WGOP On Miers

This pretty well summarizes what I heard today:

Wingnuttia is rather angry at the choice. I don’t think this is because they’re really concerned that she’s not conservative enough for their tastes, although that’s part of it. They’re angry because this was supposed to be their nomination. This is was their moment. They didn’t just want a stealth victory, they wanted parades and fireworks. They wanted Bush to find the wingnuttiest wingnut on the planet, fully clothed and accessorized in all the latest wingnut fashions, not just to give them their desired Court rulings, but also to publicly validate their influence and power. They didn’t just want substantive results, what they wanted even more were symbolic ones. They wanted Bush to extend a giant middle finger to everyone to the left of John Ashcroft. They wanted to watch Democrats howl and scream and then ultimately lose a nasty confirmation battle. They wanted this to be their “WE RUN THE COUNTRY AND THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT” moment.

Oddly, the talk radio crowd seems more concerned about the in-your-face factor of the selection than the nominee’s actual philosophy. “What’s best for America” seems to be the last of their concerns.

SCOTUS Nomination

Old habits die hard. I guess it should be no surprise that points one and two of my previous post apply to this nomination of Harriet Miers.
Ms. Miers having no previous experience as a judge should not necessarily disqualify her from being on the Court, though perhaps this should. Regardless, this pick certainly fits the mold of the cronyism storyline the media has finally been developing.

Crony-Incompetence Strikes Again

This seems awfully familiar:
(1) Candidate X has connections to President Bush.
(2) Notwithstanding the fact that X has no expertise or qualifications for a particular job, Bush selects him or her to an important government post.
(3) Once on the job, X proceeds to make things worse.

Bird Flu

Unlike the “War on Terror,” missing white women, or liberal activist judges, this is something everyone can legitimately be worried about:

A global influenza pandemic could come at any time and claim anywhere between 5 million and 150 million lives, depending on steps the world takes now to control the bird flu in Asia, the United Nations said.
Additionally, the bird flu virus is likely to mutate into a strain that can be passed person to person, Dr. David Nabarro of the World Health Organization told reporters at a Thursday news conference at the United Nations in New York.
“We expect the next influenza pandemic to come at any time now, and it’s likely to be caused by a mutant of the virus that is currently causing bird flu in Asia,” Nabarro said in a report from The Associated Press.

More here.

New Orleans Looting Continues

These guys don’t even wait for the cover of darkness:

As fiscal hawks surrendered, would-be government contractors were meeting in the Hart Senate Office Building to figure out how to get a share of the money. A “Katrina Reconstruction Summit,” hosted by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and sponsored by Halliburton, among others, brought some 200 lobbyists, corporate representatives and government staffers to a room overlooking the Capitol for a five-hour conference that included time for a “networking break” and advice on “opportunities for private sector involvement.”

Can we call in the National Guard to restore order?