Still Battering the Katrina Homeless (NYT)

the only alternative is to get a job now

The federal government's disastrous handling of the Katrina housing crisis is looking more and more like an attempt to force displaced families into the streets.

Where America Leads ... (NYT)

deploring as strategy

It is incumbent on China and the Arab world to join the Bush administration in pressuring the Sudanese government to sign onto a peace deal and allow in U.N. troops.

The Sleeping Giant (NYT)

guest voter program public relations concern

Whether Monday's immigration protests stumble or soar, participants should strive to avoid damaging their worthy cause.

McCain on Imus, on Campaign Free Speech Reform

McCain : ``Well [Michael Graham] also mentioned about my abridgement of First Amendment rights, ie talking about Campaign Finance Reform, my response to that criticism is, I worked in Washington and I know that money corrupts, and I and a lot of other people were trying to stop that corruption, and obviously from what we've been seeing lately we didn't complete the job, but I would rather have a clean government than one whose quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I'd rather have the clean government.''

http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/imuscut.mccain3.ram real audio

Greening the American Lawn (NYT)

NYT spots political impediment to busybody

Cleaning up lawnmowers, a potent spewer of smog-forming compounds, could be fairly simple. The big obstacle isn't technical — it's political.

Drug Safety After the Fact (NYT)

it's reform day at the NYT

look for death reform

A Congressional investigation of the nation's procedures for evaluating the safety and efficacy of drugs that are already on the market makes it clear that reforms are badly needed.

Making the U.N. Work (NYT)

NYT uncurious why this always happens

in any organization that can't die when it goes dysfunctional, the organization goes dysfunctional.

Management and budget reform are vitally important to the United Nations because its current procedures date to its early days and simply no longer work.

The Immigration Impasse (NYT)

reversal : NYT calls for Presidential leadership

President Bush offered bland generalities in the debate over immigration when presidential leadership was urgently needed.

Anointed, Not Appointed (NYT)

NYT unlistened to

George W. Bush's high-handed attitude toward his own majority in Congress keeps getting worse.

Great Wall of Fluff (NYT)

NYT pals dissed

The White House downgraded the protocol, lowered the expectations and erased the substance for the president of China's visit.

The Politics of Pot (NYT)

bureaucratic instinct is moral failing since it's Bush

a long list of conservatives are against the war on drugs

The Bush administration's habit of politicizing its scientific agencies was on display again when the F.D.A. issued a statement disputing the therapeutic value of marijuana.

67 Killed When Bus Slides Off Mexico Cliff

bus-plunge genre has honorable tradition as column filler

this one has been elevated to disaster status.

the rule for disasters is, for foreign, ``including XXX Americans,'' and for domestic, ``including XXX children.''

but now the soap possibilities are seized directly, going for the women with child-death heartstring-pulling.

it's the ruination of the venerable column-filler tradition.

A vastly overcrowded passenger bus veered off a highway emergency ramp and crashed through a metal barrier Monday, plunging more than 650 feet into a ravine in western Mexico. At least 67 people were killed, including four children.

Four people _ including an 8-year-old girl _ were injured in the wreck that came as the bus traveled on steep mountainous roads.

The Next Treasury Secretary (NYT)

we get our own economic news from democratic underground commenters

The Bush administration needs new economic policies, not a better pitchman for its old policies.

AT&T and Domestic Spying (NYT)

the judge-should-replace-Rumsfield universe

If AT&T is violating its customers' privacy rights, it should come clean, and stop immediately.

An Unkept Promise in Iraq (NYT)

editorial tone generator

this is only a test

we now return you to your regular newspaper

Let it not be said that Iraqis died needlessly because America walked away from its promise of health clinics.

More Medical Schools Requiring PDAs

A PDA is a PhD without the Latin requirement

Traps Empty in Hunt for Killer Tenn. Bear

shark story genre retains swimming reference

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- A popular mountaintop campground remained closed Saturday as officials searched for signs of the black bear that killed a 6-year-old girl near a swimming hole.

Firefighters Find Secret Stash in Basement

why are there no solar-powered marijuana-cultivating systems

The marijuana-cultivating system was wired to the home's electrical system in a way that bypassed the meter, said Michael Barnhardt, acting director of the task force. Such wiring would help a grower avoid the large electric bills that clue in investigators, he said.

Boy Attacked by Mountain Lion in Colorado

shark attack genre morphs into land predator form

that way you get children

"This is a very rare incident to happen," Baskfield said. "Mountain lions tend to be very elusive. Typically mountain lions don't want any part of people."

Academic Studies Starbucks Cultural Impact

these are people who don't own dogs

Starbucks and other coffee houses, he believes, fill "some kind of deep desire for connection with other people."

17 U.Va. Students Arrested After Sit-In

jail is the perfect place for a sit-in

The students were taken into custody without incident and were transported to the city jail to be booked on trespassing charges, activist Amy Kniss said.

2 Kids Hurt in Money Drop at Mich. Game

have everybody sign a waiver when they're born, is my suggestion

"It's for fun and games," spokeswoman Katie Kroft said. "This is why we have everybody sign a waiver."

Senator urges direct US-Iran talks

let-a-thousand-foreign-policies-shine school

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should hold direct talks with Iran on its nuclear program and go slow on sanctions, a leading Republican senator said on Sunday in contrast with the Bush administration stance of limited contacts and increased pressure over Tehran's nuclear program.

Blood and Oil (NYT)

NYT favors welfare state solution

introduce liberal guilt to Nigerian oil

rather than, say, property rights so you can mortgage your hut and get a loan to start a business

you don't want the government to care, but for it not to matter whether they care.

people take care of each other, given the slighest opportunity.

stamping this out is the way of the welfare state.

It is time for Nigeria's government to begin taking into account the plight of the people who live around the oil wells that have sustained the country for so long.

A Bad Leak (NYT)

the bad-character-of-my-opponent genre

President Bush has never shown the slightest interest in disclosure, except when it suits his political purposes.

Black and white at Duke (Suzanne Fields)

the self-destructive instinct in writers

The lacrosse scandal hovers over Duke and Durham as a cloud of gloom, threatening to darken the surrounding forest greens, with azaleas exploding in colorful profusion and wisteria adding a lavender blush to roads and paths.

Worshippers Gather After Deadly Storms

gaia angry

MADISON, Tenn. -- The Metro Baptist Church congregation gathered under a basketball scoreboard and state championship banners in a school gymnasium Sunday, a temporary place to worship after a twister ripped the church building's stucco and concrete blocks from its steel frame two days earlier.

Searchers Find Second Body in Ohio River

the 4th guy is the designated driver

The four men, along with three women, were in the vehicle when it ran off a boat ramp and into the river after the group left a bar around 3 a.m., police said.

New Photos of Mars Show Craters, Gullies

you get craters and gullies because they tuned up the software on moon photos. they find craters and gullies in everything.

science is entirely public relations

curiosity left long ago

funding is everything

LOS ANGELES -- Scientists have processed more than a dozen new photos taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which arrived at the Red Planet last month, including its first color image.

Emotional Exxon Valdez Hearing Held

the tanker of tears , a new series for women

the lede itself makes no literal sense but : it doesn't matter!

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Oil that spilled when the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground on a jagged rock in 1989 still lingers on and just below Alaska's surface.

Screaming Intruder Jumps White House Fence

adverbial adjunct jumps fence

WASHINGTON -- A screaming intruder made it onto the front lawn of the White House Sunday while President Bush was at home before being apprehended by Secret Service officers.

4 Teens Arrested in Death of NYU Student

the secret life genre

A relative of Guzman, who identified himself as Uncle Louie, said his nephew was a good student who never missed school and had awards for attendance.

Mich. Officer Accused of Striking Student

obviously the officer snapped

"We're going to try to the case in the sanctity of the courtroom," said Gauthier's lawyer Norbert Leonard.

Girl, 14, Shot Dead at Birthday Party

a birthyday party death AND an arm death!

in the 70s, small children dying in mothers' arms staged a huge presence in the news.

it's back! arm death

as well as the birthday party death genre

a bathos combination that can't fail

NORTH AMITYVILLE, N.Y. -- A 14-year-old girl dancing at a friend's birthday party was shot through a window by someone in the back yard and died in her sister's arms, police said.

Specter Calls for Bush to Speak on Leak

brainless man speaks on legless story

WASHINGTON -- President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should speak publicly about their involvement in the CIA leak case so people can understand what happened, a leading Republican senator said Sunday.

Kerry: Taking Federal Money a Mistake

there are no interesting kerry ledes

nice try, but give it up

the nation's most delusional senator

WASHINGTON -- Was it his campaign's slow response to the swift boat advertisements or the remark that he voted for Iraq war money before he voted against it that John Kerry regrets most from his failed bid for the White House?

Thousands Rally for Immigrants Across U.S.

the human touch makes women tune in

but it signals to men : this story is for women

news is edited for women, and every public debate is mediated by this crap as a result.

if women don't like it, it's not on the public airwaves.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Wearing a bright green T-shirt emblazoned with the word "Mexico," 18-year-old Marco Tapia couldn't wait to join the biggest march for immigrants he had ever seen.

Ind. Town Awaits Word on Hostage in Iraq

all quagmire all the time, home front version.

no progress in iraq folks, move along.

LAPORTE, Ind. -- The American flags put up along this town's main street after Jeffrey Ake was abducted in Iraq a year ago are gone now. With little word on his fate, the ribbons put up in his honor on lampposts have given way to ones supporting troops in Iraq.

More Actual News from the Ron Hardin Household

``Vicki'' born 4/6, black & rust, ears to be left uncropped, put down $200 deposit.

The advice of experts : ``Another dog, same breed, as soon as possible.''

That leaves 8 weeks to puppy-proof the house.

It will take that long.

Actual News from the Ron Hardin Household

Annie is gone Annie's page glomerular kidney failure

WILD STORMS KILL MANY IN MIDWEST AND SOUTH; HAIL THE SIZE OF GRAPEFRUIT [Drudge headline]

Food is tumors. Hail is always sports equipment. eg. in the story itself (AP) :

The brunt of the storms, some packing softball-sized hail, blasted an area between the small town of Newbern, about 80 miles northeast of Memphis, to Bradford.

Medicare Drug Challenges (NYT)

the illuminated hurdle paradox

The Medicare prescription drug program faces two hurdles that may shed light on whether it is on the road to recovery or perhaps irredeemably flawed.

Scientists Focus on Warming Disasters

you might think that the disagreement of other models would say they're all unreliable.

look instead at which models successfully produce funding for further development from the government.

those survive.

it's the career-minded politically-active scientist effect.

Nearly two dozen computer models now agree that by 2100, the average yearly global temperature will be 3 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit higher than now, according to Gerald Meehl, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Depression Hits Some Preachers' Wives

the women's page

SELMER, Tenn. -- Mary Winkler was the quiet, unassuming wife of a small-town, by-the-Bible preacher, seemingly devoted to church and family. But now her husband, Matthew, is dead and she is charged with shooting him in the back with a shotgun.

Authorities won't discuss a motive, and church members say they didn't see any indication she was unhappy. But experts say preachers' wives often struggle with depression and isolation, expected to be exemplars of Christian virtue while bearing unique pressures on their private and public lives.

The Road to Canonization Is Paved With Humanity (NYT)

let's not forget good intentions

Why John Paul II seems destined to be a saint.

The Over-the-Top Justice (NYT)

moralize the political and politicize the moral

Supreme Court justices have a duty to avoid behavior hurtful to the court's reputation and mission, which Justice Antonin Scalia keeps ignoring.

Doubling Up on Literacy Classes (NYT)

the weekly ``mystery editorial''

There is something strange about criticizing schools for trying to teach children to read.

The Endgame in Iraq (NYT)

no NYT subscribers in Iraq

Iraq is becoming a country that America should be ashamed to support, let alone occupy.

Preparing for Nature's Attack (NYT)

tax increases

Is government ready to deal with climate change's effects?

An Outside-the-Park Investigation (NYT)

also ``has to be'' in addition to ``needs to be'' and ``demands to be''

my Doberman is on steroids for a back problem and has already hit a dozen home runs

For a steroid investigation of Major League Baseball to be credible, it would have to look at all of baseball -- not just the players.

How About That Game? (NYT)

in addition to the NYT editorial ``needs to be'' there is the ``demands to be'' fix, used in elegant variation, so every editorial isn't the same word for word.

The men's college basketball semifinals demand to be watched live if they're going to be watched at all. And that's a big part of their appeal.

Anatomy of a Flawed Company (NYT)

the NYT ``need to be'' construction solves everything every day by having no perverse side effects

Companies need to be far more forthcoming about publicizing defects with their products and a high priority needs to be placed on preventing deaths from malfunctions.

Rescuing Reform in Paris (NYT)

NYT takes to the streets

The mounting protests over France's new youth employment law threaten to dissuade the government from attempting the broad social and economic reforms the country needs.

New Orleans Needs a Leader (NYT)

elections are not affected by the number voting. you get the same percentage and the same winner with any number participating. polls in fact depend on it, where the largest sample you see is never more than a thousand.

but if you mean you want Blacks to vote, ie. more democrats, in increased numbers, that's another matter.

hard work is needed to ensure democrats win, the NYT means.

Hard work is needed to ensure that as many voters as possible in New Orleans can exercise their rights on Election Day.