Guestblogger: David Kreutz

George Takei, best known for his roll as Lt (and later Captain) Hikaru Sulu from T.V.’s Star Trek has come out in an interview to be published in an upcoming issue of Frontiers, a gay interest magazine.

So do famous people come out of the closet in threes, like famous people seem to die in threes?

Guestblogger: David Kreutz

Exxon-Mobil reported quarterly profits of $9.92 billion on sales of $100 billion, the first US firm to reach both levels.

The New York Times reports:

Lawyers in the C.I.A. leak case said Thursday that they expected I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, to be indicted on Friday, charged with making false statements to the grand jury.

Karl Rove, President Bush’s senior adviser and deputy chief of staff, will not be charged on Friday, but will remain under investigation, people briefed officially about the case said. As a result, they said, the special counsel in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, was likely to extend the term of the federal grand jury beyond its scheduled expiration on Friday. …

White House officials said their presumption was that Mr. Libby would resign if indicted, and he and Mr. Rove took steps to expand their legal teams in preparation for a possible court battle.

D’oh:

The Chicago White Sox’s first world championship in 88 years was also the lowest-rated World Series ever.

Dr. Jeff Masters has a good post about Tropical Storm Beta, including:

Beta’s expected landfall in Central America is likely to be a major disaster. Although a small storm, Beta will bring 10-20 inches of rain over the interior mountainous regions of Nicaragua and Honduras, creating a serious flooding situation. The GFDL model indicates that Beta will survive the crossing of Nicaragua and emerge into the Pacific Ocean, where it will re-intensify into a Category 1 hurricane. The projected path takes the storm northwest along the coast of El Salvador, potentially adding to the destruction caused by Hurricane Stan earlier this month, which killed 69. Beta may also continue on to affect Guatemala, which suffered the cruelest blow of any nation this destructive hurricane season; between 1500 and 2000 Guatemalans died in floods and mudslides spawned by Hurricane Stan. The threat to El Salvador and Guatemala remains highly speculative at this point, since we are talking about events a week or more in the future.

There are no provisions for what to do in the event we have to retire Beta’s name and replace it on the list of hurricane names. One possibility is that the storm will be dubbed Beta-2005 and the name Beta will be reused. Another possibilty is that Beta will be skipped over next time the Greek alphabet comes into use.

Let’s hope Beta isn’t a major disaster, so we don’t have to worry about retiring the “name.”

More immediately, Bryan Woods at The Storm Track says Beta is “may be trying to form an eye,” a development which could lend itself to rapid intensification overnight.

Virginia Tech, #3 in the BCS standings and one of six remaining undefeated teams in Division 1-A (along with USC, Texas, Georgia, Alabama and UCLA), is trailing #14 Boston College 7-6 in the second quarter.

If the Hokies lose, the maximum number of teams that could finish the regular season undefeated would be down to three, since USC plays UCLA in the regular season finale for both teams, and Alabama would play Georgia in the SEC title game if both teams win out. (Both of those games would be on Dec. 3.)

UPDATE: Virginia Tech has retaken the lead, and is up 20-7 at halftime.

According to CNN (and nearly every other major news outlet), there’s been more trouble in the Mid East — but not where you might expect.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently quoted Ayatollah Khomeini by saying: “Israel must be wiped out from the map of the world,” and then added, “And God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism.” Israel responded by calling for Iran to be expelled from the UN. European leaders are not pleased either:

“EU leaders … today condemned in the strongest terms the comments in respect of the State of Israel attributed to President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad of Iran. … Calls for violence, and for the destruction of any state, are manifestly inconsistent with any claim to be a mature and responsible member of the international community.”

I think this was a show of either incredible stupidity or insanity on the part of Ahmadinejad; at a moment when the world is hoping that diplomacy will lead to some resolution of the many problems the West has with Iran, he essentially cut that possibility off. It will take considerably more in concessions on Iran’s part to build the credibility (as little as it had) it held with the international community. Some have criticized France and Germany for entertaining the idea of negotiating with Iran; I think even they will take a harder line after Ahmadinejad’s comments.

Tony Blair says:

“If they carry on like this, the question people are going to be asking us is, ‘When are you going to do something about this,’ because you imagine a state like that with an attitude like that having a nuclear weapon.”

Indeed. (I’d also ask if maybe we attacked the ‘Axis of Evil’ from the wrong end; perhaps it would have been more sensical to go after the states that, gee, I dunno, have an appreciable nuclear capability, like North Korea and perhaps-soon-to-be Iran.) Should Iran actually construct a working reactor, this practically ensures that it will be destroyed soon after, and given the non-existent “evidence” used against Iraq, it seems that with such statements Iran is courting disaster. It might be true that American forces are a bit tied up right now, but that won’t be the case forever. Also, with his relatively explicit threat against not only the United States but also Israel, the international community will find it easier to support action.

It’s times like this I’m reminded that you’ve really got to watch out for those ‘I’ countries.

Posted by Brian (Briandot)

It now appears that indictments in the Valerie Plame case will almost certainly be handed out tomorrow.

On ESPN’s Page 2, they’re debating where this year’s “Fall Classic” ranks among the worst World Serieses in recent times.

I didn’t actually watch that much of the Series, but man, for a 14-inning “thriller,” Game 3 sure was a clunker.

In other news, there will be a ticker-tape parade tomorrow in Chicago.

Tropical Storm Beta is strengthening, with maximum sustained winds now up to 60 mph. She (yes, I have decided Beta is a she) is expected to become a hurricane within 24 hours — she’d be the record-breaking 13th of the season — and according to the discussion, she should max out as a 110 mph Cat. 2 in three days, just before making landfall in Nicaragua. (Track.) But “it would not be any surprise if Beta got stronger and became a major hurricane.”

I haven’t linked to the “Leahy Lounge” before, but the post about Harriet Miers being eaten by a shark is too good to pass up.

It reminds me of that SNL skit with Dana Carvey as Tom Brokaw. “Gerald Ford, devoured by wolves today…”

“For God’s sake, I don’t care about the nice quote about the bunny.” –Professor Garnett

Tropical Depression 26 became Tropical Storm Beta, the record-extending 23rd tropical cyclone of the season, at 5:00 AM EDT this morning. According to the discussion, Beta is expected to become a hurricane before landfall in Nicaragua, which would make it the record-breaking 13th hurricane of the season.

UPDATE: Beta has strengthened to 50 mph, and its center has re-formed to the east of its previous position — meaning it will potentially have more time over water before landfall. The forecast now calls for a Category 2 hurricane at landfall in just over 3 days — and the discussion suggests that may be conservative:

WITH THE SMALL EYEWALL AND GOOD OUTFLOW IN THE WESTERN SEMICIRCLE…BETA APPEARS SET UP FOR RAPID INTENSIFICATION. INDEED…THE RAPID INTENSIFICATION INDEX ATTACHED TO THE SHIPS MODEL SHOWS A 56 PERCENT CHANCE OF 25 KT OR GREATER STRENGTHENING DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THE NEW INTENSITY FORECAST WILL NOT INCREASE QUITE THAT MUCH…BUT DOES SHOW SIGNIFICANT STRENGTHENING DURING THE NEXT 72 HR SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE GFDL. THE INTENSITY FORECAST MAY NEED TO BE REVISED SIGNIFICANTLY UPWARD IN THE NEXT ADVISORY IF CURRENT TRENDS CONTINUE.

Could we have yet another major hurricane on our hands? Yikes!

UPDATE 2: Bryan Woods at The Storm Track comments on the official NHC forecast that Beta will go towards Nicaragua: “model guidance is not conclusive on this matter, and Beta could curve out into the open Caribbean. Until Beta develops a solid core, this matter could very much be up in the air.”

Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination for the Supreme Court.

P.S. Charles Krauthammer, October 21:

We need an exit strategy from this debacle. I have it.

Sen. Lindsey Graham has been a staunch and public supporter of this nominee. Yet on Wednesday he joined Brownback in demanding privileged documents from Miers’s White House tenure.

Finally, a way out: irreconcilable differences over documents.

For a nominee who, unlike John Roberts, has practically no record on constitutional issues, such documentation is essential for the Senate to judge her thinking and legal acumen. But there is no way that any president would release this kind of information — “policy documents” and “legal analysis” — from such a close confidante. It would forever undermine the ability of any president to get unguarded advice.

That creates a classic conflict, not of personality, not of competence, not of ideology, but of simple constitutional prerogatives: The Senate cannot confirm her unless it has this information. And the White House cannot allow release of this information lest it jeopardize executive privilege.

Hence the perfectly honorable way to solve the conundrum: Miers withdraws out of respect for both the Senate and the executive’s prerogatives, the Senate expresses appreciation for this gracious acknowledgment of its needs and responsibilities, and the White House accepts her decision with the deepest regret and with gratitude for Miers’s putting preservation of executive prerogative above personal ambition.

Faces saved. And we start again.

George W. Bush, October 27:

Today, I have reluctantly accepted Harriet Miers’ decision to withdraw her nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States.

I nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court because of her extraordinary legal experience, her character, and her conservative judicial philosophy. Throughout her career, she has gained the respect and admiration of her fellow attorneys. She has earned a reputation for fairness and total integrity. She has been a leader and a pioneer in the American legal profession. She has worked in important positions in state and local government and in the bar. And for the last five years, she has served with distinction and honor in critical positions in the Executive Branch.

I understand and share her concern, however, about the current state of the Supreme Court confirmation process. It is clear that Senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House - disclosures that would undermine a President’s ability to receive candid counsel. Harriet Miers’ decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the Constitutional separation of powers - and confirms my deep respect and admiration for her.

Point: Krauthammer.

P.P.S. Now we’ll find out whether Mickey Kaus gets a point for his quibble with Krauthammer’s analysis: “Of course, since this face-saving impasse will undoubtedly be widely reported as a face-saving impasse, it’s not clear it will actually be face-saving.”

Kaus may be deprived of his “point” because, with Plamegate indictments coming out any day/minute now, the MSM may not have much time to analyze and “widely report” that particular angle before getting thoroughly distracted by the new, shiny story-of-the-moment. (I’m sure this “bunching” of bad news was entirely coincidental on the Bushies’ part.)

UPDATE: So… what’s next? RedState reports:

White House sources have said all week that they had no plans of withdrawing her nomination, but were making contingency plans. As I last reported, they were letting trusted third parties help with names. Instead of coming up with new names, the parties were going back over old names. Those names include Batchelder, Sykes, Williams, and Corrigan. The President, however, is not inclined to have an all female list now and Judge McConnell’s name is in play.

As of Tuesday, I was told credibly that a strong push was being made for Judge Sykes as someone who could unite the base and get confirmed. The White House has some wiggle room now because, frankly, anyone will seem better than Harriet Miers. Despite politics having kept Batchelder off the list (see John Fund for that), she is getting looked at again.

And that is all I know, except this — a White House friend told me two days ago that if they did withdraw the nomination, genuinely expect a base uniter. I take that to mean we will hopefully be spared [Alberto Gonzales].

I have to say, although I have consistently and passionately argued that Bush should pick the most qualified person out there — male or female, white or minority — I am decidedly turned off by the idea that he might now feel that he suddenly doesn’t need to pick a woman because he “already picked one” and she got rejected. The truth is, Harriet Miers was, by far, the least qualified woman on his short list. If picking a woman was important before the Miers pick — and I don’t think it is, but Bush seemed to think so — then it’s still important now. The logic that “I tried picking a woman and it didn’t work” is repulsive, in light of Miers’s obvious underqualification for the job. It’s like saying “I tried beer and didn’t like how it tasted, so I’m sticking to hard liquor from now on” when the only beer you’ve ever tried is Pabst Blue Ribbon.

That’s right, I said it: Harriet Miers is the Pabst Blue Ribbon of female SCOTUS candidates. :)

In response to a reader’s kind request, I’ve brought back the PayPal donation link (a.k.a. “tip jar”) that I had taken down for some reason — I forget why just now — a while back. It’s in the “about me” box at left. If you feel inspired to make a donation, just click on the icon. Thanks!