Dispatches

Can we get 100 mpg?
07.19.2005 09:27 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
This past Sunday's Los Angeles Times had a nice article by Dan Neil about Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). Neil drove a PHEV Toyota Prius--basically a regular Prius that some rogue engineers had souped up--and got mind-boggling fuel efficiency....

A Good Question
07.19.2005 09:20 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
From the White House Press Briefing: Q: Two years, and [President Bush] can't call Rove in and find out what the hell is going on? I mean, why is it so difficult to find out the facts? It costs thousands, millions of dollars, two years, it tied up ho...

Sidney Blumenthal on PlameGate
07.15.2005 14:28 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
A nice article in Salon.

The Consistency of the GOP
07.15.2005 14:26 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
From Think Progress: Appearing on Fox this morning, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey said the following in regards to his assessment of the growing leak scandal: We’ve got Karl Rove, who is under this constant attack of political ma...

Aviation Tip of the Day
07.15.2005 10:47 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Don't buy a last minute ticket when you have dossiers of the 9/11 terrorists in your carry-on.

Feds Won't Fund Transit Safety
07.14.2005 12:28 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has told the AP and testified before Congress that states and localities must fund security upgrades for public transportation, because federal money needs to go toward aviation. "The truth of the matter i...

Party of National Security No More
07.13.2005 09:55 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Although the White House won't talk about Karl Rove ("sanctity of the investigation" and all that) the rest of the Republican spin machine is in high gear, busily smearing Valerie Plame (career public servant) and Joseph Wilson (also a career public serva...

Santorum Solves the Catholic Church Scandal
07.12.2005 09:59 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Pennslyvania Senator and all-around wingnut Rick Santorum has figured out who was to blame for Boston's Catholic church pedophilia scandal: liberal professors at MIT. I kid you not. This morning's Boston Globe has a column by Brian McGrory detailing Sa...

The Art of Doublespeak
07.11.2005 17:25 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Scott McLellan tries to evade his past statements, and--miracle of miracles--the White House Press Corps calls him on it. It's more than a little absurd that Judith Miller is in jail over this while the White House hems and haws. Also, hasn't the White Ho...

Cities and terrorism
07.11.2005 10:18 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Earlier I wrote about why cities make attractive targets for terrorism. One reason was that high population densities provide both anonymity (for the terrorists) and a lot of victims (i.e., on a subway or crowded street.) Now the folks at the Marginal...

Rail Security
07.08.2005 11:08 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Although nothing can make a transit system completely safe, the US could certainly be doing much more than it does now. The Bush Administration has proposed about $115 million for transit security for the current year. That's pretty paltry, especially whe...

More Miller
07.07.2005 11:40 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Anyone interested in the full debate over Judith Miller's imprisonment and the many ambiguities that swirl around it should go to the Poynter Insitute's blog. I've made my position known, but here it is again in short: Is this a collapse of press fre...

Attacks in London
07.07.2005 10:42 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Needless to say this morning's bombings are appalling. It bothers me that almost four years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is still at large, and that much of the public and (it seems) military's attention is directed elsewhere. Obviously the situation in Ir...

Oh, Please
07.06.2005 17:27 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Bob Geldoff has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Apparently the award can be given to any person who organizes a whole bunch of charity concerts that raise no money. On the other hand, I see that album sales for all the participating bands hav...

I like Rosa Brooks
07.06.2005 10:42 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
She doesn't like Judith Miller. And while we're at it, since the media still seem to be playing the Judy violins, let's revisit Franklin Foer's critique of her in New York magazine....

September 11 and Occam's Razor
07.05.2005 11:33 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
My colleague Russell Wellen has posted a missive on LIHOP vs MIHOP -- essentially the question of whether the Bush Administration, with regard to September 11, "Let It Happen on Purpose" or "Made It Happen on Purpose." These ideas seem to be creeping into...

Benjamin Wittes on the Future of Roe
07.05.2005 10:40 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
What if the new Supreme Court overturns Roe vs Wade? Would this be a disaster for women's rights and liberalism? Benjamin Wittes, in his article "Letting Go of Roe" in the January Atlantic Monthly (subscription required), argues that it would not, and th...

The Judith Miller Lies
07.05.2005 10:38 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Time Inc. has capitulated to the special prosecutor investigating the outing of Valerie Plame, and it will turn over documentation to the government about the person or persons who contacted its reporter with the identity of a covert CIA agent. To reca...

Now It Will Hit the fan
07.01.2005 10:21 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
Sandra Day O'Connor resigns from the Supreme Court. This will be one messy fight with a whole lot of lobbyists...

Vietnam Deja Vu?
06.30.2005 12:07 | MICHAEL MANVILLE
The Altercation weblog today reprints a prescient list from 2003 that was originally posted on MediaWhoresOnline. Here Goes: VIETNAM 2 PREFLIGHT CHECK 1. Cabal of oldsters who won’t listen to outside advice? Check. 2. No understanding...