How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

I see your C train died, too. Bloomberg sure ain't no Churchill.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

I thought it was Mussolini who made the trains run on time.

The best part of the C train fiasco was finding out that half the subway system depended on a bunch of vacuum tubes, toggle switches from Frankenstein's laboratory and William Alva Edison's pocket watch all locked up in a little room that nobody's been inside since 1937. Sweet. One day someone's gonna take a penny out of a fusebox somewhere and the whole city will grind to a screeching halt.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

If that was your point, I missed it.

"Giving information" in a vaccuum strikes me as pissing into the wind. I doubt that a discussion of the broad strokes of abortion philosophy with a disinterested kid means 1/1000th as much as that same talk when the kid is sitting there pregnant. A "these are your choices now" discussion is a bit more meaningful than "these would be your choices if this ever happened." Try to have the second type with a 13-year-old, and you're gonna lose their attention in about four minutes. This is a discussion that needs to occur between parent and kid at the time.

Like I said - there's no middle ground here. I won't budge off of that last sentence, and you won;t budge off of yours. Let's talk weather.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

Well, Bloomberg may well be a Mussolini.

(I sat in bars and couldn't smoke. Effin' barbarian city.)

Does this count as PLF irony?
 

"GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) - The suicidal man who authorities say caused the chain-reaction train derailment that killed 11 people has been charged with multiple counts of murder and could face the death penalty, the district attorney said Thursday."

Smoke Gets in your Eyes
 

We only do that to the out-of-towners. After the tourists leave we all have a good laugh and light up.

Seriously, though, there is a speakeasy kind of thing going on in some neighborhood bars, after-hours in some Manhattan bars, and (thank god) the bar where we watch the Celtic matches on the weekend.

It is still a barbarian city, though, and rapidly becoming third world in terms of public transportation.

Does She Have GMAIL?
 

The following was apparently sent in an email from Condi to the entire state department:

• Colleagues, today is the first of many days ahead that we will work together to help our country build a safer, better world. I am honored to lead the State Department at this critical time -- a time of challenge and hope and opportunity. And, like you, I owe a special debt of gratitude to our dear friend Colin Powell, who has served our nation with distinction, and has done so much to strengthen the Department of State.
  
  September 11, 2001, was a defining moment for our nation and the world. Under the vision and leadership of President Bush, our nation has risen to meet the challenges of our time; fighting tyranny and terror, and securing the blessings of freedom and prosperity for a new generation. The work that America and our allies have undertaken, and the sacrifices we have made, have been difficult. And necessary. And right. Now is the time to build on these achievements-to make the world safer, and to make the world more free. We must use American diplomacy to help create a balance of power in the world that favors freedom. And the time for diplomacy is now.
  
  In these momentous times, American diplomacy has three great tasks. We will unite the community of democracies in building an international system that is based on our shared values and the rule of law. We will strengthen the community of democracies to fight the threats to our common security and alleviate the hopelessness that feeds terror. And we will spread freedom and democracy throughout the world. That is the mission that President Bush has set for you and me, and the great mission of American diplomacy today.
  
  As we begin our work together, President Bush and I will expect great things from each of you in the service of your country and of a great cause. More than ever, you will be active in spreading democracy, fighting terror, reducing poverty, and helping to protect the American homeland.
  
  I want each of you to know that I have no higher priority than the well-being and personal development of the men and women of the Foreign and Civil Services and the Foreign Service Nationals who work beside us. I know from experience how hard you work and the many risks you take. And I am especially aware of the hardships and sacrifices that your families endure as they also serve our nation. I want you to know that I will personally work to help ensure that you have the tools you need to do your jobs -- from training to budgets to mentoring to embassy security.
  
  Colleagues, I am honored to be your Secretary during these historic times. Together, we will serve our wonderful country and the cause of freedom for which it stands.

Does She Have GMAIL?
 

Shouldn't she be out diplomatting or something?

Does She Have GMAIL?
 

(P.S. You're all fired.)

Does She Have GMAIL?
 

Yours very truly,

Douglas Feith
Assistant Secretary of State

Does this count as PLF irony?
 

I wonder if they put him on suicide watch down at the jail.

Does this count as PLF irony?
 

Round the clock.

I suppose it's barbarous to suggest that there's a cheaper way here somewhere . . .

(ETA - Okay, they are alluding to his mental illness, so, yeah, it would be barbarous. Never mind.)

Gitmo Luv
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...th_2&printer=1

A former Gitmo translator has written a book on the practices of female interrogators. gatti, get busy. I want to option the movie rights.

Sugar-mamas from Vermont
 

The bunny banning by the new Education Secretary caused me to raise eyebrows before, but the more I read about it the more its pissing me off even more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/27/ar...on/27bust.html

Seems appropriate that this administration would encourage the trailer trash but ban the gays.

How Will This Play and What is Going on Here?
 

To my recollection, none of the school search cases rest on the status of the searchee as a child.