It's not what we wanted, but it's better than nothing. President Bush is taking two steps that may curtail earmarks after his term expires.

In his State of the Union address tonight, Bush will promise to ``veto any spending bill that does not succeed in cutting earmarks in half from 2008 levels,'' deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said in an e-mail.

Bush will issue an executive order tomorrow directing federal agencies to ignore any earmarks included only in committee reports, not in the text of legislation.

The vetoes on spending bills will be only a short-term fix, good only until his successor gets a chance to sign appropriations legislation. As a statement of principle, it is not a very impressive one. The president avoids any uncomfortable wrangling with Congress until the waning months of his presidency.

I don't think the executive order requiring that earmarks be part of voted-on legislation is much better. It will help porkbusters in Congress like Tom Coburn put pressure on spend-happy legislators. But only until another president comes along with a glib speech about preserving Congress' power to make laws in a manner of its own choosing and rescinds the order.

Meanwhile, House Republicans, trying to retake the mantle of fiscal conservatism, have called for an end to earmarks that have not been voted on.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:09 AM | Comments (16)
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Stop treating unhealthy people and the elderly.

Doctors are calling for NHS treatment to be withheld from patients who are too old or who lead unhealthy lives.

Smokers, heavy drinkers, the obese and the elderly should be barred from receiving some operations, according to doctors, with most saying the health service cannot afford to provide free care to everyone.

The denial of services approach to "useless eaters" was tried in the past, apparently with considerable reduction in treatment costs as a result...the services denied being things like food and air.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 09:07 PM | Comments (78)
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Stop treating unhealthy people and the elderly.

Doctors are calling for NHS treatment to be withheld from patients who are too old or who lead unhealthy lives.

Smokers, heavy drinkers, the obese and the elderly should be barred from receiving some operations, according to doctors, with most saying the health service cannot afford to provide free care to everyone.

The denial of services approach to "useless eaters" was tried in the past, apparently with considerable reduction in treatment costs as a result...the services denied being things like food and air.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 09:07 PM | Comments (64)
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Hip. Edgy.

In an e-mail describing her reasons for turning it down, Chronicle editor Debra Lande called it "too dark, morbid, not funny, not PC and sick-o. I do admire his execution (design/production)."

How about retarded? Seriously, how long could this fucking thing go on? Won't we run out of Jack the Rippers before we amortize the hotels on Park Place? At some point we'll all be passing Go without paying up.

Hobson is aware that his game is not in good taste but he says good taste never interested him.

There's a shocka.

h/t ghengis

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 06:25 PM | Comments (23)
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For her, of all people.

Here is Hill in her own words:

Clinton was asked on CBS television's "Face the Nation" whether her husband was "out of control" after he took the Illinois senator, and the media to task, during a foul-tempered week-long campaign.

"You know, my husband has such a great commitment to me and to my campaign," the New York senator said.

"He loves me just like, you know, husbands and wives get out there and work on each others' behalf."

She blamed the tensions of the tight battle for the party's presidential nomination

"Maybe he got a little carried away. You know, that comes with a hard-fought election," she said.

Now this is the section of the blog where you expect cogent, thoughtful analysis. Perhaps a bit of psychoanalysis even.

Well, my friends, I will not disappoint you. As a trusted political pundit, you can get my in-depth thoughts after the jump. more...

Posted by: Jack M. at 05:12 PM | Comments (52)
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Jiminy crickets.

Remember that snotty, arrogant kid in Australia whose house party caused a riot and thousands of dollars in damages?

He has an agent, and he's going to become a professional party host and DJ.

Markson, agent for many Australian celebrities, said the teen could make up to A$100,000 from his tour and could become rich, although Markson would pocket 20 percent of his earnings.

"He did a great party in the wrong place. We're going to put on a great party in the right place," Markson told Australian Associated Press.

Delaney has been lionized by youths as a legend and condemned as an arrogant brat by most other Australians, with Web sites inviting people to "slap Corey down the street." By Thursday Delaney had been slapped by 695,000 Internet users.

Markson said Delaney, who temporarily moved out of home to escape his furious parents, had been punished enough and should be allowed to make a living.

Well done, son. Quite an accomplishment.

Posted by: LauraW. at 04:16 PM | Comments (36)
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It's come to this. Earlier this weekend, Senator McCain must have seen the poll numbers and got a little desperate and started telling lies about Mitt Romney's Iraq policies.

Basically, it seems Mr. Straight Talk is lying through his teeth, and even those in his media cheering section are starting to notice. At this point, it looks as though McCain may lose Florida. If he does, I fully expect a replay of his bitter, self-pitying concession speech after he lost South Carolina in 2000. Although I do not particularly like John McCain as a politician, I've always kind of admired him for his seeming forthrightness. His willingness to harm that reputation shows just how desperate he's become and is the biggest indication to me that he's seeing some bad internal polling data.

What's even more disturbing is the willingness of Mike Huckabee to join the party. Huckabee is not going to be president, but he does have a choice to make - does he lose honorably and ensure himself a bright future in the party, or does he lose ugly and make himself a pariah?

So far, he's choosing...unwisely.

I've been quite critical of Huckabee as a candidate. My main reason is that I'm disturbed by his poor record as governor of Arkansas and disagree with his policy proposals. The other reason is that I'm disgusted by the opportunity he squandered. Huckabee is an ordained pastor with considerable political gifts. He had a chance to show that Christians could get engaged in politics without lowering themselves to the status quo - he could have been in but not of. Huckabee could have used his popularity to show that one need not use the normal political weapons to win elections.

Needless to say, he didn't do that.

Instead, Huckabee engaged in one of the more disingenuous political campaigns I've seen. Instead of being forthright about his record, he's shaded the truth. Given the opportunity to show that even though Christians may disagree with Mormon theology, they respect America's religious plurality, he decided to go with cheap smears designed to appeal to anti-Mormon sentiment. And now, given a chance to criticize his opponents graciously and honestly, he's uttered half-truths or lies.

In the end, this Christian leader turned out to be just another politician. What a disappointment.

Posted by: Slublog at 04:09 PM | Comments (41)
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Holy crap... that chimp is still alive.

He outlived all his co-stars, and he has opposable thumbs. He's captured in black and white. Not sure if he ever made color.

He was a great straight man. He knew how to play the part.

The 75-year-old chimp, now enjoying retirement in a Palm Springs sanctuary, will not be going near the word processor personally. Fourth Estate has teamed him up with a ghostwriter but is promising a "funny, moving and searingly honest" memoir.

Relax baby, I'm just trying to guess your weight

Ungawa.

I give you the 1934 Jane skinny dip scene, Cheetah messes with her at the end of the shot.

more...

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 11:21 AM | Comments (90)
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Straight Talk from Maverick today on Meet The Press

He says it won't pass so he won't have the chance to but you know where his heart is.

Is it just me or does anyone else get the feeling that if there's a President McCain, all this talk about securing the borders goes right out the window? My guess is we'd be right back where we started from a year ago, especially if some Republican Senators get knocked off this fall.

Here's a bonus bit of Maverick bashing from MTP, compliments of Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran who recently endorsed Mitt.

The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine,' Cochran said about McCain. `He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me.

h/t The Corner

Posted by: DrewM. at 10:42 AM | Comments (51)
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This is juicy stuff -- a quadruple artery clogging Whopper of disillusionment, with extra mayo.

...Going into the campaign, most of us liked Hillary Clinton just fine, but the fact that tens of millions of Americans are seized with irrational loathing for her suggested that she might not be a good Democratic nominee. But now that loathing seems a lot less irrational. We're not frothing Clinton haters like ... well, name pretty much any conservative. We just really wish they'd go away...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 08:01 AM | Comments (47)
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