Something small, but compare Bing vs. Google as far as recognizing Dec. 7. (Scroll down to see Bing's treatment; the top of the page as displayed is blank, here.)

Virgina Postrel observed something along the lines of: Given technology's increasing power, there will be fewer and fewer differences between one bit of tech and another; they'll all be able to do it all, pretty much. So the only defining difference will be something not techy in the least -- aesthetics.

Well, I'm liking Bing's judgment and class today, and despising Google's.

Thanks to Dave in Texas.

Posted by: Ace at 10:27 AM | Comments (119)
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47-46.

Thank goodness for AHFF Geoff and his poll tips to break the daily ice and feed me a quick post.

CNN: Palin's Favorability on the Rise, Up 7 Points Since Resignation: But still knotted up at 46-46. Getting there, a little, but not there yet, and she hasn't (to my knowledge) cured the other big problem.

She has two problems: The mistaken idea she's some sort of "extremist" (she's not, not even tonally), and her rising favorables indicate she's changing the public's mind about that.

The other problem is that a solid majority don't think she's qualified for the Presidency, which is a problem, at least if she seeks the Presidency. She's doing the sorts of things she needs to do to change that, but so far I don't think any polls have shown improvement in this area, and it's possible that no amount of effort will repair this.

Posted by: Ace at 10:19 AM | Comments (107)
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And by "Unbelievable", I mean "Entirely Believable" given what passes for Reid's character.

Speaking on the Senate floor this morning, Reid said "Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right."

He continued "When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said 'slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough' ... He continued: "When women spoke up for the right to speak up, they wanted to vote, some insisted they simply, slow down, there will be a better day to do that, today isn't quite right."

Several GOP Senators immediately took after Reid, including Tom Coburn who said the remarks were, "beneath the dignity of the Majority Leader". I disagree with Coburn because Reid is a shameless hack of a politician who makes Senator Pat Geary from the Godfather II look like a paragon of virtue. I find it hard to believe Reid has any dignity to be beneath.

Posted by: DrewM at 10:16 AM | Comments (88)
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I am in possession of some *EXPLOSIVE* undercover video. I think it's the kind of thing that might launch this blog's news gathering ability into "Drudge Report" status.

We all know by now the official story of how Sen. Mary Landrieu's affirmative vote on ObamaCare was bought by some $300 million in taxpayer funds.

But there was more to it than the official story. And now I know why. And, soon, you will too.

I caution you though. This video is not for the faint of heart. It illustrates much of what is wrong with the current state of affairs in Washington D.C. Never has the culture of corruption along the Potomac stood in such naked relief.

The guy that emailed this to me told me that "this explains why Landrieu requested her payoff be delivered in one dollar bills."

That's a good as explanation as any, I suppose. She is from "The Big Easy" after all.

Posted by: Jack M. at 09:24 AM | Comments (37)
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Here's a great story as we remember the attack on Pearl Harbor 68 years ago today.

There were fifteen men awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroism on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. Only five survived that horrible day. Only one of them remains.

Lt. John William Finn, USN (Ret.) turned 100 years old on July 23 of this year, and he'll be attending the Pearl Harbor commemoration ceremony at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial today in Hawaii, returning to the Kaneohe Bay waters where he mounted an impressive one-man attack on Japanese fighter planes in the ambush that pulled the U.S. into World War II. Because the bay was attacked several minutes before Pearl Harbor proper, Finn is often called the first Medal of Honor recipient of World War II

On his birthday this year, the Navy gave him a flag that had flown over every aircraft carrier in the fleet, a flag that went around the world (photos linked).

I'll just add my thanks to those of MKH. Thank you Lt. Finn.

story sent by DrewM.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 09:20 AM | Comments (21)
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Government regulation of nearly every aspect of economic activity by administrative fiat...it's enough to make Stalin blush.

The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded greenhouse gases are endangering people's health and must be regulated, signaling that the Obama administration is prepared to contain global warming without congressional action if necessary.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson scheduled a news conference for later Monday to announce the so-called endangerment finding, officials told The Associated Press, speaking privately because the announcement had not been made.

...The EPA signaled last April that it was inclined to view heat-trapping pollution as a threat to public health and welfare and began to take public comments under a formal rulemaking. The action marked a reversal from the Bush administration, which had declined to aggressively pursue the issue.

Business groups have strongly argued against tackling global warming through the regulatory process of the Clean Air Act. Any such regulations are likely to spawn lawsuits and lengthy legal fights.

Trees and other plant life who thrive on CO2 Could not be reached for comment.

This announcement has been in the pipeline ever since Obama took office but the timing is clearly intended to give Mr. World something to talk about when he drops by the Climate Scam Summit in Copenhagen in a few weeks.

In addition to the international credibility He hopes it will buy, this announcement is the Sword of Damocles He wants to hang over Congress to get them to pass Cap and Destroy...."Unless you destroy the economy with legislation, I'll do even more damage by regulation."

Heck of a government we've got here.

Posted by: DrewM at 08:28 AM | Comments (208)
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I was going to put this in the headlines. But you know what? It's just that important!

Send the AGW pilgrimage your very own message to let them know just how much you appreciate the sacrifices they have made on the long journey to the land of free-sex and caviar.

Let's keep it clean, please. Or if you must be foul, tell them you came from Hot Air.

For instance, don't write: "One day, in Copenhagen, I got a ClimateGate stuck up my ass." Because that's just rude and improper, fulfilling their worst expectations of a low-brow Yank.

Instead, use: "One day, in Copenhagen, I got a ClimateGate stuck up my arse." See, much more worldly and sophisticated. Very, very Danish.

I kid, mostly. Appeals to intellect won't dent their dogma, but the lowbrow stuff will surely be used to show the "denialists" aren't to be taken seriously. So post your lowbrow in the comments, and if you send a real greeting, make it, um, what's the word? Oh. Sciency and stuff!

(h/t WUWT)

Posted by: Open Blog at 08:28 AM | Comments (100)
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If you're just joining us after the weekend, there were several big stories while you were out enjoying life:

(1) Max Baucus Was Discovered to Have Recommended His Mistress for a U.S. Attorney Spot

(2) The UK's Met Office Announced a Moratorium on Global Warming Alarmism and Was Promptly Overruled By 10 Downing Street

(3) The Obama Administration Didn't Know What it Had Ordered General McChrystal to Do in Afghanistan

(4) A Death Panel in California Halted Mammogram Subsidies for Women Younger Than 50 to Save Money

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 08:08 AM | Comments (47)
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Well, sort of. It may not have been an official of the Bush/Cheney administration.

And MSNBC? I may have gotten that part wrong too. But I'm pretty damn sure that Mara Liasson is a liberal, so I'm batting .333, which in baseball gets you selected for the All-Star Game, right?

(h/t to, where else? Hot Air. I emailed Allahpundit with that Gordon Brown story I found yesterday, and his reply was "I had it in headlines early this morning". I haven't checked my dedicated email account yet this morning, but when I do, I fully expect to find an email from AP sent at 4am that says "Apple fritter & a Diet Dr. Pepper: What you will have for breakfast".)

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at 06:35 AM | Comments (67)
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On the agenda today, the Senate's version of the Stupak Amendment.

Senators will consider an amendment that closely mirrors language in the House version of the bill, barring federally subsidized health insurance plans from covering abortion even if the procedures are paid for entirely with customers' premiums.

Sen. Ben Nelson, a prominent anti-abortion Democrat, along with other lawmakers in both parties has insisted that taxpayer funds not be used to pay for abortions in a government-run health program.

The Nebraska Democrat is proposing an amendment that will reflect language in the one Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., offered in the House last month. It prohibits insurance companies from covering an abortion for any woman who receives a government subsidy to offset premium costs.

Nelson has said he doesn't expect a vote before Tuesday. The amendment appeared unlikely to gain the necessary 60 votes in the 100-member Senate, according to numerous lawmakers.

Nelson says he's join the Republican filibuster if his amendment isn't in the bill but I wonder if that's true. I can imagine a case where Reid comes up with some 'compromise' language that Nelson can support while at the same time saying, he's 'moving the process forward' with the hopes that stronger provision will survive the eventual conference committee.

If Nelson hangs tough and does filibuster (and the public option survives), that means Reid will have to find at least two Republican votes to get the bill out of his chamber to replace Nelson and Lieberman. If that's the case, we really need to book History on a week long trip to Vegas to get him liquored up while hiding his phones.

In other health care news...some hot Blue on Blue action as the AFL-CIO runs ads targeting Democratic Senators who want to tax so-called "Cadillac Health Care Plans" to help pay for this monstrosity.

The ad, which pushes the Senate to remove the so-called "Cadillac tax" on high-value insurance policies, will begin running Monday in Delaware, Indiana, and Virginia.

Those states are home to centrist Democratic Senators Tom Carper (Del.), Evan Bayh (Ind.), Jim Webb (Va.), and Mark Warner (Va.), whose votes on the taxes in this bill are subject to pressure from the labor group and other organizations with a stake in the healthcare fight.

I'd never thought I'd say this but...good luck to big labor! Yes, they want this to pass, just not on their backs but anything that helps put pressure on the many fissures in this debate is a good thing.

Posted by: DrewM at 06:14 AM | Comments (31)
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