June 2005 Archives

An automatic raise:

The House on Tuesday agreed to a $3,100 pay raise for Congress next year _ to $165,200 _ after defeating an effort to roll it back.

In a 263-152 vote, the House blocked a bid by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, to force an up-or-down vote on the pay raise. Instead, lawmakers will automatically receive the raise _ officially a cost of living adjustment _ as provided for in a 1989 law that barred them from pocketing big speaking fees in exchange for an annual COLA.
. . .
"It's not a pay raise," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. "It's an adjustment so that they're not losing their purchasing power."

Don't you think that after years of receiving nothing, America's lowest wage earners deserve an "adjustment" of their own?

President Bush, his tank overflowing with political capital from re-election, has been touring the nation for several months with staged events promoting Social Security change.

How's it been going? Well, to use the administration's Iraqi gage, he's making great progress:

The senator in charge of trying to put President Bush's Social Security ideas into law says his colleagues "all want it to go away."

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley said that despite their reluctance, he's not giving up on Bush's top domestic priority.

"Nobody really talks too much about Social Security," Grassley, R-Iowa, said Tuesday. "They all want it to go away. I'm not going to let it go away."

A fellow Republican on Grassley's committee, which is charged with producing a bill, gave a bleak assessment of the issue's prospects.

"Little more than just talk," said Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., when asked about the status of Social Security legislation. "I think that people are talking, but nothing's moving."

It's kind of funny that some are trying to blame the slide in American public support for Iraq because Mr. Bush has been focusing on Social Security instead. Guess he's 0 for 2.

Keep hammering away at Social Security, Mr. President. You're making great progress.

Apparently September 11 didn't change everything after all. Looks like we still need a bigger boat.

Even the local news had a shark story in the first five minutes of the broadcast last night, and these and these are the only threatening sharks within a couple hundred miles. But stay tuned to learn how you can avoid becoming the victim of a shark attack.

According to Paul Harvey news yesterday, on average the following number of Americans are killed each year:

--1 person by sharks

--24 from being gored by cattle

--88 from being thrown off horses

--168 when their vehicle collides with a deer

I wonder how often TV news or national news magazines run features on how dangerous it is to ride a horse.

How the terror alert level was raised in late 2003:

CIA analysts mistakenly thought they'd discovered a mother lode of secret al-Qaida messages. They thought they had found secret messages on Al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language television news channel, hidden in the moving text at the bottom of the screen, known as the "crawl," where news headlines are summarized.

U.S. officials tell NBC News that CIA experts � technicians working for the Directorate of Science and Technology � thought they had found numbers embedded in the crawl signaling upcoming attacks; dates and flight numbers, and geographic coordinates for targets, including the White House, Seattle's Space Needle, even the tiny town of Tappahanock, Va. What the analysts thought they had found was something called "steganography" � messages hidden inside a video image.

It's reassuring to know that the CIA TIVOs are up and running. As long as they maintain ther live feed to the Iranian and North Korean nuclear facility surveillance cameras, we'll be just fine.

Heh.

Saying guns make people polite makes about as much sense as saying cars make people friendly.

Nice.

Isn't this the guy who likely contrived that "uniter not a divider" malarkey?

Streaming in:

Senior military officials say that as many as 150 potential suicide bombers have entered Iraq in the past month � that's five times the estimated 30 per month in March.

The last throes, indeed.

Wonderful. CNN is preempting it's noon broadcast of CNN International news--one of the best news broadcasts of the day--for a news conference with parents of a once-lost boy.

Since the news channel ratings are in the toilet anyway, I don't know why one of them just doesn't convert over to a 24 hour lost and found network. Exclusive coverage of lost white girls (and the token male once in a while), brides, pets, keys, nuclear secrets, whatever. People are always losing stuff--this network could be there when it gets found.

Houston and Iraq:

DeLay offered this response: "These things take time and they take a long time, and some people get weary of the constant barrage that we see in the media.

"You know, if Houston, Texas, was held to the same standard as Iraq is held to, nobody'd go to Houston, because all this reporting coming out of the local press in Houston is violence, murders, robberies, deaths on the highways," DeLay said.

Yes, except for the liberal media coverage, Houston and Baghdad are very similar. Only Houston doesn't have the daily suicide bombings. And it has electricity more than a few hours a day. And has functioning water and sewer. And a functioning government.

Were it not for the above you'd have a hard time telling one from the other.

Yesterday:

HENRY [CNN Anchor]: But, now when you say the Democrats need to walk the walk, Democrats will respond that, in fact, the president has not actually put a plan on the table. He's talked about private accounts. He's talked about principles in his State of the Union back in January, but he has not actually put a plan on the table. Why is that?

DEVENISH [White House mouthpiece]: Well, you and I know that's laughable. If he hasn't put a plan on the table, what have they been attacking for six months? We have a bold and a very reasonable plan on the table. We have a plan on the table for making sure that everyone's benefits get bigger. Under our plan, everyone's benefits grow. We just adjust the rate at which they grow for the very wealthy.

Wow, that's news to me. Admittedly, I'm operating in a "summer mode," but I would think that I'd hear something about the unveiling of Bush's proposal on the news, sandwiched between the missing children and celebrity justice segments.

No matter, we now have the road map by which "everyone's benefits grow." Why didn't someone come up with this earlier?

I eagerly await Congress' handling of Bush's proposal. Will the Democrats continue to be obstructionists? Or will it get an up or down vote on the Senate floor?

Coming soon to a street near you:

McDonald's Corp. will begin selling skateboards and bikes bearing the fast-food company's brand in a new effort to get kids to burn off burgers and fries with exercise.

The McKids branded outdoor play equipment will be rolled out internationally later this year and in 2006. A few McKids items are already sold at retailers like Amazon.com Inc. and Target Corp.
. . .
McDonald's, the world's largest restaurant chain, is making an aggressive push to deflect criticism of its food as unhealthy and fattening.
. . .
In recent months, the chain has promoted physical activity with the tag line "It's what I eat and what I do. I'm lovin' it" in much of its marketing. Just last week, McDonald's even said it was making over its famous clown, Ronald McDonald, to make him more athletic.

It's always touching when a company plays good corporate citizen looking out for the health of our children--tobacco and alcohol companies are particularly noteworthy in this way. And I'm sure the "more athletic" Ronald McDonald will make a difference for impressionable young minds.

If McDonald's really wanted to combat child obesity, they'd run ads saying, "Kids, don't eat here."

I don't suspect we'll see those anytime soon.

What would you get if you won the lottery? I think this guy has got it right [emphasis added]:

A man who won a $220.3 million Powerball lottery jackpot � the second-largest single-ticket Powerball winning � plans to invest the money and become a billionaire.

Brad Duke, a 33-year-old regional fitness director for a health club chain, said he hopes to build a $1 billion portfolio within 15 years.
. . .
Other than a high-end racing bicycle, Duke has no plans for any large purchases.

"One of my goals is keeping my feet on the ground, not forgetting who I am and where I came from and staying active in the things I like now, like biking, the fitness industry, camping and rafting with my friends," he said. "Keeping my feet on the ground does not include going out and buying a yacht."

With that kind of money, he can afford to get me one too.

Oink:

House Republicans beat back a Democratic challenge Tuesday to Majority Leader Tom DeLay, defeating an effort to cut $200 million from NASA's Moon-Mars initiative and spend the money instead to aid local police.

By a 230-196 vote, the House rejected an amendment by Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., to transfer $200 million from the space agency to two Clinton-era grant programs that President Bush wants to phase out.
. . .
DeLay's Houston district is home to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. After a House subcommittee last year slashed NASA's budget by $1 billion, DeLay forced negotiators to restore the money, then set about abolishing the subcommittee and spreading its jurisdiction over NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, housing and veterans' programs among other panels.

Rightist often try to portray Democrats as big government spenders. In reality, there's little difference in the level of spending. The primary difference between the two is where it gets directed. Democrats have their pet projects and constituencies, and so do Republicans. You just don't hear about this on the radio very often.

The people at CareerJournal.com have assembled lists of some of the "best" and "worst" jobs.

The Best

* Accountant
* Actuary
* Bank officer
* Biologist
* Computer-systems analyst
* Financial planner
* Parole officer
* Software engineer
* Statistician
* Web-site manager

The Worst

* Construction worker (laborer)
* Cowboy
* Dancer
* Fisherman
* Garbage collector
* Ironworker
* Lumberjack
* Roofer
* Seaman
* Welder

I don't know how good the methodology was for this, but the jobs on the second list don't have any appeal for me. So no argument there. I didn't find my education test ride in biology or statistics all that pleasant, but apparently their real world application is more enjoyable.

A day away from blogging yesterday. Did I miss anything important?

Nope.

Imagine if the news channels spend 1/4 of the time they have devoted to Jacko discussing the Downing Street Memo. Of course that would require the liberal media's belief that the cause for the war in Iraq was still a newsworthy story. And sadly that's not the case.

No drivers to blame for this accident:

A man on a bicycle was struck and killed on an interstate in Nashville.

Police said 42-year-old Darrell Elliott was hit by a motorcycle on Interstate 24 and was flipped into the path of an S-U-V early yesterday.

Officers said Elliott was riding the bicycle in the center lane of the interstate just after one a-m.

Authorities suspect alcohol may have been a factor. I'd say so. I've thought of doing some crazy things on a bike over the years. But riding in the middle of the interstate in the middle of the night wasn't one of them.

The Jacko trial. I'm tired of hearing about it.

"Just don't watch any of the coverage," you may say.

The truth is one can't want any extended segments on news TV without being treated to in depth reports on how long the jury has deliberated, profiles of the jurors, what jail conditions Jacko will face if convicted, what X said about the affair, or Jacko's latest medical ailment.

The only thing I can think of that is lamer than all the media folks sitting around the courthouse analyzing the deliberations is the so-called losers fans who are camped out at the courthouse. What's up with that? How empty does one's life have to be to waste it like that?

Our president, yesterday:

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Prime Minister Blair has been pushing for wealthy nations to double aid to Africa. With American aid levels among the lowest in the G8 as per portion of national income, and the problems on the continent so dire, why isn't doubling U.S. aid a good idea?

PRESIDENT BUSH: [. . .] Now, in terms of whether or not the formula that you commented upon are the right way to analyze the United States commitment to her, I don't think it is. I mean, I don't think -- there's a lot of things that aren't counted in our desire to spread compassion. But our country is -- has taken the lead in Africa, and we'll stay there. It's the right thing to do. It's important to help Africa get on her feet.

Yes indeed. We so much want to load up American air tankers with compassion and bombard all Africa with it. Let compassion flow across the plains of Sudan!

Really, how is Bush's talk of spreading compassion all that different than Clinton's "feel your pain" line that was endlessly blasted by rightists thereafter?

Allstate Insurance has compiled a report on the likelihood of motorists being in a collision in cities with over 100,000 people. The top ten "safest" cities:

(1) Cedar Rapids, IA
(2) Sioux Falls, SD
(3) Chattanooga, TN
(4) Huntsville, AL
(5) Knoxville, TN
(6) Des Moines, IA
(7) Topeka, KS
(8) Lakewood, CO
(9) Fort Collins, CO
(10) Birmingham, Ala.

Knoxvillians are 23% less likely to be involved in an accident than the average motorist. Makes me wonder what an unsafe city is like.

Imagine that--we have accomplished this without a single red light traffic camera! Don't anyone tell the city traffic gurus.

An article in today's Washington Post points out that older domestic oil sources aren't producing like they used to:

Nationally, daily production of oil and natural gas liquids dropped last year to an average of 7.2 million barrels a day -- a 36 percent decrease since peaking in 1970. At Prudhoe Bay, average daily production last year was about 450,000 barrels a day, a 72 percent drop from its peak.

With demand increasing domestically and abroad -- particularly in China and India -- supplies are being pushed to their limit, sending crude oil prices to record highs. The world has gradually lost spare pumping capacity that used to serve as an emergency reserve that could be opened as needed to moderate prices.

From our leaders:

Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle have been calling for energy plans that they say will shake dependence on foreign oil, contending national security is at risk.

Good luck with that idea:

Imports now account for 58 percent of net oil consumption, according to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration. In another two decades that number is forecast to climb to 68 percent.

Bottom line, there's not a lot of American oil left. And those who hold increased domestic drilling up as the solution to high energy prices are sadly mistaken.

Word is that companies are creating blogs:

A growing number of companies are stepping softly into the blogosphere, following a path blazed by Microsoft Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and others in the technology field.

The Internet journal format, they find, lets businesses expand their reach, generate product buzz and encourage consumer loyalty - while bypassing traditional media.

"When we feel that we need to get a direct response out there, we've certainly got this bully pulpit to some extent," said Michael Wiley, GM's director of new media. "It's a place where we can talk directly to people unfiltered."

I'm not sure how this is all that more "unfiltered" than the company simply posting the information on its website. And of course there's the danger of the blog becoming an infomercial:

Rubel follows blog news on his blog, Micro Persuasion, and runs his company's unit of the same name, advising clients on blogging and on podcasting, the suddenly fashionable creation of downloadable person-to-person broadcasts.

He and other PR professionals can rattle off blogs gone wrong - usually "fake blogs" that stir up the ire of bloggers by hiding the fact that they are really ad campaigns, such as one McDonald's posted in advance of a Super Bowl campaign about a Lincoln-shaped french fry.

Blogs that smack of press releases won't do the job, Rubel said. He tells clients to see what's out there about their company or industry, then decide whether they want to engage bloggers or even start their own blogs.

According to the article, some businessblogs have open comments. Such a feature helps convert a corporate site into a "real" blog. But I wonder what they do if a bunch of irate customers start flaming the comments.

Here's an outside-the-box approach to address the military's recruitment woes:

One Wisconsin lawmaker figures if the U.S. military trusts 19-year-olds with a $10 million tank, then the state should trust them with a beer.

State Rep. Mark Pettis, a Republican who served in the Navy, is pushing a bill that would drop the drinking age to 19 for Wisconsin soldiers - but only if the federal government agrees it will not yank an estimated $50 million a year in highway aid.

Okay, the recruitment problem isn't the stated objective. But I suspect in a number of cases this would be a handy selling point for would-be recruits.

The Metro Pulse provides an update on near-term expansions to Knoxville's greenway system.

Inch by inch, one could say.

Imagine if planners had incorporated such stuff 40 or more years ago, when such projects were more feasible. We'd have a good system today.

I guess green, non-vehicular space didn't have the same appeal then as it does now.

Horrible:

A 47-year-old Oak Ridge man was killed Thursday evening in an accident on Illinois Avenue near Boeing Road.

Mark Randall Martin, 109 Mockingbird Lane, was riding his bicycle at 6:40 p.m. Thursday on South Illinois Avenue near Boeing Road, when he was struck by a vehicle, according to his father, Bill Martin.

As if that isn't tragic enough, consider the cause:

According to Lt. Alan Massengill of the Oak Ridge Police Department, the vehicle was driven by Wanda Thornton, 39, 1113 Rockley Road, Knoxville. He said Thornton indicated to officers that she leaned over to adjust her radio and her vehicle left the road, striking Martin.

A female driver adjusting the radio as she approaches someone riding on the shoulder. Lovely. I can just imagine the thought process.

Driver: Man, I hate this song; they played it when I was listening this morning. I need to change the station.

Let's see--is there anyone on the road ahead?

No . . . except for that guy riding a bike. But he's a good two or three feet outside the lane. I'm good at driving without looking at the road, so no problem there.

Man, how do you change the station? You'd think in this expensive SUV they'd have a simpler radio to operate. I know there are station presets, but the owner's manual was too complicated to try to read, so I'll just hit this knob until I find another station.

[Crunch].

Hmmm. What was that?

And sadly, in our just world, she probably won't receive any meaningful punishment for killing a father of two.

If I sound irked, it's because I am. It could just as easily been me getting squashed by some inattentive tank driver. There are too many dangerous drivers out there. Most of the time, I try not to think about it--otherwise I wouldn't ride. But they're out there, armed with radios, and cell phones, and make up, and kids.

At TalkLeft.

A sample:

"If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

Yep. Given what I've seen of police chases over the years, I'd say that's correct.

This can't be good:

Russian children and teenagers are less healthy today than at any stage since World War II, the country's interior minister has said.

Homelessness, drugs, alcoholism and illiteracy among young Russians, threaten future development, Rashid Nurgaliyev told a Moscow conference.
. . .
Some 700,000 children are orphaned or homeless, and 4m use drugs, he added.
. . .
In sum, Mr Nurgaliyev said, the condition of Russian children and teenagers is comparable with that after the bloody civil war of the 1920s or World War II, when much of the country lay in ruins.

Given the above, it's no surprise Russia has a growing adoption industry, largely fueled by foreign money. At any rate, it looks like Russia will have a rocky stretch the next 10-20 years.

Starting today, Tennesseans and those living in ten other Southern states can obtain a free copy of their credit report.

Visit here.

Note:

While the credit report itself is free, the law doesn't grant consumers free access to their credit score, an important numerical measurement used by lenders and others to assess a consumer's creditworthiness. That costs a fee of $5 to $10, depending on the reporting agency that's used.

Checking your credit report is one way to also make sure your identity hasn't been stolen.