Craig Biggio: Mr. 3000…actually 3002!!!

BGO! BGO! BGO!

Horray! He did it! Our 2nd baseman that Houston has been proud of for the past 20 years got his 3000th hit during the 7th inning of Thursday’s game against the Colorado Rockies. 3000 wasn’t good enough for Craig, he ended the night as Mr. 3002! Biggio is the 27th player to reach 3000 career hits.

His 3000th hit brought in Brad Ausmus; however, Craig was tagged out at 2nd. In front of a sell-out crowd at Minute Maid Park, #7 was congratulated by his fellow teammates, his wife Patty, and three children. Overcome with emotion, Craig dragged long-time Astro and friend Jeff Bagwell out to the field to acknowledge the crowd.

Craig has spent twenty years with the Houston Astros – his entire baseball career. I think one of the best things about him hitting 3000 is the fact that he did it at home in front of his friends, family, and fans.

And oh yeah…HE BEAT BARRY BONDS!

Additionally, Craig had 5 consecutive hits during the game! He had only done this once previously – in 2001. The 5th consecutive hit came in the bottom of the 11th. As Craig was on 3rd, Hunter Pence on 2nd, and Lance Berkman on 1st, Carlos Lee hit a Grand Slam to give the Astros the win! Ending the game at 10:55p.m. and 11 innings, the Astros won 8-5!

CONGRATULATIONS BIGGIO and ASTROS!

For more about this story and Craig’s legacy, check out abc13.com.

News Flash: The White House Is Above The Law

One Subpoena, Two Subpoena, Three Subpoena, Four!

This was the tune that I was singing yesterday upon reading this from the AP:

The Senate subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney’s office Wednesday, demanding documents and elevating the confrontation with President Bush over the administration’s warrant-free eavesdropping on Americans.

Separately, the Senate Judiciary Committee is summoning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to discuss the program and an array of other matters that have cost a half-dozen top Justice Department officials their jobs, committee chairman Patrick Leahy announced.

So of course this morning I couldn’t do anything but roll my eyes and sigh when I learned this from the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush, moving toward a constitutional showdown with Congress, asserted executive privilege Thursday and rejected lawmakers’ demands for documents that could shed light on the firings of federal prosecutors.

Bush’s attorney told Congress the White House would not turn over subpoenaed documents for former presidential counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor. Congressional panels want the documents for their investigations of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ stewardship of the Justice Department, including complaints of undue political influence.

The Democratic chairmen of the two committees seeking the documents accused Bush of stonewalling and disdain for the law, and said they would press forward with enforcing the subpoenas.

“With respect, it is with much regret that we are forced down this unfortunate path which we sought to avoid by finding grounds for mutual accommodation,” White House counsel Fred Fielding said in a letter to the chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. “We had hoped this matter could conclude with your committees receiving information in lieu of having to invoke executive privilege. Instead, we are at this conclusion.”

Thursday was the deadline for surrendering the documents. The White House also made clear that Miers and Taylor would not testify next month, as directed by the subpoenas, which were issued June 13…”Increasingly, the president and vice president feel they are above the law,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. He portrayed the president’s actions as “Nixonian stonewalling.”

 

Sound familiar? Bush has been taking notes from The Cheney Branch of Government. 18 months to go…AND COUNTING.

I couldn’t help but think of the really bad Steven Seagal movie “Above The Law” from the late ’80’s – not that it has anything to do with The White House…but still, the title comes to mind.

 

Also, for some political humor check out this cartoon short from Ann Telnaes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth Edwards on GMA

Like many who have fallen victim to the whole “war of words” between Elizabeth Edwards and Ann Coulter (see previous post), I admit that I got up early this morning (on my day off – no doubt) to watch Elizabeth on Good Morning America. For the interview in its entirety and the full story from ABC News, click here.

As much as I loathe contributing any more attention to Ann Coulter, I thought it was important to share the other side of this attack.

As long as the public (yes, this includes me) continues to give Coulter the spotlight, she will thrive with more senseless nonsense and bantering about what she views as political discussions. So unless the woman (and I use that term lightly) falls off of a cliff anytime soon, this is the last post about Ms. so-and-so.

Ann Coulter Playing Hardball? Yeah Right…

Yesterday Ann Coulter was on Hardball when Elizabeth Edwards phoned in. The “journalist” is making the rounds to promote her new book – which I refuse to promote on this site. The wife of Presidential candidate John Edwards called in to ask Coulter to stop personal attacks on Sen. Edwards and their son who is deceased.

The following is part of the transcript from the show courtesy of MSNBC:

(Note that EE: Elizabeth Edwards, AC: Ann Coulter, CM: Chris Matthews)

EE: You wrote a column a couple years ago which made fun of the moment of Charlie Dean’s death, and suggested that my husband had a bumper sticker on the back of his car that said ask me about my dead son. This is not legitimate political dialogue.

AC: That’s now three years ago

EE: It debases political dialogue. It drives people away from the process. We can’t have a debate about issues if you’re using this kind of language.

AC: Yeah why isn’t John Edwards making this call?

CM: Well do you want to respond and we’ll end this conversation?

EE: I haven’t talked to John about his call.

AC: This is just another attempt for –

EE: I’m making this call as a mother. I’m the mother of that boy who died. My children participate — these young people behind you are the age of my children. You’re asking them to participate in a dialogue that’s based on hatefulness and ugliness instead of on the issues and I don’t think that’s serving them or this country very well.

APPLAUSE

CM: Thank you very much Elizabeth Edwards. Do you want to — you have all the time in the world to respond.

AC: I think we heard all we need to hear. The wife of a presidential candidate is asking me to stop speaking. No.

Coulter was actually on Good Morning America on Monday. At that time she stated, “So I’ve learned my lesson. If I’m going to say anything about John Edwards in the future,” she replied. “I’ll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot.”

This no-talent twit is really trying my nerves. I am all for the first amendment and such but my God…someone needs to pull her aside by her adam’s apple and open up a big ol’ can of whoop ass on her.

Dick Cheney – The 4th Branch of Government

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post about Dick Cheney, Jon Stewart NAILS the subject on The Daily Show.

Watch here. <———-

June’s Political Best Seller List

According to the NY Times:

HARDCOVER POLITICAL BEST SELLER LIST

Based on sales for weeks ending May 26 through June 16, 2007

1 The Assault On Reason, by Al Gore. (Penguin Press, $25.95.) The former vice president’s take on how the Bush administration has degraded the political environment through secrecy, fear and the rejection of fact-based reasoning.

2 The Reagan Diaries, by Ronald Reagan. Edited by Douglas Brinkley. (HarperCollins, $35.) Selections from the 40th president’s daily White House diaries.

3 A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah. (Sarah Crichton/Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $22.) A former child soldier from Sierra Leone describes his drug-crazed killing spree and his return to humanity.

4 Presidential Courage, by Michael Beschloss. (Simon & Schuster, $28.) Profiles of nine presidents who had the courage to make unpopular decisions.

5 Where Have All The Leaders Gone? by Lee Iacocca. (Scribner, $25.) The former C.E.O. of Chrysler protests the lack of political and business leadership on issues like health care and energy policy.

6 Outrage, by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann. (HC/HarperCollins, $26.95.) An attack on illegal immigration, United Nations profiteers, lazy congressmen and high drug prices.

7 A Woman In Charge: The Life Of Hillary Rodham Clinton, by Carl Bernstein. (Knopf, $27.95.) The Pulitzer Prize-winning Watergate reporter presents a detailed portrait of New York’s junior senator.

8 Lone Survivor, by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson. (Little, Brown, $24.99.) The only survivor of a Navy Seal operation in northern Afghanistan describes the battle, his comrades and his courageous escape.

9 At The Center Of The Storm, by George Tenet. (HarperCollins, $30.) The former director of the Central Intelligence Agency looks back on his career.

10 The World Is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $30.) A columnist for The Times analyzes 21st-century economics and foreign policy.

11 Brothers: The Hidden History Of The Kennedy Years, by David Talbot. (Free Press, $28.) The relationship between brothers, John and Robert Kennedy, and the conflicts that tore apart their administration.

12 Crazies To The Left Of Me, Wimps To The Right, by Bernard Goldberg. (HarperCollins, $25.95.) The author of “100 People Who Are Screwing Up America” attacks liberals and accuses Republicans of betraying conservative principles.

13 The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. (Houghton Mifflin, $27.) An Oxford scientist asserts that belief in God is irrational and that religion has done great harm in the world.

14 Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. (Free Press, $26.) A memoir by the Somai-born advocate for Muslim immigrant women, once a member of the Dutch Parliament, who has been threatened with death.

15 The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama. (Crown, $25.) The Illinois junior senator proposes that Americans move beyond their political divisions.

16 Blessed Unrest, by Paul Hawken. (Viking, $24.95.) Well known environmentalist shares his belief of hope for environmental and social change worldwide.

17 Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, by Jeremy Scahill. (Nation, $26.95.) A detailed investigation of the private military-industrial entity, Blackwater USA, and its role in the global war on terror.

18 The Secret History Of The American Empire, by John Perkins. (Dutton, $25.95.)An economist and businessman’s account of how global corruption helped strengthened the American Empire.

19 Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, by Vincent Bugliosi. (Norton, $49.95.) A voluminous effort to silence all Kennedy assassination theorists.

20 Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions Of Hillary Rodham Clinton, by Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr. (Little, Brown, $29.99.) Two New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters detail Clinton’s personal political career.

Rankings reflect aggregated sales for the weeks ending May 26 through June 16, 2007 at many thousands of venues where a wide range of general interest books are sold nationwide. These include hundreds of independent book retailers (statistically weighted to represent all such outlets nationwide); national, regional and local chains; online and multimedia entertainment retailers; university, gift, supermarket, discount, department stores and newsstands. An asterisk (*) indicates that a book’s sales are barely distinguishable from those of the book above. A dagger (†) indicates that some bookstores report receiving bulk orders. Expanded rankings are available on the Web: nytimes.com/books.

***

In my opinion, “The Reagan Diaries” is a wonderful follow-up to “Reagan: In His Own Hand.” Even if you were not a Reagan fan, his memoirs are intriguing and inspiring. On the left side, I hear that Gore’s “The Assault On Reason” is another good read.

So many books, so little time for me to read.

Dick Cheney – Above It All

Deja-vu.

Even the Dick Cheney Fan Club is a little mortified to hear their hero placing himself above the rules within the Executive Branch – again.

Last week the V.P. restated his stand that his office is not a part of the executive branch of the U.S. government; therefore, he and his office are not bound by a presidential order governing the protection of classified information by government agencies, according to a new letter from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.).

Under the order, executive branch offices are required to give the Information Security Oversight Office at the archives data on how much material they classify and declassify. Cheney’s office provided the information in 2001 and 2002, but then stopped.

This is Cheney’s excuse for refusing to file annual reports with the National Archives and Records Administration oversight office for the past four or five years? PLUUUEEEZZZEEEE!

From the NY Times:

The letter said that after repeatedly refusing to comply with a routine annual request from the archives for data on his staff’s classification of internal documents, the vice president’s office in 2004 blocked an on-site inspection of records that other agencies of the executive branch regularly go through.

But the National Archives is an executive branch department headed by a presidential appointee, and it is assigned to collect the data on classified documents under a presidential executive order. Its Information Security Oversight Office is the archives division that oversees classification and declassification.

“I know the vice president wants to operate with unprecedented secrecy,” Mr. Waxman said in an interview. “But this is absurd. This order is designed to keep classified information safe. His argument is really that he’s not part of the executive branch, so he doesn’t have to comply.”

A spokeswoman for Mr. Cheney, Megan McGinn, said, “We’re confident that we’re conducting the office properly under the law.” She declined to elaborate.

Other officials familiar with Mr. Cheney’s view said that he and his legal adviser, David S. Addington, did not believe that the executive order applied to the vice president’s office because it had a legislative as well as an executive status in the Constitution. Other White House offices, including the National Security Council, routinely comply with the oversight requirements, according to Mr. Waxman’s office and outside experts.

Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said last night, “The White House complies with the executive order, including the National Security Council.”

***

Of course the While House is going to back him up.

It’s funny how Cheney has now decided that he is independent of the Executive Branch. Remember the whole Energy Task Force ordeal in 2001 and 2002? When others were questioning Cheney’s authority, he asserted that he was a part of the Executive Branch and therefore could censor details in reports concerning the task force.

You can read the Cheney Task Force Records and GAO Authority Report from 2003 here.

Online Politics

I recently did a post about politics and the age of online networking sites such as YouTube and MySpace. Today I read another story about this issue.

From the Economist online:

The presidential race

YouTube politics

How digital campaigning may help shape the 2008 election

IT HAS been called the YouTube election. America’s 2008 presidential campaign may be remembered as much for the candidates’ frantic activity on the internet as for their stump speeches and television spots. Pundits, inevitably, are talking of the dawn of a new era—or, more precisely, of the maturing of campaign politics on the internet.

The latest splash was a video made by the campaign for Hillary Clinton. Released on her website and widely watched on a video-sharing site YouTube, it was a creative hit. Mrs. Clinton and her would-be First Gentleman sit in a diner, discussing which song she will choose for her campaign theme. They ponder the selections in their table-top jukebox. Finally, just before they make their choice, the screen goes black. It was a clever parody of the recent final episode of cable television’s biggest hit, “The Sopranos”. Viewers then had to go to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign website to find out which song the Clinton’s—encouraged by voters on her website—finally chose. Regrettably, it is “You and I”, by Celine Dion, a Canadian singer.

The previous excited buzz was for an ad for Mrs. Clinton’s rival, Barack Obama. It was produced, as never before possible, by someone not affiliated with Mr. Obama’s campaign, and yet it reached millions of viewers over the internet. Again this was a parody—it directly ripped off a 1984 Apple advert that portrayed IBM as Big Brother, with Mrs. Clinton standing in for Big Brother on this occasion—and yet it has been hailed as a creative masterstroke.

It is unclear how much impact such videos will have on voters, but YouTube and the like are changing campaigns in significant ways. A public mistake, even in the middle of nowhere, now imposes a greater cost. Candidates are under intense scrutiny. George Allen, a Republican who ran for the Senate in Virginia last year, learned that to his cost when he called a rival campaign’s worker, who was Indian-American, macaca. His use of an apparent racial slur caused a furore. His opponent, Jim Webb, who had been trailing in the polls, won a close election and the Democrats now control the Senate by a 51-49 margin. In a previous election Mr. Allen’s comment might have been missed, but in 2006 the young staffer who worked for Mr. Webb had taken to following the Republican and filming him, probably looking for precisely such a slip-up to post on YouTube.

Internet videos are not the only form of new-wave campaigning. The 2004 election saw the advent of serious online fundraising. Howard Dean, a Democrat, was particularly successful. This year all of the candidates are making it a big part of their strategies. Mr. Obama’s success at raising more money online, from a larger number of donors, than Mrs. Clinton has been widely touted as a sign of his campaign’s greater verve.

Times have already changed since the 2004 presidential election. In that year, bloggers wrote about the presidential debates in real-time. In 2008, voters will be able, through YouTube, to send in video-recorded questions to the debate’s moderators. Last time around campaigns introduced stodgy blogs, written by lowly campaign workers, touting their man’s latest speech here or there. This time, well-known bloggers are being brought into campaigns. And the five sons of Mitt Romney, a Republican top-tier runner, have an enthusiastic group blog. Campaigns are also more interesting these days. The droning, top-down television ads touting a candidate’s virtues and his rival’s vices are now supplemented by far more creative message-making.

Assessing the impact of all this is tricky. One way of judging whether the videos on YouTube have an influence is to see whether, and when, television stations start broadcasting them too. Those who actively use the internet may also become particularly vulnerable to it. Mr. Dean used online campaigning to make himself a front-runner in opinion polls and in fundraising, but this failed to win him a single state primary. The internet also helped to hasten his demise, after his famous post-speech shriek was widely mocked online.

This year Mr. Obama seems to have more internet buzz, for example claiming more (possibly, these things are hard to compare) “friends” on MySpace than does Mrs. Clinton. But MySpace friends do not equal votes. Young users of new technology are not as important as the dedicated and capable “ground troops” in a campaign. The latter come from unions, religious groups and other traditionally organized blocks. Once again, Mr. Dean’s story is illustrative—thousands of his enthusiastic workers descended upon Iowa for that state’s early Democratic caucus. But this much-touted “perfect storm” of volunteers, mostly non-Iowan, failed him. Name recognition, money and old-fashioned organization are virtues that no amount of net savvy can replace. Mr. Dean finished a distant third in Iowa, and never recovered.

***

This is the video by Hillary Clinton’s campaign mentioned in the article. Check out the award winning acting!

Then there is the video (based on the old Apple commercial) that was not from Obama’s campaign but created a lot of controversy:

…And just for fun…that infamous scream from 2004:

Evan Almighty Has Arrived

10/4/07 UPDATE – THE DVD WILL BE RELEASED ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9th!!!

This ties into politics – trust me.

I’ve just seen Evan Almighty, the “sequel” to Bruce Almighty. Go see this movie! It’s more family oriented than the first one but still has a ton of laughs for kids and adults.

Steve Carell returns as Evan Baxter and this time he has been elected to Congress. As he is just settling in with his political responsibilities, Evan is visited by our favorite man from above: Morgan Freeman – I mean…God. Along with his wife Joan (get it? Joan of Arc?) and his three sons, Evan must follow God’s command to build an ark.

Sounds like a very simple plot – and it is; however, there are some great characters in the film that really add to the story. The ark is incredible and it amazing to see REAL animals on Capitol Hill. Lauren Graham, Molly Shannon, John Goodman, and Wanda Sykes co-star.

Although I think it would have been hilarious for Jim Carrey to make an appearance as one of the reporters, Evan Almighty definitely lives up to the hype.

Ron Paul on the Colbert Report

I saw this on last week’s Colbert Report and thought I would share it with you. Colbert had Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul on June 13th’s show. It might not have been very informative about where Paul actually stands as a Republican candidate but none the less, he is amusing to watch.

Houston Toll Road Increase…Done Deal?

On Tuesday the Harris County Commissioner’s Court voted to raise the fees for anyone using any of Houston’s toll roads. In a unanimous vote, the court decided to raise fees by 25 cents on all county toll roads. They also decided to stick it to drivers during the hours of 6-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. by raising fees to $2.50!

WHAT?!?!

Listening to Commissioner Steve Radack on 740AM Tuesday afternoon only infuriated me more. He said that there has not been a fee increase in some time and this increase is greatly needed to help finish such projects as the Katy Freeway. He also said that Houston has a congestion problem (duh – we’re only the 4th largest city in the U.S.) and that the increase in tolls should make people think twice about using the toll roads when other routes are available. He said, “Let them go down Richmond Road.” Ummm…You trying driving down Richmond Road during peak hours.

So let me get this straight. You built toll roads because we have too many people and not enough room on the freeways. You had to pay for these extra roads so you implemented the new roads as toll roads. Now there are too many people on the toll roads so let’s get them off of these roads by jacking up toll fees…What did I miss???

The whole point of using toll roads (especially during rush hour) is to get from Point A to Point B quicker than than using the major interstates. Shame on us for thinking that the toll roads would make life better for commuters and now it is our fault that so many of us are on the toll roads – we should be punished by paying DOUBLE during rush hour.

Very logical thinking there.

Today, abc13 is expressing the outcries, anger, and frustration from the Houston public. They say that Radack has had more to say. “There’s a lot more to it than this and the commissioner’s court has not made a final decision,” he told Eyewitness News. Additionally they report “Radack says there is a lot more analysis being done at the county level. He says there is much more work to be done before county commissioners decided just how much to increase tolls.”

So which is it? Has there been a final decision or not? And if a decision has not been made then how come the new fees have been reported to start in September? And Mr Radack, if this decision is not final then why would you approve something that obviously needs to be studied further? Sheesh. Talk about back tracking your words.
I suggest instead of the county hiring private firms to do analysis about our toll roads – they should hear what the public has to say.

The Harris County Commissioner’s Court needs to reconsider what they are asking from the public. Again, shame on us for using the toll roads!!! Now pay up or get off!

For the time being, the Court has reported to expect the following:

• All county tolls: Will rise 25 cents in September. EZ Tag, now $1, will be $1.25. Cash transactions, now $1.25, will rise to $1.50.

• Westpark Tollway: Now $1, will rise to $1.25 at non-peak hours, $2.50 at peak hours of 6-9 a.m. inbound and 4-7 p.m. outbound.

• Down the road: Toll rates will double over the next 20 years. Rates will go up annually by 2 percent or at the rate of the rise in the consumer price index, whichever is greater.

Cruise Away! No Passport Needed for Now

I don’t know about you but there has been a lot of confusion about who need a passport when vacationing this summer. A passport is not needed for travel by sea to Canada and Mexico. As for travel by air, today the House has voted to postpone the passport requirement for all flights that take you to your port-of-call or your departure location.

I have family members that have been stressing over this issue since Christmas time. I think the most frustrating thing is for those who are traveling outside the country to Singapore, Japan, England, etc. and have had to wait twice as long for their passports because of the increase in applications since the original implementation of passports for travel to Canada and Mexico. If you are planning to travel anywhere outside the U.S. I suggest you start the passport application process now before your vacation plans get down to the wire. Besides, your passport is good for 10 years so get it now and put it in a safe place!

So, for now my cruise plans for August are underway!!!

From the AP:

By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Congress is moving to postpone until June 2009 requiring passports for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean after complaints about vacation-ruining delays by the State Department in issuing them.

The House passed the 17-month delay Friday after a key Senate committee approved it a day earlier.

The State Department has been flooded with applications since new rules went into effect in January requiring passports for air travelers returning from the same destinations. The resulting backlog has caused delays of up to three months for passports and ruined or delayed the travel plans of thousands of people.

In response, the government last week temporarily waived a passport requirement for air travel, provided people can demonstrate they’ve applied.

The Homeland Security Department is still pressing ahead to require passports of everyone crossing into the U.S. from Canada or Mexico beginning in January 2008 — a rule that some experts believe will lead to a fourfold increase in demand for new passports.

The House voted 379-45 Friday to include the delay as part of a $37.4 billion homeland security spending bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved the same provision as part of its version of the bill.

“Nobody can say with a straight face that the federal government is ready for this,” said Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio. “My amendment simply asks the DHS to slow down and get it right this time.”

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff expressed disappointment with what Congress wants to do.

“To simply kick it down the road and put it into a position where we’re going to wait a year and a half is to really create a window of vulnerability,” he said.

The application surge is the result of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative that since January has required U.S. citizens to use passports when entering the United States from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean by air. It is part of a broader package of immigration rules enacted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Lawmakers have been besieged with pleas for help from constituents who can’t get their passports even though they applied up to four months ago.

Last year, Congress gave the Homeland Security and State departments additional time to get ready for the new passport rules, but they opted not to take advantage of the leniency. Now, increasingly frustrated lawmakers want to mandate the delay.

“The administration is walking blithely toward a cliff with this program, and they’re threatening to take millions of Americans with them,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. “Their competence in being able to get this right was already in question, and when they keep insisting they’ll be ready in six months, so is their judgment.”

The surge in applications has doubled target turnaround times for passport applications from six to 10-12 weeks, and 500,000 applications have already taken longer.

Those numbers pale in comparison to what lies ahead.

According to government estimates, about 6 million Americans will need formal documents to travel to the Caribbean, Canada or Mexico by air or sea. The estimated need for land crossings is more than four times that: 27 million Americans over the next five years. Those numbers do not include the regular year-to-year demand for passports.

Last year, the State Department processed 12.1 million passports. This year, officials expect to process about 18 million. The department received 1 million applications in December, 1.8 million in January and 1.7 million in February.

 

8/7/07 Update: Some of you have emailed me asking where else to get info on passports so check out: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html Good Luck and happy traveling!

 

More Troubles for Walter Reed Army Medical Center

From abcnews.com:

Army Discovers Undelivered Mail at Walter Reed

June 15, 2007 5:59 PM

ABC News’ Jon Karl Reports: The Army today discovered 4500 pieces of undelivered mail in a mailroom at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Some of the mail had postmarks dating back to May 2006. Apparently a contract employee in the mailroom tossed the mail in a corner anytime she could not locate the addressee.

Most of the mail was postcards, magazines and direct mail solicitations. There were, however, some packages and at least two checks. The undelivered mail was addressed primarily to patients and staff.

The Army has declared it is taking immediate action to deliver the mail. The contract employee responsible for the mess has been fired.

“This delay is completely and absolutely unsatisfactory,” said Major General Eric Schoomaker, the commander of Walter Reed. “Nobody knows better than the Army how important the mail is to a war fighter’s morale, and we have taken immediate steps to address the matter.”

The medical center receives an average of 27,000 pieces of mail a day, a half million pieces a month.

Presidential Debating on YouTube

Looks like a Democratic debate in July will be broadcasted on YouTube. For the past 9 months or so, YouTube has been inundated with video clips of Presidential hopefuls and their campaigns. If you want to kill a quick hour, just type ELECTION 08 in the search bar and almost 300 pages of video results pop up. Now the website is going to take the candidates and the run for the big cheese position a little bit further.

From Katharine Q. Seely’s article in the NYTimes on Wednesday:

 

The presidential debates are about to enter the world of YouTube, the anything-goes home-video-sharing Web site that puts the power in the hands of the camera holder. YouTube, which is owned by Google, and CNN are co-sponsoring a debate among the eight Democratic presidential candidates on July 23 in South Carolina, an event that could define the next phase of what has already been called the YouTube election, a visual realm beyond Web sites and blogs.

The candidates are to assemble on a stage in Charleston, S.C., at the Citadel (yes, the Citadel, the military school criticized by some Democrats a decade ago before it began admitting women). The questions will come via video submitted by ordinary people through YouTube. Moderating between the viewer and the candidates will be Anderson Cooper, the CNN anchor.

The video format opens the door for originality and spontaneity — elements usually foreign to the controlled environment of presidential image-making. Because visual images can be more powerful than words, the videos have the potential to elicit emotional responses from the candidates and frame the election in new ways.

“It’s one of the biggest innovations we’ve seen in politics,” said Mike Gehrke, director of research for the Democratic National Committee, which has sanctioned the YouTube/CNN event as the first of six official Democratic debates this year (which means the party has coordinated them).

User-generated video, he said, is changing the balance in campaigns. “It used to be a one-way street,” he said. “It would cost a lot of money for a campaign to put together a good TV ad, then you had to buy time, put it on the air and later on Web sites. Now it goes the other way too, and you have people talking to each other and to the campaigns.”

 

This is a pretty clever idea seeing that everyone from the first-time 18 year old voter to your buddy’s granny can access the web. As for viewing the random political videos on YouTube, one must keep in mind that these videos are really nothing more than television ads and in some cases paid for by the candidate’s party so there are a lot of “smear” videos on the site. Additionally, you have the ordinary Joe making videos in his own living room about the candidates and broadcasting them in the sea of the internet. I can’t think of anything more boring than some nobody videoing themselves in a one-way discussion about Bush and the war in Iraq. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Oh well, that’s the power of the First Amendment.

 

 

As for the increased popularity of YouTube and politics, the article also mentions the controversial Hillary 1984 video and Barack Obama’s comments about the new realm of debating.

 

For the full article, click here.

 

 

Lil’ Bush Comes to Comedy Central

On Wednesday the 13th, you can check out the cartoon series “Lil’ Bush” on Comedy Central. If you haven’t heard the hype yet, “Lil’ Bush” takes place in the present time but with his daddy (#41) as the current president. Lil’ Bush and his friends (Lil’ Condi, Lil’ Rummy-with Iggy Pop voicing, and Lil’ Cheney) hang out in the White House with their parents and attend the Quayle Elementary School where Lil’ Bush sees Lil’ Laura for the first time. Lil’ Condi is a bit jealous because of the crush she has on Lil’ George. Future run-ins include Lil’ Tony Blair and Lil’ Kim Jong I.

This Wednesday’s episode at 9:30p central time has Lil’ George and his chums going to Iraq in hopes of tracking down some good news about the war to cheer up his dad for Father’s Day.

The pilot episode had Lil’ Bush and his posse protesting because the school cafeteria had a menu change taking the All-American hot dog off of the menu. You feel guilty watching as Lil’ Bush and his friends torture the cafeteria workers Abu Ghraib style.

Created by Donick Cary, the cartoon was originally for mobile customers. Cary has writing credits for David Letterman and The Simpsons. He says that his intent is not political but more for laughs.

You can check it out for yourself. I have included the episode called “The Decider”where Lil’ George and his classmates take over the Oval Office and created nuclear havoc on enemies, schoolmates, and liberals (including Lil’ Mikey Moore). Wait until you see Lil’ Jeb getting smacked on the head and how even in the cartoon world, Babs wears the pants in the Presidential Family.

Bush Visits the Vatican

Two stories this am from the Vatican. First I read of Bush’s visit to Rome to meet with Pope Benedict XVI. This was alright but I was mortified to read the second of the two stories regarding Bush addressing the Pope as “sir” and not “His Holiness.” I’ve included both articles:

From the AP:

ROME (AP) – President Bush, deeply unpopular here and met by boisterous protests, sought to impress Pope Benedict XVI and the Italian public on Saturday with his humanitarian record and downplayed differences with the Vatican over Iraq. In his meeting with Bush, the Vatican said the pope raised “the worrisome situation in Iraq.”

“He was concerned that the society that was evolving would not tolerate the Christian religion,” Bush explained at a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi during the president’s swing through Europe.

“He’s worrisome about the Christians inside Iraq being mistreated by the Muslim majority.”

Bush met with the prime minister several hours after his first sit- down with Benedict. Bush and Benedict appeared intent to look beyond their differences in Iraq.

The war was vigorously opposed by the late Pope John Paul II, and Benedict, in his Easter message, denounced the “continual slaughter” in Iraq and said that “nothing positive” is happening.”

Bush said he assured the pope—whom he described as “very smart, loving man”—that the United States was working hard to ensure that the Iraqi people live up to their constitution in treating Christians fairly.

The president said their was no discussion of “just war,” a Christian doctrine that says war must have a reasonable chance of success of not doing more harm than good. According to the doctrine, war must be a last resort, launched in response to unjust aggression and civilians must be safeguarded.

Bush arrived in Rome Friday night, after a stop in the Czech Republic, three days at a summit of industrialized democracies on Germany’s northern coast, and a four-hour visit to Poland. A stomach ailment forced Bush to miss a few meetings at the summit in Germany.

He flashed a thumbs-up when asked he was better, though White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said the president still was “not 100 percent.”

The president stays in Rome Saturday night before going on to Albania and Bulgaria.

The pontiff expressed his hope for a `’regional” and `’negotiated” solution of conflicts and crises that afflict the Middle East, the Vatican said. Bush hailed his humanitarian record.

“We talked about our attempts to help the people in Africa deal with HIV/AIDS and malaria and hunger,” Bush said. “I reminded him that we’ve made a significant commitment to that end.”

The president promised the pope that he’d work to get Congress to double the current U.S. commitment for combatting AIDS in Africa to $30 billion over the next five years.

The pope asked the president about his meeting in Germany with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has expressed opposition to a U.S. missile shield in Europe and raised eyebrows with democratic rollbacks.

“The dialogue with Putin was also good?” the pope asked.

Bush, eyeing photographers and reporters who were about to be escorted from the room, replied: “Umm. I’ll tell you in a minute.”

The pontiff presented the president with a drawing of St. Peter’s Basillica, an official Vatican gold medal.

The president gave the pope a rare first edition of an autobiography of John Carroll, the first archbishop in the United States and founder of the Roman Catholic Church in America. Bush also gave the pope lithographs of documents from the National Archives and a Moses walking sticking, made by a former homeless man in Dallas, Texas, who engraved it with the Ten Commandments.

Bush’s visit to the Vatican—his first meeting with Benedict—was a major event in Rome.

It was carried live on television, even capturing his progress through its marbled, frescoed rooms escorted by a quartet of the Swiss Guard, the elite papal security corps dressed in their distinctive orange, blue and red-striped uniforms.

Protesters also greeted the American president.

Anti-globalization and far-left activists from across Italy converged on the capital. Police swarmed around the Colosseum, the downtown Piazza Venezia and other venues amid fears that a protest planned around Bush’s visit could turn violent. Helicopters circled overhead. Up to 10,000 police deployed, local media reported.

Bush aides shrugged off the protests, calling them democracy in action; Bush apologized for disrupting traffic as his motorcade moved through Rome under heavy security.

He stressed that U.S.-Italy relations were “pretty darn solid.”

Prodi agreed. “We do share the same views with regard to many issues and many matters,” he said. “We basically agree on how the future of the world should look, should be.”

At a podium at the Chigi Palace, across the Atlantic from Washington, Bush also took a shot at Capitol Hill.

Bush said his decision to replace Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reflected the Democratic-led Congress’ opposition to the war in Iraq. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that bitter divisions over the Iraq war among lawmakers led the Bush administration to replace Pace Adm. Mike Mullen, currently chief of naval operations.

“Pete Pace is a fine man and a great general and I think the fact that Secretary Gates made the recommendation not to move forward with a renomination speaks to the U.S. Congress and the climate in the U.S. Congress,” Bush said.

While in Rome, Bush took time to meet with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Prodi ousted Berlusconi a year ago, replacing a like-minded conservative and strong ally of Bush’s with a center-left leader whose government has spared Washington no criticism.

“He is the opposition leader and he is a friend,” Bush said, explaining his decision to visit with Berlusconi. Bush said Prodi didn’t “blame” the president for stopping to chat with his predecessor.

Bush also visited, at the U.S. embassy, with members of a lay Roman Catholic organization. The Sant’Egidio Community has a $25 million program, partly funded by the United States, to provide free antiretroviral drugs for HIV-positive people in 10 African countries, along with follow-up and home care.

Bush began his day with a short meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano at Quirinale Palace, his official residence. The Italian president told Bush that there had been speculation that U.S.-Italy relations would slide under Prodi, but Perino said Bush told Napolitano: “The opposite has proven true.”

Still, Italian-U.S. relations are a bit strained.

Italy has withdrawn troops from Iraq and is reluctant to send additional soldiers to Afghanistan. And just hours before Bush’s arrival Friday, the first trial involving the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program opened in a Milan courtroom.

Along with the 26 Americans on trial for the abduction of an Egyptian cleric, a U.S. soldier is on trial in Rome for the March 2005 slaying of an Italian spy in Baghdad. In both cases, the U.S. citizens are being tried in absentia.

Prodi said he and Bush did not discuss the trials.

And then THIS story from News24.com:

Vatican City – US President George W Bush drew gasps at the Vatican on Saturday by referring to Pope Benedict XVI as “sir” instead of the expected “His Holiness”, pool reporters said.

They could clearly hear the US leader say “Yes, sir” when the pope asked him if he was going to meet with officials of the lay Catholic Sant’Egidio community at the US embassy later during his visit.

A handful of pool reporters were on hand as Benedict greeted Bush at the door of his private library ahead of a private audience of about half an hour.

On his way to see the 80-year-old pontiff, the US leader apparently recognised someone he knew, and could be heard greeting the person with a casual “How ya doin’?”

The pool reporters also noted Bush’s relaxed posture, crossing his legs “Texan style” while facing the pope across his desk in the private study of the apostolic palace.

Way to represent Georgie. You make it look like you are representing a nation of hillbillies. The following picture by Mario Laporta of AFP depicts how many in Rome were less than welcoming about Bush’s visit. Another shout out to our Prez for making us so popular.

Nice Manners in Alabama

A fight broke out on the Alabama senate floor yesterday as the session was coming to a close. The punch came from Sen. Charles Bishop (R) of Jasper and landed on the cheek of Sen. Lowell Barron (D) of Fyffe. Here is a clip from the Alabama Senate Smackdown:

Mature…very mature. This is the example we should be setting for our governmental officials. Nice work boys!

The following is from Thursday night’s Montgomery Advertiser Newspaper online:

Session ends with a bang

By Jamie Kizzire

As images of a state senator punching another on the Senate floor on the final day of the session were broadcast across the state and the world, several senators agreed to an obvious understatement — things have got to change next year.

They agreed legislation should be passed. They agreed both sides must respect one another.

But they both disagreed on how that happens.

“Unless they change, things won’t change,” said Senate Republican leader Jabo Waggoner of Vestavia Hills.

Waggoner was referring to the Democratic majority in the Senate that he believes is trying to shut a group of Republicans and some Democrats out of the legislative process.

Sen. Bobby Denton, D-Muscle Shoals, said Republicans must accept that they are in the minority.

“You’ve got to accept it and let it go,” he said.

For most of the session the Republican minority stalled legislation in protest of operating rules they say are unfair to them.

The tense session exploded Thursday when Sen. Charles Bishop, R-Jasper, punched fellow Sen. Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe, on the Senate floor during the last day of the session.

Their accounts of what provoked the event differed as much as their votes have, but it topped off a session in which patience was tested and tempers flared.

Bishop had unsuccessfully asked Barron to bring up a bill banning money transfers between political action committees during the meeting. The incident occurred shortly after the Senate recessed.

Bishop said Barron had called him a “son of a bitch.”

Barron, who said he is considering bringing criminal charges against Bishop, denied it. Barron said he might have said he “didn’t give a damn.”

He said Bishop told him to “watch your back” because “I’m going to F you every day.”

“Nothing I did was provocative,” he said.

But Bishop disagreed, saying he responded accordingly to a remark about his mother.

“I responded with my right hand,” he said. “I hit him wherever I could get my right hand on him.”

He apologized for it happening on the floor of the Senate, but did not apologize for hitting him.

“If he calls me that again, it will happen again,” he said.

Bishop left the chamber for the rest of the day.

A group of Democratic senators have filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics and Conduct Committee.

They also sought to have Bishop barred from the chamber for the rest of the day, but did not vote on the measure after he left.

Sen. Hank Erwin, R-Montevallo, hopes this changes behavior in the Senate.

“I hope it will cause both sides to do something,” said Erwin. “I’ve been seeing it brewing for the whole time.”

Democratic Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. said he believed the incident wasn’t indicative of the session but simply an “emotional outburst” by Bishop.

“It was basically more of the immediate circumstances of the moment,” he said.

Sen. Larry Dixon, R-Montgomery, said it is a symptom of the session.

“It’s kind of indicative of just how much tension there is in the Senate right now,” he said.

Folsom said the first legislative session after an election is usually contentious as senators settle into their roles as a majority or a minority. But time can heal these wounds.

“A lot of things can happen between now and the next session,” he said.

Dude, Your Mom is on Facebook?

This morning I read an article by Michelle Slatalla on nytimes.com called “‘omg my mom joined facebook.” I had to chuckle because this woman actually created a Facebook page to spy on her daughter while she was off to college.

Ms. Slatalla writes,

“After I got my Profile page, the first thing I did was to search for other members — my daughter and her friends — to ask them to be my friends.

Shockingly, quite a few of them — the friends, not the daughter — accepted my invitation and gave me access to their Profiles, including their interests, hobbies, school affiliations and in some cases, physical whereabouts.”

This is like snooping in your kid’s bedroom but while taking on the identity of someone else so your he/she doesn’t realize it’s you.

I admit, I have a Facebook page but like my college son, I too am in college. I have used it for campus networking, contacting “friends” about missed assignments, and create study groups. My son and I have written on each other walls and shared pictures back and forth. It is kind of weird to have “friends” the same age as my son but I consider them nothing more than classmates and acquaintances.

I guess my son and I have a better relationship than many parents and kids but that could be because of our 18 year age difference. Although I have been shocked to see the occasional pictures of my son tagged in his friend’s pictures (like the one with his new lip ring – UGH!) I have NEVER pretended to be someone else to spy on him.

I asked both of my sons if it they think it’s creepy to have their mom on Facebook and both have said that as long as I wasn’t spying, it isn’t. I’m fortunate though. I think because of the way that I have raised both of my sons, our lines of communication are very open and we have always been able to sit down with one another to discuss things most parents and teens have a hard time talking about. I know there are many things they don’t tell me but trust is the issue here. Although parents don’t want to admit it, there comes a time when you must cut the umbilical cord and let your child learn to become an adult. This first stepping stone is sending them off to college.

I have read other articles very similar to Ms. Slatalla’s regarding other social networking sites such as Xanga and MySpace. It takes a lot of will power not to spy on your kids, especially if your intent is to make sure they are staying away from drugs and inappropriate behaviors. Knowing that I have raised my sons with similar morals and values, I must constantly remind myself to trust them and know that I cannot keep them attached to my hip forever. I only wish the best of luck to Ms. Slatalla and her daughter.

Lightning Strikes Giuliani During Debate

Well…not really but while he was discussing the abortion issue, there were several lightning strikes that were affecting the electrical equipment in the studio. For a moment I thought fire and brimstone was going to rain down too!

I love how everyone backs away from Giuliani!

The Big GOP 10 Tonight

After a long weekend, I return to find out that I missed a juicy Democratic Debate. It figures! Tonight the Republicans will have another turn and are likely to banter over terrorism and immigration. No doubt, Giuliani will have a few things to say about the recent terror plot that was unveiled linking JFK Airport.

For now, I’m going to go entertain myself with a replay of the Democratic Debate on MSNBC.

By the way, for all the Dems out there…this one is for you:

Happy Hurricane Season!

This is a picture I took looking down at the access road of Louetta Rd. West and I-45 North Freeway the day before Hurricane Rita.

Another hurricane season is here. Are you ready? I learned my lesson during Rita’s pit stop through Houston and Spring. Although Rita wasn’t as strong as initially anticipated, it still brought strong winds and damage. We had a tree break over our house and landed up against our van – luckily not on it or on the house. My husband was still on post Hurricane Katrina duty with the National Guard in Louisiana so I was the one at home with the kids, boarding up the house, and preparing for the worse. Thankfully, it was more of a drill for what may be ahead in the future.  I dealt with flooding during Allison but had no idea how scary things would be when the wind is blowing against the house, trees were breaking around us, and debris hitting the house.

ABC Channel 13 has a lot of information to get you ready for this hurricane season. Especially after the quiet season we had last year, I’m afraid too many people have forgotten about the previous year. Check out the evacuation routes on Channel 13’s web page and go by Kroger to get your hurricane guide. Get your bottled water and batteries now instead of waiting for the last minute and fighting people in Wal-Mart and Target for the last flashlight or battery-operated radio. You can also take a lot at chron.com’s Hurricane Central web page which gives you the latest coverage about how Houston is gearing up.

Below is a picture of my dog Petey watching Tim Heller’s newscast about Rita’s landfall the night before the storm.