In Which I Defend Katie Couric

Drudge is having a little fun at Ms. Couric's expense by highlighting her vacation time with the headline "News to Her:  Couric Lounges in South Beach as Egypt in Turmoil".  What should she be doing?  That's her vacation time.  One could argue that there's always news to report, so obviously a reporter (excuse me, anchorwoman) is going to miss out on a few stories whenever she takes her vacation. 

Does Katie Couric have some superhero abilities that we're unaware of?  Can her perkiness save Egypt?

Ludicrous Speed

When I read the headline, "NY mob task force spends 6 MONTHS probing 50-cent sausage heist", I thought it must just be a sensational take on a truck full of 50-cent sausages getting robbed.  But no, this is an actual on-going investigation by the "Waterfront Commission in Bayonne, NJ of a robbery worth $2.50 (there was some iced tea involved as well).

The commission was blasted in August 2009 - one year before the sausage investigation was launched - as home to corrupt execs barely better than the waterfront's notorious mobsters. Officials were accused in a damning 60-page report of misusing Homeland Security money, keeping a convicted crook in business and surfing the Internet for porn. The iced-tea-and-sausage probe - which has yet to wrap up - is considered an embarrassment among investigators and dock workers. "They snicker about it," one of the sources said. So ...  someone (or more likely, some commission) commissioned an investigation into the commission tasked with policing and investigating crime at the port, the commission investigating the commission then issued a 60-page report and the investigation into the missing sausage and iced tea has yet to wrap up?  Absurd. What's the root of the problem here?  How did this happen to us?  How do we allow such absurdity, and more importantly, why do we pay for it?

State of the Union

So far, what I'm wondering is why the hell do 80% of Americans need access to high-speed rail?

More thoughts later.

UPDATED:  Eh, I don't really have any other thoughts.  I think the above about sums it up.

Aaaaah, Berkeley

Does this strike anyone else as frivolous in times such as these?  Berkeley taxpayers may pay for sex-change surgery.  Really?

A Heartwarming Story . . .

Heartwarming in the sense that my blood is boiling.  In Houston, paperwork and permits are required to feed the homeless.  I know this is the case in pretty much every city (if not all) and I acknowledge the concerns about  food safety that are the origins of these regulations.  Leaving aside the fact that I think we as human beings should be able to discern for ourselves whether or not it is wise to purchase food from certain establishments, why the heck do you need a permit to give it away on a street corner?


Kathy Barton of Health and Human Services says that "poor people are the most vulnerable to foodborne illness and also are the least likely to have access to health care."  Those pesky little poor people, what to do with them?  Poor people couldn't possibly decide for themselves as human beings whether the risk of food poisoning is worth the reward of a much-needed meal.  Thank God for Kathy Barton!   What would poor people do without her to protect them from their greatest threat -- salmonella?  

Woman vs. Home

Alright, Dear Readers, I've been homebound for going on 5 days now due to the snow/ice storm that has paralyzed Atlanta.  And as I was thinking about the coping mechanisms required for such a situation, I realized the Bear Grylls' Man vs. Wild-type scenario that Atlantans are in.  Obviously, we all have different ways of passing the time, but there are survival techniques to be used here:

• Don't have a movie marathon the first day with all your favorite flicks (same goes for all the episodes of your favorite TV show).  Conserve.  You don't know how long this could last.
• If given enough warning, get to the store and while others are focusing on the "essentials" of milk, bread and eggs, you go for the Ding Dongs, Cheetos, and cookie dough.  If you're a health food nut, well, this is your excuse to experience the sublime flavors of trans-fat and processed cheese in all their glory.
• Mess.  If you're not a messy person and keep a clean and organized house, then you'll need to make a mess for yourself to clean up (I hear kids are very helpful in this area, too).  For the rest of us, we can simply pick whichever project we'd like to tackle.  My Day 2 was spent organizing my kitchen utensils.
• Books.  If you're a reader, then this is an ideal situation for you.  Hopefully, you have a new book you're enjoying that will help you pass the time.  If not, pick up that old favorite and visit your old friends.  
• Walks.  Do explore your neighborhood.  I met several new neighbors on my first sojourn out of the house.  There's nothing better than snow to bring together a bunch of Southerners.  

That's all I can think of right now.  If Day 5 uncovers any new techniques, I'll be sure to share them.

Yes, Atlanta is Ill-Prepared for Winter Inclement Weather, But . . .

“I'm supposed to be delivering right now... and I mean, I can barely back out the driveway,” a trucker told [WSB Reporter] Jones.


Just so we're clear, you know that your driveway is your responsibility, right?  The government doesn't come salt it and shovel it for you.  

But What Will Protect Us From Them?

In the aftermath of the Tucson shooting, House members are now calling for a plexiglass "security shield" over the House floor to protect them from their supposed would-be assassins.  Seems like a bit of overkill (can I say "overkill"?).  Aren't there already security measures in place to make sure that no firearms can be brought into the Capitol?

Are they afraid of someone breaking out with a diving leg drop on them in the middle of some inane debate?  Because while I don't condone or advocate violence against our government officials, I would accept a nominal tax increase to see that.

Our government already operates within a metaphorical bubble, why should they construct a physical one as well?

Proud to be an American

Kevin Williamson makes an excellent point about the nature of Americans' response to the Tucson shooting as well as the response to other violent actions in our recent history.  Bottom line:  we are a sane, measured and thoughtful people and for that, we should all be grateful and proud.

Dog Bites Man: Politicians Say Mean Things About and To Each Other

This article came to me via Facebook.  It attempts to posit a theory about what spurred Jared Loughner to open fire on Rep. Giffords event.  There's one problem with this totally partisan theory -- it is absurd.  Rhetoric doesn't kill people, people kill people.  And to believe that only conservatives dish out violent rhetoric towards their liberal opponents is to live in a world that is entirely different than the one I inhabit.

Setting aside the fact that whatever Loughner is, he is not some ultra right-wing activist who shot at Rep. Giffords to make a political statement -- or at least not a political statement that would be at all recognizable to any mainstream conservatives or liberals in this country -- let's look at the facts.  And the facts are this -- the aggressive tone of criticism against President Obama and the Democrats does not even approach the level of insanity and violent rhetoric aimed at his predecessor.

The Republicans are not the sole arbiters of vitriol in Washington and America at large as this author Jeremy Bloom seems to think:

Everyone decries the “incivility in Washington”, but nobody is willing to point the finger where it belongs. And no, it’s not “the same thing” when some random guy on the Internet spews anti-Republican hatred, and the leader of the House Republicans foments hatred against his Democratic colleagues.

The article then goes on to scold John Boehner for using the term "dead man" when speaking of his opponent's vote for the healthcare bill.  Ugly stuff -- also ugly is Senator Harry Reid's comparison of the healthcare bill's opponents to opponents of the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage.  Last I checked, Senator Reid, although he often impersonates one, is not "some random guy on the Internet spew[ing] anti-Republican hatred."  We can go round and round comparing and contrasting the ugly things people on both sides say to and about each other.  There are no political points to be won here, so why is this author even trying and why are people buying it?

As a commenter at Althouse pointed out:

Anyone else find it creepy that new standard what me may and may not say is: How will it affect the behavior of an abviously crazy person who may or may not hear it?

Unfortunately, not enough people find it creepy.

Huh?

A town in New Jersey is proposing to randomly drug test middle schoolers.  What the what?  Here's what Principal Szabocsik had to say about it:

“We’re hoping that the students if they’re at say a party or someone’s house or just hanging out somewhere, that they’ll say ‘I don’t want to get involved in drinking or using any drug because tomorrow could be a drug testing day.’”

See, this is all about control.  You don't want to deter kids from doing drugs by showing them how it could ruin their lives and harm their health and mental capacity.  No, that would be ridiculous.  Kids shouldn't do drugs because tomorrow could be a drug testing day.   Please.

As I have said before, I think drugs should be legal.  As a somewhat rebellious and experimental teenager, I dabbled in some drugs as I believe many other teenagers did.  I didn't abstain from harder drugs because they were illegal, I abstained because I was scared of what drugs like cocaine or heroin would do to me and my mind.  And in my case, I was much more frightened of my parents than I was of any government rules.

I can't imagine being a parent in this New Jersey town and having to submit my child to drug testing against my will.  Where does it end?  We need to decide who is ultimately responsible for the raising of our children -- us or the government?  Unfortunately, I feel like the wrong answer has already been given in too many places and it will be very difficult to now change course.

Tucson

I should have something to say about this awful business in Arizona, but I don't have a lot to add.  The shooter, this Loughner person, is obviously very disturbed. Because the shooting took place at a political/government event and the victims include government officials, we are prone to thinking the motive would be political, but I think he's just a psycho who may have fixated on Rep. Giffords and decided to harm her dramatic fashion.

It's not that I don't think we should examine this crime and learn from it, but I think the tendency to think the learning will be impactful politically is misplaced.  He's crazy, just as John Hinckley is crazy.  Anyway, that's my thinking.