We’re less than an hour from the (second) deadline on the draft of the Iraqi constitution. And if an agreement has been reached, TV news is still unaware of it.
I know last-minute deals are quite common in some processes (e.g., labor contracts, legislation). But a national constitution? What kind of quick fixes can you make in an agreement of that magnitude?
Moreover, the way TV news has covered this the past few weeks leads me to conclude that either: (1) most reporters really don’t have a keen grasp on what’s going on in that country, or (2) they aren’t giving us the straight scoop on what they do know.
UPDATE: Another Iraqi punt. And up until the annoucement, CNN didn’t appear to know what was happening. Weird.

Mountain unicycling.
I suspect it would take me quite a while to learn how to unicycle on flat, smooth terrain, much less doing it off road.

CNN has a deal with Bob Costas where the latter guest hosts for Larry King. Why Costas is guest hosting for the dinosaur and not the other way around is a mystery in itself. King reminds me of one of those old college professors who maintains a faculty position simply because he has become a fixture on campus. Anyway, after reading this, I’m convinced that one of the news channels must hire Costas:

Costas, hired by CNN as an occasional fill-in on “Larry King Live,” refused to anchor Thursday�s show because it was primarily about the Alabama teenager who went missing in Aruba. Chris Pixley filled in at the last minute.
“I didn�t think the subject matter of Thursday�s show was the kind of broadcast I should be doing,” Costas said in a statement. “I suggested some alternatives but the producers preferred the topics they had chosen. I was fine with that, and respectfully declined to participate.”

Bless him–if only more TV news hosts had the integrity to take such a stand. America would be a better place because of it.

It’s not going to be a winner in ’06:

“There is just no enthusiasm for this war,” said Representative John J. Duncan Jr., a Tennessee Republican who opposes the war. “Nobody is happy about it. It certainly is not going to help Republican candidates, I can tell you that much.”

I disagree with my representative on almost every issue. But you have to hand it to him for being consistent in his opposition to this war.

When I saw this I likewise thought it odd.
“Cold-blooded”–heh.