Environmentalists Hate Sprawl - Except When It

In Case Anyone Needs Reminding, It Was The Relentless Drive Of The Tourism Industry And Kowtowing State Department Bureaucrats That Led To The Bush-era Visa Express Program, Which Relaxed Visa Policies, Eliminated In-person Consulate Interviews And Opened The Door To The 9/11 Hijackers.

In Civilized Societies, If You Are Offended By A Cartoon, You Do Not Burn Flags, Take Up Guns And Raid Buildings, Chant Death To Your Opponents, Or Threaten Suicide Bombings. You Write A Letter To The Editor.

A City Suffering From Chronic Poverty, Out-of-control Crime, A $76 Million Budget Deficit And A 15 Percent Unemployment Rate (nearly 50 Percent For Oakland's Youth) Can Hardly Afford Such Social Justice Follies. But A Pushover Democratic Mayor And An Overwhelmed Police Force Have Left What's Left Of Gainfully Employed Oakland Taxpayers At The Mercy Of Professional Freeloaders And Anti-capitalism Saboteurs.

It's Not Just That Miers Has Zero Judicial Experience. It's That She's So Transparently A Crony/"diversity" Pick While So Many Other Vastly More Qualified And Impressive Candidates Went To Waste. If This Is President Bush's Bright Idea To Buck Up His Sagging Popularity--among Conservatives As Well As The Nation At Large--one Wonders Whom He Would Have Picked In Rosier Times. Shudder.

Washington Is Gripped By Crab-in-the-bucket Syndrome. And There's No Cure In Sight. Put A Single Crab In An Uncovered Bucket, And It Will Find A Way To Climb Up And Out On Its Own. Put A Dozen Crabs In A Bucket, And 11 Will Fight With All Their Might To Pull Down The Striver Who Attempts Escape.