The Los Angeles

by Gary Leff

latimes
Jun 13 2002

The Los Angeles Times covers a gaffe by The Beijing Evening News — the Chinese paper picked up and ran a story from The Onion which claimed that Congress was going to pick up and leave Washington, DC unless a new Capitol was built for them. The paper acknowledged their error, but fails to understand the humor: “Some small American newspapers frequently fabricate offbeat news to trick people into noticing them, with the aim of making money,” the paper said. “This is what the Onion does.” It cited a recent Onion article about the U.S. government issuing life jackets to all Americans for some unexplained reason. “According to congressional workers, the Onion is a publication that never ceases making up false reports,” the Evening News said. Thanks to OpinionJournal‘s “Best of the Web” for the…

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US force in the least

by Gary Leff

canada flag
Jun 13 2002

US force in the least likely of places The U.S. Senate voted to authorize military force against Denmark if a U.S. citizen is held by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The C.D. Howe Institute believes that the U.S. could invade Canada in pursuit of its war on terror. (Thanks to Free-Market.net for pointing these out.)

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Crain’s Chicago Business

by Gary Leff

united-plane
Jun 12 2002

Crain’s Chicago Business reports that United Airlines will seek federal loan guarantees if their employee groups agree to concessions. United CEO Jack Creighton says whether or not the loan guarantees are forthcoming, the survival of United Airlines is not in doubt.” I’m confused. Why is the government making loan guarantees available to companies that can survive without them?

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Harry Truman was known to

by Gary Leff

american flag
Jun 11 2002

Harry Truman was known to complain when his fellow Democrats caved in and acted like Republicans: “In an election between a Republican and a Republican, a Republican is going to win.” In other words, what’s the point of voting for a Democrat if they’re just going to vote like a Republican? Now the flip side. CQ Daily Monitor says that House Republican ‘sponsors of a Medicare drug benefit bill plan to introduce the measure today and expect to mark it up on Thursday, a GOP aide said. In the meantime, Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committee chairmen Bill Thomas, R-Calif., and Billy Tauzin, R-La., continue their “education campaign” to solidify GOP support for the legislation. A Dear Colleague letter is being drafted to explain the impact of a package of Medicare payment increases…

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Today’s CQ Daily Monitor has

by Gary Leff

american flag
Jun 11 2002

Today’s CQ Daily Monitor has House Speaker Dennis Hastert announcing at the end of the week a plan to push through the House a bill that would create a homeland security department. The goal, which Dick Armey thinks is realistic, is to create the department by the first anniversary of 9/11. Call me crazy, but I can think of several better ways to honor the victims of the terrorist attack than the creation of a new 170,000 person bureaucracy.

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The Bush Administration is

by Gary Leff

american flag
Jun 10 2002

The Bush Administration is considering privatizing the nation’s air traffic control system. Predictably, the union representing government employed air traffic controllers are unhappy. However, as airline schedules return to their pre-9/11 levels, our congested skies need help. This problem has been pretty much solved in Canada through privatization, and it will work even better here.

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Oenophiles are a homeland security

by Gary Leff

american flag
Jun 10 2002

Oenophiles are a homeland security risk! The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports that the Rochester airport was cleared after security screeners lost track of a woman with a corkscrew in her carryon. Of course, corkscrews can be found in airplane galleys all across the country, where they are used to open bottles of wine (in first class). The woman had taken it from the restaurant in the hotel she had checked out of that morning.

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