Category: Main

Does anyone else find Apple’s of Rosa Parks’ death as marketing fodder a bit crass, or is it just me?
In case they move it, as of now, the image below is on the Apple home page.

If you want to commemorate her life and achievements, fine, I guess. But slapping your corporate logo and slogan on the image is a bit over the top, no?
Apple’s about the only company I can think of that can get away with this stuff…

Today&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp october 25, 2005 &nbsp
(The Indigo Prophecy) – Mundo Geek » Vida inteligente en la geekosfera (6)
Cheerleading, Washington Post style – Power Line (5)
AL FRANKEN IS CRACKING UP – Michelle Malkin (4)
What To Ask Miers? – Captain’s Quarters (4)
Hewitt v. Hewitt: – The Volokh Conspiracy – – (4)
Rosa Parks – The Volokh Conspiracy – – (4)
PlameGate – Now That's News! – Wizbang (4)
Remembering the Original Rosa Parks – Wizbang (4)
Rosa Parks – The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta (4)
World Shaker – Billmon (4)

Yesterday&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp october 24, 2005 &nbsp
SEN. HUTCHISON'S BLUNDER – Michelle Malkin (30)
Ben Bernanke, economist – Marginal Revolution (28)
Hutchison Flip-Flops on Importance of Perjury – Think Progress (23)
Inline trackbackation? – NIF (23)
Carnival of the RINOs (10/24/05) – Louisiana Libertarian (22)
Ben Bernanke – Marginal Revolution (20)
Red Ensign Standard, Mark XXX – Quotulatiousness (18)
The Vetting Process Resumes, Sort Of – RedState.org (17)
Inline trackbackation? – NIF (16)
MICROSOFT WORD: It's not a bug – Instapundit.com (15)

In case you haven’t found it yet (and I have little faith in our MSM cousins to actually provide you a link), here’s nominee Ben Bernanke’s home page at Princeton.
And here’s his c.v.

Yourish, who longtime readers of TTLB know is an old, old friend of mine (in friendship-time, not years: she’s eternally 28 as far as I can tell) is looking for information on Tamarac, Florida, which was hit by Wilma. Her mother resides there and thus far Meryl has not been able to contact her.
Please help her out if you can…

Congratulation to Ben Bernanke on his nomination to replace Fed Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.
As is traditional with such nominations, he also receives an arguably even greater honor: own topic page at TTLB…

points out a New York Times press release which crows about the wonderful success of the NYT’s web site:
NEW YORK, Oct 20, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The New York Times Company reported that for September NYTimes.com achieved record traffic of 21.3 million unique visitors worldwide, a 49% increase from September of last year, according to internal data. NYTimes.com generated 561 million page views, up 17% year over year.
Mickey rightfully notes that somehow, the “stunning success” of the pay-for-punditry TimesSelect service seems to have been left out of the release. But if I were a NYT stockholder (and I’m sure glad I’m not) I’d be asking what they’ve got to be so proud of in the numbers they are reporting.
For context, here’s a table of the NYT’s September daily visits compared against those of some top-tier bloggers:

Site	September Visits
NY Times	21,300,000
Daily Kos	20,480,000
Gizmodo	7,360,000
Instapundit.com	4,500,000
Gawker	4,500,000
Eschaton	4,160,000
Defamer	2,880,000
Go Fug Yourself	2,600,000
Power Line	2,300,000
Wonkette	2,100,000

I don’t know about you, but “NYTimes.com: we’re slightly more popular than that Kos guy!” doesn’t strike me as a huge boast for a $3.3B media company. Maybe stick with “The New York Times: eight times more popular than those chicks that can’t stand Kirstin Dunst’s outfits.”

Folks:
The Miers nomination is reaching a critical point, with of her withdrawl swirling and conservative fixtures such as Jonah Goldberg and George Will coming out in opposition.
Recognizing that the Supreme Court is deliberately designed as a non-representative part of our government, I’d still like to hear clearly from bloggers as to whether they give Miers a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
So let’s make this simple: if you want to have your position noted, post your argument and include one of the following exact phrases (quotes and formatting are not required):
“I oppose the Miers nomination.” – If you believe the nomination should be withdrawn or, barring that, she should be voted down in the Senate.
“I support the Miers nomination.” – If you believe Ms. Miers should be confirmed.
“I am neutral on the Miers nomination.” – If for whatever reason, you either have not yet made up your mind, or do not plan to take a position either way.
(For group blogs, you can also use the appropriate phrasing “We oppose”, “We support”, and “We are neutral.”)
I will implement some code this weekend to search for the phrases above, and generate a running list of bloggers for, against, and neutral on the nomination. This will be much more interesting than a standard online poll, as it will ensure “one-blog-one-vote”, and avoid the usual ballot-stuffing silliness of online surveys.
(And yes, for me to scan your blog properly you will need to be registered in the Ecosystem, which is painless, free, and can be done right here.)
I’ll let you know when the tracking page is online, but it will be tomorrow at the latest. So start declaring!
Update: The tracking page is done and is now online here.
Please note that your position will not show up immediately, as the scans are run regularly every evening. While I am personally online today, however, if I notice that you’ve stated your position I’ll update your position manually.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: mess with the little creatures. They’ll bite your ankles.
LONDON, England (Reuters) — A rat released on a deserted island off New Zealand outsmarted scientists and evaded traps, baits and sniffer dogs before being captured four months later on a neighboring island, researchers have said.
Scientists from the University of Auckland in New Zealand released the Norway rat on the 23.5-acre island of Motuhoropapa to find out why rats are so difficult to eradicate.
They got more than they bargained for…
Despite all their efforts, including fitting the rat with a radio collar, they couldn’t catch the crafty creature.
After 10 weeks on the island the rodent decided it had had enough. It swam 400 meters, the longest distance recorded for a rat across open sea, to another rat-free island where it was eventually captured in a trap baited with penguin meat several weeks later.

Today&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp october 22, 2005 &nbsp
Semper Liberi – Don Surber (13)
Think again – Power Line (7)
Light at the End of the Miers Tunnel?: – The Volokh Conspiracy – – (5)
The Friday Night Celeb Spot – Wizbang (4)
Lashing Out At Bloggers In Iran – The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta (3)
"Insiders see hint of Miers pullout": Saturday's – How Appealing (3)
A Miered Religion – Confederate Yankee (3)
The Quake That Disappeared – Confederate Yankee (3)
What The Hell Is At The Top Of The Page? – Vince Aut Morire (3)
Anticipa-a-a-a-ation – firedoglake (2)

Yesterday&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp october 21, 2005 &nbsp
"WE HAVE TO EXTERMINATE WHITE PEOPLE" – Michelle Malkin (27)
Oh yeah, you know what day it is! – NIF (24)
BREAKING: DeLay’s Lawyer Lies About MoveOn – Think Progress (24)
Ye Ladies of Easy Leisure – Crooked Timber (23)
IT'S THE SMELL OF TEXAS HOME C – Instapundit.com (22)
Friday Ark #57 – Modulator (19)
THE DAMNING FEMA E-MAILS – Michelle Malkin (19)
Open Trackbacks Friday! – Oblogatory Anecdotes (17)
Curses, Foiled Again! – Power Line (16)
TGIF Specials – Jo’s Cafe (15)

Today&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp october 21, 2005 &nbsp
Foiled Again! – Power Line (7)
“Cut Through the B.S. And Provide A Framework”: – The Volokh Conspiracy – – (5)
Was Marx Jewish? – The Volokh Conspiracy – – (5)
Issues Emerging in the Plame Investigation: – The Volokh Conspiracy – – (4)
CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Bush – Eschaton (3)
Why Is This Man Smiling? – Wizbang (3)
Jonathan returns – Voice in the Wilderness (3)
Yeah, yeah, yeah: Party break-up etc. – Hugh Hewitt (2)
Why Anchors Read The News… – Wizbang (2)
Report: White House Charges Will Relate to Cover-up – TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime (2)

Yesterday&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp october 20, 2005 &nbsp
Senate Overwhelmingly Rejects Three Coburn Anti-Pork Amendments – http://tapscottscopydesk.blogspot.com/ (35)
THE TROUBLE WITH HARRIET – Michelle Malkin (33)
Out on the Ledge –
Patterico’s Pontifications (32)
Nice State You've Got Here, Too Bad if Anything Should Happen to It – Power Line (31)
Stop The ACLU Radio – Stop The ACLU (30)
The No Spine Zone – Think Progress (24)
THE SENATE HAS REJECTED THE COBURN – Instapundit.com (19)
More Democrats to be Indicted in East St. Louis – Gateway Pundit (15)
Colin Blow – Billmon (14)
Top Iraqi Terrorist Nabbed – Power Line (13)
Find updates throughout the day and more on the top posts page.

Today&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp october 20, 2005 &nbsp
Iraqi Terrorist Nabbed – Power Line (7)
Stop The ACLU Radio – Stop The ACLU (5)
RUSSERT, ROVE, AND PLAME: Perhaps w – Instapundit.com (4)
AN ABLE DANGER EXPLOSION?… – Instapundit.com (4)
Quote Of The Day – Virginia's DINO Soars Edition – Wizbang (4)
WIILLLMMMAAA! Brendan Loy has her c – Instapundit.com (3)
Democratic Senators Who Live In Glass Houses… – Wizbang (3)
Stop the ACLU on the Radio – The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta (3)
Colin Blow – Billmon (3)
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) – Patently-O: Patent Law Blog (3)

Yesterday&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp october 19, 2005 &nbsp
THE TRIAL OF SADDAM HUSSEIN – Michelle Malkin (32)
Carnival of Feminists – Philobiblon (23)
Let justice be served. – http://iraqthemodel.com/ (22)
ABLE DANGER: WELDON GOES BALLISTIC – Michelle Malkin (16)
Open Trackback Wednesday! – Oblogatory Anecdotes (15)
Bush knew Rove was the leaker in 2003. Lied in 2004 when he said he didn’t know who leaked. Obstruct – AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth (15)
The U.N. Teams Up With The ACLU Against America – Stop The ACLU (14)
Open Trackbacks: Wednesday – The Political Teen (14)
Open Trackback Wednesday – Jo’s Cafe (14)
Not it – NIF (14)

For more and updates throughout the day, see the top posts page.

From the department of
U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens said on Wednesday he plans to propose a $3 billion subsidy program to ensure older television sets still work when the transition to better quality, digital broadcasts is completed.
Stevens, an Alaska Republican, said the estimated cost of a box to convert the new digital signals back to analog so existing television sets continue to work is $50 each and he proposed the government subsidize $40 of that amount.
Senator Stevens, you are just not getting it.
Go directly to Budget Jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $3 billion.
P.S.: What the hell is it about Alaska?

I’ve just set up the tracking page for tomorrow’s GOP blog row event: you can find it here.
So far, it is a bit empty: Matt Margolis, Ian Schwartz, and Eric Pfeiffer are the only confirmed attendees that I am aware of. If you’re going and would like to be listed, please speak up…

The posts page has a brand-new layout, which I think provides a much clearer and more interesting view of the current hot posts being linked across the blogosphere.
Please check it out, and let me know your feedback on whether you like this layout, or the old one, better…
PS: I am strongly considering switching the Topics pages, and potentially even the Community pages, to a similar layout. So feedback is most definitely welcomed…

Congressional Republicans look like they are to get with the Porkbusters program, which is a good sign. And, they’re reaching out to bloggers, with a Capitol Hill blog row event planned for tomorrow:
For the first time ever, Bloggers are invited to meet directly with House Members and blog from the Capitol. Members will be stopping in throughout the day to meet with bloggers and discuss the House Republican record of successful economic policies, their commitment to fiscal responsibility, and the details of the historic proposed budget amendment that is expected to reach the floor later this week.
I got the invite, but being a left-coaster with a day job, won’t be able to make it. I also suggested to the organizers that they combine the in-person event with an open conference call (a speakerphone stuck in a corner of the room that Representatives could wander by would do) — they took this as a good suggestion, but the latest word is they don’t think it will be feasible for this week’s event.
So with both Glenn and myself not able to attend, it would be great if we could get some of those bloggers who are going to take advantage of this face-to-face opportunity to ask the Representatives about Porkbusters and what they’re willing to do to cut pork in their districts.
So if you’re planning on attending the event: please consider yourself a de facto Ambassador of the Porkbusters effort…!
Update: Matt Margolis has posted a contact form where you can submit questions you’d like bloggers to ask at the event.
Update Again: I’m going to set up a dedicated topic/community page for the event tomorrow which will show posts from those bloggers in attendance. If you are planning on attending, please let me know…

At long last, I’ve added helpdesk support system to TTLB.
Going forward, please submit helpdesk tickets for Ecosystem, PorkBusters, or other issues/questions you may have, rather than sending them to me via email. This will help me organize my support efforts, and more quickly and effectively respond to issues.
Thanks…
NZ

This is just cool for words.
I take back most of the nasty things I’ve ever said about the U.N. never accomplishing anything of value.
Hat Tip: Bill in DC

David Carr the sad state of the newspaper business and its struggle to figure out the whole Internet Thing in the New York Times, nimbly managing to avoid mentioning TimesSelect even once. But he’s figured out the business model for them:
…everybody knows consumers on the Web do not want to pay for what they can get free, right?
Maybe not. As iTunes has demonstrated, there is a vast swath of consumers who are willing to pay for what they want and avoid the moral taint of unauthorized use.
Egads! The pitch suddenly becomes clear: all that free stuff you’ve been reading online might feel good, but it’s morally tainted. If you want to enjoy your punditry with a clear concience, you’d best be ponying up $49.95, pronto: or expect to be seeing the ink-stained Ghosts of Newsprint Past, Present, and Future showing up by your bedside some dark evening soon.
This of course also suggests another market segment: those who, Hugh Grant-like, will seek out the dark and forbidden thrill of bootleg MoDo columns simply because of the stench of immorality that surrounds them.
Dowd isn’t the real vice, of course: everybody knows that she’s just a gateway to hardcore Krugman use….

It’s been a busy time for me of late, and time to do a quick status check, and let y’all know where things are at, and where they are heading.
By now, anybody reading this page is probably aware of the effort, which has taken up quite a bit of my blog-energy of late. It is still going strong, and we’re not done yet: there are big plans in the works to continue the momentum we’ve established and truly work to change the institutional fiscal irresponsibility of our Congress. So stay tuned.
Fewer of you may be aware of Relief Connections, which is an equally — if not more — important project I launched on the inspiration of Hugh Hewitt. The idea is simple: to provide an online forum where groups affected by Katrina — and now Rita — can post information on what they need to get back on their feet, and similar groups from across the country and world can respond to meet those needs. If you haven’t visited it yet, I encourage you do to do so. And if the spirit moves you, links and publicity for the site would be much appreciated.
These two special projects — and the Blog for Relief effort that preceded Relief Connections — have absorbed nearly all of my blog-time of late. But I have not forgotten about the core functionality of TTLB, and I am working hard to bring all the traditional TTLB functions back up to full speed — and better.
To that end, I did what essentially amounts to a full reboot on the Ecosystem last night: all historical links were deleted, and I restarted the scans fresh with an empty link database. So: if you saw your Ecosystem ranking jump around wildly today, that’s why. But please note that, for better or worse, I believe the rankings currently being displayed to be the accurate ones, not those from yesterday. So if you dropped in rank: sorry, but them’s the breaks.
I will be continuing to shore up and enhance TTLB’s core functions over the coming weeks and months. Expect to see a flood of new Communities and Topics, as well as new features on the Ecosystem blog details pages. And overarching everything will be a new approach to “customer service”, to be deployed soon, which I hope will help ensure that Ecosystem issues can be resolved promptly.
Finally, a cosmetic, but important change. When I relaunched TTLB with its new design in June, I relegated my own blog to a spot off the front page, reserving that prized spot for a summary of TTLB’s overall features. I’ve concluded now that was a miscalculation, and one that on some level, has discouraged me from actually blogging myself.
That decision has now been reversed, and my blog is back front-and-center. I will still be highlighting the latest & greatest items of interest in the Topic, Community, and

“I notice, walking around campus, that there are almost always many more women in view than men.”
May I gently suggest that the instrument being used for measurement in this particular example might be a bit biased towards producing the aforementioned result?
Yes, Glenn has a healthy man’s appreciation for keeping attractive “women in view” — but we cannot either discount the strong magnetic InstaAttraction that his Glenness has on the fairer sex, which may well result in crowds of women unknowingly diverting their paths into his proximity.
Could be there aren’t actually many women on the whole campus other than the ones in his view — but the same ones just keep following him around…