President Bush Warns Against Price-Gouging

The President has issued a public warning against price-gouging in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. In an interview aired on national television today, the President said that looting and price-gouging of gasoline and other goods, services, and contributions would not be tolerated.

The White House will report on the state of efforts to aid victims of Katrina later today.

Source of information: CNN.

Harry Connick, Jr. To Raise Funds Tomorrow

The networks of NBC will air a special fundraiser featuring popular pianist and singer Harry Connick, Jr. tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. (Eastern).

NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC will simulcast the performance seeking contributions to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Harry Connick, Jr. is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. He appeared this morning on MSNBC as he inspected the vast devastation Katrina caused to his home town.

Source of information: MSNBC.

MRO Course Correction Successful

From NASA:

(Excerpt)

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully tested its main engines by making a successful trajectory adjustment for reaching the red planet on March 10, 2006.

The spacecraft fired all six main thrusters for 15 seconds on Saturday, Aug. 27. The engine burn followed a 30-second burn of six smaller thrusters, which settled propellant in the craft's fuel tank for smoother flow. The spacecraft's orientation was adjusted prior to the burns to point the engines in the proper direction for the maneuver. The spacecraft returned to the regular cruise-phase attitude after the trajectory adjustment.

"This maneuver accomplished two goals at once," said Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Deputy Mission Manager Dan Johnston of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "It adjusted our trajectory toward our Mars target point, and it gave us a valuable checkout of the orbit-insertion engines." The target point is 395 kilometers (245 miles) above the surface of Mars.

Initial analysis of navigational data indicates this first flight path correction successfully changed the spacecraft's velocity by the intended 7.8 meters per second (17.4 miles per hour). Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's velocity relative to the Sun is 32,856 meters per second (73,497 miles per hour).

The six main engines won't be used again until the craft arrives at Mars. The next burn will last about 25 minutes. It will slow Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enough for the planet's gravity to capture the spacecraft into orbit. Each main engine produces approximately 38 pounds of thrust. The three remaining opportunities scheduled for fine-tuning the trajectory before March will use smaller engines. Each smaller engine produces approximately five pounds of thrust.

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/news/mro-083003.html

Senator Says Thousands Killed In Louisiana

From MSNBC: A wire report says that U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana believes that thousands may have been killed by Hurricane Katrina.

MSNBC has also reported on an outpouring of support from all across the nation. The Red Cross reports that $21 million has been pledged for victims of Monday's hurricane. Postings appearing on the websites craigslist.com and NOLA.com spoke of the willingness of private citizens to take in evacuees displaced by the effects of Katrina, according to the network.

CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel have provided continuous coverage of the aftermath of this unprecedented natural disaster. Of all the channels, I have been most impressed by CNN, which has provided virtually 24-hour live coverage of this event.

The video carried by all networks has been profoundly moving. Citizens as well as emergency response teams have worked tirelessly to aid those in need, and a spirit of survival is most evident. However, reports of a wave of looting, carjacking, and even more serious crimes in New Orleans are deeply disturbing.

If it is true that thousands were killed by this storm, reports say that this disaster will have been the worst to have struck the United States since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which is estimated to have killed up to 6,000. The lawlessness in sectors of New Orleans has only aggravated what is already a horrific situation.

More than 10,000 National Guard troops and other first responders are reportedly being deployed to restore order and provide much-needed aid to the region. Federal, State, and local authorities have rescued thousands stranded by the floodwaters in New Orleans. Hundreds of vehicles carrying personnel and supplies have been seen streaming into the disaster zone by land, sea, and air.

Efforts are under way to repair the broken levees that have caused such vast destruction in the Crescent City. I join millions of others in hoping that whatever may be needed is supplied by the nation to restore the entire area devastated by Katrina to a livable state. Further, the needs of individuals displaced by the disaster cannot be overlooked. They deserve every consideration as they attempt to carry on after what is clearly the most traumatic event to hit this country since 9/11.

I have already contributed funds to assist the victims of this horrible disaster. I strongly urge all Americans who can afford to do so to do the same.

The Anti-Bushites

As if the Michael Moores and Cindy Sheehans of the world were not proof enough, the left often demonstrates through their close association with national Democrats why much of America feels betrayed by the Democratic Party.

It's rather simplistic to reduce politics to a great battle between the Bush faction and the rest of the world, and this is one of the reasons I have always found the current fascination of the left with this particular President a net liability on their own part. But this is a style that the Democratic Party has adopted.

This President is not the be-all-and-end-all of American politics, any more than President Clinton was in his day. I say this as an acquaintance of someone who once told me, in hushed, emphatic tones, "If Clinton wins a second term, he will be the last President of the United States." And she believed it, as much as she believed that the Democrats were evil incarnate. I didn't take her seriously then, despite her claim to be a fellow conservative, and I had no reason to. By the same token, I don't take most the left seriously now.

I've previously written on why I think that the national Democrats are losing the battle for the hearts and minds of Americans in all but their attempts to disparage the character of this President. The fact is that the Democrats now stand for the counsel of despair, rather than the counsel of optimism and hope. Once they begin to offer what many of them once offered, but no longer do, then they will have a better chance of success. And America will be better served when that happens.

It seems rather odd, but I have a feeling that Hillary Clinton will win the next Presidential election, unless a couple of things happen that don't seem to be on the horizon, and provided that she plays her cards right. Notice that Sen. Clinton does not play the "bash Bush" game; this is by design. I know her playbook, and I know how she intends to win. I've called the last several elections based on these instincts -- I even predicted that President Bush would win the Republican nomination when he first came on the national scene -- and as things stand, I think the next election is coming clearly in focus as well.

When and if Hillary Clinton wins, this might finally spell the end of the Anti-Bushite Party. One can only hope.

President Bush To Speak On Katrina Disaster

According to CNN, President Bush intends to give a White House speech on the aftermath of the most destructive hurricane to strike the United States in recent memory. He will address the nation at 5:00 p.m. tonight.

As this story is written, the President has just landed in Washington, D.C. on Air Force One.

CNN also reports that the President observed first-hand the destruction caused by Katrina in the Gulf Coast area as his plane overflew the disaster zone for more than half and hour on his way back from Crawford, Texas.

Absolutism In Politics

There are some folks who believe that the truth is only available to them, and that anyone else who believes otherwise must be either deluded or a liar.

I think that Cindy Sheehan has fallen among these folks, and she herself has become a model of leftists of this particular ilk.

Conservatives by and large do not believe that anyone who disagrees with our views is necessarily "brainwashed" or ill-willed. But liberals of the kind described are not of a similar mind, and they are essentially absolutists in their own way.

I do agree that there are extremists on both sides.

I think that the Rev. Fred Phelps would consider himself a conservative, for example, even though most conservatives believe that has acted reprehensibly in protesting funerals.

By contrast, there are those whose lucid insights never betray a hint of retreat from what may be a position to the left of mine, but whose positions are nonetheless no less reasonable and defensible because of it. My interest is in a sane, rational way of discussion. I believe that both the left and the right have useful roles, and that despite the fact that we can disagree on various issues, we ought not do so in a disagreeable way. "We can disagree without being disagreeable," is the well-known phrase.

If there is a way to come together as a country or continent, surely those of us of such mind should be one of the first to try to do so.

Boeing Mulls Further 787 Investment

Faced with orders totaling around 850, including 256 firm orders, for its brand-new 787 Dreamliner, the Boeing Company is considering plans to expand manufacturing capabilities for the aircraft several years into production. Implementing such an expansion would require a concerted investment effort on the part of Boeing and its suppliers.

For more information, see this source article in Flight International.

China Southern Orders 10 Boeing 787's

The Boeing Company has received an order from China Southern Airlines for ten 787 aircraft, according to MSN News.

The deal is worth up to $1.25 billion at list prices.

For more information, see this story.

The 787 is the next step in airliner evolution. Fuel-efficient and consumer-oriented, it will carry more passengers more comfortably and cost-effectively than any of its competitors. Source: Boeing.com.

U.S. To Tap Oil Reserves

The Bush Administration has decided to release certain quantities of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in recognition of current conditions affecting the price of energy, according to Fox News Channel.

Received From GOP.com

The following message was received from GOP.com:

Hurricane Katrina has passed and now the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama must begin the process of rebuilding. Our thoughts are with those who were affected by this powerful storm. During times like these, there is no room for politics and partisanship. This is a time when we all come together to help our neighbors.

Due to the size of this storm and the area of impact, the cost for recovery will be staggering. For that reason, we are asking you, our supporters, to make a donation to hurricane relief efforts. The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army provide shelter, food, water, blankets and clothing to those who have lost everything.

We appreciate your willingness to help these groups. Your generosity will help the people impacted by the storm begin the process of rising up and recovering from this disaster.

Thanks for all you do.

Hurricane Victims Need Your Help

If you can afford to give assistance to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, please consider donating to the American Red Cross.

Their telephone number is 1-800-HELPNOW.

Or, access their website at http://www.redcross.org.

God bless you.

Sheehan's "Human Face"

Some say that Cindy Sheehan has placed a "human face" on the suffering of our troops, or of civilian casualties caused in the Iraq war.

To me, this is a bit like saying that "Hanoi Jane" Fonda put a human face on American war dead when she cavorted with enemy troops during the Vietnam war. It's not true, or at best, it's an incidental benefit that is entirely overwhelmed by other effects.

Jane Fonda's gladhanding among the Viet Cong may have brought attention to the war, but it did far more harm than good. What Sheehan has done is similar in principle -- present the enemy with a propaganda victory on a plate. I can no longer stand by idly while she does this in her patently irrational and destructive way.

Now comes to us news that, Susan Estrich, President Clinton's former campaign manager, has hinted that Sheehan may truly have made anti-Semitic comments, as feared. Sheehan's criticism of Israel and U.S. support for it has apparently been cited with approval by Pat Buchanan and David Duke. Need I really say more?

The Teflon Candidate

Folks on the left have been scouring over records left over from the Reagan Administration, desperate to find a smoking gun that will aid them in derailing the candidacy of Judge John Roberts. But look though they might, they have found nothing of sufficient weight to allow them to batter down the fortress of solitude that the judge has built around himself.

From all indications, President Bush's candidate for the Supreme Court is a thoughtful, quiet man, which is why some of the memos unearthed by his detractors, such as those criticizing Reagan Administration decisions to meet with the entertainer, Michael Jackson, seem uncharacteristically harsh and outspoken. But even considering these exceptions, Judge Roberts looks to be the silent candidate that has always escaped much notice, except among those who were in a position to recognize and promote his talent.

From his days as a young prep school student, to his days as a law clerk, to his confirmation as U.S. appellate judge, nothing much seemed to faze Mr. Roberts, and nothing distracted from his determination to succeed at what he did.

There are several reasons why John Roberts seems immune from criticism. The first has to do with his unquestionable credentials, all of which suggest that he is a man of substance who succeeded academically beyond what almost any others of his peers were capable. A graduate of Harvard University, he went straight to the top of his class at Harvard Law. It seems that everyone who has ever met him remembers him for his intellect and hard work.

The second reason has to do with his role as a lawyer. Having argued various conservative positions for the Reagan Administration, he also volunteered to promote the cause of group even his detractors would recognize as generally disfavored among many conservatives -- gays who believed that they were being discriminated in housing decisions. This latter he did as a private lawyer pro bono -- for the good of society. What he did was no more or less than what every lawyer does every day of the week: Represent causes to the best of his ability, regardless of whether he himself believed in them. Clearly there is no smoking gun here.

The third reason relates to the mood of the country. While resentment against conservative over-reaching seems a factor in the thoughts of many who oppose the Roberts nomination, the country as a whole is unable to understand why it is that the left finds him so objectionable. Even questions posed about Judge Roberts' beliefs about the rights of privacy raise few red flags, since privacy itself is associated with an obvious agenda on this score -- the endless debate over abortion.

And perhaps this last reason is why opposition to Judge Roberts most likely will fail. For Americans are deeply conflicted over the issue of abortion rights, and despite the belief that the majority of Americans support the right to an abortion, another majority quite arguably opposes the notion of killing the unborn. And since the most vocal opponents of Judge Roberts are those who promote the "choice" to kill the unborn, there is a visceral ambiguity about their cause that bars most of us from supporting the opposition to his nomination on that ground.

When the nomination of Judge Roberts goes before the Senate, accordingly, only the most unexpected charge from left field will stand the chance of stopping it. The left has had weeks to come up with their plan of attack, and from all indications, it is not one that will succeed. Unlike, it might be said, John Roberts himself.

Dozens Feared Dead In Katrina's Wake

CNN and other sources report that at least 50 individuals are feared dead as a result of an apartment collapse, flooding, and other causes attributed to Hurricane Katrina.

In fact, as I write, I'm watching the replay of a moving report by an emotional Jeanne Meserve of CNN describing horrific scenes in the aftermath of the hurricane, including those in which police were forced to leave citizens screaming for help.

Meserve described a scene of rescue in which a woman with her legs severed was taken to safety. Others were apparently not so lucky, as police were unable to maneuver their boats to help them.

Video shown during Meserve's live report and interview with host Aaron Brown included a dramatic helicopter rescue by the Coast Guard, images of homes completely flooded up to their rooftops, and the wind-ravaged roof of the SuperDome.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of the areas affected.

A Democratic Revival?

I remember a time when the Democratic Party stood for a future of hope and optimism. What distinguished it from its Republican rival was an energetic belief that regardless of the difficulty of any challenge before us, as a united people, we would find a way to conquer it.

This was the Democratic Party of John F. Kennedy. But since then, the Democrats seemingly have found hope an inconvenient impediment to a series of far more technocratic concerns. Arguably, the Democrats lost their hopes around the time that Johnson publicly and emphatically refused to run in 1968. With that decision, even their own leader, the President of the United States, seemed too tired of life to promote the interests of progress. And so there was a sense of deflation, as if air were released from a balloon. In inflationary times, this was doubly vexing.

When Nixon beat Humphrey, it was only the beginning of a long decline for the Democrats on the national level.

Skipping over the obvious case of Carter, whose malaise-ridden legacy ended appropriately enough with a fiasco in a desert both literal and figurative, the next and most recent Democratic President tried to recapture the bright sense of a better future -- even the campaign theme song spoke of a tomorrow that would "soon be here". But his two Presidential terms, too, ended in a degree of failure.

So, what is to be learned from this thumbnail history of America's "other party"?

The lesson is obvious: Avoid malaise. Avoid negativism. Avoid criticism for its own sake.

Present a hopeful tomorrow for the people to consider. Give the people what they want.

Ronald Reagan, a Republican who was once a Democrat, knew what the Democrats have forgotten: It is far better to lead with hope, than with despair.

Richard Dawkins' New Book

I recently purchased a copy of Richard Dawkins' new book, The Ancestor's Tale, which one critic said was akin to A Brief History of Time for the evolutionary set.

I haven't read it yet, but I trust it will reinforce my views concerning evolution, which are that it alone is the appropriate theory to teach in science class. The troubling trend toward substituting "creationism" for evolutionary theory promises to muck up the minds of many of America's science students. Perhaps Dawkins will address this trend in his book, directly or otherwise.

Regardless, it seems likely to be a refresher course on why evolution works as a science, and "creationism" does not.

In related news, the University of California has been sued by a group of Christian schools for refusing to consider creation science classes as a fulfillment of its science prerequisites for admission.

At this rate, can a retrial of Scopes be very far behind?

A Note On Gas Prices

It's possible that in a short while, I will re-read this message and marvel at how low unleaded was at $2.79 a gallon for regular. Or at $3.05 a gallon for premium. But for now, what I'm more interested in is the fact that "no-name" gasoline outlets actually seem pricier than national brands.

Maybe it's just a regional phenomenon, but the lowest gas prices I've been able to find are at national retailers like Mobil, Chevron, or Shell.

I'd better enjoy it while it lasts.

Iraq Veteran Starts Counter-Sheehan Campaign

A U.S. veteran of the war in Iraq has launched a campaign to require Cindy Sheehan to meet with him to justify her antiwar political campaign.

For more information, click on the Meet With Hiram website.

Does Cindy Sheehan have the guts to meet with a veteran who stands for exactly the opposite of her antiwar protestations?

I would hope so.

Hitchens Comments On Sheehan

I have withheld most commentary on Cindy Sheehan's antiwar activities in deference to her status and suffering. After all, there is no denying that her son Casey was and is a hero, and that she is a Gold Star Mother.

However, I heard today that she has criticized other Gold Star Mothers for failing to oppose the war in Iraq. Because Ms. Sheehan believes it appropriate to criticize the positions of others who are of putatively equal moral authority, I feel released from my self-imposed obligation to refrain from remarking upon her own.

Ms. Sheehan's position is evaluated in this article by Christopher Hitchens posted at Slate.com. As I feel that Mr. Hitchens' insights are, as usual, penetrating in regard to the Iraq war, I have provided a link to his comments to give those who may be interested a chance to see that there are other sides to this story than what Ms. Sheehan desires to promote.