Hey…still busy over on this end with the textbook project. At this point, I’m about ready to up and pull a Novak, but, fortunately, the end is in sight.
Rove, Raffy, and the Right.
“‘He’s a friend,’ the president said…’He’s testified in public, and I believe him.’” In a roundtable with Texas journalists, Dubya backs Karl Rove and Rafael Palmeiro, as well as (somewhat half-heartedly) the teaching of “intelligent design.” A bit of a gullible sort, ain’t he?
A wandering eye.
The Leaky Cauldron procures several shots from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, including new looks at the Triwizard contestants, Cho Chang, and Mad-Eye Moody here at right.
Bolton Escapes.
Well, that’s that, then. As expected (and although he may be late to the party), Dubya has appointed Bolton to the UN ambassadorship by fiat. Well, the Dems pushed as hard as they could on this one, and only George Voinovich ended up seeing the light. Shame on supposed moderates Lincoln Chafee and Chuck Hagel for letting this freakshow get out of committee in the first place.
Love and a .45.
Trailers: Nic Cage, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, Eamonn Walker, and Bridget Moynahan exercise their Second Amendment rights in Andrew Niccol’s Lord of War, and Jennifer Aniston gives up Mark Ruffalo for Kevin Costner in Rumor Has It, Rob Reiner’s riff on The Graduate, also starring Shirley MacLaine, Kathy Bates, and Mena Suvari.
Enjoy the Silence.
I’m deluged with a freelance project right now (for a history textbook), and expect to be so for the remainder of the week. So it’ll likely be quiet around here…sorry.
Indian Summer of the Gods.
As seen in the NYT Science Times, a volunteer at the Smithsonian discovers a forgotten cache of photos from the Scopes trial, which took place eighty years ago this month.
Martian H20 and Planet X?
Some intriguing new finds right here in our neighborhood: The ESA posts some very nice images of a frozen Martian lake, and astronomers have found a large object (and its moon) orbiting our sun outside Pluto.
Powered by Pork.
“‘This bill digs us deeper into a budget black hole,’ said Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) ‘It fails to decrease our dependence on foreign oil. It rolls back important consumer protections. And finally, it undermines some of the fundamental environmental laws that our citizens rely upon.'” By a vote of 74 to 26, the Senate passes a grotesquely pork-inflated energy bill that’s riddled with tax breaks for energy companies and devoid of anything that’ll actually help minimize our need for oil. Great job, fellas.
He’ll make a Fabulist Ambassador.
Chalk up another X against Dubya’s UN nominee: It now turns out John Bolton lied to Congress about his part in the investigation of the Iraq-Niger claim. (He claimed he hadn’t been interviewed…He had.) Regardless, Dubya still has plans to appoint Bolton by fiat after Congress skips town. After all, what’s one more liar in this truth-starved administration? He should fit right in.