Emergency Oil Should Not Be Used For Commercial Purposes

If only our government thought this way.

Ignorance is Bliss

42% of Americans believe that the world and its creatures have existed as such since God created them as told in the Book of Genesis.

Even with all the evidence to the contrary people still believe the creation stories of the Bible as factual, and not as metaphors. Belief in God and acceptance of evolution are not incompatible positions. I am not sure what to make out of the Pew Research Poll, whether it can be attributed to plain ignorance or willful denial.

Home, Home on the Range...

...Where seldom is heard a discouraging word...

Good Lord. What kind of signal does this send? The President should probably fire his pr people who approved of this photo.

30 August 2005

Race to the Bottom

And my home city of Milwaukee is leading the pack. We have climbed to #7 on the list of our nation's most impoverished cities. 26% of our city lives in poverty, up from 13.8% in 1980. 41.3% of Milwaukee's children live in poverty, more than 62,000 children!

Loss of high paying blue-collar jobs in manufacturing contributed highly to this downturn. With the rise of China and other countries as manufacturing powers, Milwaukee and other Midwestern cities naturally have experienced a recession. While many union bosses dream about the reemergence of Milwaukee as an industrial city, it is not practical or feasible. Milwaukee must look towards the future and not try to recreate the past.

Milwaukee is on a downward spin to the bottom. Murder rates (as in many other cities) are skyrocketting. Think there's a link with the horrid economy? Milwaukee cannot even get a downtown revitalization project, such as Pabst City, which would provide much needed jobs and revenue for the city, approved for construction. I hope our leaders can turn things around. Excuse me if I remain pessimistic.

Is There Nothing Better Going On?

Still at war with Iraq, Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans, genocide in Sudan, oil prices hitting record highs, but do not fear the Weekly Standard will keep the populace informed about the current state of beastiality laws in Washington state.

While I agree that beastiality is disgusting and perverse, to waste space in a major policy magazine about a subject more suited to The National Enquirer is plain wrong.

Voice of Reason

Why we should only teach evolution and not the pseudoscience Intelligent Design.

John Derbyshire:

What, then, should we teach our kids in high-school science classes? The answer seems to me very obvious. We should teach them consensus science, and we should teach it conservatively. Consensus science is the science that most scientists believe ought to be taught. "Conservatively" means eschewing theories that are speculative, unproven, require higher math, or even just are new, in favor of what is well settled in the consensus. It means teaching science unskeptically, as settled fact.

Jessie Helms: The Beacon of Light for Race Relations

The former Senator of NC defends his statements opposing the civil rights movement in his recently released memoir:

"I felt that the citizens of my community, my state and my region of the country were being battered by this new form of bigotry," he wrote. "I simply could not stay silent in the face of this assault — and I didn't."

Oppressing the whites populace by integrating bathrooms, hotels, restaurants, and so on, Oh Lord...

Iraqi Constitution

With the newly formed Iraqi Constitution slowly approaching the Oct 15 referendum date, now is a good time to look at this contentious document, which holds popular support among Iraq's Shi'ites and Kurds and is rejected by many Iraqi Sunnis.

The Iraqi Constitution has many components in the tradition of Western thought. The right to private property, the freedom of speech, and to a free and fair trial amongst others are basic tenets of our own constitution.

The problem with the constitution (for me at least) begins with Article 7:

A) Islam is the official religion of the State and is to be considered a source of legislation. No law that contradicts the universally agreed tenets of Islam, the principles of democracy, or the rights cited in Chapter Two of this Law may be enacted during the transitional period. This Law respects the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice.

Melding Democracy with Islam (or any religion for that matter) is bound to produce some contradictions. While it is true that for many Muslims, Islam and the state are inherently bound together, problems still exist in incorporating strict Islamic beliefs with a democratic government.

How can democracy and the "universally agreed tenets" of Islam coincide without contradicting each other? Do the "universally agreed tenets" mean just the Pillars of Islam (agreed upon by both Sunnis and Shi'ites), the use of the Qu'ran (revelations from God) as the sole source of Islamic law, or (along with the Qu'ran) the Hadith, which is Muhammad's teachings.

This is just one of the problems facing the new Iraqi government, can religion and democracy mix to form a government? I am not talking about just tolerence for religion, but the active incorporation of religious thought and doctrine with a democratic system of government. Time will tell.

Living Life Through Your Son

Why fathers should not be their son's coach.

Washington Monthly University Rankings

WM's criteria for the "best" school includes whether the school encourages its students to do social service, is an institution that stimulates social mobility (eg accept lower income students and graduate them), and produces students that "advance knowledge and encourage scientific growth".

Interesting tidbit: Princeton's rank of #44 is below schools such as Univ of Florida, Iowa State, and Ohio State Univ.

Vioxx

Michael Kinsley's editorial about the absurdities behind the regulation of pharmaceuticals, medical lawsuits, and Merck's (and all the other pharmaceutical companies') greed.

Drinking and Driving

A terrible mixture. This particular article details five people killed (including the driver) in a Washington County, WI crash. The driver was 16 years old, and was riding with three other passengers, two of whom were killed. The driver rear-ended another vehicle on the freeway, proceeded to spin out of control over the center line, and crashed into an oncoming car, killing both passengers.

This story especially hits a little closer to home because some acquaintances of mine recently were involved in a drunk driving accident. The driver was intoxicated and was driving back from a cottage in Northern Wisconsin. Their crossed the dividing line, and struck an oncoming bus. Flight for Life evacuated my acquaintances to near hospital, where they miraculously survived near fatal injuries. No one was wearing their seat belt and the passenger in the car bit off two inches of his tongue and the driver crashed through the front window.

The Horror

Israeli made paper cups in a Saudi hospital? Outrageous.

The Zionists cannot just be content to rule the world, but must force their paper cups on an unsuspecting populace? Terrible.

A Little Scary

That Volvo is experimenting with technology to build breathalyzers into seatbelts. If installed, your new Volvo car would not be able to start unless your blood alcohol level is below .08 (the legal limit in all 50 states).

This would be regulation run amok. While it sounds like a good idea (hey your car will prevent your drunken self from killing someone else) the implications are a little scary. While normally I dislike "slippery slope" arguments, this would be a case where if this device is allowed, more and more government and corporate intrusion in our lives is almost sure to follow.

Where would it stop? Should we have government installed video cameras watching the doors to our homes to prevent burglaries? How about the government placing microscopic computer chips in our children to protect against kidnapping?

While they sound extreme each idea has a basis in reality. NFL teams already make certain players swallow a "heat pill", which allows trainers to measure players core body temperature, and tracks the players using a GPS unit. Or cameras to catch speeders in areas from Washington DC to Davenport IA.

Grown adults do not need babysitters.

Be a Witness

More From the Right

Nothing like a religious leader advocating murder...

Pat Robertson:

"You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it...It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop."

Pat Robertson, former head of the Christian Coalition, talking about assassinating the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Why We Cannot Leave Iraq

A perspective from Juan Cole.

Mad-town #1 Party School

Its understandable. The best Halloween Party every single year, Badgers' football, raging frat parties, Mifflin Street Block Party, mixed with good old Miller beer and Fleischman's Vodka how could Univ of Madison not be #1?

My Gophers have some catching up to do.

My Liberal Bastion

Finally some people are beginning to tune out the conservative screamers. In my home away from home in the wonderful Midwestern state of Minnesota, listeners age 25-54 are turning away from political radio (especially the conservative variety) in droves. Numbers are down 43% for Rush and 63% for Sean Hannity since the beginning of last year.

I can only hope the downward trend continues.

What the Zealots Promoting ID are Really Trying to Accomplish

The reversal of modern science to the time before Galileo, Newton, Copernicus. The Onion always says it best.

Bill, Bill, Bill

You take one intelligent position, and then you come back with this?

Paul Begala Sounds Off

Begala:

"For me, one of the most incendiary moments of the entire Bush war in Iraq occurred when a right-wing thug ran his pickup truck over hundreds of crosses bearing the names of heroic Americans killed in Iraq. He also took out scores of American flags in the process. Police say the perp is Larry Chad Northern, a Waco real estate agent and gun nut. Mr. Northern is, of course, entitled to the presumption of innocence, despite the fact that the local sheriff's office says Ol' Larry was spotted at 9:30 Monday night changing a tire on his pickup truck. Citing sheriff's office reports, the Waco Tribune-Herald, reported that, 'Small white crosses were found stuck in the truck's undercarriage.'"

For those who want to know who the hell is this guy?

Israel Leaving Gaza

As we all know this is quite a contentious and bold move on the part of Sharon's government. With Sharon's hard-right allies in the Knesset threatening to pull down his government if he implemented his policy of removing Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, Sharon made the right choice and continued with his plan.

The evacuation began today as 10,000 Israeli soldiers and police, almost all unarmed, began removing settlers from Gaza.

A look at how Middle East Newspapers view the withdrawal.

Why I Despise Rush

Most certainly the biggest scumbag commentator in the United States. His most recent example of overblown rhetoric.

Rush Limbaugh:

"I mean, Cindy Sheehan is just Bill Burkett. Her story is nothing more than forged documents. There's nothing about it that's real, including the mainstream media's glomming onto it. It's not real. It's nothing more than an attempt. It's the latest effort made by the coordinated left."

For more on Rush's crackpot ideas and theories (and reality):
FAIR.org
The Gitmo Club

Supporting Intelligent Design Will Hurt Conservative Causes

Short term success in promoting creationism will ultimately backfire. According to TNR:

"In the long run, though, intelligent design will probably prove a political boon to liberals, and a poisoned chalice for conservatives. Like the evolution wars in the early part of the last century, the design debate offers liberals the opportunity to portray every scientific battle--today, stem-cell research, "therapeutic" cloning, and end-of-life issues; tomorrow, perhaps, large-scale genetic engineering--as a face-off between scientific rigor and religious fundamentalism. There's already a public perception, nurtured by the media and by scientists themselves, that conservatives oppose the "scientific" position on most bioethical issues. Once intelligent design runs out of steam, leaving its conservative defenders marooned in a dinner-theater version of Inherit the Wind, this liberal advantage is likely to swell considerably."

The crux of the argument: Believing in a fallacy (ID) prevents reasoned arguments about the ethical use of science. Religious conservatives would be wise to drop the "evolution debate" and focus on the ethical use of science.

SUV Owners, You Can Save the Environment

Just offset your vehicles CO2 emission with a donation to these groups who funnel the funds to alternative fuels or pollution reduction initiatives.

Dobson Watch

James Dobson at a rally of Evangelical Christians:

"These activist, unelected judges believe they know better than the American people about the direction the country should go. The framers of our great nation did not intend for the courts to have absolute and final power over us.”

He also stated the SCOTUS Justices are "unelected, unaccountable and arrogant.”

Critics Don't Like Your Movie... Just Invent Some New Ones

Even if Ebert and Roeper give your film two thumbs down, the Rollingstone says it sucks, and NY Times turns up its nose, you can still get positive reviews for your summer stinker. The answer: Just make them up!

That's what Sony has done. In trailers for Big Daddy, film critic David Manning of the Ridgefield Press announced: "The producing team of Big Daddy has delivered another winner!" Only problem being that Ridgefield Press did not have a David Manning working as a film critic. Sony just invented him to give its films positive reviews.

Some inquisitive soul must have realized that real film critics would never have been giving good reviews to such crappy movies as Knight's Tale, Hollow Man, or Verticle Limit. Sony settled up with a $1.5 million after a class-action lawsuit. The money goes towards a pool where people who saw a select number of movies in the theatre may claim a rebate of $5.

Shame on USA Today

For giving any credibility whatsoever to the pseudo-science Intelligent Design as being somehow on the same intellectual plain as Evolution. By presenting the two opposing viewpoints inside of "Monday's Forum" it leads gives legitimacy to ID's claim to be a legitimate alternative to Evolution.

Do we have this debate about the Theory of Gravity?

Articles:

Debate It

Just Teach It

SCOTUS Nomination

Check out the LA Times weblog that has brought multiple lawyers, professors, etc. to write about John Roberts.

Muslims in Europe

Interesting NY Times Magazine article regarding how poorly Muslims have been assimilated into European society.

Our Lazy President

20% of his presidency spent diggin' ditches, clearin' brush, and milkin' the cows at his ranch in Crawford.

Take a look at this video.

Update: Copy and paste the video link into your browser in order to view.

Turn Back the Clock

A statement from the Dover, PA School Board requiring that ID be explained to every 9th grade biology class as an alternative to evolution. This statement was to be read to the students before the beginning the course segment on evolution.

From TNR:

"The Pennsylvania Academic Standards require students to learn about Darwin's Theory of Evolution and eventually to take a standardized test of which evolution is a part.

Because Darwin's Theory is a theory, it continues to be tested as new evidence is discovered. The Theory is not a fact. Gaps in the Theory exist for which there is no evidence.... Intelligent design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin's view. The reference book, Of Pandas and People, is available for students to see if they would like to explore this view in an effort to gain an understanding of what intelligent design actually involves. As is true with any theory, students are encouraged to keep an open mind."

What do Words Mean Anyways?

I cannot help but point out when words come back to bite someone in the ass (even when they happen to fellow Democrats).

EJ Dionne in a column praising special-interest groups as somehow educating the public about issues:

"I say hooray for those supposedly awful outside groups. Yes, they often behave in troublesome ways. But because these groups tell the truth about how important this battle is for the future of our country, I hope they ignore the high-minded scoldings they'll be getting and refuse to shut up."

About the new NARAL (one of those "special interest groups" that educate the public), which depicts John Roberts as supporting the bombing of abortion clinics, Dionne states:

"Can we please come up with a better way of arguing about Supreme Court nominees?"

What, no special interest groups misleading the public? That's fine by me.

(Normally I think that Dionne is a fantastic writer)

Damn Starbucks

Why can't those damn homosexual lovin', pot smokin', war protestin', leftists who run Starbucks can't just be content with spreading their hippy views, but also need to endanger our nation's children?

Well that’s the conclusion that one would ascertain after reading this article from one of the Concerned Women of America. Not only is Starbucks sponsoring the San Diego Gay Pride, which is most definitely a prickly thorn in this woman's intolerant behind, but also it has the audacity to allow its employees to actively participate in the parade!

This horrid, horrid affair that "places innocent children in the middle of sexually explicit material", such as the Country Western Village (ass-less chaps everywhere!), the Coffee Exchange (Starbucks' hippies sitting around naked and smoking pot!), and the Rhythms of Nations dance tent (Village People music!). The horrors.

Starbucks obviously encourages lewd and obscene behavior, but where does the charge that it "hates children" come into play? Well it appears that of the 800 volunteers and staffers to work at the Festival, three of them are registered sex offenders (Starbucks obviously had intimate knowledge of this). What the article fails to mention is that the offenders were forced to resign from their positions after their criminal status was made known. Whoops!

Go drink that Starbucks latte.

Rice's Mid-Year Report

According to Fred Kaplan:

She reopened nuclear negotiations with North Korea, even authorizing bilateral talks, which George W. Bush had adamantly refused to conduct all through his first term as president.

She persuaded Bush to endorse similar (if less promising) negotiations that Britain, France, and Germany had initiated with Iran, which he had also vigorously opposed.

She crafted the terms of a United Nations resolution to investigate war crimes in Sudan, a measure that first-term Bush had resisted.

She dropped the campaign—which had been launched with great verve by Vice President Dick Cheney—to replace Mohamed elBaradei as chair of the International Atomic Energy Agency and then got U.S. intelligence agencies to resume briefing IAEA officials, a practice that had also been discontinued in the first term.

As a prerequisite to all the above accomplishments, she staved off Cheney's intense efforts to appoint his protégé, John Bolton, as deputy secretary of state and implicitly acknowledged Bolton's unsuitability for a concession prize—U.N. ambassador—by assuring Democratic opponents that he would be carefully "supervised."

Kaplan goes on to say that these feats are only impressive because they were accomplished in spite of our Administration's complete lack of regard for diplomacy.

Criminals Need Not Leave

Even if you are convicted of sexually assaulting three girls, sending nude pictures of yourself to young boys, and stalking an individual, Univ of Madison has a home for you. The professors convicted of each offense have yet to be fired inspite of their future residence in jail.

This is tenure run amuck. The purpose of tenure is to protect a teacher from outlash against personal beliefs, not a shield against being fired for being a criminal. All three of these professors need to be fired.

Where o' Where Will the Price of Gas Peak?

Not below $3 per gallon in some areas of the US if you believe that betting odds are any indicator.

Also smart money's on the national gas price average finishing well over $2.50 per gallon, as prices are already at $2.619 in New York and $2.693 in LA.

Horrid, Horrid Remarks

More evidence of O'Reilly being a bastard.

O'Reilly and another right wing nut, Michelle Malkin, teamed up and railed against a poor mother (Cindy Sheehan) who lost her son in Iraq, and wants some explaining from President Bush. Questioning her patriotism and motives, the kooks also brought her dead son into the argument. Michelle Malkin:

"I can’t imagine that Casey Sheehan would approve of such behavior"

She has the audacity to suggest that she can ascertain the feelings of a dead man better than his own mother?! And to just make a politcal point?! Sickening.

Right-Wing Lies

From Focus on the Family. By the way of Ballon Juice.

"Is My Child Becoming Homosexual?
Before puberty, children aren’t normally heterosexual or homosexual. They’re definitely gender conscious. But young children are not sexual beings yet — unless something sexual in nature has interrupted their developmental phases.

Still, it’s not uncommon for children to experience gender confusion during the elementary school years. Dr. Joseph Nicolosi reports, “In one study of 60 effeminate boys ages 4 to 11, 98 percent of them engaged in cross-dressing, and 83 percent said they wished they had been born a girl.”

Evidences of gender confusion or doubt in boys ages 5 to 11 may include:

1. A strong feeling that they are “different” from other boys.

2. A tendency to cry easily, be less athletic, and dislike the roughhousing that other boys enjoy.

3. A persistent preference to play female roles in make-believe play.

"...If your child has already reached puberty, change is difficult, but it’s not too late."

Where do these guys come up with this stuff? Here's what the APA (American Psychological Association) has to say about "choosing" to be a homosexual:

"No, human beings can not choose to be either gay or straight. Sexual orientation emerges for most people in early adolescence without any prior sexual experience. Although we can choose whether to act on our feelings, psychologists do not consider sexual orientation to be a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed."

Roberts a Tolerant Man?

Might he have actually volunteered his time to help end discrimination against gays in Colorado? It appears he had. It has some right wing conservative groups bumbling for excuses to explain the revelation of Roberts' tolerance by the LA Times as "a red herring meant to divide the right."

Maybe Bush did pick a good candidate after all...

Profile of Roberts

The King of CNBC

If you have never watched or heard of Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money on CNBC, check him out. He talks and acts like a crazed lunatic on his program and is extremely funny to watch. He once said that an entire 7th grade class comes home everyday and watches him, even though they don't know anything about the stock market!

Read this Time article about him, and check him out on CNBC at 6 pm ET weekdays.

Oil, Oil, Where Will You Go?

With crude oil prices reaching record highs of $63 per barrel, the questions beckons, how high will it go?

Only upwards. The world is nearing the level of peak oil production, the maximum amount of oil that can be produced. With production stagnating and ultimately in decline, the cost of oil per barrel will continue to rise. China and India both have rapidly growing economies that suck up more and more of the world's oil supply, and, consequently, exacerbates the problem.

Many estimates abound when peak production will occur. The USGS (United States Geological Society) predicts that peak production will occur between the years 2003-2020 (according to their most recent World Petroleum Assessment 2000).

The peak oil production lies much closer to the 2003 assessment than the 2020. The USGS, despite making excellent maps, superb lab reports, and detailed publications, has not had much success in the estimation of oil reserves and production peaks. Back when estimating the oil reserves of the US, USGS geologists divided the US into small sections and estimated the amount of oil in each section independently of the other areas.

The problem with this methodology is that individual areas are not independent of each other. If no source rocks (rock rich in organic and carbonic material) exist, or if the source rocks are buried deeper than the oil window (between 7,500 and 15,000 feet) then many of the little areas that the USGS predicted to hold oil are eliminated (Hubbert's Peak). Consequently the USGS had no idea when United States peak oil production would occur.

To this very day the USGS has an implausibly high estimate of the maximum amount of barrels of oil to be produced from the United States. According to the 2000 US Geological Survey the USGS estimated that US ultimate production will be in the neighborhood of 362 billion barrels. To put into perspective the US would have to discover an oil field (or fields) that adds up almost to the reserves of Kuwait (Hubbert's Peak).

The 2000 USGS report estimates that ultimate world oil production is 3.012 trillion barrels (requires discovering new fields equivalent to the entire Middle East), compare that with more conservative estimates at 2.0 trillion barrels (the number used by Hubbert). This wildly optimistic USGS prediction allows it to justify peak oil production at the possible year of 2020.

The world needs alternatives to oil. Conservation is great, but not good enough. Oil cannot sustain the world's economies for much longer. Unless we want to engage in resource wars with other nations, the US needs to wean itself off the oil bottle. Sooner rather than later.

Wonderful Quotes

From our President's science advisor, John H. Marburger III:

"Intelligent design is not a scientific concept,"

At least there still are some reasonable thinking people in the White House. Unfortunately President Bush is not one of them. In regards to teaching ID alongside Darwinian Evolution:

"Both sides ought to be properly taught... so people can understand what the debate is about."

Keep on pandering to that fanatical religious base, Mr. President.

Pictures from Wyoming

Tarnished Legacy of Arafat

From The Atlantic:

"'I believe that the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians in one way or the other is between development and underdevelopment, civilization and backwardness. Israel was established on the rule of law, on democratization, and certain principles that would advance Israel, while the Arabs and the Palestinians were waiting always for the prophet, for the rescuer, for the savior, the mahdi. Arafat came, and everyone hung their hats on him without realizing that there is a big gap between the rescuer and the actual work that needs to be done. This is where the Palestinians lost again the battle. They lost it in '48 because of their backwardness, ignorance, and lack of organization in how to confront the Zionist enemy. They lost it when they had the chance to build a state, because the PA was absolutely corrupt and disorganized.'" (emphasis mine)

-Iyad Sarraj, human-rights activist and director of the leading mental-health institute in Gaza


Arafat finally is exposed as the petty, corrupt, and ineffective leader and not the swashbuckling freedom fighter he so successfully portrayed himself as. The Palestinian people deserve better than a man who between 1995 and 2000 diverted "$900 million from the Palestinian Authority coffers" and who along with his cronies stole over "one half of the total of $7 billion in foreign aid." All of this money not spent on housing, education, and social services for poor Palestinians and used to buy homes and cars for his wife and lackeys.

These claims are not even from the biased mouths of the Israelis or Americans, but from Arafat's own confidents. They saw up close and personal the decay and ineptness of the PA, and they knew Arafat was responsible.

Arafat's mark on history will be a black one. A man who provided no leadership, no state, but lots of rhetoric and hyperbole that did nothing to accomplish the dream and goal of the Palestinian people, their own state.

Vacation in Wyoming

I will be taking the next four days off as I will be enjoying the scenic views of Wyoming.

Islamic Militants

A good overview about al-Qaeda.

From: Christian Science Monitor

Another take on the Bolton Appointment

From The Moderate Voice:

1. You can't accurately call this an abuse of power because it is perfectly legal.

2. Bolton won't be going with much credibility, beyond the administration and GOP partisans.

3. The media is going to watch him like a hawk. If he slips they will be all over him and Bush may regret this appointment. Remember that Bolton has virtually zilch Democratic support and is not beloved even among some Republicans.

4. It won't impact John Roberts' Supreme Court hearings if nothing new surfaces about Roberts. But if some new negative material comes out the Bolton appointment may play a role in pressing it (pay back).

5. It again underscores the in-your-face nature of this administration, which many Americans find attractive. Bush wanted him so he put him in — the hell with Senate confirmation (and remember again recess appointments are perfectly legal).

6. It's a sad commentary on how this President apparently views his own party and how many GOPers view it. You can't tell yours truly that the Republican party, with its millions of members who are diplomats, jurists, lawyers, etc, could not produce someone ELSE to go to the UN who would be as or more qualified than John Bolton.

Ram Him on Through

I cannot fathom the thought process of George W. Bush. He nominates a man (John Bolton) for the position of Ambassador to the UN with full knowledge that he is a vilified and divisive figure who, consequently, cannot do his job effectively.

The UN needs a shaking up. It is a large and cumbersome bureaucracy that does not respond decisively to human rights violations. A systematic reorganization better reflecting the distribution of power would be appropriate.

John Bolton is not the man to achieve this goal. The U.S. is already mistrusted by the international community for its (now false) justifications for going to war with Iraq. Appointing a man who intimidates and threatens his subordinates because they disagree with his intelligence analysis will not be trusted to give truthful information.

Bolton could not even pass the Senate confirmation process and had to be appointed while the Senate is in recess. This recess appointment, while entirely legal, is a dubious way to appoint a man to any prominent position.