Jan
22
2009

URLs du Jour

2009-01-22

  • One final (we hope) inauguration story: Dave Barry marched in the parade with the World Famous Lawn Rangers of Amazing Arcola (Illinois), and survived to report:
    There are 56 of us, jammed into a school bus with a seating capacity of 46 (there are many flatulence jokes). We join a line of other band buses in a Pentagon parking lot, creeping forward until we reach a security checkpoint, where we are screened by military personnel. One of the Rangers has the following exchange with a security screener:

    SCREENER: What's this?

    RANGER: It's a toilet plunger.

    SCREENER (after a pause): OK.

    Dave's article gave me more hope for the Obama Administation than anything else I've read over the past few days, so if you're like me, check it out. Video, if you can stand the pure awesomeness of it, is available at Dave's blog.

  • At the Weekly Standard, Mary Katherine Ham has a nice summary of Barackrobatics on the lobbyist issue: the campaign's promises of "no lobbyists need apply" have turned into "Lobbyist? No problem, as long as you promise to be good." And her quote from a news story covering the announcement made me laugh:
    The event announcing the new openness was closed to all reporters except the handful who are in the White House pool.
    Reminds me of "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!"

  • If you want to know how Obama rolls, however, the LA Times and the Christian Science Monitor will tell you as much as they can about "The Beast", the brand new Presidential limo. Consensus seems to be that it's ugly but effective at keeping the Prez safe from bombs, bullets, small missiles, and gas. Also, I would guess, shoes. But most of the juiciest details are secret, as you'd expect. (Via Bruce Schneier.)

  • And the Rochester (NH) Police Log reports:
    Sunday, Jan. 11

    4:17 p.m. -- After a bike theft at Allen School and an associated fight on Knight Street, an officer reports that "some of the juveniles took off behind the house wearing T-shirts." That should be an easy building to spot.