Items of Interest

~ Here's a dkos rescued diary that someone spent a great deal of time researching:
Speechifying: Analyzing Obama's Oratory. And for those who are interested in oratory and analysis of Obama's prowess and skill, Dragon5616 listed all of his sources at the end of the post. It's very interesting to see what the experts say.

~ From Jonathan Stein at Mother Jones:

The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Agriculture have no plan to work together in the event of a food-borne disease outbreak or terrorist attack. The Department of Defense's security clearance process takes so long it jeopardizes classified information. The EPA's chemical risk assessment program is improperly influenced by private industry.

When Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) requested a report (pdf) from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) listing questions his fellow senators might ask President-elect Barack Obama's political nominees at their upcoming confirmation hearings, he probably didn't expect a 150-page list of Bush administration screwups. But that's what he got.

Per Kula, featured in today's C&J, who highlighted Stein's article in her morning roundup:

"The report is limited to management issues, so don't think this is an exhaustive list of Bush administration screwups. That report would be much, much longer. [...] I skimmed through it for a little bit, but then I went cross-eyed and got a headache. While the majority of the report consists of questions Congress could pose to potential nominees, it reads like "a catalogue of hundreds of unresolved issues that the Bush administration is leaving behind for Obama," as Stein puts it."

~ Need some new euphemisms for swear words that are just not acceptable in polite company? Language expert Steven Pinker lists a more than a few in a response to a query about the Supreme court hearing of the case, FCC v. Fox Television Stations. Horsefeathers indeed.
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~ Interesting background note on the new NSA advisor from The Daily Dish

David Sands profiles the next NSA:

Tall, square-shouldered and square-jawed, James L. Jones looks like central casting's version of exactly what he is: a straight-talking, straight-shooting Marine. But the retired four-star general ... has a few lines on his resume not normally associated with former Marine Corps commandants or former NATO supreme allied commanders.

For one thing, the 65-year-old Kansas City, Mo. native speaks fluent French, thanks to a childhood spent mainly in Paris where his father worked for International Harvester. For another, he's one of the few Marines who holds a degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

I'll bet he and Sen. Kerry, another renowned speaker of French, would have some interesting conversations.

~ Tim F. of Balloon Juice discusses Hilzoy's disclaimer on an post that she wrote about the Israeli settler violence. I think they both got it right.

~ John Cole boils it down so clearly:

Basically, it boils down to this- if I wanted to live in accordance to rules as set by your faith, I would join your church. Until then, until you see me sitting two pews over on Sunday morning, just assume that I really don't care what your God thinks. I don't want the rules of your faith imposed upon me by the government, just as I do not desire the government telling me to live under the rules of Cardinal Ratzinger, the Church of Latter Day Saints, Sharia law, Wiccan rules, Buddhist tenets, and on and on and on. Nor do I think you should have to lives under laws that force you to adhere to the religious principles of someone else.

Until social conservatives can understand that that is why Kathleen Parker says they should use logic and reason, and that the best way all of us can get together is if our public policy is not dictated by one religious sect ramming their God down our collective throats, they are just going to be stuck on oogedy-boogedy. "Because it is a sin" ain't cutting it.

~ You can watch Paul Krugman's lecture in Sweden ... the one related to that Nobel award he's getting.

~ In the odds'n'ends category, this one could be truly awkward, if not tragic.