First Draft

Saturday Night BSG Video

Because.

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With It or Upon It, Bitches

Got a rep on this list?

You know what to do. And don't bother telling me it won't make a difference. I can sit here, do nothing, and it won't make a difference, or I can write to the Illinois congresscritters on the list (mine voted the right way, bless his perpetually elected and mostly oblivious heart) and tell them I'm angry, and disappointed, and their primary challengers will be getting my money. Which might not make a difference. But the uncertainty is enough to make the ten minutes it's going to take worth it. I got ten minutes to read I Can Haz Cheezburger, I got ten minutes for this. So light 'em up, bitches. Not. One. Inch.

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ps. Title courtesy of jjj in the comments below.

Saturday Blogwhoring Thread

Post away.

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We're Going To Have To Get Back Up

I am tired. And annoyed. And tired.

In Crack Den comments, res ipsa responded to a commenter saying, “they’ll still call you a liberal, Barack,” with “twice as often and twice as loud.” Which, yeah. I’m not denying there have been times in the past when I’ve critically underestimated Obama, when I’ve considered him to be making some incredibly boneheaded centrist blunder when actually he was doing something smart, but in this case, if this was an attempt to seem reasonable, I don’t think it’s descending into the madness of “woe is me” ism to say that it ain’t gonna work, it’s never worked, never ever ever. You are a liberal terrorist-loving gay-marrying pussy no matter what you do, because that’s who you are to them, and it’s not dependent on your actions. It’s dependent on their need for an enemy. And a cheap joke. And some fucking Wiz wit or whatever. It’s not about you. Get that through your skull. To the right-wing bullies who have run and still run our politics, you barely exist except as a target.

With regard to the practicalities at hand, I want to believe something else is going on here, that Obama will in fact translate his statements of opposition to the immunity provision into action in the Senate, but I’ll have to wait and see on that one. For now let me say that the talk of heartbreak and OMG OBAMA SUXXORZ NOW and who is disillusioned and who told you so just intensifies the exhaustion this campaign has instilled in me. I never was all that wrapped up in the idea of Barack Obama as a new kind of politician. His message was new in many ways, exciting in many ways, the man is a stone fox who’s done some good stuff for Illinois and he can bring me to my feet cheering but he, also? Is a Democratic senator who has run a phenomenally successful campaign and he’s probably going to be president, and if anybody thinks for ten seconds that means we get to, like, take a break or something, finally lay down and nap, keep dreaming. President Obama is gonna make us happy, but he’s also gonna piss us off and we’re gonna have to yell at him a lot, because I think I can safely say that even the most liberal of our Democratic politicians is not liberal enough for the majority of the people who call themselves Democrats, and those same politicians are cowed by decades of being told acting conservative was the only way to win.

Remember that. Decades. We’ve done a good job in the past five or so years of trying to get them to at least recognize they don’t have to hump Bush’s leg in order to look good to the Heartland, but it’s been the past five years or so. And it’s been people on the Internet, while every newspaper editorial board and every TV talking head tells them to be very Sensible and Serious and Slow. Meanwhile, those people protesting are carrying Bush puppets and some of them talk about Cuba, so let’s make it out to be their fault we won’t listen to them, and tell them they ought to wear ties. We’ve raised some money but we haven’t raised enough to be AT&T, and we simply haven’t hurt them enough to make them love us. Let’s be honest about this. It’s a game of masochism, this is, and we aren’t whipping them hard enough. I would love to say to you that after November we can all chill for a bit because Barack will have it in hand, but come on. Even giving his statement up there the most generous possible read, which is “I have hidden your keys, chill, Russ Feingold texted me a minute ago saying he’s gonna chain himself to the Senate door so this isn’t gonna be a thing after all, at least not a thing I need to be involved in,” he’s still gonna need us shoving him in the right direction. And I intend to shove.

You can throw the right-wing all the bones you want. They’ll still snarl around your ankles, because it isn’t bones they’re after. And if Obama doesn’t know that now, he’s very soon going to find out.

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Today On Holden's Obsession With The Gaggle

Let's Drill For Oil In Tony Farto's Head

Q Durbin said on the floor the other day that there's oil leases on millions and millions of acres offshore that are just not being used and not being tapped. Why not --

MR. FRATTO: There are lots of reasons. I mean, one is that you don't just drop a drill into -- whether it's offshore or on property -- and hope that oil comes out. It takes years and years of geological study, environmental impact regulations that you have to deal with. You want to make sure there is actually oil there that you can go out and extract and bring to market.

So it's a very long process, it's a very expensive process. There are other places out there like the Outer Continental Shelf and ANWR where we know, in fact, that there are -- there is oil there that can be brought to market. But the first step in all of this is exploration. And even on those existing leases, you still need to go out and explore, and that takes lots and lots of time.

Q But it seems like those existing leases are far more down the pipe than ANWR or any other spaces that aren't even opened up. Why not follow those leads first?

MR. FRATTO: I'm sure some of them are, but it's not a question of, why not do something first; it's why don't we do everything that we can do.

'Everyone's waiting for you. I don't know for how much longer.'

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You've Got Someone To Blame

Thanks. Thanks a million.

A comment exchange over at the Great Sherbert Satan I found interesting:

[At any rate, it's the Blue Dogs, not Pelosi] who should be blamed, and maybe not even Hoyer, from what I can see. What's the matter with those guys - how could they possibly want to let this slip by without action against the violators? This is like a big fat completely undeserved gift for Bush and Cheney. Did you notice that even the Republicans were surprised they were able to get so much in the negotiations? Disgusting.

The blame for this absolute travesty and capitulation of the lowest order rests squarely on Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and Harry Reid's shoulders. The blue dogs don't get to determine what bills are brought to the floor to be voted on. That's the House Leadership's job. This is all their (Hoyer in particular) fault and every last one of them or any other Dem. who votes for this fascist bullshit should be ridden out on a rail, tarred and feathered and then prosecuted to the full extent of the law for violating the Constitution and lying to the American people.

Follow the ladder upward. Pelosi and Hoyer are supposedly grown-ups, displaying an astonishing level of self-absorbed crap for which a 12-year-old would be grounded for a week. I just heard Hoyer say on the floor that "this was the best bill we could get in the current environment." What environment would that be? The one in which the president who pushes this bill has a 24 percent approval rating? The one in which Republicans can't hang on to seats in Mississippi? The one in which the Republican nominee can't find his ass with a searchlight and a posse? That environment? Is that the one you're talking about? The environment of stunning electoral pwnage marred only by the lack of realization on your part that you're fucking in charge right now?

Wait. No. Silly blogger. You mean the environment in which your "Blue Dogs" are able to tell you, Mr. Majority Leader, Madam Speaker, what to do. You mean the environment in which a couple dozen members of your party are able to do whatever the fuck they like because you, and Speaker Pelosi, and Sen. Reid, lack the ability to tell them to shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down on issues of fundamental importance to Constitutional authority in this country. That's the "current environment." That's where you're at, scared of your own shadows. Unable to get your own people to follow you.

Nice job, really, nice job. What did you want to be when you grew up? And why, for the love of heaven, aren't you that?

Senator Dodd, Senator Feingold, it's in your hands now. Fuck this up and I will be writing you both letters asking for my $50 back.

And speaking of my $50, anytime Sen. Obama would like to come striding back into the halls of power with righteousness in the soles of his shoes and give a blistering, thundering, lift-the-house-off-the-ground speech (something I'm told he's good at, just a rumor I heard) in support of the rule of law and in defiance to the president whose policies he opposes every day on the campaign trail, that would be appreciated:

At this point, Barack Obama is the nominal leader of the Democratic Party. He's opposed to retroactive immunity for the telecoms, and everyone who was opposed to it before this so-called "deal" was struck is, you'll notice, still opposed to it, though some have opted to throw up their hands and pretend they're being forced to vote on it.

But a word from Barack Obama at this point would have the potential to change everything. A word from him saying that this "deal" stands in direct contradiction to the agenda he's bringing to the presidential race would weigh heavily on Majority Leader Harry Reid, who's really only getting heavy pressure from Intelligence committee chairman Jay Rockefeller on this, and thus is likely to be inclined (despite his own opposition to immunity) to grease that particular squeaky wheel. There could be a counterbalance from Judiciary chairman Pat Leahy, but so far, we haven't heard that squeak. He's issued a statement saying he opposes the "deal," but he's not pushing the way Rockefeller is pushing. And though Reid is the Majority Leader, that's as much a service position as it is a leadership position. His membership just isn't telling him no. The voices that are speaking with conviction are the voices saying yes.

Barack Obama, though, is the heavyweight in the arena right now, and his voice, properly applied, could be worth a dozen chairmen. But he's not using it, and in fact, there's no guarantee he ever will.

But get us into next week, pitch a fight in the Senate, back the Congress up against the recess wall, and call in the biggest gun we have, and we just might have that snowflake's chance in the hot place.

Yes, I know he's spoken against telecom immunity before, and it was appreciated muchly. This is professional short-attention-span theater. He needs to do it again, and he needs to do it now, and he needs to pick up the chair and he needs to hit 'em again, harder, harder. Five months until the election. Crunch time. Chair's right in front of you.

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Happy Obama Photo

DES MOINES, IA - NOVEMBER 10: Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks to a full crowd prior to the Jefferson Jackson dinner November 10, 2007 in Des Moines, Iowa. The dinner takes place in the Veterans Memorial Auditorium and is an Iowa caucus tradition. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images)

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Friday Ferretblogging: I Haz A Home Edition

Riot in the magnificent ferret condo:

We first got the condo for the late Fox, who outgrew his "starter" Fox Box about a year after we brought him home. When the Original Three were living in it it was a little crowded; it's about the perfect size for two. The animals are really only in the cage when they're asleep, when they're REALLY misbehaving, or when we're gone, but we still wanted them to have enough space to avoid one another if they wanted, or jump around a bit if they got bored while we were at work.

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Your President Speaks!

Yesterda, in Iowa City, Iowa

Gives Out Wrong URL

One of the things that happens in a disaster such as this is that citizens from around the country want to know how they can help. They see the picture of this kind of flooding on TV and they know that people are hurting and they want to know how they can participate in helping the rebuilding. Well, one way that the people can do is they can go on their computers and dial up volunteer.org.*

* website is www.volunteer.gov

Thanks For The Hugs

And I really again want to congratulate the local folks here for really showing great compassion and working hard and hugging people and giving people hope.

What We All Got To Do

And now we all got to come together and help people deal with the rebuilding of Iowa.

Foxy Ponies

Chimpy sets an all-time low in job approval in the Fox News poll for the second consecutive month.

Bush Job Approval

Approve:  29%
Disapprove: 64%

AMEN

Go read Odd Bits of Life in New Orleans

Friday Bike Blogging: Angel Edition

Frank Schleck began Wednesday's stage of the Tour de Suisse just 16 seconds out of first place. With just four kilometers to the finish Schleck looked to be in a position to take the overall lead when on a high speed descent he crashed into a barrier and went down a steep ravine. Here is video--crash is in the first 27 seconds:

Miraculously Scheck was not seriously hurt having only received cuts and bruises. He climbed out of the ravine and was able to finish the stage. He stated it was a miracle he wasn't hurt badly and credited a medal:

"My mother gave this to me when I was born. It is a guardian angel, it brings me luck," he told the media, clearly thanking his good fortune.

Schleck looked up and held out the medal as he crossed the finish line:

Preznit Sez

Nice job, Steny, you suckhole.

Did I miss a meeting? Are the American people clamoring for protection for the phone companies? Did Bush's approval rating shoot through the roof while I was mopping my floors this morning. What the hell, guys? Have Republicans suddenly surpassed, say, beastial perverts in the esteem of the average U.S. citizen? Whence cometh this unholy haste to compromise with a dickhead nobody likes, on an issue nobody who goes by the name of Joe Sixpack really cares about, in the direction of being utterly fucking useless?

I mean it, I'm never cleaning my house again, if this is the kind of thing that gets done when I'm not paying attention.

Update: Paging Chris Dodd to the white courtesy phone, please:

Last week, Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., urged the Democratic leadership not to bring forward the compromise solution, which they said was unacceptable.

In a letter sent to several senior Democrats in Congress, Dodd and Feingold said the result of the court's evaluation would be predetermined.

This is because a declassified section of a Senate Intelligence Committee's report admitted the existence of the presidential authorizations.

Might be time to make good on that filibuster now, Senator.

And Dodd responds:

“As I have said time and time again, the President should not be above the rule of law, nor should the telecommunications companies who supported his quest to spy on American citizens.  I remain strongly opposed to this deeply flawed bill, and I urge my colleagues in Congress to join me in supporting American’s civil liberties by rejecting this measure.”

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Links or patties?

Well links of course.....

Dearth of Ships Delays Drilling of Offshore Oil

Mr. Bush called on Congress Wednesday to end a longstanding federal ban on offshore drilling and open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration, arguing that the steps were needed to lower gasoline prices and bolster national security. But even as oil trades at more than $135 a barrel — up from $68 a year ago — the world’s existing drill-ships are booked solid for the next five years.

Shift of Federal Protective Service to DHS called 'lethal'

House lawmakers have expressed concern that the Federal Protective Service's placement in the Homeland Security Department might have caused budget and staffing problems resulting in dangerous security gaps.

Iowa Flooding Could Be An Act of Man, Experts Say

Enshayan, director of an environmental center at the University of Northern Iowa, suspects that this natural disaster wasn't really all that natural. He points out that the heavy rains fell on a landscape radically reengineered by humans. Plowed fields have replaced tallgrass prairies. Fields have been meticulously drained with underground pipes. Streams and creeks have been straightened. Most of the wetlands are gone. Flood plains have been filled and developed.

American Red Cross' Bank Account Runs Dry: Economy, Reputation May Be Hindering Donations to Disaster Relief Fund

And then there is this from WI.......

Woodchuck stalker shoots her own foot

A woodchuck stalker shot herself in the foot Tuesday afternoon as she waited in her rural Ferryville vegetable garden to dispatch a marauding woodchuck.

SNIP

The model of the rifle in this accident, and the fate of the offending woodchuck, were not immediately available.

 

Happy Obama Photo: Kickin' Back Edition

That pose will look much better in an office that's more ... rounded.

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FIGHT

On a stick with dipping sauce:

The thing about leadership is that, inherently, you must be a leader. Unfortunately, the poll-hacks think there is a magic formula of stances that equals victory. Total horse-shit.

To lead requires standing up for beliefs, not backing down…running and hiding.

Polls don’t tell us what issues to choose, they tell us how well we are doing in the fight for each issue. If an issue Democrats care about polls poorly, it means our leaders aren’t leading enough -- we aren’t doing a good enough job. Leaders drive polls, they don’t follow.

But, before a voter looks at any issue, they will decide whether or not they respect the politician. Poll-driven candidates appear shallow. People respect action, people respect leaders who stand-up and fight for their values. Even if people disagree, they will still respect the politician. Cowards are the doormats of post-modern politics.

When we have lost, when we have failed, it's because we didn't go far enough, not because we went too far. It's because we backed down, we let ourselves be talked out of something, we feared asking too much of others and especially of ourselves. We underestimated. We decided, in advance, how far we could go, and when confronted with the reality that the road stretched out for miles beyond that point, we closed our eyes to it and said, "This I know, we stop here." We made our fears into roadblocks and our worries into walls, and we closed ourselves in and we sat very still so nobody would hear us inside. We looked around, and all we saw was a prison. And we wondered how we got there, as if the marks of our trade weren't evident in every brick.

There's a great moment in Miracle, which I've written about before in the context of politics: Herb Brooks is showing his overmatched college kid players the unbelievable awesomeness of the Russian offense, how they swoop in like great stickhandling birds, fast and deadly, and you're lucky if you can just move fast enough to get out of the way. And the kids are stunned into silence, and can't believe what they're up against. It's insurmountable, we are fucking mortals, what the fuck? How do you defend against that? And Brooks says, you don't. You attack it.

You don't hold your ground. You don't pick your line and stand there not letting anything cross it; they'll run you right over, because you're standing still. I failed physics badly in high school but this I know: Facing the impossible, you go forward. You don't accept less than you want. You demand more. You don't do this viciously stupid calculus in your head where you figure out how much you think you can get away with before anyone notices, and then ask politely for only that much hoping you can get it but prepared to accept less. You stop making the standard what you think you can get and you start thinking in terms of what you want.

Not, to bring this back from the rink to the land of politics, what would be a good compromise or what would be a sensible solution or what you think your constituents would accept or what would play well in the campaign, but what you know in your miserable heart and soul is right. What you envision, in the dark, in the cold, when thinking about what home should be like, what this country should enclose. You start from there, and go onward.

And when they try to run you over, you don't stand your ground. You fucking move.

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Few in Midwest had flood insurance

In a post below I wrote of the problems with flood protection including  the National Flood Insurance Program or NFIP.  Via Slabbed (a great blog BTW) is an article informing us that few people in the Midwest had flood insurance  through the NFIP. (NFIP provides flood insurance because most homeowners insurance doesn't cover flooding).

In that article, titled "NFIP Expects Few Claims From Midwest Flooding" a spokesperson for the NFIP reported there were “fewer than 700  policies” in force in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Here is an explanation....

Much of the flooding, Mr. Kinerney noted, has gone over the levees and other antiflood measures designed to prevent flooding. Because those measures had been put in place, however, those living behind them were not required to purchase flood coverage.

“We try and we try and we try” to encourage homeowners to think about their flood risks even if they aren’t required to purchase coverage, he said. “A lot opt not to worry about it until after something happens.”

The spokesperson "said much of the expense related to the recent flooding will be borne out in disaster assistance." In other words the NFIP will not experience the financial problems it did after Katrina when it went $20 billion into debt paying claims.

Obviously quite a few people on the Gulf Coast had flood insurance. But that isn't the point other than it ought to be tucked into your memory bank for when wingnuts bitch about Katrina.

No the point is what I was outlining in the post below. The shorter version of which is--Flood protection and flood insurance is a holy freaking mess.  Given "flooding is the nation's #1 natural disaster" that ought to be a concern to all of us.

CNN: Floodwaters surge over Midwest levees

From CNN:

(CNN) -- Water spilled over two levees on the Mississippi River on Wednesday, surging into west-central Illinois, covering fertile farmland and pushing residents from their homes, officials said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Mississippi Valley said water flowed over the top of one levee, but local officials had a different account, reporting that the levee -- near Meyer, Illinois -- breached in two places about 6:20 a.m., pouring water into Hancock and Adams counties.

Let's just roll it all into one investigation

Today On Holden's Obsession With The Gaggle

Shorter Tony Farto:  It's Clear!  No, It's Not Clear!  Wait, Mommie!!!!!

Q On the President's offshore oil statement today, it didn't seem like he really wanted to cooperate much with Congress. He's calling them obstructionists, and blaming them for the high price of oil. Where do you come up with the idea earlier that he wanted to work closely with Congress on this?

MR. FRATTO: No, we certainly do want to work closely with Congress. And I think the point is, the only way to get this done, to get the moratorium lifted so that we can begin drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and on the other elements that the President talked about is through Congress. We need congressional action to get this thing done.

Congress -- the Democrats in Congress, either with a Republican majority or under Democratic control, there's no question their position on drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf or ANWR has been relatively clear, just as much as it's been clear for us that we would like to open up those areas. And that's a fact.

[snip]

Q Well, since it's clear that Congress is not going to do what the President wants, why doesn't he take the step himself and let the --

MR. FRATTO: No, I don't think it's clear.

Shorter Tony Farto:  John McCain Is Trying To Fool People

Q Tony, the Democrats have made it clear for a long time that they're absolutely opposed to this. This appears to be going nowhere. Are there any other ideas that the White House is exploring that can actually do something about the high gas prices?

MR. FRATTO: There is -- anyone who is -- anyone out there saying that something can be done overnight or in a matter of months to deal with high gasoline prices is trying to fool people. There is no tool in the toolbox out there that will lower gas prices overnight or in weeks, and probably not even in months. People -- there have been a lot of things talked about out there.

[snip]

Q But one of the people who is saying that something could be done overnight is John McCain, with the tax moratorium. You're not trying to say he's trying to --

MR. FRATTO: He has a view on the tax moratorium and that's his position, and we talked about looking for it. The President has been looking at it, but what the President has been focused on is the root of the problem, which is supply and demand.

Tony Farto, Butt Of All Jokes

Q The second is, there's apparently an EPA draft -- a draft of the EPA's coming report suggests that the agency believes that automakers could increase CAFE standards much faster than the President has called for.

MR. FRATTO: I haven't seen that. I haven't seen any EPA reports, and I'd refer you to them.

Q Because it hasn't been released yet --

MR. FRATTO: Okay. (Laughter.)

"I'm Not Here To Defend The Oil Companies"

Q Why is he pushing Congress on this, and not pushing the oil companies that have 33 million acres of leased area that they aren't developing, that's not under the --

MR. FRATTO: The first step in development in the oil business is actually exploration. They hold these leases -- I've heard people up on the Hill, "the oil companies are sitting on leases", as though the oil companies -- I'm not here to defend oil companies; I'm just telling you that they have every incentive in the world to go out there and pump more oil. I mean, Ann, if you've got --

Q -- without Congress lifting the ban?

MR. FRATTO: I'm sorry?

Q Are there not leases out there that are not -- that have already proved -- that have not been developed, that they could be doing and they're not doing?

MR. FRATTO: It's not a question of whether -- oil companies can say that on any given piece of lease that they're holding whether it's productive or not. I'm just telling you I can't imagine an oil company not wanting to produce oil today. And what we see are oil companies out there looking to try to produce and do more drilling. But it takes many, many years, and millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars to go from a lease to actually pumping oil.

[snip]

Q Perhaps I was inelegant in how I asked the question. Are there not leases that are out there that could be developed, explored and developed right now, and which do not need to lift any kind of ban, and the companies haven't done it? Why isn't the President turning to the oil companies and telling them to explore some of the leases they currently hold?

MR. FRATTO: I think what we have heard and what the oil companies have testified to is that they are trying to develop those. You can't develop all of them at once. They make their priorities and they go to the ones that they think they can develop and bring the product to market. I think it's -- I can't think of a product out there that has seen --

Q But that's not the point, Tony. The point is --

MR. FRATTO: It is the point, though. I mean -- I'm sorry, the --

Q Are the oil companies doing everything they can to explore and drill where they already have permission, without opening up the OCS any more, or ANWR?

MR. FRATTO: I can't speak to every business decision that oil producers make, and I'm not here to defend what they can do and can't do; they can answer those questions for themselves.

Q Is the President satisfied the oil companies are doing all they can -

MR. FRATTO: Like I said, I can't imagine their incentives being better aligned than to go out and develop. And I think --

Q I'm not quarreling with you on that, I'm just saying --

MR. FRATTO: And I think they are.

Flood Maps Rescinded for DC

The Washington Post reports here on FEMA's decision to rescind new flood maps which would have "drastically expanded the 100-year flood zone for downtown" DC thus "sparing the need for stricter insurance requirements and tougher building codes for private and government buildings." DC had filed a suit against FEMA calling the new flood maps "arbitrary and capricious." The District has agreed to spend $2.5 million on a flood control plan specifically to "strengthen its levee system at 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW."

This story points out, once again for those that missed it after Katrina,  the complicated issue of flood protection in the US. And you would miss it indeed if one only listened to the wingnuts spouting the nonsense that the only problem is people living below sea level---Jeez just Move out of New Orleans. Are we to move out of DC or the many towns and cities along the Mississippi River which support critical commerce? Then there is worse with the odious simpleminded drivel from Rush Limbaugh that black people do not know how to deal with floods as white people do. There's the problem--as though in effect telling the white bread basket of America that they can break out in a neener neener and racist cheer of "We're better than You Are" will solve their insurance problems or make their towns and cities safer next time.

Meanwhile the realities of the complicated issue are hitting home for many thousands.  50 communities in WI had opted out of the Federal Flood Insurance Program. One was Lake Delton. Angry residents there didn't even know of this, only having learned of it after an "Army Corp of Engineers embankment failed" thus draining their lake and taking thier their million dollar shoreline homes with it into the WI River.  Lake Delton officials "had  pulled out of FEMA’s flood-plain coverage" back in 2001 because they said "the agency’s elevation maps were grossly inaccurate."  Who knows those officials may have been correct given as WaPo points out in the above cited article that FEMA has a review program of "90,000 flood maps across the country." But regardless what would have been the cost to be in compliance then? Or even in the future? How are cities much less small towns to find the funding to meet the standards?   Are each to resort to suing the federal government as DC did to ensure a more favorable and less costly deal? Also keep in mind that "since 2001, key federal disaster mitigation programs, developed over many years, have been slashed and tossed aside."

Of course that just begins to outline the problems with flood protection. Needed reform of the National Flood Insurance Program  has sat on the table and stymied Congress for some years. As Insurance Journal had pointed out last year, "Congress has shown little enthusiasm for taking the unpopular steps that experts say are necessary to fix the nation's main flood insurance program." They are now wrestling with it as the "National Flood Insurance Program expires this year and must be reauthorized by Congress." The House and Senate passed bills but they differ and must still be reconciled.  The Senate bill which doesn't include the House bill's wind protection provision allows the following and  tell me there won't be more than a few unhappy constituents:

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the government group that runs the NFIP, to raise its rates up to 15% each year (up from 10%), (ii) requires more at-risk homeowners (i.e., those protected by dams or levees) to buy insurance, (iii) gradually ends subsidies for vacation homes or properties that experience repeated losses, and (iv) requires FEMA to adjust its rates according to risk as shown by flood insurance rate maps.

Yes it's complicated and there are difficult and costly choices to be made and I haven't even discussed the state of our infrastructure. In  Wisconsin alone, "during the recent flooding, five dams have failed, 18 have significant damage and 25 are awaiting further inspection because they remain under water. Hundreds of dams are still awaiting repairs from August's floods." Compound that with damage in other states and think of the cost. And as Senator Landrieu pointed out the other day we have spent less and less over the years on infrastructure:

So once again Oh the Water raises the problems we face. Serious problems in need of serious solutions for ALL of us. And it will be interesting to see what if anything occurs. As U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville who has fought for insurance reforms post Katrina said recently:

"I'll find it very interesting to see, when I get back to Washington this week, how many people in the Midwest are going to start paying attention to what we've tried to bring forward" and how many will have a better understanding of and empathy for what Louisiana and other coastal states have been trying to achieve, Melancon said.

If only we will see we are all in this together. The so called "whining and moaning" from New Orleans of which Rush spoke is neither. It was instead a warning from those on the Gulf Coast. Rather than ignoring and/or chastising them we should finally recognize that they have had a larger message...

...to be heeded and finally dealt with before even more is lost.

Your President Speaks!

Today, at the White House, after a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev.

The Global War On Plurals Continues

How do we get more energy on the market; how do we help others, our respective countries and others, realize the blessings of additional energy supply?

Flunked Econ 101

I mean, we're in a world that is -- where supply has exceeded -- where demand has exceeded supply.

There Is High Prices

There's high prices.

The Global War On Plurals Continues To Continue

And so we had a good discussion about the diversification of energy supply.

The One What?

On the one -- we're helping, we're part of a very important coalition; we're allies, and yet we don't get treated the same as other people within the EU.

AbramoffHalliburton?

I reminded the Prime Minister that all of us have got a responsibility to deal with corruption. When we find corrupt officials in the United States, we expect them to be, within the rule of law, be dealt with. And that's what you're doing.

FEMA to give some of supplies back to Louisiana

Not sure what "some" is but...

(CNN) -- Some of the $85 million in hurricane relief supplies given away as federal surplus will be sent back to Louisiana and given to nonprofit agencies for distribution, the state's hurricane recovery office said Tuesday.

"Today we can report that we have been notified that some of the surplus property has been located in Texas and will be coming to the state of Louisiana for distribution by Unity New Orleans," said Paul Rainwater, the executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

A CNN investigation revealed last week that FEMA gave away the supplies as government surplus, even though agencies like Unity -- which works to resettle hurricane victims -- were still seeking the kind of supplies given away.

Happy Obama Photo: Snack Edition

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On Preparing For Weddings

Yeah:

In some ways, your marriage will be like every other marriage out there. In other ways, of course, it won’t. Those of us who are married now will certainly offer you advice, whether you ask for it or not. But there are some things where you’ll be the first married people to experience them. In some ways, those of us who are married now will be glad we don’t have to go through them. In other ways, we’re deeply envious.

Marriage is work. It never stops being work. It never should.

I’ve been married 13 years as of this very day. During all that time, there hasn’t been a single day where I haven’t said “I love you” to my spouse — several times if at all possible. The two facts are related.

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Your President Speaks!

Yesterday, at the White House, while celebrating Black Music Month.

Thinks Marian Anderson Was Hispanic

President Franklin Roosevelt called on the talented Maria [sic] Anderson to sing "Ave Maria" for the King and Queen of England.

It's A Perfect Pony Storm!

Chimpy, Cheney and Condi each set all-time lows in the new Harris Poll.

• President Bush’s latest ratings are 24 percent positive and fully 75 percent negative. Previously, his worst numbers were 26 percent positive and 72 percent negative in April of this year. His ratings are substantially worse than those of any president, except for Jimmy Carter (22%-77% in July 1980), since Harris first started measuring themin 1963.
• Vice President Cheney’s ratings are even worse, 18 percent positive and 74 percent negative, compared to his previous low of 21 percent positive, 74 percent negative last July.
• Secretary of State Rice’s ratings are much better than those of the President and Vice President, but also have fallen to their lowest point ever, 39 percent positive and 54 percent negative, compared to 42 percent positive and 51 percent negative last October.
• Only 14 percent of the public think the things in the country are going in the right direction and fully 80 percent think they are on the wrong track. These compare to the previous worst numbers in President George W. Bush’s term, 75 percent thought things were on the wrong track in April. The highest number of people who said the country was on the wrong track was 81 percent in June of 1992 during the term of the first President Bush.

Smartest Man in Media Crit

He's not an Obama fan, but I don't really care, because he's so fucking good:

Consider the editorial “Web Enables Obama To Confront Rumors Head-On” in the Dim One today.

By that title, you’d think this would be a piece appreciating the use of the Web to combat scurrilous smears - a tool not available to, say, those smeared by Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s; or to poor Edmund Muskie in 1968, who, like Hillary Clinton, never really cried; or to Nixon’s enemies in the 1970s and Michael Dukakis in the 1988 campaign and so on.

But no. This, instead, is another tired rant against the Internet. Let’s take a closer look at the complete lack of rational thinking emanating from the geniuses at the Sun-Times.

“For several weeks, a scurrilous rumor about Michelle Obama has wafted through the blogosphere with an awful stench.”

Note the correlation of the blogosphere with a place reeking of an awful stench. How does that explain Rush Limbaugh and Bob Beckel?

Maybe the Sun-Times ought to rail against the radiosphere and TVsphere.

I've said it before, but: The oldest folks I worked with in journalism were round about my parents' age, and if my parents can manage enough of the Interwebs to buy stuff from Amazon and look up stocks and shit, there's no reason grown journalists need to treat this land of pixels like a foreign country.

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Your President Speaks!

Today, at the White House, after a briefing about the flooding in Iowa.

"George Bush Doesn't Care About White People"
-Kanye Midwest

Of course, our hearts and thoughts go to those who lost life.

Brainwreck

When I was overseas I spoke to the Governor, and he said, listen, I -- the federal -- we need federal help on drinking water.

Is-Is Strikes Again

My only point to you is, is that we're in constant contact with people on the ground to help make sure that we save lives.

Vortex In The Cortex

And we want to work with state and local folks to have a clear strategy to help people find -- get back into a place that -- where they can live.

What The Country Has Got

The country that's being affected by these floods has got a lot of farm country, a lot of people raising livestock.

What We Have Got

We've got what we called a Disaster Relief Fund.

Today On Holden's Obsession With The Gaggle

Jeebus, We're Stuck With Tony Farto Today And He Does Not Like Ponies

Q A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows the President's disapproval rating has now reached 68 percent. That's the highest disapproval rating since Gallop's first in 1938. Any thoughts on that?

MR. FRATTO: No, I don't think we've commented on polls and I don't think there's a good reason to start now.

Q I mean, what would you say to Americans who --

MR. FRATTO: We don't base what we try to do here by polls. We know people have lots of different views of what's going on out in the political world and what they're hearing. But we try to focus on the policies that we're trying to accomplish for the rest of the way here and not comment on what we hear in one poll or another.

The Taliban Is Kicking Ass

Q Tony, we saw the President's meeting on Afghanistan this morning and the brief comments. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense was saying that the number of villages northwest of Kandahar have been taken over, essentially, by the Taliban. Is there truth to that from this White House; do you believe that to be a fact? And what about that situation as it develops in southern Afghanistan?

MR. FRATTO: Well, look, I think it's -- as we have said many times, our forces in Afghanistan are facing a determined enemy. That enemy is there, it's showing itself, it shows itself in certain spectacular acts from time to time. I don't know for a fact whether Taliban troops have taken over certain villages or not, and we'll try to get that from DOD or maybe DOD can share more on that.

[snip]

Q We saw the British pledge, but are we going to have to see another surge of U.S. troops into Afghanistan soon?

MR. FRATTO: I couldn't give you anything on that. I think you'd have to check in with DOD and see what their estimates are.

Tony Farto Thinks Hope Is A Plan

Q You talk about building up Afghan troops. How confident can you be that that's going well when they weren't able to stop the Taliban from blowing a hole in the wall and letting a thousand prisoners escape?

MR. FRATTO: That's the problem that we have, whether it's in Iraq or Afghanistan or here at home, is that we need to be successful a hundred percent of the time and these troops are --

Q This is about the readiness of those troops to do anything material in defending themselves.

MR. FRATTO: Yes, and we're seeing them getting better trained, better equipped, better able to be mobile around the country and deal with the threats as they see it. That does not mean that they're going to be able to stop 100 percent of the attacks of a very determined and creative enemy.

So what we need to do is to continue to increase their level of training -- the British troops and U.S. troops and others are doing excellent work on training. We need to see more numbers. We need to see their equipment improve. And you will see, and as we have seen, their capabilities will improve also.

Q And you think you can do that without another U.S. infusion of troops into Afghanistan?

MR. FRATTO: Well, we hope so.

Tony Don't Know!

Q Tony, there's a Senate hearing today on the treating on detainees. And one of the ways the White House has defended its policy before is by saying that the International Red Cross is able to go into Guantanamo Bay and other prisons and check out what's going on.

At this hearing today, a memo surfaced -- a previously secret memo -- suggesting that when the Red Cross came into Gitmo over the past few years, prisoners who were treated harshly were being hidden from the Red Cross. Is the White House concerned at all? Would you condone such --

MR. FRATTO: I haven't seen that memo, and haven't had a chance to follow the hearing. I can tell you it's always been the policy of this government to treat these detainees humanely and in line with the laws and our legal obligations.

Q Well, along those lines, another memo came out suggesting that a senior CIA lawyer, while they were debating this in 2002, said the only sure test for torture is if a detainee dies or not, and said, "If the detainee dies, you're doing it wrong." Does that fit into the guidelines --

MR. FRATTO: I don't know who that is or who that came from. I'm telling you that abuse of detainees has never been, is not, and will never be the policy of this government. The policy of this government has been to take these detainees and to interrogate them and get the information that we can get to help protect this country, which we have been very successful at doing, and we've been very successful at getting the information that has saved lives and prevented attacks on this country and on our allies.

Q But the White House policy does not -- the bar is not --

MR. FRATTO: The White House policy --

Q -- the bar is not whether or not you die.

MR. FRATTO: No, the White House policy is what I told you, which is that we do not abuse and we treat detainees humanely and comporting with the law.

Lindsey Graham, GITMO Bait

Q To follow that up, Tony, because one thing that struck me from those hearings was something a Republican senator said, Lindsey Graham. I'll quote it at you and ask for your response, if I may -- that the analysis that the military got from the administration civilian lawyers would "go down in history as some of the most irresponsible and short-sighted legal analysis ever provided to our nation's military intelligence community." What do you say to that -- a Republican?

MR. FRATTO: We have great respect for Lindsey Graham. We're not going to review every legal opinion that has ever been proffered by this government. I'm telling you what our policy has been has been to deal with these detainees humanely, get the information from them that we can to protect this country, and as we've been working through the process with Congress and putting in place laws to deal with them in a legal way.

Q His conclusion clearly is that that's not the advice that the military was getting.

MR. FRATTO: Yes, Les.

And, Right On Cue, Les Throws A Hissy-Fit

Q Thank you, Tony. Two questions. Last week, Senator Leahy told the American Constitution Society -- and this is a quote -- "We need a President who has actually read the Constitution, understands the Constitution, and will respect the Constitution." Now, my question: Aside from this slur that the President has neither read nor understands the Constitution, how does the President imagine that this Judiciary Committee Chairman can expect any respect for what Mr. Leahy alleges is neither read by, nor understood by the President?

MR. FRATTO: Les, I'm not sure I followed the whole line of the question, but let me just say, the President has read and is sworn to defend and protect the Constitution, and he does that.

Q Senator Leahy also said the Guantanamo decision was a stinging rebuke of the Bush administration. "I'm in support of the Constitution of the USA. If we turn our backs on the Constitution where would we be?" And my question: How can this be interpreted as anything but a charge that the President has turned his back on the Constitution? And is that either accurate or fair?

MR. FRATTO: Again, I think you lost me somewhere along the long line of that question. I'll just tell you that we expressed our views on the Boumediene decision. We disagreed with it. The President said he would --

Q And you disagree very strongly with the Senator from Vermont, don't you?

MR. FRATTO: But that's usually where we are, is disagreeing with the Senator from Vermont.

the sickness and the cure

(h/t-- first video virgotext, last video Echidne)

Wherein I harken back to The American President....again

Because when events illustrate our similar vulnerabilities and need for an Andrew Shepard to remind us we are all in this together, we instead get the Bob Rumsons attempting to tear us apart:

I've known Bob Rumson John Derbyshire for years, and I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob John devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it! We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson John Derbyshire is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections.

Happy Obama Photo: My Preznit Wears Hats Edition

This one via res ipsa loquitor, who upon showing it to male acquaintances was told by many of them, "You know, I'm not into dudes, but ..."

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Links or patties?

Let's have Links:

• Former journalist refuses to report for duty with Army

• He Shot Himself In Front of His Men in Iraq -- Full Story Finally Emerges

• New Orleans: The Corps Gets It Wrong Again, and Charting the Bumps in the Road Home

• Corps of Engineers protects NOLA with duct tape, rope, and rusty pipes

Congratulations and the very best of wishes to Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin:

You're Allowed To Screw Us

The judiciary once again says it's okay with not really being a branch of government so much:

WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. judge Monday dismissed a government watchdog's lawsuit seeking records on missing White House e-mails.

In dismissing the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she concluded the White House's Office of Administration, which held the records, wasn't subject to the Freedom of Information Act, The Washington Post reported.

She said she agreed with the office's argument that it does not meet a key requirement be subject to FOIA, concluding the Office of Administration doesn't employ "the type of substantial independent authority that the D.C. Circuit has found sufficient to make an (executive office of the president) component an agency under the FOIA."

The group filing the lawsuit, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said it would appeal.

"We are disappointed in the ruling and believe the judge reached the wrong legal conclusion," CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said in a statement. "The Bush administration is using the legal system to prevent the American people from discovering the truth about the millions of missing White House e-mails."

Until CREW asked for the documents, Sloan said, the office frequently processed FOIA requests.

One of the great mysteries of the last eight years, for me, has been why federal judges are for the most part pretty okay with being given the finger by their two brethren branches of government. It has staggered me for years watching the Bush Administration submit filings that basically say, "We don't have to show you shit, so just lay back and take it and give us our change," and judge after judge says, "You know, you're right, I really should learn to appreciate the nuances of your point of view." I had always thought that once you've achieved a seat on the federal bench, you'd developed a healthy amount of self-esteem and so even if you lined up with someone ideologically, you wouldn't be open to that person telling you you're his butler basically, but clearly, as about so many other things, I was very, very wrong.

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Pony Up!

Chimpy sets another all-time low job approval rating, this time in the new ABC News/WaPo Poll:

McCain will be running into stiff headwinds over the next five months. Bush's approval rating hit another low in Post-ABC polling and now is 29 percent, with 68 percent saying they disapprove of the job he is doing -- 54 percent strongly. Among the dwindling number who approve of the way Bush is handling his job, 80 percent back McCain. Among the much higher number who disapprove, 26 percent support McCain.

Warmest Wishes for Love and Life Together

For those getting married in California today.

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Your President Speaks! Again!

Today, in London, during a preser with British PM Gordon Brown.

It's A Sicness

It's hard to take a society that had been ravished [sic] by brutality and convince people to take the risk necessary to work for civil society and freedom for women and to educate their children.

The Fundamental Question Of History Is Going To Look Back On It

The fundamental question of history is going to look back on it, is did we understand the duty that we've been called to do, to protect ourselves and hope others?

Holy Crap!™

No, I know there's a lot of discussion here in the British press about, well, you know, is there going to be enough troops, or not enough troops, and all that business; is he trying to distance this, that and the other -- it's just typical.

The Global War On The Personal Posessive Continues

And I -- you know, you obviously are emotional on the subject and I don't blame you, because the people of Zimbabwe have suffered under Mugabe leadership, and we will work with you to ensure these good folks have free and fair elections to the extent -- best extent possible, which obviously Mr. Mugabe does not want to have.

Pledge-Makers, No!  Check-Writers, Yes!

And so my message at the G8 is: Looking forward to working with you; thanks for coming to the meeting -- just remember, there are people needlessly dying on the continent of Africa today, and we expect you to be more than pledge-makers. We expect you to be check-writers for humanitarian reasons.

The Decline Of The Security Situations

That's what I'm doing -- that as the Iraqis are trained up, as they're taking more responsibility, as the security situations decline, as the economy is improved, as political reconciliation is taking place, we can bring more troops home.

Be In More Charge

Let them take more -- be in more charge of their own security and their own government, and that's what's happening.

You Know, Don't You?

And so, you know, I mean -- look, the key thing for me is that I have -- you know, is that Gordon shares with me his plans.

There Is No Surprises

So there's no surprises.

The Pak Government

And so we'd look forward to working -- I mean, one thing that can happen is there can be, you know, more dialogue between the Pak government and the Afghan government.

The Unbearable Lightness Of Being Pak

And I know there needs to be better cooperation, and there needs to be trilateral cooperation on the border; trilateral being Pak, Afghan and coalition border patrols to prevent people from coming back and forth to cross the border.

He's An Ideological War-Being

Absolutely it's necessary if you believe we're in an ideological war being -- the theaters of which right now, the most notable theaters are Afghanistan and Iraq.

There Is Some Who Say

I understand that, because there is some who say that perhaps freedom is not universal.

White-Guy Methodists

Maybe it's only, you know, white-guy Methodists who are capable of self government.

There Is People Will Say

And, so, yes, I'm sure there's people will say, they could have done things better here and there.

Medulla Ohmigoddah

So you go around asking nations -- by the way, it's not a problem for Great Britain -- so you say to your partners, don't sell goods; you know, let's send a focused message all aiming to create the conditions so that somebody rational shows up.

The Six-Party Talks Has

Ed, I just strongly disagree with your premise that the six-party talks has encouraged Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

His Legacy:  "A Multilateralism To Deal With Tyrants" - Like Saddam

And so it's -- I said the other day that, you know, one of the things that I will leave behind is a multilateralism to deal with tyrants, so problems can be solved diplomatically.

Uh-Oh

So if I were the North Koreans and I were looking at Iran, or the Iranians looking at North Korea, I'd say, uh-oh, there are coalitions coming together that are bound tightly -- more tightly than ever in order to send us a focused message.

Your President Speaks!

Satruday, in Paris, during a presser with Frnech President Sarkozy.

Rich Iranians Need Not Apply

As a matter of fact, Vladimir Putin delivered that very message to the Iranian regime. He also delivered this message: that because you have been untrustworthy, because you haven't fully disclosed your programs to the IAEA in the past, that we can't trust you to enrich. And therefore Russia will provide the fuel necessary for the civilian nuclear reactor. And therefore you don't need to rich.

Brainwreck

We want their economy to be strong so people can grow up in peace and hope; and they've got a -- this Ahmadinejad is obviously -- takes a different position from that.

His Policies Is

So his policies are what's creating the depravation inside Iran.

What Olivier Has Got

Olivier. Tossing a bone to somebody who has got a French name.

Do You Know?

And therefore, we're working hard with the elected government of Iraq about, you know, U.S. presence and coalition presence, in a way that the elected government is comfortable. And it's interesting to be working with a democracy where, you know, people are trying to prepare the ground to get something passed in the parliament, for example, or the free press is vibrant.

When "Is-Is" Meets "You Know"

So my point to you is, is that, you know, it's been a -- there's always difficulties in democracies, but the notion of getting this work done is important.

Happy Obama Photo: Shades Edition

We had storms yesterday. Trees down all over. No Internets at home. Posting may be light from me until AT&T pulls its head out of its ass.

But here's a Happy Obama Photo to tide you over:

Sunglasses. Another thing our preznit does well.

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'Blackface'

Classy.

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Happy Father's Day, Dad

Four months, ten days until it starts again, but who's counting?

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The Internet Kills Journalism, Vol. 379

Nasty old Internet:

Smith, who grew up in the Chicago area, joined Tribune Co. in 1977 in its finance department and, over time, served in a variety of roles including chief financial officer and senior vice president of development.

His first turn as Chicago Tribune publisher was from 1997 to 2005, before which time he was publisher of Tribune Co.'s South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He re-assumed the reins of the Chicago Tribune when David Hiller was transferred to become publisher of the Los Angeles Times.

"There's been a lot of chaos in the world and in the company in the time he's been publisher, and he's navigated it with tremendous skill and calm," Chicago Tribune Editor Ann Marie Lipinski said.

A document filed in March with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows that Smith will exit Tribune Co. with severance and other benefits of $4.7 million and a payment of $2.1 million to settle up his ownership stake in the privatized Tribune Co.

The company will also provide a "gross-up" benefit estimated in the document at $2.6 million to cover any extra taxes Smith might incur as a result of the severance deal.

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