April 2005

There were 45 posts published in April 2005 (this is page 1 of 8).

Runaway Stupidity

Not having watched the news today, I thought this post must be exaggerated for humor. That is, until I tuned into CNN myself a few minutes ago.
At the top of the hour, they had an exclusive report from some reporter who flown on the plane with the would-be bride. He actually described the scene as she went to use the bathroom during the flight. And almost breathlessly, he relayed that the flight attendant had told him that the wedding is “still on.”
Twenty-one minutes after the hour and they were still talking about their top story. Alas.
Remember when CNN used to have the reputation as a news source?
CNN’s question of the hour, where viewers are encourage to call in and opine, is whether or not this woman’s fiance should give her a second chance. I think a more appropriate question is whether or not I should give CNN a second chance. Perhaps Fox News isn’t that bad after all.

Appreciative

I was out last night and didn’t catch all of the “tough” questions. Only caught part of the show on re-run. But I noticed that one thing kept popping up during the hour [note these are all separate instances]:

–I told him I appreciated his courage
–We didn’t appreciate that
–I appreciate that gesture
–And I appreciate that gesture
–No, I appreciate that question
–I appreciate the strong bipartisan support
–I think the American people appreciate somebody bringing up tough issues
–No, I appreciate that question.
–I appreciate that, John.
–they appreciate the fact that the system now shows deficiencies early so they can correct those problems.
–Yes, I appreciate that.

I bet I can guess what one of the buzz words is that the presidential handlers have been working on behind the scenes.

Looks The Same To Me

If you’re a newspaper running a story on how you are changing your website, it might be a good idea to actually change the website when the article says.
UPDATE: The “new” site has been launched. Definitely a cleaner look. Hopefully it won’t take five minutes to find stuff on the site now.

Reuters Cracks A Funny

Here:

The 8:30 p.m. EDT East Room press conference comes at a time when Bush is facing some of the lowest job approval ratings of his presidency.
. . .
Bush could also face tough questions on Iraq after the top American general acknowledged this week that the insurgency remains undiminished in its capabilities in the past year despite landmark elections and U.S.-led efforts to crush the rebels.

Face tough questions? Since when? Will this be an open house press conference?
Bush rarely faces tough questions because reporters always ask such broad questions that he can easily slide into his package talking points. Yes, we’re working hard to catch the terrorists. Yes, we’re working hard to lower gas prices.
Here’s the type of question we’ll likely see tonight:

Mr. President, Americans are concerned about the recent rise in gas prices. Is your administration concerned that high oil prices might slow down the economy?

Duh.
Here’s the type of question we should be hearing tonight:

Mr. President, you recently met with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. Are you convinced that the Saudis are producing and exporting as much oil as possible? If not, why not? And if they are, doesn’t this mean gas prices will go significantly higher if demand continues to grow?

Of course Bush would dodge the question and still talk about his “plan” to construct nuclear power plants. But the press could at least force him to work a little harder in the process.

Knoxville Biking “Report Card”

The Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization has prepared a Knoxville biking “report card.”
Suffice it to say the area doesn’t offer much as far as amenities specifically designed for cyclists: 285 bike racks in an urban area of 377,000 people, with a whopping 4 miles of bike lanes.
If you want to ride anywhere in this city, you better be comfortable ridding alongside vehicular traffic.