Lileks. Now. Read. Smoking gun. ABC's Nightline.

And more, of course.....because it is Lileks.....including his telling Salam Pax, "F*** you!".

Chamber of Commerce: Changing of the Guard? Or Shake-up?

I found this in what I thought would be another Wiggam-esque (read way off topic) comment:

"Tommy Franks: Martial Law Will Replace Constitution After Next Terror Attack"

From The CounterRevolutionary:

"Inspired by the Life magazine from Jessica's Well and the Saturday Evening Post posted by Instapundit, I went off to the library. The New York Public Library has a database of New York Times articles dating from 1857.

In the span of an hour, I found many articles dating from late 1945 and 1946 about the occupation of Germany. They were uniformly pessimistic."

An interesting (and lovely) thought from a blog that looks experimental and is set up in a domain in such a way so that it looks like an employee may be messing with blogging there very unofficially....so that is why I am not going to link:

"Is it just me or does the Left seem, these days, more pathetic and vile than ever before? It's almost as though we're in a transition period. What I mean is that there must have been a time when, for example, the segregationists, just prior to having been rendered obsolete, were, by obligation, still invited to every debate and on every ballot. The current crop of Democrats, the increasingly less mainstream version of the Left, seems to fit this bill (no pun intended). That George Bush should have to stoop so low as to debate Al Sharpton (potentially) on national television really makes one wonder: What have the Democrats become? This is not your father's Democratic Party."

A huge, major league, world-class BUST. What, you say? Michael Jackson? No. Anna-Nicole Smith, then? Um, no.

The London protest marches.

"'You've got to write about the anti-Bush marchers,' he said. 'Get out into the streets and get some colour. There must be thousands of them! Go, paras, go!' Yessir, I said, and ran out into Whitehall. Helicopters whirred above.

Thousands of yellow-jacketed policemen dotted the deserted streets, like dandelions sprouting from concrete. Riot fencing ran in ribbons round Westminster. But where were the rioters?"

The Eurasian and his compensation fetish have shown up in the comments of this humble blog. Check these out:

"....which you yourselves are unwilling to compensate me when you use my work, and most of all which even President George W. Bush himself, even Sec of Commerce Don Evans himself are all unwilling to compensate me, the eurasian guy who originated the idea of giving you all $300.00 EACH. Yet, Pres. Bush himself, Mrs. Laura Bush herself, Mr. Don Evans himself, Mrs. Don Evans herself, even their mothers and fathers themselves have received each about $300.00 each, I think. In fact all of you together, about 110 million taxpayers, have gotten about 30 BILLION DOLLARS from that idea alone."

and

"I said, I'm tired of these officials who are supposed to solve these problems. Yet when we bring solutions such as these to them, they just want to get these free and not pay anything as just compensation."

NOTE FROM SITE ADMIN: Maybe it is this blog that should get it's due compensation from the Eurasian. I mean, bandwidth isn't free, this isn't his blog, yet he continues to use this blog as a platform to claim that every idea in the world (good or bad) originated with him. And we let him do it for free. Maybe I should ban him until he can prove to me that he has hit the tip jar.

The more I ponder the concept of Channel 9’s On Patrol series, the more flat-out angry it makes me. These people have journalism degrees (if they have degrees at all), not law enforcement degrees. Other than their questionable ability to operate a radar gun, they have no formal training in use of discretion, the Texas Transportation Code, or in how to assess the dynamics of traffic. What they are apparently very well trained in, however, is how to be alarmists and create sensationalism:

"Are you afraid your child could be the next accidental tragedy, the next victim of a speeding driver?"

There you have it, folks. It’s all being done for the children, not for ratings. Whew! What a relief. They just want little Milo to be safe, that’s all. It has nothing to do with creating a world’s-scariest-police-video-type reality TV vibe, whereby Channel 9 can cash-in on a current fad. Channel 9 is doing it all because they care about you personally, folks -- just like your government.

As a former member of law enforcement, I can tell you that driving faster than the speed limit -- in and of itself -- rarely causes accidents. Europe is a good example of how excellent driver training and road culture results in fewer traffic fatalities per-capita, even with much higher speed limits (or no speed limit at all in some instances). Inattentiveness and poor driver skill are what cause crashes in the vast majority of cases.

“Safe” speed is also relative to the vehicle, since the transfer of kinetic energy at impact is what causes damage and injury. A transport truck moving at 30 miles per hour carries the same amount of kinetic energy as a motorcycle moving at 90 miles per hour. So if Channel 9 really wants the streets to be “safer,” they can do a series on how transport trucks shouldn’t be allowed to travel at any speed faster than 6.4 miles per hour. It would be no more idiotic than the series they’re doing now.

Note to Channel 9: The function of journalism is to gather and report facts. That's all. It is not the function of journalism to "make a difference" or to "keep people safe." So how's about sticking to your job description and stop insulting our intelligence.

UPDATE: Well, I certainly got my come-uppance! The BBC reports 100,000 protestors.....meaning that there were at least half again as many protestors as those who showed up in person to watch the A&M-Baylor game.

Our President in England on the links between our countries:

The fellowship of generations is the cause of common beliefs. We believe in open societies ordered by moral conviction. We believe in private markets, humanized by compassionate government. We believe in economies that reward effort, communities that protect the weak, and the duty of nations to respect the dignity and the rights of all. And whether one learns these ideals in County Durham or in West Texas, they instill mutual respect and they inspire common purpose.

And on the War on Terror:

Through world war and cold war, we learned that idealism, if it is to do any good in this world, requires common purpose and national strength, moral courage and patience in difficult tasks. And now our generation has need of these qualities.

On September the 11th, 2001, terrorists left their mark of murder on my country, and took the lives of 67 British citizens. With the passing of months and years, it is the natural human desire to resume a quiet life and to put that day behind us, as if waking from a dark dream. The hope that danger has passed is comforting, is understanding, and it is false. The attacks that followed -- on Bali, Jakarta, Casablanca, Bombay, Mombassa, Najaf, Jerusalem, Riyadh, Baghdad, and Istanbul -- were not dreams. They're part of the global campaign by terrorist networks to intimidate and demoralize all who oppose them.

These terrorists target the innocent, and they kill by the thousands. And they would, if they gain the weapons they seek, kill by the millions and not be finished. The greatest threat of our age is nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons in the hands of terrorists, and the dictators who aid them. The evil is in plain sight. The danger only increases with denial. Great responsibilities fall once again to the great democracies. We will face these threats with open eyes, and we will defeat them.

Right and right on! Read the whole speech here and a nice commentary on it here. Would that the speech was getting as much coverage as the protesters.

From Samizdata on Our President in England:

Bond on Dubya
A famous Texan is over here in town. So, given the rude noises coming out of the bottom-feeders of the 'peace' movement, with their oh-so original cracks about the 'cowboy Bush', here's a quotation to ponder taken from Ian Fleming's first, and arguably best, James Bond adventure, Casino Royale:

"Bond reflected that Americans were fine people, and that most of them seemed to come from Texas."

No rudeness implied, by the way, to citizens of any state outside the Lone Star State, just in case folk get upset!

Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs is a little more than just wary of the idea of leasing out the water rights of 650,000 acres of GLO land.....at less than market value. This from the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association newsletter:

"'The concept of using a state asset for long-term good for all Texans has merit,' Combs concurs.

But she is worried that it could cause irreparable harm to wildlife, the environment and rural economic development. The lease is being proposed for 20 cents an acre on 646,548 acres. Leases in the area normally range from 50 cents to $2 an acre across that part of the state.

'So why the low-cost deal? Who benefits?' queries Combs.

'There’s another hitch,' she continues. 'This proposal isn't subject to a competitive bid—although many gas leases by the GLO are. Is water less valuable? Nope. Is there any good reason for this not to be opened to the public for comment? Can’t think of any.'"

I am bringing this up from the comments section of the Rio Nueva post:

"If you want to grill some of the people involved, the Region F Water Planning Group is having a meeting at 1 p.m. on Thursday at the Van Horn Convention and Visitor's Center. Region F represents the border counties from El Paso to the Big Bend and is where most of the proposed public lands Rio Nuevo is seeking rights to are located (El Paso also has water rights in the area, after buying a ranch near Valentine about 15 years ago, so it will be interesting to see how Region F board members handle this issue)."

From Ralph Peters in todays New York Post:

"THIS week, TV screens will fill with protests against American policy. As President Bush visits Britain, European leftists will gather to denounce him as a threat to world peace. Mock courts will judge our president and find him guilty on every wild charge. But the most instructive demonstrations will be those that won't happen.
We won't hear a word about Saddam's tyranny, about his wars or the mass graves still being unearthed. No demonstrator will celebrate the liberation of 25 million people.

All we'll hear from the streets is that Bush is bad.

No protesters will chant about the Iraqi families sundered, the fathers tortured and shot, the daughters and wives raped, the use of poison gas against the Kurds or the million-and-a-half Iraqis, Iranians and Kuwaitis who died in Saddam's wars.

Bush is worse than Saddam, you see, because he refused to look the other way. His resolve is an embarrassment.

American wars of liberation humiliate the complainers on the left. We've seized their professed ideals and made them a reality. We fought for freedom, while they only chattered.

The idiotarians over at BushBacklash.com have this telling "roll of honor" called the Brass Balls Award Page which acts as

"....a monument to the personal character of those who are not lying down taking this from the New Republican Party and the Bush Lie Factory (the PR branch of the BFEE). These are the brave ones, the ones who ask the questions that need to be asked, point out the lies, and remind us all that this USED to be a pretty damn good place with a marvelous Constitution."

Children, this is what the crushing of dissent would look like.....only it wouldn't even be tongue-in-cheek. It would be real.

Sleepless in Midland has a post on something that we will both be touching on over the next few weeks. It concerns the proposal by Midland-based Rio Nueva, Ltd. to lease water rights in West Texas and (probably) pipe it to cities that need it. Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs is critical of the plan, as are many from the area from which the water will be drawn....go figure.

"Tom Beard, an Alpine rancher and lawyer who chairs the state-created Far West Texas Regional Water Planning Group, said residents are frustrated by the lack of information about Rio Nuevo's plans and its negotiations with the land office.

The proposed deal, Beard said, is 'flying in the face of three major policies of the state:' Negotiations aren't being done in public, local water districts haven't been told anything about the proposal, and the Far West Texas planning group, which is supposed to set policy, hasn't been consulted.

'I think that's terrible public policy,' Beard said.

Beard said some West Texans are also wary of Rio Nuevo's political connections."

The post over at Sleepless has many links to pertinent articles.

For my money, this one ain't passing the smell test yet. More to come, I'm sure.

A different view of Iraq from a reporter on the ground. An excerpt from an interview with P.J. O'Rourke in The Atlantic:

Based on what you saw on this trip to Iraq, what do you think we can expect to see over the next five years?

I think Rumsfeld put his finger right on it: "Long slog." My feeling is twofold: I don't think we are going to straighten out this country any time soon; it's going to be a very long haul. On the other hand, vast areas of Iraq are very peaceful and have been rid of a disgusting and repressive government. The other thing is, everyone talks about Iraq not being stable, but when it was stable it attacked Israel in 1967 and in 1973, it attacked Iran, it attacked Kuwait, it fostered terrorism in the Middle East. Who wants a stable Iraq? It's better for us and, in a way, better for the world that this government has been weakened and destroyed. Does it leave a mess behind? Do we owe it to the people of Iraq to try our best to clean up that mess? Yes. But is that mess our fault? No. It's a very complicated situation.

Also includes a touching discussion of the death of his colleague, Michael Kelly. RTWT. via Instapundit (Link to your left. Yes, right there. The box that says "Instapundit.")

Boycott II: "The Reagans" now to air November 30th on Showtime. Should you cancel your subscription to the pay channel? No, we'd never suggest that!

SCAM ALERT: Let us see what the Blogosphere can do to the boys over at business directory scammer INFOTEL.

UPDATE: More from those fine gentlemen at Infotel and their attorneys.

UPDATE: This is somehow satisfying....check out the volume of returns when you do a Google search using the words "Infotel" and "Scam".

No Saddam/Al Qaeda link? Look again.

A strong recommendation for a movie: "Master and Commander." Go. See. It. This movie deserves to be successful. Great story. Great cast. Inspiring dialogue. Inspiring cinematography. Go. See. It. (Also you get to see the trailer for "The Return of the King.")

An aside: I went to the 1 pm matinee yesterday, opening day. Interesting demographics: theater was about 1/3 full, about 100 people, 80% male, average age probably 55. Not the folks normally at the movies, but an enthusiastic crowd. I think that as word gets out, more women will want to see it: a movie about Real Men...no metrosexuals in the cast, or in the audience for that matter.

From NewsWest 9:

"In the third installment of this weekly series running through the month of November, NewsWest 9 took a radar gun to a Midland location where residents are worried about speeding drivers, and frustrated with efforts to make their neighborhood safer.

We scoped out the 3700 block of Shell Avenue near Lee High School. Since we were just a few blocks away from a large, busy school zone, you'd think drivers would be more cautious of their speed. But that wasn't the case.

One after another, we found drivers ignoring the speed limit in the 3700 block of Shell. The speed limit there is 30 miles-per-hour, but apparently that just wasn't fast enough for these drivers. Several were clocked going over 40 miles-per-hour.

Kids tend to cut through here from Lee High School towards Midland Drive," one concerned resident, Leah Garcia, pointed out. "And they like making this their cut-through. And they get speeds up to 50, 60 miles-per-hour, and it's dangerous.

From an article that should interest Midlanders:

"The prevailing view has been that the Saudi oil fields are great big caverns of oil, and that recovery is so easy they will basically last forever," says Matthew Simmons, the chief executive of a Houston-based investment banking firm called Simmons & Co. International.

Simmons believes that this traditional image of Saudi Arabia as a perpetual gusher of cheap oil is wrong. He is finishing a book documenting his argument that in the future Saudi oil will be scarcer and more expensive than many people expect."

From the latest article on the Midland Horseshoe we are informed of the sources of the funding for the $14 million dollar project:

"The Horseshoe, with a market value county officials estimate at $14 million, will be funded through a combination of [Federal and State] grants, county equity and borrowing."

Sheriff Gary Painter is about to be on Craig Anderson's show this morning. No doubt he will talk about the possible referendum on rasing the salaries of the deputies.

Ten bucks says Mr. Anderson is "all for it".

The 15,000th tweed-clad chin-puller to write yet another article about "Rush Limbaugh's One Note Simplicity" (read "stoopid listeners") being the key to his success not even realizing the irony in his being the 15,000th guy to trot out this old re-tread of a theory.

This article says that Yasser Arafat is stalling the peace process in the hopes that Bush will lose the election in 2004. Arafat apparently knows more about the Democrats than they know about themselves and that a Democrat in the White House will greatly facilitate Arafat's goal of driving the Israelis into the sea.

After listening for weeks now, I have come to the conclusion that local radio talker Craig Anderson is indeed a Republican. The only problem is is that he has no idea why.

This week he had as his guest the poor soul that is the current Democratic county chairman (Gilberto Garcia) and Mr. Garcia was fairing about as well as you would expect on this particular show, i.e. not well. Tough audience. Polite but unconvinced host. The theme that they were beating Mr. Garcia up with was two pronged: 1) Taxes are too high already, and 2) Taxes are too high already.

Later, County Commissioner Mike Bradford comes on the show to talk about the Midland Horseshoe and Craig is all for it.

Just like he was all for the airport.

And the new stadium.

And the E.D. sales tax.

Basically, every chance at a tax increase that has been put before the voters (and all pushed hard by erstwhile Republicans) Mr. Anderson is all for.

So here is my suggestion to Mr. Garcia: The next time you are on the show just say that you are a Republican and Mr. Anderson, if he holds true to his established pattern, will turn a blind eye to any spending proposal you've got.

The Midland Horseshoe gets the green light from the County Commissioners.

After witnesssing the economic leviathan that is minor league baseball in Midland, why would we ever stop building these kinds of facilities?

The Dos Passos article (and, ahem, our post of same) from the January, 1946 issue of Life Magazine still has legs. Josh Chafetz (from Oxblog) used this article along with others in an Oxford Union debate. The resolution read, "This House believes that we are losing the Peace [in Iraq]." He reports:

"...(2) Speaking in proposition were an undergraduate and two Members of Parliament (Tam Dalyell and Jeremy Corbyn).

(3) Speaking in opposition were two undergraduates and me.

(4) Opposition won by a significant margin (150-something to 110-something).

(5) I am pleased."

So are we. Way to go, Josh.

Hat Tip to Pejman Yousefzadeh over at Tech Central Station.

A Very Cool Map showing county-by-county political party preference, measured by monetary donations. It is also interesting to page through the presidential candidates to see where the $ is coming from for each of them. Edwards and Clark are the only Democrats to receive donations from Midland or Ector counties to date. Either the Kucinich tin-foil hat brigade is not very prevalent in our area or they just haven't anted up yet. Via VodkaPundit (nifty link just to the left there), another site that is improving daily. It's must reading. Nice work, Stephen.

Sad news. Gore Vidal is apparently in the advanced stages of syphillus syphilis.

Gee, maybe downtown Midland needs a sushi restaurant to perk things up.

...while the other 94% of the House think he's doing a good job.

Yo. Stevenson. This one's for you.

UPDATE: page down to initial entry for November 11.

The United Nations shelves what looks like one of the worst ideas. Ever.

The Politboro Diktat fisks the Nooyawk Times' coverage of very-ex-VP Al Gore's anti-Patriot Act speech this weekend. The Commissar suggests that if Bush really wanted to curtail civil liberties, he's done a poor job:

Bold? These half measures are not bold! These timid half-steps of Nepotically Favored Bush are mere window-dressing. Where are gulags? Where are thousands of political prisoners? Where are midnight knocks on door? The stupid free press still rants and raves. Where are executions? Bah to Bush and his half-measures! Like Comrade Gore says, "terrible mistake."

The Commissar is right on.

Glenn Reynolds for President? First a murmur on his blog. Then a commercial is filmed. Now this T-Shirt.

Krauthammer. Today. Must. Read.

"It is pure fiction that this pro-American sentiment was either squandered after Sept. 11 or lost under the Bush Administration. It never existed. Envy for America, resentment of our power, hatred of our success has been a staple for decades, but most particularly since victory in the cold war left us the only superpower.

Bill Clinton was the most accommodating, sensitive, multilateralist President one can imagine, and yet we know that al-Qaeda began the planning for Sept. 11 precisely during his presidency. Clinton made humility his vocation, apologizing variously for African slavery, for internment of Japanese Americans, for not saving Rwanda. He even decided that Britain should return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. A lot of good that did us. Bin Laden issued his Declaration of War on America in 1996--at the height of the Clinton Administration's hyperapologetic, good-citizen internationalism.

Moreover, it is unseemly, even pathetic, for the would-be leaders of a great power to pine for the pity gleaned on the day America lay bleeding and wounded. This is to carry into foreign policy a pathology of our domestic politics — the glorification of victimhood and the lust for its privileges, such as they are. It is not surprising that having set up at home a spoils system that encourages every ethnic group to claim even greater victimization than the next, the Democrats should lament the fact that we did not seize and institutionalize our collective victimhood of Sept. 11."

"Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe - because in the long run stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty."

From this article in the London Daily Telegraph:

"A bishop who angered homosexuals by suggesting they seek a psychiatric cure is to be investigated by police to see if his outspoken views amount to a criminal offence, it emerged yesterday."

The weather has turned cold. Many are turning on their heaters for the first time this fall. Wallace over at Big Gold Dog has some sound advice that, thankfully, came much cheaper than it could have: Make sure you have working Carbon Monoxide Detectors.

On the fence on the partial birth abortion issue? Read this at The Brazos de Dios Cantina.

"For my part on this issue, emotions are only secondary. My basic view of life is tied up in seeing this particular procedure as BARBARIC and worthy only of Nazi wet-dreams.

There is something SO fundamentally wrong with the advocates of this procedure calling this a "right." A right to do what? Assert your maternal authority over appendages struggling to be born? Sanitize the matter before you actually have to look in the baby's face? Is that what advocates of this procedure think goes on in a woman's mind when this procedure is taking place?"

Read it even if you are not on the fence.

Apparently, the sirens over at Perry and Kellogg in San Antonio and Susman and Godfrey in Austin still have the Commissioner's Court dreaming of untold wealth......some of which may actually find its way to the county after the sirens get their cut. Just so everyone is clear who is getting sued by the county here, take a look at this list of companies and remember what they have done for and meant to this community.

ExxonMobil Corp., Exxon Corp.,
Oxy U.S.A. Inc., Arco Oil and Gas Co., Atlantic Richfield Co.
ChevronTexaco Corp., Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Texaco Inc., Texaco E&P Inc.
Four Star Oil and Gas Company
Texaco Trading and Transportation Inc.
Pioneer Natural Resources Co.

James Lileks and I went to see the Matrix. Me in Midland. He in Minnesota. We came away with similar opinions about the movie although I think he went easy on this franchise that started out so well but has now become an over-rated self-important piece of crap.....not unlike my blogging. Mr. Lileks was willing to forgive more than I was. He correctly identified Agent Smith as the only one in the movie that appeared to be having any fun at all, indeed the only character with any soul at all. I, on the other hand, was actually cheering for Agent Smith to prevail by the end. An end that I was not sure would ever arrive regardless of all the tribute paid in the movie to the idea that "everything that has a beginning, has an end."

I do enjoy watching the state-of-the-art graphics and the battle in the dock scene was done very well. But coming away, apparently, Mr. Lileks and I had the exact same observation the state of the art in CG:

"We still see the limits of technology, though. Computer graphics can make a thousand flying squid flow through a hole in a vast concrete dome; they can bring to life tanks the size of mountains, animate robot oracles whose face is made up of a million pieces of metal swarming in frantic concert.

But they can’t take 27 pounds off Laurence Fishburne."

If there was ever any doubt that the prison system has become big business, that fact should be readily apparent now.

"For several months, more than 500 of the beds in the detention center have remained empty. That's because the federal government's Bureau of Prisons (BOP) hasn't given them the inmates they need. This has leading [led] to a financial catastrophe for the county."

Yet more evidence that government is too big and bloated. It now has a vested interest in keeping inmate population numbers high. And how might they accomplish that, you ask?

By making everything a felony, that's how.

In recent years, the number of misdemeanor crimes that have been reclassified as felonies is frightening. On top of that, a good portion of them carry mandatory minimum sentences, especially repeat possession offenses. Even some traffic offenses have been given felony status in Texas, including evading and -- get this -- drag racing.

Meanwhile, almost every small town in America either has its own prison or is vying for one to help boost its local economy. In the words of S.O.D., "They're trying to build a prison -- for you and me to live in."

O.K., the Babsfest is not generating quite the comment rate we had anticipated. Maybe it's because everyone has a job and no time to type. We'll try a tried-and-true theme: The Missing Plan.

Interviewing Vice President Dick Cheney on "Meet the Press" about a month ago, Tim Russert echoed the theme, asking: "What is our plan for Iraq? How long will the 140,000 American soldiers be there? How many international troops will join them? And how much is this going to cost?" When will we be there, Daddy? Can I go to the bathroom? Are we there yet?

The same questions were asked of FDR over and over again by the American people after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. "How much will this cost?" "My husband's a sailor – how long will he be gone?" "What's your exit strategy, you warmonger?" Wait – no. My mistake. That didn't happen.

Ah, yes, it's Ann Coulter again, making sense while making fun.

Historian Stephen Ambrose described Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's genius as a soldier, noting that "he often said that in preparing for battle, plans were essential, but that once the battle was joined, plans were useless." Transforming a blood-soaked police state dotted with mass graves and rape rooms into a self-governing republic might take slightly longer than this week's makeover on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."

In a similar vein, Instapundit today opined that we are all making the comparison between present-day Iraq and World War II by looking at the 1946 post-war period. "But what if it's, in a sense, 1943?" The war on terror has really just begun, not been finished. I believe that Dr. Reynolds is on the right track, as usual. More on that later.