If I.T. Merged With E.T. (NYT)

burning water at the NYT

by THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

A breakthrough in an energy technology revolution could drive the I.T. revolution into every corner of the world to create jobs.

Belated Frost (NYT)

rural life imagined as extremely dull

By VERLYN KLINKENBORG

I think the first frost has finally come. Two mornings in a row the pasture has turned white, and the thick stands of goldenrod have turned silver.

Twenty-Five Years and Counting (NYT)

international bureaucracy of thugs and criminals favored

There are many reasons to ratify the Law of the Sea, not least the fact that it would allow the U.S. to play a role on a range of global ocean issues.

Help Wanted (NYT)

need discovered

Congress needs to add more visa slots and approve resettlement benefits to Iraqis and Afghans who have served America at great risk.

Exile on Wall Street (NYT)

hallucinated generalization supports lefty

A new chief executive who bears no responsibility for a firm’s previous losses is likely to be more nimble in confronting mistakes of the past.

No Emergency Room (NYT)

squeegee guys wanted


by Bob Herbert

Homeless advocates in New York are facing off against the Bloomberg administration in a fight that threatens to bring back the protracted court battles of a couple of decades ago.

Honey, They Shrunk the Congress (NYT)

subpoena the supreme court

By ADAM COHEN

The Bush administration has usurped a frightening number of Congress’s powers. The question is whether members of Congress of both parties will do anything about it.

Holding Up History (NYT)

billing records forgotten

There is ample support in the House and Senate for repealing President Bush’s 2001 executive order unilaterally repealing the presumption of public access to presidential papers.

Sugar’s Sweetheart Deal (NYT)

corrupt payoffs to wrong people

Rather than taking the opportunity to untangle the sugar program in this year’s farm bill, Congress has decided to bolster the old system.

Governor Spitzer Retreats (NYT)

no non-voting class b stock funding New York State government.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s pivot from his difficult stand on driver’s licenses is a disappointment.

The Information Highway Patrol (NYT)

let many terrorists bloom if it will help democrats

The Department of Homeland Security should respond fully to Congressional inquiries about its plan to monitor communications in the name of protecting the information infrastructure from terrorists.

Counting Americans (NYT)

trifling uncovered

For the founding fathers, the census was not to be trifled with. We wish we could say the same for the Bush administration and Congress.

F.T.C. Goes AWOL (NYT)

one-newspaper town

The abuse of market power to protect a monopoly hurts consumers and hinders innovation.

Trash Talking World War III (NYT)

nappy headed ho'

Four years after his pointless invasion of Iraq, President Bush still confuses bullying with grand strategy.

Did We Do That? (NYT)

so-bad-that-evidence-doesn't-matter approach to science

THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

We may have introduced enough CO2 emissions into Mother Nature’s operating system that we cannot determine anymore where she stopped and we started.

Rudy, the Values Slayer (NYT)

cross dressing skit remembered

by Frank Rich

When Rudy Giuliani’s candidacy started to show legs, pundits and family values activists assumed that voters knew only his 9/11 video reel and not his personal history.

What Part of ‘Illegal’ Don’t You Understand? (NYT)

press 1 for spanish

By LAWRENCE DOWNES

America has a big problem with illegal immigration, but a big part of it stems from the word “illegal.” As a code word for racial and ethnic hatred, it is detestable.

Microsoft’s Slice of Facebook (NYT)

interest group petri dish

Just how valuable is commercial access to a rapidly expanding community of people whose favorite hobby seems to be identifying themselves and their desires?

The Right Model for Juvenile Justice (NYT)

death penalty endorsed

The state of Missouri, which has a nationally recognized model of how to deal effectively with troubled children, shows a way out of the juvenile justice crisis.

Moving Ahead on Mortgages (NYT)

arguments cut through

The Treasury Department’s leadership is needed to cut through the arguments that have impeded efforts to address the housing bust.

Poland, Untwinned (NYT)

mysterious editorial lede.

the command economy must be in the body of it.

All Americans should be pleased that Poland has voted to embrace Europe, modern capitalism and its own best political traditions.

Bringing Calories Out of Hiding (NYT)

fair not to expect, as well

It is perfectly fair to expect chain restaurants to know and share information about what they serve, especially for the sake of good health.

Listen to the States (NYT)

some states run by women

The states can take some satisfaction from the fact that President Bush now concedes, at least rhetorically, that global warming is a problem.

That Old Time Religion (NYT)

cross burnings

President Bush and his cadre may be stuck in the past. But Congress doesn’t have to be. It should restrain the president’s missile defense spending.

Wonkette

I take it back.

The new Wonkette editor sucks.

Dollar Sinks to New Low (AP)

news for AP : if an investor sells, another investor buys.

The data exacerbated concern about the health of the U.S. economy and has caused investors to sell their dollars in a climate of market nervousness ahead of next week's U.S. Federal Reserve Bank meeting on interest rates.

Putin Takes on the Election Observers (NYT)

ploys deprecated

What Vladimir Putin’s K.G.B.-heavy government and its allies clearly do not want is anyone paying too much attention to their antidemocratic ploys.

Denying Children (NYT)

confusion of process and result in service of power

The health of millions of children who lack insurance cannot be held hostage to the president’s visceral distaste for government and its essential role to protect the weak.

Two Pigs (NYT)

like democrats and blacks

By VERLYN KLINKENBORG

The questions people ask make it sound as though I should be morally outraged at myself, as if it’s impossible to scratch the pigs behind the ears and still intend to kill them.

Rational Sentencing (NYT)

voters childlike

Voters deserve a thorough airing on the issue of the Rockefeller laws and options for reforming the most draconian drug laws the country has yet seen.

NASA’s Hidden Air Safety Survey (NYT)

Bush coverup discovered

Michael Griffin should ensure that his agency analyzes its survey and then releases the analysis and all the data so that other experts can look at it as well.

Another $200 Billion (NYT)

not clear on concept of war

Despite a pretense of fiscal prudence, President Bush keeps throwing money at his war, regardless of the cost in blood, treasure or children’s health care.

Madness as Method (NYT)

hawks on warpath

by Maureen Dowd

The hawks are pounding the drums on Iran as they once did on Iraq,

The Fires This Time (NYT)

housing starts are up

While the fire cycle in Southern California is natural — an inevitable and necessary part of local wildland ecology — its economic impact is not.

A Chance to Dream (NYT)

immigration sleeper act

The Senate has a chance today to pluck a small gem from the ashes of the immigration debate by voting for the passage of the Dream Act.

To Be a Journalist in Iraq (NYT)

the women's page

Sahar Issa had a powerful message that we wanted to share with our readers about Iraqi women who risk their lives covering the news.

Tilting the Scales of Justice (NYT)

justice department truthers

The American people have a right to know what happened at the Justice Department. Any wrongful prosecutions should be rectified.

Nobel Winner Issues Apology for Comments About Blacks (NYT)

the offended gene

By CORNELIA DEAN
James D. Watson, who shared the 1962 Nobel prize for deciphering the double-helix of DNA, apologized “unreservedly” yesterday for comments reported this week suggesting that black people, over all, are not as intelligent as whites.

Rewarding Good Teaching (NYT)

stick not tried

New York City’s new incentives strategies represent a good first step toward the goal of attracting teachers to the most challenging schools.

Gains Against Cancer (NYT)

early detection gets you paying longer

The turnaround in the drop of cancer death rates appears to be mainly a triumph in prevention and early detection rather than dazzling medical cures.

Last Chance for Farm Reform (NYT)

serious thought urged

President Bush, who has generally been on the right side of the farm issue, should think seriously about vetoing a deeply disappointing farm bill.

With Democrats Like These ... (NYT)

pelosi characterized

Democratic leaders were cowed, once again, by propaganda from the White House and failed, once again, to modernize the law on electronic spying.

Catching Up to a Sad Parade (NYT)

love of process

President Bush must back up his call for swift action by quickly filling the vacancy of secretary of veterans affairs.

Honoring the Dalai Lama (NYT)

llama power

We would like to think that the spiritual leader’s dedication to tolerance might rub off on the people he meets in Washington.

The Attorney General Nominee (NYT)

editor troubled

There were some troubling statements and gaps in Michael Mukasey’s testimony at his confirmation hearing.

Putting Poor Children Second (NYT)

women's right to vote noticed

House members should vote to override President Bush’s veto on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

On Bonuses and Leaving Iraq (NYT)

desperate reminder found

Big cash bonuses are another desperate reminder of how little planning was done for the Iraq war, and how much damage it has done to America’s forces.

Gore Derangement Syndrome (NYT)

syndrome discovered

by Paul Krugman

What is it about Al Gore that drives right-wingers insane? The worst thing about him, from the conservative point of view, is that he keeps being right.

AIM Leader Vernon Bellecourt Dies at 75 (AP)

gone to happy hunting ground

Vernon Bellecourt, who fought against the use of Indian nicknames for sports teams as a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement, has died at age 75.

Spies, Lies and FISA (NYT)

shred and uphold are the two usual choices in editorials

easier than reading the thing.

We have watched Republican lawmakers help President Bush shred the Constitution in the name of fighting terrorism. It is time for that to stop.

The Trivial Pursuit (NYT)

no controlling legal or scientific authority

by Bob Herbert

Al Gore may be remarkably well-equipped to lead the nation, but it’s George W. who is president.

Russian Reservations (NYT)

New authoritarian Russia is a friend to the NYT.

Central control for everybody, an editorial position agreeable to them.

Vladimir Putin could do good for Russia if he told the Iranians that they must halt nuclear enrichment and accept diplomatic payoffs if they do.

Homeland Bunkers and Alien Litterbugs (NYT)

Buzzwords protected from rust by galvanization.

Galvanizing the Homeland Security Department with effective leadership should be high on the national agenda for the presidential candidates.

Campaigning on Pension Gold (NYT)

pools of money attract flies, a general rule.

The sole trustee system of New York’s pension fund is good for the politicians who control it, but it is terrible for the workers whose pensions are at stake.

A Prize for Mr. Gore and Science (NYT)

Actually, science comes from curiosity, not courage.

Courage can in fact give you a jump-the-tuna effect when the media line up one too many times.

Al Gore and the United Nations panel of scientists have shown how much citizens with courage can do to raise awareness about the danger of global warming.

Wonkette

I don't understand the slamming of Wonkette these days, on the political right.

I'm as political right as anybody and find it entertaining. Prose in the style of Mencken or early R. Emmett Tyrrell, but on the political left and with scandalous language.

I disagreed with Imus about everything too, but still he was entertaining.

Nobody likes words anymore.

Decoding Coulter (Wonkette)

perfecting would mean get over the holding a grudge part.

All day long the news channels have been running this clip of Ann Coulter telling Donny Deutsch she wishes Jews would convert to Christianity to "become perfected," which amused me vaguely now that I'm pretty sure what she does qualifies as "performance art," until I saw the nine thousandth pundit come on and decry her "anti-Semitism" and finally felt compelled to point out what is really very obvious to anyone with experience as a self-hating Gentile: Ann Coulter seriously has a massive hard-on for the Jews.

She is so totally pro-Semitic she is dating a Jew, probably the latest in a long string of Jews, at least one of whom, down the line, had a mom who objected to her not on the basis of her batshit brand of batshitism but her supposed "Christianity," and when Ann looked into the whole conversion thing and realized how insanely complicated the Jews make it versus the whole "splash of water" method she thought, "Well for fuck's sake, we managed to eliminate the red tape here, and we're the biggest religion in the world. What's their excuse for making this like Soviet Russia??" Also, so you know: "We know we're all sinners" is basically tantamount to saying, "I, too, have had my share of abortions." Don't worry though, none of the unborn were potential Jews, because you can't be Jewish without a Jewish mother! Which, praise Jesus, Ann Coulter will never be. The "mother" part, especially.

The United States Attorneys Scandal Comes to Mississippi (NYT)

scandal reimagined

By ADAM COHEN

Many key players in the U.S. attorneys scandal are gone, but Congress has a lot of work to do in uncovering the damage they have done to the justice system.

Too Timid for Tax Increases (NYT)

no boding in economics at the NYT

It does not bode well that America’s leaders can’t even see their way to raising the obviously too low taxes on private equity partners.

Supreme Disgrace (NYT)

baffled by separation of powers and wartime, the NYT brings in what it supposes is the big guns

In refusing to consider Khaled el-Masri’s appeal, the Supreme Court has left an innocent person without any remedy for his wrongful imprisonment.

Criminalization of the War

``Criminalization of the war'' misses the point a little.

It's making the legal system responsible for what makes the legal itself system possible.

That doesn't work. The topology is wrong.

The legal system is made possible by a basic access to overwhelming violence.

The legal system only seems to be possible a priori. That's intellectuals arguing about how they're better than those who preceded them.

The Angriest Justice (NYT)

plantation abandoned

The rage that Justice Clarence Thomas harbors raises questions about whether he can sit as an impartial judge in many of the cases the Supreme Court hears.

Misleading Spin on Children’s Health (NYT)

mysterious question answered

Like so many things that President Bush has gotten wrong, he’d already made up his mind and had no interest in listening to others’ arguments.

The Administrative Imperative: Always Lower the Stakes (Stanley Fish)

Defensive gender inclusiveness doubled.

Grammatical swerve to not split infinitive.

John Kerryish doubled direct object.

This is known as a ``plonking sentence,'' one used to end a conversation in your favor at parites.

The obligation of a senior administrator is to conduct himself or herself in such a way as always to bring honor and credit to the institution he or she serves.

Pet Lost and Found

Not like any cat I know.

male nutered cat. Answers to Cole.

ABC News : Justice Thomas

white racists worse than liberals

For Thomas, the menacing racists who donned white sheets in the segregated South of his childhood are as bad or worse as the northern liberal zealots in suits and ties.

"These people who claim to be progressive … have been far more vicious to me than any southerner," Thomas says, "and it is purely ideological."