Hot Soup Versus Hot Air?

The Washington Post reports the launch of a new internet venture aimed at "elevating" the political discourse in this country. Oddly, it's led by people who helped to de-elevate it in the first place.

A group of political strategists who have spent years firing heavy artillery at each other came together at the Hay-Adams Hotel yesterday, put aside their weapons, decried the polarized state of debate in America and vowed a new approach to peaceful coexistence.

Toward that end, they are launching a Web site that they hope will eventually reach 30 million opinion leaders, elevate public discussion on matters from politics to sports to culture and, in the process, make them some money.

Mark McKinnon and Matthew Dowd, who were senior advisers in President Bush's last two campaigns, are joining forces with Joe Lockhart, who served as a spokesman for President Bill Clinton, and Carter Eskew, a top strategist in Al Gore's presidential campaign, in creating what they have dubbed HotSoup.com.

"There is nobody who knows how broken the system is more than us. . . . Everyone in the room could say they contributed to the polarization," Lockhart said.

"The perceived polarization that exists in this country today is not a good thing," said Dowd, adding that people are tired of watching "food fight" debates on television.

But HotSoup — a name chosen to evoke a tasteful mixing of ingredients — faces a substantial challenge in a cluttered online marketplace. The most popular political Web sites and blogs are fiercely partisan on both the left and the right, which is precisely what attracts their fans. McKinnon, Lockhart and their partners, who are investing their own money while seeking outside financing, say they will be a regular presence on the site but will not be exchanging partisan blows.

They have hired Ron Fournier, former chief political writer for the Associated Press, as editor in chief. A key consultant is Allie Savarino, an Internet advertising specialist and president of Sisterwoman.com.

I have no idea if they can make this work or not. It seems to me to be a re-work of the Hot Air idea, though. Also taking a page from the new Townhall.com format. Really, there is nothing new under the sun, is there?

How Much?

How much will India endure? A question in an op-ed in Wednesday's Washington Post by Xenia Dormandy asks.

In December 2001 India and Pakistan almost went to war when a group of militants, based on Pakistani-controlled territory, attacked the Indian Parliament, killing nine people. India's response was to mobilize forces along its border with Pakistan. Predictably and understandably, Pakistan followed suit. The U.S. State Department ordered all non-vital personnel out of both countries, and the world prepared for what could well have been the first war ever between two nuclear powers.

But due largely to extensive, active and exhaustive mediation by central figures from the West, tensions were ratcheted down, and in time forces were demobilized.

Dormandy then goes on to ask the relevant question here.

But — and here's the crux of the matter — how long can India, Indians and the Singh government withstand the constant pressure from militant groups before they have to react? By any measure of international diplomacy, they've already been extraordinarily patient; compare their restraint with Israel's response to the kidnapping of its soldier or to the U.S. and Japanese responses to North Korea's missile tests.

Now is a moment when Pakistan really needs to respond. It wants to be taken seriously as an important player on the international scene. It has repeatedly asked the United States for a nuclear energy deal similar to the one we are working on with India. But until Pakistan — and this means not only President Pervez Musharraf but also the military, the people and the political parties, including the religious party, the MMA — gets serious about shutting down, arresting and otherwise dismantling the militant groups that operate from its territory, it cannot expect to be treated as a responsible player in the region. Pakistan is working on it, but it could do so much more.

A good — or at least stable — India-Pakistan relationship is one of the most important elements for long-term global stability. Given that both are nuclear powers, their region is one of the most dangerous in the world. And with attacks such as this, it is also one of the most volatile. India has taken great strides to tamp down this volatility. Pakistan needs to do more.

Now, this op-ed may be a bit off the mark since there are still no absolute certainty that Pakistan-based extremists are involved, but still, the questions raised are valid. If India has been pretty good at tamping down extremists, when will Pakistan reciprocate? It's in both countries' interests.

Twilight

Bear Left - Redux

Boo, the fugitive grizzly bear who made a daring, and quite extraordinary, escape a while back has stunned everyone involved by breaking back into the grizzly gulag! We first made mention of Boo here and noted that we might feel inclined to knock a 400 pound door off it's hinges if we knew someone was planning to neuter us. But Boo has returned all on his own. Which simply can't mean anything good for the gulag guards!

GOLDEN, British Columbia - Boo the runaway grizzly bear has returned on his own to his enclosure at a resort, apparently because of the ease of getting food and the end to the mating season, officials said.

After nearly three weeks on the lam after busting out of confinement, the 4-year-old bear ambled back into the 22-acre artificial enclosure Saturday, said Michael Dalzell, sales and marketing director at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort outside this town on the western slope of the Canadian Rockies.

"We believe he came back because he recognizes this as his comfort area and a reliable source of food," Dalzell said Monday.

Resort operators should have plenty of time to figure out how to keep Boo from getting loose again, he said.

"We feel that now that mating season is over, his urge to escape will be minimized," Dalzell said.

Boo escaped twice within two weeks last month, the second time on June 25, when he bashed a nearly 400-pound steel door off its four bolts, destroyed an electrical box while tearing through two electric fences and scrambled over a 12-foot fence anchored with two feet of steel below ground.

Between escapes, resort operators and officials in the provincial Environment Ministry contemplated neutering him, but he made his second getaway before they could act.

"We're working again with the MOE to find a solution," Dalzell said, adding that he couldn't say what solutions were being considered.

Mr. Dalzell, with what here at Blue Crab Boulevard know to be the Truth (please note capitalization. Thank you.) we can inform you with no doubt whatsoever that Boo's return is a trick. He is chowing down a few free meals and will lull you into a false sense of security. Then when you go to try to neuter him don't be surprised when he turns the tables on you! And he will.

Don't say we didn't warn you!

What’s That Sound?

Ah, it must be the collapse of all those houses made of cards. Robert Novak will be publishing the details of what he told the special prosecutor - and it looks very much like there was no concerted effort or coordinated campaign and Joe Wilson or his wife.

Syndicated columnist Robert Novak acknowledged for the first time today that he identified three confidential administration sources during testimony in the CIA leak investigation, saying he did so because they had granted him legal waivers to testify and because special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald already knew of their role.

In a column to be published on Wednesday, Novak said he told Fitzgerald in early 2004 that White House senior adviser Karl Rove and then-CIA spokesman Bill Harlow had confirmed for him, at his request, information about CIA operative Valerie Plame. Novak said he also told Fitzgerald about another senior administration official who originally provided him with the information about Plame, and whose identity he says he cannot reveal even now.

"I'm still constrained as a reporter," Novak said in an interview. "It was not on the record, and he has never revealed himself as being the source, and until he does I don't feel I should."

Novak triggered one of the capital's most tangled investigations with a July 2003 column reporting that Plame had suggested sending her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, to Niger to investigate whether Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was trying to obtain nuclear material from that country. Fitzgerald, who decided last month not to pursue charges against Rove, is prosecuting I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former chief of staff for Vice President Cheney, for allegedly lying to a grand jury. Judith Miller, then a New York Times reporter, went to jail for 85 days last year for initially refusing to name Libby as her source.

Oh dang. The left has to come up with another conspiracy theory fast. The question now is, how long until the Libbey persecution also collapses.

Israel Expands Operation

Ha'aretz is reporting that IDF forces have begun moving into the central regions of the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces expanded its action in the Gaza Strip shortly after midnight Tuesday, when infantry soldiers and tanks entered central Gaza for the first time since Operation Summer Rains began two weeks ago.

Residents said the soldiers were conducting searches in a village east of the town of Dir el Balah and had moved about 150 meters into the territory.

The decision to expand the operation was made during consultations between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz.

Abdel Asmeri, a Palestinian farmer, said he saw the forces advance about 700 meters into Gaza toward his village, near the town of Khan Yunis.

Palestinians said that IDF bulldozers were leveling farmland in the area, and the military ordered Palestinian security forces to leave their forward positions.

The IDF returned to Gaza almost a year after Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from the Strip, in an offensive to press for the release of abducted soldier Gilad Shalit and to halt Qassam rocket fire into southern Israel.

And since I seem to have a lot of people who are trying to impose moral equivalence around here lately, this also from Ha'aretz:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was about to release a large number of Palestinian prisoners before the crisis over the captured Israeli soldier worsened, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in remarks published Tuesday.

In an interview with the Egyptian state-run newspaper El-Messa, Mubarak spoke of a missed opportunity to resolve the confrontation that developed between Israel and the Palestinians after militants linked to the Hamas government kidnapped an Israel Defense Forces soldier on June 25 and demanded an exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

"Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, promised me to free a large number of Palestinian prisoners," Mubarak said. "But events suddenly escalated."

Mubarak did not blame Hamas for the escalation, but privately Egyptian officials have said the militant group did not respond favorably to Egypt's mediation.

Egypt's diplomatic efforts ground to a halt last week after Hamas turned down Cairo's proposal for it to release Corporal Gilad Shalit and wait for Israel to free an unspecified number of Palestinians later. Egypt would vouch for Israel's releasing the Palestinians, but the releases would not be simultaneous to mitigate the appearance of an exchange.

Whether apologists want to see it or not, the Palestinians are bringing this down on themselves. Hamas does not want peace. They want Israel to die.

101st Blog Of The Day

Today, my mission to visit one member of the fighting 101st each day leads me over to Rocket's Brain Trust. Rocket's Brain has been following the big story of the day, the Mumbai bombings. Of course, that subject is provoking a flood of pixels all over.

And, Since I actually missed doing a 101st BOTD yesterday (first time in more than two months of this project, I figured I'd do a make-up here as well.

I also visited Infinite Universe, but nobody was home. They're moving to Townhall.com. You got another one, Hugh!

Rumor?

Fausta's Blog address has changed, so adjust your bookmarks accordingly: http://faustasblog.com/. In addition to keeping up with the Mumbai bombings, Fausta is trying to run down a rumor she has been hearing that Fidel Castro may have kicked the bucket. No confirmation yet, but we can hope, can't we? (that is strictly a rumor at this point, but there are some unusual things happening right now).

UPDATE: Jawa Report is hearing things, too. Again - all rumors.

Protesting The Times

Nice report from the anti-New York Times rally held yesterday from Pam at Blogmeister USA. She's got pictures and a play-by-play including the counter-protesters, such as they were.

Colorado Gets Tough

Or at least a lot tougher on illegal immigrants.

DENVER (AP) — Colorado lawmakers ended a five-day special session on illegal immigration with a resounding approval of several bills that Democrats call the toughest in the nation and Republicans say don't go far enough.

The legislation sent late Monday to Republican Gov. Bill Owens would force a million people receiving state or federal aid in Colorado to verify their citizenship.

It would deny most non-emergency state benefits to illegal immigrants 18 years old and older - forcing people to prove legal residency when applying for benefits or renewing their eligibility. The state Senate passed it 22-13 and the House voted 48-15 in favor. Both chambers are controlled by Democrats.

"At the end of the day, everybody who serves in this building as senators or representatives knows we're making Colorado history," said the bill's sponsor, Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald. "We want to be able to look in the mirror and say we did legislation that is tough, enforceable and humane."

Republicans said the legislation still left glaring loopholes, including allowing benefits for minors and denying voters the chance to have a direct say on the issue.

The bill would apply to Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, energy assistance programs and aging and adult services. Owens has said an estimated 50,000 illegal immigrants could be thrown out of those programs.

"It simply puts teeth into existing federal regulations," Owens said.

Sen. Dan Grossman, one of four Democrats to vote against the measure, said: "I don't think the poor people of the state of Colorado or businesses of the state of Colorado should have to pay because we want to play politics with immigration."

It doesn't go far enough, but it is a strong signal. Note, too that both houses are controlled by Democrats. Mr. Grossman's attempt to "reframe" the issue is particularly weak. The state of Colorado will now arguably have more money to spend of the poor people who are there legally.

Thanks

Many thanks to Hugh Hewitt for the kind mention of the humble Crabitat on his radio show. My thanks to Rick, The Real Ugly American for tipping me to this.

It Just Won’t End, Will It?

Another day, another story about Deb Frisch in the media making her out to be the victim.

Frisch admitted to submitting the postings, but on Monday said she never meant her comments to be read as a threat.

Bloggers contacted UA psychology department head Alfred Kaszniak calling for Frisch's resignation or dismissal.

Kaszniak received Frisch's resignation letter Saturday. Along with it, he got "a couple hundred" e-mails - about Frisch.

"It's saddening, for anyone who is a reasonable person cannot but deeply regret the kind of incivility that seems to characterize so much of what passes for political debate on the Internet," said Kaszniak, who hired Frisch four years ago to teach a required undergraduate course in resource methods.

When I spoke to Ms Everett-Haynes on the phone, I had a sense that she wasn't going to be fair — though I didn't really expect this. 1) Ms Everett-Haynes writes: "Tensions escalated after Frisch and Goldstein swapped comments about North Korean missiles. The conversation on national security and political warfare got personal." Actually, as I told Ms Everett-Haynes, Frisch's belligerent commentary had started days earlier and had steadily escalated. In fact, by the time Frisch started posting in the thread on Korean missiles, she was already quite well known to my regular site commenters, having made herself quite the nuisance. Ms. Everett-Haynes, for reasons that are unclear to me, decides to highlight a comment of mine, one that she never asked me about during our phone interview. Let me put my comment — "We're pragmatists, Deb. I think if push came to shove, we'd rather just shoot you" — into context. First, here are Dr Frisch's comments in the thread Ms Everett-Haynes highlights that lead up to mine: 1) "If dem gooks attack Hawaii, I say we should nuke ‘em all! Remember Hiroshima, you slanty-eyed mofos! We will MICROWAVE you mofos if you look at us the wrong way! Bring it on, gooks! Bring it ephing on!" 2) "Please don’t take this the wrong way….but if everyone who lurked in the comments section of this blog drank the kool-aid RIGHT NOW…..the country and the world would be better places. Just my two sense." At which point I responded the suggestion that if I and ther rest of my commenters committed suicide, the country would be better off by quipping, "We’re pragmatists, Deb. I think if push came to shove, we’d rather just shoot you, then watch a “700 Club” marathon and enjoy some honeybaked ham." I don't know why Ms Everett-Haynes left off the end of my comment — perhaps because it showed that I was making light of Frisch's constant suggestion (made over and over on the site) that every conservative is a "kooky kristian," and that my comment was a direct and snarky rejoinder to Frisch's own invitation to a mass conservative suicide.

When He Said It, I Wonder If He Knew?

When Screamin' Howie Dean said we were about to enter the '60s again, I wonder if he already knew about this? A brand spanking new study into psychedelic drugs! Timothy Leary would be so proud!

NEW YORK - People who took an illegal drug made from mushrooms reported profound mystical experiences that led to behavior changes lasting for weeks — all part of an experiment that recalls the psychedelic '60s.

Many of the 36 volunteers rated their reaction to a single dose of the drug, called psilocybin, as one of the most meaningful or spiritually significant experiences of their lives. Some compared it to the birth of a child or the death of a parent.

Such comments "just seemed unbelievable," said Roland Griffiths of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, the study's lead author.

But don't try this at home, he warned. "Absolutely don't."

Almost a third of the research participants found the drug experience frightening even in the very controlled setting. That suggests people experimenting with the illicit drug on their own could be harmed, Griffiths said.

Viewed by some as a landmark, the study is one of the few rigorous looks in the past 40 years at a hallucinogen's effects. The researchers suggest the drug someday may help drug addicts kick their habit or aid terminally ill patients struggling with anxiety and depression.

It may also provide a way to study what happens in the brain during intense spiritual experiences, the scientists said.

Funded in part by the federal government, the research was published online Tuesday by the journal Psychopharmacology.

Give me a break. Taking psilocybin is credited with extraordinary reports of profound spiritual experiences that last for extended periods. How's about looking at how the volunteers are doing in the real world objectively instead of by anecdote? This has all been puffed before, hasn't it? Get the tie dye ready.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
Pink Floyd

Syd Barrett, one of the original founding members of Pink Floyd, has died.

A spokeswoman for the band said Barrett died several days ago, but she did not disclose the cause of death. Barrett had suffered from diabetes for years.

The surviving members of Pink Floyd —  The surviving members of Pink Floyd —  David Gilmour,  Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright — said they were "very upset and sad to learn of Syd Barrett's death."

"Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire," they said in a statement.

Barrett co-founded Pink Floyd in 1965 with Waters, Mason and Wright, and wrote many of the band's early songs. The group's jazz-infused rock and drug-laced, multimedia "happenings" made them darlings of the London psychedelic scene. The 1967 album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" — largely written by Barrett, who also played guitar — was a commercial and critical hit.

But Barrett suffered from mental instability, exacerbated by his use of LSD. His behavior grew increasingly erratic, and he left the group in 1968 — five years before the release of Pink Floyd's most popular album, "Dark Side of the Moon" — to be replaced by Gilmour.

Barrett released two solo albums — "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett" — but soon withdrew from the music business altogether. An album of previously unreleased material, "Opel," was issued in 1988.

The album Wish You Were Here was meant as a tribute to Barrett and Shine on You Crazy Diamond was about him. Rest in peace, Syd.

UPDATE: As noted by Neo in comments on the post about the new study into psychedelic drugs, Syd was a casualty of the first round.

See! It’s True!

Duct tape IS a gift from the gods themselves! The miracle material that fixes everything and anything has now gone where no tape has gone before! It can even be used to hold a propulsion pack in place for astronaut Piers Sellers.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Even in space, a little duct tape may work wonders. Astronaut Piers Sellers suggested using some of the multipurpose sticky material to fix a safety-jet backpack used during spacewalks after it almost came loose from him while he repaired the international space station.

"Right now, is there some kind of tape fix that you guys could think about that would be helpful?" Sellers asked Mission Control Tuesday morning, a day after the propulsive backpack started to come loose during his spacewalk with astronaut Mike Fossum.

Fossum had to tether the device to Sellers to keep it from flying away.

The jet backpack, nicknamed SAFER, is worn by every astronaut during a spacewalk. It allows an astronaut to propel himself or herself to safety in an emergency, for instance if a tether or foot restraint holding the astronaut in place breaks

Duct tape is just like The Force. It has a light side and a dark side. And it holds the universe together!