Blogging Hiatus

I will be taking the weekend off to partake in some Holiday and family related activities. Blogging will resume on Monday. - The Management

(Photo credit David Horsey)

President and Mrs Bush Speak to Barbara Walters

Comprehensive interview airing on "20/20"
December 13, 10PM ET on ABC

“War is my last option, not my first option,” President George W. Bush tells Barbara Walters about the possibility of invading Iraq during an exclusive year-end interview for ABC News’ “20/20.” The President also addresses concerns over the ballistic missiles recently discovered on a ship from North Korea. “I view this as an opportunity for the United States to work not only closely with of course South Korea and Japan to make sure that the Korean Peninsula was nuclear weapons free, but also it’s a unique moment for us to work with the Chinese and to forge a different relationship to solve a common problem, as well as work with the Russians.”

Via Drudge Report

Froogle

Google also has a new section called Froogle. This allows you to find information on just about any product out. Find information like price, features and safety and read reviews made by others.

(Via Chris Ruzin)

Lott Digs Deeper

An excerpt from Trent Lott's phone conversation with Larry King last night

The CNN transcript.

LOTT: Having said that, you know, I see -- I was 7 years old when, you know, Strom first ran for president. I don't really remember anything about the campaign.

KING: But you don't think he'd of been a better president, say, than Harry Truman who defeated him that year?

LOTT: You know, I'd have to go back and look at the election of that year. Harry Truman obviously did a lot of great things for our country, and, you know, I was trying to remember who the Republican nominee was...

KING: Dewey. Tom Dewey.

LOTT: Yes, it was Dewey. I don't -- you know, I couldn't tell you one thing about what Dewey's policies were at the time. I remember the headline, you know, that Dewey wins.

KING: Yes, Dewey defeats...

LOTT: Yes, Harry Truman won. But, you know, one of the things that people don't even, you know, remember is that his running mate was a guy named Fielding Wright from my state.

Has Lott developed amnesia all of a sudden? or is he just politically unfit? Earl Ofari Hutchinson offers a perspective in this article from 3 years ago.

Bush on Lott

Breaking News.

CNN reports

President Bush says recent controversial comments by incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott "do not reflect the spirit of our country." [more]

Supreme Court Watch

As I pointed out a few days ago The Supreme Court began hearing arguments Wednesday on whether burning a cross is constitutionally protected expression or an overt threat that states can ban.

The NY Times has an excellent article on the matter with an An Intense debate by Justice Thomas on the issue.

What's in a name?

Evidently plenty if you are looking for a job, according to this NY Times story (Reg. required)

To test whether employers discriminate against black job applicants, Marianne Bertrand of the University of Chicago and Sendhil Mullainathan of M.I.T. conducted an unusual experiment. They selected 1,300 help-wanted ads from newspapers in Boston and Chicago and submitted multiple résumés from phantom job seekers. The researchers randomly assigned the first names on the résumés, choosing from one set that is particularly common among blacks and from another that is common among whites. [more]

Seems that Tyrone and Tamika didn't do as well as Brad and Kristen even when their resumes revealed identical experience and qualifications.

NYC Murder Rate at All Time Low

The city's murder rate continues to plummet and is expected to reach lows not seen in more than four decades, NYPD statistics show.

There have been 536 murders so far this year, down from 612 during the same period last year - a 12.4% reduction. Crime experts predict the city will have fewer than 600 homicides this year for the first time in 42 years.

Last year, there were 649 murders. In 1990, a staggering 2,262 people were slain.

Those were the bad old days.

What Bill Clinton Knows

In a speech last week to the Democratic Leadership Council, Bill Clinton asserted that one difference between his party and the GOP is that "they have a destruction machine, we don't."

Where are we now? Well the Republicans have what they want--the White House and the Congress -- so presumably, they'll finally have to stop playing the blame game and take some responsibility, and the American people can determine whether they agree with what they wish to do. Meanwhile, we have a heavy responsibility to cooperate in uniting this country on security issues and also to come up with better ideas across the board. We don't have to be more liberal but we do have to be more relevant in a progressive way. We have to have a clear and strong national security stand. We have to compare the results of their efforts and ours. And we have to be tough and disciplined. We cannot wilt in the face of higher negative ratings for our leaders. They have a destruction machine, we don't."

I'm not quite sure what he meant by "destruction machine", but why does the name Trent Lott ring a bell.