Fast Interviews

Here’s what President Bush said yesterday about where he was in the Supreme Court justice nomination process:

And of course I’m reviewing a different candidate. I’m reviewing their curriculum vitae, as well as their findings. I will sit down with some and talk to them face-to-face, those who I have not known already. You know, we’ve got some people that — perhaps in contention that I’ve already spent time with, that I know; in other words, I’m familiar with some of the people that are being speculated about in the press. And so I don’t need to interview those. But of course I’m going to take a very thorough approach.
What they’re referring to is a Supreme Court vacancy. And this is a really important decision. And I’m going to take my time and I will be thorough and deliberate.

A thorough and deliberate process. A review of curriculum vitae. Face-to-face interviews with candidates [who presumably aren’t sitting in a White House waiting room]. Sounds like the process could take a few weeks–or at least a few days.
But mysteriously, I tune into TV news this morning, and reporters are breathlessly speculating on how the aforementioned nomination could come today! Since they don’t know who the nominee is, there’s not much for them to say about it, other than the flash news that it could be soon! Stay tuned and we might have actual news to report later!
How could this be? Yesterday Bush was talking about thorough interviews of candidates, and today we may have the selection. Either:
(1) Bush was blowing his typical news conference smoke yesterday, or
(2) As Reuters puts it:

Sources said the timing of an announcement had been moved up in part to deflect attention away from a CIA leak controversy that has engulfed Bush’s top political adviser, Karl Rove.
. . .
“[I]t helps take Rove off the front pages for a week,” [a] strategist said.

I guess we’ll find out whenever the nomination is announced. If it comes within the next day, then Bush was blowing smoke (i.e., lying) yesterday. If it comes later, the White House is simply (and successfully) using the media to get Rove off the front page.
UPDATE: Annoucement tonight. Perhaps Mr. Bush was pouring over those resumes during his meeting with the Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Life In Rightist America

Fighting the enemy within:

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A teenager was jailed for nine days after being accused of burning an American flag on the Fourth of July, and he faces trial next month.
While the case could test a state statute against flag burning – an act the U.S. Supreme Court says is protected under the First Amendment – prosecutors said Andrew Elisha Staley has yet to argue that he was exercising free speech rights.
“Bottom line is, the kid got drunk,” said Lisa Lee, his mother. “He’s never been in trouble before.”
Staley, 18, is accused of taking the flag from a residence and setting it on fire. His father said the teenager “has no reason for anger against the United States” and could easily have ignited a garbage can instead of a flag.
. . .
The teenager was released from jail Thursday on his own recognizance while he awaits his Aug. 2 trial on charges of desecrating a venerated object, underage drinking, littering, evading arrest, burning personal property and theft.
The Tennessee flag-burning statute makes the crime a misdemeanor, punishable by less than a year in jail and up to $2,500 fine.

If the guy took and destroyed someone’s property, charge him for that. Why file a special charge because it was a flag? Or, more pointedly, why do we even have a law about desecrating a flag? I assume the statute at issue is this:

39-17-311. Desecration of venerated object.
(a) A person commits an offense who intentionally desecrates:
(1) A place of worship or burial; or
(2) A state or national flag.
(b) A violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

Why do we have a law protecting the Tennessee and United States flags? Because people place more stock in symbols than in their supposed principles.
Let freedom reign.

56% Disapproval

Ouch. Our “popular, war-time president” has a few issues.
This number doesn’t bode well:

(June results are in parentheses)
1. Generally speaking, would you say things in this country are heading in the right direction, or are they off on the wrong track?
-Right direction, 36 percent (35)
-Wrong track, 59 percent (59)
-Not sure, 5 percent (6)

Frankly, I’m a little surprised the economic approval number (42%) is so low. The economy, while not spectacular, has been chugging along consistently for a while. The only real negative development of late is the up tick in oil prices. Either gas prices are really tainting the way people view the economy, or they simply don’t approve of Bush these days.

Box Office Blues

Hollywood has been in an unexplained slump this summer. Here are a few movie proposals which should help turn things around.

Disappearing Hurricane

Nothing like terror to push a hurricane (and missing white females) out of the news. I hope those in its path are still paying attention. It looks like it could be a rough one.