some room for combining operations in the changing airline industry.

Speaker Pelosi Tempts Disaster (NYT)

the trouble with a party of radical interest groups

The new Democratic majority must realize by now that intramural vendetta is hardly a substitute for productive government.

Still Waiting for Bipartisanship (NYT)

lefty moonbat judge quota unfilled

When it comes to filling judgeships, President Bush is still not looking for either excellence or common ground.

Putting Faith Before Politics (NYT)

jihad recommended

By DAVID KUO

Evangelicals aren’t re-examining their political priorities nearly as much as they are re-examining their spiritual priorities, and that could be bad news for both political parties.

Editorial Observer: Oedipus Max: Four Nights of Anguish and Applause in Sing Sing (NYT)

things you have to be in prison for

By LAWRENCE DOWNES

A performance of “Oedipus Rex” by inmates at a maximum-security prison provides an echo chamber of ironies.

Of Red Meat and Breast Cancer (NYT)

the oat bran effect

The silver lining — if red meat does indeed increase the risk of breast cancer — is that the cure would be simple: Just eat less meat.

The More Things Change ... (NYT)

nyt discovers entrenched bureaucracy

does not generalize it to bureaucracy everywhere

but it's structural in bureaucracy

the private sector gets rid of dysfunction through bankruptcy, the great cleanser

seen as a ``problem'' by the left

Voters can only hope the party conferences this week do not signal that the obvious lessons of Election Day are already being lost on the next Congress.

Counting the Vote, Badly (NYT)

fraud made more difficult for democrats in close races

democracy doesn't rely on a 100% accurate count but on the existing count being definitive

you undermine democracy with a recount-until-I-win response, not with slightly imperfect tallies.

if it's about 50%, it doesn't matter which side wins, so long as it's the final say in the matter.

Congressional Democrats should make fixing this country’s broken system of elections a top priority, and Republicans should join them.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

What’s Right With Kansas (NYT)

social and economic conservatives not distinguished

Kansas — lately considered the reddest of red states — emerged from the election as a bastion of moderation.

Will Fair Pay Have Its Day? (NYT)

economics 101 doesn't figure in

except in the unions' calculations

favorite lefty group

Supporting a higher minimum wage would be a way for President Bush to begin to rectify the inequality that has grown so alarmingly on his watch.

The Road to Damascus (NYT)

idea floats into editors' heads

It is time to give direct diplomacy with Syria a serious try.

Spin and Consequences (NYT)

new right discovered

that's why you should subscribe to ``morality today''

to keep abreast of moral discoveries

most of them are anti-Bush

Americans have a right to know what standards their president has been applying to the treatment of prisoners.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

To Catch a Deadly Germ (NYT)

every DAY 100,000 people die in the world, 10,000 americans

it's the large-population effect, where something that isn't an important risk can be magnified to a crisis

there follows political power and funding for something nobody sane would worry about

creating and taking ownership of ``public problems'' is the way to political success

By BETSY McCAUGHEY

What kills more than five times as many Americans as AIDS? Hospital infections, which account for an estimated 100,000 deaths every year.

Sit Down and Legislate for a While (NYT)

``big time asshole'' - cheney

By ADAM CLYMER

Why do senators think that they have to run for president?

Editorial Observer: Looking Back on Louis Brandeis on His 150th Birthday (NYT)

moonbat left birthday

By ADAM COHEN

It is Brandeis’s insistence on injecting facts and real-world analysis into the law that is his most lasting achievement, and one that resounds especially strongly today.

Troubled Seas (NYT)

Where the left late tempestuous wont to sport
In troubled waters, but now sleeps in port

A new study says that the degradation of the world’s oceans is not hopeless, but only if the world moves quickly to reduce overfishing and other threats.

Mr. Putin’s Legacy (NYT)

putin must have been unkind to some journalist, to be on the wrong side of nyt editors

History will judge Vladimir Putin by how well he helps Russia move from its totalitarian past to a democratic future. His record is not encouraging.

Lowering Medicare Drug Prices (NYT)

the difference between democrats and republicans is that republicans know about side effects and democrats don't.

mostly, side effects are the chief effects for current ``problems''

that's because all the ``problems'' that respond to direct action directly have long ago been solved

what's left is ``problems'' that respond to direct action perversely

that's why nowadays republicans are mostly always right

natural selection of problems ensures survival only of problems that respond perversely

the nyt leads the moonbat idiot camp on this

Michael Leavitt, the secretary of health and human services, says he does not want the power to negotiate drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, but Democrats should give it to him anyway.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Editorial Observer: The Spy Who Never Came Through the Berlin Wall (NYT)

women's page material

By SERGE SCHMEMANN

I well remember first meeting Markus Wolf; I guess anyone would remember meeting one of the most successful spymasters of the cold war.

Truth About the Trade Deficit (NYT)

adopt NYT myths

deficit is caused by gay people

With the deficit reaching new highs and Democrats now able to wield real power, it is crucial that each side back off its constituent-pleasing myths.

Hiding From Oversight (NYT)

government by vendetta recommended

Until the Democrats assume committee control in January, there’s an investigatory vacuum in Congress.

Don’t Force an Energy Bill (NYT)

any old subject and predicate works in NYT editorials

President Bush’s call for the lame duck Congress to pass ``bipartisan energy legislation'' is a good example of why the House and Senate should limit their work in this final session to as few measures as possible.

A Grand New Republican Party (NYT)

city of rent control and unemployment

The far-right Republicanism that has the South and much of the West in its clutch will not work well in New York.

Reactionary Moderates (NYT)

messages sent fly through the air to the ears of pundits

By RAMESH PONNURU

The real message of the last few elections is that, for the most part, social issues help the Republicans and economic ones the Democrats.

Let the Investigations Begin (NYT)

should clarify separation of powers for us

By STANLEY BRAND

A vigorous examination of the Bush administration’s conduct is the politically necessary response to voters’ overwhelming rejection of the current Congress.

Holding to the Center, Losing My Seat (NYT)

good riddance from both sides

By LINCOLN D. CHAFEE

I hope the new Congress and the administration that received, in the president’s words, ``a thumping'' can find common ground for the common good.

Govern, Don’t Gloat (NYT)

infighting overlooked

intra-system goals come first

By LEON E. PANETTA

In the wake of this election, the Democrats and the president face the same choice: gridlock or cooperation?

Editorial Observer: Facing Reality on Europe’s Immigrants (NYT)

translation : what to do about the wogs

By DAVID C. UNGER

Despite its shortcomings, Germany’s new approach to its foreign-born or foreign-descended residents contrasts favorably with that of neighboring France.

The Corporate End Run (NYT)

they're called interest groups

the more the government intervenes in life, the more interest groups you have

simple dynamics escape the editors

When corporate America feels the pinch from global competition, it runs to the Bush administration for rule changes.

Democrats and Iraq (NYT)

getting out of iraq perhaps is not the goal, does not occur to the NYT

Americans are waiting to hear if the Democrats have any good ideas for how to get out of Iraq without creating even wider chaos and terrorism.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Keeping the Voting Clean (NYT)

opposite of guns

By RICHARD L. HASEN

The problem is not with the technology of running our elections but rather with the people running them.

Op-Art: Designs on America (NYT)

holiday shopping season for liberals

By RODRIGO CORRAL, TAMARA SHOPSIN, TODD ST. JOHN, POST TYPOGRAPHY, ALAN DYE, NUMBER SEVENTEEN, THOMAS POROSTOCKY, STERLING BRANDS and MICHAEL IAN KAYE

For Veterans Day, the Op-Ed page asked eight designers to rethink pro-United States symbols and come up with something fresh.

Editorial Observer: Then and Now, Female Soldiers Just Do Their Jobs (NYT)

special feelings

By MAURA J. CASEY

There remains a fundamental bond between the experience of Army women today and that of my mother, so very long ago: all she wanted was to be a good soldier.

Ortega, Again (NYT)

capitalism embraced

Nicaragua’s top Sandinista, Daniel Ortega, was once pro-Marxist, but now he’s pro-Ortega. And that’s the problem.

A Crackdown on Newborns (NYT)

barrios to basic care

If building new barriers to basic care ends up filling emergency rooms with ever-sicker immigrants — and their citizen children — then the effort will have been a sorry example of self-defeating spite.

The Court and Abortion (NYT)

NYT notices that abortion is politically charged

but not that it ought to be politically decided

The Supreme Court unnecessarily returned to the politically charged area of abortion this week, hearing arguments in a case testing some of the core principles of Roe v. Wade.

An Army of One Less (NYT)

meals on wheels

By PAUL D. EATON

What will the new Democratic-controlled Congress and the new Pentagon have to accomplish over the next two years to bring the Army — and the other services — back “with” us on Iraq? I have a few suggestions.

The Perils of Inaction (NYT)

all are results of avoiding victory

victory resolves issues permanently

Thursday, analysts were trying to figure out which was the most immediate danger: a new wave of terrorist attacks against Americans, the start of a full scale Israeli-Palestinian war, or a civil war between Hamas and its rival Fatah.

Hot-Button Vox Pop (NYT)

the flyover rube problem

Tuesday’s results once more demonstrated what a double-edged sword the initiative process is as a tool of democracy.

Bipartisanship on Hold (NYT)

minimum wage, illegal amnesty, outlawing talk radio

The president made it clear that, for now, his idea of how to “put the elections behind us” is to use the Republicans’ last two months in control of Congress to try to push through some of the worst ideas his administration and its Republican allies on Capitol Hill have come up with.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

The Election’s Most Personal Attack Ad (NYT)

NYT base

By TEDDY WAYNE

Teddy Wayne sure talks a good game. But how is he on the issues — specifically, my issues with him as a boyfriend?

After the Thumpin’ (NYT)

democrats self-destruct, led by the NYT cheerleaders

By WILLIAM SAFIRE

Where does our renewed two-party nation go from here?

Editorial Observer: In a Gym in Yonkers, a Game of Block the Vote (NYT)

republican wins, I take it back

By LAWRENCE DOWNES

Whether State Senator Nicholas Spano wins or loses, his campaign will be tainted by what his followers did at the Police Athletic League gym.

A Clean Start (NYT)

they're ahead already

party over country is their strategy

is it strange that there was no election fraud this year? just for starters.

When it comes to ethics, the House Democrats are perfectly capable of replicating the Republicans’ fall from grace.

Rumsfeld’s Departure (NYT)

bring home to the troops that they're not making progress

they think they are making progress

the most important thing is the feelings of the left, in short

called ideology, by the way

The challenge for Donald Rumsfeld’s chosen successor will be to bring home to the president how desperate the situation has become in Iraq and to see that the war’s conduct from here on is dictated by reality, not ideology.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

No Atheists in a Foxhole? No Idiots, Either (NYT)

myth : politics filled with morons, holds up

By TIM KANE and MACKENZIE EAGLEN

A common misperception is that the ranks of the military are increasingly filled with relatively uneducated young men and women from low-income households. Yet this myth doesn’t hold up under inspection.

The Code of the Callboy (NYT)

queers love hierarchy

By DAN SAVAGE

Today it is arguably more shameful and damaging to be a hypocritical closet case like Ted Haggard than it is to be a sex worker.

Help Iraq Help Itself (NYT)

media reality

By FREDERICK D. BARTON

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s new independence is America’s best chance to salvage the muddle Iraq has become. Let’s not get in his way.

A Happy Ending (NYT)

life lesson offered

As Digna Polanco and Juan Espinal learned, even hard work cannot stave off all tragedy.

Turkey and the European Union (NYT)

mosques run by brussels

Despite waning enthusiasm on both sides, Turkey’s basic trajectory remains westward, and that the European Union accession talks provide the strongest incentive to keep it on course.

The Task for Mr. Spitzer (NYT)

turn NYT headquarters back into porn shops

We expect to see immediate action on Eliot Spitzer’s central promise to make state government more responsive to the people and to clean up the way special-interest money distorts policy in the state.

Post-Election Job Number One (NYT)

Rumsfeld hostile to NYT editorials

There was one issue on which people from both parties appeared to be finding common ground: Donald Rumsfeld has to go.

Too Close for Comfort (NYT)

more state intervention needed

By STEPHANIE COONTZ

We are placing too many burdens on the fragile institution of marriage, making social life poorer in the process.

Mr. Bland Goes to Washington (NYT)

he or she who offends least, that should be

By BARRY SCHWARTZ

In elections, he who offends the least does the best.

Election Day Choices (NYT)

what guarantee is there that the times was not confused by contradictory ballot issues?

should you vote the opposite on general principles?

it doesn't say

This list summarizes our recommendations for some of the most contested races in today’s election.

Appreciations: Rise Up in Darkness (NYT)

lefty malady explained

By LAWRENCE DOWNES

William Styron’s unorthodox achievement in medicine, as the author of an invaluable primer on clinical depression, is worth celebrating.

The Politics of Frustration (NYT)

newspaper editors, protectors of rubes

Pity the poor voter who has to wade through a list of sometimes contradictory, sometimes misleading ballot proposals, doing work that should be the responsibility of elected officials.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Mind Over Gap (NYT)

lefty parodies not remembered

This is an editorial about the Long Island Rail Road. But first, a scene from “Bored of the Rings,” the Harvard Lampoon parody of “The Lord of the Rings.”

The Deciding Vote (NYT)

opinion polls are all a democracy needs , especially ones run by the leftists

By DALTON CONLEY

When elections are tight, we should go back to the polls.

College Sports Get a Warning (NYT)

academics and editors ignored by ticket-purshase market

Athletic departments have more influence on university affairs than they should.

Protecting the Right to Vote (NYT)

``early and often'' threatened

Voting is a right and a responsibility, but it is also, unfortunately, a challenge.

The Saddam Hussein Verdict (NYT)

another bush screwup

In Mr. Hussein's sentence to death by hanging, Iraq got neither the full justice nor the full fairness it deserved.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Floyd Norris: Notions on High and Low Finance (NYT)

only good indian is a dead indian

Sanjay Kumar, the disgraced former C.E.O. of Computer Associates, gets off easy.

Stanley Fish: Think Again (NYT)

headline writer unable to follow postmodern article

Stanley Fish dissects the anatomy of domestic arguments, but he can't avoid them.

Judith Warner: Domestic Disturbances (NYT)

leave the porch light off and you're fine

idiot

Halloween demands a "performance of happiness" that the author finds unbearable.

Midterm Madness: The 2006 Campaign, Through Partisan Eyes (NYT)

three and a half years of press excess unmentioned

The American voters' weariness with three and a half years of war in Iraq will be the undoing of the Republicans, writes Thomas F. Schaller.

The Foley Scandal and the Risks of Righteous Politicking (NYT)

women's vote deplored

By FRANCIS X. CLINES

The mixture of sexual predation and moral hypocrisy is a potent cocktail for voters preparing for Tuesday’s election.

Abortion, Condoms and Bush (NYT)

writer moralizes

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

The evidence shows that condoms do more to bring down abortion rates than pious moralizing.

The Fighting Democrat (NYT)

or we may not

DAVID BROOKS

We may be about to learn if the party of Nancy Pelosi can make room for the Jim Webbs of the world.

Throw the Truthiness Bums Out (NYT)

NYT moonbat theater critic weighs in

FRANK RICH

Voters may rally for reality on this crucial Election Day even as desperate politicians and some of their media enablers try one more time to stay their fictional course.

An Election Day Ballot Trap (NYT)

follow the money

In a strange shell game unique to New York politics, third parties can latch onto somebody else’s nominee rather than field their own candidates.

Friend of the Farmer (NYT)

flyover rubes counted by the city folk

By DEIRDRE MCNAMER

There is a certain kind of Montana Republican who makes this horse race difficult to call, and my dad is one.

Separate but Equal (NYT)

empty suit of color

i've heard hours of interviews with him

he's an idiot

By ROBERT HICKS

Is Tennessee ready to elect a man of color as senator? Is the only real difference between the two candidates skin-deep?

Divorce-Court Politics (NYT)

global polarization

By CHARLES BAXTER

In Minnesota, the appeal to polarization may have lost its appeal, possibly because the press of calamitous current events seems so urgent.

The Campaign That Never Happened (NYT)

collector sees world

By DAN CHAON

Voting machines are the big political topic in Ohio.

Editorial Notebook: On Carefully Choosing a Book by Its Cover (NYT)

above the fold

By ELEANOR RANDOLPH

The fact that booksellers are scrambling to market their wares at other places besides bookstores makes sense, but something seems a little off kilter when publishers change a book cover to suit the fashions of the day.

Testing North Korea (NYT)

bombing proposed

It’s impossible to know whether North Korea’s Dear Leader will trade away his weapons at any price. But this White House has yet to test him.

The Difference Two Years Made (NYT)

polosi wing endorsed

On Tuesday, when this page runs the list of people it has endorsed for election, we will include no Republican Congressional candidates for the first time in our memory.

In the Voting Booth, Bias Starts at the Top (NYT)

moebius strip industry shill

By JON A. KROSNICK

Candidates listed first on the ballot get about two percentage points more votes on average than they would have if they had been listed later.

Seeing the Climate Policy for the Trees (NYT)

eat trees not corn

By STUART E. EIZENSTAT

Creating financial incentives to protect forests and promote tree planting would be attractive to poor nations but also to American companies and farmers.

Fairer Pay for the City Council (NYT)

budget crisis averted

The New York City Council is about to accept a salary raise of 25 percent — to $112,500, the second-highest in the nation.

Repairing the Red Cross (NYT)

contributions upgrade the voice mail system and refurbish offices, like every bureaucracy

The United States relies on this charitable institution to be a key pillar in our nation’s disaster-relief plan.

The Economy Cools (NYT)

unbroken bad economic news since the Clinton depression to the current Bush record highs

Is the United States economy headed toward the longed-for soft landing, or is another recession inevitable?

Blinding the Taxpayers on Iraq (NYT)

environmental protection agency

The Republican-controlled Congress has voted to close the one effective oversight agency that has shown it could produce results in Iraq.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Yankee Go Home (NYT)

NYT guest voter program

By TOM PEYER and HART SEELY

Should the Yankees trade their superstar third baseman, Alex Rodriguez? Already, the debate is raging.

The Memory Hole (NYT)

problem diseases are problems because they don't kill quickly enough, actually

death is a distant cloud on the liberal horizon, not an actual consequence of life

death is nature's way of changing editorial staffs

By DAVID SHENK

We must do what it takes to cure Alzheimer’s before it saps our economy and steals another generation.

The City Life: Summoning Frederick Douglass (NYT)

noble and powerful is code for black

you don't hear it of George Washington

its cliche sources :

noble savage

powerful black man

a safe black man, not like Thomas Sowell or Clarence Thomas or one of those conservatives

This one won't criticize the ``black leadership''

a culture of pets

By FRANCIS X. CLINES

Beginning next summer, the statue likeness of Frederick Douglass, noble and powerful as the man, will peer forth at the skyline that once so daunted him.

Of Red Wine and Fatty Foods (NYT)

leftist brain damage

Will there come a day when we can eat lots of high-calorie, fatty foods and offset the health damage by taking a natural substance found in red wine?

Fresh Sorrows at Ground Zero (NYT)

look for oil at the same time too

There is no reason that construction and a renewed search for remains cannot proceed together.

Avoiding Calamity on the Cheap (NYT)

PR effort fails, pathos results

In an age when people are worried about global warming and the country’s growing dependence on imported oil, the federal effort on alternative energy sources is pathetically small.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Winning Small (NYT)

rubes usurp power from newspaper editors

By BRIAN MANN

As Karl Rove likes to cheerfully point out, majorities in Congress are determined largely by one often-overlooked minority group: the mostly white and mostly conservative voters who live in America’s small towns.

Horton Sees an Image (NYT)

evidently not a dog trainer

We keep probing the animal world for signs of intelligence — as we define it — and we’re always surprised when we discover it.

Wiring Development (NYT)

absolute economic illiteracy

if the money isn't in circulation in the US, the Fed prints more automatically in meeting its interest rate target

Unless the billions in remittances that migrants working in the United States send home each year are banked, money that could fight poverty will be left on the table.

Voting for Judicial Independence (NYT)

voters enforcing law

Measures in a handful of states aimed at punishing judges for their official rulings and making them more captive to prevailing political winds add up to an assault on a fair and independent judiciary.

The Great Divider (NYT)

editors stung

When the president of the United States gleefully bathes in the muck to divide Americans into those who love their country and those who don’t, it is destructive to the fabric of the nation he is supposed to be leading.

Saints That Weren’t (NYT)

hillary? sheenan? jersey girls? pelosi?

By JAMES MARTIN

Most Americans probably don’t know the name of the newest American saint, or that she was mistreated by the church that she served so faithfully.

Pause for Peace (NYT)

open letter to the zionist entity while they rearm

By AHMED YOUSEF

We Palestinians are prepared to enter into a truce — a “hudna” — to bring about an immediate end to the occupation and to initiate a period of peaceful coexistence during which both sides would refrain from any form of military aggression or provocation.

Germany’s Army (NYT)

the international community

Berlin’s new position paper on international security points to a welcome expansion of Germany’s role in conflict prevention, peacekeeping and antiterrorist actions.

An Untimely Voter Purge (NYT)

guest voters threatened

Republican Party lawyers in the city of Yonkers are calling for an 11th-hour purge of voter rolls in a clear effort to help their endangered state senator, Nicholas Spano.

College Aid Cutbacks (NYT)

capital expense not recognized

The same bachelor’s degree will cost a student borrower far more than a student who can afford to pay. That’s not a path to greater equality.

The Amazing Hubble Telescope (NYT)

risk allowed editorially!

so unimportant actually is risk that you could pay for it with passengers

it's an amusement park ride people would die to go on

the NYT needs a reason their readers would approve of, the advance of science over religion

not noticing their own religion

A Hubble mission may be marginally more risky than a flight to the space station, but that risk is surely worth taking for the scientific payoff.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Signs of Revolution (NYT)

appoint HIV positive blind person next time

By LEAH HAGER COHEN

When the Gallaudet University board voted to revoke the appointment of Dr. Jane Fernandes as the institution’s next president, it was a just and commendable decision.

Making Meals Count in New York (NYT)

eliminate the name of the food entirely

The idea of having calories listed alongside prices at fast food chains makes sense.

Pay to Obey (NYT)

intellectual property disparaged

Businesses are receiving patents for devising ways to obey the law — the tax code, to be more specific. What’s next, a patented murder defense?

Assessing the Damages (NYT)

what will ``more reasonable'' mean to a leftist?

no way to tell

it's like a short person calling somebody ``tall''

you wonder what ``tall'' means to him

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that offers a perfect opportunity to pull back to a more reasonable position on punitive damages.

The Untracked Guns of Iraq (NYT)

3 day waiting period, registration and background check proposed

About the last thing the United States ought to be doing in Iraq is funneling weapons into black-market weapons bazaars.

Monday, October 30, 2006

For Staten Island and Brooklyn (NYT)

dire needs enumerated

Two retirements in the New York State Legislature offer an opportunity to bring fresh faces and ideas to a State Capitol in dire need of both.

Turn North Korea Into a Human Rights Issue (NYT)

islam not mentioned

By VACLAV HAVEL, KJELL MAGNE BONDEVIK and ELIE WIESEL

We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the North Korean government is responsible for one of the most egregious human-rights and humanitarian disasters in the world today.

Remember to Vote, Hope It Counts (NYT)

it doesn't count.

the odds of something you care about being decided by your single vote are nil.

if everybody thought that way, it would be worth voting, but they don't, so it isn/t.

the profit is in persuading other people to vote your way.

a message you won't find anywhere.

By MICHAEL WALDMAN, WENDY WEISER and OPEN, N.Y.

Examples of ways the vote could be suppressed next week around the country.

A Lung Cancer Breakthrough? (NYT)

column inches required

The use of annual CT scans to screen for lung cancer is either an enormous breakthrough or an unproven tool whose real value is yet to be determined.

New Jersey’s Senate Race (NYT)

organized crime family more favorable to the NYT

In his race with State Senator Thomas Kean Jr., there is no question that Robert Menendez is the better choice.

The Fence Campaign (NYT)

beltway problem is voters

A border fence is the product of a can’t-do, won’t-do approach to a serious national problem.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

A Windy Wal-Mart (NYT)

people not good enough to move to new york live there

By LUIS ALBERTO URREA

Chicago gets a big-box store unlike any other.

On the Rio Grande, the World’s a Stage (NYT)

unable to read the nyt

By PAM HOUSTON

Hunkering down for winter in a one-act town.

Pick Your Poison (NYT)

doom for mid america spelled

By BOBBIE ANN MASON

In rural Kentucky, where the health of the land once meant plowing manure under the soil each spring, the future is not in cows and corn.

Sweet Home Omaha (NYT)

nyt influence nil in omaha

By RICHARD DOOLING

What if it is time to cash out of the housing market? Where do you go?

Nicaragua Bans Abortion (NYT)

also the US before 1973

If Nicaraguans want to see the possible consequences of their new law, they can look next door to El Salvador, where all abortions have been banned since 1998.

The Senate Race in Connecticut (NYT)

whatever is worst for Bush is best for democrats

The New York Times endorses Ned Lamont for Senate.

Future Tax Shock (NYT)

lower spending unthought

tax receipts differ from tax rates

it doesn't matter, these are democrat thinkers, the plotline is fixed forever

The president and his supporters have laid the groundwork for higher taxes and hamstrung government, no matter who is in office in the months and years to come.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Stuck in the Canal (NYT)

desperate play for european circulation

By DAVID FROMKIN

The Suez crisis was a divide in the history of the Middle East, a moment when America pushed out the Europeans and then tried to take their place — and the reverberations are still felt today.

Preparations for a Flu Pandemic (NYT)

news cycle slows

Neither America nor the rest of the world is ready to handle a worst-case pandemic.

Building Better Citizens (NYT)

democrat voter base increased

Allowing former convicts to vote strengthens democracy, and helps them to integrate into society and move beyond a life of crime.

No Taxes Until After the Election (NYT)

suspicion disturbance does not rise to level of dot connection

The possibility that I.R.S. commissioner Mark Everson is wielding power in ways to please his boss, President Bush, is especially disturbing given that he has courted that suspicion before.

Conserving That Compassion (NYT)

judy garland praised

If the last month has taught us anything about the Republican Party, it is that homophobia is campaign strategy, not conviction.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Will Play for Food (NYT)

foods of bangladesh suggested

By HARLAN COBEN

Let’s do something for the youths of this country and end the American Snack Tyranny.

Staying the Course Right Over a Cliff (NYT)

everything is a nail to linguist

By GEORGE LAKOFF

To fully understand why the president’s change in linguistic strategy won’t work, it’s helpful to consider why ``stay the course'' possesses such power.

For New York Comptroller (NYT)

a comptroller controls the movement of elevators

With some trepidation, The New York Times endorses Christopher Callaghan for New York comptroller.

Compounding a Political Outrage (NYT)

the only entertaining attack ad on the air

it's not racist, it mocks male interest in women

the same thing that women honor by watching beauty contests

men, given their choice, enter a pig, as commentary

A campaign commercial transparently honed as a racist appeal to Tennessee voters has remained on the air, despite assurances from Republican sponsors that it was pulled down.

Real Timetables for Iraq (NYT)

wrong, of course

but it ensures media material in iraq

more beheading videos

small cost, to get at Bush, for a liberal

We hope it’s clear to President Bush that Americans have already lost patience with his bumbling conduct of the war, and the remaining grace period can be measured in months, not years.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Editorial Observer: The Supreme Court’s Crusade: Fairness for the Powerful (NYT)

arbitrary fines suggested

By ADAM COHEN

The Supreme Court should develop a constitutional theory of excessive punishment that covers human and corporate wrongdoers equally.

Weakening the Fight for Mine Safety (NYT)

there's no such thing as safety except to a bureaucrat and a tv reporter

President Bush resorted to a recess appointment to place Richard Stickler at the heart of enforcing new safety reforms that, in earlier hearings, the appointee himself had claimed were not at all that necessary.

A Ruling for Equality in New Jersey (NYT)

NYT core readership

The New Jersey Supreme Court decision that committed same-sex couples be accorded the same rights as married heterosexual couples is an important step forward.

Money Down the Drain in Iraq (NYT)

stunning reversal : NYT deplores money down the drain!

generally you get it when the urgency is getting things done fast and the cost isn't so important

it's a sign of competence to get the priorities right, as to what sort of waste you'll trade off for what sort of gain

compare the war on poverty, where money spent made poverty more attractive, as predicted

As Americans look for explanations of how things went so horribly wrong in Iraq, they should not overlook the shameful breakdowns in reconstruction contracting.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The Wrong Partner in Israel (NYT)

higher wall needed

Creating new obstacles to peace with the Palestinians is the last thing Israel needs after the Lebanon fiasco.

Throwing Back the Big Fish (NYT)

editors' ill-starred 401(k)

Two Senate committees are investigating whether the Securities and Exchange Commission staff held back when it came to taking the testimony of a prominent Wall Street player.

A Congressional Endorsement (NYT)

appeasement doesn't work on leftists anywhere

fatwa issued anyway

Christopher Shays has been a good congressman, but not good enough to overcome the fact that his re-election would help empower a party that is long overdue for a shakeup. We strongly endorse his opponent, Diane Farrell.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

First, Rename All the Lawyers (NYT)

call them aclu

By JOHN FABIAN WITT

If a rose would smell as sweet by any other name, will trial lawyers smell better with a new one?

Trying to Contain the Iraq Disaster (NYT)

strategy to expand the conflict not considered

Today we want to describe a strategy for containing the disaster in Iraq as much as humanly possible. It is hardly a recipe for triumph.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Puerto Rico, an Island in Distress (NYT)

democrat economic policies tried

After decades of economic progress, Puerto Rico is struggling, and the mainland has both missed this horrific economic slide and contributed to it through benign neglect.

Brown University’s Debt to Slavery (NYT)

slavery exists today in the democratic party base , namely mindless black voters who therefore have no vote

the welfare bloc

vote for the white people who will give you stuff

then wonder why you don't seem to have any dignity

A long-awaited report on Brown University’s 18th-century links to slavery should dispel any lingering smugness among Northerners that slavery was essentially a Southern problem.

For Connecticut’s Governor (NYT)

NYT nothing-to-say code : any of the verbs ``squander,'' ``shirk,'' ``abdicate''

the human face of their moral posture

Gov. M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut should not squander the opportunity to aim high. With that admonition, we endorse her for governor.

A Reason to Drill in the Gulf (NYT)

a better idea : use revenues from sales of the new york times

a swamp tax

The best chance of saving the vanishing wetlands and barrier islands along the coast of Louisiana is a bill that would guarantee the state a share of oil and gas revenues from drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Rethinking Judicial Elections (NYT)

must be an op-ed

The 80-year-old system that has allowed New York’s Democratic Party leaders to pack the state Supreme Court with their handpicked favorites is about to expire.

Editorial Observer: Low Fidelity: The Collision of Loyalties in Real and Virtual Football (NYT)

modern times scold

if newspapers were better people would read them instead

By NICHOLAS KULISH

To gloat over a fantasy player’s success against your buddy’s real team would have been roundly condemned 10 years ago. Now it is tacitly accepted.

The Promise of Eliot Spitzer (NYT)

populist nannyism longed for

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s goal — a goal we share as we endorse him for governor in the Nov. 7 election— is nothing short of restoring New York as a model for other states, the way it once was under Al Smith or Nelson Rockefeller or Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Blowing in the Wind (NYT)

maybe, maybe not

wouldn't that be true?

he seems less likely to take popular media positions than the press, so far

that's his attraction, if you hate the media

What finally caused President Bush to very publicly consult with his generals to consider a change in tactics in Iraq was the fear that his party could lose in the Congressional elections next month.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Group: Congo Park Hippos Face Extinction (AP)

hippocracy

Government soldiers, as well as Hutu rebels who fled Rwanda's 1994 genocide and took refuge in the dense forests of eastern Congo, also have been blamed for killing hippos and other wildlife in parks around the country.

Bus Crash Kills 29 in Bolivia (AP)

``plunge'' not in column-filler headline, a rarity

LA PAZ, Bolivia -- A bus plunged off a mountain road in central Bolivia early Saturday, killing 29 people and injuring 25, police said.

Fire on the Water (NYT)

rare fish threatened

Turning the Great Lakes into a live-fire zone is the kind of decision that says little to terrorists but speaks volumes to the rest of us.

The Governor and the Station (NYT)

profit deplored

A complete solution is needed in the redevelopment of part of Manhattan’s grand old post office building into a railroad station.

China’s Milestone, Our Millstone (NYT)

paper is not wealth

The size and growth of China’s holdings of foreign currency and securities, which will soon top $1 trillion, mean increasing vulnerability for the United States.

Flexing Our Muscles in Space (NYT)

violence not caused by gravity

The old notion that space might provide the perfect arena for international cooperation may be yielding to a new era of competition - one not seen since the cold war race to the moon.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Appreciations: A Survivor’s Optimism (NYT)

whining leftist

By MAURA J. CASEY

Sigmund Strochlitz, who died Monday in his home in New London, Conn., typified the determination of so many Holocaust survivors.

Consolidating Food Safety (NYT)

food safety apparatus reorganization crisis

it's compound noun day at the NYT

it ceased to exist in the real world at the second noun, ``safety.''

code for rules.

It should not take a health crisis to force a reorganizing of America’s food safety apparatus.

It’s Voter-Fooling Time in America (NYT)

left stung by offhand remark

Voters need to pay ever closer attention to what the candidates say in this world of mixed media and mixed messages.

Closing in on Hedge Funds (NYT)

editors' 401(k) hit hard

It is time for Congress and federal regulators to take an unflinching look at how deals really get done in today’s markets.

Supertax Me (NYT)

the suggestion tax

By MARTIN B. SCHMIDT

I have a modest suggestion to reverse the obesity trend: enact a tax on drive-through food.

The G.O.P.’s Bad Bet (NYT)

allied themselves with indian casinos, major lobbyists.

By CHARLES MURRAY

A month before a major election, the Republicans have allied themselves with a scattering of voters who are upset by online gambling and have outraged the millions who love it.

Behind the Veil (NYT)

blessed are the beekeepers

The issue in need of serious discussion is not the niqab — the veil that covers all but a woman’s eyes — but the larger question of the place of Europe’s Muslim minority.

Mr. Pombo’s Map (NYT)

must be proposing drilling for oil somewhere

The America that Congressman Richard Pombo of California has in mind for us is a nation committed to devouring itself, one barrel of oil at a time.

Touting the Benefits of Fish (NYT)

code for lesbian lifestyle

Even vulnerable groups, like pregnant women and young children, could benefit by eating more fish if they avoided the most contaminated species.

A Dangerous New Order (NYT)

courts packed by the left bypassed

Administration officials and Republican leaders in Congress wasted no time giving Americans a taste of the order created by the new law on military tribunals.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Hoyer Remark 'Racist,' GOP's Steele Charges (WaPo)

an Uncle Tom Swifty

Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele accused a leading Democratic congressman yesterday of racial insensitivity for saying the Republican candidate has "slavishly" followed the GOP.

No Spoils for the Victors (NYT)

hopefully advanced age of some supreme court wingbats unnoticed

By BRUCE BARTLETT

Congress will be on automatic pilot for the next two years regardless of which party is in control.

Monitoring a Little-Noticed War (NYT)

Dafur unnoticed

All countries with influence, starting with the United States and Japan, should push the Sri Lankan government to allow international human rights monitors.

A Treat Worthy of Cinderella (NYT)

cinderella syndrome

rescue by people of good intentions figures large in the plot

Walt Disney company has announced promising new guidelines for the way it promotes food to its impressionable clientele.

If the Price Is Right (NYT)

works like government, and every, bureaucracy

Too often with leveraged buyouts it is the public stockholders who end up getting the raw end of the deal.

The Odor From Capitol Hill (NYT)

no elections for NYT editor

Congressmen caught in wrongdoing at this time of year like to complain that they’re the victims of election-eve politics. If the looming elections inspire whistleblowers, we say bravo.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Congress’s Charity Cases (NYT)

organizational attractors not recognized

for example, the compassionate left and the editors of the NYT

By FRANCES R. HILL

Charities serve many indispensable purposes, but financing the livings of the powerful and privileged is not one of them.

Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite? (NYT)

connoisseur of death squads

By JEFF STEIN

Too many officials in charge of the war on terrorism just don’t care to learn much, if anything, about the enemy we’re fighting.

Paying for Better Parenting (NYT)

legalizing prostitution suggested

New York is searching for new ways to fight persistent poverty, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Commission for Economic Opportunity has recommended useful reforms.

France in Denial (NYT)

we owe finding absurd and cynical to the French

We found it absurd and cynical when the French National Assembly voted to make it illegal to deny that there was an Armenian genocide.

Energy Shortage (NYT)

one warning sign of passivity : no lines at gas stations

Under President Bush, the Department of Energy has been more passive than ever.

And the Winner Is ... Me (NYT)

deceased voters hardest hit

Voters in Ohio can be forgiven if they feel they have been beamed out of the Midwest and dropped into a third-world autocracy.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Orhan Pamuk’s Nobel Prize (NYT)

apparently has not spoken against global warming

Mr. Pamuk, the Turkish novelist who won this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, lives in a world where the freedom to speak the truth has to be reasserted every day against political forces that would rather not hear it.

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