The Opinion Blog

Fight information avalanche by taxing computers

Ripped from the wires ... A Washington environmental lawyer lays out one way to "solve" American's information-overload problem:

By Dusty Horwitt

Everybody jokes about "TMI'' these days: "Too much information,'' we say laughingly, when someone tells a story full of embarrassing detail about some personal foible or intimate relationship. But in our information-overloaded society, the concept of TMI is no joke. The information avalanche coming from all sides -- the Internet, PDAs, hundreds of television channels -- is burying us in extraneous data that prevent important facts and knowledge from reaching a broad audience. ...

Edwards' political demise generates few tears

Ripped from the wires ... Froma Harrop explains why John Edwards' public esteem sank like a rock after he admitted to an affair:

By FROMA HARROP

It's hard to recall a political burial as fast and cold as that of John Edwards. After all, the former North Carolina senator had been a serious contender for president until a few months ago and possibly for VP until last week. Had his cheesy affair not surfaced, he would have commanded a choice speaking slot at the Democrats' convention.

`Obama Nation' tops New York Times bestseller list

From the afternoon e-mail ... A book unfavorable to Barack Obama is selling well. Does that necessarily spell trouble for the Democratic presidential candidate?:

THE OBAMA NATION' TOPS 1 ON NEW YORK TIMES LIST

Corsi's blockbuster expose leads charts

Jerome Corsi's blockbuster expose, "The Obama Nation," has been at the top of the best-seller charts since its release last week and now has been reported atop the New York Times best-seller list for Aug. 17, as well as occupying the No. 1 position among all political nonfiction books on Amazon.

Politics as war unattractive, counterproductive

Ripped from the wires ... Leonard Pitts sadly examines the vitriolic commentary induced by news that columnist Robert Novak has a brain tumor:

By Leonard Pitts Jr.

I haven't read Robert Novak's column in 10 years.

Back in 1998, he made a comment on CNN -- what it was is not material here -- that I considered beyond the pale. I decided I could henceforth do without his opinions and insights. He impressed me as a distinctly disagreeable man. And that was well before he outed covert CIA agent Valerie Plame.

Not your stereotypical young black man

Ripped from the wires ... Courtland Milloy shows why it's important to look beyond the media when forming views of young black men:

By Courtland Milloy

Tyrone Harrison works a summer job as a mosquito control technician for the Maryland Department of Agriculture. For eight hours a day, he searches out stagnant water in woods and along roadsides where mosquitoes are likely to breed, notes the locations and eradicates the pests.

"I had applied for a job at a supermarket and was scheduled for an interview when I saw an ad for a larvae sighter,'' said Harrison, 19, who studies computer engineering at suburban Prince George's Community College. "I thought, 'This is different.' ''

Hurtling toward `government of the stupid'

Ripped from the wires ... Here's the inimitable Michelle Malkin's latest offering, this one on the celebrification of the Obama family. I'm beginning to suspect she doesn't like the guy:

BY MICHELLE MALKIN

You couldn't pass a grocery store line this weekend without seeing the picture-perfect smiles of the Obama family. There were Barack Obama's young daughters (whose privacy their parents so sanctimoniously claim to want to protect) flashing their pearly whites on the cover of People magazine. Malia and Sasha competed for attention right next to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's toddler daughter, Shiloh, whose cherubic face was splashed on the cover of another celebrity tabloid. Next to them beamed basket-case starlet Lindsay Lohan and her new lesbian lover -- oh, and that formerly pregnant "man'' who just gave birth to a baby girl.

The Obamas blended seamlessly into this Hollyweird pop culture galaxy.

Psst ... Wanna read that rejected McCain op-ed?

In case you haven't seen this, here's the controversial John McCain op-ed piece that the New York Times rejected last week, on the ground it was a campaign piece:

In January 2007, when General David Petraeus took command in Iraq, he called the situation "hard" but not "hopeless." Today, 18 months later, violence has fallen by up to 80% to the lowest levels in four years, and Sunni and Shiite terrorists are reeling from a string of defeats. The situation now is full of hope, but considerable hard work remains to consolidate our fragile gains.

Dirty little secret catches up with TV, radio news

Ripped from the web ... In a piece last week on Variety.com, columnist Brian Lowry notes that when newspapers reduce coverage due to cutbacks, segments of the community go dark. Radio and TV "news" operations can't fill this void because, unlike newspapers, they don't invest in basic reporting.

"The thinness in assembling TV and radio news -- and the manner in which they use newspapers as de facto tip sheets and newsgathering surrogates -- has long been one of broadcasting's dirty little secrets," Lowry notes.

If you're ignorant or apathetic, don't vote

From the afternoon e-mail ... Americans for Limited Government recognizes a Georgia Newspaper for urging some readers NOT to vote:

ANNOUNCING THE ALGEE

It is time to present the first-ever ALG Award for Editorial Excellence: The ALGEE.

Henceforth, The ALGEE will be awarded on a monthly basis to that newspaper publishing the single most sagacious and courageous award in the previous 30 days. This month, it is being presented at the halfway point of the month because the Awards Committee simply cannot conceive a more meritorious editorial being penned within the next 15 days.

And the winner is: THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE for its outstanding editorial "Vote today -- or not!," published June 15, 2008.

Tony Snow restored Bush administration's credibility

From the afternoon e-mail ... Paul Kengor offers a tribute to former Bush administration press secretary Tony Snow, who died of cancer last week:

By Paul Kengor

The first time I encountered Tony Snow was through his columns for the Detroit News in the 1980s, when I was an undergraduate subscribing to a forgotten but quite good publication called Conservative Chronicle. His articles were like his later work for Fox News: a combination of reliable research and lively commentary, with the latter grounded in the former, making his arguments cogent and convincing.

When you read Tony Snow's op-ed pieces, you were engaged and learned something; you came away with the assurance that the case you just heard was rational and reasoned. He advanced his particular point and, usually, the larger conservative cause.