Trust, But Don’t Verify

The Bush administration says it doesn’t want anyone to enforce a nuclear weapons treaty it supports:

The Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty would ban the production of highly enriched uranium and plutonium for weapons. In the works for 10 years, it was the result of collaboration among 66 nations, in part to tighten control over India, Pakistan and Israel which until now had rebuffed any effort to curb their nuclear stockpiles.
But the White House tossed in a monkey wrench: In a dumbfounding announcement, the administration said it supported the treaty, but not its call for inspections and verifications, without which the treaty is meaningless.

In other words, the administration wants everyone but America to follow the treaty.
So much for that tough talk about stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.

Turning the Corner

Hmm. I wonder if Bush really means we are headed back downwards:

Hiring by U.S. employers slowed significantly in July, according to a government report Friday, as the number of new jobs added to payrolls came in far below Wall Street expectations.
The Labor Department report showed only 32,000 new net jobs added to payrolls during the month, down from a revised 78,000 jobs that were added in June. The increase was the smallest since December, when payrolls rose by just 8,000.
. . .
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast a 243,000 gain in jobs, and the unemployment rate staying unchanged at 5.6 percent, while economists surveyed by Reuters had a median jobs growth forecast of 228,000, with a range of estimates between 200,000 and 300,000.

Not only was this growth well below economist’s estimates, but it’s also below the number needed just to keep pace with population growth.
Cue the boilerplate talking points on 9/11 and how this proves we need to abolish the estate tax in 2011.

Harming America

A headline warranting an entry:

“ Bush ‘seeks new ways to harm US’“

The White House scrubbers haven’t gotten ahold of it . . . yet:

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

I recently read on a gossipy Internet site that Bush is under medication. Maybe it’s causing him to let his guard down and the truth is starting to seep out.

Scared to Death

Not to make too much light of a tragedy, but it’s weird that a 13-year-old boy dies merely from seeing a bear.
I found this factoid interesting:

New Hampshire has 3,500 to 4,000 black bears, which naturally fear people and avoid them. Rob Calvert, a Fish and Game biologist, said the last time a bear killed anyone in the state was in 1784.

At no extra charge, here’s what you should do if you see a bear:

He said the best response when encountering a bear is to back away slowly, talk, clap loudly, and maintain eye contact – and to never corner or run from the animal.

And don’t feed it, either.