OUT On The Porch

September 17, 2007

Unsuccessful Bills

Filed under: Lawmakers — OUT @ 5:15 pm

The Congress hasn’t done much, or so we are fond of saying.

However, some members who have been very busy beavers, cranking out lots of bills, most of which have never made it out of committee.

Here are the latest numbers fresh from today’s edition of GovTrack.US, listing those prolific representatives have introduced the highest number of bills that never made it out of committee.

# of Bills…..Representative

504……….Rep. Robert Andrews [D-NJ] since Jan 7, 1997

415……….Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D-CA] since Jan 7, 1997

370……….Sen. Olympia Snowe [R-ME] since Jan 21, 1997

352……….Sen. Charles Schumer [D-NY] since Jan 7, 1997

331……….Rep. Ronald Paul [R-TX] since Jan 7, 1997

327……….Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY] since Jan 7, 1997

They have other interesting stuff over there at GovTrack.US.

September 14, 2007

What’s The Plural Of Babel?

Filed under: Something New — OUT @ 8:10 am

There’s a race to build the world’s tallest building.

At the moment, the “Burj Dubai” going up in Dubai seems to be in the lead.

So much news. So little time . . . .

September 12, 2007

Could Happen

Filed under: Anti-Terrorism,Elections,Iraq,Leadership,Politics,Victory,White House — OUT @ 12:06 pm


You might not want to throw away that copy of the “Petraeus – Betray Us” ad that MoveOn.org ran in the New York Times.

It could become a collector’s item.

The day after the 2008 Elections, at least by today’s rules, could mark the beginning of the 2012 race.

Depending upon all the imponderables, one name that could appear on some lists is General David Petraeus.

If MoveOn.org is still functional, that ad could play an interesting role in the campaign.

At this writing, MoveOn.org is still giving away PDF versions of the ad.

Even if Petraeus isn’t interested, the ad could be an issue.

Something to think about.

September 11, 2007

Never Happen

Filed under: Legends — OUT @ 11:39 am


There’s a “mumble” (moderate rumble) going around about the next Attorney General that you’re not going to believe:

Senator Pat Leahy.

Said you wouldn’t believe it.

Neither do we.

Still . . . .

Aspire To Higher Office?

Filed under: Behavior,Ethics,Planning Ahead — OUT @ 10:09 am

Make sure your hired guns don’t destroy the place before you get there to claim it.

Remember how long it took you to get up and running in your current job.

Don’t let them do anything you wouldn’t be willing to share, someday, with your grandchildren.

911

Filed under: Anniversary — OUT @ 1:00 am

Remember.

September 10, 2007

Politics and Tantrums

Filed under: Debate,Leadership,Sturm und Drang,Truth,World Views — OUT @ 8:48 am

What is a spoiled child?

A spoiled child is undisciplined, manipulative, and unpleasant to be with much of the time. He behaves in many of the following ways by the time he is 2 or 3 years old:

* Doesn’t follow rules or cooperate with suggestions.
* Doesn’t respond to “no,” “stop,” or other commands.
* Protests everything.
* Doesn’t know the difference between his needs and his wishes.
* Insists on having his own way.
* Makes unfair or excessive demands on others.
* Doesn’t respect other people’s rights.
* Tries to control people.
* Has a low tolerance for frustration.
* Frequently whines or throws tantrums.
* Constantly complains about being bored.

Something to think about during the Electoral Follies.

September 8, 2007

Last

Filed under: Election 2008,Politics — OUT @ 4:59 pm

If you’re interested in politics, you might be interested in a piece about Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel, by Michael Leahy in tomorrow’s Washington Post.

It’s a story you will remember.

September 7, 2007

Timing Is Everything

Filed under: Anti-Terrorism,Election 2008,Terrorism — OUT @ 1:07 pm

That’s what some people think, anyway. Someone has decided that we need to skip the “off year” between election cycles and just start the 2008 Election season the day after the end of the 2006 Election. Which we did.

But forget about who actually came up with that sophomoric idea. Think instead of the time, energy and resources we are throwing into that bottomless pit we might well call the pre-2008 Election season. Most of us can probably think of other things that could have used the attention and resources.

To borrow a phrase, it is sucking the air out of everything else we should be attending to. Whatever the issue, “if it won’t get my side elected, it will have to wait until after 2008, and maybe 2010.”

And now there’s another player out there in the weeds.
Osama bin Laden, who has publicly claimed credit for the 9/11 attacks, likes to remind us that our behavior doesn’t meet his standards.

He is apt to use anniversary dates to reinforce his sermons.

We have now given him an extra 9/11 to work with this year, and he seems ready to use it.

After he speaks (and maybe acts), he can calibrate the effect he had on us.

He probably reads the polls too.

Then he can fine-tune his 9/11 plans for 2008.

End Game in Iraq

Filed under: End Game,Iraq,Lawmakers,Leadership,Something New — OUT @ 1:27 am


Iraqis have been listening to pep talks by American politicians on how to get along and work together to rebuild Iraq.

They may find that very amusing, as they watch our own brand of bipartisan processes. They may even have some funny jokes about all this but are too polite to say them aloud in front of us.

One of these days, perhaps sooner than we think, we’re going to turn around and realize that the Iraqis are rebuilding their governing processes. They will rebuild in ways we didn’t propose, and more importantly, in ways we didn’t suggest.

They’re going to do it their way.

There was an Iraq before Saddam and will be again.

The survivors know who they are, what they have to work with, and what will work.

It’s not new. It’s happened before, in other places.

They have always known we were going to leave. Now they know it will be soon.

September 4, 2007

Worth A Thousand Words

Filed under: Defeat,Victory,War — OUT @ 11:54 pm

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin and her reader who sent it in.

Some times a picture sums up the whole struggle.

September 2, 2007

Clutter Detector

Filed under: Something New — OUT @ 8:32 pm


MIT Designs Clutter Detector

A new technique measures visual clutter, creating a tool for designers of all types.

The scientists have published a paper this month in the Journal of Vision that explains their work.

The impetus for the work was that “we lack a clear understanding of what clutter is, what features, attributes and factors are relevant, why it presents a problem and how to identify it,” says Ruth Rosenholtz, principal research scientist at MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS).

Thanks for the heads up.

Please keep them away from this desk for the time being. Thank you.

How Much Tribute Is Enough?

Filed under: Anniversary,Defining Moment,Election 2008,Leadership,Politics,Terrorism,War — OUT @ 11:09 am

The Gray Lady is having some angst over how much ink the upcoming 911 anniversary should get.

Here’s a sample:

Each year, murmuring about Sept. 11 fatigue arises, a weariness of reliving a day that everyone wishes had never happened. It began before the first anniversary of the terrorist attack. By now, though, many people feel that the collective commemorations, publicly staged, are excessive and vacant, even annoying.

Want to read the rest? Read it here.

Here’s a suggestion to the Gray Lady:

You’re a big successful paper that knows “what’s fit to print” and what isn’t.

Take a deep breath and decide what is and what isn’t.

Your readers will probably come back.

September 1, 2007

What About Al Qaeda in Iraq?

Filed under: Anti-Terrorism,Iraq,Pakistan,Terrorism,Victory,War — OUT @ 5:06 pm

Al Qaeda In Iraq is part of the global al Qaeda movement. AQI, as the U.S. military calls it, is around 90 percent Iraqi.

Foreign fighters, however, predominate in the leadership and among the suicide bombers, of whom they comprise up to 90 percent, U.S. commanders say.

The leader of AQI is Abu Ayyub al-Masri, an Egyptian. His predecessor, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, was a Jordanian.

Because the members of AQI are overwhelmingly Iraqis–often thugs and misfits recruited or dragooned into the organization (along with some clerics and more educated leaders)–it is argued that AQI is not really part of the global al Qaeda movement.

Therefore, it is said, the war in Iraq is not part of the global war on terror: The “real” al Qaeda–Osama bin Laden’s band, off in its safe havens in the Pakistani tribal areas of Waziristan and Baluchistan–is the group to fight.

Furthermore, argue critics of this persuasion, we should be doing this fighting through precise, intelligence-driven airstrikes or Special Forces attacks on key leaders, not the deployment of large conventional forces, which only stirs resentment in Muslim countries and creates more terrorists.

Over the past four years, the war in Iraq has provided abundant evidence to dispute these assertions.

So begins a thoughtful piece by Frederick W. Kagan:
Al Qaeda In Iraq
How to understand it. How to defeat it.

It’s worth reading, whatever your perspective. Start -> here.

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