|link| Posted 11:28 PM by Brian Linse

Katrina

Jeff Jarvis has a list of links for coverage of the coming storm.

|link| Posted 2:43 AM by Brian Linse

A Bad Night

We've all had "one of those nights", a night when nothing seems to go our way. But after what I witnessed tonight, I'm reassessing my definition of what constitutes a "Bad Night"

I took a late night trip to the store tonight, and found the situation in the photos below.

A car traveling north on Laurel Canyon Blvd., a road that I travel at least twice a day, was struck by a falling tree. The car was likely traveling at between 15 and 25 mph, depending on how fast the driver was taking the many twists and turns on this winding canyon road. Amazingly, the LAPD officer on the scene told me that the driver walked away with no injuries.


This angle, from the right side of the car and behind, shows the size of the tree. The largest section of the Y-shaped tree trunk took out the entire back seat and trunk of the car.



This shot, from the left and front, shows the ragtop peeled back and the secondary trunk across the front of the car.



From the right-front angle, the passenger side is crushed by the smaller branch of the trunk.



From the right side, you can see the damage that the tree did to the passenger's compartment.



This angle is from the right and above, and you can see that the driver's compartment is the only section of the car that wasn't crushed.

Slightly faster, or slightly slower, and this guy wouldn't have survived. He is either the luckiest or unluckiest guy in LA tonight, depending on whether you are a "glass half empty" kind of person or not. I mean, what are the odds that a tree would fall and crush a moving car? That's really bad luck.

But then again, he did walk away without a scratch...

|link| Posted 4:12 PM by Brian Linse

Short Cuts

Bush Vacation Death Count. Now at 67.

What Would Pat Do? Pat Robertson calls for the assassination of Hugo Chavez. I guess he's getting frustrated with that whole "Jesus is Love" thing.

Bye Bye Roe. Jane Hamsher does a bit of original blog journalism and has some disturbing (though unsurprising) things to report about future Justice Roberts. I will be posting more on this soon.

How Low Can Insty Go? ThinkProgress shows us that Glenn Reynolds is still pushing the Gorelick Memo lie. Some Pirate named Ed is involved, too.

Worse Than Nixon. Also from ThinkProgress, news that Bush is now polling lower than Nixon did during the peak of Watergate.

Patching in Heaven. Sad news that Dr. Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog Synthesizer, has died at the age of 71.

Shame of the Beltway Dems. David Sirota has an indictment of the DLC-ers and Beltway insiders who are still afraid to criticize the Bush war in Iraq. Independent registration, here I come...

Ma Ma Ma My Sharia. Simon, Totten, and Armed Liberal still not writing about the Iraqi constitution and the US-sanctioned concessions to Islamic fundamentalism. Don't ask me why, I didn't vote for Bush - they did... UPDATE: Totten comes through with a post. He ain't happy, but he's also not addressing the implications of US support for the compromise that may allow the constitution to subordinate to Sharia. How can this jibe with "bringing democracy to Iraq"? True believers will find a way to blame it on liberals, I know, but smart guys like Michael are gonna have a bit of a dilemma on their hands.

The question yet unanswered is: How will liberal Bush-voters feel about the sacrifices they made on other issues in order to vote for war in Iraq? If our actions there result in civil war and the establishment of an Islamic Republic, will they still believe in Bush's war? Will they still support the Neo Con vision for the region? How will they feel if Roe v. Wade goes down during the same administration that sees an Islamic Republic goes up in Iraq?

Wolcott is thinking along the same lines, but he's mostly picking on Roger.

|link| Posted 3:16 PM by Brian Linse

Things Fall Apart

I wish I could say that I am shocked and surprised that the US-sanctioned government in Iraq is taking its first steps toward a Sharia-based Islamic Republic, but I am not.

I had discussions before the Iraq II war began with several friends who have deep family connections in the region, and every one of them told me that the fall of Saddam would result in civil war followed by a government that would resemble the Iranian model of 25 years ago.

Even some of the faithful Neos are beginning to whiff the java:

It is not our place to fix what ails Islam. But it is utter recklessness to avert our eyes from the fact that militant Islam thrives wherever Islam reigns. That is a fact. When and where militant Islam thrives, America and the West are endangered. That is also a fact. How can we possibly be urging people who wisely donÂ?t want it to accept the government-institutionalized supremacy of Islam?

And if the United States, in contradiction of its own bedrock principle against government establishment religion, has decided to go into the theocracy business, how in the world is it that Islam is the religion we picked?

Kudos to Andy for at least acknowledging the issue. As of 4pm PST, none of my favorite "war liberal Bush voters" (Sorry Totten, you used to vote Green so I'm calling you liberal), Michael Totten, Roger L Simon, or Armed Liberal has commented on this awful development. Now, I know that one blogger is not supposed to chastise another over what they do or don't write about, but since they are all pro-war Bush voters who claim opposition to Islamic fundamentalism as a primary reason to support the war, I can't wait to hear what they must be thinking right now as the Bush Administration helps establish a new Islamic Republic.

|link| Posted 6:13 PM by Brian Linse

Why Cindy Sheehan Matters

Digby has nailed the reason that the wingnut hawks have gone batshit over the protests of Cindy Sheehan.

It is not an academic exercise for her. She lost her son --- and she'd like to know why. Nobody can explain to her -- or to any of us --- why we invaded Iraq and why people are dying. They said it was to protect us -- but it wasn't a threat. Then they said it was to liberate the Iraqi people, but Saddam and his government are a memory and yet the Iraqi people are still fighting us and each other. Our invasion of Iraq has inspired more terrorism, not less. Oil prices are higher than they've ever been. The country is swimming in debt. People are being killed and maimed with the regularity of the tides.

And everybody knows this. Deep inside they know that something has gone terribly wrong. We were either lied to or our leaders are verging on the insanely incompetent. That's why when Cindy Sheehan says that she wants to ask the president why her son died --- in those simple terms --- it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It's not just rhetorical.

Will Hillary, Harry, Nancy, and the rest of the clueless Dem leadership ever figure this out?

UPDATE: Check out Arthur Silber :

No one has ever maintained that Cindy Sheehan’s views are entitled to a “free pass.” But it is not her views that are being attacked: it is Cindy Sheehan as a person. Cole thinks many in the “anti-war left” are “cynically exploiting” Mrs. Sheehan’s tragedy. Perhaps some of them are. If that’s true, I wouldn’t like it much (although my mind-reading skills are not too advanced, so I can’t determine people’s motives that easily in the absence of sufficient evidence).

But here’s the truth, which I do not hesitate to name: given the propaganda onslaught that’s gone on for the last several years with regard to Iraq—and the propaganda onslaught that is now underway with regard to Iran, with a still willing and still servile media—I don’t give a damn. Cindy Sheehan is being “cynically exploited” in order to stimulate a national discussion about whether we should get the hell out of Iraq? Good. It’s about goddamned time. [via John Cole]

And for a great survey of just how insane Sheehan has made the wingnuts, go read Arianna Huffington. Media Matters also tracks the lie that Sheehan changed her story on president Bush.

Another good one: Gary Hart from The Huffington Post.

|link| Posted 6:16 PM by Brian Linse

What Is It About MSNBC?

Those guys really have a knack for hiring mentally ill wingnuts and then bringing out the worst in them. Their latest success story is Tucker Carlson.

Jane Hamsher has a very effective post about this, but the basic deal is that Bow-Tie Boy has come out as a supporter of the French agents who blew up The Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship, and killed a photographer on board. The agents were arrested and convicted of manslaughter, but ol' Tucker thinks they were swell guys and that it "was a bold and good thing to do." Yes kids, Carlson is supporting an act of State-sponsored terrorism.

What. The. Fuck?

Perhaps it's the pressure to deliver a conservative crank at MSNBC that they can use to brand their network and compete with all the other conservative cranks in Cablenewsland that seems to drive these boys over the edge, but whatever the reason, someone at MSNBC, or better yet, someone at NBC or Microsoft needs to get a fucking handle on the situation over at The Situation.

The lesson of Michael Savage's Savage Nation debacle was clearly wasted on MSNBC, and the hour that Keith Olbermann now spends in front of the cameras over there is the only oasis of sanity remaining at the network - barely, just barely, reason not to block it from my cable box.

Could somebody please hire Keith away from MSNBC? Pretty please?

|link| Posted 12:03 AM by Brian Linse

Hate Speech in Britain

If you think you have a comfortable position on the recent actions by PM Blair's government to make Muslim extremists unwelcome, then I urge you to read Irshad Manji's NYT piece from today.

I have to admit that I rather easily overcame my instinctive civil liberties position to agree with Mr. Blair. I achieved this, in part, by reminding myself that Britain has different standards for free speech than we in the US do, and then quickly choosing to not think about whether or not something similar would work here.

In the case of the radical Muslim clerics presently packing their bags and cabbing it to Heathrow there really is no question as to whether or not their activities rate as hate speech or incitement to violence. But it is easy to imagine cases where certain speech could be judged differently by different camps. What about those who call for the death of doctors providing abortions? What about crazed Greens, Socialists, Neo-Nazis?

Irshad makes a strong case for why Blair was right to do what he did, but she makes a much less convincing argument for what should guide us in these issues. Though if I am to be honest, I'd have to say that I feel this way because I have greater confidence in Blair's judgment than I do in president Bush's.

Irshad isn't claiming to have all the answers, but she is asking some great questions and calling for an important debate.

|link| Posted 11:45 PM by Brian Linse

Cover Up or Screw Up?

There's not any good way for this latest chapter in pre-9/11 Intel to shake out. What was Operation Able Danger, and did the kids at the Pentagon withhold information from the 9/11 Commission?

Either way, heads should roll for an unbelievable cover up or for an unforgivable cock up in Intel.

Republican Curt Weldon seems to be the guy who discovered this issue, and his fellow Republicans from the Commission are all voicing various levels of concern. Let's hope the MSM will keep this story alive until we have some answers.

UPDATE: Looks like it's going to be a hit to the cred of the 9/11 Commission. They knew about "Able Danger" and left it out of the report. [via SPLOID]

UPDATE: Now this thing is just getting weird. Can't someone at the Pentagon just step up and settle the issue? Who's driving this fucking boat anyway?

|link| Posted 6:25 PM by Brian Linse

Hollywood Hills Brush Fire

The skies above Casa BadDude are filled with news, police, and fire helicopters in response to a brush fire that has broken out near my home. The fire appears to be in Nichols Canyon near the Mount Olympus neighborhood, which is less than a mile from my house.

No danger for Casa BadDude from this fire, as it seems from the local TeeVee news coverage that firefighters are close to having it under control. Population is very dense up here, and there are a great many very expensive homes in the area, so fire response is generally very quick. In my seven years up here, however, this is the biggest blaze that I've seen.

The fire is on the other side of a large hill, so all I can see from the roof of my house is the line of yellowish smoke drifting toward Burbank. There is another brush fire burning in Pomona, and you can get local news coverage from KCAL & KCBS at their websites.

If you are a local, I'd suggest staying away from Laurel Canyon Blvd., Hollywood Blvd. between Fairfax and La Brea, and of course, Mulholland Drive east of Laurel Canyon.

The trail of yellow in this shot is the smoke from the fire drifting north into the valley.

Just west of the fire, news helicopters hover to get their shots.

|link| Posted 1:48 PM by Brian Linse

Help Hackett Win in Ohio

Via Jane Hamsher, it looks like Hackett's campaign needs a little help in Ohio. This would be a significant win for the Dems, and will be a victory even if he loses because of the resources the Repubs have had to throw at a district that they thought they owned.

If you can help, please click through to the Atrios ActBlue site here and do what you can.