A Serious Proposal

This column is not intended as a sarcastic joke, like my Open Letter to Paul Krugman, nor a wishful flight of fantasy like my Modest Proposal on Spending and Taxes. This is a serious proposal to mitigate some of the effects of the oil crisis.

First, some background: The government has for years been making on-again, off-again efforts to stock an emergency petroleum reserve (SPR) with approximately 700 million barrels of crude oil. The oil comes in as a kind of lease payment paid to the U.S. government by producers who operate leases on the federally-owned continental shelf.

Calls for the president to release the inventory always arise whenever the domestic price of gasoline gets to be about 50 percent or more above whatever is considered normal at the time. Usually, the president resists such demands because the purpose of the reserve is to provide a stockpile against a true supply disruption and it takes a long time to replace any oil taken out.

As a result of the hurricane damage inflicted on the Louisiana oil production, transportation and refining facilities, a major supply disruption has occurred. To the extent that excess refinery capacity still exists, President Bush ought to authorize a temporary drawdown of the reserve. This would please Senator Schumer (D-NY), who claims to have been asking the president to release oil for a year now. [Hey, Chuckie, you nimrod; if he had there might not be any left now when we really need it. Sheesh. – Ed.]

Release of some of the SPR would only provide short-term relief. Growing world demand is expected to cause oil prices to continue to rise and keep supplies tight in the foreseeable future. The total amount of oil available is uncertain and the cost of recovering it varies tremendously. You’ve probably heard of the “peak oil” concept, which says oil production can only diminish, even though demand is rising.

A virtually unlimited supply of fuel is believed to exist in tar sands and oil shale in the western U. S. and Canada, but the cost of production from this supply is not known. It would be too risky and expensive to begin large-scale production from such unproven sources given that the market price of oil could drop suddenly due to recession or price manipulation. Without a guaranteed market for the output, prudent investors are unwilling to begin production.

My Serious Proposal
Suppose the government offered to replace any oil sold out of the reserve (as authorized and under competitive bidding) by purchasing under contract from alternative suppliers at the same price? That is, if the government sells 50 million barrels at $70, it contracts to purchase 50 million barrels at $70 from start-up producer firms using alternative technologies. If it really is economically feasible to make oil from shale or tar sands or turkey guts, the potential for $3.5 billion worth of guaranteed contracts ought to get the industry rolling.

As long as the contracts are fulfilled, the net cost to the government is zero except for administration expense. [As if that’s nothing. – Ed.] Naturally, safeguards will have to be in place to ensure that the oil supplied is actually new-source and not simply natural petroleum picked up when the price falls. The government is not very good at this kind of thing, but since there is a possibility that the price may not fall, only entrepreneurs with a reasonable expectation of success should be willing to sign the contracts.

It occurs to me that the original Jimmy Carter Department of Energy was intended to jump-start the synthetic fuels industry and, like all of Carter’s endeavors, it failed. Most likely, this effort was another centrally-planned boondoggle which neglected to take advantage of the free market and American ingenuity. The Carter years were not a very sensible time, as anyone who remembers them can attest.

I make this proposal because I believe that there is an upper limit to crude oil prices at the level where an alternative type of fuel will become viable. I hope this price level is no higher than current oil prices and I expect that whatever this fuel may be, it will be developed by the most innovative people ever – we Americans. I’m confident that one way or another, the energy crisis will be solved. I would just like to see it happen soon.

How Long Until...

...Some Lunatic claims that Hurrican Katrina is God's vengence for the
invasion of Iraq?

2020 Vision

Interesting prediction for how the various national economies will stack up in the year 2020 that is even more interesting because of the source--the head of Deutsche Bank France. (Hat tip: Power Line.)

In 2020, the United States will remain the world superpower, with a total GNP of approximately $17 trillion to $18 trillion. Thanks to its dynamic demographics (1% annual population growth), a productivity and a competitiveness amongst the best in the world (currently second in the world and far out in front of Germany (13th) or France (26th) according to statistics from the World Economic Forum), and thanks also to its constant drive to create and innovate, and with flexibility due to the mobility of its labor force, the United States will maintain a clear advantage over China and India and will widen the gap with Europe. With average per capita salaries of approximately $55,000, the income of the average American in 2020 will be 1.5 to 2 times greater than that of a European; five times higher than that of a Chinese and nine times more than that of an Indian (approximately $6,000 per capita).

It goes on to say that China will have the second largest economy at about $14 trillion (though with four times the U.S.'s population, it will still likely lag far behind us in per capita income and per capita GDP). Trailing a ways behind the U.S. likely will be India at about $7 trillion per year.

The report has some bad news for Europe.

While European countries will remain rich in terms of per capita income (about $32,500), their relative weight will decline with their demographics and weaker growth (on average, almost half as much as the United States). Countries like Spain or Ireland will experience a higher level of development than the European average, thanks to a wider opening of their economies to the outside, the dynamism of their investments, good population growth forecasts and effective immigration policies.

Demographics isn't destiny and the world can change quite a bit in fifteen years. But, those who constantly predict the imminent demise of the U.S. as an economic superpower are almost certainly wrong.

New Weapon in the war on Speeders

Still smarting from that ticket that was mailed to you when some intersection camera photographed you running a red light? Well you might want to dial it back a notch on the highway if the highway patrol ever get their hands on these little beauties.

It seems that authorities in Malaysia have installed a tiny little camera in the pavement to measure speed and take pictures of the offending vehicles' plates.

Boo!

It's Almost Like the Goal is to Avoid Having to Teach

Ouch! State 29 unloads on former Des Moines teacher and current Des Moines School Board member for endorsing social promotion--the passing along of kids to the next grade level even when they aren't academically prepared to do so.

What's so terribly grating about a school board member (and former teacher FOR FORTY YEARS) is the absolute Vichy France level of capitulation involved. Just check out this quote:

Keep them along with their peer group. If a kid is going to drop out anyway, he might as well drop out on schedule," he said.

If a mechanic told you, "Hey, a certain percentage of brakes fail anyway, so I just skipped tightening up the nuts on your front calipers," if you didn't punch him, you'd certainly quit taking your car there.

If your doctor said, "Hey, you're already 73, and you're going to die at some point anyway, so we might as well let you die on time with your peer group," you'd sue him for malpractice.

Yet, when an educator says this, we're suppose to sit back and say, "Well, there's nothing that can be done. They're the experts."

Absolutely sickening.

Fact Checked and Edited and Total BS

The Register editorial board dropped this steaming pile on neighborhood doorsteps this morning.

Iraq is not like Afghanistan, Mr. President. Al Qaida was based in Afghanistan before Sept. 11, 2001. An attack on that country was justified. An attack on Iraq wasn't. That country had no link to Sept. 11. No weapons of mass destruction. No connection to terrorism that threatened the United States.

Let's analyze that paragraph.

Sentece one is a truism. Afghanistan is not like Iraq. They are different countries with different histories, different geographies, different people, etc., etc., and so forth.

Sentence two is correct. However, by ommission, it leaves out that Osama bin Laden had been in many places. He'd had previously set up shop in the Sudan. He had followers in many countries. Considering that he had operatives, obviously, in the U.S., I'd say it's a fair proposition to say that the threat wasn't limited to Afghanistan.

Sentece three is an opinion, but it is a correct one. An attack on Afghanistan was justified.

Sentece four is an opinion, but it is an incorrect one. An attack on Iraq was justified. If you felt attacking Serbia was justified on humanitarian purposes, how do you distinguish Iraq? If you believe that the U.N. is a good place and that it's pronouncements should be upheld, then how do you argue that Sadam should be left alone to flout that body? If you believe that international treaties should be upheld, then how do you turn a blind eye to thirteen years of Sadam flouting the ceasefire that halted hostilities in 1991? Sadam's military violated the ceasefire by locking radar on our planes. He attempted to assassinate President George H.W. Bush. I'd say that qualifies as a threat to us.

Sentence five is correct in the narrow sense. I'll concede this, though I think that it is quite possible that the whole story concerning whether Sadam had prior knowledge of 9/11 is not yet fully known.

Sentence six claims too much. While no stockpiles of WMD have been found, it is incorrect to say that no WMD has been found. Canisters and shells with WMD residue were located. Large stores of pesticides that are precursors to WMD were found, most likely in amounts far beyond the legitimate agricultural needs of the country. And, most importantly, the reports all state that Sadam maintained the knowledge base,ability, and the desire to reignite a nucluear program the instant that sanctions were removed. Considering that world resolve concerning the sanctions was waning in the months leading up to 9/11, there is little reason to believe that if Sadam had not been forcefully removed that right now he would be sitting there mere months away from having an A-bomb.

Sentence seven is pure balderdash. He was tied to international terrorism, paying thousands of dollars to the families of Hamas suicide bombers in Israel. He was tied to international terrorism when his intelligence agents were meeting with representatives of al-Qaeda. He was providing a safe-harbor and living quarters to the perpetrator of the Achille Lauro hijacking who had cold-bloodedly thrown a wheelchair-bound man into the ocean for the exclusive crime that he was Jewish. Considering that the groups Saddam was tied to had hijacked planes and ships with American citizens on board, and had killed and kidnapped hundreds. Also, see the comment above about wanting to start up his A-bomb program as soon as the sanctions were lifted. The guy was a threat to us and everyone else. (He was sure as hell a bigger threat to us than Slobodan Milosevic.)

Hawaii Adopts Price Controls

Having learned nothing from the price-control-induced gas lines of the Carter years, Hawaii has instituted wholesale price controls on gas.

The system apparently works something like this. They spot measure the price of gas in a few continental cities, then cap the wholesale price allowed in Hawaii. The really great thing about this system is not that there might be localized shortages to this neighborhood or that town. No, by capping the wholesale prices, the whole state will be left with no gas if the two refineries in the state are unable to buy and sell gas at the true market rate.

Way to go.

“A vision for a 21st century Medicaid solution”

I’m happy to have found a transcript of the National Press Club speech Newt Gingrich gave on c-span Sunday. While mainly based on his solution to the looming health insurance crisis, he touched on a lot of related issues. Newt’s brilliance as a thinker and educator is reflected in his ability to show how everything affects everything else. Say what you will about his personal life or his viability as a presidential candidate, it’s undeniable that he is a provocative speaker and an innovative thinker.

One reason I’m such a fan of Newt’s is that he is no fan of government bureaucracy. Government regulations take hold of conditions as they are at one point in time and cast them in concrete as though nothing will ever change. Have you ever noticed that the most dynamic and growing elements of our culture – such as the internet - are those that governments have not yet gotten control of? Newt has.

Remember that the Civil Service laws were originally passed in the 1880s when male clerks used quill pens sitting on high chairs while dipping the pen into inkwells. These laws have been codified for 125 years while the world changed. So to expect the current structure of government to match UPS or FedEx or Google or eBay or Amazon or Travelocity with e-ticketing is just impossible. It won't happen.

To accomplish real change in the way we do things will require, as he says, real change. Everyone wants to eliminate fraud and waste - such as the case of the New York dentist who charged Medicaid for performing 991 procedures in a single day – and Newt says it’s possible to get better health care for less money by changing people’s incentives.

The speech is lengthy, but I urge you to take a look at it, whether your interest is in health insurance, terrorism, immigration or something else. Newt’s perspective on how all of the far reaching issues interconnect is well worth your consideration. I’m not going to recap it all, but here’s one more tidbit I’m going to keep in mind:

The second reason you've got to change is China and India. And let me be clear about this; again, unlike a lot of our politicians. They're a fact. Get over it. There are [a] billion 300 million Chinese. They actually want the right to pursue happiness. They would like to be middle class. They'll all like to drive their own car. Guess what that's going to do to the price of oil? And there is nothing illegitimate about that. Why shouldn't they have every right to pursue happiness? That's what we favor for them.

But a good friend of mine, Bill Lockyer of Scientific-Atlanta, said to me, you can capture this reality in a very simple formula. He said we have a ten-seven-three-one problem. And I said -- I said, what are you talking about? He said, China grows at 10 percent a year, India grows at 7 percent a year, the U.S. grows at 3 percent a year, Europe grows at 1 percent a year, and our policymakers would like us to be more like Europe.

Think about that the next time you hear somebody say we should emulate France and Sweden. Their one-percent growth economies are going to be kicked to the curb by China and India soon enough.

Okay, one more quote. Let me borrow his closing statement:

But I just want to close and say, I've always enjoyed coming here and sharing ideas. I really think that for most Americans, the 40- year, angry, hostile process we've been through, starting in the mid- 60s, has worn out. They are tired of the negatives. They are tired of the attacks. They are tired of traditional debates. They are tired of all the baloney by which consultants look at focus groups to get 40 seconds to be memorized so candidates can pretend they're actually answering.

And I think the country -- most people I see -- I give 250 speeches a year. Most of the people I talk with around this country have a much better sense of how much trouble we're in than Washington does. Most people are prepared as adults to really have a dialogue about it. And most people are prepared to put almost everything on the table to talk through how we give our children and grandchildren a better future.

Despite the way Gingrich was portrayed while the MSM was intent on running him out of office, he is a positive thinker, not a heartless meanie. His ideas, if ever implemented, would upset a lot of D.C. applecarts, so it’s not hard to understand why he gets so much scorn and abuse.

If he does run for president in 2008, I think it will be more to start a dialogue about where we are going as a nation, than to actually get the nomination. I look forward to it.

Whoo-Hoo! Par-tay!

While the Hawkeye Nation is hoping for a top 10 finish to the upcoming football season, there is one poll where the U of I has already finished in the top 10. Based upon surveys from 110,000 students across the nation, the U of I has registered as one of the top 10 party schools.

Anyone who has spent much time in Iowa City knows that the bars along the ped mall are hopping just about every night of the week when classes are in session. While I'm certain this causes no small amount of consternation for the administration, it also makes Iowa City one of the nation's great college towns.

Iowa Methodist to Take Another Crack at the Hospital Politburo

The Register is reporting that Iowa Methodist will renew its efforts to get governmental approval to bring a hospital to West Des Moines. About eighteen months ago, the government blocked Methodist's plan to build the facility in West Des Moines. I mean, God forbid that there be a hospital where the area's population growth is taking place.

I certainly wish Methodist the best of luck getting approval this time. Heaven knows that the western suburbs could use a hospital.

So, why don’t you resign, jerk?

Ohio governor Robert Taft, a Republican, pled ‘no contest’ to four charges of ethics violations for accepting gifts said to be worth $75 and up. This allowed him to be found guilty under Ohio law while still maintaining some semblance of a claim of innocence. In all, he was said to have accepted 52 gifts valued at about $5800 including two golf outings from a Republican fundraiser/coin dealer who invested $50 million of state money in rare coins resulting in a $13 million loss and the scandal that led to the Taft accusations. He was fined $1000 for each of the four misdemeanor counts with no jail time. An ordinary citizen could have faced up to 6 months jail time for each count.

He was also ordered to apologize.

MSNBC reports that although he had expected all state workers to follow state ethics laws, “In this instance I have failed to live up to the those high expectations,”

Taft’s voice cracked as he spoke later at a news conference.

“There are no words to express the deep remorse that I feel over the embarrassment that I have caused for my administration and the people of the state of Ohio,” Taft said. The governor has fired others over ethics violations. But he said Thursday he would not resign, saying he still can be an effective governor and has much he wants to accomplish.

Good grief. When will this stupid idea end that if you just show remorse, everything will be okay? Private industries will often decline to prosecute if an employee agrees to resign. This saves them the bad publicity and expense of fighting an unlawful termination lawsuit. But being in government apparently means you only have to say you’re sorry.

So a word of advice to young, public-spirited citizens. If you are interested in a political career and you don’t have enough integrity to do the honorable thing, practice lip-biting apologies and sorrowful expressions.

The Quad Cities Loves Rice

The Quad City Times prints a poll from Victory Enterprises which shows that a among Iowa Republicans, Condoleeza Rice is the leading choice for a 2008 Presidential GOP candidate. She pulls the support of just a shade over 30 percent of those polled--almost double the support accorded to John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.

While the QCT finds her status as the frontrunner to be "surprising," what I find surprising is something that is missing from the article. I'll quote a couple of paragraphs of the article and see if you think the same thing.

Meanwhile, one political observer said the poll shows that women candidates are more accepted these days.

"She's a new face and a different face," said Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University. "The good news is there's increasing acceptance for women candidates."

There's no mention of race in the whole article. They talk about the fact that a woman candidate is becoming more acceptable, but don't even bother to mention that, apparently, an African-American candidacy must be pretty acceptable as well.

I think that's pretty cool.

Mechanized Can Return Comes to Estonia; Annoyance Follows

It seems that Estonia has a bottle return law similar to Iowa.

Estonia has instituted a new plan to get plastic and aluminum bottles recycled. There's a krooni tax (about 7 cents) on every two-liter Coke bottle, for instance, and a half-krooni on a small bottle or beer can.

It sounds good; save the environment, prevent landfills from getting clogged and all that -- except, like many technocratic decisions by government, IT DON'T WORKY.

Similar to Iowa, since there is essentially no revenue to be gained, the grocery stores want to keep staffing for this operation as low as possible. So, they install crappy machines that are constantly broken, or in need of clearing.

Some things, like government making feel-good, but unworkable, decisions, are universal.

I've Gone Wireless

The new machine is up and running. Tech support from the ISP just left after setting up the wireless network around the home. Cool.

I've got to run right now. More later.

I’m a Bears fan now

I never used to care much for da Bears, but with the roster addition of former Iowa State WR/KR J.J. Moses, the team has taken on a whole new look. Moses, one of the most exciting players I can ever recall see playing showed his stuff against Missouri a few years ago in this play as described (more or less) by the [late] voice of the Cyclones, Pete Taylor.

“The give is to Moses on the end-around, into traffic…nice spin move…surrounded by a host of Missouri tacklers…[long pause]…still on his feet…[short pause]…BREAKS INTO THE CLEAR. HE’S GOING TO SCORE!”

To see plays like that is why we watch football.

Moses played two years for the Houston Texans before being released recently. The Bears cut former Iowa RB Fred Russell to make room for Moses. Tough break for Russell, but I think the Texans have an opening.

Re: Poll finds we're ignorant

Fox and Friends this morning is featuring little clips of passers-by being asked – and failing – to sing the National Anthem. Oh, now I see; it’s part of a promo for something The Oak Ridge Boys are doing. I had assumed it was a rip-off of the continuing Jay Leno 'Moron-on-the-street' interview series.

Anyway, the above illustrates two things: how ignorant we are of things that should be common knowledge, and that there is some entertainment value in exposing this. Since polls always find more people can name The Three Stooges than their senators (insert your own joke here), the key to improving the public’s understanding would be to make it entertaining and to implant a profit motive.

My idea is a televised contest, something like the American Idol series, in which a panel of Simon Cowell types makes fun of people who don’t know their current events. Picture contestants being asked “What did Dick Armey accidentally call Barney Frank that called for an immediate apology?” in front of a panel consisting of say, Ann Coulter, James Carville and Christopher Hitchens.

They could start with easy questions like, “Which of the following was NOT a resolution passed at the 2005 National Education Association convention: 1.) study the feasibility of boycotting Gallo wines, 2.) participate in [efforts to] defeat CAFTA*, 3.) publicize the need for debt cancellation in underdeveloped countries*, 4.) support efforts to measure improvements in student’s educational proficiency in math and reading.”

Then in later rounds surviving contestants could be asked to explain the implications of the SCOTUS decision in Kelo v. New London.

What do you think? In America, the key to making anything work is for somebody to figure out how to make a buck off it. Before American Idol would you have thought there are millions of people willing to watch people make fun of bad singers? Come to think of it, that’s a given.


*H/T, Shut up and teach: michellemalkin.com

New Hogberg column

Our old friend David Hogberg has co-authored a column on NRO dealing with attacks on SCOTUS nominee John Roberts by the environmental groups. Because Roberts once questioned how an animal which "chooses to live," as he said, only in California comes under the purview of the interstate commerce clause, he is feared to be hostile to the Endangered Species Act. Dave notes how important the ESA is to leftist environmentalists.

A Nexis search reveals that Friends of the Earth has been party to three lawsuits involving ESA since 2002; the Sierra Club has been party to eight in just the last year. But they are pikers compared to Earthjustice, which has filed nearly 50 suits under the Endangered Species Act since the late 1990s. Earthjustice often forms partnerships with the Center for Biological Diversity, another recipient of grants from the Foundation for Deep Ecology ($115,000 since 2000). The center has filed almost 60 suits since the late 1990s. And what species are protected? Yes, there are suits to protect whales and birds, but others aim to save the St. Andrews Beach mouse, the Douglas County pocket gopher, and the Madla Cave Meshweaver spider.

This is all well and good for them to do what they feel is important, but I have one little nit to pick. Dave doesn't say so, and I could be wrong, but as I recall when these lawsuits are filed under ESA, the government pays the costs for both sides. In other words, that developer in California who would just like to build a few houses is helping to support - through his taxes - the lawsuit that is trying to put him out of business.

I could be more impressed with the sincerity and good intentions of Earthjustice, et al, if it were spending its own money to sue the EPA.

Poll finds: We’re ignorant

A recent survey found that only 55 percent of us could correctly name the three branches of government. Of course, as every reader of P.J. O’Rourke knows, the three branches are money, television and bullsh*t.

Nowhere was that better illustrated than in the dog-and-pony show put on last year by the 9-11 Commission. More intent on scoring political points than on making serious inquiries into what went wrong, the commission now appears to have overlooked a key bit of information. If the charges being made by Curt Weldon (R-PA) have merit, the commission is in for some well-deserved embarrassment. Weldon claims that crucial information about Mohammed Atta and a domestic al-Qaeda cell - available a full year before the attacks - was purposely withheld from those who could do something about it, and the 9-11 Commission failed to pursue this lead. The commission defends itself by claiming ignorance; first denying they were ever told about this “Able Danger” information, and now discounting its perceived significance because it “conflicted” with other information they had.

Oh. Really?

With a mandate to learn why “the dots hadn’t been connected”, a virtually unlimited budget and a governmental culture devoted to leaking information, how could they have failed to recognize the one dot that ties into all the others? Sharing of information, the difficulty of interpreting conflicting information, border control and the limitations of fighting terrorism in the legal system all converge in this one bit of testimony. Yet the commission failed to note its significance. Why?

Could it be that the commission was more intent on preening for TV cameras? Did it waste too much time gaining critical insight from the "Jersey Girls"? Could its primary goal have been protecting Jamie Gorelick, one of its own members? Was the commission really serious about improving national security? Indeed, was it ever intended to be a fact-finder, or was it just supposed to give the appearance of the government doing its job until the public lost interest? Was it just a cynical election-year ploy?

Surveys repeatedly find that the American public is sadly ignorant about our government. Considering how our politicians are more interested in getting re-elected than in governing effectively, is it really surprising that we only care at election time?

That’s why all the money, television and B.S. the government has are devoted to keeping us ignorant. Polls continue to find that it’s working.

Part of Jeff's Heritage Turns 150

Thanks to State 29, I now know that the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa is celebrating it's 150th birthday.

Why is this interesting to me? Well, amongst the 72,000 couples who have tied the knot there are Grandma and Gramdpa Talon who exchanged their vows almost 65 years ago. So, if not for the Little Brown Church, Jeff wouldn't be here.

I'm Back

Woooh! It's been a while since I posted anything. I'd almost forgotten how to use the Blogger text editor.

Anyway, I'm back from my honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I have to say, I was far more impressed with the prosperity of Mexico this trip than I was after the short trip to Cancun in May. PV actually looks like a fairly prosperous city. Just about everything needs a coat of paint. But otherwise, there are lots of shops, restraunts, and even a whole mess of art galleries and internet cafes all over the place. I saw a real dearth of beggers in town.

Mrs. Tusk and I are settling into married life. She still hasn't authorized me to release her identity. But, if you are so inclined, feel free to believe that she is an undercover agent with the CIA.

Lastly, I'm still making arrangements to get a new computer of my own. Currently, I'm posting from Mrs. Tusk's work computer. But considering that she spends two or three hours three or more nights a week using it for work, I'd better come up with my own machine. Hopefully, that will be cleared up by the end of the week.

Chief Illiniwek gets the boot

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has effectively banned the use of mascots, such as the University of Illinois’ buckskin and warpaint-wearing student from dancing at post-season tournaments. USA Today explains:

The NCAA banned the use of American Indian mascots by sports teams during its postseason tournaments, but will not prohibit them otherwise. The NCAA's executive committee decided this week the organization did not have the authority to bar Indian mascots by individual schools, committee chairman Walter Harrison said Friday.

Nicknames or mascots deemed "hostile or abusive" would not be allowed on team uniforms or other clothing beginning with any NCAA tournament after Feb. 1, said Harrison, the University of Hartford's president.

[snip]

The NCAA plans to ban schools using Indian nicknames from hosting postseason events. Harrison said schools with such mascots that have already been selected as tournament sites would be asked to cover any offensive logos. Such logos also would be prohibited at postseason games on cheerleader and band uniforms starting in 2008.

After years of trying to get member institutions to voluntarily change such nicknames as Seminoles, Warriors and Savages, the NCAA has chosen a new approach. While admitting they can’t force a change by the eighteen remaining holdouts, they can control post-season tournaments. [Ha! Take that! - editor] However, the new policy does not address the related issue of ticket-scalping.

Even some small schools, such as Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Indians) have wrestled with the controversy for years. Some schools bowed to the pressure earlier. Stanford is believed to be the first to make an issue of political correctness back in 1970, now calling themselves the Cardinal instead of the Indians. St. John's changed from Redmen to Red Storm, while Miami of Ohio went from Redskins to Redhawks.

There aren’t many unused nicknames left that include the word “red” but don’t relate somehow to that portion of the population formerly known as Indians. Considering how far left the academia nuts of the NCAA’s member institutions are, just plain “Reds” would probably be all right. “Red Devils” might pass muster as long as it’s made clear that the reference is to the occult and/or Satanism. Forget about calling your team the Redfaces; that’s reserved for the NCAA itself after this ruling.

According to the Quad City Times, the University of Illinois is studying its options, as wrangling among the various factions continues.

The University of Illinois had no immediate plans to abandon the name Illini or drop Chief Illiniwek after Friday's decision by the NCAA to ban the use of American Indian mascots by sports teams during its postseason tournaments, a university spokesman said.
[snip]

Chief Illiniwek has not performed at any postseason tournament since 1989, Hardy said. No university athletic team uniform currently carries any American Indian depiction or logo, and only "Illinois," not the Illini or Fighting Illini nickname, appears on uniforms, he said. The same is true for cheerleader and band uniforms.

The use of Chief Illiniwek and the Illini nickname have caused tension on the university's Urbana-Champaign campus for years, sparking protests, lawsuits and board of trustees meetings filled with rancor.

[snip]

"Illini is a term associated with the UIUC campus for approximately 130 years," wrote UI President B. Joseph White in a letter to the NCAA last spring. "It was created by students who began referring to themselves as Illini in recognition of the name of the state of Illinois."

In the end, the university may have to select a new nickname and mascot. Would anybody object to a name like “P.C. Police”? “Fighting Whities” proved popular at Northern Colorado. A contest to name the team might come up with something clever and innovative like the Quad Cities baseball team, the “Swing” did.
Or why not do like many institutions do when naming their stadiums, and sell naming rights to a corporate sponsor. General Motors might be willing to pay big bucks to rename the team the “Pontiacs”. Um, wait a minute. Scratch that one. How about “Honest Engines”?

Until then, writers may have to treat the team name the same as other terms, such as f**k and s**t that one or more people find offensive. [and don’t forget ‘G*d’ – editor] So until further notice, let every loyal Illinoisian cheer for the Fighting I*l*ni! Or should that be the F******g I*l*ni! Can’t be too careful.

What’s wrong with Air Scamerica?

If you only watch and read the mainstream media, you probably haven’t heard about the scandal involving taxpayer funds allegedly being diverted from a children’s charity to some of the former principals in the Air America (latest left-wing answer to Rush Limbaugh) radio network. Basically, what has happened is that a charity which gets most of its funding by submitting federal grant requests loaned somewhere between $480,000 and a whole lot more to the former director of the AirAm network. The New York Sun gives an overview here, and Cap’n Ed has a guest explain some of the legal technicalities here, such as: “Poor documentation of loans is a Bad Thing, to use yet another legal term.”

It’s not my purpose today to bad-mouth Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo and the other on-air personalities of Air Scamerica. They don’t appear to be involved in this scandal, other than that perhaps they like to be paid for their on-air efforts, and anyway, they’ve been criticized better elsewhere.

No, my interest at this time is the question, “Why is Air America such a money pit?” Why has the fledgling network been hounded by financial problems ever since it began its quest to become the left-wing’s Rush Limbaugh?

Clearly, if it were attracting a bigger audience and more advertisers, it would not be struggling. I can think of two, no, three reasons why it doesn’t have enough listeners. The first two are either unlikely or kinda snarky, or both. The remaining possibility is that there is too much competition for the left-wing listener already. That is, why bother tuning in to Al Franken when the newspapers, the news magazines, the TV network news and the radio newsbreaks are all spouting the same crappola anyway?

I recall one time about eight or ten years ago when I dropped in on a client of mine to find the Rush Limbaugh show being broadcast throughout the office area. I asked if anybody objected and my client replied, “No, they say it’s the only place they find out what’s really going on.” Granted, Rush is entertaining, but his main appeal is that he provides a source of news, and a perspective that is hard to find in the mass media. He’s like a right-wing Jon Stewart, except Stewart just regurgitates the AP feed with smirks and raised eyebrows.

So here is my suggestion to those who want to destroy Rush: Get the MSM to start reporting all the news. If Rush weren’t the only game in town, maybe he wouldn’t be so important. For just one example of something I heard on Rush – and only on Rush (until I came upon it in Kausfiles) consider the Matt Cooper e-mail that the MSM spun to further condemn Karl Rove:

... Here's the semi-exculpatory part of rhw email Cooper sent to his Time colleagues:
not only the genesis of the trip is flawed an[d] suspect but so is the report. he [Rove] implied strongly there's still plenty to implicate iraqi interest in acquiring uranium fro[m] Niger ...
[…]
According to NEXIS, when it comes to MSM newspaper news stories, the actual, semi-exculpatory text of the email has only been printed in right-of-center outlets (e.g., Washington Times). This is pretty solid evidence of print-MSM balkanization, it seems to me. Here's a puny little email, which could easily be reprinted in its entirety. Everybody's writing about the controversy it generated--but only conservative news editors actually publish one of the key bits of evidence. ...[emphasis by Kausfiles]

So, as long as the dominant news media selectively present news from a left-wing perspective exclusively, there will be a need for a right-wing alternative media. Someday, perhaps, when Sean Hannity sits in Walter Cronkite’s chair and the New York Times only disperses news with a right-wing bias, then Air America wil be needed and will thrive. Until then, they're a candidate for chapter 11.

...

Incidentally, when I googled “Air America Scandal”, Iowa bloggers InMuscatine and Iowa Voice were numbers 2 and 40, respectively, of 232 hits. Kudos to Iowa bloggers, but good grief! 232 hits? That’s all this story got? 232 g*dd**n hits!?

Also: I would be remiss if I failed to mention the fine work Michelle Malkin is doing staying on top of this story

Now in our third year of service to Iowa and the world!

It’s embarrassing to admit this, but with all the goings-on associated with Jeff’s matrimonial doings over the weekend, the entire staff of Tusk and Talon completely missed our second bloggiversary. So, happy belated best wishes to us and many happy returns.