Sunday on the Soapbox

Financial Follies. In the Wall Street Journal, William McGurn warns of the Nancy Pelosi effect. In a scathing article, he highlights her mismanagement and her looming status as an albatross around the new administration's neck. And from Governor of South Carolina Mark Stanford over on CNN comes this strongly argued position on the porkulus bill. Stanford has distinguished himself as an articulate spokesman against the behemoth, an exercise not in pork barrel spending, but in payback.

Silver Lining? So so says Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor over in England. In an interview at the Times on Line, the Catholic Prelate's view that the economic upheaval may actually turn out to be a good thing as it forces the country to change it's wicked ways is highlighted. Most of interest, however, is a more moderate perspective of a morally bankrupt society.

Presidential Metrics. Also at the Times is a ranking of the US presidents. Among the top scorers are Abe Lincoln, George Washington, and Dwight Eisenhower. At the bottom, yeah, George Bush and Nixon. Excuse me, but I find it a tad presumptuous.

Scientific Milestones? Let's start with the crash of the satellites, a working American and derelict Soviet one. According to the AP, experts fear the debris could be a menace. I've read elsewhere that even the Hubble could be imperiled. Back on Earth, the mummy of a young Egyptian temple singer has been virtually unwrapped without opening the sarcophagus. Ah, the miracle of modern science. Read it at CNN here.

Last Gasp. Had to include this one. Ohmigosh, the Kansas Department of Education has been caught in an error by a high school student. In a year, no one had noticed that omission had mistakenly been used for emission. Happens to us all. Read all about it. Meantime Fox News has come up with a list of the top ten deadliest stretches of road in America. Two are in South Florida. Given the driving habits I've observed further south, I'm not surprised.