ON VACATION



I'll be visited with friends in Vail, Colorado until next Saturday, August 9th. Blogging will resume at that time. Have a great week everyone!

ENTIRE AIRPLANES FOUND BURIED IN IRAQ



We wondered where some of the Iraqi aircraft went. Now we know (from the AP):

Rep. Porter Goss, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the discovery pointed to how far Iraqi forces went to conceal their activities. The Florida Republican was briefed on the discovery during his recent trip to Iraq.



"Our guys have found 30-something brand new aircraft buried in the sand to deny us access to them," Goss said. "These are craft we didn't know about."



He said the planes were not considered weapons of mass destruction for which coalition troops have been searching for months, "but they are weapons (Iraq) tried to hide."

Hmm. Do ya think there might be a chance that WMD might be hidden in a similar fashion?

AND YOU THOUGHT THE U.S. HAD AN EMPLOYMENT PROBLEM?



Check out the problem in France (via Jane Galt's Asymmetrical Information).

HAPPY 15TH ANNIVERSARY, RUSH



Let's raise our glasses to Rush Limbaugh, who despite unceasing criticism from the wacko left has remained at the pinnacle of broadcast excellence.

TODAY'S COMMENT: BOBOS INFECT U.S. FOREIGN POLICY



What is a Bobo? A term coined by David Brooks, Bobo is an abbreviation of "bourgeois bohemian". Here's a description (from an Amazon.com review):

You've seen them: They sip double-tall, nonfat lattes, chat on cell phones, and listen to NPR while driving their immaculate SUVs to Pottery Barn to shop for $48 titanium spatulas. They tread down specialty cheese aisles in top-of-the-line hiking boots and think nothing of laying down $5 for an olive-wheatgrass muffin.

They are a psychologically conflicted class. Bobos like really expensive things, but they want them to look beat up in order to avoid accusations of ostentation.



This bobo view of the universe has infected the foreign policy views of our country's leaders, particularly those on the left. How else can you explain the rush to intervene in Liberia? Bobos love the security afforded by our powerful military, but they are terrified of appearing "arrogant" and "unilateralist" if we use it for our own interest. Mark Steyn hits the nail on the head:

It�s precisely the lack of any national interest that makes it appealing to the progressive [bobo] mind. By intervening in Liberia, you�re demonstrating your moral purity. That�s why all the folks most vehemently opposed to American intervention in Iraq � from Kofi Annan to the Congressional Black Caucus � are suddenly demanding American intervention in Liberia. The New York Times is itching to get in: �Three weeks have passed since President Bush called on the Liberian President, Charles Taylor, to step aside, and pledged American assistance in restoring security. But there has been no definitive word here on how or when.

The Liberian issue is just another symptom of how our generation is struggling to adapt to its still-new role as members of the most powerful and successful nation on earth -- a world we inherited from our parents and grandparents. Let's hope we treat this priceless deposit with the respect it deserves.

SOMETHING LIKE THIS WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN



Pornographer Larry Flynt is running for governor of California (via SFGate.com):

Unlike many who say they want the job, Flynt says that he has a plan on "how to balance the budget without raising taxes . . . I've done my homework."



"I would expand the gaming and the private casinos, the slot machines," said Flynt, who is connected with the Hustler Casino in Gardena. "This would provide enough revenue to where the state could get out of debt -- the entire deficit. Nobody's taxes get raised, and no programs get cut."

Brother.

THE 2004 SENATE RACE



John Miller has a nifty synopsis of the 2004 senate matchups at National Review Online.

MULTI-MILLIONAIRE SENATOR TARDY WITH TAX PAYMENTS



Multi-millionaire man-of-the-people Sen. John Edwards can't seem to pay his taxes on time (via the Washington Times):

Sen. John Edwards, North Carolina Democrat and 2004 presidential hopeful, is four months delinquent in paying the property taxes on his Georgetown mansion and owes the cash-strapped District more than $11,000, city records show.



Mr. Edwards is worth somewhere between $12 million and $30 million after a successful career as a personal injury lawyer, according to his financial disclosure forms. He bought the eight-bedroom, 6,672-square-foot home in the tony neighborhood for $3.8 million in September.

Imagine if a Republican presidentail candidate was tardy with a tax payment -- the story would be front-page news at the New York Times.

SENATOR SESSIONS DEFENDS BILL PRYOR



The Democrats have obviously written off the South. Sen. Sessions (R - AL) was himself rejected by Democrats in the Senate. He took his revenge by getting elected to the Senate, where he was subsequently appointed to the judiciary committee. This is an impassioned defense of President Bush's nominee.

THE MYTH OF PRESS OBJECTIVITY



A few days ago, Robert Bartley penned a treatise on the death of objectivity in the "big" media outlets:

Let me give you one view of what that is, based on watching my craft evolve over 30 years as a senior editor. I think we're coming to the end of the era of "objectivity" that has dominated journalism over this time. We need to define a new ethic that lends legitimacy to opinion, honestly disclosed and disciplined by some sense of propriety.



Though an opinion journalist myself, I'm certainly not against attempts at objectivity. Indeed I believe the ethic is a more powerful influence than disgruntled readers and viewers often seem to believe; it's simply not true that journalists conspire to slant the news in favor of their friends and causes. Yet it's also true that in claiming "objectivity" the press often sees itself as a perfect arbiter of ultimate truth. This is a pretension beyond human capacity.

Amen to that (via OpinionJournal).

NOW, LEAD US TO SADDAM



Secretary of State Colin Powell has authorized a $30 million payment for tip that lead to Uday and Qusay. If there ever was proof that we got 'em, this payment is it (via the AP).

MORE BAD NEWS FOR THE BUSH-HATERS



From the AP:

Stocks barreled sharply higher Thursday following news that the economy grew at a much stronger-than-expected pace in the second quarter and that claims for jobless benefits fell for a third week. The Dow Jones industrials climbed more than 150 points as upbeat earnings from components Exxon Mobil and Procter & Gamble also contributed to the market's first gain in four days.



Investors enjoyed a renewed sense of confidence that the economy is poised for robust growth in the second half of the year, as Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan predicted earlier this month during testimony before Congress.

If our economic performance continues to improve, this will come as a huge disappointment to those on the fringe left, for whom any good news during a Republican administration is viewed as anathema.



Also, I wonder if this would have changed the view of the reporter who asked this question (obviously from a Democrat press release)at yesterday's Presidential press conference:

Q Thank you, sir. Since taking office you signed into law three major tax cuts -- two of which have had plenty of time to take effect, the third of which, as you pointed out earlier, is taking effect now. Yet, the unemployment rate has continued rising. We now have more evidence of a massive budget deficit that taxpayers are going to be paying off for years or decades to come; the economy continues to shed jobs. What evidence can you point to that tax cuts, at least of the variety that you have supported, are really working to help this economy? And do you need to be thinking about some other approach?

This was part of the President's answer:

And yet our economy is growing. In other words, what I'm telling you is, is that we had a lot of obstacles to overcome. The '01 tax cuts affected the recession this way, it was a shallow recession. That's positive, because I care about people being able to find a job. Someone said, well, maybe the recession should have been deeper in order for the rebound to be quicker. My attitude is, a deeper recession means more people would have been hurt. And I view the actions we've taken as a jobs program, job creation program.



Secondly, there are hopeful signs. I mean, most economists believe that over the next 18 months we'll see positive economic growth. Interest rates are low; housing starts are strong; manufacturing indexes are improving.

Today's news clearly demonstrates that the President is on the right track.

I'LL GIVE YOU A NICKEL FOR $1.4 MILLION



A team of deeply skilled numismatists have authenticated one of five remaining Liberty Head nickels. How cool.

ON PRESS OBJECTIVITY



James Bowman, writing for the New Critereon, waxes on his recent "escape" to Central America:

In Central America the possibilities of distributing blame for the missing WMD were not a big topic of conversation. There was, however, considerable interest in the question of whether or not America's president had engineered the September 11th attacks on America for partisan advantage, so I guess you can say this for the American media to date: at least they (mostly) confine their scandal-hunt to the upper, more genteel slopes of Conspiracy Mountain.

"The Bush Junta" can be found here.

WE'RE SORRY, BUT YOU HAVE NO PERSONALITY



Is it possible to fail a personality test from an online dating service? Apparently, it is:

Nik Bosyk considers himself a decent catch. The six-foot-four, blue-eyed voice-actor makes great calamari, likes sappy movies, and never forgets birthdays. But after a recent dating dry spell, the 25-year-old swallowed his pride and turned to the refuge of the semi-desperate: online dating. "It seemed like you were guaranteed to meet someone," he says.



He was wrong. After completing a mandatory 40-minute personality test on the match-making site eHarmony.com, Mr. Bosyk experienced the latest -- and arguably most extreme -- form of courtship humiliation: He was rejected by an online dating service.



"I was stunned," says Mr. Bosyk, who apparently failed the personality test. "Is that even possible?"

This story appears in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

DON'T BOTHER APPLYING...



...If you're the wrong kind of Catholic, woman, or hispanic. The Democrat-let obstruction of judicial nominations continues.

THE REBUILDING



From the President's press conference this morning:

On national security front, it has been 90 days since the end of the major combat operations in Iraq. The nation has been liberated from tyranny and is on the path to self-government and peace. The Iraqi governing council is meeting regularly. Local police forces are now being trained. And citizens are being recruited into a new Iraqi military -- a military that will protect the Iraqi people instead of intimidating them. Soon representatives of the people will begin drafting a new constitution and free elections will follow. After decades of oppression, the people of Iraq are reclaiming their country and are reclaiming their future.



Conditions in most of Iraq are growing more peaceful. Some areas, however, the violent remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime, joined by terrorists and criminals, are making a last attempt to frighten the Iraqi people and to undermine the resolve of our coalition. They will fail. Our coalition forces are taking the fight to the enemy in an unrelenting campaign that is bringing daily results. Saddam Hussein's sons did not escape the raids, and neither will other members of that despicable regime.

High bandwidth video of the press conference can be viewed here.

Low bandwidth video here.

Transcript here.



UPDATE: When you listen, notice how the reporters parrot every message of the looney left.

STORIES THAT WON'T APPEAR ON ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN



Via Andrew Sullivan, a letter from one of our GI's in Bagdad on the recent celebrations over the demise of Uday and Qusay:

We are still here because the mission that we started is not over, but it will be soon. If you think our presence here is not warranted, you have the misfortune of not being able to see the faces of a liberated people.

Read the entire letter here.

BOB HOPE RETROSPECTIVE



Mark Steyn's take on a great man

IDIOTS PASS BUDGET



Almost $100 billion in size, the new California state budget passes the buck. Perhaps the new Governor will be able to lead the way to a solution (I'm not holding my breath).

DAY BY DAY IS BACK



Chris Muir is, thankfully, back from his short absense. Here's a taste:

POLYGONS OF DEATH



Dr. David Robbins is dying of pancreatic cancer. This is a story about making the most of the time you have (via the Wall Street Journal):

Dr. Robbins, 60 years old, was diagnosed in April with pancreatic cancer and was told he had less than two years to live, maybe much less. He reacted to the news by considering his options: He could stick to his normal work routine at a government research institute. He could search desperately for a cure for his disease, even though his doctors told him the cancer is inoperable. He could go home and wait to die.



Or he could finally get around to a math problem that has been bugging him for decades. The problem is in a category some mathematicians consider "recreational" math. Solving it would do nothing practical for mankind. But to Dr. Robbins, the choice was easy. "I wanted to finish it," he says.





Here's the problem: What is the area of a polygon if you know only the lengths of the sides?

You can read the entire story here (subscription required). Good luck Dr. Robbins!