Weekend roundup - 8-10 August

Let’s rock hardcore. First up for tonight, the Hoverkiitty goes Whirrrrrr. And then, the face sculptures made by the use of toilet paper tubes, and finally, the geometric stylings of flowers.

Out in the world, a report sees police and military forces in Iraq becoming pawns of sectarian agitators, which could laed back into civil war. This would be the part of the exercise where we see whether the surge really worked or was a sursanure, and whether the nation currently being held together will go flying apart again once the troop glue that was holding things together leaves.

Xe, nee Blackwater, ceratinly wasn’t helping in its time in the counry, where the use of child prostitutes has been added to the list of charges leveled against the company by two former employees sworn under affadavit.

Elsewhere, the Untied States stopped calling for the replacement of ousted Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya, while still condemnding the action that removed him from power.

In domestic news, we find other people noting what we have known for the last nine years - it is becoming increasingly difficult to be an effective satirist, because the most outlandish things you can think of, someone else is saying seriously.

I can hear the opinion columns warming up as the WSJ reports that Congress has asked for additional planes so that they can travel with, after criticizing the use of jets by CEOs to travel. What makes one better than the other, they will wonder.

There will soon be an investigation into the CIA's handling of suspects, including possible torture beyond their mission, according to government sources. the scope of the investigation is supposed to be narrow - probably because if you pull too hard on the string, the sweater comes undone.

Regarding the ongoing fight between Democrats adn Republicans, mostly over health care, The White House's e-mail line for citizens to report false, misleading, or "fishy" information may end up running afoul of the law should it receive at least one tip, because of statutes that prohibit the White House from retaining data on those who disagree with it and statutes that require the archiving of all correspondence sent to the Whtie House - deletion would be potentially illegal, but so would maintaining some sort of “enemies list”. Since it’s still unclear what the White House intends on doing with the information they’re sent, they may still find some legal ground to sit upon. I would think that extracting the argument material and working with that, while archiving and sealing the originals should make it possible, and should be what the White House wants, anyway.

Mr. Cline uses the Cash For Clunkers program to demonstrate the desperate Republican Party technique of making everything into an ideological conflict, as well as pointing out where that faith fails, and where the program fails to benefit everyone.

The WSJ finds the current health care fight amusing in its own way, because they see the Democrats of having brokered a deal through the White House and then reneged on it on the legislature, so that if the deal goes down, it will not be because of lobbyists, but “the common sense of the American people”. On the more technical side, adding coverage for the uninsured will add stress to a health care infrastructure that's not ready for them, and might not result in improved access until the underlying infrastructure is built up enough.

Elsewhere, the town hall debacles - now starring fabricated beatings not borne out by video evidence, but not without calls for justice for the nonexistent attack, now with bonus “can’t make this stuff up” - said protestor has no health insurance because he was recently laid off and thus had to solicit donations to help pay for his medical expenses. No word on whether that has actually changed his mind about the whole health care thing. I’d say this is a great reason why we need this bill passed - so that way even those who say government programs never work will still be covered by them when they need to use them after they got hurt protesting them.

We’re also featuring conservative columnists pointing out many of the positions advanced by leaders of the Republican Party are crazy as well as conservatives who helped build the lunatic fringe saying that it's time to talk them down before someone else gets killed. That’s before the liberal religous people get involved, stories appear about people left to die at the whim of private insurance companies, and doing some serious debunking of the major health care myths.

Capping all of this, Ms. Noonan thinks the Democrats are out of touch that all their change is scaring the populace, and thus the protesters at the town halls are completely genuine, and the new flag e-mail address is chilling participation in democracy. She tells the Democrats to persuade, not to scare, since they have the platform to do it from. Which leaves the scaring up to the opposition, then? They’re doing an excellent job of making people think things are going to happen that aren’t. In essence, they are lying to the populace, no matter how much protestation they do that they are not, and then telling everyone else that they can't call her a liar, because we never have liars, just people who tell false and malicious statements.

There are pockets of civility, of course, and Mr. Schulz highlights the existence of one peaceful, if antagonistic, town hall meeting where civilized people held a debate. He then attempts to use that as the disproving example of the narrative of town hells, that most of these gatherings are more like the one in Maryland than the ones where Congresscritters are hung in effigy. Thing is, over in Michigan, there were decidedly more antagonistic meetings, with name-calling, more charged language, and the like.

One last thing, and here we have the “Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics” seal of disapproval, as well as a Worst People mention, the Washington Times did was Rasmussen did before - using polls about increasing concerns over debts and deficits as proof that the populace doesn't approve of the health care plan. The populace doesn’t approve of the spending, people - if you ask them whether they want the health care proposal, they generally approve. They like the idea, they’re worried we can’t pay for it. That’s the truth.

In other opinions, Messrs. Baker and Stonecipher feel the Census counting the people who are physically present in the United States gives unfair advantage to states with large illegal immigrant populations, and that this act is unConstitutional, because noncitizens should not be counted as residents when it comes to resetting the numbers in the House.

Mr. Karabaell warns us not to be seduced into thinking things are going well just because corporate earnings are going up. Speaking of doing well, bradhicks offers insight into how getting out of the slums sometimes means sacrificing your compassion for those who are still there.

General McPeak (ret.) says we need the F-22 plane to continue our unmatched air superiority as the WSJ praises the continued/increased usage of drone attacks in Pakistan against terrorists, considering it a foreign-policy victory for the current President. Well, never let it be said the editorial board won’t endorse the President when his actions coincide with their interests.

On the other side of that, the editorial board of the WSJ wants Mr. Obama to work hard toward the release of three backpacker-journalists who were captured by Iranian Revoultionary Guards for supposedly crossing into the country illegally.

Mr. Goldberg makes fun of Mr. Biden, considering him talented at the art of talking without speaking, but otherwise an embarrassment and political assistant to Mr. Obama's campaign rather than someone picked for his abilities. Biting back with more powerful teeth, Mr. Maher makes fun of the entire stupid country, whiel hoping that the stupid people never get to put someone like them into power. (Again?)

In science and tech, a picture of something that shouldn't be happening, meaning that there's new science to be discovered, a solid look at how lightning is more than just the bolt, stars moving at much higher speeds than our own, the discovery of what may be the world's oldest map, an open-source robot operating system, proof that a green roof can be put down just about anywhere, for any kind of building design, and an iPhone app that will let people deposit their checks by photographing the front and the back of the check and sending those images to the bank.

Last out for tonight, the difficulties of social media and the public-private divide. If you friend your boss on Facebook and then call him a wanker, does that give him the right to retaliate by firing you? Or are things said outside the workplace environment still private enough that they should be officially “ignored” in decisions like that?