I don't know what it is, but it's worth a thousand words.

Independent infographic (kottke.org)

Biting the hand that feeds you for 600, Alex.

Holy cow, super-smart guy turns ungrateful little simp:

TV News- jeopardy-champ-ken-jennings-blasts-show - AOL News

(That's if it's true. It does not seem like him, could be a fake.)

Mr. Trebek and Mr. Griffin: I promise if you let me on the show, I may not win 74 times, but I will never bad mouth you in public.

It's like the NBA

Complain to the referees loudly enough and eventually you get the call:

UN attack looks deliberate: Annan | Herald Sun

Specter of Hope

This (See It Now,) is undoubtedly good news for the "laws not men," crowd, but keep in mind that Specter's whole stock in trade is to get pissed off about something GWB did and make a bunch of libertarian noise, but to then sort of slink away, and a few weeks later we learn that "a compromise has been reached," which compromise basically maintains the King George status quo, (e.g. torture, domestic spying, CIA leak, etc.)

But maybe Ol' Arlen means it this time. How bad can a guy be if he's named for the hometown of Hank and Bobby Hill?

Onionskin

As per our new slugline, The Politics of Sport:

See It Now

(Can you believe this is what Viacom is in the process of buying? It's just a bunch of post-college kids goofing off in some office in Madison. Well, that and a perfect engine for separating the money-demo from their money.)

Floyd fills the void

American Floyd Landis is cruising to Le Tour victory on the streets of Paris even as we type, allowing commercials to store up in the TiVo. You may have heard that Landis has a degenerative right hip which is going to be replaced (just like an 85-year-old grandmother's,) after the Tour. You may also have heard that the two men who could almost certainly have beaten Landis, Team T Mobile's Jan Ullrich and Team CSC's Ivan Basso, were banned from the tour the night before it started, along with several others.

It's been a very exciting Tour to watch, at least half the stages have had edge-of-seat finishes, and in our offices more than one drink was spilled urging Landis up the Alps, but I have to confess I feel a little sorry for all the French and European fans who were so desperate to have a non-American win this year, after seven in the desert.

But just a little sorry. And I can console myself with this: See It Now

Am I getting older?

Or are they getting stupider?

I never thought the ACLU would lose me. I remember when they lost my dad for defending those Nazis in Skokie, but I thought that was a right call. Now they are apparently jumping into the Westboro Baptist mess, and not on the side of the good.

See It Now (WaPo)

And when I say they've lost me, I don't mean I as a dues paying member. I paid "dues" once in like '99 to get the card. I mean in my heart, they may have lost me. And I am sure it hurts me more than it hurts them.

Good news out of Iraq

By which we mean: "All good news is hereby banished from Iraq."

See It Now

And how does that story front the NYT while this one tops the WaPo? One of these things is not like the other.

And I think to myself...

What a wonderful world.

The Washington Note

Shiite-Sunni violence kills 58 in Baghdad - Yahoo! News

Not that anyone's checking, but standing eight will be back upa nd running as normal within one week, now that our main terminal is now once again connected to the wonderful seires of tubes known as the internets.

Shiite-Sunni violence kills 58 in Baghdad - Yahoo! News

The Maddest Lib

Play along at home, America!

Concurring Opinions: Template for News Stories on Government Data Gathering

We begin to suspect that it is a part of the broad Bush PR plan to exhaust our capacity for shock and outrage, rather like a sinister lawyer will, when compelled to discover a particular incriminating document, place it among thousands or hundreds of thousands of other innocuous papers.

Standing Eight has more or less assumed since about 9-12-01 that it operates in an absolutely Orwellian environment, and has acted accordingly. We've said before that the funniest thing is the surprise on Arlen Specter and John Kerry's faces when they bloviate about this stuff.

(NB: bloviate = promise, delay and then table a thorough investigation.
NB2: We proudly note that we spelled 'innocuous' right without spellcheck.)

Big Ben Bruised

We're awfully sorry that this happened: See It Now.

Sorry for Ben and his family most especially, but it is freaking ridiculous that his contract doesn't specifically forbid motorcycling, and ditto skiing and snowboarding. If I were Rooney (or whoever makes the contracts for the Steelers,) I would be furious. This kid is a tens of millions of dollars investment. He shouldn't be allowed to put himself in a situation like that.

And if it is forbidden by the contract, than it's his own stupid fault. Well, let's not say stupid, let's be charitable and say immature.

The Secret War

Remember the taliban? Well they're not exactly as passe as say, Oingo Boingo:

Afghan Violence Kills More Than 500

Calling all congresspersons

How did your congressperson vote on net neutrality?

See It Now.

It's more important than it seems. Take this hypothetical about the coming non-neutral net from Joshie Marshall:

See It Now

Of real interest is that J.J. Sensenbrenner, whom we have long marked as one of the stupidest men in Washington, let alone on the Hill, is on the right side of this one. One of the very few republicans voting aye.

Bush v. Science

Have you heard that the Bush administration is hostile to science? McCain has, and he did a little something about it.

Inconsistent Information Policies Jeopardize Research, Panel Says - New York Times

It's okay George, we all fear what we don't understand. (Although some of us make the attempt to understand, and in so doing lose the fear. But your way's good too.)

We say let's settle it this way: tie GWB up and throw him in a lake, and if he sinks, he's a great president, and if he floats, he's a bad president.