Bernanke to be Next Fed Chairman

CNN reports President Bush will name Ben Bernanke as the next Federal Reserve Chairman to replace Alan Greenspan. Unlike Harriet Miers Bernanke won't be labled as a Bush crony. The unsurprising pick (he's been mentioned many times as Greenspan's replacement) worked at the Fed before as well as in academia. Currently he's the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors.

On the plus side he's an inflation hawk like Greenspan. He's in favor of something called "inflation targeting." Here's what he told the Minneapolis Fed:

It's true that the Federal Reserve is already practicing something close to de facto inflation targeting, and I think we've seen many benefits from that. My main suggestion is to take the natural next step and to give an explicit objective, that is, to provide the public with a working definition of price stability in the form of a number or a numerical range for inflation. I believe that that step, though incremental, would have significant marginal benefits relative to current practice.

First and very importantly, such a step would increase the coherence of policy. Currently, the FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee] makes its decisions without an agreed-upon definition of price stability or of the inflation objective, and one wonders how oarsmen pulling in different directions can get the boat to go in a straight line. I think the FOMC's decision-making process would be improved if members shared a collective view of where we want the inflation rate to be once the economy is on a steady expansion path.

Second, there's a great deal of evidence now that tightly anchored public expectations of inflation are very beneficial, not only for stabilizing inflation but also in reducing the volatility of output and giving the Federal Reserve more ability in the short run to respond flexibly to shocks that may hit the economy.

Inflation expectations in the United States are better anchored than they used to be but are still too volatile for optimum performance of the economy. Announcing an actual number or range would serve to anchor public expectations of inflation more firmly and avoid the risk of “inflation scares” that might unnecessarily raise nominal bond yields.

Third, from a communications viewpoint, financial markets would be well served by knowing the medium- to long-term inflation objective of the Fed. An explicit inflation objective would help market participants accurately price long-term assets, both by anchoring long-term inflation expectations and by giving the market better information about the likely path of short-term policy as the Fed moves toward its long-term target. And fourth and finally, I think an inflation target does introduce an additional measure of accountability for the Federal Reserve, although I would put that as least important of the things I've mentioned.

On the downside he hasn't worked on Wall Street, and it might take a while for the bankers and financiers to get comfortable with the academic.

Here's Bernanke's c.v. and Princeton home page. In August, John Tamny wrote a critical article on Bernanake for National Review. "For his views on money, Bernanke has the potential to be very dangerous," he writes." Brad DeLong countered. It will be fun watching dueling economists for a day or two.

"Bernanke's the Man"

October 23, 2005

Post-Game Observations

After Dante Culpepper's touchdown passes he didn't do his rolling, rolling, rolling celebration. I wonder if someone told him about John Jaggler's reporting on the source of that dance.

Ahmad Carroll didn't commit any penalties but he gave up a big touchdown pass. He's another Mike Sherman-as-GM bust.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)

Zilch. Zero. Nada.

That's what my weblog is worth according to Business Opportunities Weblog.

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

Huh? It's not like Technorati doesn't acknowledge my existence. Almost six years of writing has to be worth something...anything. I've got an advertiser. That has to mean TAM has some value. Dane Carlson needs to do a little debugging.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 02:14 PM | Comments (7)

A Lovely Half of Football

What's more beautiful: the Packers stomping on the sex-crazed Vikings or Vikings fans (the most fair-weather in all of sports) having to watch it?

UPDATE: Patrick "almost" feels sorry for the Vikings.

UPDATE II: Me and my big mouth. The Vikings have scored 10-straight points. Now, Ryan Longwell just missed a field goal to start the fourth quarter. We have ourselves another Packers-Vikings nailbiter.

UPDATE III: Eek! The Vikings have just taken the lead with three minutes left. Favre will need some last-minute magic since Ahman Green was on the turf gripping his knee earlier.

UPDATE IV: The Vikings win with a last-second field goal. Injuries and Vikings defensive adjustments stopped the Packers in the second half. They can't blame turnovers. Favre didn't get picked off or threw any stupid passes. They just don't have enough players to make plays. To my Minnesota readers you may begin your heckling.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 01:29 PM | Comments (3)

October 22, 2005

Puzzle Problems

While watching the World Series I've been working on some Sudoku puzzles. Let me tell you: I suck. The easy ones are taking me twice as long than average. Ugh!

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 09:49 PM | Comments (0)

Miers Affirmatively for Affirmative Action

When a paper trail is lacking, actions are as loud as words when it comes to Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. Defenders have mentioned how she fought to stop the American Bar Association from having a pro-abortion position. They argue that this is a sign she'd vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. In the Washington Post we learn she had no problems with racial and gender quotas in hiring of lawyers and bar association leadership positions:

Two years before Miers became the president, the state bar had decided to remedy that situation by setting aside four board of directors seats for women and minorities. Those members are appointed by the president but have the same voting privileges as those who ran for office.

The policy, which is still in place today, came up for discussion during Miers's presidency, board minutes show. The board made minor changes, but kept the preferences intact.

Miers critic and law professor John Yoo called Miers' actions are "another worrying sign that her real views on the kind of issues she'll decide on the Supreme Court are not as conservative as President Bush suggests."

If her pro-life actions are indicative of how she'll vote on abortion cases it's not a stretch to think she'll be on the liberal, pro-affirmative action side of the court. The White House spins the news by saying Miers' pursuit of diversity was a "private-sector initiative to increase diversity, which is not the same thing as a government mandate of quotas." The problem with this spin is state bar associations license lawyers. In order to practice law in Texas you must be a member of the bar association. It's a government-granted monopoly. It's a stretch to call this a "private-sector initiative." Besides since Miers has no written record we can dig through we have to use other information to divine how she'll tackle important legal issues like affirmative action. The White House has put themselves in this corner by picking the ultimate stealth candidate.

Captain Ed admires Miers' attempt to redress generations of racial discrimination and doesn't think she's a "Quota Queen." Stephen Bainbridge, the best of the blogospheric Miers critics pulls together a George Will piece and counters Hugh Hewitt's criticism of it.

"Miers Backed Race, Sex Set-Asides"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Law at 06:59 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2005

Defending Miers to Webloggers

The RNC organized a conference call of webloggers hosted by RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Craig Enoch defending Harriet Miers. From reading Mark Coffey's account I'm not swayed. Agnostic I'll remain. The problem is anecdotal accounts don't cut it for me. President Bush wants conservatives to trust him that Miers will be a justice in the Scalia/Thomas mold. We have to trust Bush's judgement without reading or hearing much from the nominee herself. I don't trust Bush on this. I trust Craig Enoch even less. I know nothing about the man. How much did he work with Miers professionally? I don't know. All I know is he told webloggers (using Coffey's words), "Miers understands the roles of judges in a way that is compatible with a conservative approach (i.e., not an activist, legislative bench)." No support except his memory.

What would I need to get off my cautious fence? I would like to see some papers, essays, lecture notes, speeches, or something that illustrates her constitutional thinking. The White House has had 18 days to produce something. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. This doesn't means only a law professor or judge would meet my criteria. Getting into top-notch law reviews isn't what I'm expecting. I just want evidence that Miers has thought about constitutional issues deeply and can explicate a conservative judicial philosophy.

"Blogger Conference Call: Craig Enoch and Jim Dyke"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Law at 08:06 PM | Comments (14)

200 Years Ago Today...

Lord Nelson led the British Navy to victory in the Battle of Trafalgar.

"Trafalgar 200: 'England Expects That Every Man Shall Do His Duty'"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)

When Reviewers Go Wild

Zagat reviewers aren't always nice. Slashfood has some quotes that didn't get into their guides.

"Zagat Outtakes"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Culture at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)

Carnival of the Badger: Pirate Edition

Subject to Change hosts the Carnival of the Badger #10.

WARNING!!! TAM will be hosting next week's carnival. I promise no pirates, but there will probably be something just as annoying. There's a certain song in my head that would fit perfectly.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 12:34 PM | Comments (2)

Praise to Feingold

The Coburn Amendment would have dropped the funding for needless Alaska bridges and pay to rebuild a Louisiana bridge damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Alaska's senior Senator Ted Stevens threatened to resign from the Senate if the amendment passed. Well, we're still stuck with Stevens and his porkbarrel ways because the amendment died 82-15. Praise has to go to Sen. Russ Feingold for voting for the measure. Russ isn't known for getting the Badger State pork. He's been too busy limited Americans' right to free speech and thinking about running for President. Still, Feingold voted the right way.

"Coburn Loses Battle of Bridges"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)

Idiot, Sports-Loving Criminal

WTMJ's John Jagler found a moron who like Larry Bird way too much:

A fan of the Hick from French Lick reached a plea agreement with prosecutors for a crime spree that included robbery and shooting a gun with intent to kill. The deal was 30-years in prison. He said no. Not because it was too long.. but too short. James Torpy asked for, and was given 33-years. The reason?? He wanted to match Bird's jersey number, 33. "He said if he was going to go down, he was going to go down in Larry Bird's jersey," Oklahoma County District Judge Ray Elliott told reporters. "We accommodated his request and he was just as happy as he could be. "I've never seen anything like this in 26 years in the courthouse. But I know the (district attorney) is happy about it." I hope Larry Bird lover and WTMJ sales representative Tom Hecker is never charged with a crime.

"I Love Larry Bird... But this is Just Plain Stupid"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 11:41 AM | Comments (1)

Lottery Winner Found

Even luckier than Judd Gregg was Steve West. The Oregonian told ABC News that he plunked down $40 to buy his first-ever Powerball tickets and ended up being the sole winner of the $340 million jackpot.

"$340 Million Powerball Winner Steps Forward"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

Tying One On

Ah, shoe tying. I have bad memories of learning to tie my shoes. I remember sitting on the floor in kindergarden staring at my gym shoes trying to figure out how to make a knot. I ended up just tucking them into the shoes and hoped nothing flew off during a wild game of color tag. The "bunny running around the tree" metaphor didn't work. I watched adults demonstrate for what seemed like hours in 5-year-old time. Thank god for velcro. I'm not sure how I ended up learning to tie my laces. My method ended up making a knot with two loops, "bunny ears." They're not the tightest loops, but they've gotten me this far. Even today, if someone is watching me they give me a weird look at how I do it.

"Another Childhood Milestone Reached"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 10:51 AM | Comments (3)

October 20, 2005

The Hammer Turns Himself In

Rep. Tom DeLay turned himself in.

"Now Ronnie Earle has the mugshot he wanted," DeGuerin said, referring to the Travis County district attorney who brought the charges. DeLay and his lawyer have accused the district attorney of trying to make headlines for himself.

What a grin. You'd never think this was a mug shot. He's always the politician.

Here's a question to those who think DeLay is a scoundrel: assuming he's guilty of all the crimes Ronnie Earle accuses him of does he deserve life imprisonment? Seriously, is political corruption on par with murder or rape?

"Lawmaker DeLay Arrested, Charged in Texas"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 11:51 PM | Comments (7)

Lucky Senator

Sen. Judd Gregg won the lottery, but he's not going to Disneyworld.

"NH Sen. Gregg Wins Portion of Powerball, to Donate to Father’s Charity"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 11:31 PM | Comments (0)

Bush Defends; Paper Asks for Miers Withdrawal

It's been 17 days since President Bush nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. Critics are still waiting for some evidence that she would be a justice in the mold of Scalia or Thomas. At least we have a questionnaire to go through. Today, the President defended Miers by saying she is a "competent, strong, capable woman who shares the same judicial philosophy that I share." He also mentioned her real-world experience would give her a "fresh outlook." (That is Miers defenders' strongest argument.) What was fresh was no mention of her religion.

I don't want to know if she thinks abortion is bad. I want to know if she thinks Roe v. Wade is bad law. Thinking that doesn't mean one is pro-life. One can think Roe is bad law and still support a woman's right to an abortion. Overturning Roe simply means the question of legalized abortion would be returned to the states. So Miers can support a pro-life constitutional amendment all she wants. That gives me no assurance that she would overturn Roe.

In related news, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, today, asked President Bush to withdraw the Miers nomination writing,

It's not that there is so much wrong with Miers, as it is that there is not enough right about her.

Has she so much as handled a case involving the Constitution, written an article on a constitutional issue or taught constitutional law? In what memorable public debates on constitutional law has she partaken?

"Bush: Miers Will Reassure Senate Skeptics"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Law at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)

October 19, 2005

Stick with the Original Manchurian Candidate

Those who worked on the special edition of the original verison of The Manchurian Candidate did a great job with the film. The remastering of the video and audio were outstanding. The picture was crisp and sharp. No film flaws were noticed. The sound was clear with no noticable pops or background fuzz. The film looked much like someone making a black and white film today. Cleaning up all the oldness let me concentrate on the story and acting. With its McCarthyism and Cold War overtones the picture is a cultural artifact. Still Frank Sinatra did well as the dream-tormented hero Ben Marco. But it was Angela Lansbury who stole the show as the evil mother/Communist agent who tried to use her brainwashed son to leap to power. The original movie's twists and turns and fine acting made it a much better movie than the anti-conservative, boring remake of last year.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Culture at 01:13 PM | Comments (5)

Jib's ID Pop Quiz

Jib noticed Wisconsin has a strange set of priorities when it comes to needing identification.

"Identification in Wisconsin"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 12:38 PM | Comments (0)

Quacking South of the Border

We witness Dr. Howard Dean's "deep grasp" for foreign policy.

Howard Dean traveled south of the border to meet with Mexico's presidential contenders Monday, and lashed out at the Bush administration's policies on Mexico.

Dean, the Democratic National Committee chairman, claimed President Bush "turned his back on Mexico'' after it refused to support the Iraq war.

The former Vermont governor told The Associated Press in an interview that "a strong Mexico and a strong Mexican economy fixes a lot of the problems between the two countries, particularly immigration and narcotics.''

"We ought to have a partnership with Mexico'' Dean said. "President Bush has lost ground in the relationship.''

...

Dean, who insisted he didn't have a favorite Mexican presidential candidate, argued that a lack of cooperation by the White House on immigration helped create the Minutemen, a civilian border patrol group that has been guarding the U.S.-Mexico frontier to discourage illegal immigration.

The notion that Mexico is being punished for not backing the Iraq War rejects reality. President Bush's inablility to get his guest worker/amnesty bill through Congress isn't due to lack of effort. It's because a large portion of the GOP base wants the feds to get serious about illegal immigration. Dr. Dean can't even offer one concrete example of the U.S. retaliating against Mexico because of the Iraq War.

As for the Minutemen, they don't care about cooperation. They care about the lack of adequate border patrol officers along the border. They decided since the government wasn't doing its job they would. Howard the Duck tries to reach out to disaffected conservatives and grasps air.

"Dean Slams Bush's Policies on Mexico"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Howard the Duck at 11:31 AM | Comments (2)

Vrakas Wins in Waukesha

Dan Vrakas beat Jim Dwyer Waukesha County Executive race. Vrakas with over 67% of the vote proved that Waukesha County is solidly conservative and Republican.

Patrick reminds us that Vrackas will have to work with Dwyer and the county board, and GBFan is so happy he went Cyrillic.

"Vrakas to Lead Waukesha County"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 12:46 AM | Comments (1)

October 18, 2005

Doing a Better Job than Me

My poor defense of an embryo deserving personhood demonstrates my inability to provide a convincing defense of my pro-life stance. Part of it is due to the emotions contained in the issue. The idea of millions of children being killed every year because they're unwanted is disturbing. If the unborn are people with the same right to life as any other human then legalized abortion on demand is a tragedy of historic proportions. Passion sometimes gets in the way of making a persuasive argument.

I've found an interesting dialogue among a pro-abortion feminist, a pro-abortion Christian, and a pro-life Christian. God is mentioned, but theological reasoning isn't the primary defense of the pro-life position. I don't expect anyone to be swayed. It's simply food-for-thought.

"Life and Abortion: A Pro-Life Defense in Dialogue Form"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Culture of Death at 10:08 PM | Comments (10)

Furl's Not Sick Any More

Furl is working again. I have no idea what was wrong.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 01:48 AM | Comments (0)

House Republicans' Valiant Attempt to Woo Webloggers

Michelle Malkin posted an invitation for webloggers to come to the Capitol to post and talk with Congressional Republicans about "the House Republican record of successful economic policies, their commitment to fiscal responsibility, and the details of the historic proposed budget amendment that is expected to reach the floor later this week."

It's nice to offer the invitation but it misses a couple points about weblogging and webloggers. First, who besides the independently wealthy or someone living within driving distance of D.C. will attend? Most of us who toil at this hobby obsession can't adjust work schedules with the snap of our fingers to run off to Washington. Second, in our ever-increasingly connected world distance becomes less meaningful. Through the internet and talk radio I know more of what's going on in Washington than I do in Madison. Face time with Congressmen is great, but not necessary. If the House Republican Conference is serious about dealing with webloggers they should be sending e-mails asking for interviews. (I'm waiting for your e-mail Mr. Sensenbrenner.) That's how the White House has been treating conservative talk radio to support Harriet Miers. They haven't been inviting hosts to the White House.

I give the House GOP an A for effort, but a C for not fully thinking about the wide expanse weblogs offer. They should be talking to Patrick Ruffini.

"Pork-Busting Progress"

UPDATE: My quip about only webloggers "living within driving distance of D.C. will attend" was slightly off. Matt Margolis got invited. He lives in Boston and is taking the train down to D.C. I forgot about the only part of Amtrak that's worth anything. The essence of my point remains: if the House GOP wants to reach out to webloggers they should think beyond the small portion that live in the Northeast Corridor. Outreach means going west of the Appalachians.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 01:42 AM | Comments (5)

October 17, 2005

Missing Out on a Winning Issue

The Taxpayers' Bill of Rights (TABOR) is a rare issue that garners such wide-spread support across Wisconsin. In a just-released Wisconsin Policy Research Institute poll the only groups that don't have a majority supporting TABOR are liberals and blacks. A majority of people in the People's Republic of Madison back limiting increased in state and local government spending. It seems like a winning issue, right? Politicians should be pushing this issue that has little political costs, right? Well, what is State Senator Glenn Grothman's most recent accomplishment? He's the man who whupped Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer because she wasn't doing much for TABOR. TABOR is Grothman's issue. Grothman put pressure on Gov. Jim "Needles" Doyle to allow fireworks to be launched near Summerfest.

The Wisconsin GOP has become very distant to voters, especially conservatives. Instead of advancing TABOR they've shrunk from the fight to limit government spending. The screams of local officials who don't want to control spending have more weight than the plight of taxpayers tired of paying more for government.

"Wisconsin Residents Favor Constitutional Amendment to Limit State and Local Spending" [PDF]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)

Stem Cells Without Killing

Scientist may have found ways to get embryonic stem cells while not destroying human beings in the process. One technique takes a single cell from an embryo:

Taking off a blastomere from an eight-celled mouse embryo, [Robert Lanza] put the cell in a dish and let it grow. He discovered that if mouse embryonic stem cells accompanied the cell, it would create embryonic stem cells of its own.

The other technique changes the genetics of the embryo so it can implant itself to the mother's womb.

But because an embryo was created in this process, and then destroyed for its stem cells, it prompted objections.

[Alexander] Meissner and [Rudolf] Jaenisch, who is also affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said their research gets around this objection by making an embryo without the ability to grow into a person.

Not quite. Many pro-lifers don't define personhood by the ability or inability to attach to the womb. Many things happen in the early stages of a pregnancy that prevent the embryo from attaching. When this naturally occurs it doesn't take away the embryo's personhood. It's just a price paid from living in a tragic, imperfect world. Pro-lifers see a person from the moment of conception, that place in time where sperm and egg united to form cell with a unique genetic code. From that moment the cell is a person with a soul who is entitled to the right to life. What Meissner and Jaenisch have done is create a flawed embryo, a "terminally ill embryo" to use the words of bioethicist R. Alta Charo.

"New Stem Cell Methods Don't Destroy Embryo"

UPDATE: As was pointed out in the comments I engaged in some sloppy thinking by mentioning cloning as producing an embryo with a "unique genetic code." By definition it does no such thing.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Culture of Death at 11:39 AM | Comments (5)

Cheney Target

Bloomberg has a lengthy article on the possibility Vice President Dick Cheney is the target of the Valarie Plame investigation. Maybe this is why Lynne Cheney told Time her husband won't be running for President in 2008.

What we see more sure of is Lewis "Scooter" Libby's indictment. He wrote a letter to NY Times reporter Judith Miller that could be construed at trying to guide her grand jury testimony:

Miller, 57, said she went to jail rather than testify because, unlike other reporters, she didn't feel Libby had given her specific and voluntary permission to speak about their confidential conversations. She relented when Libby contacted her by telephone and letter last month, saying he had always expected her to testify.

Those communications with Miller may pose legal problems for Libby. His letter to her stated that ``the public report of every other reporter's testimony makes clear that they did not discuss Ms. Plame's name or identity with me.''

Miller wrote in her Times article that Fitzgerald asked her to read that portion of the letter aloud to the grand jurors and asked for her reaction to Libby's words. She said that part of the letter had ``surprised me because it might be perceived as an effort by Mr. Libby to suggest that I, too, would say we had not discussed Ms. Plame's identity. Yet my notes suggested that we had discussed her job.''

The Plame story began when Bob Novak mentioned the CIA operative in a column. The special prosecutor has been busy trying to get some reporters to testify while Novak has flown below the radar. He's been pretty quiet. If Libby or even Karl Rove ends up being indicted will that unlock Novak? He's the one I'm most interested in hearing.

A new interesting angle is Joe Wilson considering suing the White House after Patrick Fitzgerald finishes his work:

In an interview yesterday, Wilson said that once the criminal questions are settled, he and his wife may file a civil lawsuit against Bush, Cheney and others seeking damages for the alleged harm done to Plame's career.

If they do so, the current state of the law makes it likely that the suit will be allowed to proceed -- and Bush and Cheney will face questioning under oath -- while they are in office. The reason for that is a unanimous 1997 U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that Paula Jones' sexual harassment suit against then-President Bill Clinton could go forward immediately, a decision that was hailed by conservatives at the time.

This issue will be dogging President Bush et al until he's out of office.

"Cheney May Be Entangled in CIA Leak Investigation, People Say" [via Balloon Juice]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 10:04 AM | Comments (1)

Furl's Sick

Furl hasn't been saving web pages for me for a few days. I hope it's just a server problem or some kind of upgrade. What I hope didn't happen is someone pulled the plug. For years I had been collecting web pages for posting to TAM in its own bookmark folder in my browser. That folder had gotten unwieldly. There are easily a few hundred bookmarks in there. It's daunting wading through them looking for that one item I'm inspired to post on at the moment. Another thing is these bookmarks are tied to a single computer. With Furl I can get to them when I'm posting from my desktop machine or when I'm out and about with my notebook. Plus, readers can subscribe to the RSS feed to see what's caught my eye but hasn't deserved a full-blown weblog post. I really need to get a link to that feed permanently on TAM. What I should also do is insert the feed into a sidebar.

UPDATE: I'm using [RSS] del.icio.us now. It doesn't save web pages like Furl does did, but it's faster. Now, is there a way to import my Furl links into del.icio.us using RSS?

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 12:11 AM | Comments (1)

October 16, 2005

The Awful Defense of Miers

John Fund brought up an incident of then White House staff secretary Harriet Miers complaining about the 2001 Presidential Christmas message being too Christian. Ned Ryun, the author of the original message told Fund, "Miers purposefully sought to dilute the Christianity of the message, thus revealing to me at least a willingness to compromise unnecessarily without outside pressure."

Now, the story may or may not be accurate. This superficial attack on Miers works because the White House has offered nothing but "trust Bush," "Miers is an evangelical Christian," and "Miers has real-world experience." She's such a stealth candidate her defenders can't even offer up a real defense. I want to continue to give Miers the benefit of the doubt, The White House has been given plenty of time to dig through her past and find a document, a speech, or an example of Miers being in the Scalia or Thomas mold. They haven't which disturbs me.

"From Worse to 'Sweet Jesus!'" [via No Runny Eggs]

UPDATE: The White House wants to step into the Wayback Machine and try Miers relaunch:

Get ready for a whole new Harriet. After a disastrous two weeks, White House officials say they hope to relaunch the nomination of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court by moving from what they call a "biographical phase" to an "accomplishment phase." In other words, stop debating her religion and personality and start focusing on her résumé as a pioneering female lawyer of the Southwest. "We got a little wrapped around the axle," an exhausted White House official said. "As the focus becomes less on who she's not and more on who she is, that's a better place to be."

So, as the White House counsel begins her formal prep sessions this week for a confirmation hearing that's likely to start in early November, President Bush will hold a photo op with former chief justices of the Texas Supreme Court who will testify to Miers' qualifications and legal mind. The White House's 20-person "confirmation team" will line up news conferences, opinion pieces and letters to the editor by professors and former colleagues who can talk about Miers' experience dealing with such real-world issues as the Voting Rights Act when she was a Dallas city council member and Native American tribal sovereignty when she was chairwoman of the Texas Lottery Commission.

How this will show Miers to be in the Scalia/Thomas mold is beyond me.

"Why They Can't Hit The Right Note" [via Captain Ed]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Law at 09:57 PM | Comments (2)

Not Anti-Semitic

Citizens for Responsible Government released a press release beating up on the Journal Sentinel's Spivak & Bice. It's titled "Spivak-stein & Bice-stein" Funny? No. Too cleaver by half but not anti-semitic. It's insulting the reporters so being "so smart" they're attacking government watchdogs instead of rooting out government waste that could reduce taxes.

"Jim Sees Einstein As Just A Jew, Not A Brilliant Physicist"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 12:25 PM | Comments (0)

Kids Killed in Bus Accident

A bus full of Chippewa Falls high school students and chaperones coming back from a band competition hit a semi. Twin Cities' WCCO has coverage.

"Tragedy for Chippewa Falls"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

October 15, 2005

Iraq Votes on Constitution

When Reuters says Iraq is "bloodless" that means the Iraqi constitutional elections were going well. There has been some violence and deaths. U.S., Iraqi, and allied forces have once again created a safe voting environment. Omar at Iraq the Model noticed "that no multinational forces were on the streets and the only sign for their presence was the helicopters that patrolled the skies." That's what a curfew can do. With security in place 10 million people voted including Sunnis. Even if enough Sunnis voted to reject the constitution this is still a great result. In order for Iraq to sustain a liberal regime the public must feel they are part of the process. Sunnis voting is a great sign of progress.

Check out Gateway Pundit for plenty of links and some context.

"Bloodless Iraq Vote Leaves Divide on Constitution"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 05:03 PM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2005

A City's Silly Sports Obsession

Green Bay isn't listening to me. They're going ahead and turning their city into the Disneyland of football.

Green Bay's Common Council, in September, unanimously approved the renaming of the former Forward Street to Bart Starr Drive. The renaming effort was spearheaded by Sandi Campbell, who along with her daughter, artist C. McLain Campbell, are planning an outdoor monument park in the area.

Will the late Charles Martin get a statue? A lot of Packers fans still smile when he dropped Chicago's Jim McMahon into the turf in 1986. Heck, let's name something after Lee Remmel. He's been around the Packers forever, and he knows more about the team than anyone else alive. While we're at it let's put a statue outside the Green Bay Public Library in honor of the Packalope. He needs some cheering up after having his antlers barred from games.

"Street Named after Starr"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 09:28 PM | Comments (4)

Giving Us the Finger

The purple finger has returned to Iraq.

"A Beautiful Sight!"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

"Borking" Miers

Hugh Hewitt accuses Tucker Carlson (and I presume many other Miers critics) of "borking." Uh, no.

Along with his "Bos-Wash Axis of Elitism" Hewitt is raising the rhetorical level that could cause a real conservative schism. He should tone it down. We're still friends even if we disagree on one issue.

[via Galley Slaves]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Law at 01:51 PM | Comments (6)

Give Me One of Those

Sales at Japanese McDonald's have been down in the dumps since the 2002 mad cow scare. The resturant's latest attempt to woo customers is the shrimp burger, described by the AP as "a bit similar to the Filet-O-Fish, except it's filled with shrimp." It may be similar to something sold in McDonald's in South Korea.

The real problem with the chain is demographics and culture:

[T]he Japanese market is increasingly problematic for McDonald's: people are having fewer children while the population is growing older and health-conscious.

Big Macs aren't so hot when you're worried more about your cholesterol than feeding kids who grew up and moved out of the house.

To see how different Japan's McDonald's are to their U.S. counterparts check out these sandwiches I snatched from the company website:

Either the Japanese like sesame seeds for breakfast, or they like eggs and bacon on their burgers. Weird but not unappetizing. I eat steak and eggs, so I'd try them.

"McDonald's in Japan Offers Shrimp Burger"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in New Stuff at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

Miers Sounds Like O'Connor

It's been 10 days since President Bush nominated Harriet Miers. Agnostics like me are still waiting for something, anything positive about the woman. The White House has had plenty of time to offer up an argument beyond "trust us" and "she has real-world experience." (I have real-world experience. Does that make me qualified for the Supreme Court?) The Hotline is reporting that Republican activists are working behind the scenes to "derail Harriet Miers' nomination by pressuring allies of the White House to drop their support." Charlie Sykes thinks this might be a "turning point." Until someone publically switches their support for Miers or a conservative Senator announces they will vote against Miers (won't happen until her confirmation hearings) the White House has no reason to dump Miers.

Now, that bit of Miers' testimony [PDF] where she talks about the Federalist Society, the NAACP, and some group called the Progessive Voters League screams of O'Connor II. She shunned the Federalist Society because they are too "politically charged," but doesn't think the NAACP is. It reminds me of O'Connor in the Michigan law school affirmative action case where she wrote,

Access to legal education (and thus the legal profession) must be inclusive of talented individuals of every race and ethnicity, so that all members of our heterogeneous society may participate in the educational institutions that provide the training and education necessary to succeed in America.

That led her to be swing vote allowing racial preferences in law school admissions.

"GOP v. Miers"

UPDATE: