Sep 12 2005
Fly By 09/12/05
I have decided to start the “Fly By” posts, which will be a linkfest of interesting articles and posts for the day without a lot of commentary from myself. So, here is the first ‘Fly By’:
Tony Blankley has the first of a three part series on Fanatical Islam, where it is headed and what we need to think about [hat tip RealClearPolitics]
If you want a good rundown on the Roberts hearings drop by Stop The ACLU for this great round up of news articles.
American Al Qaeda mouthpiece Adam Gadahn warned America and Australia of pending attacks on Los Angeles and Melbourne on the anniversary of 9-11. Providing a perfect reminder of why we need to complete the process in Iraq.
For those not buying into the spin about the Federal relief efforts for Katrina here is a great piece by Jack Kelly on how the response was one as fast as ever but much larger in scale than anyone understands.
Journalists who are long on opinions and short on knowledge have no idea what is involved in moving hundreds of tons of relief supplies into an area the size of England in which power lines are down, telecommunications are out, no gasoline is available, bridges are damaged, roads and airports are covered with debris, and apparently have little interest in finding out.
A must read.
For us geekie types the Sun is going through quite an active sunspot cycle these last few days, which could interrupt some communications. It could also explain some Global Warming issues as well.
Captain Ed noted, and I will echo, that the Discovery Channel’s Flight 93: The Flight That Fought Back is one excellent documentary and probably the best memorial presentation on this, the fourth anniversary of 9-11. Try and catch this show if you can. It is truly stunning in light of the proposed memorial to these brave people we posted on here.
This stunner was provided by our good friend Don Suber: on 9-11 the NYTimes runs a nostalgic piece about being a terrorist bomber in the US. The NYTimes demands we pay for this tripenow, so I will let Don tell the story here, as he illustrates how too many on the left have forgotten 9-11 and moved on back to 9-10.
Hat Tip to Mark Coffey for this excellent post from Academic Elephant, a cherished reader of this site, and her trip to the Freedom Walk in DC. She even got a picture of ‘The Don’. Next year I will be there!
Also from Mark Coffey we find this interesting Esquire piece on ‘The Falling Man’, which is about the well known picture of the man who jumped from the WTC with his head towards the ground and what it means for the media not to show it anymore (they want to show Katrina flood victims).
[…] …when you get the chance. He’s got a new feature called the ‘Fly By’ where he shares some linky love without much commentary. I used to do the same with my Quick Shots and Miscellanea, but have fallen out of the habit, though not through any conscious effort to discontinue them. I suspect they will continue to be employed from time to time. […]
Thanks for the kind words, AJ–did you see the hatchet job the Washington Post did on the Freedom Walk?
Academic,
No. I find the negativity in the press completely irrelevant. Reporters trying to feel like they are someone by dismissing the actions of others – nothing more. What a strange life it must be to wacth others accomplish big things and simply report on it. In the age of information the reporting function is getting smaller and smaller. So who cares what these wannabes carp about? People who do little criticize those trying to do a lot all the time. No news there.
Glad to see you went. It looked like a grand old time. We plan to go next year if they have it again.
A more workable fuel consumption solution might be to make insurance on additional cars proportional to their use. Currently they are charged like you are driving both at once. This would make a second or third car practical for limited use. I don’t see mass transpo very cost effective.
In looking at various online mass transport financial statements, i find that tickets cost 10% to 50% of the cost of the service. Statements aren’t very complete, so I don’t know if this includes depreciation and cost of capital.
Here in Raleigh, the TTA (triangle transit authority) costs $1M per bus and $80 per “boarding?”. About 10% of this is for the ~ $1B light rail which is beginning construction. I daresay that driving your car 2 miles to the station when it is freezing or 100 degrees out is a great way to ruin your car and get 10 mpg in a honda. Don’t pick up any ice cream at the grocery when using mass transit on the way home from work. Golf carts might work, but for no A/C and electric resistance heat in the winter (q.v. insurance, above).